The Moment Everything Changed

“Reena… hey Reena, wake up!”

Niya’s voice echoed through the room,

but Reena was still deep in sleep—

as if she was lost in another world.

Niya slowly pulled the curtains and said,

“God knows what kind of ancient-era book you were reading all night.

Morning is already here, and you have no clue.”

Reena pulled the blanket over her head and mumbled,

“Ugh… let me sleep.

You always nag like a TV serial mother-in-law.”

Niya put her hands on her waist and said in a cold tone,

“Oh, Madam Maharani,

today is our first day at the office.

If you don’t want to do the job, that’s fine.

But I do.

And I’m going to get ready.

Bye.”

That was all it took.

“What? First day?!”

Reena suddenly jumped up in panic.

She started changing clothes without even taking a bath.

Her hair was messy, and sleep still clung to her eyes.

She quickly wore a shirt, then pants,

and tried to fix her hair—

but everything looked upside down because of sleep.

Just then, Niya came out of the bathroom,

looked at Reena,

and held her head.

“Seriously… you’re impossible.”

Reena closed her eyes and said,

“I’m not going to office today, Niya.

I just… want to rest.”

Niya snapped,

“Rest?

You know when the first day at office comes,

it’s embarrassing not just for you but for me too.”

Reena laughed and said,

“Okay, okay.

I’m going.”

In a few minutes, they quickly finished breakfast

and rushed out on Niya’s scooter.

The city wasn’t fully awake yet.

The roads were less crowded,

shop lights were still dim,

and the cool morning breeze gently brushed their faces.

Niya was driving carefully, focused and alert.

Reena sat behind her,

holding her bag tightly with one hand

and adjusting the helmet strap with the other.

Trees lined the roads,

and the distant hills spread like a sleeping city.

Niya looked back

and saw Reena in the mirror.

“So… what were you reading last night

that made you so late?”

Reena took a long breath and said,

“Ugh, don’t even ask.

That story’s villain is so stupid!”

Niya laughed and asked,

“Villain?

So what kind of book were you reading?”

Reena closed her eyes and said,

“Man, the hero clearly says no,

so why does the girl keep chasing him?

If not him, then someone else, right?

But no… she ruins her entire life for one man.”

There was frustration in her voice,

and a small bitter laugh hidden in her words.

“If it were me, I’d never do that,”

Reena said softly,

“I wouldn’t even give him attention.”

Niya smiled and said,

“Yeah, exactly.

Sometimes people lose themselves

not for someone real,

but for a fictional character too.”

Reena laughed and said,

“That’s the point.

Everything in the story is wrong.

Why does anyone lose their life for someone else?”

She was still speaking when—

CRASH!!!

A speeding truck suddenly hit their scooter from behind.

The scooter flew into the air in an instant.

The sounds of the road disappeared,

the wind screamed loudly in their ears,

and everything moved like a slow-motion film.

Reena felt her body rising upward.

Her bag slipped from her hand.

The helmet strap loosened.

Her feet tried to grab the ground,

but nothing could be held.

Niya shouted loudly,

“Reena—!”

But her voice got lost in the air.

The scooter was now completely out of control.

Niya tried to steady herself somehow,

but Reena’s hand had slipped away.

Reena hung in the air for a moment,

as if time had stopped her.

One second.

Two seconds.

And then—

Not the road.

A slope.

The mountain slope.

Cold, merciless, and dark.

Reena’s body slowly started sliding downward.

Her breath caught,

and a strange panic rose inside her—

as if she knew she would never return.

“Aaaaaah!!!”

Reena’s scream echoed through the deserted hills.

It was so loud that it faded into the distance,

and then became nothing but an unanswered echo.

At that moment,

every color of her life changed.

A crash…

a jolt…

and a moment

after which nothing would ever be the same.

Reena’s mind began to blur,

everything in front of her eyes turned into a dark shadow,

and then—

everything faded into darkness.