The storm had raged for hours, shaking every window of the small house. But now, as the rain finally began to ease and the thunder rolled into silence, Sulochana let out a trembling breath. She sat pressed against Nishant, clutching little Arika so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
Even with the storm fading, fear still clung to her like a second skin.
When the last drops of rain softened, she swallowed hard and whispered,
"please check outside. See… if he's gone."
Her voice cracked.
Nishant gently took her cold, shaking hands and squeezed them. His eyes told her to breathe, to hold herself together. Then he inhaled slowly — steadying himself for whatever might be waiting on the other side.
He walked toward the window with cautious, measured steps. The wooden floor creaked beneath him. The world outside was still, drenched, and shrouded in dim pre-dawn light.
With a hesitant hand, he lifted the curtain.
Nothing.
The shadow… the presence that had been watching them… had vanished.
A slow breath escaped him — relief loosening his shoulders.
He turned back immediately.
"Sulochana… there's no one outside now. The shadow is gone."
That was all it took.
The fear she had been holding inside burst like a dam breaking. Sulochana collapsed into sobs, her voice shaking the quiet room.
Nishant rushed to her, made her sip water, and wrapped his arms around her as she trembled.
"Please… calm down. It's over for now. If you break like this, who will protect Arika? She's terrified just seeing you cry."
Sulochana looked down at Arika's pale little face. The child clung to her blouse, wide-eyed and confused. Sulochana kissed her forehead, wiped her own tears, and forced herself to breathe again.
In a burst, she stood up and hurried to the prayer room. She applied a tilak on Arika's forehead with shaking fingers and performed a quick ritual, circling her palm around the child to ward off any evil lingering in the air.
Then she rushed back to Nishant, her voice frantic but firm.
"Listen… we have to take Arika far away from here. That shadow came right to our doorstep today. Tomorrow, it will come for her. Before that happens, we leave. I won't even let its shadow fall on her."
Nishant didn't argue.
The tension in his jaw said he had been thinking the same.
He nodded sharply.
"You're right. We need to get her away from that thing. Pack only the essentials. I'll take the car out."
He hurried outside, while Sulochana packed in desperate speed — a few clothes, some important papers, a blanket, Arika's things. Then, holding Arika close, she rushed to the waiting car.
The moment she got inside, Nishant started the engine and sped away without looking back.
The sky was slowly shifting — night thinning into the earliest hint of dawn. But the darkness wasn't gone yet. It clung to the road, the trees, the edges of the world.
They had barely driven a few kilometers when—
A figure stepped into the headlights.
An old woman.
Standing in the middle of the road.
Still. Unmoving.
As if waiting for them.
Nishant's breath hitched. He turned the wheel, slammed the brakes — but it was too late.
The car struck her with a sickening thud.
The impact jolted everything. The vehicle swerved violently, losing balance as Nishant fought the steering wheel.
Before he could regain control, the car slammed into a tree.
Sulochana, sitting near the window, was thrown out with Arika in her arms just as the vehicle jerked to a stop.
They hit the muddy ground hard, but thankfully the fall wasn't from high speed. They were cut and bruised, shaken but alive.
Arika was safe — Sulochana had wrapped her arms around her like a shield.
But due to the jolt, Arika's pendant slipped from her neck and fell onto the ground.
---
Perfect — here is the continuation: Aftermath of the Crash, written in the same polished cinematic–thriller style.
---
For a few seconds after the crash, the world felt silent — painfully silent.
Only the ringing in Sulochana's ears and the faint groan of the engine filled the air. She lay in the cold mud, arms wrapped protectively around Arika. The child whimpered softly, burying her face in her mother's chest.
Sulochana forced herself up despite the sting in her elbows and knees.
"Arika…? Beta… are you okay?"
Arika nodded weakly, still startled, her fingers clutching Sulochana's saree.
Nishant stumbled out of the car, dazed, blood trickling from a cut on his forehead.
"Sulochana! Arika!" he shouted, half–panicked, half–relieved to see them moving.
He rushed to them, dropping to his knees.
"Are you both hurt? Tell me."
Sulochana shook her head. "I am fine… it just hurt a little."
Nishant exhaled shakily — relief turning his legs weak. He touched Arika's cheek.
"Thank God… thank God."
But before he could say more, Sulochana gasped suddenly.
Her eyes had fallen on something lying a few feet away, half–buried in the dirt.
Arika's pendant.
The tiny silver charm — her protection, her birth blessing, her shield — now glimmered faintly on the ground.
Sulochana whispered in dread,
"Nishant… her locket…"
He followed her gaze and saw it too.
He moved instantly, crawling toward it. But the moment he reached out to pick it up—
The ground beneath the pendant shivered.
A soft tremor. Impossible, unnatural.
Nishant froze.
The pendant twitched — as if something beneath the soil had pulled at it.
The wind grew cold in a single heartbeat.
Sulochana felt a chill crawl up her spine.
"Nishant… don't touch it."
Nishant didn't respond. He stared, breath held, as the pendant shifted again — just a fraction — dragging a thin line in the dirt.
Like someone… or something… was trying to claim it.
A distant crow cawed in the silence. The trees stood unnaturally still.
Nishant gathered his courage and quickly snatched the pendant from the ground.
The moment his fingers closed around it—
A sharp sting shot through his palm.
He hissed and jerked back.
A tiny burn mark appeared on his skin, shaped like the pendant's outline.
Sulochana's heartbeat spiked.
"Nishant… this is not auspicious."
Nishant swallowed, pocketing the pendant despite the pain.
"We don't have time. We need to leave before—"
He didn't finish.
Because behind them, near the spot where Arika's pendant had fallen…
Something moved beneath the soil again.
Slow. Crawling.
As if the earth itself was breathing.
---