Chapter: The Ones Who Remember
Boys' Dorm — The Morning After
Aarav hadn't spoken much since the incident.
His hoodie was pulled low over his forehead, the circles under his eyes darker than usual.
The laughter of boys down the hallway felt foreign now, like background noise in someone else's life.
He stirred his tea absentmindedly.
> "I'm telling myself it wasn't real," he muttered. "That it didn't happen. Because if it did…"
He didn't finish.
Parth sat opposite, watching the way Aarav gripped the handle of the mug like it was the only thing tethering him to reality.
> "It did happen," Parth said quietly.
Aarav looked up. "Then why don't I remember what it looked like? Why is it fuzzy? My brain just... shuts off when I try to recall its face."
Neel, sitting on the window ledge, spoke without turning around.
> "Because remembering… is a curse too."
Parth raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
Neel turned.
> "That danava—it didn't come from nowhere. It was called. Awakened."
Aarav narrowed his eyes. "By whom?"
> "Not who, Parth," Neel said quietly. "It's bigger than that. The balance is shifting. Something's disturbing the scale."
A gust of wind slammed the door shut.
They all flinched.
---
Lecture Hall – Later That Day
The boys took their usual seats at the back. Dr. Samar Mehra stalked in like a shadow. His black formal shoes echoed with every step. He didn't mention anything strange. Didn't acknowledge Parth at all.
Just like the rest of the college.
Whatever had happened the night before, it hadn't touched the normal world.
Parth leaned to Aarav.
> "You still think this is a prank?"
Aarav opened his mouth. Then shut it.
His hand trembled slightly.
> "I think... I don't know what I think."
Neel opened his sketchbook again.
Another figure.
Another danava.
Its horns spiraled upward like cracked tusks.
Its mouth was stitched shut. Eyes—blank.
Aarav glanced at it. His voice was flat.
> "You're drawing them again."
> "I didn't mean to," Neel whispered. "It just… happens."
---
College Courtyard – That Afternoon
Students loitered around—coffee, phones, nervous jokes about anatomy tests. The campus was its usual self.
But Parth's ears rang.
Like something under the surface was humming again.
> "The air's thicker today," he murmured.
Aarav gave him a look. "You're getting poetic now?"
> "No," Neel cut in. "He's right. The EMF reading on my phone keeps spiking for no reason."
"Maybe your phone's haunted," Aarav muttered.
But even he didn't sound like he believed that joke.
Then—
From the crowd near the admin building came a sudden uproar.
Books dropped. Girls squealed. A boy ran past them.
> "What now?" Aarav snapped.
Before they could react, a blur passed by them—a tall girl dragging a huge suitcase, two bags bouncing off her shoulders, her dupatta tangled in her bag's zipper.
> "Aaaaaaai Maa! Ektu help korun na, please!" she yelled at nobody in particular.
> "Suitcase ta chharbey na? Durotto aachhe bhogoban, ebar darshan korte jabo naki?"
She crashed into a dustbin, knocked over a cycle, and somehow still managed to keep her phone tucked under her chin as she yelled at someone on call.
> "No! Ma, I reached! I said I reached! Ugh—hold on—"
She turned to a confused staff member.
"Excuse me, where's the admission office? Also, do you serve cha with trauma here?"
Students stared.
Neel blinked.
Parth cocked his head.
Aarav smirked. "New admission. Late bloomer."
Her voice rose again.
> "Also—my roommate better not snore. I swear I'll move to the morgue. I've slept in quieter temples during Rath Yatra!"
The chaos whirlwind finally stopped when a staff member approached her.
> "You must be Miss... Soudamini Bose?"
She huffed, wiped her forehead, and smiled like she'd just returned from war.
> "Yes, but everyone calls me Sia. Easier to shout when I fall down a flight of stairs."
The crowd parted around her like she was radioactive.
Parth raised an eyebrow. "And that… is our new classmate?"
Neel nodded slowly. "The one who doesn't know yet."
Aarav rubbed his eyes. "We're doomed."
---
Meanwhile — Forgotten Corners
The idol of Kali glowed faintly in the underground chamber.
The shadows behind it hissed.
> "He remembers," one voice whispered.
> "No," said another, slithering. "He's only beginning."
Another shrieked softly.
> "They are gathering again. The cursed ones. The cursed bow. The silent betrayer. The unseen twin."
> "And the girl?"
> "She'll remember too. One day."
The shadows cackled in unison.
---
There was something strange about the girl in red—like a monsoon wind crashing into a summer afternoon. People turned. Not because she was beautiful in the usual way, but because she carried herself like a secret no one had been told yet. Eyes wide with mischief, steps loud with confidence—she looked like trouble had chosen a new name.
Author's note:✨️
Confused by the sudden Bengali?
Good. That's exactly how Parth feels. 👀✨
Just hold on… she's not what she seems.
If you thought her Bengali phrases were confusing, wait till she starts making sense.
Buckle up. She's a walking twist.🙄💅