Siya finished the story.
As the final words faded into the quiet air, she noticed something unsettling. Maan didn't look right. The excitement that usually shone in his eyes had vanished, replaced by confusion and discomfort.
Siya's expression changed instantly. She had already sensed it.
She stepped closer.
"Maan… are you alright?" she asked softly. "Tell me… are you seeing something?"
Maan held his head tightly, his breathing uneven.
"My head… it feels like it's splitting apart, Sister," he said, his voice trembling. "It's strange… the story you told… it feels familiar. Like I've lived it before. I don't understand what's happening to me…"
Without wasting a moment, Siya guided him to sit down. She knelt beside him, her voice calm yet firm.
"Don't force your mind," she said gently. "You don't need to think. Just calm yourself… take deep breaths."
Maan obeyed. Slowly, his breathing steadied.
And then—
His eyes opened.
But he was no longer there.
The world around him had changed.
The campsite was gone.
Siya was gone.
Instead, he stood beside a vast river flowing endlessly under golden light. Lush green fields stretched toward the horizon, alive with wind and silence. The air felt ancient… familiar… as if time itself moved differently here.
A voice suddenly echoed nearby.
"Son, come back! Don't go too close to the river!"
Maan turned.
A small child was running toward the riverbank while a woman chased after him, laughing and worried at the same time.
But something else caught Maan's attention.
Far away stood another woman.
She radiated an unearthly glow. Her presence felt divine, timeless. He couldn't see her face clearly, yet a strange certainty filled him—
He had seen her before.
Somewhere.
Somewhen.
The woman watched the child silently from a distance, her eyes filled with something deeper than affection… almost destiny itself.
An unknown emotion stirred within Maan.
As he began walking toward her—
The world shattered.
"Maan!"
Siya's voice broke through reality.
Her hands gripped his shoulders, shaking him gently.
His eyes were open, yet his consciousness lingered somewhere else. His mind had wandered into another realm entirely.
Gradually, awareness returned.
"I'm fine, Sister," Maan said, trying to calm her. "Please… relax."
"What happened?" Siya asked carefully.
Maan described everything he had seen—the river, the child, the glowing woman, the overwhelming sense of familiarity.
Questions began forming rapidly inside Siya's mind.
But she stopped them before they could surface.
She forced a faint smile.
"Don't worry," she said. "You're probably just exhausted. You're not used to such a long journey. Your body and mind need rest."
"Tonight we stay here. Tomorrow morning, we continue."
Maan nodded silently. Her explanation felt reasonable… yet something inside him remained unsettled.
From a distance, I watched quietly, observing every movement, every word Siya spoke, trying to understand what she was hiding.
Night descended.
The sky filled with countless stars.
Maan sat alone, gazing upward, lost in thought.
Siya walked over and sat beside him.
"Thinking about something?" she asked.
Maan smiled faintly. "No, Sister. Just watching the beauty of the sky."
Siya looked at the stars for a moment before speaking again.
"Would you like to hear another story? A lighter one this time."
Maan immediately nodded. "Yes… I'd love to."
Siya began.
"Once," she said softly, "Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati decided to hold a competition between their two sons—Ganesha and Kartikeya."
"The challenge was simple: whoever completed three rounds around the entire universe and returned first would receive the divine fruit of victory."
"Kartikeya's vehicle was a magnificent peacock, swift and powerful. Without hesitation, he soared into the cosmos, determined to win through speed."
"Ganesha, however, had a heavy body and rode a small mouse. He knew he could never match Kartikeya's speed."
"So he paused… and thought."
A gentle smile appeared on Siya's face.
"Then, instead of traveling across the universe, Ganesha calmly walked around his parents—Shiva and Parvati—three times."
"When asked why he had done so, he replied…"
'For me, my parents are the entire universe.'
"Moved by his wisdom, devotion, and understanding, Shiva and Parvati declared Ganesha the true winner."
The story ended, but the night remained alive with silence.
Above them, the stars shimmered like ancient witnesses.
And somewhere deep within Maan's mind, the river… the child… and the glowing woman still waited—like memories refusing to stay buried.
Siya looked at the sky, her calm face hiding a storm of realization.
Because she knew—
What Maan had seen was not imagination....