The week passed in fragments.Photoshoots, phone calls, the usual noise of her life — yet Aarohi moved through it all like she wasn't really there.
Every night, she dreamed the same field.Every morning, she woke with rain in her hair.
It was becoming harder to tell which one was real — the dream or the daylight.
That Evening
The city was drenched in crimson light. The sun had set, but the moon had risen earlier than usual — glowing faintly red through the clouds.Aarohi stood by her window, staring at it, feeling a strange pressure in her chest — like her heartbeat wasn't her own.
Her phone vibrated again.Unknown Number.A single message.
"Look outside."
She hesitated. Her fingers trembled. But she did.
Across the street, under the same flickering streetlight — he stood there.
Tall. Still. Watching her.
Aarohi's breath caught.The world seemed to still around her — the hum of traffic, the rain, even the ticking of the clock.
He raised his hand slightly. Not to wave — but to call her.
And before she could stop herself, she was already out the door.
The Encounter
The closer she walked, the colder the air became.And yet, she didn't stop.
When she reached him, he was exactly as she remembered — the same face from her dreams, the same impossible eyes.
For a long moment, they just stared at each other.
Then he spoke.
"You came."
Aarohi's voice was a whisper. "You're real."
"I always was. You just forget."
Her hands clenched. "Who are you, really?"
He looked up at the blood-tinted moon. "Once, I was your promise. Now, I'm your punishment."
The words sent a chill through her."What does that even mean?"
He stepped closer. The distance between them was barely a breath now.
"It means we've done this before. Too many times."
"Done what?"
"Met. Fallen. Lost. Died."
His voice broke on the last word.Aarohi took a step back. "You're crazy."
He smiled faintly. "Maybe. But you'll remember soon enough."
The Awakening
Aarohi's head throbbed suddenly. Images flashed — fire, an old temple, her own face in another lifetime. A voice screaming her name.
She gasped, clutching her head."What… what is this?"
He caught her before she could fall. His touch burned — not painful, but electric, like something ancient recognized her.
"Your soul remembers faster than your mind," he murmured. "But if it remembers too fast… it could kill you."
Tears filled her eyes. "Why me?"
"Because you're not supposed to exist anymore."
She looked up at him — and for a heartbeat, her fear vanished.There was something in those black eyes. Sadness. Longing. Love buried under lifetimes of loss.
The moonlight turned darker.He released her gently.
"The red moon has started the cycle again. Stay alive this time, Aarohi. I'll find you before they do."
"They? Who are they?"
But he was already fading, the air bending around him like smoke.
"Your memories will lead them here. Don't trust the light."
Then — he was gone.
Aarohi collapsed on the wet pavement, gasping, staring at the crimson moon above.
And far away, thunder rolled — deep, slow, like something ancient had just awakened.