Spirits: Rise of Starfire

PLACE — MUMBAI

It was around 5:10 in the evening.

Aahi was walking through the garden. She was wearing comfortable workout clothes, with earphones in her ears. She was listening to her favorite song, “Blue” as she casually walked along the garden path.

The evening weather was pleasant. A gentle, cool breeze was blowing, and the entire garden was peaceful.

Aahi was so lost in the music that she barely paid attention to her surroundings.

Then—

“Help! Help!”

Aahi suddenly stopped.

She immediately removed one earphone and looked around.

Where did that voice come from? she wondered.

Then she heard another loud voice—

“Is anyone there? Please, help me!”

This time, Aahi heard the voice clearly.

She looked in the direction from which it had come.

And her eyes widened.

A bakery on the road beside the garden was engulfed in a massive fire.

Huge flames were bursting through the windows of the shop. Thick black smoke was rising toward the sky, while people nearby were running around in panic.

For a few seconds, Aahi simply stared at the burning bakery.

Her heartbeat began to race.

Then she saw—

Someone was trapped inside.

Aahi didn't think for even a second.

She removed her earphones and ran toward the bakery without caring about her own safety.

The moment Aahi entered the bakery, smoke filled her eyes.

“Kh… cough!”

She immediately covered her nose and mouth with her handkerchief.

Flames were everywhere. Some wooden shelves were burning, and bakery items were scattered all over the floor.

“Is anyone here?” Aahi shouted.

“Daughter…”

The voice came from the back of the bakery.

Without thinking, Aahi ran toward the voice.

There, sitting on the floor, was a woman in her fifties or sixties. She looked extremely weak, and the smoke was making it difficult for her to breathe.

“Are you alright?” Aahi asked.

“Daughter… I can't walk,” the woman said weakly.

Aahi grabbed her hand.

“I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Aahi tried to help her stand.

But just as they moved forward—

CRASH!

A burning section of the ceiling collapsed in front of them.

Aahi stopped for a moment.

The direct path outside was completely blocked.

“How are we going to get out now?” the old woman asked fearfully.

Aahi quickly looked around.

Her eyes fell on a small back door of the bakery.

“There!”

Supporting the woman, she began moving toward it.

But a burning wooden table suddenly blocked their path.

Aahi tried to move it with her hands.

“Ah!”

The intense heat burned her hand.

But Aahi didn't pull her hand away.

She used all her strength and pushed the table aside.

“Come on!”

The two of them moved forward.

But then another loud sound echoed through the bakery.

CRACK!

Aahi looked up.

A large section of the ceiling was about to collapse.

“Grandma, quickly!”

Aahi pulled the old woman toward herself.

CRASH!

A piece of the ceiling fell behind them.

Even more smoke spread through the bakery.

Now, nothing was clearly visible.

Aahi closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Come on… don't lose courage.”

She held the old woman's hand even tighter.

Then she began searching for the back door through the thick smoke.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Finally, her fingers touched the door handle.

“Found it!”

Aahi pulled the handle with all her strength.

The door didn't open.

“Please…”

She tried again.

Nothing happened.

The old woman became frightened.

“Daughter… what now?”

Aahi stared at the door for a moment.

Then she looked back at the burning bakery.

The flames were rapidly approaching them.

Aahi stepped back.

And with all her strength, she kicked the door.

BANG!

The door broke open.

Cold air suddenly rushed inside.

Aahi supported the old woman with her shoulder.

“Come on! Outside!”

The two of them stumbled through the back door and finally made it outside.

The moment they stepped out—

CRASH!

A large part of the bakery collapsed behind them.

Aahi and the old woman nearly fell to the ground.

For a few seconds, Aahi could only breathe heavily.

Her hands were burned.

Her clothes were covered in smoke and ash.

But she didn't even look at her hands.

She immediately turned toward the old woman.

“Grandma… are you alright?”

Tears filled the old woman's eyes.

She held Aahi's hand.

“Daughter… you saved my life.”

Aahi gave her a gentle smile.

“As long as I was there, I wouldn't have let anything happen to you.”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind them—

“Aahi! What are you doing here?”

Aahi turned around.

Ahana was standing there.

Ahana was her stepmother.

She was one of the top five CEOs in Mumbai, a woman the world knew as a powerful, successful, and confident businesswoman.

But the world didn't know about the part of her life that she kept buried deep inside her heart.

A few years earlier…

Ahana had lost all faith in the world.

Her husband had betrayed her and left her for another woman. Ahana was completely broken from the inside.

She had made up her mind to end her life.

But before doing so, she thought—

Why not spend the last day of her life with children who had no one in this world to call their own?

With that thought, Ahana went to an orphanage.

The moment she arrived, the children gathered around her.

Some held her hand, some played with her, while others told her their little stories.

For a while, Ahana forgot her own pain.

She laughed with them.

Played with them.

Fed them.

It felt as though she wanted to create a few beautiful memories with those children during the final moments of her life.

But then her eyes fell upon a little girl sitting quietly in a corner.

The child was around two years old.

She wasn't playing with anyone.

She wasn't talking to anyone.

She was simply sitting in the corner, holding her knees.

Ahana didn't approach her immediately.

Instead, she asked the caretaker,

“Who is that little girl?”

Sadness appeared in the caretaker's eyes.

“Her name is Aahi.”

Ahana gently asked,

“And why is she so quiet?”

The caretaker took a deep breath.

“Her parents died in a car accident a few days ago.”

Ahana fell silent.

The caretaker looked toward Aahi and continued,

“Since then, she has been very frightened. She doesn't talk to anyone or go near anyone. She just sits in that corner.”

After a brief pause, the caretaker added,

“She keeps remembering her mother.”

Tears filled Ahana's eyes.

She looked at Aahi.

And for some reason, the little girl's face touched something deep inside her heart.

Ahana couldn't stop her tears.

She stood there crying.

And then—

Aahi noticed Ahana crying.

Suddenly, the little girl got up and ran toward her.

Before Ahana could understand what was happening, Aahi grabbed her legs.

Then, with her tiny arms, she hugged Ahana.

And began crying too.

“Mumma…”

Ahana's breath seemed to stop for a moment.

Aahi hugged her even tighter.

“Mumma, you've come.”

Tears continued flowing from Ahana's eyes.

Aahi remained pressed against her chest.

“Don't cry, Mumma.”

Slowly, Ahana placed her hands on Aahi's head.

Through her tears, Aahi said,

“Aahi will never leave you.”

Ahana's tears began flowing even more heavily.

She had never imagined that on the very day she had decided to end her life…

someone would give her a reason to live.

Aahi had accepted Ahana as her mother.

And Ahana had found another reason to hope for life.

At that moment, Ahana made a decision in her heart—

“I will never let you be alone again, Aahi.”

And perhaps…

that day, an orphaned little girl found a mother.

And a broken woman…

found a daughter.

PRESENT DAY

The moment Ahana's eyes fell upon Aahi's burned hand, panic appeared on her face.

“Aahi! What happened to your hand?”

Aahi gave a small smile.

“Nothing, Mumma. It just got burned a little.”

Ahana took her hand in hers.

“Beta, you don't need to put your own life in danger to save someone else.”

Before Aahi could say anything, Ahana grabbed her hand and pulled her closer.

“Come on. We're going home.”

Ahana took Aahi toward her black Lamborghini.

Behind them, the old woman was still standing there.

She was staring at Aahi.

As if she were looking at something she was desperately trying to understand.

Aahi turned around and looked at her.

“Are you alright?”

But the woman couldn't speak.

Only a broken whisper escaped her lips.

“A… Aahi…”

Aahi stopped.

“Yes?”

The woman looked at Aahi.

There was a strange glow in her eyes.

But the words that came next seemed to get stuck in her throat.

Aahi and Ahana got into the Lamborghini and drove away.

And then—

The old woman slowly smiled.

“Aahi… I finally found you.”

A strange light flashed in her eyes.

“The Universe has chosen you.”

Suddenly, a dark circular portal began forming in the air in front of her.

The air started swirling rapidly.

The woman stood in the center of the portal.

One second.

Two seconds.

And then—

WHOOSH!

She disappeared into the time hole.

And the moment the time hole closed—

Everything returned to normal.

There was no one there.

No old woman.

No bakery.

No fire.

No smoke.

Not even a trace of the flames.

As if nothing had ever happened.

As if everything Aahi had witnessed had been nothing more than dream.

But the burn on Aahi's hand was very real.

Who was that woman ?

And what did she wants from Aahi ?