📅 Early December — Scholarship Exam Day
đź“Ť Devgarh
Winter morning came too fast.
Fog wrapped the road from Nandanpur to Devgarh so thick that headlights looked like floating orbs. The scooters moved slowly, carefully — four of them, pairs as always.
No one joked.
Even Vivaan was quiet.
Before the Gate
Outside the exam centre, parents waited near tea stalls, hands wrapped around paper cups. Students clutched admit cards like lifelines.
Ishanvi stood near the gate, rubbing her cold fingers together.
Abhay noticed.
Without thinking, he stepped closer.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
She nodded. "Nervous. But… not unfocused."
He exhaled. "Same."
They stood there — just the two of them — while siblings hovered nearby.
Vaidehi whispered to Raghav, "They look… different today."
Aariv frowned. "Serious."
Ishanvi turned to Abhay.
"No matter what happens today," she said softly, "we give our best. Not fear. Not confusion."
Abhay met her eyes.
"I'm glad we talked," he admitted. "I feel… steady."
And for the first time in days—
The faint warmth returned to her palms.
The water in his bottle rested, calm.
Focused.
Inside the Exam Hall
Silence.
Pens scratched paper.
Time ticked loudly.
Ishanvi's mind stayed sharp.
Diagrams flowed.
Answers came.
Abhay solved steadily, step by step.
No flickers.
No reactions.
Just control through calm.
Outside, the fog began to lift.
---
The Waiting
The exam ended.
Students poured out — relieved, exhausted, buzzing.
Parents searched faces.
Siblings ran up.
"How was it?"
"Tough?"
"Did you finish?"
"I think… okay," Ishanvi said honestly.
Abhay nodded. "Better than expected."
For a moment, relief settled.
Then—
A scream.
The River News
A man ran toward the crowd, breathless.
"Sudarshini—!"
"Two scooters—!"
"Slipped from the old curve—!"
Panic exploded.
People shouted names.
Parents grabbed phones.
Teachers rushed toward the road.
Ishanvi's heart dropped.
Abhay turned cold.
"Which scooters?" someone yelled.
"From Nandanpur side," the man said. "Students— I think—"
Ishanvi felt the world tilt.
Her breath came fast.
That's us.
That road.
That curve.
Across the chaos, they found each other's eyes.
Fear — raw, sudden, suffocating.
The Search
By evening, people gathered at the Sudarshini.
Torches.
Voices.
Police.
"River is strong," someone muttered.
"Bodies…"
"Hard to find."
That word echoed.
Bodies.
Raghav clenched his fists.
Vaidehi stood frozen.
Aariv started crying quietly.
Vrinda held Meera's hand.
But no scooter was found.
No bag.
No trace.
Just disturbed water.
The Belief
By nightfall, whispers spread.
"They must have fallen in."
"No one survives that current."
"River doesn't return what it takes."
Ishanvi stood near the bank, shaking.
Abhay stared at the dark water.
The river flowed unnaturally calm.
Too calm.
And somewhere deep inside them both, a terrible realization settled —
People believed they were going to die.
That the Sudarshini would take them.
That nothing would be found.
Their siblings didn't know why…
But they felt it too.
Something had changed.
Not just in fate.
In the river itself.