📅 October 7 – Devgarh & Nandanpur
Morning Ride
The sky had finally cleared after weeks of rain, but the roads still shimmered with leftover puddles.
Three scooters hummed down the narrow path from Nandanpur to Devgarh — Ishanvi driving with Vrinda behind her, Raghav on the second with Vivaan, and Abhay leading with Vaidehi and Aariv riding close behind.
The trip had become a ritual — the roar of engines mixing with the scent of wet earth, the eight of them laughing and racing across the half-broken bridge over the Sudarshini.
"Feels strange," Vivaan shouted over the wind. "The river's too quiet today!"
Abhay slowed slightly, glancing at the water below. "Quiet doesn't mean safe."
Ishanvi's voice cut in from behind him, calm but uneasy. "Sometimes silence is just the next storm thinking."
School Days Again
By the time they reached Devgarh High, students were already crowding the gate. Post-Dusshera energy buzzed everywhere — competitions announced, new noticeboard schedules, and the smell of pakoras drifting from the canteen.
"Back to normal life," Meera sighed, slipping her bag off.
Vaidehi grinned. "Normal? You mean pretending last week didn't feel like a movie?"
Raghav rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. Yet beneath their teasing, all of them felt something unspoken — the faint hum they'd begun to sense whenever Ishanvi or Abhay was nearby, as if the air itself waited for something to happen.
The Science Lab Incident
During the science period, the class performed an experiment on heat and evaporation.
Ishanvi volunteered first. As she leaned near the beaker, the flame flickered higher — too high. A thin jet of fire shot up before vanishing in a blink.
The room gasped.
"Must've been the gas pressure," the teacher muttered quickly, shaking his head.
But Abhay, from across the bench, felt the water in his flask tremble. Tiny ripples danced without a touch.
Their eyes met — both trying to act calm while their hearts pounded like thunder.
After Class
Outside near the school gate, Vaidehi tugged at Ishanvi's sleeve. "That fire… it wasn't just gas, was it?"
Ishanvi forced a smile. "Maybe the burner got nervous."
Abhay chuckled weakly, but his voice lowered as they mounted their scooters.
"The river's pulse changed this morning," he said. "I felt it through the bridge. Like it was… calling again."
Ishanvi's fingers tightened on the handle. "Then maybe it's not done with us yet."
Evening Ride Home
On the way back, dusk painted the sky crimson and gold. The Sudarshini flowed calmly, but for an instant, its surface glowed — a faint circle of light following their scooters along the bridge, as if tracking them.
Vaidehi noticed first. "Bhai… look."
The glow shimmered, then vanished beneath the current.
No one spoke after that. Even Vivaan, usually the loudest, stayed silent until Nandanpur lights appeared ahead.
That night, as thunder rolled faintly in the distance, both Abhay and Ishanvi woke at the same moment — hearing the same whisper in their dreams:
"When the river remembers, the fire will answer."