Station Announcement:
"Passengers please note: echoes may resemble memories you've forgotten. Approach with patience."
The sun hung low over the backwaters, its light trembling across the water like a secret trying not to spill.Sara watched Kannan and Arun facing one another on the deck of the hospice boat — the stillness between them sharp enough to slice through the river breeze.
Kannan's fingers gripped the railing so hard his knuckles whitened.
Arun, sensing something strange, took a step closer.
"You okay, ettan?" Arun asked softly.
Kannan let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
The boy's voice — low, earnest, faintly trembling, carrying the same stubborn warmth —it struck through him like lightning through an old tree.
He swallowed hard.
"Yes…," he whispered.Then, unable to lie:"No."
Arun glanced at Sara for guidance.
She nodded encouragingly.
The boy turned back.
"You sure? You look like you saw something bad."
Kannan forced a thin smile.
"Not bad," he said. "Just… unexpected."
It wasn't quite a lie.
Arun's face, his stance, something in the tilt of his head —it reminded Kannan of someone buried deep beneath guilt and time.
A son.A lost one.A voice he had tried and failed to forget.
He stepped back abruptly.
Sara noticed the tremor in his jaw.
"Kannan," she said carefully. "Sit. You're pale."
He shook his head.
"I need air."
"You're surrounded by air," she replied gently."And water."
He ignored her and moved toward the bow, the memory's shadow clinging to him.
Arun hesitated, unsure if he should follow.
Sara touched his shoulder."Give him a moment," she whispered.
But the boy's gaze lingered on Kannan's retreating back, uneasy.
1. Kannan's Past Surfaces
Kannan leaned over the railing, staring at the reflection that wavered on the water.
His face looked older than he remembered.Hollowed by years of heat and labour.Burned by guilt more than sunlight.
Arun's voice still rang in his ears.
Chetta.You okay, ettan?
He closed his eyes.
Once, a small boy with similar eyes and a similar voice had tugged his sleeve in a dim, crumbling house.
Appa, don't go today. Please.
But he had gone.And kept going.And never returned in time.
Lightning cracked somewhere far away, faint but insistent.
Kannan's breathing turned unsteady.
Sara stepped beside him.
"You're remembering," she said softly.
He didn't deny it.
"I had a son," he whispered."He was twelve when I left. Maybe thirteen. He begged me not to go."
Sara waited.
"And when I finally tried to come back…"His voice broke."Everything was gone. House. Family. Even the neighbours wouldn't tell me where he went."
"Why?" she asked quietly.
He swallowed.
"Because I left more than once."A choked breath."Because I chose escape instead of responsibility."
Sara's eyes softened — not with pity, but recognition.
"We all choose wrong sometimes," she said.
Kannan shook his head violently.
"Not like this."
He looked back toward Arun, who stood by the doorway, biting his lip.
"His voice," Kannan whispered."It sounds like… it sounds like—"
He stopped.
He couldn't finish.
Sara didn't push him.
"Voices carry resemblance sometimes," she said gently."But resemblance isn't truth."
Kannan closed his eyes again.
He wasn't sure which he feared more —that Arun might be connected to him,or that he wasn't at all.
2. Arun's Confusion
Arun sat on the small stool near the pantry, tapping his foot anxiously.
Why had Kannan looked at him that way?
Like he was a ghost.Or a dream that hurt to remember.
When Sara returned, Arun asked,"Did I do something wrong?"
Sara smiled softly."No, mole. You did nothing wrong."
"Then why did he look scared?"
"Because sometimes people see in others what they're not ready to face in themselves."
Arun frowned."That sounds like something mashu would say."
Sara laughed lightly.
"Then he raised you well."
Arun hesitated."Do you think… he knows me from somewhere?"
Sara's smile faded slightly.
"Arun… what are you feeling?"
He looked down at the floorboards.
"I don't know. But when I said hello… it felt like he was searching for someone."
Sara's heart tightened.
"You're observant," she said gently.
"I'm not imagining it, right?"
She placed a hand on his head.
"No," she said."You're not imagining anything."
3. Basil Breaks the Silence
The next day, Basil was strong enough to walk with support.
Arun and Arjun helped him onto the deck while the monsoon clouds gathered over the river.
Basil sat slowly, breath short but steady.
His gaze wandered — observing Kannan, who sat near the landing, staring at nothing.
Arun leaned close to Basil.
"That man… Kannan… he's strange."
Basil followed his gaze.
"Strange how?"
"He looks at me like I'm someone he lost."
Basil's expression shifted subtly.
"He did lose someone," Basil murmured."I heard him muttering in his sleep last night."
Arun's heartbeat quickened.
"What did he say?"
Basil hesitated, then whispered:
"He said the name 'Akshay'."
Arun blinked.
"I don't know anyone named Akshay."
Basil nodded slowly.
"But maybe Kannan does."
The river wind blew across the deck, stirring the lanterns.
4. Confrontation at Dusk
By evening, the sky turned orange-gray — a colour halfway between hope and warning.
Kannan sat at the bow again, staring at the horizon.
Arun approached quietly.
"Kannan-ettan?"
Kannan stiffened but didn't turn.
Arun stepped beside him.
"Who is Akshay?"
Kannan jerked violently, turning sharply.
Sara watched from the doorway, heart thudding.
"Where did you hear that name?" he demanded, voice cracking.
Arun swallowed.
"My brother heard you say it."
Kannan's breath came shallow, fast.
Arun continued softly:
"Is he… someone you lost?"
Kannan stared at the boy — really stared — and for a moment time folded, the present peeling back to reveal a memory he couldn't bear.
A boy.A plea.A door closing.A promise broken.
He exhaled shakily.
"Arun," he said, voice trembling,"you should stay far from me."
The boy frowned.
"Why?"
Kannan's jaw tightened.
"Because everything I've ever loved… I've left."
Arun stepped closer, fearless.
"But you're still here."
Kannan blinked, disoriented.
"Why does that matter?"
Arun spoke with quiet certainty.
"Because people who want to leave don't try so hard to stay."
Kannan's expression shattered.
He looked away, gripping the railing to hide the tremor in his hands.
Sara stepped forward, placing a hand on Kannan's shoulder.
"Enough for today," she whispered."Let the river rest."
Kannan didn't move.
He was still staring at Arun —as if waiting to recognize someone,as if terrified he already had.
5. A Revelation Taking Shape
That night, rain swept over the backwaters like a curtain drawing between scenes.
Kannan lay awake, hearing thunder in the distance.
Arun slept in the corner room, curled like someone who trusted the world enough to rest.
And Sara watched the two of them with a slow, growing understanding that chilled her blood.
The resemblance.
The mannerisms.
The timing.
The aching, unfinished story.
Sara whispered into the storm:
"Dear God… is this what the river brought?"
Thunder rolled, deeper now.
As if answering.
And somewhere in the dark, Kannan whispered a name he had not said aloud in years—
"Akshay… forgive me."
But the river did not answer.
Not yet.