Where Shadows Learn To Dream

The Flicker Of Hope

I couldn't believe it. Kanishk was standing right in front of me, as if the years hadn’t torn us apart, as if the world hadn’t changed me into someone else, someone I didn’t even recognize. My heart was pounding, but not with the same nervous energy that used to flood through me when we were younger. Now, it was cold. I felt… nothing. I couldn’t let myself feel anything anymore.

He kept asking me questions, eyes wide with confusion and desperation. “Aanya, where were you all these years? What happened to you?”

I kept shaking my head. “You have the wrong person,” I muttered, trying to walk away. I needed to end this conversation. I had too much to lose—too much shame, too much pain.

But he grabbed my wrist, his touch surprisingly gentle. “Aanya,” he said, his voice almost breaking, “I know it’s you. I know. Why are you doing this? Why are you here? Tell me, please.”

I yanked my hand away. “You don’t understand. I can’t—I won’t tell you. Just leave, Kanishk. Please leave me alone.”

But he didn’t. He just stood there, looking at me with those familiar eyes, filled with pity. I hated that look.

For the next few days, he came back again and again, pestering me with questions, forcing me to relive everything I had buried so deep inside. I didn’t want to tell him. What good would it do? Could he change what had happened? Could he give me back the life I had lost? No. He couldn’t.

One evening, after I had finished with another client, I walked out of the casino only to see him again, waiting like always. I sighed heavily, ready for the same old barrage of questions, but he was different today. There was determination in his eyes that unsettled me.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” he said firmly.

I laughed bitterly. “Out of where? This is my life now. This is all I know.”

“No,” he said, stepping closer. “This isn’t you, Aanya. You’re not meant for this. You deserve better.”

I scoffed, trying to ignore the way his words twisted something deep inside me. “Better? Where will I go? What will I eat? This is the only thing I’ve learned to do, and I’m damn good at it. No one will give me anything else.”

He stared at me, his expression hardening. “You know your friends and family will always be there for you. Move in with me. I’ll take care of you. You don’t have to do this.”

My heart raced, not with hope, but with fear. I didn’t trust anyone anymore, least of all him. “I don’t need anyone’s charity, Kanishk,” I spat. “I’ve survived just fine without you, without anyone.”

His face fell slightly, but he didn’t give up. “Aanya, you don’t have to trust me right now. But I’m not leaving you in this hell. I can’t.”

I wanted to scream. How dare he come into my life now, after all these years, acting like he could save me? There was no saving left to do.

The days went on like this—him showing up, offering a way out, and me shutting him down. Until one morning, when I walked into the casino after a long night, there he was again, sitting in the corner with his laptop, waiting for me.

I was too tired for this.

“Kanishk, I told you to stop—”

But he interrupted me, standing up and pulling me into the dim light. “No, listen. Just watch.”

Before I could protest, he opened his laptop and hit play. And there it was—the film. My film.

I froze, the memories flooding back like a punch to the gut. There I was, on the screen, laughing, smiling… a girl I barely remembered. It was from so long ago, before everything went wrong. I could barely breathe.

“This is who you are,” he said softly. “This is who you were meant to be, Aanya. Not… this.”

Tears blurred my vision, but I blinked them back. I had forgotten what it felt like to dream, to hope for anything more than just surviving. It hurt to remember.

“What do you want me to do?” I whispered, my voice shaky.

He knelt down in front of me, his hands trembling as he held onto mine. “Follow your dream again. Get out of here. You don’t belong in this world. You have so much more to offer. I’ll help you, Aanya. Please… let me help you.”

I pulled my hands away, wiping my face roughly. “You think it’s that easy? You think I can just walk away from this and everything will be fine? I can’t be that girl again, Kanishk. That girl is gone.”

“She’s not gone,” he insisted. “She’s right here, and I’m not going to let you throw her away.”

I stared at him, feeling the weight of the years and the pain pressing down on me. I didn’t know if I could believe him. I didn’t know if I even wanted to. But for the first time in a long time, a small voice inside me whispered… maybe.

Maybe, just maybe, I could be more than this.

I didn’t say yes. But I didn’t say no either.

Kanishk stood up, a soft smile on his lips. “I’ll be back tomorrow, and the day after that, until you believe it too. You’re not Monica. You never were.”

I watched him leave, my heart heavy with confusion and a flicker of something I hadn’t felt in years—hope.