I could feel rough hands on my arms, forcing me to stand up. Lifelessly, I stood up and followed them as they dragged me towards my unfortunate fate. I knew this was gonna happen but living through it was a very different thing. Nothing in this world could prepare me for that. How would the heat of flames feel against my cold skin, my dull hair. Will I feel anything? Heat? Pain? Agony? Or as soon the scorching heat from the flame touches me, Will I be gone? But the ladies told me otherwise as well as the tales of those who are gone. Both tell that every second, every moment will be felt. The heat. The pain. The skin melting. The screams. Feeling dull warmth on my body from the setting sun, I looked up and wished I never saw what I saw. A broken circle was formed against my dead 'husband's pyre. Everyone was looking at me. Like a meat they wanted to devour. Short breaths left my body as the men harshly pulled me towards the circle. The circle of my death. I started struggling against their hold but they only tightened their grasps. Reality of what was going to happen hit me like a rock. "Stop crying. Nothing can save you. This is our ritual which everyone has to perform someday." Someone spoke within the circle. I didn't even know I was crying until now. This is it They are going to perform Sati. They will burn me alive with my husband.

Viren Vadhera, 30, followed his father's footsteps and became a successful doctor. He used to admire his father when he was young and wanted to become a doctor just like him. Viren never lived a disciplined life but he somehow managed to fulfilled all his and his father's wishes. Now only one last wish of his father is left, to get him married. And even though Viren was happy as a bachelor, he has to fullfill his father's wish. Jeevika Saxena, 30, did not follow her family's lineage to become an engineer. She chose to become a doctor, a pediatrician. It's not like she liked them, just thought they were easy to handle than elders. But girl, was she wrong. She got to know this when she had already became a child specialist but it was too late now. Her family is trying to get her married for so long but Jeevika just not gave in, yet How will these similar yet non similar people meet? Will they click or will they not? #3 in Indian Writer (8 January 2024) #3 in Kryan (1 October 2021) #33 in Pandemic (8 January 2024) #9 in Medicine (21 January 2024) ---------------------

Years after drifting apart, Saanjh and Advik find their way back to each other through an arranged marriage. While the wedding preparations continue around him, Advik is assigned a brutal murder case, one that has shaken the state and perhaps the country. He is thrown into a race against time to solve the mystery. But some cases don't stay confined to files. They follow you home, slipping into the life you are just starting. Or maybe... they've always been a part of it. Trigger Warning: This story contains themes of trauma, violence, murder, blood, and emotional distress. ©copyright onthecloudsx_ ©All rights reserved Cover credit: ReynaBennett