I run towards my home and immediately climb the stairs to the terrace. I wonder how long it has been. A day? Two? But whatever it is, I'm sure Shyam would be waiting for me here. Our spot. Our sacred, sacred spot.

I find no one there. The place completely deserted and hosting absolutely no sign of what happened mere minutes ago. Was it minutes ago? No. Aarav said it was half a day in his universe. I can only wonder how long it has been here.

I run back down and open the door to my home without a second thought. I spot my dad, sitting on the sofa with a newspaper in hand, and the second I enter, his attention turned to me.

I watched as his eyes bulged and scanned me from head to toe. I found a smile tugging at my lips but all I got from him was jaw dropping shock, and something else I couldn't quite place. 

My mom came running after hearing the sound of the door barged open. She too stood frozen, her eyes never leaving mine. My eyes darted back and forth between them. Why were they this much shocked? I'm sure they must've heard about the incident from Shyam and shock for that is valid, but this is going on for too long.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, trying to keep up with the cheerful tone. At that, my dad broke and stood up.

"Where were you?" He asked, his voice a little too stern and... bitter?

"It– it's a long story," I said, fumbling with words. "You remember I was playing with Shyam, right? So, I'm pretty sure he told you what happened. This mysterious hideous man showed up, opened up a portal and pulled me in, and I ended up—"

"Stop with all the bluffs!" He screamed, startling me dumb for a moment. "First Shyam, now you! Do I look like a fool?"

I felt tears prickling my eyes. My throat clamped shut and my words got stuck. I tried my best to breath. Breath through my nose; breath through my mouth. My mom turned towards him, gesturing him to stop, concern evident in her eyes.

"I- well- I- I'm," I tried but couldn't find any explanation to give. How can I tell anything other than the truth? And how can truth be a bluff?

"Janani, where were you for the past one year?" My mom asked, her voice pained, and I lost my mind. I could feel my legs stumbling backward, feel my back hit the wall, the coldness seeping through my thin clothing. I could feel my nails scratching at the rough surface, as if trying to anchor myself to the reality. But that was all. All I did was feel. Nothing I did was on my own will.

My mind kept throwing questions at me. It cried to me. It kept asking me how could this be? A year? How could a year be passed. Aarav said half a day. A year is not half a day.

My breathing came out rapid and irregular. A year? A year? A year?

My eyes dilated. My parents went out of focus. I could feel the rough surface scratching my back, realizing that I was sliding down. The door beside me opened and inside came a familiar face, but his gaze didn't fall on me immediately. Only when he saw the shock on my parents and following the path they were looking at, he found my eyes. His eyes too widened, I think— my vision is completely blury.

"Janani?" He spoke out, his voice a daze.

"Shyam," I managed, now completely seated on the ground. His daze broke and he dashed towards me, his hand reaching out to me in a hurry. Only then did I realize I was falling backwards and that my eyes were closing. The last thing I saw was Shyam kneeling beside me, his hand holding my back to keep me from hitting the floor.

__________

I woke up to a familiar yet not so familiar place. My bedroom ceiling greeted me, the colour the same yet dim somehow. I braced my hand on the bed and hoisted me upwards, feeling my hands tremble due to the sheer force. I gritted my teeth and pulled myself backward and finally let go once I felt the headboard.

"Are you alright?" I heard a concerned voice from beside me, startling me, yet eliciting no reaction out of me. I slowly turned my face towards the voice and witnessed a pained sad smile. 

"Shyam, where are my parents?" I asked, my voice completely hoarse. 

"They're umhhh—" he hesitated. "They are talking to the police."

I closed my eyes and leaned back again, letting the cold from the surface to seep in. Police. They were talking to the police. 

"Why?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"They had given a complaint when you went missing," he explained, "so..."

I nodded, the rest of his words filling in itself. 

"I missed your thirteenth birthday?" I asked, my eyes still refusing to open, my body still refusing to stand up.

"And my fourteenth," he said, his voice low. Very low. So, I was gone for a year and a weak. I felt a tear trace it's path from my eyes down to my chin, wetting my cheeks. The other tears followed to give its friend company. 

I felt a hand wipe away my tears and I forced my eyes open. Forced myself to look at him. Look at his disheartened face. "What happened?" He asked, as if talking any louder might make me not real.

"I don't exactly know," I spoke back, my voice equally low. "I wasn't given much details and the details I know, no one is believing it."

"I saw what you saw too, Jan," he said, inching closer to me. "For one whole year, I was convincing myself that what I saw wasn't real, but how could it not be real? You went missing, for heaven's sake."

I could see the frustration rise within him. He had gone through a lot, I realize.

"Talk to me," he finally said. "Tell me what happened."

Taking in a long breath, I braced for the crazy. I told him about the dark-man, the tunnel, the other team... but I didn't dwell on them too long. Something about the team felt sacred. Sacred even to reveal it to my dear buddy Shyam. And the older Shyam, I didn't even bring him up, except the fact that he existed.

Shyam nodded, his face in deep thought. 

"So there are multiple universes?" He asked, his eyes looking elsewhere but me. I nod an yes, even though he doesn't see me. "And you were there just for half a day?" I nod again. "And it became a year over here?" At that, my body gave up again and slumped back to its comfort.

I heard a heavy sigh leave him. "That's messed up," he said, and for the first time, I realized how serious all those are. "And, no one's going to believe you." I looked at him again and saw his hand travel his face, tracing every curve and dentures.

"And you?" I asked. "Do you believe me?"

He looked at me for a second, his face unreadable. 

"Do you believe that whatever your saying is real and not just some crazy dream?" He asked, a little too serious than I had expected.

"Do you really think I would leave? Leave my parents and you? Did you think I would leave you?" I ask, over and over, frustrating myself with the questions.

"No," he said, his voice calm. "I know you won't leave your parents... or me."

My eyes linger on his face, looking for any kind of warmth that I felt when I played with him on the terrace, drenching each other with water guns. All I felt was a hollow space. Suddenly, the older Shyam I met didn't seem too distant.

Suddenly, men in uniforms burst into my room, their faces set in that of determination. Shyam looks into their eyes and as if a silent conversation had taken place, he gets up from his chair and walks back. My heartbeat got erratic. Why couldn't he stay beside me? It isn't much harm, right?

One of the officers, probably the one in command, walks to me and sits in the exact same chair. "Janani," he said, his voice forcefully calm. "We just need to ask you some questions. Please answer with a free mind."

"OK," I sqeak, my voice betraying my nervousness.

"These people over there," he said, pointing to my parents who were now standing at the door. "Who are they?"

"M-my parents," I say, wondering why they would ask such a question.

"And this parents," he said, his attention now completely on me. "Did they abuse you, of any kind?"

My eyebrows knitted and my throat clamped shut again. Abuse? This is going on a very different direction than I thought.

I immediately shook my head. "No," I mouthed. "No, they didn't abuse me. They would never abuse me."

His eyes flew to my parents once again and then returned back to me. 

"You don't have to hold back if that is true. We can help you," he said as if in reassurance, but my head started shaking again, vigorously. "No," I kept chanting. "They didn't abuse me."

"Then why did you leave?"

The question felt like a hit in my head. Why would I leave? Why should I leave? I didn't leave!

"I was taken," I said, letting my mind and tongue to do the work. "I never wanted to leave."

"Taken? By whom?" He asked, now surprise evident in his voice.

"I couldn't catch his face properly. He was wearing a dark cloak and a mask," I started and the officer sighed, now looking at Shyam, who had turned pink in his cheeks. Why was he embarrassed?

"Miss, if we find out your lying, the consequences would be severe," the officer warned, any kind of warmth now vanishing from his eyes.

"I am telling the truth," I insisted, though I kept my voice low, and steady. Outbursts will only make me seem more pathetic, I realize. "The man then took me down a dark tunnel. I tried to escape but then couldn't. I was merely hanging on. He took me to some abandoned ally in a place I don't really know. And there, a group of people around their twenties spotted me and saved me. I passed out from exhaustion so I don't know how long I was there exactly. They treated any wounds I had and gave me shelter for a while. Once they realized it was safe, they made sure I reached back home safe."

The officer didn't buy anything. It was clear in the way he was looking at me. 

"That explanation you just gave," he said. "It is believable if it were to be a week or so. But a year?" He shook his head.

At that point, I gave up. Nothing I say will change his mind. It was only the rational plan that I give up. 

"Fine," he breathed after a long silence. "I believe you. But if I find out anything otherwise—"

"There will be consequences. I know."

The officer nodded, and along with his team, he left my room, my parents following them out. Shyam was the only one left behind, leaving us in an awkward silence. Trying to clear my mind, I dangled my leg over the bed and took a minute to calm down. Shyam looked like he didn't know what to do. This is not the Shyam I know, either. Did I just loose my friend for good?

Once I was sure that I was stable, I got off the bed and walked towards the living room. My footsteps echoed against the walls, a dull gloomy color everywhere I turn. It was clear time had passed here- a time passed in deafening solitude. 

Reaching around the corner, I stopped abruptly, the officer's voice piercing through the silence, loud and clear.

"Just because she denied it," he said, "doesn't mean I don't suspect it."

A loud piercing silence followed, increasing the sound of my heartbeat every passing second. 

"You better keep her safe," he warned. "Or you'll loose custody."

The slam of the door reverberated everywhere, making me jump in my skin due to the sudden force.

A second passed, then two. The tick tock of the clock amplified by the ever growing silence. 

"This is what we get," I heard my father grumble. "This is what we get for giving a home to a homeless?!"

My heartbeat increased. My breathing intensified. 

"Please don't say that, harish," I heard my mother plead. "She's our daughter! We did the right thing—"

"No!" My father's voice rang, too loud for my ears to handle. "She is not my daughter. She is an orphan who was left to d*e!" He growled, making my body erupt with goosebumps. My hands shivered and my legs shook. This is not the home I know. This is not the people I know. 

"Harish, please," my mother tried to calm him. I peeked around to actually witness the commotion. What I saw sent me spiraling. I've never seen my father so angry. His face practically dripped off hatred. My mom looked so helpless. Like she wanted to protest but couldn't find the words. Why couldn't she find her words? I really am her daughter, right?

"Please be quiet," she begged. "She might hear you. She has just returned. She will be heartbroken if she hears this."

I'll– I'll be heartbroken?

"Let her hear! Let her run away if she wants to! I'll happily give up the custody! Let her rot in some foster home! I don't want her here after all the humiliation she caused me!"

I broke. Sobs rattled my body, shaking me reckless. My hands covered my mouth to stiffle the sound but it didn't do a very great job. They turned towards me. My parents? No. Not my parents. Foster parents. 

My mother stepped forward, as if trying to assure me that this is all but a bad dream. I refuse to accept it. This isn't a dream. I know this isn't a dream. This is real. Because, at times, the only thing worse than a nightmare is the reality.

"Janani, is everything OK?" I heard Shyam from behind and I immediately turned to look at him. No. This is not the Shyam I know. Everything's changed. Everyone's changed.

I bolt towards the door and run away to the only place I knew to be safe but was far from it- the terrace.

I fall to my knees and break out sobbing, hugging my knees close to my chest, wishing I would just shrink out of existence. 

People said a lot could change in a year. I didn't believe it. Now I do.