Chapter 2: The Girl in the Shadows

Satya couldn't sleep that night.

The sketch lay on his desk, staring at him as if it held a secret just beyond his reach. His mind replayed Aryan's words—maybe she's your soulmate from a past life. He wasn't the type to believe in reincarnation or fate, but there was something unsettling about the whole thing.

Why had he drawn her? Why did it feel like he knew her?

Frustrated, he closed his eyes and let exhaustion take over.

---

He was running.

Through dimly lit corridors, his breath ragged, his heart pounding. The air smelled of rain and old stone. A soft glow flickered ahead—a lantern swinging wildly in someone's hand.

And then he saw her.

The girl from his sketch.

She stood at the end of the corridor, her dark eyes wide with fear, her hand reaching for him.

"Satya..." Her voice was barely a whisper, but it sent a shiver through his bones.

A sudden force yanked her backward into the darkness. He lunged forward, desperate to hold on, but the shadows swallowed her whole.

"MEERA!"

His own voice jolted him awake.

Satya gasped, his chest rising and falling as he stared at the ceiling. His room was silent except for the sound of his own rapid breathing. His sheets were damp with sweat.

A dream.

But not just any dream.

He had never seen that place before, never been there—yet it felt terrifyingly familiar. And her voice... she had called his name.

He turned his head toward his desk, his eyes falling on the sketch.

It was her. The same girl.

His hands trembled as he reached for the drawing, his pulse hammering in his ears.

He had never met her. Never seen her. And yet, she haunted his dreams.

Something was very, very wrong.

And he needed to find out why.