"Chasing the Girl with the Silver Bracelet"

Chapter 3: "Chasing the Girl with the Silver Bracelet"

The next few days were a blur for Aarohi. She tried to keep her mind on the business, trying to focus on her work at the market, but every time she picked up her tools or arranged her jewelry, the image of Liam kept popping into her thoughts. His curious, earnest eyes, his hand holding the bracelet as if it were a treasure, all gnawed at her.

She had tried to push him out of her mind. He was just another tourist passing through, someone who would eventually leave and forget about her, and the bracelet, just as quickly as he had stumbled into her life.

But that didn’t happen.

Liam came back the very next day. And the next. And the next.

At first, he showed up casually, just browsing through the market, wandering through the lanes as though he was still lost. But Aarohi couldn’t ignore the truth—he was looking for her.

On the fourth day, as she was wrapping up some delicate rings, Aarohi felt the familiar presence before she saw him. Liam appeared from the crowd, his camera hanging from his neck, a slight smile tugging at his lips as he walked toward her stall.

**"Hello again, Aarohi."**

She didn’t look up immediately, trying to keep the irritation from showing on her face. **“You’re persistent.”**

He shrugged, undeterred. **"I guess I’m determined to figure this out."**

Aarohi sighed, setting down her tools. She had no time for this, but the curiosity in her own chest tugged at her as well. She could never quite bring herself to tell him to go away completely. Maybe it was his genuine confusion, or maybe it was just the way he looked at her—so open, so willing to understand something that she herself had never fully understood.

**"What do you think you’re doing?"** she asked, her voice a mix of frustration and fascination. **"Why are you so fixated on this bracelet? It’s just a piece of silver."**

Liam gave her a serious look, then spoke with careful thought. **"I don’t know. But when I found it… it felt like something changed. And not just with the bracelet. It’s like the whole city, or even the world, shifted just a little. Like you were meant to be part of it."**

Aarohi swallowed hard. There was no denying the strange pull she felt toward him too, though she didn’t want to acknowledge it. The more she thought about it, the more the pieces of this odd puzzle started to click together.

The night before, after their brief conversation, she had tried to research the word “**वेल**,” the engraving on the bracelet. But all she could find were vague, ancient references to fate and destiny. It didn’t tell her much. It didn’t explain anything about why the bracelet felt so important. And it certainly didn’t explain why Liam was standing here in front of her, looking at her as if they had shared a thousand lifetimes together.

Aarohi was so caught up in her thoughts that she barely realized Liam had taken a seat at her stall, uninvited. He grinned sheepishly.

**"So… I thought I could ask around a bit. Maybe someone knows more about this bracelet."**

Aarohi raised an eyebrow. **"Ask around?"**

Liam’s expression was serious. **"Yeah, I mean, I know I’m a tourist and all, but maybe I could get some answers from the locals. Surely someone knows something about the bracelet or the history behind it."**

Aarohi leaned against her stall, crossing her arms. **"It’s a family heirloom, Liam. No one here knows about it but me."**

**"You sure?"** he pressed, his eyes twinkling with mischief. **"You’d be surprised what you can find out from the right people."**

She shook her head, an involuntary smile forming despite herself. **"You don’t give up easily, do you?"**

Liam’s grin widened. **"Nope. It’s one of my best qualities. I’ve been asking around town, though, and I’ve heard something interesting. There’s an old woman who lives on the edge of the market. She’s a bit… eccentric, but people say she knows things. I thought maybe she might have some answers."**

Aarohi’s heart skipped a beat. **“An old woman?”** She felt a chill run through her. **“What kind of things?”**

Liam’s tone was low, almost as if he were sharing a secret. **“They say she’s connected to fate. Some think she can see the future.”**

Aarohi frowned, not sure what to make of it. She had heard of the woman, but her reputation was more of a local legend than anything tangible. People whispered that she could divine the future and that her predictions were strangely accurate.

**“She sounds like a charlatan to me,”** Aarohi said, though she didn’t quite believe her own words.

Liam chuckled softly. **“Maybe. But what’s the harm in asking? We could go together. I could interview her for my vlog—get some interesting footage.”**

Aarohi rolled her eyes. **"You and your vlogs."** But there was a hint of something else in her voice, something she couldn’t deny—curiosity.

Later that afternoon, Aarohi and Liam made their way through the narrow streets of the market toward the edge of town, where the old woman supposedly lived. The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows on the stone streets. Aarohi felt a mix of anticipation and dread as they neared the small, weathered house that stood at the very end of the market, tucked away behind a small cluster of trees.

The air seemed different here, heavier, as though the atmosphere was pregnant with the possibility of something important happening.

Liam knocked on the wooden door three times. When it creaked open, an elderly woman with a shock of white hair peered out from behind it. She wore a flowing shawl that seemed too heavy for the heat, her wrinkled face set in a serene expression.

**“You’ve come,”** the old woman said, her voice smooth but edged with something Aarohi couldn’t place.

Liam took a step forward, eager to speak. **“We were hoping you could help us. We’re looking for answers about an ancient bracelet—”**

But the woman cut him off with a single, sharp look. **“Ah, yes. The bracelet of fate. It has come to you.”**

Aarohi’s stomach dropped, and she exchanged an uneasy glance with Liam. The woman’s words had sent a shiver down her spine.

**“Come in,”** the old woman beckoned. **“The answers you seek are inside.”**

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