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Here's the Prologue 🪷

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The afternoon had settled into a silence that didn't feel peaceful it felt watchful, as if something unseen lingered in the air.

The waterfall roared in the distance, its sound growing heavier with every step Shree and Maithili took toward it.

Sunlight danced on the water's surface, making it look harmless, almost inviting, yet something about it made Shree's heart uneasy in a way she couldn't explain.

"Come on, Shree," Maithili urged again, her tone light but persistent, "Thoda pass chalte ham log maza aaega."

Shree slowed down, her eyes fixed on the water. "Maithili... I don't know, it feels deep there, ager ham dono dub gye na milenge bhi nahi kahi." she said softly, almost to herself.

Maithili laughed, brushing off her concern like it was nothing. "You overthink too much. Relax."

And maybe she did.

Maybe it was nothing. With a small sigh, Shree nodded and followed her, though the uneasiness didn't leave it only grew quieter, settling somewhere inside her chest.

When they finally reached closer, Maithili suddenly stopped and turned back. "Theek hai tu phir ek kaam kar tu yahi ruk, I'll go call the others."

"Come quickly," Shree replied, her voice softer now, nearly lost in the sound of rushing water.

Left alone, she stepped closer to the edge, her thoughts drifting. The sunlight reflected in her eyes, the water glimmering like glass, hiding whatever lay beneath.

She didn't notice the shift behind her, didn't hear the approaching footsteps, didn't sense the moment tightening around her like a trap

UNTIL a sudden force pushed her forward.

A gasp escaped her lips, sharp and startled, and in the very next second, the ground beneath her disappeared. The world tilted, her balance broke, and before she could even process what had happened, the water swallowed her whole.

Cold. Violent. Unforgiving.

It wrapped around her instantly, stealing her breath, pulling her down as if she weighed nothing. Panic surged through her veins as her hands struggled against the emptiness, trying to find something to hold onto, something to stop the fall that didn't seem to end.

"Bachaaooo...!" her voice came out broken, barely escaping the water that rushed around her. "Maithiliiii...!"

But no one answered. The surface felt impossibly far, her strength slipping with every second as fear tightened its grip around her chest.

Her movements slowed, her breaths turned uneven, and just when it felt like everything was fading..

Someone jumped in.

Not a moment of hesitation. Not a second of doubt.

Shashank.

He cut through the water with a desperation he didn't even understand, his only focus is the sight of her struggling, sinking, disappearing.

The moment he reached her, he held onto her firmly, as if letting go wasn't an option his body even recognized. He pulled her up, fought the current, and brought her back to the surface, then to the shore, where air returned to her lungs in harsh, uneven gasps.

Shree coughed, her entire body trembling as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. She couldn't speak, couldn't even think...only feel the overwhelming rush of fear that hadn't left her yet.

"Shree... are you okay?" Shashank's voice came out strained, his hands still on her shoulders, his grip tighter than it should have been. "You're fine, right? You're not hurt? Please dhikhao mujhe tumhe kahi lagi to nahi naaa!!!"

There was something in his voice something unfamiliar, something raw that even he didn't recognize.

But she didn't answer. She couldn't. She only cried harder, her silence saying more than words ever could.

Maithili arrived moments later, panic covering her face as she rushed toward them, but Shashank barely stayed long enough to notice.

He explained briefly, his tone controlled yet distant, and then walked away, as if the air there had suddenly become too heavy for him to breathe.

Raghav and Rohan followed him, exchanging confused glances.

"What's wrong with you?" Raghav asked, trying to keep things normal. "You look like you've seen something serious."

"I'm fine, kuch nahi hua hai." Shashank replied, though his voice lacked conviction.

"At least tell us what happened, dost hai bhai tere!!" Rohan insisted.

There was a pause, a hesitation, and then quietly, almost like a truth slipping out before he could stop it, he said, "Shree."

Just her name..but the way it left his lips made both of them fall silent.

"She's fine now," Raghav said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You saved her. Nothing happened. Aur dekh waha Maithili ke saath khel rahi hai woh."

Rohan added casually, "Yaar woh to accha hua tune usee bacha liya warna to bhagawan na kare...!!"

Shashank didn't let him finish.

Before he could finish, Shashank turned and walked away abruptly, as if the thought itself was unbearable.

Raghav watched him leave, confused. "What just happened to him?"

Rohan exhaled slowly. "Pata nahi baad mein puchte hai."

Not too far away, hidden from everyone's sight, a girl stood with clenched fists and burning eyes.

"So the plan failed... again," she muttered under her breath, "Every single time. I don't know what fate she carries that she escapes everything. Today... today something could have happened. But no... Shashank had to come." Her jaw tightened. "Whenever I try to do anything against Shree, he always appears in between... and she survives. Par mai bhi dekhti hu algi baar kaise bachegi yeh ladki!!!!"

Meanwhile, unaware of the storm brewing elsewhere, Shashank returned to Shree, holding out something small in his hand.

"Here... eat this," he said gently. "You'll feel better bina kuch khaae tumhra bhi sir chakra raha hoga...kuch khaa lo."

Shree looked at him first really looked at him before silently taking it. As she began to eat, he turned to leave, as if staying any longer would reveal too much.

"Shashank...rukiye ek second."

Her voice stopped him.

He turned back.

"Thank you," she said softly, her eyes still glistening. "Today... you saved my life. Otherwise... I don't know what would have happened to me. Ager Tum nahi hote to ham aaj hi mar jaate...!!"

Her words struck him deeper than they should have.

He didn't respond.

Later, as everyone settled into the line, the noise of the chatter filled the space but Shashank remained silent.

His gaze found Shree again and again, her earlier words echoing endlessly in his mind.

"You saved my life...ager Tum nahi hote to ham aaj hi mar jaate"

A strange heaviness settled in his chest.

"Shashank... what happened? Itne chup kyu ho tum??" Shree asked, noticing his silence.

"Nothing," he replied quickly, "Just... apply this medicine to your wound. And take care. You just... you just got saved from drowning. Dhyaan rakha karo apna."

His voice faltered at the last two lines.

Before she could say anything more, he walked away.

He didn't stop walking until he was far away, up the hill where no one could see him, where the wind was strong enough to drown out the world but not his thoughts.

And that's when it hit him.

Not suddenly, not all at once...but like a wave that had been building quietly and finally crashed.

He ran a hand through his hair, his breath uneven, his chest tight in a way he couldn't understand.

"Why... am I feeling like this? Kyu jab aasun uske aae to dard ka ehsaas muje hua?" he whispered, his voice breaking slightly.

His mind replayed everything the moment she fell, the fear that shot through him, the way his heart had pounded like it would tear out of his chest, the desperation with which he had jumped in without thinking, without caring about anything else.

"If I had been late...toh..." he murmured, his throat going dry.

The thought didn't complete itself, but it didn't need to.

Because he felt it.

Deeply....Terrifyingly.

He let out a shaky breath, his eyes stinging as he realized...he was crying. And not just a tear or two, but something deeper, something he couldn't stop even if he tried.

"These tears... for her?" he whispered, almost in disbelief.

He laughed softly, but it broke halfway, turning into something heavier. "What is this...? Kya alag hai tumhre ander Shree?"

He tried to reason with himself, to push it away, to label it as concern, as responsibility, as anything that made sense but nothing fit.

Nothing explained why her pain had felt like his, why the sight of her struggling had made his world stop, why the mere thought of losing her felt like losing everything.

"She was the one drowning..." he said slowly, his voice trembling, "but why did it feel like I was the one losing my breath?"

The realization crept in quietly then, not loud, not dramatic...but undeniable.

He closed his eyes, and her face appeared instantly...her smile, her voice, her tears from moments ago. And something inside him softened and shattered at the same time.

"I've never felt this way before," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "Not for anyone. Toh tumhre liye kyu??"

A long silence followed, filled only with the sound of the wind and his uneven breathing.

And then, finally...the truth settled.

Not as a question.

Not as a doubt.

But as something certain.

His eyes opened slowly, a faint, almost helpless smile forming through his tears.

"It's her..." he said, more to himself than anyone else. "It's always been her, hasn't it? Woh hamesha se tum hi thi Shree...jab koi nahi tha tabhi bass tum thi aur shayad jab koi nahi hoga tab bhi bass tum hi rahogi!!!"

The heaviness in his chest didn't disappear but it changed. It turned into something deeper, something warmer, something that made everything make sense all at once.

"I love her."

The words felt unfamiliar, yet the most natural thing he had ever said.

"I love Shree... more than anything in this whole world like the sky, that stretches endlessly yet still finds its peace only when it holds the moon close, like a river, that loses its name and form just to become one with the ocean, like the quiet dusk that melts into the night without a question, without a pause... balki ek aisi tabdeeli hai jahan main dheere dheere khud ko kho kar usmein sama raha hoon..

Just Like a Jogi is devoted to his Joganiya. My love is devoted to you Shree....always and forever."

And for the first time, he didn't try to hide it from himself, didn't run from it, didn't question it.

He simply stood there, letting the truth exist within him, letting it settle into every part of him as the wind carried his silent confession into the sky while somewhere below, completely unaware, Shree sat surrounded by people, not knowing that in the quiet of that hill, she had just become someone's entire world.

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This was only the beginning.

Hope you'll like it 💞

Please tell me how's the prologue 🤧

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