Untitled

Chapter 1 Part 1

VETRI

The Nightmare of Lost Connections

It always starts the same way.

I'm standing in a corridor that stretches endlessly ahead, the sickly green walls squeezing the air out of my lungs. The flickering fluorescent lights above buzz loudly, like an invisible swarm around my head. The air reeks of antiseptic, sharp and sterile, and each step I take echoes unnaturally, as if the hallway itself is mocking me.

That's when I see her.

She's walking ahead of me, her long black hair swaying with each step, her white hospital gown trailing behind like a ghost. My chest tightens, and without thinking, I call out, "Akira." The name feels heavy on my tongue, as if it doesn't want to leave my mouth.

"Akira!" I call again, louder this time. My voice bounces off the walls, repeating itself in distorted echoes. She doesn't respond. She just keeps walking, her bare feet making no sound on the cold floor.

I take a step toward her, but my legs feel like they're moving through water. Suddenly, she stops. Slowly, she turns her head, just enough for me to catch a glimpse of her face. She's frowning. It seems like she is worried about something. My stomach churns.

Before I can call out again, the floor shifts beneath me. The walls start closing in, and a crushing weight presses on my chest, stealing the air from my lungs. Panic claws at my throat, and I struggle to breathe as everything collapses around me.

I wake up gasping. I can still see her standing in front of me, as if expecting me to do something. And then she disappears slowly, like pixels slowly blending into the background.

The Silent Goodbye

The room is silent, the soft glow of dawn creeping through the curtains. I sit up in bed, trying to shake off the lingering chill from the dream. My shirt sticks to my back, damp with sweat. Beside me, Meena is still asleep, her breathing steady, her face half-hidden by the pillow. For a moment, I just sit there, watching her, letting the rhythm of her breaths calm me. I can't believe all the things we have gone through together. The pain she had suffered, is just too much to handle. I can't even look at her eyes sometimes. She wouldn't have to go through any of this if she wasn't married to me. The guilt kills me from inside, like a parasite.

The dreams are getting worse. Night after night, they pull me into that suffocating corridor, into that endless search for the girl who doesn't answer. But tonight she actually stopped to turn back. What could it mean?

Kaathoram lolaaku ennai kolludhadi... My phone rang and I rushed to silence it wondering who would call me in this hour. There was no name. I answered the phone and asked who was it. "We think she is gaining consciousness" I heard.

"I'll be there" I said. I didn't need to know who the call was from. I knew who it was about and that's all I needed to know.

Quietly, I slide out of bed and head to the desk by the window. I scribble a quick note on a sticky pad:

Went for an early start. Don't wait for breakfast. -Love, Vetri

This may seem cheesy to others in this world where people replaced even talking with texting but Meena and I have made a tradition out of this.

I place the note on her nightstand and pause. Maybe I should wake her, tell her about the dream, about the unease that's been growing in my chest for weeks. But what would I even say? She'd overthink it.

Instead, I lean down and kiss her lightly on the forehead. She stirs but doesn't wake. With a sigh, I step out of the apartment.

The Drive and the Park