The motorcycle disappeared down the road.
Its sound faded slowly until the street returned to normal.
Students walked past us again. Cars moved. Someone nearby laughed.
But the air around us still felt heavy.
I looked at the folded note in my hand again.
"You should stop now."
"Ruhan," I said quietly, "who are these people?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he watched the road where the motorcycle had vanished.
Like he was thinking about something very carefully.
Finally, he spoke.
"They shouldn't have contacted me this soon."
A chill ran through me.
"Contacted you?"
He turned toward me.
For a moment, his expression looked different.
More serious than I had ever seen before.
"Pragati," he said slowly, "there's something I never told you."
I crossed my arms slightly.
"That sounds like the beginning of a very bad explanation."
A small smile appeared on his face, but it disappeared quickly.
"You remember the day I transferred here?"
"Of course."
"I didn't come here because of school."
That sentence made my stomach tighten.
"Then why did you come?"
Ruhan looked around once more.
Making sure no one was standing too close.
Then he lowered his voice.
"Because someone here is connected to something dangerous."
My mind raced.
"Dangerous how?"
Before answering, he took the paper from my hand and looked at the strange symbol again.
Then he said something that made my heart skip.
"This symbol… belongs to a group that shouldn't even know I'm here."
I stared at him.
"Wait."
"You're saying you know them?"
His silence was answer enough.
A thousand questions suddenly filled my head.
"Ruhan," I said slowly, "what exactly are you involved in?"
He exhaled quietly.
Like someone who had been carrying a secret for a long time.
"Let's just say…" he began.
"I wasn't sent here to study."
The wind picked up again, rustling the trees above us.
My heart started beating faster.
"Then what were you sent here for?"
He looked straight at me.
And for the first time since we met, his voice carried a weight I had never heard before.
"To find someone."
My mind immediately jumped to one thought.
"Who?"
For a second, he didn't answer.
Then he said something unexpected.
"I didn't know at first."
"But now?"
His eyes met mine.
And the quiet street suddenly felt like it was holding its breath.
"Now I think …"
"…it might be connected to you."
Everything went silent.
Before I could even process what he had said—
My phone buzzed.
A message notification appeared.
Unknown number.
My fingers trembled slightly as I opened it.
There was only one sentence.
"You shouldn't have stayed with him."
And below it—
The same symbol from the note.
I slowly lifted my eyes toward Ruhan.
"Looks like they know about me too."
Ruhan's expression darkened.
"Yeah," he said quietly.
"And that's exactly what I was afraid of."
✨ To be continued…
Written by Pragati Priya (pen name - Zoey)