Aarti was a girl who lived in her own little world, where magic and adventure roamed freely in her imagination. Her passion for fantasy was something that everyone around her admired—her parents, friends, even her teachers found her creativity inspiring. One sunny afternoon, her English teacher, Miss Meenu, asked the class to write a short fiction piece, and Aarti's imagination lit up like a firework. She decided to write about a girl named Priya, who was head over heels in love with a boy named Arjun. Their love story, however, faced a massive obstacle: Priya’s parents disapproved of Arjun. Aarti poured her heart into the page, displaying emotions and drama, and when Miss Meenu read it, she couldn’t help but appreciate Aarti's talent.
Just three days later, life took a turn that Aarti never saw coming. She was at home helping her mom prepare for a funeral when she overheard her mother on the phone. With hushed tones, she mentioned a boy named Arjun, who turned out to be the son of Aarti's dad’s colleague. When Aarti caught a glimpse of Arjun’s photo, she felt an eerie wave wash over her, as if the world around her was dissolving into nothingness. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, drowning out all other sounds, and before she knew it, she collapsed.
Concerned and shaken, Aarti approached Miss Meenu the next day at school, her voice barely above a whisper. “Miss, that boy looks just like the Arjun I’ve imagined, and I’m so scared.” Miss Meenu, with her trying to be calm, reassured Aarti, reminding her that it was merely her imagination at work. Despite her teacher's comforting words, unease crawled into Aarti’s heart.
That night, Aarti was had a chilling dream. In her sleep, she witnessed a girl push Arjun down the stairs, and he fell to his death. The horror of the dream scared her awake, screaming and gasping for breath. Shaken, she rushed to tell Miss Meenu all about it. Concern etched on Miss Meenu’s face, she decided to investigate. She spoke to Arjun's parents, who explained that he had, unfortunately, slipped and fallen while climbing the stairs. Yet Aarti sensed there was more to the story.
Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, they began their investigation. Soon, they spoke to Arjun's sister, Radha. She mentioned feeling a strange presence in their house, on that fateful day. There was this eerie moment when she thought she heard Arjun talking to someone in his room. At first, she thought he was on a phone call, but something about it seemed off. Aarti’s mind raced, connecting dots as she shared her thoughts with Miss Meenu—could it have been Priya? Radha nodded, revealing that her brother had a friend named Priya.
With newfound resolve, Aarti and Miss Meenu decided to confront Priya. They arrived at her house, and it didn't take long before Priya, cornered and overwhelmed, broke down in tears. “I pushed him!” she sobbed, “But I never meant to hurt him!” Aarti and Miss Meenu listened in shock as Priya recounted that fateful day.
Priya explained how she had snuck out to see Arjun without her parents’ knowledge. She just wanted to convince him to fight for their love, but when he insisted that his love for her was genuine—not dependent on her parents—she felt a rush of frustration. In a moment of anger, she pushed him, leading to that heartbreaking fall.
With a heavy heart, Miss Meenu called the police to take Priya into custody. She turned to Aarti and thanked her for her assistance in uncovering the mystery. Yet even with the truth out in the open, Aarti’s mind was a full of questions. How could she have known someone she had never met? Why did she have such vivid dreams that felt so real? Miss Meenu didn’t have the answers, and Aarti was left feeling unsettled.
Then came a memory that she had buried deep in her mind—a flashback that occurred months before. Aarti had fallen seriously ill and was admitted to the hospital. While she lay unconscious, she had heard whispers in another room. It was Arjun and Priya, softly sharing words about their love, their hopes, and the challenges of their relationship. Though she couldn't remember any specific details, her subconscious had absorbed it all. When Aarti eventually got out of the hospital, she had seen Arjun and Priya together, but it all felt like a dream—hers was a mind full of the unknown.
As she sat there, lost in her thoughts, Aarti couldn't shake the sense of connection she felt with Priya and Arjun. Perhaps, in this strange twist of fate, her imagination had intertwined with reality in ways she couldn't fully grasp. The line between her stories and real life blurred, leaving her with more questions than answers, yet a sense of adventure remained in her heart, awaiting the next tale to unfold.
THE END
React
