Aarushi's POV
The first thing Aarushi noticed was the sound.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Her eyelids felt heavy as she slowly opened them. The hospital lights were too bright, forcing her to squint.
A blurry figure leaned forward immediately.
"Aarushi?"
Kiara.
Relief washed over her face the moment she realized Aarushi was awake.
"You're finally up," Kiara said softly.
Aarushi tried to smile.
"My head feels like someone dropped a truck on it."
Kiara rolled her eyes.
"You were hit by a bike, genius."
Right.
The bike.
The memory returned slowly.
The street.
The loud engine.
The crash.
Aarushi frowned slightly.
"The biker…"
Kiara leaned forward instantly.
"What about him?"
Aarushi stared at the ceiling as she tried to remember.
"He was wearing a helmet."
Kiara nodded.
"Ananya said the same thing."
"I couldn't see his face."
Kiara sighed quietly.
That didn't help.
But Aarushi's expression didn't change.
Her brows remained slightly furrowed.
"But I saw his eyes," she said.
Kiara blinked.
"His eyes?"
Aarushi nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Something about them had felt familiar.
Not dangerous.
Not threatening.
Just… familiar.
"I think I've seen them before," Aarushi said thoughtfully.
Kiara raised an eyebrow.
"When?"
Aarushi rubbed her temple as she searched her memory.
"I don't know exactly."
"Then how do you know you've seen them?"
Aarushi frowned.
"It's like… when you recognize someone but can't remember where you met them."
Kiara crossed her arms.
"Where would you meet a biker like that?"
Aarushi hesitated.
"I think… when we were kids."
Kiara stared at her.
"What?"
Aarushi nodded slowly.
"I feel like he used to be around us."
Kiara frowned harder.
"Around us how?"
"I don't know," Aarushi admitted.
"But I didn't feel scared when I saw his eyes."
Kiara looked confused.
"You didn't?"
"No."
Aarushi shook her head slightly.
"It felt like seeing someone familiar."
She paused.
"Almost like… a friend."
Kiara immediately dismissed it.
"Aarushi, you literally just woke up after a concussion."
Aarushi frowned.
"I'm serious."
Kiara sighed.
"You got hit by a bike. Your brain is probably mixing memories."
"That's not what this feels like."
Kiara stood up from the chair.
"You're overthinking it."
Aarushi watched her carefully.
Kiara clearly didn't believe her.
But Aarushi couldn't shake the feeling.
Those eyes…
She had definitely seen them before.
And whoever the biker was…
He had once been close to them.
Aarushi closed her eyes, trying to hold onto the memory.
Those eyes weren't scary.
They weren't dangerous.
They felt like someone she once trusted.
But Kiara had already dismissed it.
And neither of them realized…
That forgotten memory might be the key to everything.