Chapter 7: The Anklet and the Echoes

Satya sat at his desk, the silver anklet resting in his palm like a fragment of fate. The intricate carvings shimmered under the glow of his desk lamp, each detail feeling impossibly familiar.

He hadn't been able to sleep since the festival. The image that flashed through his mind when he touched the anklet haunted him — the flickering candlelight, the soft laugh, the sensation of fastening the jewelry around her ankle.

It wasn't just a hallucination. It felt like a memory.

But how could he remember something that had never happened?

Unless... it had.

In another lifetime.

The Search Begins

Determined, Satya started researching local jewelry artisans, hoping to trace the origin of the anklet. He visited markets, asked shopkeepers, even showed sketches of the girl to anyone who might have seen her.

Nothing.

The city felt endless, and she could be anywhere — or nowhere.

But Satya refused to give up.

In between his classes and late-night sketching, he devoured books on reincarnation, karmic connections, and past life regression. The more he read, the more everything seemed to make sense.

Maybe he wasn't crazy. Maybe the universe was trying to tell him something.

One night, exhausted and frustrated, he fell asleep with the anklet in his hand.

And he dreamed again.

---

The Dream of Another Life

This time, the vision was clearer.

He was standing in a sunlit courtyard, wearing clothes that didn't belong to this century — loose, hand-stitched garments, a leather sketchbook strapped to his side.

In front of him, she sat on a stone bench, her bare feet swinging just above the ground. She watched him with a teasing smile, her eyes filled with warmth.

"You'll forget me," she said, tilting her head.

"I could never," he answered without hesitation, kneeling to fasten the anklet around her ankle.

She laughed softly, the sound echoing like music.

"Then promise me," she whispered, leaning closer. "No matter how many lifetimes it takes... you'll find me again."

Satya's chest tightened. He reached out to touch her hand —

And woke up with a gasp.

His pulse thundered in his ears as he stared at the ceiling, the dream fading like smoke. But the promise lingered, heavy and undeniable.

"You'll find me again."

He clutched the anklet to his chest, his heart aching.

Where was she now? And why did fate keep pulling them apart?

He didn't have all the answers yet.

But he had made a promise.

And he wasn't going to break it.