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Love behind the Normal
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Episode 1.. full episode.
(A rainy night. A lstrange cry. And one dream that didn't feel like a dream...)
Mumbai, a rainy night.
Thunder split the sky open - a sharp flash of light followed by a deafening roar that shook the city.
Mahi stirred in her sleep, curled up under her blanket. Another rumble rolled through the clouds and the flash lit her room, blue and cold. Her eyes snapped open, heartbeat quickening.
For a second, she thought it was just the storm. Until she heard it -
A woman's cry.
Faint. Broken. Coming from outside her apartment.
She sat up slowly, her messy hair falling over her face. The sound grew clearer - a soft weep, trembling, almost pleading. Curiosity tugged at her more than fear. Barefoot, she stepped out into the corridor, the floor icy under her skin.
And then she saw her.
A woman, standing near the lift, dressed in a torn white . Her face hidden behind her hands. Her hair dripping wet, water sliding down her neck, pooling on the floor.
The lift arrived with a dull ding.
The woman stepped inside - still crying, still hiding her face.
The doors closed.
Mahi stood frozen. Every instinct screamed go back, but she couldn't move.
Moments later, the lift came back down.
The same woman stepped out. The same posture. The same cry. The same trembling hands. Only her hair looked darker - soaked through. Drops of water hit the ground one by one.
The lift closed again. Mahi's eyes flicked to the buttons.
None were pressed.
Her stomach twisted. Her mind said no, but her feet moved forward anyway.
When the lift opened again - and the crying woman appeared for the third time - Mahi stepped in.
The doors shut.
The crying grew louder. Closer. Echoing around her.
The lift trembled and stopped on the 10th floor.
The woman stepped out, silent now, her wet feet leaving faint red marks on the floor. Mahi followed, pulse pounding in her ears.
At the end of the corridor, a door opened on its own. The woman slipped inside.
Mahi took a deep breath... and entered.
The moment she crossed the threshold - the door slammed shut behind her with a thunderous DHAM!
And everything went dark.
Mahi froze. Darkness pressed around her. Her chest tightened.
She hated darkness - the way it crawled under her skin, whispering fears she couldn't silence.
She called out softly, "Hello...?"
No response.
Then, suddenly - a faint pinkish-yellow light spilled from another room down the hall.
Mahi moved toward it. The light flickered like a dying candle. When she peeked in, her breath caught.
A woman sat on the floor, playing with a little girl. Their laughter filled the room - soft, pure, and warm.
Then - darkness again. The laughter cut off.
A black shadow surged across the wall. A strong hand gripped the woman's hair and dragged her away - her screams filling the room as she was pulled toward the kitchen.
Mahi ran after them, shouting, banging on the kitchen door.
"Open the door! Please!"
From inside came the sound of thrashing - the crack of a belt, the scream of a woman, the sobs of a child.
Then silence.
Blood trickled out from beneath the door - thick and dark, snaking across the tiles toward Mahi's bare feet.
Her hands trembled as she turned the knob. The door creaked open.
Inside... nothing but stillness.
And then - a whisper brushed her ear.
"Help me... I don't want to die."
Mahi spun around - the same girl in white stood behind her, eyes wide, blood at the corner of her lips.
Before Mahi could react, something yanked the girl back - her body sliding violently across the floor. Mahi reached to grab her hand - but a sharp force struck Mahi in the stomach, sending her flying backward.
The world blurred.
When she opened her eyes again... she was in her own room. Morning sunlight poured through the balcony curtains.
Her body was shaking. Her hands cold.
A dream. It had to be. But it didn't feel like one.
Still trembling, Mahi sat down, opened her small diary - the one she always called "Maa's Diary."
Her handwriting wavered as she wrote:
> Time: 9:00 AM
Maa,
I had a dream. I was trapped somewhere... I couldn't get out. It felt real - the pain, the fear, even the smell of rain.
Maybe it's nothing. But I can't stop thinking about it.
Love you, Maa.
- Maya
She closed the diary, washed her face, threw on an oversized shirt, and hurried out of the apartment - she was already late.
She entered the lift, pressing the button for the ground floor. But her finger hesitated and... tapped the one for the 10th.
As the lift began to move, her chest tightened again.
The doors opened.
And there she was - standing exactly where she had seen her last night.
The same woman in white.
Only this time, her dress was clean.
And her eyes - open.
She was laughing into her phone, carefree - the kind of laugh that makes the world pause for a second. She turned, stepped into the lift and didn't even notice Mahi standing there. The lift dinged, doors closed, and it slid down to the ground floor like nothing had happened.
Mahi moved faster. She sprinted toward B-Town News - her place of war and work. The head manager's voice cut through the bustle before she reached the desk. "Where the hell have you been? You're late!"
Mahi shrugged, breathless, "I don't care," and slid past him. The newsroom smelled of coffee and cigarette ash and deadlines. Phones were already burning; editors barking into headsets. The manager clapped his hands, pulled everyone into the main pit.
"Listen up - every team must bring one trending story today. No story, no pay. Miss it and five thousand will be cut from your salary." He smiled like a man handing out punishments.
Teams formed fast. People whispered, pointed, made quick alliances. Nobody wanted Mahi on their team. She was different - blunt, sharp, too honest. No one trusted a girl who didn't play the social game. She'd learned to survive on her own.
One group hesitated. "We need one more," a boy said, eyes flicking to Mahi like she was a bad decision. He muttered, "Fine. Come with us." His tone sounded like charity.
Mahi's smile went cold. "Lost you, donkey," she snapped, words hitting like stones. "Open your mouth in front of me again and I'll break your yellow teeth." The newsroom went silent for a heartbeat. That was Mahi: temper on the edge, and a reason why she had no friends.
All morning she hunted. Every lead slipped away before she could catch it. Other teams scooped stories she'd been stalking. By ten in the night she had nothing. No trending piece. No scoop. Nothing but the itch to prove herself.
So she ran - to the airport. If she couldn't get a trending story, she'd get one. Anything. Even a single clip was enough.
Janvi Kapoor's flight was expected. Reporters clogged the terminal; flashes popped. Mahi's height was small-she vanished in the crowd-but she didn't stop pushing. She elbowed, slipped, fought her way forward. Hands on her camera trembled with adrenaline.
Then she saw him - a man trying to cover his face, moving quickly toward the back gate. He wasn't walking like a celebrity trying to hide; he was running, frustrated. Mahi's instincts screamed: follow.
The gate guard was lost in his phone. Mahi slipped past like a shadow and kept running until she finally got a clear view.
It was Aryan Khan.
He stood there, tall, controlled even when angry. He walked up to a woman - the rumored girlfriend everyone gossiped about - and it looked like they were arguing. Aryan was explaining, hands moving in quick, precise gestures. The girl was furious. The scene had everything - emotion, fame, scandal. Perfect.
Mahi raised her camera, hit record. A little too quick - the flash went off. Bright and loud in a sea of bodies.
Aryan turned like a beast smelling a threat. "Who are you?" he roared.
Panic made her run. She bolted for the exit, clutching the camera like it was her heart. But Aryan was faster. He reached her near his car, heat and fury and the smell of rain and leather all at once.
"How dare you?" he grabbed the camera, voice ice and thunder. "Why do you paps try to ruin a celeb's life?"
"It's my work!" Mahi lunged, trying to snatch it back. "Give it back!"
He shoved the camera hard. It hit the ground. Lens shattered with a sharp, horrible crack.
Something in Mahi broke with it. Rage, raw and immediate, filled her veins. She snatched a heavy stone from beside the pillar - the same pillar she'd leaned on a hundred times - and hurled it at his car. The rock smashed into the front mirror with a spectacular, glassy scream. Mirror exploded. The car - his favorite car - glinted wounded beneath the rain.
Aryan stared at her, every line of his face carved from a storm. Mahi stared back, breathless, eyes full of hatred and hurt.
That clash - camera ruined, mirror broken, two fires blinking in the dark - is how they met.
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To be continued.......
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Author's Note
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•Thanks for reading i hope you enjoyed chapter 1.
• Less
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