Chapter 3: The Weight Of Shadows
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The Weight of Shadows
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Year: 2026
Location: Mumbai, India
The dim, pre-dawn light filtered through the window as Aron awoke, gasping for breath, his body drenched in sweat. It was 4:00 a.m. - an hour before his alarm was set to go off. The same nightmare had haunted him again, a dream of endless chaos, of faces he didn't recognize yet felt responsible for. Countless dead, their voices screaming in the back of his mind, an image of slaughter that seemed far too real.
Aron had learned to function with little sleep. After a cold shower and his usual morning routine, he left his modest apartment and headed out for work. He was an engineer, specializing in designing advanced mechanisms for a well-known automobile company. His mind, sharp and analytical, had always been able to take on the challenges of his field. But lately, the weight of the nightmares had been affecting him, making it harder to focus.
Still, he pushed through. He always did.
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By the time he reached the office, the bustling city had already come to life. The day passed in a blur of mechanical designs, technical meetings, and the familiar hum of factory machinery. But in the back of Aron's mind, the dream lingered. No matter how much he immersed himself in his work, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong - something far bigger than his daily life.
At 18:00 hours, Aron clocked out of work, stepping into the cool evening air. The sky was tinged with the last traces of daylight as he made his way to a small tea shop he often visited on his way home. The shop was simple, tucked away on a quiet street corner, but it had become a place of routine comfort for him. He ordered his usual cup of tea and glanced at the news broadcast playing on the television mounted above the counter.
"NASA's upcoming mission to deflect asteroids on a collision course with Earth has entered its final preparatory phase," the reporter announced.
"The mission, hailed as a groundbreaking attempt to protect the planet from celestial threats, is set to launch within the next year."
Aron's gaze lingered on the screen for a moment. There had been murmurs of this mission for some time now - an audacious plan to alter the trajectory of a massive asteroid headed toward Earth. But something about it felt off. It wasn't the mission itself that bothered him, but rather the timing. For reasons he couldn't quite explain, Aron had the strange sense that this mission was more significant than the world realized.
After finishing his tea, Aron bought two chocolate bars and headed to his next stop - a small orphanage located not far from the tea shop. It had become a habit of his to visit the children there once or twice a week, bringing treats or small toys. The children loved him, and as soon as he entered, they ran to him with open arms, hugging him, laughing, and chattering all at once. He lifted one of the smaller kids onto his shoulders, carrying him for a few minutes before passing out the chocolate bar, which the children eagerly split among themselves.
Aron smiled, his heart warming at the sight of their joy, but the weight of his nightmares still clung to him like a shadow.
He walked inside the building, making his way to the office marked with a small plaque: Manager. Inside, Meera, the orphanage's manager, looked up from her desk as he entered. She was a kind-hearted woman in her mid-twenties. She had dedicated her life to caring for the children at the orphanage, but Aron knew there was more to her than what most people saw.
"Meera, how are you?" Aron asked, settling into a chair opposite her desk.
She smiled, her eyes warm but observant. "I'm good as always, Aron. But what about you? Are you still having the nightmares?"
Aron sighed, rubbing his temples. "I woke up early again. It's the same thing every night. The faces of all those dead people... Their screams - it's like I'm living through some kind of massacre. I don't know why, but it feels real, as if it's something that's happened or… something that's going to happen. And the cruelty... it's unbearable. Why do I keep seeing this?"
Meera's expression softened with understanding, but she said nothing for a moment. She had known about Aron's nightmares for some time, but even with her unique abilities, there were things she couldn't fully explain.
After a long pause, she finally spoke. "There will come a day when every one of us must face our fate. But for those who stay true to their ideals until the very end, even in the face of that fate, they will achieve something far greater than they realize."
Her words hung in the air, cryptic and heavy with meaning. Aron didn't fully understand what she was trying to tell him, but he took mental note of her statement. He knew that Meera had a gift - a terrifying and rare ability to see glimpses of time itself. The visions she saw were fragments of past, present, and future, and though she didn't always understand them, she had learned to trust their significance.
Her ability, while invaluable, was also dangerous. Aron was one of the few people who knew the truth, and they had both agreed to keep it secret. In a world like theirs, a gift like hers could attract unwanted attention, and not everyone would be as kind as Aron had been.
"There's something coming, isn't there?" Aron asked, his voice low. He wasn't sure what he was asking about, but the feeling of impending disaster had been growing stronger with each passing day.
Meera's gaze drifted past him, as if she were seeing something far beyond the walls of the orphanage. Her voice was quiet for sometime, when she finally responded - "Yes... Something is coming. But I can't see it clearly yet."
Aron frowned but said nothing more. He trusted Meera, but her visions were often vague, pieces of a puzzle that only made sense in hindsight. Whatever was coming, Aron would have to wait to understand its full implications.
For now, all he could do was prepare.
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As Aron left the orphanage that evening, the city lights flickering to life in the distance, his mind raced with thoughts of his nightmares, Meera's cryptic words, and the strange feeling that the world was on the brink of something monumental.
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