Shristi woke up before sunrise.
For a few seconds, she simply stared at the ceiling, trying to remember what had woken her.
The room was quiet.
Varsha was asleep. Curled in a blanket.
Everything looked normal.
Until Shristi felt something cold against her neck.
Her hand immediately moved upward.
And froze.
The necklace.
It was around her neck.
Again.
Shristi sat upright.
"No..."
Her pulse quickened.
She distinctly remembered removing it before sleeping.
She remembered placing it on the bedside table.
She remembered checking it twice.
Slowly, she looked toward the table.
It was empty.
The necklace should have been there.
Instead, it rested against her skin as if it had never left.
A strange uneasiness settled inside her chest.
Trying to calm herself, she pushed aside the blanket and placed her feet on the floor.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she frowned.
The floor felt gritty.
Cold.
Wet.
Shristi looked down.
Sand.
There was sand stuck between her toes.
Fresh sand.
Her breathing stopped for a second.
The room wasn't near the beach.
She hadn't gone outside.
And yet...
There it was.
Varsha stirred beside her.
"Shris?"
Shristi quickly covered her feet with the blanket.
"Sorry. Did I wake you?"
Varsha rubbed her eyes.
"What time is it?"
"No idea."
Varsha yawned and dropped back onto the pillow.
Within seconds she was asleep again.
Shristi remained awake.
Staring at the necklace.
For the first time...
She felt genuinely afraid of it.
Later that morning—
Shristi told Wick everything.
The necklace.
The sand.
Waking up with it around her neck.
Every detail.
---
She expected him to laugh.
Or at least try to find some logical explanation.
He didn't.
For the entire time, he remained silent.
Listening.
By the time she finished, her hands were shaking slightly.
Wick noticed.
Of course he did.
Neither of them spoke for a few moments.
The sounds of the hotel carried on around them.
Tourists talking.
Music near the pool.
Everything felt normal.
Which somehow made the conversation feel worse.
---
Finally, Shristi looked at him.
"Say something."
Wick exhaled slowly.
"I believe you."
The answer came immediately.
Without hesitation.
That surprised her.
"You do?"
"Yeah."
"No questions?"
---
"Oh, I have questions."
Wick replied.
"A lot of questions."
"Then why aren't you asking them?"
"Because you're scared."
The answer caught her off guard.
For a moment she looked away.
Because he was right.
She hated that he was right.
"I'm not scared."
She muttered.
Wick raised an eyebrow.
"Angel."
"What?"
"You came looking for me before breakfast."
Silence.
"You checked the necklace three times before telling me."
Another silence.
"And your hands are still shaking."
Shristi immediately folded her arms.
"They are not.
"They are."
A pause.
"Maybe a little."
Wick couldn't help smiling.
For the first time all morning, she looked slightly annoyed instead of frightened.
---
Progress.
Then her face softened.
"What if nobody believes me?"
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Immediately, Wick looked at her.
"Doesn't matter because I do."
The answer came so quickly she almost missed it.
"You didn't even think about it."
"I didn't need to."
Silence.
Shristi stared at him.
"Why?"
Wick looked genuinely confused by the question.
"Because it's you."
As if that explained everything.
And somehow...
It did.
And For the first time all morning, Shristi felt her chest loosen.
Not because he had answers.
Because he wasn't asking her to prove it.
Wick reached over and gently took her hand.
---
His thumb brushed across her knuckles.
A simple gesture.
One he'd done a hundred times before.
---
But today it felt different.
Grounding.
Reassuring.
"You don't have to convince me."
Her eyes dropped to their joined hands.
The fear she'd been carrying since morning suddenly felt a little lighter.
"What if this keeps getting worse?"
The question came out quietly.
Honest.
Vulnerable.
Wick squeezed her hand slightly.
"Then we'll deal with it."
"We?"
That finally made him smile.
"Yeah."
As if there had never been another option.
"We."
For a moment, neither spoke.
It was a normal day.
Yet somehow, sitting beside him, Shristi felt safer than she had all day.
Then her expression softened.
"What if something is actually wrong with me?"
The question came out much quieter.
No sarcasm.
No attitude.
No defense.
---
Just fear.
Wick's smile disappeared immediately.
"There's nothing wrong with you."
"You don't know that."
"No." He admitted.
"I don't."
That wasn't the answer she expected.
Wick looked toward the ocean for a moment.
Thinking.
Then back at her.
"But I know you."
Shristi stayed silent.
"You don't imagine things."
"You literally call me dramatic."
"You are dramatic."
"Wow. Thank you."
"But you're not crazy."
The joke faded.
The seriousness remained.
For a second, neither looked away.
Then Wick reached over and gently took the necklace from her hand.
The metal felt ice cold.
His expression darkened immediately.
"See?"
Shristi whispered.
"I know."
For the first time, he sounded genuinely concerned.
Not suspicious.
Not curious.
Concerned.
–
Shristi watched him carefully.
"You're worried."
The statement slipped out before she could stop it.
Wick didn't answer immediately.
Which was answer enough.
Finally he nodded once.
"Yeah."
That single word somehow scared her more than everything else.
Because Wick rarely admitted fear.
Then he looked directly at her.
His expression hardened.
"Besides..."
"What?"
A dangerous calm entered his voice.
"If this thing is actually messing with you..."
His gaze never left the necklace.
"It picked the wrong person."
Shristi stared at him for a second.
Then finally…
For the first time since waking up—
She felt slightly better.
Not because the problem was solved.
Not because she felt safe.
But because she wasn't facing it alone anymore.
---
He immediately finds Prishka.
---
The three of them sit together away from the others.
For the first time—
Shristi learns about the tarot woman.
About the necklace.
About everything.
And she doesn't take it well.
"What do you mean cursed?"
---
Nobody answers immediately.
Because saying it out loud suddenly makes it real.
---
Finally, Prishka broke the silence.
"I don't think it's attached to the necklace anymore."
Shristi looked up.
"What?"
Prishka hesitated.
Then said the thing neither of them wanted to hear.
"I think it's attached to you."
Silence.
Even the sound of crashing waves seemed distant.
Shristi laughed.
A nervous laugh.
The kind people make when they don't know how else to react.
"Okay. That's insane."
Neither Wick nor Prishka laughed with her.
Slowly, her smile faded.
The rest of the day becomes an experiment.
---
They try removing it.
---
Again.
---
And again.
---
And again.
---
Every time it somehow ends up back with her.
---
Thrown away.
Back.
---
Locked in a suitcase.
Back.
---
Left in Wick's room.
Back.
---
Eventually even Wick stops making excuses.
---
Something is wrong.
---
Something impossible.
---
That evening—
The group notices the tension.
---
Aryan asks:
---
"Okay what are you three hiding?"
---
Nobody answers.
---
Because how do you explain:
The necklace refuses to stay away.
The mood changes.
---
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
---
The vacation stops feeling like a vacation.
That night—
The first real incident happens.
---
Around 1 AM.
Prishka woke abruptly.
No nightmare.
No sound.
Just instinct.
---
The room was freezing.
Far colder than the AC setting.
She sat up immediately.
Something felt wrong.
---
Across the room—
Shristi's bed was empty.
---
Prishka frowned.
"Shristi?"
No answer.
---
Then she heard it.
A muffled sound.
From the bathroom.
---
Not a scream.
Not yet.
Whispering.
---
Like someone having a conversation.
Prishka got up slowly.
The bathroom light was on.
A shadow moved beneath the door.
"Shristi?"
The whispering stopped instantly.
Silence.
---
Then—
A terrified scream.
Prishka shoved the door open.
The scream tore through the hotel.
Doors flew open.
Footsteps thundered down the hallway.
---
Wick arrived first.
Of course he did.
The moment he reached the room, he shoved the door open.
---
"Shristi!"
Inside—
Shristi was sitting on the bathroom floor.
Back pressed against the wall.
Breathing hard.
The necklace clutched so tightly in her hand that her knuckles had turned white.
Terrified.
Wick crossed the room immediately and dropped beside her.
"Angel."
His voice was calm.
Steady.
"Look at me."
For a second she couldn't.
Her entire body was shaking.
Then her eyes finally found his.
"What happened?"
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Prishka rushed in behind him.
Then Deep.
Then Dipanshu.
Then Aryan.
Then everyone else.
The room suddenly felt crowded.
Too crowded.
---
Deep stopped near the doorway.
Frowning.
"Why is it so cold in here?"
Nobody answered.
Because now that he'd said it—
Everyone felt it.
The room was freezing.
Far colder than the hallway.
Far colder than it should have been.
Aryan rubbed his arms.
"Okay, that's actually creepy."
For once—
Nobody made fun of him.
Wick never took his eyes off Shristi.
He gently grabbed her head.
"What happened Angel?"
He asked again.
This time she answered.
Barely.
"There was someone in the mirror."
---
Silence.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody rolled their eyes.
Because of the look on her face.
She believed it.
Completely.
---
Dipanshu moved forward immediately.
Not toward the mirror.
Toward Shristi.
He crouched beside her, keeping a little distance so he wouldn't overwhelm her.
"Hey."
No sarcasm.
No jokes.
Just concern.
"Look at me."
Shristi slowly turned toward him.
"We're here."
The words were simple.
"But whatever happened..."
He glanced around the freezing room.
"...you're not dealing with it alone."
For a moment, Shristi simply stared at him.
Then she gave the smallest nod.
Only after that did Dipanshu finally look around the room.
And for the first time—
Even he looked unsettled
Then Prishka slowly turned toward the mirror.
And froze.
---
The color drained from her face.
"Guys..."
Her voice sounded wrong.
Too quiet.
Everyone followed her gaze.
The bathroom mirror was covered in fog.
And written across the glass—
In dripping letters that looked like seawater—
Were three words.
SHE IS MINE
---
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because this time—
Every single one of them saw it.
And for the first time since the trip began—
Nobody had an explanation.
To be continued…