📅 November 13 — Afternoon, Final Hours of the Trek
The teachers were doing the final headcount before the students would begin the descent back to base camp.
"Wait— one student is missing!"
The teacher's voice sliced through the mountain air.
Panic rose.
It was a Class 9 boy — Harsh — last seen near the ridge while collecting pebbles.
Groups split instantly.
Raghav, Aariv, Vaidehi, Meera, Vivaan, Vrinda scattered with teachers toward the outer paths, calling out Harsh's name.
But one thing was clear — everyone knew who would be fastest at climbing through risky terrain.
Ishanvi and Abhay were sent together.
Into the Forest Ridge
The trees thickened as they climbed, their breath burning with cold air.
Ishanvi brushed aside branches, calling out louder with each step.
"Harsh! If you're here, shout!"
Only silence answered.
Abhay scanned the ground, searching for footprints. The stream nearby shimmered strangely, as if reacting to his presence.
"I don't like this," he murmured.
Ishanvi glanced at him.
"You're scared something will happen to him?"
He shook his head slowly.
"No… I'm scared something will happen to you."
Her steps faltered.
"What?"
Abhay swallowed, avoiding her eyes.
And then—
A sudden gust tore through the forest.
Leaves spiraled.
The sky darkened.
And birds — dozens, then hundreds — burst out of the treetops.
The Sky Circle
They flew toward Abhay and Ishanvi as if pulled by invisible threads.
Raghav and Vaidehi, still nearby, froze as they saw the birds gathering.
Aariv grabbed Vivaan's hand.
"Bhaiya! Look!"
Up above, the birds twisted into a perfect ring, circling the two of them.
Vrinda gasped.
"Kya ho raha hai?"
Meera whispered, "It's like… they're guarding them."
The siblings ran toward the clearing, but the wind pushed them back gently — not allowing them to enter the circle.
Inside the glowing halo of beating wings…
Something ancient stirred.
The Glow
Ishanvi felt heat crawling up her fingers.
Abhay felt the pull of water deep within the ground, like a heartbeat beneath the soil.
The birds shrieked — a sound neither violent nor peaceful.
Something between warning and blessing.
Then it happened.
Ishanvi's eyes glowed red, bright as burning embers.
Abhay's eyes glowed blue, deep as river currents.
They turned to each other — stunned, terrified, mesmerized.
"What… are we?" Ishanvi whispered.
Abhay stepped closer, voice raw.
"I don't know. But if something happens to you—"
his voice cracked,
"—I won't survive it."
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
The sky trembled.
The birds tightened the circle—
their wings echoing like drums.
Ishanvi stared at him — the fear, the honesty, the ache in his voice.
"Abhay…"
But she couldn't say anything more.
Because at that moment—
A faint cry echoed through the trees.
"Help…! Someone…!"
It was Harsh.
The Rescue
The birds suddenly broke formation — scattering into the sky as if the spell ended.
The glow in their eyes faded.
Abhay grabbed Ishanvi's hand without thinking and sprinted toward the voice.
They found Harsh trapped between two fallen logs near the slope — scared, shivering.
"It's okay," Ishanvi soothed, kneeling.
Abhay carefully pulled the logs apart — the wood strangely lighter in his hands than it should have been.
The boy clung to him, crying.
The Unspoken Fear
When they walked back toward the group, the siblings ran to them.
Raghav: "Tum dono theek ho?"
Vaidehi: "Birds ne tumhe gher liya tha!"
Meera: "We couldn't get near you…"
Abhay and Ishanvi exchanged a long, quiet look.
Neither spoke about the glow.
Neither spoke about the circle.
Neither spoke about what Abhay had confessed.
But the truth hung between them like lightning waiting to strike.
Fear — not of danger, but of losing each other — had finally revealed its name.