**all conversations are taking place in bengali**

"Hey, are you okay? What is your name? Do we need to call anyone?"asked a passer-by.

Abhijishya just shook her head feeling numb. She stood up on shaky legs and walked towards the gate of Keya's house. Atleast her best friend was here.

"Girl? You okay?" called the previous man.

She just waved her hand sloppily hoping he would go mind his own business.

Abhijishya rang the bell and waited patiently.

"Yes?"asked Keya partially opening the door.

"Hey girl," Abhijishya choked out. She sniffled and wiped her cheeks. "It is so good to see you again."

"Pardon me," Keya said. "But I think you are mistaken. I do not recognise you."

She gaped at her friend. "Wha- what do you mean you don't recognise me? We just spoke sometime ago. I was supposed to come take your Botany notes."

"You are mistaken. I have never saw you before today. I would have to request you to leave the premises," Keya said sternly.

"The hell," Abhijishya mumbled. She once again tried," Look, KK if this is a prank then I am really not in the right mind. Can you not play around? I have a lot to tell you."

Keya yelled inside her house," Baba, please come. Someone is at the door and is not going away."

Abhijishya looked at her stricken to the core. What was happening?

First she was somehow back to kaliyug. Or she hadn't even left in the first place.

Now her best friend doesn't even recognise her.

She stepped back and said," Sorry. Sorry." Abhijishya walked away without looking back.

Does that mean her parents also won't recognise her? That couldn't be, right?

She ran to her home and rung the bell impatiently.

Her Maa opened the door and said," Yes? What is the matter?"

"Maa?" Abhijishya whispered. Her mother looked the same down to the mole on her left cheek. Only her eyes held no recognition for her.

"Maa? This is me. Your Abhu," she said in a pleading voice.

Her mother sighed and said," You seem sick, child. What is your name? Do you have family that I can call?"

"No. No. You must listen to me. I am Abhijishya Nandy. Your daughter. Born on 17th June 2001. In- In Argya Niketan Hooghly Nursing Home. That shut down later. I have a sister. Arunibha Nandy. I went to St. Anthony's High School. You remember right?" Abhijishya asked desperately.

"You must remember. I am your daughter Maa. How can you forget me?" she asked while crying.

"You wait here, okay? You can sit by the doorstep. Don't go anywhere," Maa said before hurrying inside the house.

Abhijishya felt hope. However fibble; however improbable; she felt hope.

Her mother would always remember her. She loved her the most in the world afterall.

She sat down by the doorstep. Abhijishya peeked through the small space of the half shut door.

It was her sister. Abhijishya immediately went towards her throwing reservations into the air. She hugged her tightly and kissed her cheeks.

Her sister was squirming in her hold. "Leave me," she shouted. Abhijishya left her as if burned.

"Pekopeko?" she asked; her voice breaking once again.

Her mother came running towards them.

"What are you doing inside the house?"she said loudly. Then she took hold of her sister's hand and moved her aside.

"Stand outside I said," she shouted.

"Yes officer, please come quickly. She is now inside our house," she told someone on the phone.

"Maa?" Abhijishya called her. "Officer? What... what is going on? You recognise me right?"

Seeing the wary look, she knew that her mother didn't recognise her. Abhijishya just had to make sure. Just needed to be completely sure.

"Can I please once see the house? Just need to see," she asked politely trying to reign in her impulsiveness.

"I said get out. Stand outside," her mother ordered.

"Please," Abhijishya pleaded. Seeing that her mother was not deterred, she took matters in her own hand.

She swiftly moved inside the house bypassing her mother and sister.

Abhijishya headed straight to her room. She moved inside and it was indeed her room except-

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Her mother screamed.

There was nothing. There were no awards and prizes of Abhijishya Nandy, no certificates, no books. Her handmade photo stand was also missing.

"No. No. No," she shook her head in denial. She ran into her parents' room and went straight for the keys for the cabinet that had all important papers.

"HEY. HEY YOU. I'll be forced to hit you if you do not leave at once. How do you even know where our things are?" Her mother said while holding a wooden stick. Even though her hands were shaky, her stance was fierce and her voice held steel. Her sister was sticking close to the farthest wall.

Abhijishya heard the siren of the police van. She paid it no mind and opened the cabinet. She pulled out the files and found nothing. No birth certificate, no results, no passport with the name of Abhijishya Nandy.

The last place she went to was the wall that held all their family photos. She wasn't there in any of them.

Abhijishya felt empty. The police was here.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she said calmly.

Her mother looked at her in confusion.

"I guess I am lost a bit," she admitted. "And tired. Don't know if my head is screwed right or not."

Her mother put down the wooden stick but didn't let go. "You are sick, child. I hope you find your way home," she said kindly.

Abhijishya gave a bitter smile. "Home is where the heart is, Maa. You always told me that. I left my heart so far that I don't think I can go back."

"Place your hands forward. Do not move. I repeat do not move," the police inspector ordered. A female police walked towards her with steel cuffs.

Abhijishya took in the sight of her mother one last time.

"Who are you?" Her mother asked.

Abhijishya turned away from her. Tears glistened her eyes as she gritted her teeth to stop herself from crying.

"I don't know," she whispered. Abhijishya Nandy did not exist in this world. Who even was she now?

The female police cuffed her one hand . Abhijishya glanced at her mother- no this unknown woman looking at her with pity.

"Do not pity anyone, Abhu. It feels disrespectful to the receiver. Also do not take pity. Remember this," her 8 yr old self didn't understand but could feel the rage and sadness of her Maa. That day her father's mother (not gradma, never gradma) told them to leave; stuffing her father's hand with a few notes. Her father had returned from office with red eyes. He didn't have a job anymore.

"You are not my mother," Abhijishya said. The female officer tugged her hand. "And I am not going with you lot," she shouted.

With a kick, the female police landed flat on the floor. Seeing the exit blocked, she took the stairs two at a time towards the terrace.

"Well time to find out if movie stunts really work or not," she muttered.

Abhijishya stepped on the ledge and looked down. The police Tata Sumo was parked in a convenient place.

The police had rushed upstairs behind her. "Get away from the ledge," the police officer shouted but made no move to come near her.

She was pretty sure jumping from a two story building wasn't going to kill anyone.

"I am not trying to kill myself," she shouted at them. "Idiots," she muttered under breath. Then she jumped and landed on top of the roof of police vehicle. She grabbed onto the side and fortunately didn't fall off.

The driver from inside was shouting. Abhijishya jumped onto the ground and ran.

There were shouts behind her but she ran as fast as she could. Soon, she ended up on the main road.

She could blend in with crowd except there wasn't a crowd and everyone was wearing masks. She walked towards the bookstore from where she used to buy stationary and books for school. She needed to check one last thing.

Many people threw her looks ranging from disinterest to disapproving.

Abhijishya arrived at the bookstore. "Excuse me," she said politely.

The store keeper looked at her and pointed to a signboard to the right.

NO MASK.

NO PURCHASE.

She offered him a stiff smile. "Well, that's great because I do not intend to buy anything."

"No can do," the store keeper said. "If don't want to purchase anything then leave."

"I was wondering if you could show be the Sanskrit edition of Srimad Bhagawad Gita. ISKCON is interested in reviewing every available Bhagawad Gita and give one it's official stamp of approval. If your store has one then your store will be noted as the source. ISKCON would then give your store a certificate of approval and all ISKCON disciples will buy the approved version of Bhagawad Gita from your store only," she said hoping the store keeper Ramesh Kaka would buy her crock of lies.

He looked at her unimpressed. "Really? You think I will believe this rubbish you are spewing. ISKCON is a world wide organization but they will ceritify my shop in a small town as the source of their approved version of Bhagawad Gita. Do you think I am stupid, girl? Now leave. Don't crowd the front of the shop."

"I just want to look if you have the Gita or not. I don't even need to touch it. Just hold it in your hand and my job will be done. I'll just have to take a photo with you holding the Gita and the store name. Then I'll whatsapp it to the ISKCON P.R. manager. And my job will be done," Abhijishya said. Then she pretended to look annoyed and disinterested.

"Fine. It is not like there are lack of book stores. I heard Meheta's Stationary and Books are quite reputed. I mean who wouldn't want a 5 year contract of 30 lacks per annum contract," she turned away with her head held high. Mentally she was crossing her fingers in hopes that Ramesh Kaka gives in as she steadily walked away.

"Wait," he shouted. Hook. Line. Sinker.

This method works 90% of the times she bargains in fairs and local markets too.

Abhijishya bit her cheek to stop herself from grinning. She raised an eyebrow in question.

"I have much better collection of books than the Meheta's. Come in. Come in. Please just stand 6 ft away as per corona safety protocol. I'll show you the best Sanskrit Bhagawad Gita in India," Ramesh Kaka said; singing an entirely different tune from earlier.

He went deeper inside the store. Abhijishya winced upon hearing stacks of books falling down. She was trying to make a list in her mind of the things she needed to figure out.

Now that the initial shock and emotional upheaval has worn off a bit, she could think more clearly.

It came down to probabilities.

She was either 1. Back in kaliyug where somehow Devi Ekanamsha wiped her existence from everyone's memory.

Argument against it: Was even Devi Ekanamsha allowed to mess with reality that much? Could be. Abhijishya knew nothing of being a Goddess. Also Krishna clearly said that her family and friends had moved on without her. That means she travelled back in time like going backwards against the current of river. The river keeps flowing as it was. Just a pebble is displaced. So this is the least likely thing to have happened.

2. Back in kaliyug but the kaliyug that followed the dwapar yug in which she had been present. That means she will successfully got back and die in dwapar yug and Abhijishya Nandy is not born in this kaliyug.

Argument against it: Why would Devi Ekanamsha place her in a time where she had no identity? Devi wanted to know who she was. Abhijishya didn't understand what was there not to understand about her being just Abhijishya. So this option can be mildly considered possible.

Was this some soul searching mission or something?

3. She was in some other kaliyug where some effect caused Abhijishya Nandy to not be born. Dimension travel and all that can of worms.

Argument against it: Sounds like the most stupid complicated improbable option. Abhijishya wasn't even sure there existed parallel timelines. Then shouldn't there be like trillions of timelines based on every single different decision taken by every human or animal. She couldn't really grasp the enormity of it all.

She almost jumped out of her skin when Ramesh Kaka placed the Gita in front of her with a thump.

"Open any page," she said. Ramesh Kaka did as asked.

Abhijishya squinted trying to properly see the small print. She took out her phone and pretended to take a photo while slowly moving forward.

"Areh, why are you moving forward? Like that you won't be able to capture the store name. Make sure it comes in the picture clearly," Ramesh Kaka flashed a smile showing all his teeth while holding the Gita.

इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः।
मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः॥ ३-४२

The senses are superior to the gross body, and superior to the senses is the mind.
Beyond the mind is the intellect, and even beyond the intellect is the soul.

Abhijishya could read and understand Sanskrit. She gave up all pretenses and ran off towards the local market ignoring the shouts of Ramesh Kaka. Seeing a police nearby, she took a left turn and walked towards the playground.

Her ability to read Sanskrit proved that her time in Dvapar yug was not an imagination. It happened. It really happened.

She grinned and skipped to the swings. Due to corona pandemic, the playground was empty which was a major plus in her book as it gave her some solitude to think effectively.

Which more probabilities could explain her situation?

So, the possibility of Dvapar yug being only imagination was out. She was Nakul's wife. She had to get back to him. Last thing that she remembered was speaking to Devi Ekanamsha.

Abhijishya face palmed. How could she have been so stupid?

Ekanamsha was Mahamaya; the Great Deluderess. She was the mistress of illusions carrying either a mirror or a lotus.

So that created two more probabilities -

4. Devi Ekanamsha trapped her in a mirror world or illusionary world or something.

5. Devi Ekanamsha trapped her consciousness into her mind with the shackles of illusion.

'Okay, time to see if I am physically present in an illusionary world or mentally trapped in an illusionary world,' Abhijishya thought. She curled her hand into a fist and took a deep breath.

She punched the metal frame hard bracing herself for the pain. Abhijishya felt nothing. She opened her eyes to find her fist turned red and swelling but felt no pain.

She poked it a bit. Nope, no pain at all. Abhijishya didn't know if she should cry or laugh in relief.

Atleast she wasn't insane.

================================

It was after nightfall when Abhijishya noticed that she neither felt hunger nor thirst. After so many hours, she should've felt thirsty.

That solved the problem of acquiring food and water. She simply laid down on the grassy field and stared up to the stars.

She closed her eyes.

Nakul was joking and laughing with rest of the Pandavs. He turned towards her, 'Who are you?'

Abhijishya startled and sat up. She rubbed her eyes trying to unsee the blank indifference in his eyes.

"I am just me. But who is even me now? Abhijishya Nandy doesn't exist," she whispered hoping the cosmos answered her back.

'More like mental cosmos,' she scoffed.

Next step: how the hell does anyone even escape an illusion.

Abhijishya started wandering the streets. No one was in sight. All the shops were closed for the night.

Was this like a mirror world? A crazy idea formed in her head and she took off towards her house.

The house was locked for the night as used to be in reality. She decided to ring the bell.

It wasn't like she was really disturbing real people.

Her father opened the door.

"What happened? Is there a problem?" He asked looking around obviously thinking someone might be chasing or harassing her or something like that.

"Mirror," Abhijishya blurted out pointedly looking away. She ignored the stinging in her eyes and choked feeling of her throat.

"What?" Her fath- no this mind illusion asked incredulously. He shouted angrily,"You got night time for pulling some prank on us. I have much work to do. I am a busy person. Who are you? I'll call and inform your family."

"I just want to use the dressing table mirror once. It is not like you are real people. Stop acting like my father you fu*king illusion," Abhijishya more or less shouted. She heard her mot- no no illusion ask what is happening.

She looked blankly at this half assed unreal version of her parents.

"Oh," female illusion gasped. Sh- no it IT spoke to the other in a whisper,"I think this girl is sick. Mentally. She was the one I was talking about earlier. Poor girl thought I was her mother and this was her house. Do not be so harsh with her. I'll call the police once more."

Male illusion frowned. "I don't want to deal with this mess at this hour. Get lost, girl. Whoever you are."

"I. Am. Abhijishya. Why does no one get that?!" she yelled in anger. Abhijishya walked away once again to sit in the playground.

Looks like she was breaking and entering.

'Stupid f**king Goddess and her misconception about my identity.'

~°•~°•~°•~°•~°•~°•~°•~

A.N. - Why is Abhijishya mentally trapped in an illusion?

Why is Devi Ekanamsha doing all this?

To know more, keep reading.

Please do vote and comment.

Until the next time,

Byeee ;")

P.s yesterday night I suddenly got the brilliant plot idea of this mind entrapment and all that. I was giddy with the idea regarding what reaction my readers would have. And I can't say I am disappointed. I really loved reading your comments.

Shoutout to s_sense and simranwillnotpalat on guessing the plotline correctly.