Thank you all for your votes and comments.

Please ignore the mistakes. Happy reading!😊

Target: 100 votes

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"Sona, what happened?", Elena asked entering the room as she saw Sonakshi standing still in the same place with her back facing towards her. "See, I got the spray", Elena said walking towards her who was staring at something. "I am talking to you only sona", she said annoyed and looked at the direction in which sonakshi was staring at only to be shocked more. "What is this?", she asked in disbelief looking at the opened box. What she saw inside it, made her speechless. It was a single dried up rose.

"What the!! Did we go all curious to see this single flower?", elena asked shocked looking at the box that contained nothing but a withered flower. "And Golu's grandfather gave you this box containing this rose, seriously!", she said in disbelief and was about to take the flower in her hand but Sonakshi stopped her. "Be careful", Sonakshi hissed as elena was about to touch the flower. "For what? It's already dead sona!", Elena said as sonakshi stared at her in silence. "I thought there's something precious inside this box. Anyways, I am going to my room", Elena said huffing in dismay and walked out leaving Sonakshi all alone. "Its still precious Elena, everything is", Sonakshi whispered gently touching the dried up flower, taking out the picture that she was hiding till then as tears blurred her vision.

***

"May I come in?", Sonakshi asked standing near the doorstep. Dr. Charles looked up hearing her and adjusted his spectacles as his lips curved up a little recognizing her. "Yes come in", he said smiling as sonakshi walked in, with nervousness so clear from her face. "Good to see you again, Ms. Bose. Please take your seat", he said as she sat down opposite to him, looking here and there. "Any help Ms. Bose?", he asked seeing her struggling to form her words. "Mr. Charles.. Umm.. I wanna know a few more things..", "About Dev?", he was quick to ask and she nodded her head in a yes hesitantly.

"You said that he was your favorite student",she stopped. "He still is. Ofcourse there were so many good students in the past. But still since all these years I found no one to be worth comparable to him interms of intelligence and behavior. He was one of a kind", he said smiling. "So he seems to be quite popular among students, isn't he? He must have had so many friends at that time", Sonakshi said. "No you are wrong. Ofcourse he was popular among students but as far as I know he had no friends here. He was quite manipulative. It's hard to befriend him", he said. "What? But he was good with me", she said the latter part more of a whisper which didn't go unheard by him.

"He always does what he wants. Here he might have not had the need to make friends. But may be, he found a good friend, in you", he said the last part with a small smile playing on his lips while she just stared at him. "Dr. Charles, you should have his records, don't you? Can I get to see them please?", she asked. "Yes. But it's highly confidently dear. We don't share such things with any third person", he denied politely. "Please Dr. Charles. It's a much needed one, please", she asked more of a request which he couldn't deny.

***

"Can I ask you something Dr. Charles?", she asked a little reluctantly and he gestured her to go ahead. "You said that Mr. Dixit was good at playing with people's memories. But how is that possible? I mean for a common man, is that even possible?", she asked doubtedly. "Well, I told you already Ms. Bose. He was smart as well as weird. He used to do what you and I can't do. But that doesn't make him less than a human", he laughed. "And yes, he is not only good in playing with people's memories but also in controlling people's mind. He is manipulative, I told you already", he said smiling and she blinked her eyes still not getting a clearer image about him.

"Can I ask you something more?", she asked again and he smiled in response. "Do you believe in.. rebirth? I mean, reincarnation of a soul into another body, like after so many years of that person's death", she asked a little hesitantly. He looked at her who was going all nervous with time, awaiting for his response. But instead he laughed out loud making her narrow her eyes at him in confusion. "Well, Ms. Bose it would be appropriate if I say that I don't disbelieve", he said smiling. "And it's upto you Ms. Bose. It's always your thoughts that controls you even better than Dev can do!", he laughed "So think wisely. And be careful about what you think. Sometime it's not only you, who can hear your thoughts", he whispered smiling at her making her wonder over his words.

***

"Oh god! I did a very big mistake. I shouldn't have came here alone. Now I'm not even getting any taxi", Sonakshi huffed in dismay standing by the road side waiting for any taxi to pass by. But to her bad luck, she didn't even get to see any since the past one hour. It's already late at night and she didn't even inform elena or rohan about her visit to Mr. Charles since that would make them doubt on her. So she couldn't even ask Rohan to arrange any car for her to reach the hotel in which they were staying at. Sighing tiredly, she thought of giving up and took her phone out to dial Rohan's number but stopped sensing a car stopping by her side.

Wondering who it could be, she looked through the window as the glass slided down, revealing someone familiar. "Ms. Bose, is that you?", Adithya asked surprised looking at Sonakshi on the road at this time of the night. "Are you alone here?", he asked looking around if anyone was there with her but much to his surprise there weren't anyone. Sensing her not replying anything but just looking at him nervously, he continued. "If you are going to your hotel, I guess I can drop you", he said and she thought for a while. "I don't think you will get any taxi now. It's about to rain", he said and they heard a loud noise of thundering somewhere nearer. Giving up, Sonakshi nodded in a yes reluctantly and stepped inside the car, sitting beside him.

"Are you okay Ms. Bose? I mean this place is not that safe and you are alone here. Is everything alright?", he asked concerned seeing her nervousness. "Ye.. Yess Mr. Sharma, I am good", she said forcing a tight lipped smile. "You said that you are here with your friend and P.A.",he said remembering what she said that morning. "Umm... Yeah.. But I.. came here.. for some personal work", she stammered. "Umm.. Okay", he smiled trying to make her comfortable but she seemed to be lost in her thoughts, staring into the oblivion.

Sensing her weird behaviour, he continued to lighten the situation. "Good that you got inside. Otherwise you would've got wet. See, it's drizzling", he said pointing at her back, outside the window and she turned around. The sky was pitch dark with nothing but the sudden spark of lightening and roaring of thunder with tiny drops of rain falling from the sky making her feel nostalgic. She slided the glass down on her side of the window and stretched her palm out as the tiny droplets of water touched her cold skin softly making her lips curve up a little.

Flashback :

"Ms. Bose, just because you are no more scared of rains, doesn't mean you should get wet everyday. Come inside, you already caught cold", Dev said trying to make Sonakshi understand, who was all involved in playing with the water droplets falling on her hand. They both were standing in the balcony of the Bungalow and it was raining heavily that night. Though Dev advised her a lot to get inside the house as the weather was almost freezing, Sonakshi didn't seem to listen to him. "Scared? I'm never scared of anything Mr. Dixit. It's just that we had a few misunderstandings in between us and since now its solved, rain became my best friend, as you said", Sonakshi said with all smiles and giving up, he shook his head.

"Yes, yes, I know Rain is your Bestfriend now but please let's get inside. It's too cold here", he said trying to convince her but she was adamant. "If you want you go inside Mr. Dixit. I'll be here for sometime. Let me enjoy for what I missed all these years", she said and he huffed at her tiredly. "You know what Ms. Bose, something which I like the most about rain is Rainbow", he smiled. "After a storming rain, the colourful rainbow that's spread across the sky always made me feel good. It was like a proof, that after a dark, gloomy phase of your life, there will be something that will brighten your life, making it colourful. A proof that endings are always beautiful", he said smiling as she too smiled at him.

"But Mr. Dixit, not always endings can be beautiful. See, now after this heavy rain also, you can't get to see any rainbow because it's night already", she said. "Who said rainbows don't appear at night?", he asked her to which she looked at him confused. "Rainbows appear only during day Mr. Dixit. It's caused by the dispersion of sunlight on water droplets in the sky. So basically without sunlight, there can be no rainbow", she said confidently. "You used to be a first bench student in your class, aren't you?", Dev asked to which she quickly nodded at him in a yes. "Always! From my kindergarten to University!", she said proudly. "Fine, come with me", he said grabbing her hand. "Where? It's raining already", she said looking confused. "We have umbrellas for that", he said opening one and dragging her out of the house.

***

"Where are you taking me Mr. Dixit? This is so slippery. It's not even safe to walk here now", Sonakshi said as Dev made her walk through some rocky path. "Stop worrying Ms. Bose. I will never let you fall down", he said holding her hand and making her walk carefully. "Where are we going?", she asked him tiredly. They were already so far from the Bungalow and it stopped raining already but every place around her seemed new to her. "Sssh.. We are almost there. You will get to know it very soon", he said smiling and she huffed at him tiredly.

"Stay here", he said making her stand in a place. He stood at the back of her and closed her eyes making her wonder over his actions. "What are you doing Mr. Dixit?", she asked annoyed as he made her walk through the slippery path. "Shhhh.. Now open your eyes", he said taking his hands away and she opened her eyes slowly. But what she saw then, made her speechless. She clasped her mouth in surprise looking at a view which she never imagined even in her dreams.

"Oh my god! This is so beautiful!", she exclaimed looking at the full rainbow formed on the sides of the waterfall, in the pitch dark sky. "But how is this even possible? Rainbow at night, I have never even heard of that!", she said surprised to which he chuckled at her. "This is not a rainbow. It's a Moonbow, a rainbow formed with moonlight", he said smiling. "I never even know that such a thing exist", she said unable to believe her eyes. "Moonbows are rare. But they are very much real", he said and she smiled at him.

"You truly are a magician Mr. Dixit!", she said to which he giggled. "Now I hope you agree", he said. "Agree what?", she asked him confused. "That after every gloomy, dark phase of life, there will be a colourful one", he said smiling at her who was already staring at him. "And also, that endings are always beautiful", he said tightening the hold of their entwined hands as she smiled at him, both looking into each other's eyes, exchanging their words through silence, unknown to themselves.

**End of flashback**

Sonakshi's lips curved up and she looked at her hand which had tiny droplets of water falling on it, reminiscing his touch. "I thought you will bring colours to my gloomy life Dev. But why did you take all the colours with you leaving me alone in dark? Will this be our end?", she thought as tears blurred her vision. "Ms. Bose", she heard Adithya and quickly wiped her tears off, before turning to face him. "Keep your hand inside. It's not safe", he said concerned and she pulled her hand inside giving him a tight lipped smile. "You seem to like rain a lot", he said. "Why? Don't you like rain?", she asked. "Not really", he said making a disgusting face to which she chuckled. "Even I used to be like you", she said.

"Oh! What happened then?", he sounded curious. "Someone changed me", she said with a sad smile. "Oh really! But its impossible to change me", he said confidently. "Even I used to say like that Mr. Sharma. But things won't go the way you expect them to be. Someday someone will enter your life and turn it upside down. Be it either good or bad", she said with a tight lipped smile. "Ummm.. I don't think I will give that someone such an importance in my life", he said. "You never know", she said smiling as the car halted infront of the hotel.

"Thank you Mr. Sharma. If not you, I don't know how I would've reached here by this time", Sonakshi said getting out of the car. "Pleasure is all mine Ms. Bose. Hope to see you soon in India", he said remembering their meeting which was scheduled two days later. "Sure Mr. Sharma. It was great meeting you. Thanks once again", she said smiling and turned to go but stopped hearing him. "Ms. Bose", he called and she turned around to face him. "Text me once you reach your room safely. I hope you have my number", he said smiling warmly. "Yeah, Sure. Bye", she said with a tight lipped smile to which he blinked his eyes and she walked inside. He waited till she got inside the hotel and after assuring himself, he asked the driver to start the car.

***

Sonakshi was walking to and fro across her room all lost in her thoughts, as the words of Mr. Charles flashed through her mind.

"He had no friends here. He was quite manipulative. It's hard to befriend him"

"How is that, he don't have any friends? I mean how is that even possible? I thought of gathering some information about him through his friends but it seems like it is not that easy", she thought for a while.

"He always does what he wants. Here he might have not had the need to make friends. But may be, he found a good friend, in you"

"If there's a need for Mr. Dixit to befriend me, what would it be? Did he got to see what I saw today? If so why didn't he tell me of anything about that? If not, is it all his plan? From Devrath's diary to letters!", she gasped. "But his words were always mysterious. He was always mysterious, no he still is. He wanted to make me understand something. What was that? If so, why and where did he disappear as soon as I left the Bungalow?", she thought confused as she reminisced his words.

"Your smile is so beautiful that I don't mind in staring at you for all my life. This time, I am not joking"

"Even if you go to another world, I will follow you"

" I won't let it happen.. again"

"Oh my god! Mr. Dixit was with me when I got to see that nightmare for the first time in Devrath's bungalow. But how can I not remember his presence with me on that night, for all these days!", she clasped her mouth in shock. Her mind went through the words that Dr. Charles said the previous day.

"Dev made him forget everything that he saw"

"Like erasing memories?"

"Not exactly but yes!"

"Oh my! He erased my memory of that night! Unbelievable!", she gasped in shock.

"He is not only good in playing with people's memories but also in controlling people's mind. He is manipulative, I told you already"

"So, if I am not wrong, it was because of Dev that I got to see that nightmare that night. Not only that night but even during the other one when I got a similar nightmare, he was with me! So he was literally controlling my mind, making me come across those nightmares! But why?", she asked in disbelief. She still couldn't believe that Dev made use of her mental weakness and controlled her mind for something which was beyong her imagination. "But Dr. Charles said that Mr. Dixit can make someone come across something which they have already experienced only. But when did I experience that latter part of my nightmare?", she thought for a while. "Oh god my head is spinning!", she mumbled holding her head. Her gaze then fell upon the picture of Devrath. "Is it all just a coincidence? Or did he just look like Devrath? But how can even I.. ", she thought for a while. "Or else... Is he actually Devrath and I am..", she gulped in horror. "I need to find something before that", she said looking at the old wooden box placed on the desk.

***

Next day (India) :

"Ouch!", Golu shrieked as he slipped down while running but before he could touch the ground someone prevented him. "Why do you keep falling everytime?", Sonakshi asked holding him by his shoulders and he gasped in surprise. "Because you are there to hold me, right?", he asked as his frown turned into a wide grin making her smile. "Am I your guardian angel to protect you always?", she asked pinching his nose and he chuckled. "Yes beautiful!", he said making her giggle. "Did you come here again to see me?", he asked smiling at her slyly. "Hmm.. Yes!", she said making his grin grow wider. "But this time you should stay a little longer with me, okay? Let's play together", he said excitedly. "Sure my golu boy", she said ruffling his hair.

"But before that I need to meet someone else. Where is your dadu?", she asked looking around making him frown. "So you came here to see my Dadu, not me!", he said with an angry pout. "Not at all! I came here to see my golu molu only. But before that, shouldn't I ask permission to his grandfather to take him out?", she asked and he gawked in surprise. "Are we going out?", he asked excitedly. "Yes, but only if your Dadu agrees. Let me first talk to him about that", she said and he quickly nodded his head at her.

"Dadu! Dadu! Look who came", he shouted running inside the house and his grandfather looked at him surprised. "Who?", before he could complete he saw Sonakshi walking behind golu and his lips curved up into a known smile. "Come in beta", he said calmly as Sonakshi walked in, not before greeting him. "I was expecting you here", he said smiling, taking her by surprise. "Dadu, even do you know that she is going to take me out?", golu asked surprised. "Golu, you go and play outside. We need to talk something important", his grandfather said. "Don't worry, he will get convinced to allow me with you. Best of luck!", golu whispered in Sonakshi's ears and winked at her before running out, leaving her in all smiles.

"I guess you got the need.. to open that box", golu's grandfather said gaining Sonakshi's attention. She looked back at him and nodded her head in a yes nervously. "But how..", before she could complete he interrupted her. "You need to know from where I got that box, didn't you?", he asked and she nodded her head in a yes. "Come with me", he said with a smile walking inside the house and she followed him nervously. He went to a secluded room that was at one corner of the house and opened the door with a screech. Walking in, he gestured Sonakshi, who stood outside a little hesitantly, to come in.

Pushing away her nervousness she walked in, looking around the room, which seemed more like a store room. "Can you get that key?", he asked breaking her reverie and she turned around to find a bunch of keys hanging on the wall. She quickly took them in her hands and forwarded it to him. "First one", he said and she took the first key only placing the rest back on their place. "Open", he said pointing towards a huge metal box that looked old and rusted. She looked at the box and then at him, as if seeking his permission again. As he blinked his eyes gesturing her to go ahead, she slowly walked towards the box, and sat down on her knees.

Holding the lock in her one hand, she inserted the key, turning it to open, as her heartbeat started racing with an unknown anxiety. Taking a long breath, she opened the box as dust filled the air making her shut her eyes. Clasping her mouth, she slowly opened her eyes and started examining the things inside the box. Everything in it looked old and kinda decayed. There were a pair of very old shoes on the top, that were torn from all the sides. She took it out and placed it aside as her eyes wandered inside the box. There was a red saree, a very old one, but still looking ethereal speaking the elegance and richness of the material.

Placing it aside, she took out a frock, made of maroon coloured velvet cloth. It has a big bow near its right sleave and white cloth, flowing down below the length of knees, together with a pair of maroon heels. As she stood up to look at the material of the dress, her gaze fell upon her reflection on the mirror kept opposite to her and her eyes stuck on it, realizing that the dress looked perfectly fit to her. Hesitantly, she removed her shoes and inserted her feet, into the heels, against the warning of her mind and was shocked to see her feet fitting perfectly into the shoes.

With every passing second, her heart started racing in fear and her gaze fell upon something inside the box. Gulping down, she took the paper that was kept folded inside the box, with her mind warning her not to open it, but her heart wanting her to do that immediately. Agreeing to the words of her heart, she opened the paper and what she saw then made her go numb in her place. She could hear her heart hammering against her chest and words failed to leave her mouth.

"Th.. Thiiisss..", she stuttered staring at the picture, with a huge lump forming in her throat not letting her speak a word. "That's Sonakshi Chauhan", he said making her gasp. "Youu..are..",she stammered nervously. "Rajendra Chauhan, her brother's son", he replied as she stared at him in shock. "You.. Are you.. chotu's son?", she asked unable to believe him while he chuckled. "Ratan Chauhan was his name. But it's okay. My father used to tell me that when he was a kid, everyone used to call him as chotu, after he was named like that by his sister", he said smiling pointing towards the paper in her hand and hearing him tears filled the corner of her eyes, unknown to herself. "Wh.. What happened to her?", she asked finally mustering up her courage still staring at him, who looked down, unable to meet her painful eyes.

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What is Sonakshi upto? Will she find Dev?

Precap : The Devastating past 💔

My other works,

# Falling for you.. [COMPLETED]

# A Journey towards her.. [COMPLETED]

# My Little Paradise - A sequel to AJTH [COMPLETED]

# All Credits To Love - A Sharica OS

# Mine - A Devakshi OS

# Happy Ending - A Sharica OS

For more updates and spoilers follow my instagram account 'mishti7593'

Next update will be on next weekend 😊

~See you soon ❤️