The Land of Peace

The doors shut behind Tamas with a heavy metallic echo

Outside, the wind was still.

But nothing about the silence felt normal.

Tamas stood there for a moment longer than usual.

For the first time, he looked restless.

Not angry.

Not calm.

Just… unsettled.

Raffy stepped closer.

“Boss… you’re not yourself.”

Tamas didn’t reply immediately. His gaze stayed fixed on the dark horizon, as if something inside it was calling him back.

Then, quietly—

“Take me there.”

Raffy understood without asking.

He nodded once.

The car engine started in silence.

The city lights blurred as they moved through empty roads.

Tamas sat in the back seat, leaning slightly forward, elbows on his knees.

His fingers tightened once.

Then relaxed.

Then tightened again.

Raffy glanced at him through the mirror.

“You haven’t been to the Land of Peace in a long time.”

Tamas’s voice came low.

“That’s why I need it.”

The vehicle left the noise of the city behind.

Skyscrapers faded.

Streetlights became fewer.

And slowly… the world grew quieter.

Too quiet.

Finally, they arrived.

A gate stood alone in the middle of nowhere—surrounded by silence, guarded not by weapons, but by presence.

No chaos.

No blood.

No noise.

Just control.

This place was called—

The Land of Peace.

But everyone who knew it… knew the truth.

It wasn’t peace.

It was control disguised as silence.

Raffy opened the door.

Tamas stepped out slowly.

The moment his feet touched the ground, his expression changed slightly.

The restlessness didn’t disappear.

But it was contained.

Like something inside him had finally been locked again.

Raffy spoke carefully.

“You only come here when something from the past starts breathing again.”

A pause.

Tamas looked ahead.

“I buried it once.”

His voice dropped lower.

“But buried things don’t always stay dead.”

A wind passed through the empty space.

For a second, even the silence felt heavier.

Raffy stepped aside.

“The inner hall is ready.”

Tamas walked forward without another word.

Each step was steady now.

But his mind wasn’t.

Something had already started.

And even here… in the Land of Peace…

It had followed him.

On the other side…

Ritika arrived at the Land of Peace.

The silence here felt different from the city—heavier, deeper… almost unfamiliar.

She stood still for a moment, her eyes lowering slightly.

She missed her parents, who were in India.

A soft breeze passed through.

In a sudden movement, her red dupatta slipped away and flew with the wind.

“Hey—!” she called, immediately running after it.

The dupatta moved like it had a will of its own, dancing through the air… until it drifted toward a figure standing ahead.

Tamas.

It landed across his face.

He didn’t move at first.

Then slowly, he caught it in his hand.

Ritika finally reached him, slightly out of breath.

“I’m sorry… can I have my dupatta back?” she said politely.

Tamas looked at her for a moment.

Then he gave it back.

But his fingers lingered on the fabric a second longer than necessary.

Ritika took it quickly, holding it close.

She turned to leave.

But something in the air stopped her.

Tamas was still looking at her.

Not in a way that was loud.

But in a way that was sharp… observant… quiet.

A deep silence stretched between them.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Just eye contact.

Unbroken.

Heavy.

Then Ritika suddenly pulled the dupatta closer and turned away.

“Strange man…” she muttered, walking off.

Tamas didn’t respond.

But he didn’t look away either.

After a few steps, Ritika paused.

She turned slightly.

“Why are you here?” Tamas asked calmly.

Ritika looked at him over her shoulder.

“That’s none of your business.”

And she walked away.

Tamas stood still for a moment longer.

Then he turned slightly… as if the moment had already ended for him.

But just then—

Something fell near his feet.

A college ID card.

He picked it up.

His eyes scanned it slowly.

Ritika Sanjay Rai.

A pause.

The wind passed again.

Tamas looked at the name for a moment longer than necessary.

Then quietly—

“So this is her…”

END OF CHAPTER 4

But…

Who is Ritika really is ?

And why does it feel like her arrival is not a coincidence… but a part of something already in motion?

Is this the beginning of peace…

or the start of something far more dangerous....

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