Chapter 1
Part 1 – The Return
The first thing she felt was not the cold air, but a strange sense of déjà vu.
Bright hospital lights fell on her tiny face. Voices moved around her — hurried footsteps, soft whispers, the clinking of instruments.
Then someone said happily,
“It’s a girl.”
There was laughter. Relief. Quiet tears of joy.
Gentle hands lifted her and wrapped her in a warm cloth.
Though her body was new and fragile, the warmth around her didn’t feel new. It felt safe. Familiar.
“She’s so sweet,” a woman whispered, kissing her forehead softly.
“We’ll name her Depali.”
The name settled calmly in the air.
And somewhere deep inside her tiny chest, a quiet voice whispered —
I’ve lived before.
Her childhood passed like any other child’s.
She slept in a small cradle near the window. She listened to her mother hum lullabies. She learned to crawl, then walk, then run around the house.
Everything seemed normal.
But sometimes… small, strange things happened.
When she closed her eyes, she saw flashes.
Blue water.
Golden light.
The faint sound of bells.
They disappeared quickly, like dreams you forget after waking up.
She never understood them..
As she grew older, the flashes didn’t stop.
In fact, they became clearer.
Depali loved sitting near water for no reason. Lakes, ponds, even the sound of rain made her feel peaceful.
Temple bells made her strangely emotional, like her heart recognized the sound.
At night, she dreamed of places she had never seen — wide oceans, shining golden buildings, and tall temples that looked ancient and beautiful.
It didn’t feel like imagination.
It felt like memory.
But memory of what, she didn’t know.
She never told anyone. She thought maybe it was just her mind playing tricks.
Years passed quietly.
Then, as her fourteenth birthday came closer, the feeling inside her grew stronger.
The dreams came more often.
The images stayed longer.
It felt like something was calling her.
One evening, she said softly to her parents,
“For my birthday… can we visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar?”
Her parents looked surprised.
“That’s all you want?” her mother smiled.
Depali nodded.
“I just feel like going there.”
So they planned the trip.
The day they reached Amritsar, the air felt calm and peaceful.
When Depali first saw the Golden Temple shining in the sunlight, she stopped walking.
The gold reflected beautifully in the clear lake around it. The whole place glowed softly.
Suddenly, her chest tightened.
Her eyes filled with tears.
She didn’t know why.
It felt familiar.
Like she had been there before.
Like she had come home.
Slowly, she sat near the edge of the lake and dipped her feet into the cool water. Covering her head with her orange dupatta, she closed her eyes and took slow breaths.
The sounds around her faded.
Temple bells rang gently.
The breeze touched her face.
And then the visions returned.
Clearer than ever.
Endless blue oceans.
Golden temples.
A bright city near the water.
It wasn’t a dream.
It felt real.
Something inside her told her this place and those memories were connected.
She didn’t understand how.
But she knew it meant something.
That night, she couldn’t sleep.
Something kept pulling her back.
So the next evening, she returned to the temple again.
This time it was quieter.
The moon shone softly in the sky. The lake looked deep blue and still. Lotus flowers floated on the surface, and small golden fishes swam slowly in the water.
Depali sat at the same spot and dipped her feet into the lake.
She closed her eyes and began to meditate.
Slow breaths.
Inhale.
Exhale.
After some time, images appeared again.
But this time, they didn’t fade.
She saw herself — but different.
Different clothes. Different surroundings.
Standing in a golden city near the ocean.
It was her… from another time.
Her past self looked calm, almost guiding her.
As if telling her to keep going.
From that day on, Depali started coming every evening.
Meditating.
Watching.
Remembering.
One evening, as she walked toward the lake, she noticed someone already sitting there.
A boy. Around her age.
Quiet. Calm.
His feet were in the water too. His eyes were closed, like he was meditating.
For some reason, her heart beat faster.
She didn’t even know him.
Still, something felt familiar.
She sat a little distance away.
After a while, he opened his eyes. Their gazes met.
And suddenly—
There was a strange pull.
Like a magnetic force.
Like they had known each other for a long time.
The boy walked closer and gave a small smile.
“Aryan,” he said, offering his hand.
“Depali,” she replied, shaking it.
The moment their hands touched, both of them froze.
A strong wave of déjà vu passed through them.
Like their souls recognized each other before their minds did.
They sat down near the lake together.
They didn’t talk much.
They didn’t need to.
The silence felt comfortable.
Natural.
Like they had shared many quiet evenings like this before.
They closed their eyes and meditated.
And slowly… the visions returned.
At first, only small flashes.
Then longer scenes.
A golden staircase.
Large temples.
Blue oceans.
People moving around.
And in every memory…
They were together.
Standing side by side.
Walking together.
Talking and smiling like close companions.
Sometimes Depali would open her eyes suddenly.
Aryan would already be looking at her.
“You saw it too… didn’t you?” he would ask softly.
She would nod.
They both understood without explaining.
One night, the visions became very clear.
They saw a large, beautiful city near the ocean.
Everything was bright and peaceful.
Tall golden temples.
Wide streets.
People living happily.
Somehow, they both knew the name.
Atlantis.
And they weren’t strangers there.
They lived there.
Together.
But then the memory changed.
The ground started shaking.
Water rushed in.
People began running.
The city slowly sank under the sea.
Everything happened too fast.
Before they could understand anything, it was over.
Their life there ended suddenly.
Not finished.
Not complete.
Just… stopped.
Depali opened her eyes, breathing heavily.
Aryan was crying quietly beside her.
“It feels like we left something unfinished,” he said.
She nodded.
And slowly, the truth made sense.
Maybe that was why they were born again.
Not by accident.
But for a reason.
To meet again.
To learn what they couldn’t learn before.
To complete the lessons their previous life had left incomplete.
They sat quietly under the moonlight, the water moving gently around their feet.
Now nothing felt confusing.
Everything felt calm.
They weren’t two strangers who had just met.
They were two souls who had simply found each other again.
After lifetimes.
After oceans.
After time itself.
And deep inside, both of them knew —
This life wasn’t a beginning,
But a second chance...
