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Chapter 14 - Chapter 14 – “The Twelfth Hour”

Ishaan was dreaming.

But he was awake.

He stood in the grove, just like always.

But Aarohi was older. Wearing white.

A gold chain with Vrinda's feather hung around her neck.

She looked at him and whispered:

"You stayed too long. You forgot your body."

He woke up gasping.

Aarohi sat beside him, wide-eyed.

"I had a dream," she said.

"You were… 60. And still trying to record the bansuri."

Ishaan blinked.

"The twelfth hour has started."

🕰️ What Is the Twelfth Hour?

In Vrinda's diary, a final riddle had always remained unsolved:

"Beware the twelfth hour — the time when time itself forgets where it stands."

It wasn't midnight.

It was the hour after — when karma, rebirth, and choices clash.

The next day, as Ishaan tried to analyze sound logs, his voice echoed in delay.

Not once.

But twice.

One echo said:

"I love her. But I'm scared to stay."

And the other:

"I stayed. But she never came back."

Aarohi touched the mirror again.

This time, instead of reflection — she saw a version of herself, in a lab coat.

Working alone.

Holding a bansuri.

Whispering:

"No one remembers Vrinda anymore."

The visions came faster now.

Future selves. Past selves.

A version of them dancing in Raas.

A version fighting in rain.

A version standing at a grave.

Aarohi fell to her knees.

"What is this?! Which version are we?! What's real?!"

Ishaan held her shoulders.

"Time's breaking, Aarohi.

Because we're close.

Too close.

To choosing."

Aarohi whispered:

"Choosing what?"

Ishaan looked up.

At the grove.

At the empty spot in the circle.

"Whether we become part of the Raas forever…

Or return…

And forget."

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