Time: 6:51 PM
Location: Sadashiv Peth, Pune – Rain-soaked streets
The city was chaos.
Pune, in the middle of rush hour, didn't slow down just because the clouds cried.
Umbrellas moved like petals in a storm. Scooters swerved. Rickshaws honked. Shops glowed through the rain.
And through it all, a pink rickshaw slowed near a corner lane—Sadashiv Peth, old-town heart of Pune.
Tanaya Sathe stepped out.
One hand adjusting her baby-pink designer kurti, the other gripping a suitcase. Her black jeans hugged long, elegant legs, and every step she took made space around her. Not because of the luggage.
Because of her presence.
She was tall—5'8", fair skin with a natural glow that didn't need effort.
Her long, dark hair was open, blue highlights catching the streetlight, softly curled at the bottom.
A small black bindi, a thin Indian-style nose ring, and a black thread necklace tied tightly at her collarbone—anchored with a single silver ring.
Not just an accessory.
A memory.
> "Yes, Aai... I reached. Rickshaw dropped me near the lane. It's raining, and everyone's in fast-forward mode," she said, voice soft but assertive. Her Bluetooth earphones blinked faintly as she adjusted her umbrella against the drizzle.
> "No, I'll be fine. Don't worry. Just... don't stay up too late, okay?"
There was a pause.
A longer silence than she liked.
She blinked, eyes flicking toward the road as she listened.
> "I know you're alone. But I'm not far."
Her voice lowered.
Softer now.
> "We both made it out. And that's enough for now."
She cut the call and exhaled.
She didn't like to talk about what happened when she was fourteen.
She didn't like to say the words "shootout" or "jail" or "dad."
But the ring around her neck always said it for her.
She adjusted the strap of her bag and walked forward. A neon sign from a salon lit the pavement as she passed. A TV buzzed from inside.
> "...16-year-old girl rescued last night. Sources say she described a masked man with red eyes—'like a superhero,' she said. Some calling him 'Shadow.' Police are still investigating—"
Tanaya slowed.
Watched the flickering footage.
Her expression didn't change.
But something in her chest did.
> "Superhero," she whispered under her breath. The word left a bitter taste.
Her father once called himself that too.
Before the mask turned into a gun.
Before the justice turned into headlines.
Before her world died—with her sister.
She looked away from the screen.
> "So this is how Pune welcomes me."
She kept walking—toward the building, toward the flat, toward a city that didn't know her yet.
But soon, it would.