The world tilted. Sound shrank to a high-pitched whine as Kunal's knees buckled. Darkness swallowed the street, the alley, everything. He was falling.
"Kunal!"
Ananya's voice cut through the haze. She reached him just in time, arms wrapping around him as if catching something precious, breaking his fall. She'd been walking closer to him than Abhishek—one of those small details that meant something when things went bad. Her panic was raw and natural.
Abhishek, a few steps ahead, heard her sudden cry and spun around. He saw Kunal collapsing into Ananya's arms, unconscious. For a split second he didn't know how to react, his eyes flicked to the mouth of the alley which Kunal was facing while falling. The darkness there felt... different. He couldn't explain it—just a strange, heavy stillness. Something felt off but he couldn't put a finger on it.
While he was in daze Ananya's voice yanked him back.
"Abhishek, come, quickly, look what happened to Kunal, he just fell down while walking, help me!" She was panicking hard.
The figure in the alley, if it was ever there, was gone. Nothing but shadows now. Kunal was out cold, but breathing.
"Hospital?" Ananya asked, panic still thick in her voice.
"Calm down! He said he just needs some rest and if we take him to the hospital he will definitely not like it and you know his temper," Abhishek replied quickly. "Let's get him home first. We'll see how he does there and after that we will decide what we should do."
They each took one side, supporting his weight. "Thankfully my car's nearby," Abhishek said, guiding them toward it.
As they lifted Kunal into the passenger seat, Abhishek felt something odd—Kunal's frame was different. Leaner. Tighter. Like someone who'd been training hard. That wasn't the Kunal he knew. Kunal was always lean but he didn't had the muscularity which he has now.
'I Guess after all these months he finally hit the gym,' he thought, brushing the thought aside. 'Overdid it, probably. Makes sense. He's just like this always at everything pushing himself over the limit. I should give an earful to this reckless guy.' He was also noticing Ananya's over the top reactions and concern.
The short drive to Kunal's place was silent.
Inside the apartment, they eased him onto the sofa. The air inside was stale, touched with the faint scent of old food and long nights. Ananya found a damp cloth for his forehead while Abhishek paced, phone in hand, debating calling Kunal's parents. In the end, they decided to wait.
Kunal stirred. Groaned. His eyes opened slowly.
Ananya was at his side in seconds. "You're awake," she whispered while gently removing removing the damp cloth.
"Thank God," Abhishek added, stepping in. "Man, you scared the shit out of us."
Kunal blinked. The ceiling above him was familiar, but the weight in his head made the room swing.
And then—it all came rushing back. The alley. The whisper. The thing which he thought was a shadow but wasn't . And The name and whatever that thing spoke about.
Kunala. The destiny has found you.They are closing up on you. Accept it. Or else things will fall apart. Again!
"What happened?" Abhishek asked. "You just dropped like a broken tree."
"We need to consult a doctor. Now," Ananya added. "This wasn't just nothing."
Kunal sat up slowly, the world still swaying. He wanted to tell them. Needed to. But the words stopped in his throat. He was afraid to come out as someone on drugs and hallucinating.
They wouldn't believe him. Hell, even he barely believed it not with everything happening to him. He still feels like he is still breathing but the pain brings him to the reality.
"I don't know," he muttered. "Dizzy. Stress, I guess. Haven't been able to sleep properly since some time."
He waved it off. "I'm fine. Just need some rest. No doctors, please. Annie!"
They exchanged a look. Not convinced, but not ready to fight him either.
"Alright," Ananya said quietly. "But you have to rest. Promise us. And if anything feels off—you call me, us."
"I promise," he said.
A half-lie. Maybe.
They lingered a bit longer, then left with a final check-in, the door clicked shut behind them.
He was all alone again. He wanted to ask them to stay over with him but he couldn't come to ask it loud.
The quiet pressed in. The air in the room felt heavier, suffocating somehow.
Kunal closed his eyes. That moment, the voice in the alley wouldn't leave him. The figure. The whisper. And the name—
Kunala.
It echoed inside him, soft but unrelenting. Not just a word. Like a chant. A key to something which he should unravel.
The dreams, the flashbacks, the wrongness in his body—it all led back to that name. Like he'd been living someone else's life. Or trying to forget his own. He has this lingering feeling that this is just not his imagination there's something definitely going on with him but he can't even ask for help. What he is going to tell others. That he is hearing voices in his head?
He opened his eyes again. The room felt too quiet. Too small. He could still feel the figure's presence, like a weight pressing against his chest.
He knew he wasn't sleeping tonight. Again!
To be continued...