Chapter 1 – A Familiar Name
Pune, India.
The afternoon sun hung lazily over the quiet residential neighborhood as the sounds of motorcycles and distant vendors echoed through the streets.
Inside a modest but lively house, Anshul Giri sat on the edge of his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"…Genovia."
The word echoed inside his mind like a hammer striking metal.
He slowly sat up.
"Genovia…?"
For a moment, he thought he had misheard.
But the television in the living room continued playing the same news report.
> "Today the small European nation of Genovia announced a diplomatic visit to the United States…"
The remote slipped from Anshul's hand and fell onto the bed.
His heart began to beat faster.
Genovia.
A small country.
Royal family.
A princess.
Memories from a completely different life suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Movies.
Stories.
Scenes.
A shy girl with messy hair.
A strict but elegant grandmother.
And the transformation of an ordinary girl into a princess.
Anshul slowly rubbed his temples.
"…No way."
But the more he thought about it, the more the pieces fit together.
Genovia.
San Francisco.
Princess Mia Thermopolis.
His breathing grew slightly uneven.
"This… this is the world of The Princess Diaries…"
A strange mixture of disbelief and excitement filled his chest.
Because this wasn't the first strange thing in his life.
Anshul had memories that no one else possessed.
Memories of a previous life.
In that life, he had been an ordinary man living in another world—one where movies like The Princess Diaries were nothing more than entertainment.
But in this life…
Those movies might actually be reality.
The sound of footsteps approached the room.
His mother pushed the door open slightly.
"Anshul, are you studying or daydreaming again?"
He quickly turned toward her.
"Just thinking."
She raised an eyebrow.
"You've been doing a lot of that lately."
Before he could reply, another voice echoed from the hallway.
"Dinner will be ready in ten minutes!"
That was his grandmother.
Anshul exhaled slowly.
This life had been peaceful so far.
He was born into a joint family in Pune.
His father and mother were both lawyers.
His grandparents lived with them.
It was noisy.
Sometimes chaotic.
But warm.
Very warm.
And yet… his mind kept returning to that one name.
Genovia.
If this world truly followed the timeline of The Princess Diaries, then somewhere across the ocean lived a girl named Mia Thermopolis who had no idea she was destined to become a princess.
Anshul stood up and walked to the window.
Outside, children were playing cricket in the narrow street while a group of elderly men chatted under a banyan tree.
Everything looked normal.
But the world might not be normal at all.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
"If this really is that world…"
Then the future suddenly became far more interesting.
Because Anshul remembered the entire story.
He knew what would happen to Mia.
He knew about Genovia.
He even knew roughly when the events would unfold.
Which meant something else.
He had time.
Time to prepare.
Time to grow stronger.
Time to build something extraordinary.
His eyes slowly narrowed with determination.
"San Francisco…"
If he wanted to confirm his theory, there was only one way.
He had to go there.
He had to see Mia Thermopolis with his own eyes.
And if fate really allowed it…
Perhaps he could even change the story itself.
Anshul picked up his notebook from the desk and began writing a list.
Study harder.
Apply to universities abroad.
Build skills.
Create opportunities.
His future was no longer ordinary.
Not in a world where Genovia existed.
And not in a life where he already knew the story of the future.
Outside, the evening breeze rustled the leaves of the trees as the city slowly prepared for night.
But inside Anshul's mind—
A completely different future had just begun to unfold.