Morning arrived quietly. Sumendu and Diya finished their breakfast in complete silence, neither daring to break it. Once Diya's parents left for work, the two settled into the drawing room. For several long minutes, they simply looked at each other—words failing them.
The weight of the previous night's revelation still pressed heavily on their minds. Shock lingered in the air, thick and undeniable. Neither of them could fully accept what had happened: that they had crossed the boundaries of time, and that the darts were, without question, magical.
Slowly, almost unwillingly, understanding began to take shape. They were not merely slipping through time by chance; they were being drawn across its barriers into moments that seemed pre-programmed for their arrival. It was as though they had been chosen—placed deliberately into a timeline where altering the past was the key to reshaping the future.
The magnitude of that realization was staggering. Accepting it felt less like discovery and more like swallowing a truth far too vast to comprehend, a truth that refused to go down easily.
Sumendu was the first to break the silence.
"This is unbelievable, Diya," he said quietly. "But something is pulling us into the past. And it feels like we're not just witnesses—we're meant to alter it. Whatever we change there will ripple forward, reshaping the present, possibly turning our lives in an entirely different direction."
He was only fifteen, yet the certainty in his voice carried a weight far beyond his years, as though he were speaking a truth already etched into the future.
Diya listened intently, every word sinking deep. Inside, she was still trembling. The enormity of what had happened—and what it might mean for her—refused to fully settle. Even so, she found the strength to respond.
"Sumendu," she asked softly, "do you really believe we're capable of changing the past? Or is this just your theory? What if we're only living a dream?"
Sumendu stared at her, surprised. After everything they had witnessed, he hadn't expected her to doubt it.
Catching the look on his face, Diya quickly added, "Okay... okay. I get it. It's real."
She paused, uncertainty flooding back into her voice.
"But what is it that we're supposed to change? I can't even begin to guess."