Thinking The Future

A choice.

That’s what it all comes down to.

The four of us sit inside a wooden cottage, surrounded by a silence thick enough to drown in. The only source of light is the strange flickering lamp on the table, casting our shadows against the walls in eerie patterns. It’s not an ordinary lamp—it glows with an unfamiliar hue, something neither artificial nor entirely natural. Like everything else in this place, it feels… otherworldly.

We have until morning to decide.

To stay or to leave.

If we leave, we get to walk away from all this madness. Go back to our normal lives, pretend none of this ever happened. If we stay… we risk everything. Our safety. Our future. Our lives.

And for what? To fight a race of beings we never even knew existed? To take part in a war that isn't ours?

Anil breaks the silence first. "You really believe these old fools?" His voice carries that usual sharpness, a mixture of mockery and irritation. "I’m one hundred percent sure they’re just some senile old men with an agenda. They probably need idiots to do their dirty work and came up with this crazy story to manipulate us."

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"And you think that was the best story they could come up with?" Ananya shoots back, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "You really believe someone would go through all this effort just to convince us of some nonsense? If they were lying, wouldn’t they have made it at least a little more believable?"

Anil snorts. "Yeah, because ‘you are chosen warriors meant to fight space demons’ is totally the most convincing lie they could tell."

Ananya rolls her eyes. "And yet, here you are, still trying to come up with an explanation that makes you feel better about this whole thing."

I lean back, watching them bicker. It’s almost comforting. A familiar kind of noise in the midst of an unfamiliar situation. But my mind keeps returning to that night in the forest.

I saw something. Something I know was real.

I’ve never believed in fate or destiny. Never thought life had some grand purpose. If anything, I’ve always thought the world was pointless. And yet, when I stood beneath that storm and saw him—when I felt something I couldn’t explain—it shook me.

For the first time, I don’t want to dismiss something as nonsense.

And that terrifies me.

I glance at Ananya. She seems far too ready to accept all this. Why? What has she seen? What does she know?

Meanwhile, Balram sits quietly in the corner, saying nothing. His arms are crossed, and his expression is unreadable. He doesn’t seem particularly worried. If I had to guess, he’s already made up his mind. Probably going to follow Ash no matter what. He barely knows the guy, but the way he looks at him—it’s like he’s found a mentor. Or maybe something more. A purpose.

The thought makes my stomach twist.

How can someone just decide something like this so easily?

"I don’t trust them," Anil continues, more serious now. "And even if they are telling the truth, why should it be our problem? Let someone else deal with it. We didn’t ask for this."

For once, I kind of agree with him. But then…

"What if we are the only ones who can do something?" Ananya asks.

That question hangs in the air, heavy and suffocating.

None of us have an answer.

And the night stretches on, filled with uncertainty.

Tomorrow, we choose.

And whatever we decide… there’s no turning back.