Ankita's voice cut sharply through the quiet night, her fingers closing tightly around Ishwaani's wrist. "Enough. Come downstairs."
But Ishwaani's eyes weren't on her sister at all.
They were fixed on Harsha's terrace-on the boy who looked back at her with a softness she was afraid to lose. For a moment, the world shrank into that tiny strip of sky above their rooftops.
And then-
Everything shattered.
Ishwaani pulled her hand free from Ankita's grip.
Her eyes-shining with fear and determination-locked on Harsha.
"Harsha!" she cried, and before he could move, she ran.
Straight toward the edge of her terrace.
"No-ISHWAA-!"
She tried to jump across the small gap between their houses, but her foot slipped on the ledge. Her body tilted, her fingers grasping at the air, her eyes widening-
And she fell.
Right between the narrow, dark space that separated their two houses.
"ISHWAAANI!"
Harsha lunged forward.
His breath ripped out of him in ragged shivers. His shirt clung to his back, soaked in cold sweat. For a full two seconds he couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Couldn't even breathe properly.
His eyes darted around.
Not the terrace.
Not the gap.
Not Ishwaani falling.
He was in his hostel room.
A dream.
Chapter 14: The Present
A terrifyingly real dream.
Harsha dragged a trembling hand across his face. His heart was still racing, pounding like the echo of a nightmare refusing to fade.
"That puppet-face..." he muttered under his breath, the faintest ghost of a tired smile touching his lips.
"Guess she really does haunt my dreams."
The memory resurfaced-Chapter 10-where she had laughed, saying if he ever went too far away from her, she would haunt him in his sleep.
And she did.
A New Semester, A New Room
He forced himself up, rubbing the fear out of his eyes. He brushed, freshened up, trying to steady the leftover tremors the dream left behind. But something felt different when he stepped out into the corridor.
His room wasn't his old room anymore.
Second semester was over. Second year had begun. And that meant shifting blocks.
His old roommates-who had never accepted him-had quickly chosen a separate room without even asking him. It didn't surprise Harsha. It didn't hurt anymore either.
He had expected it.
What he never expected was Abi.
Abi, from the football team. Loud, silly, annoyingly friendly. He had asked Harsha, "Bro, wanna join our room?" and, Harsha felt maybe... someone actually wanted him there.
But the very next minute, Abi's face had twisted into guilt.
"Wait... my guy just told me we're full. Sorry da."
YOU ARE READING
700 ᏦᎥᏝᎧᎷᏋᏖᏒᏋᏕ ᏗᏇᏗᎩ
Non-FictionHe loved her in silence. They tore them apart when the truth surfaced. Friends vanished. Only one stayed. Now, 700 kilometers from home, Harsha seeks a fresh start. New faces. New hopes. But the smiles fade. The walls close in. Alone again, for reas...
