1. The Circle Awaits
The sky above Nidhivan turned pale blue — neither night, nor day.
The forbidden hour had arrived.
The moment after the Raas,
but before the world remembers itself.
Aarohi and Ishaan stood hand-in-hand in the grove.
The wind had stopped.
The bansuri was silent.
And yet… their hearts beat in rhythm.
The circle of dancers appeared — not physically — but in presence.
Vrinda stood at the center.
Tears in her eyes.
"Thank you for coming back," she said.
2. The Final Choice
Aarohi looked at Ishaan.
"If we step in…
We become part of it.
The cycle continues. We live through yugs."
Ishaan:
"If we walk away…
The world remains what it is.
Rational. Safe. But something holy dies again."
Vrinda placed her hand on their joined palms.
"You don't have to choose between this and that," she whispered.
"You can become something new."
"Something this world has never seen."
The air shimmered.
A figure appeared.
Not Krishna.
Not the Imitator.
But Time itself.
A being made of stars and silence.
It raised its hand.
"Will you stay?" it asked.
"Or will you carry the Raas into the world?"
3. The Dance Begins Again
Aarohi stepped forward.
Then turned.
And pulled Ishaan in.
They danced.
Not with steps. But with memory.
With belief.
With everything they were — and weren't — in every past life.
And then…
The bansuri played.
By itself.
And the circle of shadows began to spin once more.
Vrinda smiled.
Her soul shimmered into the leaves.
Free.
The Imitator tried to rise — but this time, it had no place to enter.
No break.
No shadow.
Only love.
And the Raas continued.
Not in secret.
But in memory, in rhythm, in story.
In the sound of footsteps…
In the spaces between breath…
And in a book titled:
"Nidhivan: The Forbidden Hour."
4. Years Later…
A child runs through the courtyard, laughing.
She holds a peacock feather and hums a melody she says,
"came in her dream."
Her parents smile.
One is a scientist.
The other… a storyteller.
Both carry tulsi leaves in their wallets.
And when the clock strikes that silent hour —
The bansuri plays again.
Not in Vrindavan.
But everywhere.