The dream returned.
But it was wrong.
Devendra stood at the entrance of the village he knew too well—the same narrow road, the same cracked stones, the same houses leaning inward as if listening.
Yet something was missing.
The air was still. Too still.
No laughter. No footsteps. No breath behind his neck.
And no her.
The village was completely empty.
Doors hung open, frozen mid-creak. Windows stared back like blind eyes. Even the wind refused to move.
Devendra walked forward cautiously.
"Hello?" he called out.
His voice echoed—once, twice—then died.
Normally, this was where she appeared.
Behind him. Above him. Inside his head.
But this time… nothing.
He searched.
Every alley. Every house. The dry well near the banyan tree. The narrow path that always led him back to her no matter where he ran.
Nothing.
His chest tightened.
She's not here.
The realization didn't bring relief.
It brought panic.
"Why am I looking for you?" he muttered to himself.
His footsteps grew faster.
"You hurt me," he said, louder now. "You broke me. You kept me here for years."
The empty houses said nothing.
Devendra stopped in the middle of the village square.
His hands clenched into fists.
"Then why," he whispered, voice shaking,
"why does my heart feel like something is missing?"
The silence pressed in on him.
He remembered her laughter.
Not clearly—just fragments. A sound without a face.
"She killed me again and again," he said, as if convincing himself.
"So why am I thinking about you now?"
His heartbeat grew uneven. Too fast. Too loud.
"I'm getting better," he said. "I'm trying to live."
The sky above the village darkened slightly—not stormy, not violent—just heavier.
Devendra looked up.
For a moment, he thought he heard something.
Not a voice.
Not a laugh.
Just the faintest sensation—
like being observed from very far away.
His breath caught.
"Don't," he said softly. "If you're gone… stay gone."
The village remained empty.
But the unease stayed with him.
When Devendra finally woke up, his pillow was damp with sweat. His heart still raced, as if the dream had followed him back.
She hadn't appeared.
And somehow—
That scared him more than when she did.
Author Note
Hey everyone,
I'm really sorry for the delay.
You probably don't know this, but I was in India, in Delhi, and after coming back I felt extremely drained. Not just tired—that heavy kind of laziness where even writing feels impossible.
On top of that, my dad is at home these days, and he keeps calling me for small things every one or two hours. I don't blame him, but yeah… it's been messing with my focus and my mood a lot. My patience is honestly running low.
And as if that wasn't enough—
the local internet here is completely gone. Dead.
This mobile data I'm using right now will probably run out in an hour or two as well.
So if the updates feel slow or irregular, please forgive me.
I'm not running away from the story.
I just need a little time to get my rhythm back.
Thank you for staying with the story and with me.
Your support genuinely matters.
— Author