☕ On the wall of Bayaan Café, a new note was pinned:
“Some things are meant only to be heard, not answered.”
—
And now, many names began to whisper beneath it —
‘A’ was no longer just Altaaf.
Perhaps it was Awaz (Voice), Adhuri (Incomplete), Ankahi (Unspoken), or Aghaaz (Beginning).
📖 Neelofar’s Diary
For the first time, her diary was open — without fear.
She wrote:
“Even when he doesn’t speak, it feels as if he’s said something.
There’s a strange calm in Altaaf…
Or maybe I’m just tired of the noise now.”
Her fingers kept folding the corners of the pages —
each page a layer of an old time
now ready to unfold.
Neelofar saw Altaaf smile for the first time —
not too much, not too little…
just enough for a broken memory to dare to laugh again.
🎞️ The Recorder played again — Tape #9
There was a faint voice in it —
perhaps Hamnaaz’s, or maybe another girl who no longer comes to the Café.
“You know, I stopped speaking that day…
the day someone laughed at my words for the first time.
That day was the funeral of my voice.”
At the end of the tape, only the sound of breathing remained —
as if someone was still there,
just unable to find the courage to speak.
📚 Altaaf’s Book
One day, Neelofar asked Altaaf:
“Do you still write?”
He didn’t answer.
He just pulled out an old bag and took out a book —
its title read: “Words That Remained.”
There was no author’s name, no preface —
only incomplete sentences:
“I saw you… that day, when you sat quietly by the window.”
“If I had spoken… maybe the story would’ve been different.”
“You’re still the same — incomplete, yet complete.”
Neelofar opened the book,
and on one page, she found her own name —
that alone was enough for her.
💭 Hamnaaz’s Presence
Hamnaaz had started staying late at the Café now.
She would write something on a paper, then tear it up.
Once, Neelofar noticed —
a piece had accidentally fallen to the floor.
On it, she had written:
“I have felt you — like wet earth in the rain,
marked by someone’s footprints…
and in every print, a story buried deep.”
Neelofar picked up the paper,
but didn’t return it.
🚪 A New Guest
That evening, the Café bell rang differently.
At the door stood an old man —
a stick in his hand, eyes soaked in an old past.
“Excuse me… does Aarav still come here?”
his trembling voice asked.
Neelofar replied softly,
“No… he doesn’t come here anymore.
But his fragrance still does.”
The old man smiled faintly and said,
“He was my grandson… and the first dream of this Café.
When he left, he forgot his diary here.”
Neelofar’s hands trembled.
For the first time, she understood —
some people leave,
but their unfinished sentences
continue to live inside others.
📍 Tagline for the Next Episode:
Some voices never return… yet they never truly stop either.
☕ Bayaan Café | The Unknown Guest
Evening was fading.
The last orange rays of sunlight crept through the Café windows, reaching the tables like quiet memories.
A faint, soulful tune floated through the air —
that same Sufi melancholy that had become the Café’s identity.
Altaaf was unusually silent today.
He stood behind the counter, unmoved even by the aroma of coffee rising from the machine.
Then the Café bell rang. Someone had entered.
Before him stood a man — white hair, dusty eyes, a stranger’s face, and a scent that carried the memory of old books.
Altaaf’s gaze froze upon him…
and for a moment, time itself seemed to halt.
“One black coffee,” the man said. “No sugar.”
There was something in his voice —
something that knocked on a closed door inside Altaaf’s chest.
That voice reminded him of someone else.
As Altaaf placed the cup, his fingers trembled slightly.
“Have you been here before?” he asked softly.
The man smiled —
but it wasn’t the kind of smile that brought peace.
“I used to come… long ago, before you even worked here.
Back then, this wasn’t a Café — it was a small bookshop.”
Altaaf’s heart began to sink.
“You loved books, didn’t you?
And… Gulnaaz.”
That single name shattered the wall inside him.
Altaaf lowered his eyes, but something still spilled from them.
How many years had it been? Eight? Ten?
“Gulnaaz is dead,” Altaaf’s voice trembled.
“But even after her, something remains —
something that breathes here every day.”
“And that ‘something’…” the stranger said softly,
“is it me — or your memory?”
Writer Afsana Wahid
Hello beautiful readers,💞💞💞😊😊
I’m Afsana Wahid, the writer of this story. 🌸
No matter which country or corner of the world you’re reading from —
I’d truly love to hear your thoughts.
Please send me a message or leave a comment and tell me how you felt about this story.
Your words mean the world to me! ✨