Episode-5

Chapter 5: The Truth Within

Aaradhya’s mind spun as Krish’s words echoed through her thoughts. “We are both ghosts. But we are not dead. Not entirely.” The world seemed to blur around her as the strange symbols on the book’s pages danced before her eyes. The more she tried to make sense of it, the more her world seemed to crumble. Was she really… not alive?

The room seemed to pulse with energy, the air thick with the weight of Krish’s confession. Aaradhya’s hands trembled as she closed the book, pushing it away from her as though it were a dangerous artifact. Her heart pounded in her chest, and a cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

“No,” she whispered, shaking her head. “This can’t be real.”

Krish remained silent, his expression unreadable, as though he were waiting for her to come to terms with what he had just said. He took a step closer, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Aaradhya,” he said softly, his voice gentle, “I know this is hard to accept. But you have to understand—this isn’t something you can run from. It’s who we are. We’ve been trapped in this in-between world for as long as we can remember, and we can’t change it. Not until we understand the full extent of what happened to us.”

She backed away from him, her heart racing. “What do you mean, ‘what happened to us’? What are you talking about?”

Krish’s eyes flickered with a deep, ancient sadness. “It’s a long story. One that goes beyond what either of us can explain easily. But we weren’t always like this. We weren’t always... trapped.”

Aaradhya’s throat tightened. “Trapped? What happened to us? What did we do?”

Krish took a deep breath, his gaze falling to the ground for a moment as if he were searching for the right words. “We were part of something. A ritual. A binding. Something dark, something ancient, that neither of us fully understood at the time. And because of that, we are caught between the living and the dead, never truly able to move on.”

Her voice shook as she asked the question that had been lingering in her mind. “Is that why I can see you? Why I feel this strange connection to you?”

Krish nodded, his face grave. “Yes. You can see me because we’re bound together. Your soul, Aaradhya, it’s not like the others. You’ve always felt out of place, right? Like you’re not quite here, not quite alive. That’s because you were part of the ritual too.”

Aaradhya’s head swam as she tried to process his words. “What ritual? What are you talking about? I don’t remember anything like that.”

Krish’s eyes darkened. “You wouldn’t. Neither of us would. The ritual wiped out our memories. It erased everything we once knew. But we’re still here, in this in-between state. It’s why we can see each other, why we’re drawn to each other.”

Aaradhya’s breath caught in her throat. “So, all this time… all the weird things that have happened… it’s because of this ritual?”

Krish’s voice grew low, filled with sorrow. “Yes. And it’s more than just that. The ritual wasn’t just meant to keep us in limbo—it was meant to keep us from escaping. From moving on. We’re trapped in this world until we can figure out how to break the curse.”

Aaradhya’s mind reeled with the weight of his words. “But how do we break it? How do we get out of this… this in-between?”

Krish took a step back, his face shadowed with uncertainty. “I don’t know. The book,” he said, gesturing to the ancient journal on the table, “has the answers, but they’re hidden. It’s not a matter of just reading it. The ritual we were part of—there are pieces missing. We need to find them, understand them, and then we can break free.”

Aaradhya felt a chill run down her spine. She was beginning to realize that the world she thought she knew—the world where she had struggled to make a place for herself—was not the world she belonged in. She was trapped in a nightmare, one she couldn’t escape.

“So, what now?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Krish’s eyes met hers, a flicker of hope crossing his face. “Now we figure this out together. I’ve been searching for so long, Aaradhya. I need your help to solve this. We’re not alone in this. There are others like us. People who have been cursed like we have. And if we can find them, we can find the key to breaking the curse.”

Aaradhya stood frozen, her mind spinning with the information she was being forced to process. She was trapped in a world she didn’t understand, surrounded by people she didn’t know. But one thing was certain: the connection she shared with Krish was undeniable, and somehow, their fates were entwined.

“I don’t know if I can do this, Krish,” she said softly, her voice trembling. “I don’t know if I can accept this.”

Krish reached out, gently cupping her chin in his hand. His touch was cold, but it sent a shock of electricity through her body. “You don’t have to accept it all at once. But we’re in this together. And we will figure it out. I promise you.”

Aaradhya closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. She wanted to run, to escape this nightmare, but she knew that there was no escaping the truth. She wasn’t the person she thought she was. She wasn’t alive, not fully. And Krish—Krish was the only one who could help her understand what she had become.

When she opened her eyes again, there was a determination in them, something new, something that hadn’t been there before.

“I’ll help you, Krish,” she said, her voice steady. “I’ll help you find the answers. But you have to promise me something.”

Krish raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“You’ll never leave me,” Aaradhya said, her voice fierce. “No matter what happens, no matter how dangerous it gets, you’ll stay by my side.”

Krish’s lips curled into a faint smile. “I promise.”

And with that, their fate was sealed. Together, they would face the truth of their past and the darkness that awaited them, not as ghosts, but as people bound by a connection that could not be broke.

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