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Part : 5
Tittle : "Who are you?"
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17 February 2025
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Sarah rushed back home, the encounter with Aman replaying in her mind. She found Hazel pacing excitedly in their room, still surrounded by her web of sticky notes. Sarah recounted everything Aman had said – the connection between Luke, Marcus, and Abraham, their deaths, and finally, his cryptic reveal of being Marcus himself.
Hazel listened intently, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and a strange sense of confirmation. The pieces were falling into place, albeit in the most bizarre way imaginable.
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18 febuary 2025
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Hazel went to college with a renewed sense of urgency. She sought out Vasu, her mind buzzing with questions. Finding her near the library, Hazel didn't waste any time. "Vasu," she began, her voice a little breathless, "you mentioned Marcus before, in your dreams. What was your connection to him?"
Vasu looked up, her expression thoughtful for a moment. A soft smile touched her lips. "He was my brother," she replied simply. "My big brother. From that time."
Hazel's heart skipped a beat. Another piece clicked. "And... do you remember someone named Sid?" she asked, carefully watching Vasu's reaction.
Vasu's usual calm demeanor flickered. A subtle furrow appeared between her brows, and a hint of irritation flashed in her eyes. Her smile vanished. "Sid?" she repeated the name, a slight edge to her voice. "Yes... I remember a Sid. He... he was always around. Honestly," she added, a touch of annoyance coloring her tone, "that name... it's somehow... irritating." She couldn't quite explain why, but the mere mention of Sid seemed to rub her the wrong way.
"I don't know," Vasu admitted, a slight frown creasing her forehead as Hazel pressed her about her irritation with the name Sid. "I just... I just feel this strange annoyance whenever I hear it. It's like a little itch I can't scratch. I don't have a reason, it's just... there."
Later that day, when Hazel and Sarah were back home, having returned from their respective colleges, Hazel immediately cornered Sarah. "Did you find out anything more about Marcus and Sid? Is it still Aman and Jay?"
Sarah nodded. "Yeah, it's them. Aman is Marcus, and Jay... Jay seems to be Sid."
"Did you talk to Aman more?" Hazel pressed, eager for more details.
Sarah shook her head. "No, he left after the first half of college today. Said he had some urgent work."
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1 March 2025
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And so the days turned into more than a week. Each day, Sarah would return from college with the same news: Aman was absent, always busy with something. Hazel's excitement was slowly being tempered by the lack of progress.
Finally, Sarah managed to get her home wifi repaired. The first thing she did was text Aman. "Hey Aman, haven't seen you in college for ages. Everything okay?"
A reply came quickly. "Hey Sarah, so sorry for being MIA. My grandfather passed away last week. It's been... a lot."
Sarah's heart softened. She immediately typed back, her previous impatience replaced with genuine sympathy. "Oh, Aman, I'm so sorry to hear that. Please take your time to grieve and be with your family. Don't worry about college at all. Come back when you're feeling up to it."
She showed the exchange to Hazel, a sigh escaping her lips. "His grandfather passed away. That's why he's been gone. It's going to take a lot of work to figure all of this out." The initial thrill of discovery was now tinged with the reality of navigating their present lives while piecing together a mysterious past.
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2 march 2025
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One quiet Sunday morning in their Jaipur home, Sarah was idly browsing Pinterest when she stumbled upon the same set of quotes that had triggered her intense deja-vu the previous week. She showed them to Hazel, who was currently on a video call with Vasu, her phone propped up against a cushion.
"Hey, look at these," Sarah said, holding her phone out for Hazel to see. Hazel glanced at the screen, her eyes widening. "Wait... those are the same ones I saw! The ones that felt so... familiar." She relayed the quotes to Vasu over the call, her voice filled with a mixture of surprise and intrigue. "Vasu, these are so weirdly similar to the things I've been feeling too!"
"Maybe we should try to contact the person who posted them," Vasu suggested, her voice thoughtful. "Ask them where they found these quotes. It might be a clue, you know?"
Sarah frowned, a knot of unease tightening in her stomach. "I don't know... I have a bad feeling about this. Telling the whole world, or even just random people online, about these strange dreams and feelings... it feels risky. What if it's nothing? What if we attract the wrong kind of attention?"
Vasu scoffed from the other end of the call. "Oh, come on, Sarah! 'Put your bad feeling in your mouth and use your fingers to tap on your screen!' What's the worst that could happen? We're just asking a question."
After a bit more back-and-forth, with Vasu's persistent teasing finally wearing her down, Sarah reluctantly agreed to reach out. She clicked on the profile of the user who had posted the quotes. The ID was '@wang_yibo', and the profile logo was a striking image of a black and red wolf.
Taking a deep breath, Sarah typed a polite greeting. "Hello," she wrote, followed by, "Hope you're having a good day."
The reply came quickly, and it was far from friendly. "What do you want?" Wang responded curtly, his tone gruff.
Sarah looked at Hazel, a silent 'see? I told you so' in her eyes. Hazel just shrugged, urging her to continue.
Sarah typed again, a touch more hesitant this time. "Sorry to bother you, but I had a question about some of your pins?"
Wang's next message was equally unwelcoming. "What makes you think I'd answer any of your questions?"
"I'm a writer," Sarah replied, hoping to sound innocuous. "And I was curious about the source of some of the quotes you've posted."
"Why are you so interested in these quotes?" Wang asked, his tone suspicious. "There are plenty of other quotes out there."
"Because all the quotes on your ID seem to come from the same source," Sarah pointed out, hoping her intuition wouldn't sound too strange.
"And what makes you think that?" Wang challenged.
Sarah hesitated. "I... I've heard them before," she typed, deciding to keep it vague. "I just... know."
His next question sent a shiver down her spine. Her pupils widened slightly as she read the words on the screen.
"Who are you?"