Aarav had always believed that life was predictable. He had a routine: wake up, attend classes, go to work, come home, scroll through his phone, and sleep. The monotony comforted him. Nothing unexpected ever happened. Or at least, that's what he thought.
It was a quiet Thursday morning when he noticed something strange in his mailbox. Among the usual flyers and bills, there was an envelope with no return address, and the handwriting was delicate, almost ethereal.
Curiosity pricked him. He tore it open carefully.
Inside, a single piece of paper read:
"Aarav, I know this will sound impossible, but I am writing to you from the year 2012. I am Riya. You have yet to meet me, but you will. Trust me when I say… we are connected in ways you cannot imagine. Read carefully."
Aarav laughed nervously, brushing it off as some kind of prank. But the letter continued:
"Do not ignore this. Your life and mine depend on your choices. Please, answer."
His hands trembled slightly. He was alone in his apartment, yet the air suddenly felt heavier. Goosebumps ran down his arms.
"A letter from the past? Yeah, right," he muttered, but something inside him insisted he read it again.
The letter ended with a date: August 12, 2012.
Aarav checked the envelope. The postmark confirmed it wasn't recent. It was old. Ancient, almost. How had it gotten to him now?
He shook his head. "This is impossible."
Yet a strange sense of anticipation took hold. His heart quickened, a pull he couldn't explain. Something told him that ignoring the letter wasn't an option.
By nightfall, he found himself writing a response on a blank sheet of paper. He hesitated, unsure if this was sane, but he wrote anyway:
"Riya, if this is real, I will find a way to understand. Tell me more."
He left the letter on his desk and went to sleep, not knowing that the world was about to shift beneath his feet.