THE SCAR I BORN WITH CHAPTER-2 (SOMEONE KNOWS MY SCAR)

One month passed without either of us talking about Rihan. Neither me nor Hazel brought him up again. A strange fear had settled inside both of us, and even looking toward the storage room felt wrong. We didn't tell anyone at home either—not Mom, not Dad, and Hazel didn't tell anyone in her family.

The problem was that staying silent didn't make things disappear.

My dreams never stopped. In fact, they became stranger.

I was no longer standing in that endless corridor. Now I found myself inside a huge dark room. In the center stood a massive iron cage, and inside it was a dark shadow. It had no face, no eyes, nothing but darkness. Yet somehow, I always felt like it was watching me.

Every dream was the same.

And every time I tried to get closer to it, I woke up covered in sweat.

I couldn't understand what any of it meant.

And I definitely couldn't understand how Hazel seemed to know so much about it.

June 7, 2021

It was Sunday.

Hazel and I were playing in the park. Mom was there with me, and Hazel had come with her uncle. The weather was nice, and for the first time in a long while, everything felt normal.

We were sitting on the grass playing house.

Hazel had brought her toy kitchen set—a plastic stove, plastic utensils, and plastic vegetables. Somehow, we had become the most serious chefs in the world.

"I'm back from work," I announced dramatically, pretending to be exhausted.

Hazel put her hands on her hips.

"Food's almost ready. Go wash your hands."

"Yes, ma'am."

We both laughed.

Then Hazel picked up a tiny plastic pan.

"Nirbhay, pass me the salt."

I froze.

So did Hazel.

For a couple of seconds, neither of us said anything.

Then she looked at me.

"Sorry."

I laughed.

"It's okay."

"No, I mean..."

"Come on, Hazel. It happens."

She nodded.

"Reyansh, pass me the salt."

I handed it to her, and the conversation ended there.

Or at least, I thought it did.

For some reason, the name "Nirbhay" stayed stuck in my head. I had never heard it before.

Evening arrived, and Hazel left with her uncle. I went to Mom's clinic with her.

The clinic wasn't exactly my favorite place, but it was still better than sitting home alone.

I was drawing near the reception desk when the front door opened.

A man walked in.

He was tall, thin, and strangely unsettling. His beard was messy, his hair looked uncombed, and his English was terrible.

"Doctor... available?"

The receptionist nodded politely.

"Please wait."

I kept looking at him.

Then he looked at me.

Straight into my eyes.

A moment later, his gaze shifted to my scar.

And he froze.

Exactly the way Dad had frozen when I was born.

A strange feeling settled in my stomach.

The man slowly walked toward me.

I stood up from my chair.

"Your name?"

His English was broken.

"Reyansh."

The color drained from his face.

As if he'd just seen a ghost.

"No..."

he whispered.

"Impossible..."

I had no idea what he was talking about.

Just then, Mom stepped out of her office.

"Mr. Drovek?"

The man immediately returned to normal, as though he hadn't said anything at all.

Then he followed Mom into her office.

But before leaving, he looked at me one more time.

Straight at my scar.

And there was fear in his eyes.

Real fear.

That night, I couldn't sleep.

July 3, 2021

The day was awful.

Everything had gone wrong from the very beginning.

Hazel was in a bad mood.

So was I.

And some of the kids were bothering us as usual.

During lunch break, Hazel and I were sitting in our usual spot when the same boy who always called me a monster walked over with his friends.

"Look," he said.

"The monster and his girlfriend."

I immediately stood up.

"Shut up."

He laughed.

"Or what?"

Before I could answer—

SLAP!

The entire playground fell silent.

Hazel had slapped him.

Right across the face.

In front of everyone.

The boy looked shocked.

So did I.

Maybe Hazel was too.

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" she snapped.

"What did we ever do to you?"

Tears filled the boy's eyes, and he ran straight to a teacher.

Ten minutes later, Hazel and I were standing outside the principal's office.

Punishment.

For both of us.

The teacher made us stand through the entire period.

I stayed quiet.

Hazel did too.

But she didn't look guilty.

Only angry.

School ended, and I went home.

That's when I realized the day wasn't done getting worse.

The front door was open.

The house felt strangely quiet.

I walked into the living room and found Mom sitting on the couch. Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying.

"Mom?"

I asked softly.

She tried to smile.

But couldn't.

"Where's Dad?"

She didn't answer.

My heartbeat sped up.

"Mom?"

This time, tears filled her eyes.

"He left."

"What?"

"For a few days."

A few days.

But the way she said it...

It didn't sound that simple.

I quietly went to my room.

That night, sleep came late.

And when it finally did, I found myself back in the corridor.

But this time...

I wasn't alone.

Another boy was standing near the door.

Not Rihan.

Someone else.

He looked at me as if he knew me.

As if he had been waiting for me for a very long time.

I slowly walked toward him.

"Who are you?"

He didn't answer.

He simply smiled.

And then—

BOOOOM!

A loud sound echoed behind me, as if someone had slammed against an iron cage with incredible force.

The corridor lights began flickering.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

And then everything went dark.

Complete darkness.

In that darkness, I heard a whisper.

Very soft.

Very cold.

"Don't look for him..."

"He's not ready yet."

Before I could understand what that meant, I woke up.

And for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that the boy from my dream...

Knew me.

Better than I knew myself.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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