"It wants to take you back."
Aarav's words sent a wave of fear through me.
"Back… where?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
His grip on my hand tightened.
"To the place you were never meant to leave."
Before I could ask anything else—
The ground beneath us started to crack again.
The memory… was breaking.
"No," Aarav muttered. "It's coming."
The air turned colder.
Darker.
Heavier.
And then—
It appeared.
The shadow.
But this time…
It wasn't just a shape.
It had form.
A distorted figure.
Tall. Twisted.
Like something made from broken pieces of darkness.
My heart pounded violently.
"What… is that?" I whispered.
Aarav stepped in front of me.
Protecting me again.
"That," he said, his voice low, "is what stayed behind that night."
My breath caught.
"What do you mean?"
The shadow let out a sound.
Not a voice.
Not a scream.
Something in between.
"She left…"
The words echoed strangely.
Like multiple voices speaking at once.
"But I didn't."
A chill ran through my entire body.
Aarav's expression hardened.
"Don't listen to it," he warned.
But I couldn't look away.
"What are you?" I asked, my voice trembling.
The shadow moved closer.
Slow.
Unnatural.
"I am what she forgot…"
My heart stopped.
"I am what she buried…"
A sudden pressure filled my head.
Memories—fragmented, broken—started flashing again.
Fear.
Pain.
Darkness.
"I… don't understand," I whispered.
The shadow tilted its head.
"You will."
Suddenly—
Everything around us shifted again.
The broken road disappeared.
And I was somewhere else.
Dark.
Cold.
Water.
I was standing knee-deep in it.
"What is this place?" I asked, panicking.
Aarav's voice came from behind me—
"This is where it was born."
I turned around.
He looked different.
Weaker.
Like being here was hurting him.
"What was born?" I asked.
Before he could answer—
The water started moving.
Ripples.
Circles.
And then—
Something rose from beneath.
The shadow… again.
But bigger.
Stronger.
"It was never just your fear," Aarav said.
"It was your guilt."
My chest tightened.
"Guilt…?"
The shadow's voice echoed—
"You remember now…"
Images flooded my mind.
That night.
The rain.
The road.
And then—
Something I hadn't seen before.
I froze.
"I… I stepped back," I whispered.
Aarav looked at me quietly.
"You panicked," he said softly.
My hands started shaking.
"I moved away first…"
The realization hit me hard.
"If I hadn't—"
"Stop," Aarav said firmly.
But tears were already falling.
"It's my fault…" I said, my voice breaking.
The shadow moved closer instantly.
"Yes."
The word echoed like a curse.
"You left him."
My breathing became uneven.
"You let him stay."
"No… that's not true!" I cried.
But deep inside—
That guilt had already taken root.
And the shadow…
It fed on it.
"I am that moment," it whispered.
"I am that choice."
Aarav stepped forward.
"You're not her mistake," he said sharply.
The shadow laughed.
A cold, hollow sound.
"Then why do I exist?"
Silence.
Aarav didn't answer.
Because he couldn't.
The truth hung heavy in the air.
I created it.
Not intentionally.
But still—
It was mine.
My guilt.
My fear.
My broken memory.
And now—
It wanted me back.
The water around us started rising.
Fast.
"Aarav!" I panicked.
He grabbed my hand tightly.
"Listen to me," he said urgently.
"If you let it control you… you won't wake up next time."
Fear gripped my heart.
"What do I do?" I asked desperately.
His eyes locked onto mine.
"You have to face it."
The shadow's voice echoed again—
"Or become me."
The water rose higher.
Up to my chest.
Cold.
Heavy.
I couldn't breathe properly.
Aarav's grip started slipping.
"No—don't let go!" I cried.
"I'm not leaving this time," he said.
But something was pulling me down.
Stronger than before.
The shadow.
It reached toward me—
And whispered—
"Come back… where you belong"