Shadows of Time

It was one of those dusty, quiet evenings where the world felt like it had paused just for Arman. His room smelled faintly of old books and forgotten memories. He held the remote in his hands, a curious thing — worn buttons, a soft blue light that flickered like it had secrets to tell. He wasn’t sure why, but something about it made his heart beat faster. Maybe because it was a chance. A chance to undo the past.

Chapter 1: That One Regret

Arman wasn’t someone who believed in second chances — not really. But if he did, they would start with Zara. The girl from school who had caught his breath every time she smiled. She was everything he wasn’t: confident, bright, fearless. And she liked someone else.

He remembered the way he’d freeze, the way words tangled in his throat, how every “hello” felt like a mountain he couldn’t climb. All those moments replayed like a movie he wished he could rewrite. So when the remote came into his hands, it felt like fate was finally giving him a do-over.

With a shaky breath, he pressed the button marked “Rewind.” The world spun, colors blurred, and suddenly he was standing in the same old school courtyard — only now, he had a secret weapon: time itself.

Chapter 2: The Bitter Taste of Change

For a few days, Arman walked the halls with new confidence. He talked to Zara — not just a shy glance, but real conversations. He laughed with his friends, took chances he never dared to before. It felt good. Like the past was finally giving him a break.

But then, the remote slipped from his hands. It shattered on the cracked concrete. Just like that, the bridge to his own time broke.

He was stuck. Lost between the past he thought he could fix and the future he longed to return to. The people around him didn’t notice anything strange — just a boy who was a little different. A little more desperate.

Chapter 3: When the Past Meets the Present

One evening, as twilight wrapped the town in purple shadows, Zara appeared — but not the girl from his school memories. She was older, more tired, carrying the weight of someone who had traveled through time herself.

“I came back for someone,” she said softly, eyes full of sorrow. “But sometimes, the past isn’t what we want it to be.”

Arman realized they were two lost travelers, stranded in time for their own reasons. Their stories tangled, hearts cautiously leaning towards each other. But beneath the growing affection lay a fragile truth — Zara’s heart belonged somewhere else, to a man from her own timeline.

Chapter 4: The Search for Dr. K

They hunted for answers — for Dr. K, the mysterious inventor of the time remote. The city’s forgotten corners whispered secrets, and their journey was filled with stolen moments, arguments, and quiet laughter that felt like hope.

Zara: “You think this is easy? Time doesn’t bend just because we want it to.”

Arman: “Maybe not, but I’m trying. I can’t just give up on this.”

Their friction wasn’t anger; it was two souls trying to make sense of chaos, each afraid of losing the other.

Chapter 5: The Man Behind Time

Finally, in a cluttered workshop smelling of metal and old coffee, they found Dr. K. His eyes were tired but sharp, as if time itself had worn on him.

Dr. K: “Time travel isn’t a gift. It’s a balancing act. Only one of you can return — the other has to stay here, or risk breaking everything.”

The weight of his words sank deep. They had fought so hard to be together in this fractured moment, but reality was harsher than their hopes.

Chapter 6: The Hardest Goodbye

That night, under the quiet glow of streetlights, Zara made her choice. She saw the future Arman deserved — a life beyond regrets, free and waiting.

Zara: “You need to live your life, Arman. Don’t carry my shadows with you.”

Her words were gentle but firm. With a final look that spoke of love, sacrifice, and unspoken dreams, she stayed behind. Arman pressed the button, swallowed by light, and returned to a future that suddenly felt full of possibility — because now, he carried more than memories. He carried love, loss, and the courage to face whatever came next.

And somewhere, in the folds of time, Zara waited — a quiet guardian of moments that were theirs, even if they could never be together again.