The chapter starts with a beautiful and shiny morning.
25-year-old Shweta slowly wakes up, lying on the sofa.
She looks at the sun through the window, and for the first time in five years, she sees the sunrise with her own eyes.
With a soft smile, she says,
"It feels like I'm living my school life again."
At the same moment, the door makes a slight noise.
Startled, 25-year-old Shweta gets scared and quickly tries to hide herself.
But then she sees 10-year-old Shweta standing at the door, holding a toothbrush, a big water bottle, and a set of clothes.
Seeing all this, 25-year-old Shweta asks,
"Did you bring all this stuff for me?"
10-year-old Shweta looks at her with a funny expression and says,
"No."
25-year-old Shweta looks at her weirdly, confused.
Then 10-year-old Shweta smiles mischievously and says,
"Of course, it's for you!"
10-year-old Shweta said,
"Just wash your mouth and eat something. I brought you a jam sandwich."
She looked at 25-year-old Shweta up and down and then added with a teasing smile,
"I can't believe you have such a good figure... so maybe these small-sized clothes can still fit you!"
25-year-old Shweta laughed a little for the first time after a long time.
She shook her head and thought,
"Even at 10 years old, I was so talkative!"
After having lunch together, 10-year-old Shweta asked,
"So, what is your next plan? What will you do?"
25-year-old Shweta sighed and said,
"I don't know... I think I need to go back to that bus stop where you found me. Maybe I'll find a way to return from there."
Hearing that, 10-year-old Shweta looked disappointed and said,
"But... I thought you were here to stay for some days."
25-year-old Shweta smiled sadly and replied,
"Shweta, it's not something I planned. It's all unplanned... and now I'm stuck here. I really need to go back to my place."
25 years Shweta said to herself, 'If I go back to that bus stop... but still, I don't remember how I traveled through the universe.
Then 10-year-old Shweta asked her,
"Do you even remember what exactly happened that time?"
25-year-old Shweta closed her eyes and started thinking about yesterday.
A memory slowly returned—
There was a flash of light. But it wasn't just light…
It was a big truck.
And maybe… that truck hit her.
Her eyes snapped open. Her face was covered in sweat.
A terrifying thought crossed her mind—
"After that accident… did all of this happen?"
Now, she wasn't even sure if she was still alive in her own universe…
or somewhere else entirely.
10-year-old Shweta looked at her and asked,
"What happened?"
25-year-old Shweta hesitated for a second, then quickly replied,
"Nothing."
She forced a small smile and added,
"Let's go to the bus stop."
Cut to:
Both of them standing silently in front of that same bus stop—
the place where everything had begun.
They were sitting at the bus stop when suddenly, Kavya arrived.
10-year-old Shweta's face lit up.
She stood up and called out,
"Hey Kavya! Wait na!"
She started running toward her with a hopeful smile—
but Kavya just walked past, ignoring her completely.
25-year-old Shweta watched quietly.
She saw the disappointment on the little girl's face as it slowly turned into sadness.
She recognized that pain too well.
A memory resurfaced.
In her own universe, Kavya had always been like that.
Full of ego… full of attitude.
One day, she simply stopped talking to Shweta—without any reason.
Ignored her like she didn't exist.
Shweta remembered a trip they went on together.
It was with Kavya's other friends.
Shweta had never made many friends of her own—she believed she didn't need to.
Kavya was her only friend. Her closest one. Her everything.
But for Kavya, it was different.
She had many friends.
And whenever she was around them, she treated Shweta like she didn't matter.
That day on the trip, Kavya shouted at her in front of everyone.
"You have no right to ask me anything!"
Her words cut deep.
Shweta had stood there, stunned…
tears filling her eyes…
but no one came to comfort her.
Everyone was only concerned about Kavya.
That day, something broke inside her.
She realized that in trying to be Kavya's best friend, she had forgotten herself.
She had pushed others away.
All for someone who never truly valued her.
So Shweta walked away from that friendship.
She didn't look back.
Kavya probably thought—as always—Shweta would come running back.
But this time was different.
This time, Shweta had changed.
This time, she wouldn't say sorry for something she never did wrong.
Cut to:
25-year-old Shweta turns to look at her younger self—
sitting silently, eyes down, holding back tears.
And in that moment, she realizes...
She was exactly like her.
And now… she finally understood.
After all this time, after the accident, she had wondered—
Why did I come to this universe? Why was I sent back?
But now, the answer was clear.
She had come back not by chance,
but for a reason.
To face the truth she had buried for years—
The pain caused by a fake friend.
The loneliness she felt around her so-called "cool" colleagues.
The wounds left by always being "too nice."
By never standing up for herself.
By always choosing others over her own peace.
This universe… this moment… was her second chance.
She looked at the 10-year-old version of herself—
so innocent, so hopeful… so unaware of what was coming.
"No," she whispered to herself,
"In this universe, I'll make sure Shweta doesn't face the same pain I did."
They were walking down the street, side by side, when suddenly 10-year-old Shweta, full of curiosity, asked,
"So… what will happen next? Kavya will talk to me, right? I know she will. She's my best friend!"
25-year-old Shweta glanced at her younger self and replied softly,
"I know you think she's your best friend… but what if she doesn't talk to you again?"
10-year-old Shweta smiled innocently and said,
"Then I'll write her one more sorry letter."
That sentence hit something deep inside 25-year-old Shweta.
She remembered—how back then, every time something went wrong, she would write a letter.
Apologizing. Explaining. Begging for the friendship back.
She thought that if her words were kind enough, maybe things would go back to normal.
Her expression darkened a little as the memory washed over her.
"Letters? Are you serious? You'll write another letter for her?" she asked, almost annoyed.
10-year-old Shweta blinked, confused.
"You never did that?"
25-year-old Shweta sighed,
"Oh, I did. I wrote those stupid letters again and again… because I was mad. I thought being kind meant apologizing, even when it wasn't my fault."
She gave a bitter chuckle.
"Honestly, if I had written all those letters to a boy instead of Kavya, maybe by now I'd have a boyfriend!"
Then she paused, her voice softer, sadder—
"But now I realize… I just wasted my writing skills on the wrong person."
The younger Shweta looked at her carefully—trying to process her words.
With a sad, almost fearful expression, she asked,
"So... Kavya isn't in contact with you anymore? Did she break your friendship again?"
25-year-old Shweta looked at 10-year-old Shweta and realized her words had hurt her.
She could see it clearly—that young heart wasn't ready to break a friendship yet.
But this truth was important.
She had to prepare her… had to protect her from what was coming.
So, she spoke gently, yet firmly:
"Yes… we did break our friendship. But this time, it was me who walked away.
And I'm sure of one thing—I'll never talk to her again. And no… I won't be writing any more letters to her either."
10-year-old Shweta looked up at her, hurt and confused.
"I know Kavya is short-tempered," she said softly,
"But it's because of her complicated family. That's why she behaves like that. You should try to understand her. She's not a bad person."
25-year-old Shweta gave a small, smirking smile.
"Oh really? Because of family issues?"
She leaned in a little closer and continued,
"Then what about you? Didn't you have family problems too? Financial struggles, unstable future… the pressure to become successful as soon as possible so you could take care of everyone?
But still, you smiled every day. You never showed the world how stressed you were."
Hearing this, 10-year-old Shweta looked down.
A sadness spread across her face.
She never wanted anyone to know how much she was hiding behind that smile.
Seeing that, 25-year-old Shweta softened.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly,
"If I hurt you by saying out loud the secret you tried to hide—our secret."
She paused, then added,
"All I'm trying to say is… Kavya always complains about her life and blames everything on her parents.
But that's not okay. You can't keep using pain as an excuse to hurt others."
Then, 10-year-old Shweta looked up with wide, searching eyes.
"So… what should I do now?" she asked quietly.
25-year-old Shweta took a deep breath.
"I know it's hard," she said gently,
"But trust me… stop talking to her.
As far as I remember, you've only known her for about a year.
If you stop saying sorry to her… if you just let her go—it won't hurt as much as you think."
10-year-old Shweta fell silent for a moment, fidgeting with her fingers.
Then she looked up again and asked,
"When you broke the friendship… how much did it hurt you?"
There was a pause.
25-year-old Shweta's eyes grew distant, as if she was sifting through a long-forgotten memory.
"I… I don't really remember exactly how much," she said, her voice soft and sad.
"But I do remember… I cried a lot.
She paused, her eyes growing moist.
"Because after ten years… we broke that friendship. And that… that was really heartbreaking."
10-year-old Shweta listened carefully to the pain in 25-year-old Shweta's voice and saw it in her eyes.
She understood it—truly felt it.
"Okay," she said softly,
"I won't talk to her anymore. And I won't write a single letter to her either."
25-year-old Shweta looked at her younger self and smiled gently.
"I'm not saying you should be alone," she said,
"I'm just saying… connect with more people. Don't make only one friend your whole world.
Be nice to everyone, so you'll never feel alone again."
10-year-old Shweta nodded slowly, her eyes wide with wonder.
She took a deep breath, feeling a spark of determination she hadn't felt before.
They stepped inside, the door closing behind them.
The world outside seemed a little less overwhelming now, and the light of the home they shared felt like a small promise of the future—a future where they would both keep walking, together.
They both came home, and soon 10-year-old Shweta and 25-year-old Shweta were sitting together, happily eating ice cream.
"So, how will you return to your universe, your home?" 10-year-old Shweta asked curiously,
**"Because at that bus stop, we didn't find anything."
25-year-old Shweta smiled at her and said softly,
"I'm not going to leave. I'm going to stay here because now… I have a reason to live here. And that reason is you."
In her mind, 25-year-old Shweta whispered to herself,
"God is actually great. Now I know why I'm here, why this universe is 15 years behind my own. I have a chance to change your future so you'll never feel this sadness again. I promise, I'll make your life happier."
At the same time, 10-year-old Shweta was dancing with joy. And 25-year-old Shweta was smiling too, feeling hopeful and happy for the first time in a long while.
"I remembered how much it hurt me. When you trust someone with all your heart and they break that trust, it shatters something inside you. After that, you stop believing in people. That's exactly what happened to me after that incident. I became that person—the one who trusts no one."
"I hated Kavya after that. Yes, I really hurt her… but that day, I understood something—your best friend always has another best friend. And in the end, you're just alone in that so-called friend circle."
"Yes, I left her. I hurt her. And honestly, it felt satisfying. That's the truth no one tells you—when someone hurts you, hurting them back… it gives you peace. If people already believe you're a bad person, then show them just how bad you can be."