Chapter 3: Glimpses of a Stranger
Satya couldn't focus on anything the next day.
His mind kept going back to the dream—the dark corridors, the flickering lantern, and the way she had whispered his name. He didn't believe in the supernatural, but this was beyond logic. He had drawn a girl he'd never seen, and now she was invading his dreams.
If this was just his imagination, why did it feel so real?
The Search for Answers
By evening, he found himself at a small bookstore near his university. It was an old, dusty place, hidden between a café and a clothing shop. The kind of place most people walked past without noticing.
The shelves were filled with books on philosophy, spirituality, and forgotten knowledge. Satya ran his fingers along the spines, hesitating before pulling out a book titled Past Lives: The Truth Behind Reincarnation.
He flipped through the pages, scanning words that made his skin prickle.
Some souls are bound by fate, meeting lifetime after lifetime.
Unfinished stories find their way back into the present.
Memories of past lives can appear in dreams, déjà vu, or unexplained connections with strangers.
His heart pounded. Was that what was happening to him?
The bell above the door jingled as someone entered. Satya barely noticed—until he felt it.
A strange pull, a shift in the air.
His eyes lifted from the book, and for a split second, he saw her.
The girl from his sketches.
She was outside, walking past the bookstore window, her reflection flickering in the glass like a ghost. Satya's breath hitched. He moved without thinking, shoving the book into his bag and rushing to the door.
By the time he stepped outside, she was gone.
His heart hammered against his ribs as he looked around. The street was busy, but she had vanished like smoke.
Was he losing his mind?
Or was fate playing with him?
The Suspenseful Encounter
Still dazed, he wandered aimlessly through the streets, lost in thought. That's when someone tapped his shoulder.
"Satya?"
He turned sharply, expecting—hoping—to see her.
But it wasn't her.
It was someone else.
Someone he hadn't seen in years.
His pulse quickened. Of all the people he could have run into tonight… why them?
The past was coming back.
And it was only just beginning.