The Circle Widens

It was late evening when Kabir dragged Karan and Meera up the narrow stairs of his house. The three of them stopped outside a door with a small nameplate: “Kavya Sharma.”

His sister.

College student. Smarter than both of them combined.

Karan whispered, “You really think she’ll believe us?”

Kabir shrugged. “If she doesn’t, at least she won’t run to the teachers. Just… let me talk.”

The door opened before he could knock twice. Kavya stood there in her oversized T-shirt, a book in one hand and irritation written all over her face

“Kabir, I’m studying. What is it now? Another fight? Another suspension notice?”

Kabir looked nervous for the first time in his life. Karan stood behind him, hands shoved in his pockets, while Meera lingered awkwardly near the stairs.

“No, this is different,” Kabir muttered. “We… we need to talk.”

Kavya arched a brow. “You dragged your entire gang here for a talk?” Her eyes shifted to Meera, smirking. “Wait—don’t tell me. Is this about her? Did you knock her up, Kabir? And now you’ve come running to big sister for rescue?”

Meera’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?!”

Karan burst out laughing, slapping Kabir’s back. “Oh my god, this is better than the fight! Congratulations, bro!”

Kabir turned red. “Shut up, both of you! That’s not—ugh, just shut up!”

Kavya folded her arms. “So it’s not that. Good. Then what is it? You want pocket money for some lame school project?”

Kabir sighed, dragging his hands down his face. “This is serious, Kavya. Just listen for once.”

She smirked, settling on her chair like a judge about to hear a case. “Fine. Convince me.”

The words got stuck in Kabir’s throat. He looked at Karan for help. Karan shrugged and said, “Okay, so… something happened. Something big. And you’re not going to believe it unless you see it.”

Kavya snorted. “That’s what everyone says before telling me they failed math.”

Kabir finally reached into his bag, pulling out an old folded newspaper. He placed it on the table with shaky hands.

Kavya glanced at it lazily. “Wow. Breaking news: paper exists. Amazing.”

“Look closer,” Kabir urged.

Her eyes scanned the front page—and then froze.

There it was. A photo of Kabir himself, younger, caught mid-stride in a grainy image. The headline screamed with dates and names, but her eyes locked on his face. Same hair. Same eyes. Same scar above his eyebrow.

She blinked, leaned forward, and then looked up at him sharply. “What the hell is this?”

“It’s real,” Kabir said quietly.

Kavya let out a short laugh. “No. No way. You idiots printed this at some shady Photoshop shop, didn’t you? Is this your big prank? Because I swear, if you dragged me away from my exams prep for a joke—”

“Search it,” Meera interrupted softly.

“What?”

“Search it online. That exact date. That exact event. Check it.”

Kavya rolled her eyes but pulled her phone out anyway. Within seconds, her smirk began to fade. Her lips pressed into a thin line as the screen filled with archived articles. The same photo. The same headlines. Everything matched.

Her hand trembled slightly as she set the phone down.

“This… this is impossible.”

Kabir’s voice was calm now, too calm. “We told you. We can’t explain how. But it happened.”

For once, Kavya had no sarcastic comeback. She leaned back, staring at all three of them like she was seeing them for the first time.

Finally, she spoke. Her voice was steady, but her eyes were sharp.

“Alright. You’ve convinced me this isn’t a prank. But this? This is not something three clueless schoolkids can handle.”

Karan frowned. “Hey—”

“No,” she cut him off. “I’m serious. You think this is a joke? You’re already way over your heads. If we’re doing this, we need more people. People I can trust.”

“Who?” Meera asked cautiously.

Kavya didn’t hesitate. “Aisha. And Rishabh. They’re older, smarter, and they won’t panic. If you want to play with fire, you’ll need grown-ups in the room.”

The room went quiet again. The weight of her words settled over them like a shadow.

The circle was widening. And with it, so was the danger.

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