We started watching the sun set from her balcony. Every single day. Without fail.

By October, things started to ease. Curfews lifted. We could go for a walk. But something had shifted permanently. Riya wasn’t just “my cousin sister” anymore.

I remember the exact week the government announced the lockdown. I was at my aunt’s house, and the news ticker flashed red. My cousin sister—let’s call her Riya—looked at me from across the dining table. We were both in university then, both suddenly told to come home and stay home.

Then March 2020 happened.