📅 Late September – Devgarh & Nandanpur
The Rising River
The storm dragged into its third week. Sudarshini, once calm, now roared against its banks. Teachers at Devgarh warned the students to head straight home after class, no delays.
"Feels like the river's angry," Vaidehi murmured as they crossed the bridge. Her eyes scanned the dark, rushing water.
"It's just nature," Raghav replied, though his voice betrayed unease. "Rivers flood all the time."
But Abhay knew it wasn't just nature. The roar of Sudarshini wasn't noise to him—it was a call.
---
The Bracelet of Water
That evening, while the others studied inside, Abhay lingered near the old well behind the Sharma house. The drizzle had stopped, but puddles shimmered like silver coins under the dim lantern light.
As he dipped his hand into the water, something stirred. Droplets rose, circling his wrist, spinning faster until they wove into a perfect spiral.
A bracelet. Liquid, shifting, alive.
Abhay froze. His breath caught. Instead of dripping away, the water pulsed—matching his heartbeat.
Then, as suddenly as it formed, it slipped down his palm and scattered across the ground.
"I knew it," a voice whispered.
Abhay spun. Simran stood there, clutching her schoolbag, eyes wide.
---
Simran's Fear
She stepped back, shaking her head. "That… that wasn't normal. Water doesn't move like that. Not by itself."
Abhay swallowed hard. "You didn't see anything."
But Simran's voice was trembling, half with fear, half with wonder. "I saw everything."
Her words cut like lightning through the air. And for the first time, Abhay felt the weight of what it meant to be different.
---
Fire and Ripple
Later that night, unable to sleep, Abhay walked to the veranda. To his surprise, Ishanvi was already there, watching the storm scatter sparks across the sky.
"You felt it too?" she asked without turning.
He nodded. Slowly, he lifted his wrist, still damp where the bracelet had formed. "The water… it listens to me."
Her eyes softened, glowing faintly with the lantern's flame. "And fire… it obeys me."
For a moment, silence. Just thunder and their heartbeats.
"You're not afraid?" Abhay asked.
Ishanvi shook her head, a faint smile on her lips. "Afraid? No. Curious, maybe. And… I don't think we're meant to fight it. Ripple."
Abhay let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Then we face it. Together. Firefly."
---
Whispers in the Dark
Unseen by them, Vaidehi stirred in her room, hearing muffled voices on the veranda. She leaned closer to the window, catching just enough of their words to frown.
And across the village, Simran lay awake, replaying the image of water twining around Abhay's wrist. Her pulse quickened with one thought:
If the river listens to him… what happens when the flood comes again?