š„ CHAPTER 1: The Forgotten Arrival ā A New Beginning š„
The morning was unusually quiet.
A pale golden light spread slowly across the sky, filtered through soft clouds drifting without urgency. The air carried a faint chill, not cold enough to bother anyoneābut enough to make everything feelā¦ still.
Too still.
As if the world itself was pausingā
waiting.
At the center of that silence stood a small townāItarsi.
A place that rarely changed.
A place where days passed like pages of the same book.
But todayā¦
a new story was about to begin.
š The Boy Who Arrived Without a Past
The railway station of Itarsi was alive in its usual rhythmā
vendors shouting, "Chai! Garam chai!"
porters rushing with luggage,
families reuniting, travelers parting.
It was chaoticā¦ but ordinary.
And in that ordinariness stood a boyā
completely out of place.
Seventeen years old.
Simple white shirt. Dark trousers. A school bag slung over his shoulder.
Nothing about his appearance demanded attention.
But his presence did.
There was somethingā¦ off.
His eyesā
They weren't the eyes of a normal teenager.
They were calmā¦ unnaturally calm.
Like a deep ocean without waves.
No excitement.
No curiosity.
No fear.
Justā¦ emptiness.
His name was Jay.
A student transferred from Mumbai.
But even that fact felt incomplete.
Because if someone looked closelyā
really closelyā
they would realize something unsettling.
It wasn't just that Jay didn't belong hereā¦
It felt likeā
he didn't belong anywhere.
š¶āāļø A Silent Entry
Jay stepped out of the station and into the town.
The streets were smaller, quieter than Mumbai.
There were no towering buildingsājust shops, houses, and narrow roads filled with slow-moving life.
He walked without hesitation.
Not because he knew the placeā
but because he didn't need to.
His movements were precise.
Controlled.
As if direction didn't matter to him.
As if wherever he wentā¦
was exactly where he was meant to be.
š« Kendriya Vidyalaya, Itarsi
By late morning, Jay stood in front of his new school.
Kendriya Vidyalaya, Itarsi.
The gate was wide open.
Students walked in and out, laughing, talking, arguing.
It was lively.
Normal.
Jay stared at the name on the board for a few seconds.
Not with curiosityā
but with a strange kind of detachment.
Then he stepped forward.
The moment he crossed the gateā
a subtle shift passed through the air.
Not dramatic.
Not visible.
But real.
A faint stillness.
Like something unseen had just noticed him.
Acknowledged him.
And thenā
everything returned to normal.
Jay continued walking as if nothing had happened.
š« Class 11-B
The classroom was filled with noise.
Students talking in clusters.
Some laughing loudly, others scrolling through their phones.
The teacher stood near the board, trying to maintain order while explaining a topic.
Thenā
Knock.
The sound wasn't loud.
But it was enough.
The room fell silent.
All eyes turned toward the door.
Jay stood there.
Calm. Still. Unaffected by the sudden attention.
"Yes?" the teacher asked.
"Ma'amā¦ I'm the new student."
His voice was steady.
Not nervous. Not confident.
Justā¦ neutral.
The teacher's expression softened.
"Oh, you must be Jay. Come in."
Whispers spread instantly across the class.
"New studentā¦"
"From Mumbaiā¦"
"He looks seriousā¦"
Jay walked in.
Every step was quietā¦ yet somehow noticeable.
"Class," the teacher said, "this is Jay. He has transferred from Mumbai. Make him feel welcome."
A few students responded.
"Helloā¦"
"Hiā¦"
Jay gave a small nod.
That was all.
šŖ The Seat at the Back
"There's an empty seat at the back. You can sit there," the teacher said.
Jay walked toward the last row.
His gaze moved across the classroomā
not observing people, butā¦ measuring something unseen.
Then he sat down.
No reaction.
No adjustment.
Just stillness.
š„ Curiosity Meets Silence
It took less than a minute.
Three boys approached him, unable to resist their curiosity.
"Bro, Mumbai se?"
"Which school were you in?"
"You play cricket? Or games?"
Their energy was high. Friendly.
Jay looked at them one by one.
"ā¦Yes."
"ā¦Different school."
"ā¦No."
Short answers.
Flat tone.
The boys blinked.
"Uhā¦ okayā¦"
They exchanged awkward looks.
"He's kindaā¦ cold," one whispered.
But Jay had already stopped paying attention.
šø The Girl Beside Him
Next to Jay sat a girl.
Her name was Aarohi.
She was beautifulāundeniably so.
Long black hair rested over her shoulders.
Her features were soft, almost delicate.
But her eyesā¦
They carried something heavy.
Fear.
Not the loud kindā
but the quiet kind.
The kind that stays hiddenā¦
but never leaves.
She kept her gaze lowered, fingers lightly gripping her notebook.
As if she was trying to make herself invisible.
š The Cruelty Begins
From the back of the classroomā
a group of girls watched her.
Their expressions weren't friendly.
"Look at herā¦ sitting quietly again."
"Does she even talk?"
"Such an attitude for no reasonā¦"
One of them stood up and walked toward Aarohi.
Without askingā
she grabbed her notebook.
"What do you write in this all the time?"
Aarohi stiffened slightly.
But said nothing.
š„ Silence as Defense
"Hey, I'm talking to you," the girl snapped.
She flipped through the pages mockingly.
The other girls laughed.
"Maybe she writes fantasiesā¦"
"Or talks to herselfā¦"
A few students looked over.
But no one interfered.
Because thisā¦
was normal.
It happened often.
šļø The Change
Jay had been silent.
Watching.
Uninvolved.
But something shifted.
Not in his expressionā
but in his eyes.
They darkened.
Not visiblyā¦
but deeply.
Like a shadow had awakened behind them.
ā” The Invisible Pressure
The atmosphere changed.
Subtlyāyet unmistakably.
The air grew heavier.
The girl holding the notebook paused.
Her fingers trembled.
"ā¦Why do I feelā¦"
Her voice faltered.
A strange unease spread through her chest.
It felt likeā
she had done something wrong.
Something terribly wrong.
šØ Fear Without Reason
Her grip loosened.
The notebook slipped from her hands and fell back onto Aarohi's desk.
"Iā¦ I don't feel goodā¦"
She stepped back.
"Let's just goā¦"
The other girls didn't argue.
For onceā
they were quiet.
No one understood what had just happened.
But no one wanted to question it either.
šø A Different Kind of Look
Aarohi slowly lifted her head.
Her eyes moved toward Jay.
There was no fear in her gaze now.
Only confusion.
And something elseā¦
Something she couldn't explain.
Not recognition.
Not familiarity.
Butā¦
a strange sense of calm.
ā The Question
"Did youā¦ do something?" she asked softly.
Jay turned to look at her.
Their eyes met.
For a momentā
everything else faded.
He studied her faceā¦
not with emotionā
but with quiet attention.
Then he spoke.
"No."
Simple.
Direct.
š Something Beneath the Surface
But inside himā
something moved.
A faint disturbance.
Like ripples across still water.
For a brief secondā
his vision blurred.
And in that blurā
he saw fragments.
Darkness stretching endlessly.
A burning sky.
A presenceā¦ vast and overwhelming.
And thenā
nothing.
ā ļø Back to Reality
Jay blinked.
The images vanished instantly.
His breathing remained steady.
But his mindā¦
wasn't as empty as before.
"ā¦What was that?"
No answer came.
š©ļø The Sky Responds
The class resumed.
The teacher continued her lesson.
Students returned to their normal chatter.
Everything seemed unchanged.
But outsideā
the sky had darkened.
Clouds gathered slowly, covering the sun.
A low rumble of thunder echoed in the distance.
And somewhere far beyond human awarenessā
a presence stirred.
Watching.
Waiting.
šļø A Silent Beginning
Back inside the classroomā
Jay sat still.
Expressionless.
Unreadable.
Beside himā
Aarohi quietly held her notebook.
For the first timeā
no one bothered her.
And for reasons no one understoodā
no one dared to.
š„ TO Be Continue š„