AKIRA'S POV:

It is dark.

Shit... where am I?

Is this...?

Oh my God.

The same alley.

The same bench.

The same fog.

The same rain.

I'm standing in the rain, yet I can't feel the raindrops.

Why am I not drenched?

Suddenly, a loud thunder cracks through the sky.

I flinch and take a few steps backward.

That's when I see him.

He's standing there.

In the rain.

Again.

No.

Not again.

I won't let him die again.

Not this time.

"Come here!" I yell.

He doesn't move.

I can hear my heartbeat drumming in my ears.

I look to my left.

Then to my right.

Nothing feels right.

"Don't come looking for me," he says.

Something uneasy settles low in my stomach.

No.

Not this time.

I won't lose again.

I run after him.

That figure.

No matter how much I run, he remains far away.

It feels as if the ground itself is moving against me.

As if every step I take pushes me farther away from him instead of closer.

"No..." I cry.

"No, please!"

I run after him, breathless.

And then...

All of a sudden...

He stops.

At the bank of the river.

The same river he jumped into last time.

This time...

He stopped.

The man takes a deep breath.

A flicker of hope rises inside me.

As if I'll finally be able to reach him.

As if I'll finally be able to hold on to him.

Slowly...

He starts turning towards me.

I smile hopefully.

Eyes curious.

Body breathless.

Heart aching.

This...

This dream is different from the previous ones.

He's finally turning back.

But suddenly-

A huge wave crashes into him.

His body loses balance.

And he falls into the river.

"Nooooooo!"

I scream and shoot up in bed.

Drenched in sweat.

I rub my face.

Let out a shaky breath.

"Not again."

I squeeze my eyes shut and release a breath I didn't know I was holding.

That man.

This stupid dream.

I've been having it for years now.

The same man.

The same river.

The same death.

I'm tired of these dreams.

"Bhagwan ji, please stop these nightmares," I mutter.

I glance at my alarm clock.

8:47 AM.

SHIT!

I'm done for.

That professor is going to kill me.

I cry dramatically.

I jump out of bed so fast that I nearly trip over my own blanket.

"Wonderful, Akira."

Just wonderful.

Late.

Again.

At this point, being late wasn't a habit.

It was a personality trait.

I grab my toothbrush and rush into the bathroom.

Halfway there, I realise I forgot my toothpaste.

I walk back.

Grab the toothpaste.

Walk into the bathroom again.

Only to realise...

I forgot my toothbrush.

I stare at the ceiling.

"Why are you testing me, Bhagwan ji?"

No answer.

Rude.

Ten minutes later, I'm brushing my hair with one hand and stuffing books into my bag with the other.

My room looks like a crime scene.

Clothes on the chair.

Clothes on the floor.

Clothes on the bed.

At this point, even I don't know where half my wardrobe is.

I finally look into the mirror.

My hair resembles a bird's nest.

One side is puffed up.

The other side looks personally offended.

"Beautiful."

The mirror disagrees.

I grab a hair clip and pray for the best.

Five minutes later, I'm running out of my apartment.

Again.

As soon as I step outside, my phone vibrates.

Riya.

Of course.

I answer the call.

"What?"

"Tell me you're at least on your way."

"I'm spiritually on my way."

"Akira."

"Emotionally too."

"AKIRA."

"Fine. Physically as well."

"You're impossible."

"I've been told that before."

The call disconnects.

I grin.

Then immediately stop grinning when I check the time.

9:08.

"OH COME ON!"

And just like that, I break into a sprint towards college.

The moment I reached the college gate, I bent over, hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

"Maybe..." I wheezed.

"...maybe running wasn't invented for people like me."

The security guard, who had witnessed my daily struggle for almost two years now, shook his head.

"Late again, Akira?"

I placed a hand over my heart.

"Sir, please. Don't attack me personally before 10 a.m."

He laughed.

Traitor.

I hurried inside the campus.

Students walked around in groups.

Some were heading to class.

Some were sitting beneath the trees.

Some were busy taking selfies for Instagram.

Meanwhile, I was fighting for my life.

As I climbed the stairs towards my classroom, my phone buzzed.

Riya: Where are you?

Me: Outside class.

Riya: Liar.

Me: Fine. Outside the building.

Riya: I hate you.

Me: Love you too.

I shoved my phone into my pocket and stopped in front of the classroom door.

Okay.

Maybe if I slipped in quietly...

Maybe nobody would notice.

Maybe-

The universe laughed.

I pushed the door open.

Every single head turned towards me.

Every.

Single.

Head.

My soul left my body.

The professor stopped writing on the board.

The entire classroom stared.

And there I stood.

Like an idiot.

With my bag hanging halfway off my shoulder.

"Good morning, sir," I said politely.

The professor looked at the wall clock.

Then at me.

Then at the wall clock again.

"Miss Akira."

"Yes, sir?"

"The lecture started forty minutes ago."

"Time flies when you're suffering."

A few students snorted.

The professor closed his eyes.

Probably praying for patience.

"I assume you have a valid reason."

I thought for a second.

"No."

The class burst into laughter.

"Get out."

"Understandable. Have a nice day."

And with whatever dignity I had left, I walked out.

The second the door closed behind me, I groaned dramatically.

"Why is my life a comedy show?"

"Because you're the main clown."

I turned around.

Riya.

Standing there.

Holding two cold coffee bottles.

My best friend.

And my biggest hater.

"You know," I said, accepting the bottle, "a real friend would support me."

"A real friend would've reached class on time."

"A real friend would've lied for me."

"A real friend wouldn't be you."

Riya gasped.

"How dare you?"

I took a sip of coffee.

"You love me."

"Unfortunately."

We walked towards the canteen together.

The campus was unusually lively today.

Music played somewhere in the distance.

Students laughed.

The smell of food floated through the air.

For a moment, everything felt normal.

Comfortable.

Familiar.

Exactly the way it had always been.

And then-

I froze.

My feet stopped moving.

My heartbeat stuttered.

For just a second.

A voice.

I had heard a voice.

A male voice.

Soft.

Familiar.

Painfully familiar.

I whipped around.

My eyes scanned the crowd.

Students.

Groups.

Faces.

Strangers.

No one.

Nothing.

Riya frowned.

"What happened?"

I swallowed.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

I looked around again.

The strange feeling remained.

A cold uneasiness.

Like someone had just walked over my grave.

Like someone had whispered directly into my ear.

But there was nobody there.

"No..." I muttered.

"It's nothing."

Riya gave me a suspicious look.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

I wasn't.

Not even close.

The feeling followed me all the way to the canteen.

We found our usual table where Kabir and Tanya were already seated.

"Look who finally arrived," Tanya announced dramatically.

"The missing princess."

Kabir shook his head.

"She's not a princess."

"Then?"

"A public nuisance."

I dropped into the chair.

"You people are jealous of my beauty."

"We're concerned about your intelligence," Kabir replied.

The betrayal.

The disrespect.

The audacity.

I clutched my chest.

"One day I'll leave this friend group."

"Promise?" Tanya asked hopefully.

I pointed at her.

"This is bullying."

The four of us burst out laughing.

For a while, everything felt normal again.

Assignments.

Professors.

Gossip.

The usual nonsense.

Then my gaze drifted towards the crowd.

And landed on someone.

A boy.

Standing near the far end of the canteen.

His back facing me.

Tall.

Dressed in black.

One hand tucked into his pocket.

For some reason...

My breath caught.

A strange ache spread through my chest.

The same ache.

The same feeling.

The same feeling from the dream.

My fingers tightened around the coffee bottle.

Before I could think, I stood up.

"Akira?" Riya called.

But I was already moving.

Walking through the crowd.

Towards him.

Towards the strange feeling pulling me forward.

The distance between us grew shorter.

Ten steps.

Seven.

Five.

Three.

My heartbeat thundered inside my ears.

The boy suddenly turned the corner.

And disappeared.

I hurried after him.

Only to stop.

The corridor was empty.

Completely empty.

No footsteps.

No voices.

No sign that anyone had been there at all.

I stared ahead.

Confused.

Breathless.

"What the..."

A cold breeze brushed past me.

And for the briefest second-

I heard it.

That same voice.

The voice from my dreams.

The voice that had haunted me for years.

"Don't come looking for me."

My blood ran cold.

I spun around.

Nothing.

Nobody.

Just an empty corridor.

Yet somehow...

For the first time in years...

The dream no longer felt like a dream.

And that terrified me.

To Be Continued... ♡♡♡♡