Aarohi couldn't move.
The slip of paper trembled between her fingers as if it were alive, whispering cold air into her palm.
Her chest rose and fell in short, sharp breaths.
The walls of her room felt too close, too heavy, as though memories she never wanted were crawling out of them.
"You're not the only one who remembers."
Those words replayed again and again in her head.
Her throat tightened.
Her vision blurred.
Someone knew.
Someone remembered Aara — the broken girl from the other life.
Someone had followed her across lifetimes.
Her knees weakened, and she sank onto the floor, her back pressed against the bed frame.
"No… no, this can't be real…" she whispered, shaking her head violently.
Her new life was supposed to be different.
Gentle.
Warm.
Safe.
But this message…
this was the same coldness she had run from.
The same fear she had buried.
The same darkness she thought death had erased.
Aarohi clutched her own arms tightly, trying to keep herself from falling apart. Her body rocked back and forth on instinct—a movement Aara used to do whenever she cried alone in her first life, sitting in the corner of her room where no one heard her.
Her breathing grew harsher.
"Aarohi?"
The soft voice from outside her door made her flinch violently.
It was her mother.
Aarohi stood quickly, hiding the note behind her back as the door gently opened.
Her mother peeked in, eyes warm, unaware of the storm inside the room.
"Sweetheart, why are you awake?" she asked softly. "Bad dream?"
Aarohi froze.
If she showed the note, what would she say?
That someone from her past life was following her?
That she wasn't who they thought she was?
That she wasn't their daughter at all?
No.
She couldn't.
Not yet.
She forced a smile—small, fragile, cracking at the edges.
"No, I'm just… not sleepy," she whispered.
Her mother's gaze lingered, sensing the lie but not pushing. She stepped into the room and brushed Aarohi's hair gently behind her ear, the way mothers do when they want to comfort without words.
"You're safe here," she murmured, kissing her forehead.
The words nearly broke Aarohi.
Safe.
How could she be safe when her past life had found her?
Her mother left, the door closing softly behind her.
Silence wrapped around Aarohi again.
She sank onto the bed, hands trembling uncontrollably now. The paper burned like ice in her fingers. Her heartbeat felt too loud, too fast.
She whispered into the darkness:
"Who are you…?"
But the night answered her only with silence.
---
The next morning, the world looked normal.
Sunny.
Bright.
Cheerful.
But Aarohi felt hollow.
Her legs felt heavy when she walked.
Her fingers shook when she held her toothbrush.
Her mind replayed the sentence endlessly.
Her father noticed instantly as she sat at the breakfast table.
"Aarohi? You look pale."
Her mother touched her forehead. "Are you sick?"
Aarohi shook her head weakly. "I'm okay. Just didn't sleep."
Arin stared at her more intensely than anyone else.
He leaned close, speaking under his breath. "Is it about yesterday?"
Aarohi froze.
Yesterday—
the figure at the gate.
The thread.
The fear on her face.
Arin watched her carefully.
"Tell me," he whispered. "I'm not stupid. Something's wrong."
Her throat tightened. "Arin… I don't know how to explain it."
He grabbed her hand under the table, squeezing gently.
"Then explain it badly," he said softly. "I'll still understand."
Her heart cracked at the honesty in his eyes.
But… how could she tell him something even she couldn't understand?
She pulled her hand away slowly. "I… I'm fine."
Arin's jaw tightened. He knew she was lying, but he didn't push.
That was worse.
It showed he cared.
And she didn't know how to deal with care.
---
At school, every sound felt louder.
Every shadow felt darker.
Every stranger's face felt dangerous.
Even when Mia pulled her to sit under the banyan tree, Aarohi couldn't focus.
The laughter around her became echoes.
The warmth felt distant.
"Look! I got new stickers!" Mia proudly held up glittery sheets.
Aarohi nodded blankly.
"Aarohi? Are you okay?" Mia frowned, placing a tiny hand on Aarohi's arm.
Aarohi blinked.
Mia's concern—so pure, so innocent—hurt more than anything.
"I'm okay," Aarohi whispered.
But her voice broke halfway.
A breeze rustled the leaves above them.
Something small fluttered down at her feet.
Aarohi's heart stopped.
Another tiny thread.
Blue this time.
Her breath hitched.
Her vision blurred.
Her hands trembled violently.
Her bracelet was being torn apart piece by piece.
By someone.
On purpose.
Her past life wasn't knocking anymore.
It was entering.
She stood abruptly.
Mia flinched. "A-Aarohi?"
Aarohi couldn't speak.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't stay still.
She ran.
Across the playground.
Across the hall.
Into the bathroom.
The door slammed shut behind her.
She leaned against the sink, chest heaving, tears falling uncontrollably.
Why?
Why couldn't she have one life where she was free?
Why couldn't she escape the people who broke her?
Why couldn't she heal without fear following her like a shadow?
She looked into the mirror.
Her reflection stared back at her—
Aarohi's face.
Aara's pain.
Two lives bleeding into one.
She whispered desperately:
"What do you want from me? Why won't you leave me alone?"
And then—
A knock.
Soft.
From outside the bathroom door.
Aarohi's stomach twisted.
"Aarohi?"
Arin's voice.
She exhaled shakily.
She opened the door slowly.
Arin stood there, face pale, eyes full of fear he was trying to hide.
"What's happening?" he whispered. "I saw you run. I saw your face. Talk to me."
Aarohi looked up at him.
And for the first time since her reincarnation—
she didn't feel alone.
She broke.
Tears burst down her cheeks.
Her body collapsed forward.
Arin caught her instantly, arms wrapping around her protectively.
"Hey… hey… I'm right here," he whispered, pulling her tightly against his chest. "I've got you. I'm not going anywhere."
Aarohi's sobs shook her entire body.
Arin held her tighter, voice trembling.
"Who is hurting you?" he whispered into her hair. "Tell me. Tell me, Aarohi. I'll protect you."
Aarohi cried harder, gripping his shirt.
Because she didn't know the answer.
Someone from her past life…
Someone she didn't remember…
Someone who remembered her…
And someone who had already begun breaking her new world.
She whispered through tears:
"Someone followed me."
Arin's entire body stiffened.
His voice dropped, heavy, serious, protective—
"Then I'll find him."
Aarohi inhaled sharply.
Because something inside her knew…
This was only the beginning.
---