Part 21 – The Hidden Files

The air inside the orphanage felt heavier now, as if the walls themselves were holding onto secrets they weren't meant to find.

Maya's fingers tightened around the list of names. Her name. Aditya's name. The names of every person who had these visions.

This place was more than just an orphanage—it was where everything had started.

"We need records," Aditya said, his voice tense. "If we were adopted from here, there must be files."

Maya took a deep breath and nodded. "The office. There has to be one."

They moved cautiously down the dimly lit hallway, past the eerie silence of abandoned rooms. The faint creak of the wooden floorboards beneath their feet sent chills up Maya's spine.

At the end of the corridor, they found a door labeled Administrator's Office.

Arjun pushed it open.

Inside, the room was covered in dust, like it had been untouched for years. A single wooden desk stood in the center, and behind it, a massive metal filing cabinet.

Aditya rushed to it first. He pulled the drawers—locked.

"Of course," he muttered.

Maya glanced around and spotted an old keyring hanging by the door. She grabbed it and tossed it to Aditya. "Try these."

He fumbled through the keys before finding one that fit. The lock clicked open.

Inside were rows of dusty folders, marked with years.

Maya scanned them quickly. "Look for our adoption years."

Arjun flipped through them, his fingers moving quickly. "Here—1998. That's around the time you and Aditya were adopted, right?"

Maya nodded, her heartbeat racing. She grabbed the file and flipped it open.

Inside were dozens of papers, old photographs, medical records… and a list of orphaned children.

Her eyes darted across the page until she found it.

Maya Verma – Arrived: March 12, 1997

Aditya Khanna – Arrived: May 25, 1997

And then, something even more shocking.

Aarav Sen – Arrived: January 3, 1985

Status: Deceased

Maya's breath caught. "Aarav was an orphan here, too."

Arjun's brows furrowed. "Wait, look at this…"

He pointed at a note scribbled at the bottom of the page.

"The first dreamer is lost. The next ones must be prepared."

Maya's blood ran cold. "Prepared… for what?"

Aditya's face darkened. "We're not just having these visions randomly. Someone… or something… chose us."

Maya looked at the old records, the scattered papers, the evidence of something bigger than they had ever imagined.

Aarav Sen had been the first. And now, they were next.