The air beyond the invisible gates of Varanasi was no longer silent.
Somewhere… something was watching.
A presence lingered—its gaze fixed upon the unseen doorway, as if even this sacred city was no longer beyond the reach of darkness.
We stood at the banks of the eternal river… the divine flow of Ganga River.
The moment felt unreal.
For the first time in what felt like ages, the barren memory of Earth faded away. The cracked lands, the lifeless winds, the silence of extinction—all of it dissolved in the presence of something alive.
Something pure.
The setting sun cast a golden glow across the waters. It felt… peaceful. Almost deceptive.
But then a thought struck me.
How…?
There were no rivers left outside. No source of water. The Earth had become a desert of death.
Then how was the Ganga… still flowing here?
Drawn by curiosity, I walked ahead—closer to the edge, trying to trace its origin.
And what I saw…
…it shook my very existence.
The river did not begin from the land.
It descended.
From the sky itself.
Like a luminous stream pouring down from the heavens, defying logic, defying reality. It wasn't just a river.
It was a miracle.
A living fragment of divinity.
Behind me, the others had stepped into the water.
The sacred ritual had begun.
But something felt… off.
As I turned, I noticed Gurudev.
He wasn't looking at the river.
He was looking at Maan.
Watching him… closely.
Too closely.
We completed our ritual and stepped out, offering prayers to the setting sun.
But Maan…
He hadn't moved.
He stood in the river, unmoving, staring into the flowing water like it held the answers to something he had forgotten… or something he was about to remember.
"Maan!" I called out. "That's enough, come out now."
No response.
It was as if he couldn't even hear me.
I exchanged a glance with Andy. Confusion mirrored in both our eyes.
Andy stepped into the water and moved toward him.
Just as he was about to touch Maan—
A voice stopped him.
"Leave him."
We both turned instantly.
Gurudev.
His tone wasn't loud… but it carried absolute authority.
We stepped back.
Moments later, we followed Gurudev into a nearby temple dedicated to Shiva.
The silence inside felt heavy.
Not peaceful… but anticipating.
Gurudev finally spoke,
"He is awakening."
My brows tightened.
"Awakening… what do you mean?"
Gurudev's gaze remained steady.
"He is beginning to remember… who he truly is."
A chill ran down my spine.
I spoke carefully,
"We know he's not ordinary. He has powers… but—"
Gurudev interrupted.
"He is not like you, Ali."
That one line shifted everything.
"He is not merely gifted… he is created with purpose."
Andy stepped forward, unable to hold back.
"What purpose?"
Gurudev's expression didn't change.
"You will know… when time allows you to."
Frustration burned inside me—but I held it back.
Right now, only one thing mattered.
Maan.
Suddenly—
A scream.
"SISTER!!"
We rushed out instantly.
Maan stumbled out of the river, gasping for breath as if he had just returned from death itself. His body trembled violently. His eyes were wide… filled with something far deeper than fear.
Memory.
We pulled him out of the water.
"Calm down! Breathe!" I said, gripping his shoulders.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
"My… my dream…" he stammered.
His voice shook.
"I saw… I saw that child again…"
His breathing still hadn't stabilized.
"That child… it was me…"
Silence fell.
"And that woman… the one with divine light…"
His voice broke.
"She… she was my mother…"
He paused.
Tears filled his eyes.
"And… the one chasing me…"
"…she was also my mother…"
The world stopped.
Even the air felt still.
Maan looked at us, confused, broken.
"I don't understand… how can I have two mothers…?"
Gurudev stepped forward.
His voice was calm… but carried the weight of truth.
"You do."
Maan froze.
"The radiant woman you saw…"
"…she is your true mother."
A pause.
"Ganga herself."
Time shattered.
Maan didn't move.
Didn't react.
He just… stared.
Unable to process.
Gurudev continued,
"And the woman running after you…"
"…she is the one who raised you."
"Your human mother."
Maan stepped back slowly.
"No… no… that's not possible…"
His voice trembled.
But truth doesn't wait for acceptance.
It simply exists.
Gurudev spoke again, now revealing what no one was prepared to hear.
"Ganga had eight sons."
"Seven… she released into the river."
"To free them from a curse."
"And the eighth…"
He paused.
"…became Bhishma."
Maan's breathing grew heavier.
"And you…"
Gurudev's voice deepened.
"…are one of those seven."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Maan's eyes filled instantly.
"No…"
He whispered.
"No… I'm not…"
But deep inside—
He knew.
Gurudev continued, each word piercing deeper.
"You were found… by a mortal woman."
"You lived a life filled with suffering."
"And when you were eleven…"
Maan's body stiffened
"…you accidently killed a bird."
And that curse of suffering becomes more evil
You died at the age of eleven in past life.
His eyes widened.
A forgotten memory surfaced.
"And you were cursed."
"That even in your next life… your childhood would not be free from pain."
Tears rolled down Maan's face.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
But silently.
Like something inside him had broken… completely.
Because no matter how much you run from truth…
You cannot escape who you are.
And for the first time—
Maan realized…
He wasn't just part of this journey.
He was bound to it..