The Lost past

Ahana's breath hitched as she sat on the edge of the bed, knees pulled close to her chest. The dream still lingered, wrapping around her like an unseen force. The screeching tires. The deafening gunshot. The clinking sound of chains. And that girl… that girl in red.

She looked up, startled, as Aksh stepped closer, his expression unreadable.

"You saw it again, didn't you?" His voice was low, almost a whisper, but it carried weight

Ahana stood frozen, her heart hammering in her chest as she processed his words. The silence between them felt suffocating, the weight of the revelation settling over her like a storm. "You... you have the same nightmare?" Her voice trembled, disbelief and confusion clouding her thoughts. The pieces didn't align. How could he, of all people, share the same haunting vision she had for so long? She had never told anyone about it, the red dress, the car crash, the gunshot, the chains. It felt like a dark, endless mystery that only she carried. But now, standing in front of him, the same words echoed in her mind.

Aksh's gaze softened, though the intensity of his stare never wavered. He stepped closer, the air between them thick with unspoken words. "Yes, Little Flower," he replied, his voice low but steady, as though he had been carrying this secret for longer than she knew. "For as long as I can remember, it's haunted me. And when I met you, when I saw you, everything about that nightmare felt... familiar."

Aksh exhaled sharply, his jaw tightening. His sharp gaze locked onto her, as if trying to find something hidden beneath her innocent confusion. "It's not a coincidence," he murmured. "You are the only other person who sees what I see."

Ahana's fingers clutched the bedsheet, her heartbeat loud in her ears. "But I don't even know what it means," she whispered.

Aksh crouched before her, his intense gaze never leaving hers. "That's what I need to find out." He reached out, gently tilting her chin up. "Ahana, why do you see it? Why does my past—my lost memories—connect to you?"

Her lips parted, but no words came. Because for the first time, she wasn't just afraid of the nightmare.

She was afraid of what the truth could mean.