whisper between the worlds
The air was cold in her lungs.
Not the kind of cold that made her shiver — this one ached.
Burned.
Gaurangi stood barefoot in the middle of a battlefield that was crumbling into silence. Blood stained the earth.
Ash floated in the wind.
And beside her… someone.
His presence towered around her like a protective wall, yet she couldn’t turn to look at him. His face blurred, shifting like mist over water. She reached out, desperately, but her hands passed through shadow.
unknown
“Find me again, Gaurangi… please…”
Her heart cracked at the sound of his voice.
Soft. Familiar. Full of grief.
She tried to run toward him. Tried to call his name.
But her voice failed.
The world blurred.
And she woke up — heart pounding, sweat clinging to her brow.
☀️ Morning – The Hostel Room
RADHIKA MEHRA / FL'S BESTIEE
Radhika was already awake, tying her hair back when Gaurangi sat up with a start.
RADHIKA MEHRA / FL'S BESTIEE
“Another one?” she asked, glancing toward her best friend.
GAURANGI SHARMA /(FL)
Gaurangi nodded wordlessly, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. “Worse this time.”
RADHIKA MEHRA / FL'S BESTIEE
Radhika passed her a glass of water. “Tell me.”
GAURANGI SHARMA /(FL)
“It was a battlefield again. I could feel fire… and loss. There was someone with me, protecting me. But I still couldn’t see his face.” She paused, rubbing her forehead. “His voice was… breaking. Like he was saying goodbye.”
RADHIKA MEHRA / FL'S BESTIEE
Radhika froze for a second, fingers clutching her hair tie a little too tightly.
RADHIKA MEHRA / FL'S BESTIEE
“And how did it end?”
GAURANGI SHARMA /(FL)
“I woke up before I could reach him.”
RADHIKA MEHRA / FL'S BESTIEE
Finally, Radhika spoke, forcing a light tone. “That’s, what, the fourth time in two weeks? Maybe it’s your brain’s way of processing stress.”
GAURANGI SHARMA /(FL)
Gaurangi stared at her. “But it’s not just a dream, Rads. I… I know him. Somewhere deep inside, I feel him. He’s not a fantasy. He’s real.”
Later That Day – The Path to Nowhere
It was supposed to be a casual walk.
A way to clear her mind.
Yet Gaurangi’s legs moved with purpose, as if guided by something older than memory. She didn’t even realize where she was going until the ground shifted beneath her feet — uneven stones, cracked and ancient, hidden beneath vines and dust.
Before her stood a shrine. Forgotten. Quiet.
Stone pillars reached into the sky like broken ribs of a long-dead god. Moss covered half-erased symbols along its walls. The bell tower leaned sideways, rusted and shattered. But despite the decay… the place felt familiar.
GAURANGI SHARMA /(FL)
Her fingers reached out, brushing against the carvings. She didn’t know what they meant — yet her chest ached at the touch.
GAURANGI SHARMA /(FL)
I’ve been here before.
She stepped past the arch, deeper into the ruins. The wind whispered low, like breath against her ear.
And then… a strange thing happened.
Her feet halted at a small circle of burnt earth. Right in the center of the stone courtyard.
Flashes erupted in her mind — a woman in red robes standing here, her own face — younger, older, different — crying, holding someone’s hand.
GAURANGI SHARMA /(FL)
“No,” she whispered. “This… this isn’t real.”
GAURANGI SHARMA /(FL)
But deep inside, something disagreed.
🕯️ Meanwhile – High Above, Cloaked in Shadow
Omkar stood still on a ridge overlooking the shrine, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes fixed on her.
OMKAR AGNIHOTRI /( ML)
She had found the place again.
OMKAR AGNIHOTRI /( ML)
Every life… every time… she always returned here.
OMKAR AGNIHOTRI /( ML)
He didn’t dare move. Didn’t dare breathe too loudly.
OMKAR AGNIHOTRI /( ML)
To touch her before she remembered would destroy everything. The curse was still binding. The balance of time still fragile.
OMKAR AGNIHOTRI /( ML)
But his heart — the heart that hadn’t aged in centuries — clenched at the sight of her.
The way she looked at the temple stones. The confusion in her eyes. The ache in her steps.
OMKAR AGNIHOTRI /( ML)
You always find me, Gaurangi… even when you forget me.
Even when fate tears us apart.
But this time… something was wrong.
The threads of destiny were tangled.
And someone was pulling them — twisting them.
He could feel it
And Omkar wasn’t the only one watching.
Back in the Present – The Sketch
That night, Gaurangi didn’t tell Radhika about the ruins.
She couldn’t explain it. Couldn’t even put it into words.
Instead, she sat in silence at her desk, pencil in hand, staring at a blank page.
Then — without knowing why — her hand began to move.
Or rather, the outline of one.
Shadowed.
Undefined.
The line of a jaw she couldn’t remember but had traced a thousand times in her dreams.
Tears rolled down her cheeks without her realizing.
GAURANGI SHARMA /(FL)
“Who are you?” she whispered into the silence.
“Why do I feel like I’m losing you before I’ve even met you?”
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