Chapter 11: Unraveling the Past

Chapter 11: Unraveling the Past

The night was still, save for the soft hum of the ceiling fan above me. I woke up suddenly, my heart racing as though something deep inside me had stirred. It wasn't a nightmare—no, it was something else. A dream, but so vivid, so real, that it left me breathless. I could almost feel the warmth of his hand in mine, the comforting smile that seemed to reassure me in ways words never could.

"I'm going to work hard, make a lot of money, and... I want to marry you."

The words echoed in my mind as I sat up in bed, my breath shaky, my chest tight with emotion. I blinked rapidly, trying to rid myself of the lingering sensation of his presence. The dream had felt so tangible, as though I had lived it before, as though it was something I had known in another lifetime. For days now, the dreams had come with increasing frequency. And each time, they felt more and more real—so real, in fact, that I couldn't help but believe they were memories from a past life.

Ever since I started working at the new company, I'd been feeling the strangest pull towards Sai, my mentor. From the very first moment I saw him, something inside me shifted. My heart fluttered in a way it hadn't in years. And when I looked at his face, I felt as though I had seen it before, somewhere in the depths of my memories. It was as if his face had been etched into my soul, a reminder of something lost. The more time I spent with him, the more my dreams began to change. They were no longer distant memories of a past life; they were dreams of him.

And I was happy. For the first time in a long while, my heart felt light. The emptiness that had consumed me for so long started to fade, replaced by a warmth I couldn't explain. I felt at peace, like I had finally found the place I belonged. But as they say, happiness always comes with a price.

That price came in the form of tragedy.

I was walking beside Sai one fateful afternoon when a car suddenly sped towards us. My heart stopped as I watched it happen in slow motion—the car slamming into Sai with terrifying force. I screamed, but the sound felt muffled, as if my world had gone silent. I rushed to his side, my hands trembling as I checked for signs of life. But then he smiled at me, trying to reassure me with his words, though I could see the pain in his eyes.

"I'm fine," he said, though his voice was strained, his attempt to ease my fear only making my heart ache more.

But it wasn't the smile that brought me to my knees—it was the overwhelming sense of déjà vu, the overwhelming certainty that I had seen this scene before. I was struck by an agonizing realization: this wasn't just a fear—it was a memory. My head throbbed, and I felt nauseous, as if the weight of that moment was too much to bear. The line between reality and dreams blurred, and I couldn't distinguish one from the other anymore.

From that day onward, my dreams changed. The once peaceful memories became nightmares—nightmares of Sai being hit by a bike, over and over again. I couldn't escape them. The lines between my dreams and reality were fading, and I was losing control of myself. I couldn't understand what was happening.

I never got the chance to thank the person who had saved me, who had been there when I needed him most. And then, just like that, he was gone. Sai was transferred to another state, leaving me behind, with nothing but confusion and lingering emotions I didn't know how to handle.

A year had passed since that day, but I couldn't move on. I couldn't shake the thoughts of Sai, the haunting dreams that tormented me every night. I couldn't escape the overwhelming sense of loss, even though I knew I had never truly lost him.

Today was my birthday, but it felt like a day like any other. My parents had surprised me with a cake, their smiles warm, but I could feel the sorrow in my heart deepening with every passing moment. My mind was a mess, a whirlwind of emotions that I couldn't make sense of. My chest was tight with sadness, my brain ached, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. It was as if I was trying to remember something, but it was just out of my reach.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I sat in my room, alone. The cake sat untouched in front of me, the candles flickering softly, but I couldn't bring myself to celebrate. My parents had no idea what was going on inside my head. I felt like I was unraveling, my emotions a tangled mess of confusion, pain, and longing.

When my parents saw me crying, they fell silent. My father walked over to me, his steps slow and deliberate. He sat beside me, his hand resting gently on my shoulder.

"It's time you faced your past properly," he said, his voice gentle but firm. His words were like a key unlocking something deep within me, something I had buried for far too long.

"What? What past?" I asked, my voice shaky with confusion.

My mother, who had been standing by the door, came closer to me and pulled me into her embrace, rubbing my back in soothing circles. She didn't say a word, but I could feel the warmth of her love surrounding me, and it gave me the strength to listen.

My father stood up and walked toward their bedroom, returning with a small, worn-out box. He handed it to me gently, his expression unreadable. I opened it slowly, the contents inside unfamiliar and yet somehow comforting. There were old photographs, some of them faded, others torn, but they all felt like pieces of a forgotten puzzle that were finally falling into place.

"This is your past, Kiara," my father said, his voice thick with emotion. "You need to see this. You need to understand what happened before you can move forward."

I stared at the photographs, a sudden wave of memories flooding my mind. Faces I didn't recognize, places I had never been, and yet... it all felt so familiar. My heart raced as I tried to make sense of the images, each one a fragment of a story I had forgotten.

And then, through the haze of confusion, I saw him. Sai. He was there, in the background of one photograph, standing beside me with a look of warmth and affection that made my heart skip a beat. The memory, the connection, everything I had been trying to understand suddenly clicked into place. I had known him in another life. He had always been there. And I had never truly lost him.

The truth washed over me like a tidal wave, and for the first time in a long time, I felt a sense of clarity. The dreams, the memories, the confusion—it was all part of something bigger, something that stretched beyond time and space.

I turned to my parents, my eyes wide with realization. "I remember... I remember him," I whispered, the weight of the words settling over me.

My father nodded, his eyes filled with understanding. "It's time to face your past, Kiara. Only then can you move forward, and maybe... find the happiness you've been searching for."

And in that moment, I knew what I had to do. The past was no longer a mystery—it was a part of me. And with that knowledge, I was finally ready to step into the future, to find the love that had been waiting for me all along.