BROKEN HEARTS

Chapter 11 : The Nightmares Unfold

*Author's note*

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The night had a strange heaviness in the air. Aryan had always been a light sleeper, but recently, his nights were filled with darkness and anxiety. It was as if the weight of something unknown was pressing down on him. Esha, on the other hand, prided herself on being practical and grounded, never allowing irrational fears to control her. But lately, even she had not been spared from the disturbance creeping into her dreams. Tonight was no different. They both tossed and turned in their respective rooms, unaware that the other was battling a similar inner turmoil.

Aryan's sleep was broken by the same recurring dream that had haunted him for weeks. The images were more vivid now, more terrifying. He was back in that old school building, flames licking the walls as the structure crumbled around him. There was a sense of urgency, of something vital being lost in the fire. He could hear voices, indistinct but filled with panic. Among the chaos, a figure stood out—Esha, looking just as confused and scared as he felt. His heart raced, and his chest tightened as the flames closed in on him. The heat was unbearable, his skin burning as he reached out for her.

He woke up gasping for air, his shirt drenched in sweat, his heart hammering in his chest. For a moment, he was disoriented, his mind still caught between the dream and reality. His room was dark, the only sound being the soft hum of the ceiling fan. But the intensity of the dream lingered. He sat up, running a hand through his hair. "Why do I keep seeing this place?" he muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, in her apartment, Esha had just woken up from her own nightmare, though she didn't want to admit it to herself. She had never been one to believe in omens or mystical connections. But the dream had been too real to ignore. She saw the same school building, felt the same overwhelming dread. It was as if the fire wasn't just a figment of her imagination but a memory clawing its way back into her consciousness. Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought. "It's just a dream," she whispered, trying to convince herself.

But the unease wouldn't leave her. After several minutes of restless tossing, she reached for her phone. She hesitated before sending a message to Aryan. This wasn't like her at all. She was practical, logical. Sharing something as absurd as a nightmare seemed almost embarrassing, especially with Aryan. But something told her she wasn't alone in this.

"Are you awake?" her message read.

Barely a second passed before her phone buzzed with a reply: "Yes. Couldn't sleep."

Esha hesitated before typing her next message. She didn't want to sound ridiculous, but she had to know if he was feeling the same way.

"I had this weird dream again... about that old building. The one you mentioned before."

There was a pause before Aryan replied. "You too?"

Esha blinked at the screen. She felt a strange chill down her spine. They had talked briefly about the dreams before, but nothing as direct as this. Her logical mind screamed at her to dismiss it, but the connection was too strong to ignore. She could feel her pulse quicken.

"I saw it too," Aryan continued. "The building was on fire. I think... I think we were there, inside. Together."

Esha's heart skipped a beat. This was getting weirder by the second. How could they both have the same dream, the same imagery? She didn't want to believe in coincidences, but this was too much. She typed slowly, trying to find the right words.

"What do you think this means? It doesn't make any sense."

Aryan stared at his screen, trying to find an explanation. He wasn't one to believe in past lives or anything spiritual either, but he couldn't deny the growing sense of familiarity about these dreams. He was certain that he had never been to the place in real life. The burned-down school didn't even exist anymore, as far as he knew. Yet every time he dreamt of it, it felt as though he belonged there, as if he had lived through that moment before. And now Esha was seeing the same thing.

"I don't know," he typed back, "but it's not just a dream. It feels... too real. I've been having the same dream for weeks. Maybe longer."

Esha swallowed hard. She had no explanation for it either, but the unease gnawing at her was undeniable. Her heart raced as her mind tried to rationalize the situation. She had always prided herself on being practical, grounded in reality. She didn't believe in fate or premonitions, but there was no denying that something unusual was happening.

"We can't ignore this, can we?" she finally replied.

"No," Aryan responded, "we can't. I think... we need to figure out what's going on."

Esha frowned, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. She wasn't sure she was ready to delve into something so inexplicable. But at the same time, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was important, that these dreams were leading them somewhere.

"Meet me tomorrow," Aryan added before she could reply. "Let's talk about this in person. Maybe there's something we're missing."

Esha sighed, conflicted but also curious. She didn't want to seem paranoid, but there was no way to deny the connection they were both experiencing. Maybe talking it out would help them make sense of it. She agreed to meet the next day, though her mind was already racing with questions.

As she put down her phone, she glanced out the window. The moon hung low in the sky, casting a faint glow over the city. A part of her wanted to brush everything off as nothing more than a coincidence. But deep down, she knew it wasn't. Something was pulling her toward the truth, toward that burned-down school and whatever had happened there. And Aryan was a part of it, too.

Across the city, Aryan sat back in his bed, his heart still pounding from the dream. He felt the same pull—an invisible thread connecting him to Esha, to that place. He didn't know what it all meant yet, but he was determined to find out. There was something about these dreams, something important that they needed to understand. And no matter how irrational it seemed, he couldn't shake the feeling that their past lives were intertwined, that the answers lay in the ruins of that school.

Tomorrow, they would talk. Tomorrow, they would start to uncover the truth. But for now, all Aryan could do was close his eyes and hope that sleep, for once, would be dreamless.

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A/n :- ahem..ahem.. I'm alive. Yes! I rememberd it. And now I'm updating it. Hehe..

Thanku for reading and don't forget to vote and comment. 

Total words - 1126