Nov 21–Dec 10, 2016
"The River Within"
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Scene One – A New Arrival
The estate was quiet that late November morning, dew glistening on the grass, sunlight filtering weakly through the pines. Workers moved discreetly around the grounds — gardeners tending orchards, engineers running diagnostics in underground labs.
MC stood on the balcony of his study, sipping tea, when Aarya's soft voice chimed in his ear.
> Aarya: "Sir, the new researcher has arrived. She is waiting in the west greenhouse."
He nodded, already knowing who it was. Ananya Sharma.
She had been recommended through a professor at IIT Roorkee — brilliant in water resource engineering, passionate about India's rivers, and, to his mild surprise, the same woman he'd noticed during the alumni lecture weeks earlier.
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Scene Two – First Meeting at the Greenhouse
The west greenhouse was alive with color: bougainvillea crawling up steel frames, orchids blooming out of season, the soft hum of hydroponic pumps in the background.
Ananya stood there, notebook in hand, wide-eyed at the surreal environment.
> Ananya (softly, almost to herself): "These plants… they shouldn't even bloom in this climate."
MC stepped inside, his footsteps muffled by the moss-covered floor.
> MC: "Sometimes, nature only needs the right push. Welcome, Ananya."
She turned, a little startled, then smiled politely. There was a quiet curiosity in her gaze — she seemed to sense the depth behind his calm exterior.
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Scene Three – The River Project
They moved to a table where a 3D holographic projection of the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin shimmered in midair, rivers flowing in blue light.
> MC: "India's greatest strength — and greatest weakness — is water. Floods in one region, droughts in another. What if we could balance it, store it, and channel it without destroying ecosystems?"
Ananya leaned closer, fascinated. She began pointing out tributaries, nodal points, and historical data.
> Ananya: "If you can integrate tunnels with underground reservoirs, you could regulate entire river systems. But… the cost, the scale—"
> MC (smiling faintly): "That's what everyone says. Until they see what's possible."
Her brow furrowed, intrigued. She scribbled notes, her academic instincts kicking in. But inwardly, a thought echoed in her mind:
> "Who exactly is this man? He speaks not like an engineer… but like someone who already knows the future."
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Scene Four – A Side POV: His Mother
From a distance, MC's mother watched them through the greenhouse's glass wall. She saw the way her son's normally reserved expression softened when Ananya spoke, how he listened instead of commanding.
Later that evening, as she set plates for dinner, she told her husband with a gentle smile:
> Mother: "Have you noticed? Our son… he smiles more often these days. That girl — Ananya — I think she brings light into this house."
Her husband chuckled, shaking his head.
> Father: "Maybe. But he's always been different. Even now, I can't read his eyes."
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Scene Five – Quiet Conversations
Over the next days, Ananya became a regular presence. They would walk along the orchard paths, debating water diversion models.
One afternoon, standing beside a small artificial pond that reflected the pine trees, their conversation turned unexpectedly personal.
> Ananya: "You work like a man racing against time. Like you know something the rest of us don't."
MC looked at the water, watching ripples spread. His voice was low, careful.
> MC: "Time is the one resource we can't manufacture. I've already wasted too much of it. Now… I only want to make sure this country doesn't."
For a moment, silence hung between them. Ananya studied him, sensing layers she couldn't unravel, and yet… something in her heart stirred.
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Scene Six – The Diary of Ananya
That night, back in her quarters, Ananya opened her diary and wrote:
> "Today I saw something extraordinary. Not the machines or the technology — but in him. He carries a weight I can't understand, as though he's lived this all before. And yet, in small moments — a laugh, a half-smile — I see the human beneath the mystery. I don't know why, but I want to see more of that side."
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Scene Seven – Closing
In his underground control center, MC reviewed data from tunnel networks, semiconductor labs, and Saraswati servers. Yet his thoughts wandered — not to politics, not to tech — but to the greenhouse, where Ananya's voice still echoed in his mind.
For the first time since his rebirth, empire-building did not feel like his only mission. There was something more fragile, more human, pulling at him.
> MC (thinking): "Tunnels can shape land. Chips can shape destiny. But people… people shape the soul."
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