Year: 2005, December 4 | Time: 1:45 AM | Place: Tokyo City Hospital
Mr. Anshuman Singh Rajput, the celebrated CEO of "The Sky and Shadow", was a man known for his sharp mind, royal poise, and the strange gentleness he reserved only for one soul—his beloved wife, Mrs. Triveni Rajput.
Married for just over a year, the couple was basking in the joy of their first child's impending arrival. Their love had bloomed like a springtime poem, serene and unwavering. It was only natural that they wished to witness the ethereal beauty of cherry blossoms in autumn, and thus had planned a short trip to Japan—a land where seasons breathed poetry.
Two weeks before the trip, the amber leaves of early autumn whispered promises of change. The couple packed dreams, not just clothes. But fate, as ever, was preparing to pen a chapter of its own.
---
Despite the preparations, duty called Mr. Rajput to Seoul for an urgent business summit. Reluctantly, with a kiss on her forehead and a promise to return in 48 hours, he left Mrs. Rajput behind in Tokyo.
The nights were gentle, the air crisp. But in that silence, something ancient stirred within her—a sensation unlike any other. She wasn't just carrying a child... she was beginning to awaken into someone else entirely.
She discovered a peculiar and mystifying trait:
She could—merely through a fleeting gaze—sense and admire the nemesis or hidden truth of any soul who looked into her eyes.
An aura of power, ancient and inexplicable, pulsed quietly within her. It wasn't magic. It wasn't illusion. It was her essence—a force old as the moon herself.
But destiny had other plans.
---
That night, Mrs. Rajput was walking by the window, humming a lullaby to her unborn child when a sudden sharp cramp seized her abdomen. She clutched her belly as waves of pain began crashing within—it was not ordinary discomfort; it was the primal pain of childbirth, raw and overwhelming.
Gastroenteritis? IBS? No—this was life emerging. The contractions began. Her voice echoed through the quiet hospital room:
"Aaahhh!!"
Sweat trickled down her temple as the nurses rushed in. She was wheeled away through sterile corridors of fluorescent light. The child was coming. Alone, scared, but fearless in the fire of motherhood.
---
Elsewhere, miles away...
Mr. Rajput, mid-conference, felt a strange twist in his chest—a pull. His eyes widened.
"She's in pain," he whispered to no one.
He stood mid-speech, dropped his mic, ignored the protests of board members, and dashed out. No limousine. No protocol. He drove through the cold Tokyo night himself.
1:44 AM.
He was nearing the hospital, heart pounding.
"Just 3 more turns," he muttered.
He accelerated.
"CrasshhhHHHHHH!!!"
The screech of tires.
The crash of metal.
A brutal silence.
---
Crowds gathered. Blood pooled beneath the crumpled hood of a silver Lexus.
"Someone call an ambulance!"
"Who is he?!"
"He's... he's Mr. Anshuman Singh Rajput!" cried one.
"The CEO of Sky and Shadow!"
Gasps.
Whispers.
A city paused for a moment.
---
And at that exact moment, in Room 406 of Tokyo City Hospital, a gentle wail echoed through the halls. A baby girl—her skin the shade of twilight clouds, her fingers curled into fists of starry strength—opened her eyes.
The heir of Rajput legacy was born.
They named her Aaradhya—the one who is worshipped.
As one life entered this world, another battled for survival in wreckage.
This was no ordinary family.
This was a saga just beginning.
---
To be continued...