Twist in Time

A glimpse at the past

Akshara walked into the Haveli just around midday, dillydallying her bag as there was instantly a jump to her step. Abhimanyu. She couldn't get her mind off of him. How quickly he had become her reason for happiness.

She closed her eyes.

Sukoon.

But she also felt numb. Like a fraud.

Opening her eyes, her mind ran the same thought over and over again.

The papers.

The deal.

She shook her head, her heart crying out.

She couldn't do it to him.

Call her weak, call her whatever name you want to call her.

But she couldn't do it to him.

Seeing his face in the morning, lit up with hope and then bounds of stress over the deal, how could she be the reason why it didn't work out?

She would find another way.

She had to. She hadn't given up on her mission, she never would. Maybe it's time she tried to find the culprit again.

She had wanted to bring the whole family to her feet but how could she now when she herself had fallen in the name of a Birla member? Her throat felt choked up.

She felt like she was betraying herself. She had been the one that was saved, it was her duty to seek justice for the ones that had been lost.

But her connection with Abhi... wasn't just attraction or a silly little crush. No, it ran so much deeper, something that not even she could put her finger on. Like hurting him would end the Earth itself. Like they were a part of each other.

Yes, she would find the culprit.

She had lost all hope of ever locating the culprit which is why she had resorted to just bringing the Birla family down altogether. But recently she had found more files on the incident and she knew if she did more digging she would find the person responsible for the nightmare that happened 12 years ago. She had spent some time digging up more information after breakfast this morning.

There were some secret files that she needed to access but as much as she had tried, only certain users had access to them.

Like Abhimanyu.

For a second she bit her lip, if she told him the truth, would he understand? Would he understand her?

Sighing, she shook her head.

***

Walking past Rosie's room, Akshara stopped. She could hear sounds. Pausing, she leaned up and pressed her ear up against Rosie's door. Listening with a concentrated look, Akshara frowned. Sobs. She could hear intense sobbing.

"Oh my John.... my darling John"

Akshara felt a pang in her heart instantly.

John. 

Akshara closed her eyes and let out a deep and shaky breath.

She knocked on Rosie's door, hearing nothing in return.

Knocking furiously now, Akshara began to get even more anxious as Rosie's sobs intensified.

Grabbing a hairpin out of her bag, Akshara quickly unlocked the door. One of the many tricks she had picked up over the years. Hearing the click that it had successfully unlocked, Akshara barged in.

She gasped at the outcome.

On the floor was Rosie. But this was not any Rosie.

This was a hysterical Rosie, clothes all battered up, tear streaks drowning down her face, and hair pointing in every single direction. Her room was a mess, signifying that items had been thrown everywhere.