It was evening.

The sky was slowly darkening as Somya sat silently in the back seat of the car, watching the road pass by through the window. She was on her way to the hospital to see her father. He had cancer. The word itself felt heavy, like a stone pressing against her chest.

For the past few weeks, life had stopped feeling normal. Her home no longer felt like home. She was staying at her aunt’s house now, a place that never truly accepted her presence.

Every corner of that house reminded her that she didn’t belong there.

As the car moved forward, her thoughts grew louder.

Why does this always happen to me?

Am I not meant to be happy?

Does God not like seeing me happy? Is that why He keeps putting me into strange and painful situations?

She clenched her fists in her lap.

Living at her aunt’s house felt suffocating. Every word, every look made her feel like a burden. She hated it there. But what choice did she have? Her father was in the hospital, her world was falling apart, and circumstances had forced her to stay.

She closed her eyes for a moment.

Then everything happened at once.

Out of nowhere, a truck appeared.

The impact was violent.

Metal screamed as the truck crashed into their car, crushing it from the side. Glass shattered into the air. The car spun, then came to a sudden, horrifying stop.

Even though it was evening, the road was almost empty. No crowd. No immediate help. Just silence—broken only by the sound of twisted metal.

The truck driver stepped out.

He looked at the wrecked car calmly, without panic. He walked closer, pulled a phone from his pocket, and made a call.

Inside the car were Somya, her aunt, and her uncle.

Her aunt and uncle were badly injured. Blood was everywhere—on their clothes, on the seats, dripping onto the floor of the car. They weren’t moving.

Somya tried to scream, but no sound came out.

A large shard of glass had pierced into her waist. Pain exploded through her body. Her head felt heavy, dizzy. Warm blood flowed down her forehead, blurring her vision.

She was slipping in and out of consciousness.

Through her fading sight, she saw the man standing near the car, speaking on the phone.

“Everyone in the car is dead,” he said coldly. “What should be done with the bodies?”

Somya’s heart pounded weakly.

A voice answered from the other end of the call.

“Do nothing,” the voice said. “It should look like an accident.”

The call ended.

Darkness slowly swallowed her.

Somya lost consciousness.

And then… she dreamed.

In the dream, there was no ground beneath her feet. The air felt strange, heavy. In front of her, a severed head floated in the air, moving gently as if carried by the wind. Its eyes were open. Watching her.

“You will not die so easily,” the head said.

Somya felt fear crawl through her body.

“I have the power to give you anything,” it continued calmly, “and I also have the power to take everything away.”

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

“What are you?” she asked. “What are you saying? I don’t understand anything.”

The floating head moved closer.

“I am the one you worship every day,” it replied.

Suddenly, realization hit her.

Rahu. Her mind flashed back to the astrologer’s words. Her Rahu period had begun. That was why she had been told to perform Rahu Yantra puja. That was why everything had started going wrong.

Her throat tightened.

“Has my end time come?” Somya asked softly. “Am I going to die?”

Rahu laughed.

The sound echoed through the emptiness—cold, mocking, powerful.

Somya opened her eyes. Bright lights burned above her. Machines beeped steadily. The smell of medicine filled the air.

She was in a hospital.

Her body ached. Pain spread through her head and waist. She tried to move but couldn’t. Fear rushed through her chest as memories of the accident returned.

The truck.

The phone call.

The voice.

Tears rolled silently down her cheeks.

She was alive.

But somewhere deep inside, she knew the truth.

The accident was not the end.

It was only the beginning.

Somya slowly tried to understand where she was and how she had come here. Her head hurt as she searched her memory. Who brought me here? she wondered.

Just then, a nurse walked in.

“Please lie down,” the nurse said gently. “You need rest.”

Suddenly, Somya remembered her aunt and uncle. Fear filled her chest.

She grabbed the nurse’s hand.

“How are my aunt and uncle?” she asked urgently. “Where are they? Can I see them?”

Before the nurse could answer, a man’s voice interrupted.

“No,” he said firmly. “You cannot see them.”

Somya turned toward him, shocked and confused.

“Who are you?” she asked. “Why are you here? What do you want from me? And why are you stopping me from meeting them?”

The man raised his left eyebrow slightly.

“So many questions at once?” he said calmly.

Somya fell silent.

“My name is Rihan Roy,” he continued. “You have been unconscious in the hospital for five days. You need rest. Your aunt and uncle are in critical condition. Nothing can be said for sure right now.”

He paused before adding, “You also have a head injury. Please don’t take too much stress.”

Somya listened quietly.

“I was passing by that road the same day,” Rihan said. “I saw the accident and brought all of you to the hospital immediately.”

Somya looked at him with relief.

“Thank you very much,” she said softly. “You saved my life. And I’m sorry for asking so many questions.”

At that moment, two police officers entered the room to ask questions about the car accident.

Rihan stopped them.

“Sir,” he said politely, guiding the officer outside, “her condition is weak. We can talk about this later.”

The officer nodded. “Alright, we’ll talk later.”

After they left, Somya suddenly remembered something.

“I need to call my mother,” she said, looking around. “Where is my phone?”

She tried to get down from the bed.

Before she could, Rihan rushed forward and lifted her into his arms.

“You’re stubborn,” he said coldly. “I told you, you need rest. And still you tried to get out of bed.”

“I was looking for my phone,” Somya replied. “I need to make a call.”

Rihan handed her the phone.

She dialed her mother’s number.

“Somya?” her mother’s worried voice came through the phone. “Are you okay, beta? You need rest. Please take care.”

“I’m fine, Maa,” Somya said softly.

“I won’t be able to come right now,” her mother continued. “I’m taking care of your father. But don’t worry—Rihan is my friend’s son. He’ll take care of you.”

After the call ended, Somya felt a little better.

For the first time since the accident, her heart felt slightly calmer.

But as she looked at Rihan standing near the window, a strange uneasiness settled inside her.

This Rihan feels a little rude, she thought. Why would he take care of me? And why am I scared of him? What should I do?

Her heart felt restless.

God, she thought silently, where have you brought me and trapped me this time?

Somya stayed in the hospital for two more days. Slowly, her condition began to improve. Her aunt and uncle were now out of danger and had moved out of critical condition.

That day, Rihan’s mother, Anamika Roy, came to the hospital.

She first spoke to Somya’s aunt and uncle and explained everything to them. After listening, Somya’s aunt folded her hands gratefully.

“How can we ever thank you?” she said. “You saved our lives. Thank you so much.”

Anamika smiled politely.

“Please don’t say such things,” she replied gently. “If anyone else were in Rihan’s place, they would have done the same. Please don’t embarrass us by thanking us like this.”

Just then, Rihan entered and greeted them.

“This is my duty, aunty,” he said simply.

Anamika then spoke again, “Somya will be discharged today, but she still needs a lot of rest. Yami is at the hospital with her husband, so I think it would be better if Somya comes home with us.”

Somya’s aunt looked apologetic.

“I’m sorry for troubling you so much,” she said.

Anamika smiled softly, though sadness appeared on her face.

“If my daughter were alive today, she would be Somya’s age,” she said quietly. “But leave all that. Somya is like my daughter too. Please don’t worry—she will recover soon.”

Later that day, Anamika and Rihan brought Somya home with them.

They took her to her room and asked her to rest.

As Anamika stepped out, she thought to herself, This child has suffered so much. Life has been very hard on her… and Yami’s life has never been easy either.

She sighed.

If only Rihan married Somya, she could stay with me forever, Anamika thought.

In her heart, Anamika had always seen Somya as her own daughter. Ever since childhood, she had wished that Somya would one day become Rihan’s wife.

Later, Anamika asked him casually, “Rihan, how do you find Somya? She’s very sweet, isn’t she?”

Rihan frowned slightly.

“Sweet?” he said. “She’s a question bank. She asks so many questions—even my teachers never asked me that many.”

Anamika laughed.

“Don’t talk like that,” she said. “At least she’s not a robot like you.”

Evening slowly arrived, but Somya was still asleep.

Anamika was preparing dinner when she called out, “Rihan, Somya hasn’t eaten anything since morning. Wake her up, beta. I’ll bring soup for her.”

Rihan went to Somya’s room and tried to wake her gently.

“Somya, wake up,” he said. “You should eat something.”

Half-asleep, Somya murmured, “Golu… umm… I don’t want to eat… I’m not hungry…”

She looked peaceful.

Rihan stopped speaking.

For a moment, he just stood there, watching her. Her sleepy voice, her calm face—everything about her looked strangely soft.

She looks… cute, he thought without realizing it. Even her sleepy voice is cute.

He kept looking at her quietly.

From the doorway, Anamika saw this scene.

She smiled to herself.

Oh God, she thought, they look so perfect together.