"Why are you giving me this medicine?" Shubman demanded as he stormed into his sister's room, his eyes blazing with anger. He was so consumed by his fury that he failed to notice Shahneel was on a video call with Aditi.

Shahneel looked up, startled. "It's your therapist who prescribed it, not me."

"But I don't recall my therapist mentioning anything about this medicine," Shubman retorted, suspicion lacing his voice.

"It's your old therapist who prescribed it," Shahneel replied, her tone defensive.

At this point, Aditi intervened, her curiosity piqued. "Umm... sorry to intrude, but why does Shubman have two therapists?"

Shahneel sighed, rubbing her temples. "He doesn’t. His old therapist suddenly stopped taking patients. But since Shubman was an old patient and near healing, he took two or three sessions on video call."

"Wait," Aditi said, frowning. "So his old therapist recorded Shubman's confession?"

Shubman turned to Aditi, his desperation evident. "Aditi, I haven’t murdered Raj. You have to believe me."

"And Di, why am I taking a medicine that creates temporary hallucinations?" Shubman’s eyes bore into Shahneel, demanding answers.

Shahneel bit her lip, her eyes flickering with indecision. "Aditi, come to our house tomorrow. I need to tell you both something. Bring Ishan too."

*******
Ishan’s heart pounded in his chest as he dialed the number the housekeeper had given him. The phone rang endlessly, and just as he was about to hang up, a video call request popped up. Ishan hesitated, his finger trembling as he accepted the call.

The screen flickered to life, revealing a face that seemed familiar yet different. The man was smiling, a serene, almost too-perfect smile.

"Ishan!" the man said warmly.

Ishan’s heart threatened to stop. He burst into tears, covering his face with his hands.

"Shhh, Ishan. Would you rather spoil our time crying? Won't you talk to me?"

"I hate you, bhaia," Ishan choked out between sobs.

"I know. But hey, I am here now. Tell me, how are you?"

"Where are you? Why didn’t you contact me all these years? Come home. We all miss you," Ishan pleaded, his voice breaking.

"I can’t come now. How about we meet and talk about the years?" Raj suggested, his voice calm and soothing.

"No, bhaia, come here. Everyone misses you. Grandpa and Uncle are worse without you."

"I am still mad at them, Ishan. Listen... I... don’t... have..." The screen started glitching, static interrupting the call.

"Bhaia, I can't hear you. There's too much glitching," Ishan said, frustration and panic rising in his voice.

"Ishan... meet... at... WTF behenchod bhedwa net!"

Ishan flinched at the curse. Raj swearing? And in Hindi? Raj couldn’t even say 'fuck' before; he was too innocent to swear.

"Are you swearing in Hindi, bhaia?" Ishan asked, a hesitant smile forming on his lips.

"Uh... side effect of staying in India, maybe. Okay, I... will text you the time and location. Meet me tomorrow."

"But bhaia, listen..." The call disconnected abruptly.

Ishan felt like jumping with joy. Raj bhaia was alive. Should he go and tell Uncle and Grandpa? But it was too late; they were sleeping. He would tell them in the morning.

Excited, he called Aditi.

"Aditi... Aditi... Aditi," Ishan said, his voice bubbling with excitement.

"After injuring someone's head, you are surprisingly upbeat," Aditi responded, her tone sharp.

Ishan's smile faltered at the mention of Shubman. He should apologize to him tomorrow. "Well, Shubman is actually innocent. I talked to Raj bhaia today!"

"What!" Aditi exclaimed.

"Yes, our old housekeeper was the one giving me cryptic notes out of concern. He gave me Raj bhaia's number. I video-called him. I recorded the whole thing. Wait, I am sending it to you. Look, Raj bhaia, very much alive!" Ishan was almost jumping with happiness.

"Why didn't your housekeeper directly tell you or your grandpa about Raj? Why was he giving cryptic messages?" Aditi questioned, suspicion in her voice.

"Well, he thought I would be in danger."

"From whom?" Aditi pressed.

"He didn’t tell me that."

"And you didn’t press further?" Aditi's voice was edged with frustration.

"Oh god, Aditi, stop! Focus on the part where I talked to Raj bhaia."

"Yeah, I am happy for that. Is he coming home?" Aditi asked, still skeptical.

"No, I am meeting him tomorrow."

"Where? Take me with you."

"Don’t worry, Aditi. It's Raj!"

"Okay, at least send me the location before going."

Ishan talked with Aditi for an hour. When he finally ended the call, he noticed a text from Raj: "Don't tell Grandpa, Uncle, or anyone yet about our meeting. Come to the sent location at 1 pm."

Shit! I’ve already told Aditi, Ishan thought. But, fearing that Raj would cancel the meeting, he kept silent.But he decided not to share the location with Aditi anymore.

*****
Ishan couldn’t sleep from excitement. He woke up early in the morning, took a bath, and put on his finest shirt. He then headed to the prayer room where his aunt was already praying. Ishan sat beside her, a rare sight indeed.

"Oh my god, look who’s in the prayer room! Marriage is really rubbing off on you, huh?" Aunt teased, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Ishan smiled, feeling the warmth of her teasing.

"Are you going on a date? So much styling going on here," she continued, unable to resist.

"Stop teasing me, Aunt," Ishan said as he stood up. "Aunty, pray that our whole family can be together again." With those words, he went outside.

"Bhaia, eat before you go. Lunch is ready," the housekeeper called out as Ishan was about to leave.

"I’m meeting someone special," Ishan replied with a wink, hoping the housekeeper would understand who he was referring to. "I will eat with him. Why would anyone call you at lunchtime?"

"No, bhaia, I have made your favorite dish today. You have to eat," the housekeeper insisted.

"I will eat at night, Kaka. I promise. I don’t have an appetite right now."

"No, bhaia. Please. Meri kasam," the housekeeper pressed, his tone firm.

"Such a weird matter to insist on, Kaka, but okay, serve quickly," Ishan relented.

"Shahneel, you’ve been staring at the floor for the past twenty minutes," Aditi said gently.

They were in Shubman and Shahneel’s flat, where she had asked both Aditi and Ishan to come. Ishan couldn’t make it because he was meeting Raj, so it was just the three of them. Shahneel had something important to share, something she had been holding back for a long time.

Shahneel took a deep breath, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and determination. "I need to tell you both something very important," she began, her voice trembling slightly. "It’s about Shubman’s therapy and the medicine he’s been taking."

Aditi and Shubman exchanged worried glances but remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"Shubman, during your sessions with your old therapist, you shared some very traumatic experiences. You talked about how someone hurt Raj, and you blacked out. Those memories haunted you, and you were deeply traumatized," Shahneel explained, her voice breaking.

Shubman looked confused. "But I don’t remember any of that," he said softly.

"That’s because someone made sure you wouldn’t," Shahneel said, tears welling up in her eyes. "A few days after you started therapy, I received a call from an unknown person. He told me that the medicine your therapist prescribed would make you forget about reality and you will start to think reality as your imagination and imagination as reality. He insisted I give it to you for years. When I refused, he threatened to hurt our family."

Aditi’s eyes widened in shock. "What? Who was this person? Why would they do that?"

"I don’t know who he was," Shahneel admitted, her voice shaking. "But when I didn’t budge, a series of bad things started happening. Our father had an accident, there was a gas leak in the house... I was terrified. I had no choice but to comply. I had to make you believe that Raj disappeared and was never coming back. The medicine was supposed to erase those memories, and I was told to feed you a new story."

Shubman’s face was a mixture of anger and sadness. "So all these years, I’ve been living a lie? You knew the truth, and you kept it from me?"

"I didn’t want to, Shubman. I was trying to protect you, protect all of us," Shahneel cried, her tears flowing freely now. "They said they would hurt you, too, if I didn’t comply. I was desperate and scared."

Aditi reached out and took Shahneel’s hand. "Shahneel, we need to find out who is behind this and why they wanted to erase Shubman’s memories. We can’t let them control our lives any longer."

"But why would my old therapist suggest something like this in the first place?" Shubman wondered aloud, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yes, this seems like a very powerful medicine. They wouldn’t let you buy it without a prescription," Aditi added, equally puzzled.

"Let’s call him and ask," Shahneel suggested, determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Shubman nodded and began searching for his old callbook to find the therapist’s contact number. After several frustrating minutes, he finally found it and dialed the number, putting the call on speaker.

"Hello, Miss Nancy. This is Shubman Gill. Can I get Dr. Roy’s contact number?" Shubman asked, his voice a mix of hope and anxiety.

"Dr. Roy?" the receptionist replied, sounding surprised.

"Yes. It’s really important," Shubman insisted.

"But... he died almost two years ago. Didn’t you know? He was killed. We sent emails to all his patients informing them."

"What? Killed? When? After he shifted abroad?" Shubman’s heart pounded in his chest.

"He never shifted anywhere. He was killed in his office. It was all over the news," Miss Nancy explained gently.

Shubman’s mind raced. "But he did! He took some of my sessions online after saying he moved abroad!"

"He never took any online sessions. Are you sure you’re talking about Dr. Roy?"

Shubman felt his world tilt. "But..."

"His email and website were hacked the day after he was killed!" Miss Nancy added, her voice filled with concern.

Shubman dropped the phone, his hands trembling.

Aditi’s face mirrored Shubman’s shock. "Then who was it that was giving you those sessions?"

Shubman’s mind whirled, trying to piece together the fragments of this disturbing puzzle. "I’ve been talking to an impostor. Someone pretended to be Dr. Roy and manipulated me."

*****

The GPS led Ishan to an old, rundown part of town. He drove past abandoned buildings and empty lots, his anticipation mingling with a growing sense of unease. Finally, he arrived at the location: the entrance to an old, abandoned amusement park. The gate was rusted and overgrown with weeds, the paint peeling off in large flakes.

Ishan got out of his car, looking around nervously. The eerie silence was unsettling, and the once colorful rides now looked like ghostly silhouettes against the gray sky. He walked towards the gate, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"Raj? Are you here?" he called out, his voice echoing in the emptiness.

There was no response. He checked his phone for any new messages from Raj, but there was nothing. Just as he was about to turn back, he heard a noise behind him. Before he could react, a strong arm grabbed him from behind, and a cloth was pressed over his mouth. He struggled, but the world around him quickly faded to black.