Iris stirred beneath crisp hotel sheets, the warmth of morning light slipping through sheer curtains. Her bed was firm, tucked military tight.Across the room, the bathroom door was cracked open, a silent invitation.
She rose slowly, the air cool against her skin. With sluggish steps she walked into the bathroom, let the water rush over her body cleansing, but not calming. Her thoughts clung to fragments: Zara's face, that voice, the ruins, the word Nefira.
After dressing in black slacks, a linen blouse, and tying her hair up into a tight ponytail, Iris lingered at the desk, flicking through the notes she'd jotted down from Mr. Jones. Her screen glowed faintly as she pulled up articles and maps of Bhangarh Fort.
"The cursed palace lay behind the third gate… untouched…"
"…a site of mass disappearance, strange echoes in the walls…"
She stared at the text, almost rolling her eyes at people's obsession with curses and ghost stories or disappearing acts in every ruin.Her fingers hovered over Mr. Jones' contact. For a moment, she considered calling him. But no. This was ridiculous. Rohan's ghost story, the cursed place, Zara emerging like a character from a myth?. There had to be a logical, scientific explanation.
Especially for Zara.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
Iris opened the door . Sean stood in the hallway, dressed in a fresh T-shirt and jeans. Beside him stood Zara, also dressed in Iris's spare clothes. Seeing her own face mirrored back at her, standing beside Sean like a reflection out of time, made Iris's stomach twist.
"Breakfast?" Sean asked.
"Uh… yeah, give me a sec," Iris murmured. She stepped back into her room, pulled on her shoes, grabbed her phone, and joined them.
They walked in silence down the hallway. Iris on Sean's right. Zara on his left. Their steps echoed down the carpeted corridor.
"So… did you guys sleep well?" Iris asked lightly, breaking the silence.
"Yeah," Sean replied quickly.Zara's brow rose. She turned her head toward Sean, expression unreadable. We were awake most of the night, her silence seemed to say. But she said nothing, only stared ahead.
Iris noticed. But like Zara, she said nothing too.The scent of toast, eggs, and spices wafted through the air. They took a table near the window.
Zara sat quietly, her eyes studying the world outside trees, cars, clouds.
Iris stirred her tea, watching her carefully.
"Do you think we should go back there?" Iris asked Sean softly. "Yeah. We might've missed something and maybe if Zara comes with us… it'll jog her memory."
"You think?"Iris was skeptical about taking Zara with them .After all if something unusual happens again...
"It's worth trying."
Iris glanced at Zara, who was now tracing the rim of her glass absentmindedly.
"Zara?" Iris said gently. "Would you be okay coming back with us to the site? And it's totally okay if you don't want to."
Zara stayed silent for a while contemplating before she nodded. "Yes."
Before they left, Iris brought Zara to her room.
"Here," she said, handing Zara a soft tunic top, cargo pants, and hiking shoes. "These will be easier to move in."
Zara began changing ,she was modest and reserved and never forgot to say a thank you it's the least she could do since she was not that useful.
After Zara was done Iris took her hand naturally and lead her to her dressing table where she gathered Zara's hair.
"You mind if I tie it like mine? It's what I do when I mean business."
Zara nodded.
Iris twisted the thick black strands into a high ponytail and froze.
It was her face, exactly, staring back in the mirror.
"You have really nice hair," Iris said quietly.Zara looked at her reflection, then at Iris. "So do you." Zara liked it ,it was very cool and made her look like a fearless goddess.
Iris laughed softly. "This dyed mess? Nah. But fan fact it used to be black too like yours."
Zara smiled faintly.
Sean was waiting in the lobby, tapping something on his phone. When he looked up and saw them, his eyebrows shot up.
"Damn," he muttered, looking between the two of them.Iris grabbed Zara's hand dramatically.
"Don't we look pretty, Sean?"
"You look like an ogre," he replied with a smirk. "A really smug one."
Iris gasped, pouting. "Rude."
But Zara reached up to touch her face, frowning slightly.
Sean saw it the way her brow creased, the hint of insecurity.
"Kidding," he said quickly. "You both look... weirdly symmetrical. It's creepy. But pretty."
He turned before Iris could throw something at him.
The sun was rising higher now golden but sharp. The drive back was quiet, tension humming like static between them.
Rohan was waiting when they arrived.
"You really think we will find it?" he asked flatly.
"Only one way to know," Iris said.
To their surprise, Rohan followed them through the gate this time.
The ruins welcomed them with silence. Dust shifted in the breeze. Stones, worn and sun bleached, stood like sentinels from a world long forgotten.
They split up. Sean and Rohan went toward the collapsed southern wall. Iris took Zara toward the spot where she'd first found her beneath the frescoed chamber.
Zara stepped forward, staring at the ancient paintings that told a story ,her story maybe if what Iris said was right.
She lifted her hand, running fingers over a faded inscription.
Her breath hitched.
Suddenly the room changed.
She was there. In the past. Standing beside a tall man with kind eyes, watching him write on the wall.
"What does it mean?" she had asked.
But the moment slipped.
The vision shattered."Zara?" Iris said gently. "Did you remember something?"
Zara looked at her, startled. "No. Nothing."
After three hours of searching, they regrouped tired, dusty, and no closer to answers. Rohan and Sean had found some scroll fragments, but not the necklace.
They headed back, the sun beginning its slow descent. The shadows behind them stretched long.
The ruins remained silent.