Darkness engulfed his room showing the Night has begun.

The moonlight filtered through the curtains of Viraj's room, casting ethereal shadows that danced on the walls, his small table lamp was showered it's small light along with those shadows. He scribbled furiously. Each stroke of his pen seemed to bring Nimah closer to life, her presence becoming almost palpable.

Later night, his brother and sister came to his room with some food and water. He had those along with his work. The room was completely messed with those piled white crushed paper balls.

He was so immersed in his work that the recent update about the Niamh Sharma he got at the evening gave him a wonderful kick on his imagination and creativity. He doesn't bothered about the time, noises anything around him.

As the clock struck midnight, a sudden gust of wind blew through the open window, scattering his papers across the room. Viraj sighed, gathering the sheets, but as he picked up the last one, he froze. There, at the edge of the page, was a faint, unfamiliar script. It wasn't his handwriting. It read,

"Find me where the willow weeps."

"What's this...? Who wrote this...?"

Viraj's heart raced. Was this some sort of prank? Or had he, in his fervor, written it unconsciously? He couldn't shake off the feeling that Nimah was trying to communicate with him.

"Why my instincts are saying to follow this...the urge to know what's happening is making me restless..."

Driven by an inexplicable urge, he decided to follow the clue. He slowly rubbed his fingers through the sentence... slowly the sentence starts to shine and it pulled him inside the paper. Fear ran through his spines...

"Aaaahhhhh....!"

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The next morning, he found himself at the old park near his appartment. The air was thick with the scent of earth and dew, and near to it, there was a ancient willow tree, the place he always feel comfort. Its branches hung low, almost touching the ground, creating a secluded, mystical alcove.

He slowly got up and brushed of the dry withered leaves and dust on him.

As Viraj approached, the air seemed to hum with energy. He pushed through the curtain of leaves and found himself in a small, hidden clearing. The center was a weathered stone bench, and on it, an old, leather-bound book lay open. The pages were yellowed with age, but the ink was fresh and dark. The title read, "The Kingless Queen."

With trembling hands, Viraj picked up the book. The first page bore a single sentence: "Our fates are intertwined, seeker of truths. To understand me, you must first understand yourself."

Viraj sat down, feeling the weight of the book in his hands. As he began to read, the world around him seemed to dissolve, and he was drawn into the story—a story that was not just about Nimah, but about his own journey, their childhood everything.... He was trying to understand and find answers for the quest he had.

After sometime he took his book to his room, he also took some edibles, otherwise there will be a frequent disturbance on his work from his family.

Hours passed in a blur, and when he finally looked up, the sun was setting. He felt a strange sense of clarity, a connection not just to Nimah, but to something larger, something that transcended the boundaries of his imagination.

He tried to remember what happened when he got dragged inside that paper... But nothing was clear in his memory and he felt pressure on thinking about it. But knew his journey had only just begun. The line between fiction and reality was not just blurred; it was a bridge, a pathway to a deeper truth. And with Nimah as his guide, he was ready to cross it.

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

On the other side....

Asusual she got up with a disturbed sleep because of a some sequence of dreams following her for the past two years.

"Who's this Chashma guy coming in my dreams... Why I feel so overwhelmed seeing his eyes..." Nimah shook his head on both sides and put her palms over her face for some seconds...and got up for her daily wars...

"What happened Nemo...? Why you looking so tired dude. You wanna take break from these chaos for a while?" Her dearest childhood sweet heart, also her younger sister Namita asked checking all over her.

"I don't know Nami... After writing my book, this dream is haunting me?"

"You mean... The Kingless Queen? Dude you wrote and published that 2 years before just for fun...and the fun fact was every teenage- youth got loved your work...that was an hit which we never expected or thought... And you are saying that a sequence of dreams are haunting you for the past 2 years?... Sounds ridiculous..."

"I don't care if you find it ridiculous or not... But that sequence of dreams are too strange... That Chashmish guy, his eyes... I have seen that eyes somewhere before... I will find it...."

🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄

*****************************

Nimah pulled him towards her, clutching his t shirt and brought his ear near to her face... He was shocked of what's happening to him.

"Hey Boy,..! Finally I found you my chashmish man...Now you are under my protection... Cause you could be the BEAUTY and I could be the MONSTER.... Why don't we have a THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST in real life... Huh?"

He got shivers all over his body by seeing her dark face... He thought about those public reviews and news and their statement... Her one look is enough to spit out the truths, scare...her aura is enough to say she's a real lioness in her pride who doesn't need a king to handle. She's the inspiration for all the teenage youth females. Her strong nature is enough for anyone to understand who's she...

BUT WHAT ABOUT VIRAJ?... WILL VIRAJ GET A CHANCE TO SEE A ANOTHER SIDE OF OUR LIONESS? DOES SHE HAVE A SOFT SPOT? DOES SHE HAVE ANYTHING THAT HURT...? WHAT DO YOU THINK...?

(To be continued...)