Vedanshi and her friends were inside the museum. Just as Vedanshi reached out to touch a sculpture, a voice echoed in her ears. She immediately turned around, and what she saw left her stunned. At that moment, she couldn't believe her eyes. A soft whisper escaped her lips—"Ved." She stood frozen, as if she had stopped breathing, completely lost in the face before her.
Standing in front of her was a man, around 31 years old. Fair-skinned, with slightly pink lips, and thick, neatly styled black hair. He wore a black T-shirt paired with blue jeans. On one wrist was an expensive black watch, and on the other, a silver bracelet. Around his neck hung a silver chain. At that moment, he looked nothing short of a movie star. Judging his age was difficult—he looked like a 22-year-old college student. But his demeanor clearly suggested he held a significant position.
Vedanshi stood there, breathless, staring at him. The man turned and narrowed his eyes as he noticed her gaze fixed on him.
Suddenly, he asked, "What are you doing here alone?"
"Sir, she's with us," Sagar said, walking up from behind. "We came here looking for you," he added.
"Sir!" Vedanshi said in surprise.
"Yes, Vedanshi, this is Professor Nayan," Sagar said, glancing at Vedanshi, Akshay, and Nikhil.
"Oh! Hello, Sagar! How are you?" the man said as soon as he saw Sagar.
"Good morning, sir," Sagar replied, and the man nodded. Akshay and Nikhil also greeted him with a "Good morning, sir." That's when Vedanshi snapped out of her daze. She glanced at her three friends, then looked back at Professor Nayan.
"Vedanshi, you didn't greet sir," Sagar nudged. Flustered, Vedanshi stammered, "S... Sir... Good morning."
Nayan turned to her and said, "Oh, so you're an archaeology student too. I think there's only one girl in your class."
"No sir, there's one more. I saw her during the entrance exam," Akshay said. Nayan nodded, "Okay."
Meanwhile, Sagar and Nikhil had started whispering among themselves. Nayan said, "Come on, let's head to the classroom and meet the other teachers. You can visit the museum anytime now.
Also, on the third floor, there's a mini library for our department. You don't need a pass to access it. You can study there or even borrow books. But before taking any book home, you'll need a professor's signature—or even just informing one of us will be enough." Nayan explained, and everyone nodded—except Vedanshi, who was still staring at him.
"Let's head to class now," Nayan said, and everyone began walking, but Vedanshi was still standing there, lost in her own thoughts. Nayan glanced back and asked, "What's wrong? Planning to stay here?" His words snapped Vedanshi out of her daze. Her friends also turned around.
"Huh? What?" Vedanshi mumbled.
Nayan raised his eyebrows and looked at her.
Startled, Vedanshi quickly walked ahead of Nayan. He shook his head slightly and followed behind the group.
Once, Vedanshi had written an article on the art and culture of Nagot that went viral on social media. The piece was widely appreciated, and she had solved a historical puzzle in it. As a result, she received offers from several archaeology colleges. Many professors from the field had messaged her—including Nayan. He had praised her article and later sent her several personal messages. At that time, Vedanshi was going through a difficult phase and was emotionally shattered. She had written the article to distract herself, and it unexpectedly gained popularity.
Nayan's messages were deeply motivating, and they were the reason she was here today. After receiving his messages, Vedanshi had checked Nayan's entire profile. For some reason, she had fixated on his face. Eventually, they began chatting almost daily through messages. Nayan was incredibly supportive and constantly encouraged her. This had been going on for about a year. Since then, Vedanshi had set her goal. Although she never uploaded a photo to her profile and was rarely active on social media, she would log in whenever she felt low. Nayan was the only reason she now opened her profile daily.
Vedanshi knew Nayan wouldn't recognize her—after all, she had no photo on her profile. But she never imagined she'd meet him here.
"You all meet Professor Dhyani first, and then come to my office. I need to discuss something important with you," Nayan said, snapping Vedanshi out of her thoughts. She hadn't even realized when they left the museum and reached the department.
Vedanshi looked around at her friends, and her eyes met Nayan's—he was staring directly at her. She quickly looked away, and Nayan smiled before heading toward his office.
Now the group stood outside Professor Dhyani's office.
"Hey, I've heard Professor Dhyani is really strict," Sagar said.
"Well, you didn't come here for a party. This is college, my friend, and he's a professor. One of the oldest here—only two years left until his retirement," Vedanshi chimed in from behind.
"How do you know? You're new here too," Nikhil asked.
"I just know about him—he's been here a long time," Vedanshi replied. "Come on, let's go in and see for ourselves," she added, and they all entered the office.
Inside sat a man around 60 years old, with thick, prominent mustaches. Yet he looked younger than 50. He wore reading glasses perched on his nose.
As soon as Vedanshi and her friends knocked on the door, the professor called them in. He adjusted his glasses on his nose, looked up, and said in a deep voice, "College started a month ago, and you're showing up now? From tomorrow, attend classes regularly. Not a single class should be missed, or the college gate is always open—you can leave anytime. Got it?" Vedanshi and her friends nodded in agreement.
The moment they stepped outside, everyone felt a sense of relief. "Whoa, sir dropped a bomb the moment we entered," Nikhil said.
"Well, it's our fault too. We really are late," Vedanshi admitted.
"Forget it now, didn't Nayan sir call us in?" Akshay reminded.
"Oh yeah! It's our first day—we should be relaxing," Nikhil said, and the other boys agreed with him.
Vedanshi chimed in, "You guys are already set on ruining everything. The semester starts next month and we haven't even seen the books yet."
They continued walking, arguing playfully. Vedanshi was leading the group. Their debate was in full swing when suddenly there was a collision. Vedanshi stumbled and was about to fall when a hand caught her by the waist and pulled her upright in one swift motion. Her eyes were tightly shut. Nayan, smiling, gently touched her nose with his finger and said, "You're fine, you didn't fall."
Hearing Nayan's voice, Vedanshi immediately opened her eyes and stood straight.
Then Nayan said in a serious tone, "Where have you all been? I had a meeting to attend. You're late. Now hurry to class—I'll explain the semester's material." With that, he walked into his office.
The four of them followed him inside. "Wow, even here there are research tools! This is amazing! It's going to be fun now!" Vedanshi said excitedly.
Sagar shook his head and whispered in Vedanshi's ear, "Ever since you arrived, you haven't talked about anything except studies."
Nayan, overhearing their conversation, smiled to himself. He explained the entire syllabus to them and then left the room. Meanwhile, Vedanshi and her friends began exploring the lab.
Akshay picked up a skull and tried to scare Vedanshi from behind. She shouted, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Then you guys can do research on my skull!"
Sagar chimed in, "Everything's fine, but what's this oven doing here?"
"Maybe the professors heat up samosas in it," Nikhil said, scratching his head.
Vedanshi and Akshay facepalmed. "You fool, it's for research!" Vedanshi said.
She started explaining the oven's purpose to Sagar, but Akshay interrupted, "No use explaining—he'll always be a fool." Sagar made a face, and Vedanshi and Akshay high-fived.
"We're going to get along well," Akshay said.
"Because we're geniuses," Vedanshi added, and Sagar and Nikhil turned their faces away.
"Come on, Nikhil, they've formed their duo. Now it's just us two—and those two from Bangalore. We'll get them on our side," Sagar said.
"Exactly, bro," Nikhil replied, and they high-fived too. Vedanshi tossed her hair playfully.
Nikhil and Sagar then started play-fighting with some Stone Age tools lying nearby.
By 4 PM, Vedanshi reached her room. She collapsed onto the bed. "I'm so exhausted. Let me rest a bit before heading to work," she thought to herself.
Actually, Vedanshi worked part-time at a restaurant. She had to manage all her expenses on her own.
What made this restaurant special was that its entire staff was female. No men worked there—not even for cleaning, serving, or cooking. That's one of the reasons Vedanshi liked the place so much.
Another beautiful aspect of the restaurant was its location—it was built on a hilltop, offering a panoramic view of the entire Nagot city. That was the charm of Nagot. Because of the college, many restaurants operated in the area, but this one was the most famous. From here, one could admire the city's beauty, especially at night. The city was built along the banks of the grand Beshakhi River and surrounded by hills on all sides. Peace and serenity were woven into its very essence.
The restaurant staff lived like a family. Though Vedanshi was new, she had already bonded well with everyone.
The owner of the restaurant was a kind-hearted woman around 45 years old. She had a great rapport with all the girls. The staff consisted of about ten women, all locals—except Vedanshi. She had only been there for a week, but the owner treated her like a daughter. The owner had no family of her own; she had left everything behind and started this restaurant about 15 years ago. Since then, she had lived alone in the city. Her bond with Vedanshi had grown strong.
Vedanshi arrived at the restaurant and got straight to work. It was a pure vegetarian restaurant, yet it was always bustling with customers.
As Vedanshi began working, the owner—Maria, a Christian woman—called her over. Despite her faith, Maria was a devoted follower of Goddess Durga, just like Vedanshi.
Maria said, "Vedanshi, why don't you shift here? There's a vacant room, and the college is nearby. It'll be easier for you to commute, and I'll have some company too." Vedanshi thought for a moment and quickly agreed. Her landlord had already made her life miserable in just one week.
Feeling relieved, she happily resumed her work. Just then, a voice called out from behind, "We thought you spent all your time studying. So you're enjoying yourself here too?"
Vedanshi didn't turn around—she already knew whose voice it was. Smiling, she replied, "Oh hey, you rascal! No peace even at night! Who are you here on a date with?"
From behind Sagar, another voice responded, "Me."
Vedanshi burst out laughing, and so did Sagar and Nikhil.
"So sir, what would you like to order?" Vedanshi asked playfully.
Nikhil raised an eyebrow.
Vedanshi said, "Hey! I work here."
"Oh, nice," said Sagar.
"But what are you guys doing here?" asked Vedanshi.
"Nikhil bhai just arrived today, so I brought him here to show him the restaurant," said Sagar.
"Well, I must admit, this restaurant is really beautiful. The best part is that it's built on this hill. The city view from here is stunning. And the river—it's even more beautiful. What a view, man. This is so wonderful, wow. I've never seen anything like this before," said Nikhil.
"Enough talking. Let's eat and get going, or tomorrow Dhyani sir will definitely cook us in this restaurant's stove," said Sagar.
"And Vedanshi will turn us into human biryani and serve us to the guests," joked Nikhil.
"No, this is a vegetarian restaurant," Vedanshi said from behind. "Your order, Mr. Nikhil," she added, making a face.