đ Chapter 2: The Night Time Froze
Norwin City â Friday Night
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đď¸ Inside the Devron Mansion ---
In Norwin City, behind stone walls and steel silence, there was a boy the world wasn't allowed to know.
Krish Devron, the hidden son of one of the nation's richest businessmen, was a secretâkept safe, kept quiet.
Why?
Because Mr. Devron, the man who ruled Norwin's skyline, had made enemies.
Big ones.
And he feared that revealing his son to the world would only turn him into a target.
So Krish stayed indoors. Always.
---
Krish sat by the window in his oversized room, watching the lights outside blur into nothing.
> "Even if I vanish tomorrow, I doubt he'd notice," he muttered.
> "Money first, company second, me⌠maybe somewhere in the top ten."
He rubbed his temple and closed his eyes.
His phone buzzed with board meeting updates he never joined.
He threw it on the couch without checking.
---
The door creaked open.
Zeyan stepped in, crisp in a blazer, tie slightly loose, and expression as usual: amused.
> Zeyan:
"Hmm⌠planning another escape? Or just meditating on your tragic rich-boy life?"
Krish smirked faintly, still not turning.
> Krish:
"Do I look like I'm meditating?"
> Zeyan (grinning):
"Honestly, no. You look like you're five seconds away from breaking out again."
Krish sighed and finally turned toward him.
> Krish:
"He doesn't even ask me if I ate. I could be dead in here and he'd still be fixing stock prices."
Zeyan walked further in, leaned on the wall beside Krish.
> Zeyan (mock whisper):
"You know... for someone so 'forgotten,' you get a personal driver, two chefs, a heated pool, and meâa world-class babysitter."
Krish rolled his eyes, unable to hide the smirk tugging at his lips.
> Krish:
"You're the least useful of all those things."
> Zeyan (mock offended):
"Rude. I bring sarcasm and moral support."
> Krish:
"Yeah, and late-night fried rice. That's your only redeeming trait."
They stared at each other for a momentâthen both laughed, soft and real.
---
> Zeyan (grinning):
"Let's go. Before your dad's guards realize their golden egg snuck out again."
> Krish (quietly):
"You coming as my friend or my shadow?"
> Zeyan (pretending to think):
"Mmm⌠depends. Are we getting actual coffee or are you dragging me into another skatepark fight?"
Krish stood, grabbing his hoodie.
> Krish:
"Whatever happens... just act like we belong."
---
đ Norwin Streets â 10:45 PM
The car slowed near a peaceful coffee shop corner. The sign read: "Come Over", glowing under the night.
Zeyan, now in jeans and a casual tee, stretched his arms.
> Zeyan:
"Finally. I can breathe. Those suits at Devron HQ make me feel allergic."
> Krish:
"Then quit."
> Zeyan (grinning):
"And leave you alone to get kidnapped on your first night out? Not worth my freedom."
---
Just ahead, Krish paused.
A balloon vendor stood near the sidewalkâhis arms trembling, his eyes glossy, barely managing to hold his collection of bright balloons.
Something clicked in Krish's chest.
---
> Flashback.
His mother's hands tying a red balloon to his wrist.
The laughter. The birthdays.
The single balloon floating up every year "to the sky where dreams fly."
---
Without a word, Krish walked ahead and reached into his pocket.
He whispered something to the old man, handed him the moneyâtoo muchâand gently took the strings.
One by one, he let the balloons fly.
They danced into the sky like glowing stars, their colors brushing the moonlight.
> Krish (softly):
"Someday⌠I'll be free like that. No weight. No name. Just the wind."
Zeyan leaned against the car, arms folded, and muttered to himself:
> Zeyan (whispering):
"And here we go again. Balloon therapy, Episode 93."
> "Why am I still here? Oh right. Because Mr. Devron pays me more than three tech startups combined."
> Zeyan (smirking)
"Also⌠I might kinda like the brat."
Krish looked back.
> Krish:
"Say that louder and I'm going back to the mansion."
> Zeyan (grinning):
"Aw. You'd miss me before you reached the gate."
---
đ Then â it happened
A soft pulse of blue light shimmered from the moon.
This time⌠it was different.
The wind froze.
The cars halted.
Street lamps paused in their flicker.
Even Zeyan's voiceâmid-laughâfroze in the air.
Krish blinked.
> Krish (low voice):
"What theâŚ"
Everything around him had stoppedâexcept him.
He looked upâŚ
And in that blue moonlightâŚ
he saw something.
But what he sawâ
Remains untold.
For now.
---
â Scene Shift: Aya â "Come Over" Coffee Shop
Aya stirred her coffee with one hand and adjusted her pink headphones with the other.
The song playing â Janam Janam, only the tune â filled her ears.
She glanced up.
The sky was full of floating balloons, their colors glowing softly in the night.
She didn't see the boy.
She didn't see the car.
Only the balloons.
And she smiled.
> Aya (thinking):
"So bright⌠I love nights like this."
She raised her cup, and the blue light flickered from her bracelet.
She blinked.
Across the street, the balloon vendor walked away quietly, now with no balloons at all.
And stillâŚ
Aya remained unaware of the boy on the other side of the night.
---
⨠Chapter End Tease:
> Somewhere in Norwin, time had paused for a reason.
Two hearts moved⌠but did not yet see.
The story was still writing it's first sentence .
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