Two days had passed since Piyush entered the world of Ishaan Verma.
And the world hadn't questioned it once.
His school life continued in eerie silence. Teachers looked at him like they were walking on glass. Students spoke carefully or not at all. At home, Ishaan's father barely said a word. The house remained a museum of control—polished, cold, and unlived in.
But something had changed.
Piyush had stopped looking into mirrors.
Because every time he did, he saw a lie staring back.
---
Meanwhile...
In a government hospital on the other side of the city, a nurse was making her final rounds.
The trauma ward was quiet—just the distant beeping of machines and the slow hum of the air conditioner.
She stepped into Bed 19, where a boy lay motionless.
Wires taped to his chest.
A breathing mask on his mouth.
Eyes shut, skin pale, lips slightly cracked.
> Name: Unknown Male
Found unconscious behind St. Gabriel's Auditorium
No ID. No family contact. Estimated age: 17. Case pending.
"Poor thing," she whispered, adjusting the IV. "No one's come for you."
But as she turned to leave, she paused.
For just a second—just a flicker—she thought she saw his fingers twitch.
She looked again.
Nothing.
She shook her head, made a note on her clipboard, and left the room.
But had she stayed a moment longer, she would've seen it.
The boy's fingers moved again.
Slightly.
Deliberately.
Almost like he was trying to wake up.
---
Back at Ishaan's house, Piyush sat on the rooftop, legs crossed, staring out at the city lights.
The sky was polluted, barely showing stars, but he didn't care.
His mind had been restless all day. Something about today felt wrong—off-balance. Like someone had entered a room he thought was locked.
And then, it happened.
A sudden jolt in his chest.
Sharp. Cold.
Like static running through his bones.
He gasped, clutching his shirt.
> What the hell was that?
For a moment, he couldn't move.
His vision blurred, his breath turned shallow, and in the back of his mind—he swore he saw something.
A hospital bed.
A hand twitching.
His hand.
> My body…
> It's still alive.
> And it's waking up.
---
Piyush stumbled to his feet, heart pounding.
This wasn't over.
He had thought he was alone in this secret. That no one knew he was borrowing a life that didn't belong to him.
But now?
Now, the real question came crashing in:
> What happens when both lives wake up?
---
To be continued…