Continued from previous blogs - Ep-1 - Ep-2 - Ep-3 - Ep-4 - Ep-5 - Ep-6
Out of nowhere, the sky darkened. Gloom took over the city. The dry air turned to mist, and then to rain. For some, it felt like grief. For others, it smelled like a long-awaited win.
At Swati’s Residence
Swati called Raj and said, “I couldn’t stop smiling after what I did today. Starbucks. Now. Before I regret this silence too!”
Raj, still buried in work, had the phone on speaker. He barely registered her words as he typed away on his laptop. “Yeah, yeah… I’ll be there in 20 minutes. Just wrapping up a few things,” he muttered absently.
Swati’s eyes sparkled—triumph humming louder than memory. The accident fall of it forgotten. All that mattered now was the high of beating Sanjay.
She skipped to the washroom, her face already carrying the kind of smile that lingers even in the mirror.Tonight, she wanted to look undeniable.Moments later, she emerged dressed in a sleek, curve-hugging bodycon maxi.
She turned once before the mirror, admiring herself. ” I swear, Raj’s eyes are going to eat me alive. God, I’m excited.”, she whispered to herself, lips curving into a mischief-laced smile.
Just as she was about to step out, she called out, “Mom! I’ll be back soon, going to meet Raj!”
Her mom peeked out of the kitchen. “Take care, beta! Should I drop you?”
Swati rolled her eyes with a smirk. “Don’t embarrass me, Mom.”
At Pooja’s Residence
Pooja opened the window. The rain didn’t soothe her, it made her more anxious.
Her mind was stuck in a loop: The moment she threw water on Sanjay. The talk with Pravallika. The accident.
Among all three, Pooja was the only one who believed she saw Pravallika hitting a woman, the woman crashing headfirst into the divider.
Pooja’s face was a flickering screen, calm one second, confused the next. Her expression changed every minute, as if her body couldn’t decide what to feel. She looked like she could scream any moment.
But she didn’t.
She took a deep breath, tried to steady herself, and made a call.
“Ma’am… I don’t know what I’ve done. But I need your help. You remember the day I came to you for counselling? I told you about my ex, Sanjay… and everything I said to him before I walked into your room…”
Swati’s mother answered gently, “Calm down, Pooja. Did you take your medicines? Breathe. Just breathe, like I always say.”
But Pooja’s breath only got heavier. Something had triggered her.
“Ma’am… can we meet now? In the clinic?”
Then she caught herself. Realized her mistake. “Sorry, not the clinic. Let me come to your house. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Swati’s mother paused, then said softly, “Of course, beta. I’ll be here.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
At Pravallikas’s Residence
Pravallika, her head still heavy, slumped into her papasan chair and curled her legs up. She closed her eyes, trying to steal a moment of sleep.
But the flashes came Her hand throwing water at Sanjay’s face. Their teenage romance, the way their fingers used to interlock like secrets. It all came rushing back.
She was restless. She reached over to the side table and picked up her iPad. Almost without thinking, she unlocked the hidden folder, the one filled with photos from her teenage years with Sanjay.
Her face lit up with a strange kind of desire. But her eyes… her eyes felt hollow.
She closed them tightly, shook her head, and muttered, “I shouldn’t have listened to those girls. This… this was my only shot to be with him. And I ruined it. Who’s perfect anyway?”
Anger flared in her chest. “Let me just come out of this,” she said sharply and spun toward her gaming desktop.
She opened her local Stable Diffusion model and one she had fine-tuned with LoRAs trained on herself and Sanjay. She typed in a prompt. A soft kiss. A moment that never happened.
The screen came alive. A generated video, the two of them kissing, lost in a made-up memory. But it made her both sad and happy at same time and tears rolled from eyes.
In the Car
The rain showed no mercy on the windshield. The driver had set the wipers to their maximum speed, slicing through the storm just enough to keep the road visible. He stayed sharp, his focus unwavering that even the smallest mistake could be dangerous in this urgency.
Sanjay inhaled deeply. Fresh air slipped in through a crack in the window — earthy, cold, and strangely comforting. It smelled like a new start. A few minutes ago, he had felt lost. Now, he felt… in control. Emotionally calm. Pleasant, even.
Then he saw Vaishara’s ID badge beside him, the Zomato logo, the fading laminate.
Without overthinking, he picked up his phone and called Zomato customer care.
“Hello,” he said clearly. “I just wanted to report something important. One of your delivery agents met with an accident. Her name is Vaishara. I found her ID on her bag. We’re taking her to the hospital now. Here’s the location…”
He shared the details. Calm. Exact.
Call ended.
Driver listened to the conversation and said, “That’s a very sharp and thoughtful move, sir. I’m genuinely proud of you.”
Sanjay smiled faintly. “Thanks… Honestly, I didn’t expect this from myself. But suddenly, it just felt right.”
“That’s how it works in our world, sir,” driver replied warmly. “We all respond to what calls us.”
Sanjay leaned back. His thoughts swirled wit the water-slap moment, with flashes of Character AI conversation.
Almost on instinct, he unlocked his phone and opened the Character AI app. His thumb hovered over the screen, ready to type.
But before he could begin, the driver called out, “Sir, my network’s down. Can you keep navigation on? We need to reach the hospital on time.”
Sanjay nodded, opened Google Maps, and set the destination.
He guided the driver through side streets and shortcuts. And in no time they reached the hospital.
The scent of roasted beans lifted her mood. Swati stood by the café window, smiling to herself as she waited for Raj. Her posture was tall, confident and proud of what she’d done. And then, she saw him. Raj stepped into Starbucks, and her face lit up like a Christmas tree.
She waved him over eagerly. The moment he reached the table, she leapt up and hugged him tight, kissing him on the cheek.
Her lips touched his skin and Raj was pulled back into the present, leaving his office worries behind. “Babe, you look so happy. What’s the news?”
Swati beamed. “Yes! I did exactly what you told me, babe. Everything I’ve done and it’s dedicated to you. If not for your words that day… I wouldn’t just have fallen for you, I wouldn’t have respected you this much either.”
Raj looked both elated and confused. “What did I even say? I can’t remember!”
Swati laughed gently. “You might not. But I remember every word. Remember the day before I broke up with Sanjay? I told you that story about a woman my mom was counselling… the one going through a hard time.” She took a sip of water and continued, “I had secretly read my mom’s notes. And when I told you her story, I had already decided I’d befriend that woman. Help her. Because I knew her pain. I was her.”
Raj nodded slowly. “Yeah, I remember that. So what happened?”
“Do you remember what you said to me that night?”
He narrowed his eyes, trying to recall. “If I said anything… maybe I told you that if you ever find the guy who hurt her, you should slap him for what he did.”
Swati clapped her hands softly, grinning. “Exactly, babe. That’s exactly what we did!”
“Wow! Congratulations!” Raj laughed. “But wait, who was the villain?”
She leaned in, her voice full of teasing tension. “You’ll be shocked, happy, and surprised… all at once.” She paused, then dropped the bomb. “It was Sanjay!”
Raj froze.
She nodded, eyes sparkling with excitement.
But Raj’s smile faded. Anger. Guilt. Sadness. All crowded into him at once. He struggled to find words.
“Why would you do this?” he finally asked. “We… we talked about this, yeah. But this?” and continued. “I already carry the guilt of taking you away from him. And now this? Why do you always keep your cards so close to your chest and then say ‘I did it for you’?”
Swati’s smile softened. Her voice turned low. “Babe… don’t make me spell it out. I wouldn’t have done this for anyone else.”
Across the city, the rain had grown steadier, like a heartbeat unwilling to calm. Pooja stood at her window, her reflection barely visible in the fogged glass. She hadn’t spoken in ten minutes. But her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
She heard a knock at her, and opened the door. It is Pooja’s mother. She is holding the Bhagavad Gita and a worn leather folder filled with her usual counselling notes. The moment she stepped inside, Pooja broke down. She wrapped her arms around her and cried, “Ma’am… please help me.”. She hugged Pooja and said, “Everything will be alright, dear. I’m here. And just so you know always, Meera is fine… that helps me, too.”
Meera gently led her to the kitchen and suggested, “Why don’t you make us some tea? That Twinings Nightly Calm you like. Let’s sit together before we begin.”
A few minutes later, Pooja returned with two cups in hand. She passed one to Meera and sat down across from her.
They sipped in silence. Then Meera spoke. “Tell me, dear. What made you break down like this?”
Pooja looked down at her tea. “Ma’am… you remember the person I once dated? The one I told you about and how we broke up?”
Meera nodded in silence.
“You also remember that day when he showed up at your clinic… and I told him I was already married, just to keep him away?”
Meera nodded with a smile, “Yes. That was a smart and confident move. I told you then and I am proud of you.”
Pooja took a long breath, some strength returning to her voice. “Today… our friends came together. We finally taught him a lesson. And I’m proud of that.” “Does that feel you better Pooja?”
Meera tilted her head. “Does that make you feel better?”
“Yes… But …”
“What are you still holding, dear?”
She swallowed. “On our way back from the restaurant… there was an accident. We didn’t stop. We just… left.” Her voice cracked. “Is this God’s way of telling me we chose the wrong path? I feel like there’s blood on my hands now.”
Tears spilled again.
Meera set her cup down and came beside her. ““Pooja… did you drive the car?”
“No Meera!”
“Meera looked into her eyes, firm but kind. “Then don’t carry the weight of someone else’s actions. Don’t own a sin that isn’t yours.” She placed a hand on Pooja’s heart and pointed upward. “What is not in your control is guided by Him.”
She opened the Gita, the pages already marked. Her voice steady, she read aloud:
ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ
A soft blue glow lit Pravallika’s face. The screen blinked once, then stilled. She had generated what she could not live. And now, in the echo of silence, the AI had stopped giving her comfort.
Restless, she changed the prompts. Switched models. Tried more intimate scenes. Then more explicit ones. But none of it gave her peace. Each image only deepened the hollow. Frustrated, she shut down the massive system and fell onto her bed.
She banged her fist into the mattress. “Shit! I shouldn’t have told the girls about him. That was my mistake. Why did I stalk him so closely that I know every damn detail about his life?”
She stared at the ceiling. Her breath shallow.
“Maybe I’m just overthinking. Maybe what Pooja said was right. I’ve been stuck on him for eight years… and I still can’t move on..”
She got up, walked into the washroom, and splashed her face with cold water again and again, until the sting numbed her thoughts.”
She wiped herself with a white towel, walked back to the mirror, and stared at her own reflection.
“I don’t know why I crave him so much… and at the same time, why I’m terrified of what he’d do if he came back into my life.”
The driver pulled up at the hospital entrance and said, “Sir, we’re already late. Will you be able to carry her in alone?”
Sanjay nodded, already stepping out. “Yes. She’s completely unconscious. I’ll take her. You park and come in as soon as you can.”
He lifted Vaishara gently into his arms , her breath faint, and rushed through the hospital doors.
The emergency staff, sensing the urgency, didn’t waste time with formalities. They admitted her immediately and wheeled her into the operation room.
Just before they disappeared behind the double doors, one of the nurses called back, “Please fill out the admission form and submit it at the front desk immediately.”
Sanjay didn’t hesitate. He paid the initial admission fee from his own pocket, without thinking twice. Filled out every detail he could. Signed where needed. Submitted the form. Closed the legal loop.
Minutes later, the driver arrived. He found Sanjay sitting alone, his face tight with worry, but strangely calm.
“Sir, why do you look so tense?” the driver asked.
Sanjay exhaled. “For the first time in my life… I helped a stranger. It feels strange and a little boastful, maybe. But I also feel more responsible than I’ve ever felt. I just… I just hope she breathes. And talks again.”
The driver nodded, voice steady. “We did the best we could, sir. Better than watching her bleed on the street. That alone means something.”
Just then, Sanjay’s phone buzzed. An unknown number. He answered. “Hello?”
A voice on the other end, shaky but urgent: “Sir… my name is Shaurav. I’m the younger brother of Vaishara. Zomato told me my sister met with an accident… and that someone brought her to the hospital. I’m at the reception now.”
Sanjay stood up, walked a few steps ahead to where the view was clearer, and waved his hand. “I’m here,” he said into the phone.
Shaurav spotted him and hurried over, wide-eyed and breathless. “Sir… thank you. Truly. She’s the only one providing for our family. Everything rests on her shoulders. When I got the call… I just went blank.”
Sanjay listened. But something inside him shifted. For the first time, his own worries felt… small. He couldn’t focus fully. His mind was still in the ER, behind those doors.
The driver, sensing it all, placed a hand gently on Sanjay’s shoulder and responded to Shaurav, “Beta… she’ll be fine. God will help us.”
Time passed. Thirty minutes felt like thirty hours. The three men sat in silence each gripped by a different kind of prayer. Then the doctor stepped out from the operation room and waved at them.
All three rushed toward him.
The doctor smiled. “You brought her just in time. Because of that… she’s safe. She’ll regain consciousness in about 30 minutes. I’ll speak with the family once they’re all here.”
Shaurav stepped forward. “I’m her brother, Doctor.”
“Good. Come to my office in ten minutes. I’ll explain the next steps. But first, thank the man who got her here. If not for him… we may not have saved her.”
“I will, sir. Thank you.” As the doctor walked away, Shaurav turned toward Sanjay.
Tears welled in his eyes as he hugged him tightly. “Sanjay sir… because of you, my sister is alive. You didn’t just save her in-fact you saved our family’s life line. You are… you are God to us.”
Sanjay stood still, unsure how to hold such gratitude. Tiny droplets formed at the edge of his eyes. They fell silently, unannounced.
The driver watched from a few steps away. A smile tugged at his lips but not boastful, just warm. He quietly stepped outside to give Sanjay space.
Outside, he tilted his head back, kissed the rain with his forehead, and whispered a verse to himself
brahmārpaṇaṁ brahma havir brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam
brahmaiva tena gantavyaṁ brahma-karma-samādhinā
<<< To be Continued >>>