17 September — Evening
One day before the trip.
Arjun finished packing his belongings.
He stepped outside his house, pulled out his phone, and sent a message in the group chat.
Arjun: I'm done packing. Be ready for tomorrow. If anything comes up, inform in the group early 😊
He slipped the phone back into his pocket.
The sun was setting. The sky was turning orange and purple, and everything felt quiet and calm. He felt excited for tomorrow.
Then something felt… wrong.
The air seemed heavier. The edges of his vision began to blur. The world around him looked slightly distorted, as if the surroundings were becoming wavy.
His heartbeat quickened.
The distortion grew stronger.
A strange dizziness hit him. The ground felt unstable beneath his feet. A deep sense of unease filled his chest.
Arjun panicked and ran inside the house.
He passed his parents' room. They were sitting on the bed, watching television, completely unaware.
"Maa… Papa…" he called out.
No one heard him.
His voice felt like it didn't exist.
The dizziness worsened. His body felt heavy. He forced himself to walk to his room.
As he entered, he froze.
Someone was standing near the window.
The light of the setting sun was behind her, casting her into shadow. He couldn't see her face — only her outline.
But he knew her.
He knew her very well.
His eyelids began to feel heavy. A high ringing sound filled his ears.
She spoke.
"Take care of yourself… and everyone," she said softly.
Then she laughed.
A slow, gentle laugh.
"Just do something we won't regret."
The ringing grew louder.
Suddenly—
"Wake up!"
Arjun's eyes flew open.
He was on his bed.
His heart was racing.
"It was a dream… and she was there too," he murmured.
He rubbed his eyes and heard his mother shouting from the other room.
"Arjun! How long are you going to sleep?!"
He reached for his phone.
Missed calls. Messages.
Today was the day.
18 September — Morning
Trip day.
At one in the afternoon, Arjun left his house and met the others at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai.
"You're late," Imran said as soon as he saw him.
"I'm sorry," Arjun replied. "I slept late last night. Woke up late too."
The others exchanged worried looks when Arjun asked, "Everyone has their money, right? Thirty thousand each?"
Kabir spoke first. "I had to break my savings for this. At first I felt bad… but now I think money comes and goes. Let's enjoy. Time doesn't come back."
Imran cleared his throat. "I'm covering Raghav's expenses."
Everyone looked at him in surprise. Raghav looked uncomfortable.
"I mean," Imran quickly added, "he doesn't have enough right now. I'll cover the rest. He can pay me back later. Right, Raghav?"
Raghav nodded. "Yeah."
Aman sighed. "That money was for emergencies. But… let's not talk about that."
Arjun nodded. "I took an advance payout of eighteen thousand and asked my father for some extra to avoid suspicion."
"So what's the plan now?" Imran asked.
Arjun took a breath and began explaining.
"First, we take the five PM train from CSMT to Howrah."
Everyone listened carefully.
"From Kolkata, we take a flight from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport to Veer Savarkar International Airport."
"And then we go to Port Blair," Kabir added.
Arjun nodded. "Yes. In Port Blair, we'll visit:
Cellular Jail.
Chidiya Tapu.
Ross Island.
Then we go to Havelock Island."
"Havelock has Radhanagar Beach, Kalapathar Beach, and Elephant Beach," Arjun continued. "But our priorities are:
Radhanagar Beach.
Kalapathar Beach."
"And after that, we come back in five days."
Aman nodded. "It sounds good. We're covering a lot already."
Everyone agreed — except Imran.
"What about Neil Island?" he asked. "Bharatpur Beach, Laxmanpur Beach, the natural rock formations? There's so much more we're not seeing."
Aman shook his head. "We don't have much time or money."
"I can cover your costs," Imran said. "Pay me back later. If we're going, we should do it properly."
Aman sighed. "Time. That's the problem. We don't have it."
Silence settled over the group.
Then Arjun spoke again.
"The sleeper train ticket to Howrah is eight hundred and eighty rupees per person. The flight from Kolkata to Port Blair is seven thousand per person, one way."
Everyone nodded.
They waited quietly as the train arrival announcement echoed through the station.
A voice rang out.
"Attention, please. The train from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to Howrah Junction will arrive at Platform Seventeen. All passengers are requested to wait until the train stops completely before boarding. We wish you a pleasant journey."
Everyone froze.
"Platform… seventeen?" Arjun repeated, startled. That was not what he had expected.
"Come on," he said quickly. "It'll only stop for five minutes."
They ran from Platform Five to Platform Seventeen, weaving through the crowd.
The train was already moving when they reached it.
"Go!" someone shouted.
One by one, they jumped onto the moving train.
Kabir looked around, breathless. "Is everyone here?"
He counted them. Everyone was on.
The train picked up speed.
Raghav bent forward, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "You really had to book this train?" he snapped at Arjun. "I thought I was going to die, you idiot. And why the AC compartment? Are you secretly rich now?"
"Relax," Imran said, stepping between them. "We're on the train. Let's just find our seats and sit down."
Arjun only smiled.
They made their way through the compartment and found their seats.
Everyone pulled out their phones or leaned back to rest.
Then Arjun said casually, "By the way, the train journey is thirty-six hours."
Silence.
Raghav looked like he was about to explode. Kabir stared at Arjun in disbelief. Imran, on the other hand, laughed.
"But the flight is only two hours," Arjun quickly added. "So relax. We're really going now."
That eased the tension. A strange excitement settled over them instead.
The journey had begun.
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