We ran.
Not in a straight line, not with any plan... just instinct, laughter, and the fading echo of the teachers' voices chasing us down the stairwell. The rooftop behind us dissolved into noise and chaos, footsteps scattering in every direction, voices overlapping, the night swallowing it all whole.
And in the middle of that mess-
Zhan grabbed my hand.
"Come with me."
There was no hesitation in his voice, no space to question him. His fingers tightened around mine, warm and firm, and before I could even think, I was already being pulled along, following him out of the hotel and into the open night.
The moment we stepped outside, the world changed.
The air near the Indian Ocean carried a strange mix of coolness and warmth, brushing against my skin like it knew me, like it had been waiting. The streets were quieter here, the distant sound of waves filling the silence between us as we ran past dim lights and swaying trees.
My breath came out uneven.
"Zhan… you know the teachers will look for us if we just-"
I stopped.
He turned.
And for a moment, I forgot how to speak.
His eyes...usually so distant, so unreadable, were glowing, alive in a way I had never seen before, like he was holding something fragile and precious inside them.
"There's something I wanted to show you."
He said it so simply, yet there was something beneath it, something deeper, like a child waiting to share his most treasured secret.
"Zhan," I tried again, my voice softer now, "this is our first time in India… how do you even know this place? And what could possibly be so important that you- "
"Shh."
He didn't even look back as he said it.
But I stopped talking.
We walked.
The trees above us swayed gently, their shadows dancing along the ground as the wind passed through them. Zhan walked ahead, still holding my hand, his hair moving softly with the breeze. For a second, it felt unreal, like a scene stolen from a dream, or a story I hadn't written yet.
And then-
We stopped.
The sound of the waves grew louder.
When I looked up, the world opened.
The beach stretched endlessly before us, silver under the night sky, the waves rolling in and breaking softly against the shore. The horizon blurred into darkness, and above it, the sky was scattered with stars- quiet, distant, yet impossibly close.
Zhan turned to me.
And smiled.
It wasn't the small, guarded smile I had seen before.
It was bright.
Unfiltered.
Beautiful.
For a heartbeat, it felt like time had stopped just to hold that moment in place.
But just as quickly-
It disappeared.
His expression shifted, like he had suddenly remembered something he wasn't supposed to forget.
"I'm sorry… I didn't realize-"
His voice faded.
Because I wasn't looking at him anymore.
I was looking at the sky.
The stars seemed different here, sharper somehow, like they were watching. My chest tightened, and without knowing why, I lay down on the sand, my eyes tracing constellations I didn't remember learning.
It felt like they knew me.
Like they missed me.
And then-
The sky answered.
A soft drop of rain landed on my cheek.
Then another.
Then more.
I blinked, snapping back, confusion washing over me as the rain began to fall faster, soaking into the sand, into my clothes, into everything.
I turned to Zhan.
He was already looking at me.
"Run."
We laughed as we ran, the rain chasing us now, heavier, louder, until we reached the hotel again, dripping and breathless.
Shaan was standing at the entrance, arms crossed, his expression caught somewhere between anger and relief.
"Get inside, fast!"
We rushed in, the warmth of the lobby hitting us instantly as we tried to dry ourselves.
Lian and Shaan stood there, both looking at us- no, at me with worry written plainly across their faces.
"I just went to-"
"Lu, are you out of your mind?" Shaan cut in, his voice sharp. "You don't even know this city. You just disappear without telling anyone, what were you thinking?"
"I'm sorr-"
"I was the one who took him."
Zhan's voice cut through everything.
Calm.
Firm.
"Don't blame him. And I know the city."
Lian's expression shifted. He glanced at Zhan, something unreadable passing through his eyes, before turning away slightly, like he didn't want to say what he was thinking.
I stepped forward quickly, trying to ease the tension. "We just went for a walk. The rooftop was too crowded… that's all."
They didn't look convinced.
But they let it go.
Alex walked in just then, completely unaware of the storm he was stepping into.
"Yoo, did you enjoy your trip with Zha-" he froze mid-sentence when he saw Shaan glaring at him. "Did I… do something wrong?"
Shaan grabbed him by the collar. "Let's go, idiot. It's late."
And just like that, they were gone.
The room grew quiet.
It was just the three of us now.
"Lian, it was just-"
"It's alright," he said gently, cutting me off, though his eyes still held concern. "Just… tell us next time before you go somewhere, okay?"
I nodded. "Okay. Sorry."
Soon after, he went to sleep.
And then there were two.
Zhan stood near the wall, his back slightly hunched, one hand pressing against his forehead as if he were trying to hold something inside.
"What have I done…?" he whispered, so softly I almost didn't hear it.
I didn't understand what he meant.
But something about it stayed with me.
The next morning, the class decided to explore the city. Zhan stayed behind, saying he wasn't feeling well, though I wasn't sure if that was the truth.
The rest of us wandered through the streets, the city alive in daylight, colors brighter, sounds louder, everything moving with a rhythm I couldn't quite follow.
And then-
Someone called out to me.
An old man sat by the roadside, his presence quiet yet impossible to ignore. There was something about the way he looked at me...not curious, not surprised but… knowing.
"What's special about him?" I asked.
Shaan glanced over. "They're devotees of Lord Shiva. People say they know things… about the world, about life. But I can't understand what he's saying."
Alex frowned. "Isn't this your home country? How do you not understand?"
Shaan shrugged. "India has many languages. This isn't one I know."
I stepped closer.
The old man's gaze never left mine.
It felt like standing in front of something ancient.
Something that had been waiting.
Then-
He spoke.
In Chinese.
"It is destiny for me to meet you, dear."
My breath caught.
"The time has finally come… for me to fulfill the purpose of my life, and give it meaning."
His eyes softened, yet there was something vast behind them, something I couldn't comprehend.
"The story… has begun again."