I just stared at her. She was right, after all, so I started to lie down. As I settled in, I realized I had so many questions to ask her.
But before I could ask anything, all the lights in the train went out at once, plunging the entire coach into darkness.
And in that darkness, I heard only one voice—
“The real journey has begun... and you’re sleeping peacefully?”
To be continued...
Coming up:—
“The real journey has begun... and you’re sleeping peacefully?”
The moment I heard that voice, it felt as if electricity shot through my body. The words echoed again and again.
I lay perfectly still on the seat where I had been resting for several moments. Thick darkness surrounded me. Even the sound of the train wheels seemed far more terrifying than before.
Clatter... clatter... clatter...
I slowly tried to sit up.
That was when I felt someone's hand resting on my shoulder.
My body was drenched in sweat.
Summoning my courage, I tried to turn around, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see a thing in the darkness. Finally, I asked in a trembling voice—
“W... who is it?”
There was no answer.
I asked again—
“Who’s there?”
This time, someone whispered right next to my ear—
“The one you’re looking for...”
I spun around.
There was no one there.
I immediately pulled out my phone and tried to turn on its flashlight.
The screen lit up, but the flashlight wouldn’t turn on.
I tried several times.
Nothing happened.
Then I remembered that the woman in white had been sitting right next to me.
I called out into the darkness—
“Ma’am...!”
There was no answer.
I called out a little louder—
“Ma’am, where are you?”
Again, there was no reply.
I reached out and tried to touch the seat across from me.
It was empty.
I suddenly panicked.
Where had that woman gone?
Just moments ago, she had been sitting across from me.
She had told me to get some rest.
And now...
The entire coach was dark.
I looked toward the window.
Dense fog covered everything outside.
I couldn't even tell whether the train was moving or standing still. One moment it seemed to be moving, and the next it felt as though it had stopped. Then I looked at my watch.
The hands were moving.
But when I saw the time, I froze.
2:17 a.m.
I had checked the time just a little while ago.
It had been almost exactly the same then.
I held the watch close to my ear.
Tick... tick... tick...
The watch was working perfectly.
But why wasn't the time moving forward?
I checked my phone again.
It showed the same time.
2:17
Sweat broke out across my forehead.
Silently, I prayed to God.
“God... please protect me.”
Just then, I heard footsteps from the other end of the coach.
Knock... knock... knock...
I aimed my phone's screen in that direction.
I couldn't see anything in the darkness.
Then the sound came again—
Knock... knock... knock...
This time, the footsteps were coming toward me.
I got up from my seat.
My phone was in my hand, held out in front of me.
“Who’s there?”
No answer.
The footsteps stopped.
The entire coach fell silent again.
I let out a breath of relief, but the fear inside me hadn't lessened. I stood there for several moments, trying to see ahead with the faint light from my phone.
There was no sign that anyone else was in the coach.
I slowly sat back down and thought—
“Maybe I’m just imagining things.”
But then...
I heard someone quietly sit down in the seat directly across from me.
Swish...
I immediately looked up.
I couldn't make out anything clearly in the darkness.
I aimed my phone's screen in that direction.
And the next moment, the words escaped my lips—
“Ma’am...!”
The woman in white was sitting across from me. She was perfectly calm, with a faint smile on her face.
Panicking, I asked, “Where did you go?”
Looking at me, she said, “I didn’t go anywhere.”
“But your seat was empty just now,” I said, bewildered.
She watched me for a few moments, then said with a smile—
“It must have seemed that way to you.”
“No. I saw it with my own eyes. You weren’t here.”
She smiled and said that what our eyes saw wasn't necessarily the truth every time. Then she fell silent.
Hearing her say that gave me the same feeling I'd had when I saw Hisar Station.
I looked at my watch.
2:17
I stared at it for several moments.
Then I said to the woman—
“Tell me something.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why isn’t the time moving forward?”
She looked at my watch.
Then she said—
“Maybe time has stopped for you.”
“But the hands are moving,” I said uneasily.
“The movement of the hands and the passage of time aren’t always the same thing.”
I fell silent at her words. A few moments later, I checked my phone.
It also showed 2:17.
I held it out toward her.
“Look. It shows the same time.”
She looked at the phone's screen, then looked at me and said, “You’re still trying to understand time.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Try to understand what’s happening.”
I took a deep breath.
“I feel like something very strange is happening to me.”
She said—
“It isn’t happening...”
I looked at her.
“Then what?”
In a very soft voice, she said—
“You’re being made to remember something.”
Sweat beaded on my forehead.
“What?”
She turned to look out the window.
“Your past.”
I immediately asked—
“My past? But how do you know about my past?”
She remained silent.
I asked again—
“Who are you, anyway?”
This time, she looked at me.
The mysterious gleam that had been in her eyes before was gone.
Instead, they held a strange sadness.
She said—
“I’m the one you saw a long time ago.”
I shook my head.
“No. I’ve never seen you before.”
She smiled.
“That’s exactly what you don’t remember.”
I was about to say something when the train suddenly lurched violently.
Bam!
I grabbed the seat to steady myself, while the woman remained perfectly calm.
Then the train suddenly began to slow down. I tried to look outside the window. Through the thick fog, I could see a few lights.
“Is a station coming up?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Which one?”
She looked at me and replied, “See for yourself.”
I moved right up to the window. The fog had thinned a little, and the platform was now visible.
A sign slowly came into focus before my eyes.
I narrowed my eyes to read it. The moment I saw the name, my breath caught.
Hisar.
I stepped back.
“Hisar again?”
The woman kept looking at me.
“How is this possible?” I said nervously. “We left Jakhal!”
In a calm voice, she said, “Are you sure the train went beyond Jakhal?”
“Yes! Absolutely.”
“Did you see the train moving?”
I was silent for a few moments.
Then I said, “Yes... I mean... the train did leave.”
“But did you see any stations along the way?”
I tried to remember, then said, “No.”
“Did you see any passengers getting on or off?”
I fell silent.
“Did you see the time change on your watch?”
I looked at my watch.
2:17
I had no answer.
The woman said softly, “Sometimes a journey is visible only to the eyes.”
I looked at her.
“And in reality?”
“In reality, a person remains standing where they began,” she said.
The hair on my arms stood up.
I looked outside the window. There was no one on the platform.
Then I noticed an old sign with a date written on it. I strained my eyes through the fog, but the date wasn't clear.
“What does it say?” I asked the woman.
“Read it yourself.”
I moved closer to the window.
The fog cleared for a few moments.
And I saw the date.
I stared at it for several moments.
Then my face went pale.
That date...
was twenty years old.
I turned and looked at the woman.
“H... how is this possible?”
She said nothing.
“Have we gone back in time?” I asked.
She didn't answer directly.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?” I said, panicking.
She said—
“Before accepting the truth, people often keep trying to convince themselves it’s a lie.”
I held my head and murmured to myself, “I don’t understand anything.”
She slowly stood up and came over to me. Looking straight at me, she said, “You’re not supposed to understand.”
I looked at her.
“Then?”
“You’re only supposed to remember.”
“What?”
Looking into my eyes, she said—
“That night.”
It felt as if electricity shot through my body.
“Which night?”
She said nothing.
I asked again—
“Which night?”
She looked out the window and said, “The night this journey began for the first time.”
Trembling, I said—
“But I’m going to Ludhiana for the first time today.”
She turned toward me.
“In this lifetime.”
No words came out of my mouth.
I just stared at her.
“In this lifetime?”
She nodded.
“Why are you saying that?” I asked.
Before she could answer, the train whistle sounded.
Woooooo...
The lights on the platform suddenly went out.
Then, one by one, the lights in the coach began to go dark as well.
“Ma’am...” I said nervously.
She was looking at me.
“Don’t be afraid.”
“But—”
“Don’t be afraid of what you’re going to see.”
“Why?”
In a very soft voice, she said, “Because this time, you’re going to see your own face.”
Before I could understand, the train started moving again. I looked out the window. Hisar Station slowly disappeared behind us.
But I couldn't take my eyes off a figure standing on the platform. It was a man standing completely still.
I rubbed my eyes and looked again. He was still there.
He raised a hand toward me as if he recognized me.
“Who is that man?” I asked the woman.
She looked outside, and her face suddenly grew serious.
“Do you know him?” I asked again.
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
She turned to me.
After remaining silent for a few moments, she said—
“You.”
My breath seemed to stop.
“Me?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
I looked out the window.
The man was still watching me.
His face was hidden in the fog.
But as the train moved farther away, his face became clearer.
My hands began to tremble as the features came into focus.
The nose...
The eyes...
The forehead...
Everything...
He looked just like me.
I stepped back.
“No...”
The woman grabbed my hand.
This time, her hand was cold as ice.
“Who is that?” I asked, trembling.
Looking into my eyes, she said, “Remember. That’s your past.”
“But why does he look like me?”
She remained silent.
“Tell me the truth!” I demanded uneasily.
She looked at me and said in a very soft voice, “Because he is you, Mr. Sumit...”
“But I’m here!” I said in panic.
“Yes.”
“Then what about him?”
A strange gleam appeared in the woman’s eyes.
“That’s the mystery.”
Before I could say anything, the man standing outside suddenly smiled.
And it felt as if he spoke directly into my ears from far away—
“You forgot me... but I haven’t forgotten you.”
I immediately looked away from the window.
My breathing had quickened.
“I want to get off this journey,” I told the woman.
In a calm voice, she said—
“That decision is no longer in your hands.”
“Then whose hands is it in?”
She looked at me.
Then she slowly placed a finger on my wrist.
I looked down at my wrist.
The same red mark had appeared again.
But this time, a small letter had formed in the middle of it—
“S”
“What is this?” I asked fearfully.
She said—
“Only the beginning.”
And then all the lights in the train came on at once. I looked ahead.
The woman was sitting in her seat.
But...
There was another seat facing hers.
Someone was sitting in it.
I looked carefully.
That man...
looked exactly like me, and he was smiling at me cruelly.
To be continued...