But the sorcerer explicitly said this amulet was only meant to cure the fever.
A short while later, Ivan left home for school. On the way, he saw Raju riding a motorcycle at a very high speed. Ivan was behind him, and seeing him speed up, Ivan instinctively accelerated his own bike as well.
Raju's school was different, though it was located within the same city. Pulling up close beside him, Ivan said, "Hey, you seem to be in a big hurry today."
Raju slowed down his bike a little and replied, "No real reason, I just felt like riding fast, so I did."
He then asked, "By the way, that Twinkle is quite beautiful. Does she have a boyfriend?"
Ivan said, "I don't know. Why do you want to know?"
Raju grinned. "If she's single, then I want to go after her."
Hearing his words, Ivan smiled. "By the way, when did you even see her?"
Raju admitted, "I saw her on Instagram. She looks really cute."
Meanwhile, Ishan was sitting in his room, leaning back against the headboard of his bed.
He thought to himself, My fever has completely disappeared. Is this really the miracle of this amulet? Will all my other problems be resolved just as easily because of it? But the truth is, a simple amulet cannot solve everything.
Upon reaching school, Ivan entered his classroom and noticed that Twinkle had placed her bag on the very first bench. She was sitting next to Zoya.
Ivan and Zoya's desks were placed side by side in the middle row.
Ivan placed his bag on his desk and turned around to face Zoya.
Zoya looked at him with a smile and said, "Twinkle was just telling me that your voice sounds exactly like her brother Amardeep's. What do you think? Can two unrelated people have such identical faces and voices?"
Ivan replied calmly, "It's just a coincidence, nothing more than that."
Hearing Ivan's response, Zoya turned to Twinkle. "What about you? Why do you think that is?"
Twinkle shrugged. "It can only be a coincidence. What else could it be?"
Zoya smiled mischievously, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
"Just imagine... What if you find out later that Ivan is actually your brother too? What if you two are twins, and Ivan was also born to your mother? If that truth ever came out, what would you two do?"
Saying this, she looked toward Ivan to gauge his reaction.
Twinkle frowned. "Stop talking such nonsense. There's no such thing."
Saying that, she stood up and walked back to her own seat.
Ivan suddenly remembered a phone conversation he had previously shared with Zoya, when she had asked him, "Do you think Amardeep's soul resides inside you?"
To which Ivan had replied, "Do you think Amardeep is dead?"
Zoya pouted slightly. "I was just joking. Did it bother you too?"
"No," Ivan replied quietly.
Sitting in his room on the other side of town, Ishan thought, I should call Vikas and Arya to ask whether their fevers have broken as well. If they are cured too, then there is definitely something special about this amulet.
He immediately called Vikas.
Vikas answered right away. "Yes, my fever is completely gone!"
Ishan then added Arya to a conference call, and Arya gave the exact same reply, "My fever has dropped completely too."
Brimming with joy, Vikas exclaimed, "This is amazing! The fever of all three of us disappeared at the exact same time. This is definitely a miracle caused by the Sorcerer's amulet!"
Even while sitting through his classes, Ivan's mind remained occupied with these thoughts.
Yes... when I went to Twinkle's village with Raju, I asked the shopkeeper if my face looked like Amardeep's, but I also asked if my voice sounded like his too. And the shopkeeper had said—'Yes son, your voice is an exact match to his.'
The teacher continued delivering the lecture at the front of the class, while Ivan remained lost in his deep reflections.
Meanwhile at home, Twinkle's mother was standing near the window in her room, quietly looking outside.
Her mind drifted back to eleven-year-old memories, to the day she met John Roy for the very first time. That day, she had gone to a friend's birthday party in the city.
Priya was getting ready in her room that night, and a younger Twinkle was nearby.
Priya turned to her daughter and said, "Cook dinner and eat together with your brother. Don't wait up for me tonight."
After getting ready, she walked into Amardeep's room. Amardeep was sitting on his bed, completely engrossed in his phone.
"Honestly, stop staring at your phone so much and start studying quickly," Priya scolded gently. "I'm heading to the birthday party. You and Twinkle eat dinner together and don't wait up for me, okay?"
Saying this, she left for the party on her scooter at around 7:00 PM.
When she arrived at the venue, she saw that a few guests had already arrived, and John was among them.
Noticing the birthday girl, Priya walked up with a warm smile. "Happy Birthday, Riya!" she wished and hugged her.
Riya smiled back. "Thank you, Priya!"
Standing nearby with a friend, John's eyes landed on Priya. His gaze fixed solely on her. Seeing her beautiful face, John felt instantly drawn to her. This was the very first time John had ever seen Priya.
Just then, Riya's husband, Dev, walked up beside John and said, "Why are you staring so hard?"
Caught off guard, John smiled sheepishly and looked away. A knowing smile appeared on Dev's face as well.
John glanced back at him and asked, "Who is that girl?"
Dev answered, "She is Riya's friend."
"Yeah, I gathered that much," John pressed on. "But what's her name?"
Dev said, "Her name is Priya, and she has two children... Why, do you like her?"
Hearing this revelation from Dev, John felt a jolt of shock. A shadow of sadness fell over his face as he said, "No, it's nothing like that."
Dev smiled warmly and added, "By the way, her husband isn't around anymore. He has passed away... Now tell me, do you want me to introduce you?"
John didn't answer immediately.
Seeing his hesitation, Dev took the initiative and led John over to where Priya and Riya were chatting.
Dev introduced them, "Priya, this is John—a prominent businessman in our city."
John looked directly at Priya and said, "Hi!"
Priya offered a polite, standard greeting. "Hi!"
They engaged in light conversation for a while, and when the rest of the guests arrived, the birthday girl stepped up to cut the cake.
Meanwhile, back at her house that same evening, young Amardeep had placed his phone on the table and walked toward the kitchen with a playful smile.
Twinkle was already at the counter, carefully chopping vegetables.
Amardeep stepped up behind her, gently took the knife from her hand, and teased, "Move aside, little sister. At the rate you're cutting those onions, dinner won't be ready until midnight!"
Twinkle placed her hands on her waist, putting on a mock angry expression. "Oh wow, Big Brother! You talk as if you're the world's greatest chef. Let me see just how fast you can chop vegetables!"
Amardeep dramatically rolled up his sleeves with a confident grin and said, "I'll show you right now. Just watch—today I will cook a meal so delicious that you'll be licking your fingers clean!"