Love Beyond Time

Shadows of Yesterday

The room was dimly lit, the scent of sandalwood and lavender thick in the air. A soft melody played in the background, the kind that made time feel slower, almost unreal. Aarav shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glancing at Maya, who sat beside him, her hands resting on her lap, fingers slightly curled. She looked calm, but he knew her well enough to see the anticipation behind her steady gaze.

“You don’t have to do this if you’re not comfortable,” she murmured, turning toward him.

Aarav let out a soft chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t even know what I’m doing, Maya.”

Before she could respond, the therapist—Dr. Meera Desai, a woman with silver-streaked hair and kind eyes—entered the room. She gave them a reassuring smile as she settled into her chair across from them.

“Relax,” she said gently, her voice smooth and even. “This isn’t about forcing memories. It’s about letting go, allowing yourself to explore whatever surfaces.”

Maya nodded, but Aarav exhaled sharply. “And what if nothing surfaces?”

Dr. Meera smiled knowingly. “Then, at the very least, you’ll have a good meditation session.”

Aarav sighed, closing his eyes as instructed. He focused on her voice as she led them through a visualization, her words guiding them deeper into a state of relaxation.

“Imagine a door in front of you,” she said softly. “Beyond it lies a memory—perhaps from this life, perhaps from another. When you’re ready, open the door and step through.”

At first, there was nothing. Just darkness. Aarav’s mind felt blank, like it refused to play along with whatever this was supposed to be. He almost opened his eyes, ready to declare this whole thing ridiculous.

And then—

A sudden rush of images. Sounds. The scent of rain on dry earth.

He wasn’t in the dimly lit office anymore. He was somewhere else.

A vast open field stretched before him, golden under the twilight sky. A large banyan tree stood at the center, its ancient branches swaying in the breeze. And there—standing beneath it—was her.

Maya.

But not his Maya.

She wore a flowing red saree, her hair cascading in waves down her back, her eyes filled with something both familiar and foreign. Aarav could feel his own presence in the vision, but he wasn’t himself. He was someone else. Dressed in old-fashioned clothes, a sword hanging from his side. His heart pounded as a name—one he had never heard before—rose to his lips.

“Meera,” he whispered.

The woman—Maya, but not Maya—smiled, sadness flickering across her face.

“You came back,” she said softly, reaching for his hand. “Even when they told you not to.”

His chest ached. There was a weight inside him, as if he already knew what was coming. As if he already knew this wouldn’t end well.

The sound of horses in the distance. The clang of metal.

Danger.

Meera’s grip tightened. “You have to go. They’ll kill you if they find you here.”

Aarav—whoever he was in this memory—shook his head. “I won’t leave you.”

She looked at him, her eyes filled with something deeper than love. “Even if we are torn apart in this life,” she whispered, “I will find you in the next.”

The vision shattered.

Aarav gasped, his eyes flying open. His breath came in sharp bursts, his heart hammering against his ribs. He turned to Maya, and the look on her face told him everything.

She had seen it too.

Neither of them spoke as Dr. Meera observed them quietly. After a long silence, she finally said, “It seems you found something after all.”

Aarav barely heard her. He was still gripping the arms of his chair, his mind racing with what he had just experienced.

Maya reached for his hand, her fingers threading through his, warm and steady. When he looked at her, he didn’t see just the woman he had met in this lifetime.

He saw someone he had loved before.

Someone he had lost.

And someone he had found again.