Us raat main pehli baar chhup nahi raha tha,
main dekh raha tha...
Nikki ke har step ko — uski routine, uska ek naya banda, uski fake muskaan.
Pehle mai sabak tha.
Ab... main sabak dene wala tha.
Main us naye bande se mila — Aryan.
Ek café me casually introduce hua.
"Bro, she's magic, right?"
Aryan ne bola: "Yaar haan, kuch alag hi hai."
Main muskara diya. "I know. I've been there. Survived that."
Agle do hafton me Aryan meri taraf aaya — confused, drained, shattered.
"Bhai... ye ladki kuch ajeeb hai. Kabhi pyaar, kabhi poison."
Main bola:
"Tu uska experiment ban gaya, bhai. Tu nahi, hum sab."
Aur tab shuru hua — Operation Reflection.
Ek anonymous blog bana.
Uska naam tha — "Her Mirror"
Ek ek karke uske past ke log likhne lage — bina name ke, bas feeling ke.
Broken boys. Ab awaken boys.
Sab log jodne lage...
Ek whole network ban gaya — Jinhe Nikki ne toda tha.
Aur fir wo blog viral hone laga.
Ek din Nikki ne message kiya:
"Tu kya chah raha hai?"
Main bola:
"Tujhe wahi chehra dikhana jo tune sabko dikhaya — perfect from outside, hollow from inside."
Usne last baar likha:
"You think this will break me?"
Main type kar chuka tha... par bheja nahi.
Sirf screen pe dekha:
"Mujhe tujhe todna nahi tha... mujhe tujhe dikhana tha ke tu kab se toot chuki hai."