I Remember You

A girl named Shreya.

She was a fabulous girl.

She looked like nature itself, as if she wanted to express everything that she had inside her. Her smile was like a waterfall coming down from mountains covered with flowers. She was gentle like a flower, but strong like the roots of a tree.

Her presence was like peace.

But she had lost her parents.

And along with them, she had lost her peace too.

Still, she tried to be confident and strong. She chose her own career, crossed every problem that came into her life, and built everything by herself.

One morning, when the sun rose between two mountains like something from a beautiful story—

No, no.

Not really.

I was just joking.

The sun simply rose, just like her smile, bright enough to make everything around her feel alive.

Shreya woke up happily that morning. For a moment, she felt as if her life was finally becoming the life she had always wanted.

But the truth was that she was still struggling.

She had a job and worked so hard that sometimes she didn't even realize how tired she was.

After years of fighting with life, she had finally become an HR professional.

She lived alone in a small apartment and had learned to depend on herself.

That evening, after finishing a long day at the office, Shreya started walking home.

The streets were unusually quiet.

The shops were closing one by one.

The streetlights flickered above her.

As she passed a small playground, she noticed something.

A child was sitting alone on a swing.

Shreya stopped.

She looked at the time.

11:47 P.M.

"Why is a child here at this time?"

She walked toward the playground.

The child was sitting with his back toward her.

Shreya smiled.

"Hey... why are you here alone?"

The swing moved slowly.

Creak...

Creak...

The child didn't answer.

"Where are your parents?"

The swing suddenly stopped.

Shreya took another step.

"Are you okay?"

The child slowly turned his head.

Shreya's smile disappeared.

Before she could see his face properly, the child whispered,

"Don't look at me."

Shreya froze.

"What?"

She blinked.

The swing was empty.

The child was gone.

She looked around.

"Hello?"

Nothing.

Then she saw him.

He was standing near the slide.

The same child.

But something was wrong.

His skin looked extremely pale.

His eyes were dark.

And his face carried an unnatural smile.

Shreya stepped backward.

The child disappeared.

She turned toward the trees.

He was there again.

Watching her.

She looked toward the gate.

There he was again.

Everywhere she looked, she saw the same child.

Her breathing became faster.

Her hands started shaking.

"No..."

She turned around and ran.

She didn't look back.

She ran through the dark street as fast as she could.

But then she heard footsteps behind her.

Tap...

Tap...

Tap...

She ran faster.

The footsteps became faster too.

She reached her apartment building, opened the door with trembling hands and rushed inside.

She slammed the door shut.

She locked it.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

She leaned against the door, breathing heavily.

"It's nothing."

She whispered.

"Just my imagination."

She walked into the kitchen and poured herself some water.

Her hands were still shaking.

Then—

Knock.

Shreya froze.

Three slow knocks came from the front door.

Knock...

Knock...

Knock...

She stared at it.

"Who is it?"

No answer.

She took a step backward.

Then she heard a child's voice.

"Can you open the door?"

Shreya's heart dropped.

It was the same voice.

The voice from the playground.

"No..."

The voice came again.

"But you asked me why I was alone."

Shreya covered her mouth.

She didn't move.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

She nearly dropped the glass in her hand.

The screen showed:

UNKNOWN NUMBER

She hesitated before answering.

"Hello?"

Silence.

Then a whisper.

"Shreya..."

Her face went pale.

"Who are you?"

The voice whispered,

"Why did you leave me there?"

The call ended.

Shreya stared at her phone.

She couldn't understand what was happening.

Then she noticed something on her living-room table.

A photograph.

An old photograph.

She had never seen it before.

Slowly, she picked it up.

Her hands began trembling.

The photograph showed a little girl standing on the same playground.

And beside her...

was the child.

Shreya's eyes widened.

She looked closer at the little girl.

It was her.

A much younger Shreya.

She turned the photograph around.

Written on the back were four words:

"You forgot me, Shreya."

The glass slipped from her hand.

It shattered on the floor.

And suddenly, a memory flashed through her mind.

A little girl.

A playground.

A boy laughing.

Her parents standing nearby.

And then—

Fire.

Shreya grabbed her head.

"No..."

Another memory came.

She was younger.

She was playing with a little boy on the same playground.

His name was Aadi.

He was her best friend.

They used to meet there almost every evening.

That night, Shreya had been playing with him while her parents waited nearby.

A small electrical box near the playground had caught fire.

Her parents noticed it first.

They rushed toward the children.

Her father grabbed Shreya.

Her mother ran toward Aadi.

But before she could reach him, part of the playground collapsed.

Everything went dark.

Shreya remembered screaming.

She remembered her mother running toward Aadi.

She remembered her father pushing her away from the flames.

And then...

nothing.

Her parents died that night.

Aadi died too.

But Shreya survived.

She had been so young that her mind had buried the memory.

She had forgotten the playground.

She had forgotten Aadi.

She had forgotten the promise she had made to him.

A promise.

Suddenly, she remembered.

She and Aadi had been sitting on the swing that evening.

He had been crying because he was scared.

Shreya had held his hand and said,

"Don't worry. I'll never leave you."

But she had survived.

And he hadn't.

Shreya fell to the floor.

Tears rolled down her face.

"I'm sorry..."

The room became completely silent.

Then she heard the swing outside her window.

Creak...

Creak...

Shreya slowly looked toward the window.

The playground was visible in the distance.

And the child was standing there.

Aadi.

But this time, he wasn't smiling.

He was simply looking at her.

Shreya walked toward the window.

"Aadi..."

The child raised his hand.

Shreya's tears continued falling.

"I'm sorry I forgot you."

The child slowly smiled.

Then he pointed toward the playground.

Shreya understood.

She grabbed her coat and left the apartment.

She walked through the darkness until she reached the playground.

The swing was moving by itself.

She sat down.

For a few moments, she said nothing.

Then she whispered,

"I remember."

The swing slowly stopped.

"I remember everything."

A cold wind passed through the playground.

The child appeared in front of her.

This time, his face wasn't frightening.

He looked like an ordinary little boy.

The same boy she remembered.

He smiled.

"You came back."

Shreya began crying.

"I promised you."

Aadi nodded.

"You did."

Then he slowly stepped backward.

The wind became stronger.

His figure began disappearing like mist.

Shreya reached out her hand.

"Aadi!"

He smiled one last time.

"You're allowed to live now."

And he disappeared.

The playground became completely silent.

The next morning, Shreya returned to the same place.

The sun was rising.

For the first time in years, she didn't feel afraid of the past.

She found the old photograph lying beneath the swing.

She picked it up.

The words on the back had changed.

The message was no longer:

"You forgot me."

Instead, there were only three words.

"I remember you."

Shreya smiled through her tears.

She placed the photograph carefully inside her bag and stood up.

She finally understood something.

Shreya walked away from the playground as the morning sunlight filled the empty streets.

Behind her, the swing moved once.

Creak...

Then it stopped.

And this time...

there was no one sitting on it.

She continued with her Life ...

The next morning, Shreya went to work as usual.

She smiled at her colleagues.

She answered emails.

She attended meetings.

She even laughed when one of her coworkers made a silly joke.

Everything looked normal.

But something inside her had changed.

For the first time in years, she wasn't running away from her past.

During lunch, Shreya opened her bag and took out the old photograph.

She looked at Aadi's face.

"I remember you now," she whispered.

Then she noticed something strange.

There was a small mark in the corner of the photograph that she hadn't noticed before.

A tiny red circle.

Inside it was a number.

17

Shreya frowned.

She turned the photograph over.

Nothing.

She looked at it again.

The number was still there.

She searched through her old belongings when she returned home that evening.

An old box.

Her parents' documents.

Some childhood drawings.

A few photographs.

And finally, an old diary belonging to her mother.

Shreya opened it carefully.

Most of the pages were about ordinary things.

Bills.

Work.

Family.

Shreya's school.

But then she found a page dated 17 October.

Her mother's handwriting filled the page.

Shreya read it slowly.

"Aadi came to our house again today. He told me something strange. He said he sometimes sees a little girl standing near the old playground even when Shreya is not there."

Shreya stopped reading.

Her heart began beating faster.

She continued.

"I asked him what the girl looked like. He said she looked exactly like Shreya."

Shreya's hands began trembling.

"What?"

She read the next line.

"I don't know what he means. Perhaps the children are imagining things."

The next page was torn.

Shreya turned the pages.

Nothing.

Then she found another entry.

This one was written only a few days before the accident.

"Something is wrong with the playground. Aadi keeps saying someone is calling his name from underneath the old tree. I told him not to go there anymore."

Shreya's breathing became shallow.

Underneath the old tree.

She remembered that tree.

It was still there.

She looked toward the window.

Outside, the sky was already getting dark.

For a moment, she thought about ignoring it.

Maybe it was better to leave the past alone.

But then she remembered Aadi's final words.

You're allowed to live now.

Shreya closed the diary.

The next evening, she returned to the playground.

The place looked completely different during daylight.

Children were playing.

Parents were walking around.

Nothing seemed frightening.

Shreya walked toward the old tree.

She searched around its roots.

Nothing.

Then she noticed something beneath the soil.

A small metal box.

She pulled it out.

It was covered in dirt and rust.

There was a tiny lock on it.

Shreya stared at the box.

She had no idea what was inside.

Then she remembered something.

The number on the photograph.

17.

She tried the number on the lock.

Click.

The box opened.

Inside was a small red ribbon, a toy car, and several folded pieces of paper.

Shreya picked up the first paper.

It was written in a child's handwriting.

"Shreya and Aadi's secret place."

Her eyes filled with tears.

She opened another.

"If we grow up, we will come back here."

Another note.

"Nobody can separate us."

And the final one simply said:

"If I disappear, please don't forget me."

Shreya closed her eyes.

She finally understood.

Aadi hadn't been waiting for revenge.

He had been waiting to be remembered.

She held the note against her heart.

"I won't forget you again."

A gentle breeze moved through the trees.

The red ribbon slipped from her hand and landed beside the old swing.

Shreya looked up.

For just a moment, she saw a little boy standing beneath the tree.

Aadi.

He smiled.

Then he disappeared into the sunlight.

Shreya smiled through her tears.

She didn't follow him.

She didn't call his name.

She simply stood there.

Because this time, she understood.

Some people leave our lives...

but the love, memories, and promises they leave behind can remain forever.

Shreya placed the little box beneath the tree again.

Then she stood up and walked home.

She looked at the sky.

For the first time since losing her parents, the silence around her didn't feel lonely.

It felt peaceful.

And somewhere behind her, the old swing moved gently in the evening wind.

Creak...

Shreya smiled.

"I remember."

And the swing slowly stopped.

Moving forward didn't mean forgetting the people we had lost.

Sometimes, it meant remembering them...

and learning how to live again..