Chapter 1: The Secret Unveiled
The class reunion buzzed with the familiar chaos of old friends—WhatsApp pings, the slow whir of the ceiling fan, and a waiter adjusting his mask as he refilled water glasses. Suddenly, the class prefect, already several pegs down, leaned forward and dropped his voice, thick with secrets:
"Arrey, suno na, ek secret bataun? Back then, Ananya didn’t actually commit suicide. I saw it with my own eyes—someone pushed her off the rooftop."
My breath caught, like when Amma called out my full name from the kitchen—except this time, it wasn’t scolding I feared.
Kabir’s words hung heavy in the dim restaurant, mixing with the smoky aroma of tandoori chicken and the sharp clang of cutlery. For a moment, even the WhatsApp group’s constant pinging faded, and the honking of autos outside seemed to hush. The world stilled.
Instinctively, I glanced at my old benchmate across the table. He was looking right at me.
Just like in school, when dust from the playground clung to our knees, the sticky heat pressed against our backs, and the smell of Bata shoes mixed with the distant ring of the school bell. Our silent glances always meant trouble—now, his lips twitched and my throat went dry.
The moment our eyes met, we both saw it—an unspeakable terror reflected in each other’s gaze.
It was the kind of terror you try to drown in chai and laughter, but it always claws its way back. In that instant, we weren’t successful adults anymore—just scared kids, trapped by our own past.
The ones who pushed Ananya off the building that year... were the two of us.