Chapter 1 : The Hollow Street
The night air bit through Aarya’s coat as she wandered the broken sidewalk, her boots scraping against the gravel with every aimless step. Streetlamps flickered overhead like dying stars - silent, cold, and unreliable. The world had never felt more empty.
Sixteen.
Too young to feel this old.
Too broken to believe in beginnings.
It had been a year since cancer devoured her father, her only light in a house full of shadows. Sometimes, when the world was quiet, she could still hear his laugh. The warmth in his voice. The way he called her “my little warrior.” But the echoes were fading now, replaced by silence she couldn’t outrun.
Her mother had died giving birth to her. Aarya never knew her. Just a few faded photos, a name, and a necklace she wasn’t allowed to wear.
Now, she lived with her uncle and aunt, a duty they never let her forget.
No matter what she said or did, she was always wrong. Aarya had become a ghost in their house - seen, but never acknowledged. Breathing, but not alive. Existing in the background like old furniture no one cared to throw away.
Home wasn’t home anymore.
It was just walls and weight.
That night, with no destination in mind and no one waiting for her return, she let her feet carry her deeper into the dark. The streets were unfamiliar here - twisting into alleys she didn’t recognize, filled with a hush too perfect to be natural. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Each step she took felt like a question the night wasn’t ready to answer.
But she kept walking.
Because sometimes, getting lost was the only way to feel found.
