New Character Introduction
Vajji - Age: Late 26s
Vajji's Wife (Uttara) - Age: Mid-25s
Child Vajji - Age: 6 (in memories/dreams)
The Old Man - Age: Unknown
In a world stitched between memories and myth, one man's nightmare echoes with the call of something ancient.
In the silence of fog and fire, his soul begins to awaken...
The fog was thick, alive—curling around his legs, swirling with unnatural grace.
Vajji stood alone in the endless white, heart pounding. Silence reigned. A silence that watched him.
"Where... where am I?" he muttered, barely audible over his own breath.
Each step forward deepened the mist, which wrapped around him like a cocoon. The whispers began faintly—like a memory scratching against the back of his skull.
"Is this... a dream?"
No answer.
Then came the wind.
Two silhouettes emerged.
A woman and a child. Vague. Shadowed. Yet, something in Vajji's chest twisted with recognition.
"Is that... me?" he whispered.
The child's voice drifted from the mist.
"Mother, what happens when a person dies?"
The woman responded gently.
"Our souls go to the moon... to live happily there."
The child laughed brightly.
"Really? One day, I'll die too... to go to the moon... and be happy!"
The woman's tone shifted, wary.
"hey... who told you this?"
"I just... thought of it... on my own."
She knelt beside him.
"Enough now. It's time for dinner."
"Hmmm, food! Let's go!"
"hey.. Wait for me!"
And they were gone—fading into the fog like vanishing stars.
"Mother... mother... are you there? Please..."
No reply.
The mist grew colder.
Then came him—a hunched silhouette. A presence that made Vajji's skin crawl.
"Who... who is that?"
The figure turned slowly.
A twisted grin. Glowing eyes. The world cracked and warped.
"Did you miss me, you old brat?" the old man rasped.
"I've come to take what's mine... just a little piece of me that's still inside you."
Fire. Lightning. A broken world.
Vajji screamed.
"No! Stop! Please!"
But the nightmare swallowed him whole.
He jolted awake, breath ragged.
His hut. His wife and child slept peacefully nearby. Morning sunlight glowed through the walls. But his heart refused to believe in peace.
He drank water, his hand trembling.
"It was just a dream... just a dream..."
But he could still hear the whispers.
Outside, the earth felt dead.
He wandered to the barren field, where no birds sang. Kneeling in the dirt, his heart finally broke.
"It's all my fault... I'm the one who should've died. Why am I still here...?"
The silence gave no answer.
Only the weight of his own voice.
Then, warmth.
A hand—gentle, firm—rested on his shoulder.
She stood behind him, her face bathed in the early light. Her voice was calm.
"It's not your fault. It's just the way things are."
"We've been through so much already. But we have to move forward... for our family."
He looked at her, the storm in his heart still raging, but softened by her strength.
"Come," she said. "Let's go home."
They walked into the dawn...