The next morning, the house felt heavier. The sun struggled to break through the mist, and even the familiar scent of dust and jasmine couldn't warm the chill in Nira's bones.
Arian had stayed overnight—— reluctantly, but she hadn't asked him to leave. There was a tension in his presence, a quiet insistence that made her feel both safe and exposed at once.
"Sit down," he said, gesturing toward the worn armchair. His tone was firm but patient, like a teacher preparing for a difficult lesson.
Nira obeyed, though her hands shook slightly as she gripped the notebook." So….. who really are you?"
He exhaled. "Someone who wants to keep you alive."
She laughed bitterly," that's reassuring."
He didn't smile. Instead, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees." Your grandmother... Amira. She wasn't just a writer. She was part of a project—— something experimental, something she hoped you'd never had to know about."
Nora's pulse quickened,"Project?"
"Yes," he said, his eyes darkening."it was about predictive writing. About temporal influence. Amira believed that carefully written words— in the right notebook, at the right time—— could subtly adjust the course of events. People, situations, even choices."
Nira shook her head."that sounds….. impossible. Dangerous, why are you telling me this?"
"Because that notebook has chose you," Arian said."and once it chose, the consequences began. It's not just coincidence anymore—— lira, every word you read, every small action you take, has already started to ripple through your life."
Her stomach turned cold," you're saying…. I am living in some….. prediction?"
"No" he corrected gently."you're living in something more dangerous: a rewriting. The notebook doesn't just predict—— it adapts. It responds to you. And if you ignore it….. it decided for you."
Nira swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around the cover,"and my mother? Ananya? Was she involved?"
Arian's gaze flicked away, settling on the cracked windowpane."yes, she was the first. Before you were born, she tried to test it. She….. she almost lost herself in it."
A shiver ran down Nira's spine,"Lost herself?"
"She became trapped in the patterns. That'a why your grandmother left her warnings. That's why she trusted me to help you. You have to understand—— it isn't just a book. It's a guide, a trap, a mirror. And it's learning you."
The words pressed against her chest like stones. Nira's mind spun with images of her mother—— a women she'd loved and barely understood—— writing frantically, chasing something invisible, always just out of reach.
Arian reached for the notebook but stopped short of touching it,"you need to be careful. Don't follow the entries blindly. Each one will tempt you,each one will test you. And the stranger who comes in….the notebook says he'll warn you, but the notebook lies sometimes."
Nira stared at him,"then how do I know what's real?"
He hesitated, then said softly:
"You don't. That's the point. You feel it. You decide."
For the first time, Nira felt fear — real fear, the kind that made her stomach lurch and her hands go cold. But beneath it, there was something else: curiosity. The kind that had drawn her to her grandmother's attic, to the hidden boxes, to the letter that had started all this.
Her gaze fell to the notebook again. The cover seemed darker now, almost alive, pulsing faintly with possibility.
Arian stood, moving to the door. "I need to go. But I'll return. Keep it safe. And Nira… trust yourself more than the ink."
He paused in the doorway. "There are people who want the notebook — and not all of them are kind. One of them may already be close."
With that, he left.
The door clicked shut, leaving Nira alone with the notebook, the rising sun, and a chill that refused to leave.
Her eyes fell on the first blank page again.
It had changed overnight. Written in neat, blue ink — the same style she had seen before — was a single line:
"She will meet him tomorrow, but she will not believe him."
Nira's breath caught.
Tomorrow.
The notebook was no longer just a curiosity. It was a promise.
And a warning.