Something Like Home

[dolphininwater-8]

I wrote this line for one of my characters today.

It's from a fantasy about forgotten identities and impossible choices.

Somehow this tiny line ended up explaining him better than pages of dialogue.

I'd love to know what it makes you think of.

I felt like it talked to me. What about you?

You can check out Something Like Home here on Wattpad.

https://www.wattpad.com/story/412885689-something-like-home

Also availabe on Inkitt, Royal Road under the same name.

[dolphininwater-8]

I too sometimes prefer silence over converstations. Holding conversations is easier than holding silence between two people.

To find out more, read Something Like Home out now on Wattpad.

https://www.wattpad.com/story/412885689-something-like-home

Limited chapters also available on Inkitt and RoyalRoad.

[dolphininwater-8]

"This tall 6 ft guy, with a lean muscular build, black hair, a pretty smile... and deep blue eyes. The same shade of blue I remember. The same shade of blue that feels like home. And the same shade of blue whose memory I try to push back in my mind."

Nika remembers absolutely nothing about her life. Ray claims he doesn't either. But when a cryptic message forces them out into an abandoned city together, the walls they've built up start to fracture.

Can you trust a stranger when your own mind is your worst enemy?

⚡ Chapters 1-5 are live! Join the journey:

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/412885689-something-like-home

Inkitt: https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1790520

Royal Road: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/175975/something-like-home

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dolphininwater-8

[dolphininwater-8]

Dive into a brand-new YA Dystopian Mystery where the past is a blank slate and the present is a brutal battleground. If you love high-stakes survival, psychological puzzles, and slow-burn character chemistry, this journey is for you.

The Trope: Amnesia & Found Family

The Vibe: Gritty, atmospheric, and fast-paced

Current Status: First 5 chapters are officially LIVE!

📖 Read "Something Like Home" now on your favorite platform:

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/412885689-something-like-home

Inkitt: https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1790520

Royal Road: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/175975/something-like-home

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dolphininwater-8

[dolphininwater-8]

Dive into a brand-new YA Dystopian Mystery where the past is a blank slate and the present is a brutal battleground. If you love high-stakes survival, psychological puzzles, and slow-burn character chemistry, this journey is for you.

The Trope: Amnesia & Found Family

The Vibe: Gritty, atmospheric, and fast-paced

Current Status: First 5 chapters are officially LIVE!

📖 Read "Something Like Home" now on your favorite platform:

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/412885689-something-like-home

Inkitt: https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1790520

Royal Road: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/175975/something-like-home

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dolphininwater-8

[dolphininwater-8]

And I don’t look at myself again. Because I don’t feel worthy enough to have a second glance. - Nika (Something like Home, Chapter 5)

Follow and check out more posts to dive deep into our story, Something Like Home. Ongoing on Wattpad and Inkitt and first 3 parts on Tumblr.

[dolphininwater-8]

My thoughts keep on lingering as Ray directly looks into my eyes. Blue eyes staring into brown. Like ocean staring into the sand. Like sky staring into the ground.

Read more about Nika and Ray on my latest story Something Like Home. Now available on Wattpad and Inkitt. First few chapters even available on Tumblr.

Nika wakes up with no memory, no past and no idea who she is. All she has is a bracelet on her wrist that says her name and six strangers wh

Something Like Home - Free Story by Khwaish

Nika wakes up with no memory, no past and no idea who she is. All she has is a bracelet on her wrist that says her name and six strangers wh

[dolphininwater-8]

It doesn’t taste the best. But it’s warm and that is enough. - Nika (From Something like Home).

Read the ongoing book now on Wattpad and Inkitt. Please show your supporrt.

Nika wakes up with no memory, no past and no idea who she is. All she has is a bracelet on her wrist that says her name and six strangers wh

Something Like Home - Free Story by Khwaish

Nika wakes up with no memory, no past and no idea who she is. All she has is a bracelet on her wrist that says her name and six strangers wh

[dolphininwater-8]

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sky outside is grey as if trying to mock our laughable destiny. It feels strange? Seven unknown strangers wake up in an abandoned house not remembering parts of themselves, fragments of memory, and have to figure out why they were sent here because all we know is someone is coming for us and we need to FIGHT. All this may sound absurd to a normal person in a normal world. But then what do I know of a normal world? I don’t even remember any strange world I might have lived in.

This is why all of us are out today - try to find out what is out there and get some answers.

It has been about an hour since we all left the so-called comfort of the abandoned building I have started calling home. I have been walking since then looking for something around me that would make sense. The part of the town we are covering is abandoned, like people just vanished from there. Empty streets, unattended shops and vehicles is what greets us out there. ‘Us’? I laugh a little at that thought. To say, I do have a teammate along with me but he has been silent the entire time we have been out here. He is walking behind me, the noise of his footsteps, the only indication of his presence which tells me I am not alone here.

 For a long time, it’s just the sound of the wind, occasional thunder sounds at a far away distance. I feel a shiver run down my spine every time the loud voice of thunder is heard. Maybe I am supposed to be scared of thunder? This is not the right time to be scared, I constantly tell myself. It is the sound of Ray’s footsteps all around us that gives me comfort. But then I hear a cry, a whimper maybe, someone is crying for help around us? Is there a person around for answers? I frantically look around trying to figure out the source of sound. Ray must have also caught the sound as he appears right beside me. “There”, he says pointing towards an abandoned car. At first glance it seems like a normal abandoned car, but if you look closely, there is someone under the car.

I walk closely and it’s not a person, it’s a dog, no not a dog, it’s a puppy. Labrador? Pomeranian? What breed is it? What are the different breeds of dogs anyways? That is not important right now. The puppy is scared, wet, shivering. And I do the first thing that comes to my mind. I put on my piece of clothing, which I think people call jacket, on the puppy. I try my best to sooth the puppy with the words of comfort I can think of, what do words of comfort actually sound like? Has anyone ever comforted me?

And before I can spiral further, I feel a drop of water on my face. But I am not crying, am I? And another drop on my face and another and it starts raining, it’s a downpour. Ray clutches my hand, I am clutching the newly found puppy in my arms and he leads us into the nearest closed shelter we can find. It is what appears to be an abandoned house. Someone’s house which they might have called their own home someday. Maybe like the blue ocean I think is my home.

It’s not until we are inside this building, no this someone’s home that I realise that Ray has been holding my hand. And the realisation hits me hard. He is holding it tight as if he lets go, I will be gone from here. Suddenly he is looking at me, is he trying to say something? His eyes glimmer, the blue of his eyes visible in slight gloomy setting we are in. Maybe some realisation dawns upon him and he lets go of my hand. “Err.. I am sorry.. it was raining and.. we had to.. get inside”, he says while rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s fine Ray”, I tell him.

“I think it’s best we stay here until the rain slows down. Walking alone in this weather in the unknown place is not the safest bet.”, Ray sounds calm as he talks to me. “Yeah, I get it.” Is what I manage to speak.

I place the newly found puppy on the floor as he is still clutching on to my jacket for the warmth it can get. The house does not have any furniture so to say. Just a table kept at the centre of the room. Ray pushes the table to the side of the wall, so that it acts as a makeshift shelter for the three of us. The two of us sit there under the table, in silence with our backs against the wall. My hair still tied in my French braid is wet now, my clothes which are merely a black tank top and khaki pants are not that much wet. Luckily my white tennis shoes and socks are dry, not giving me a cold. I turn around and look at Ray, really look at Ray for the first time and then I noticed that his nose is slightly crooked. His eyes are closed as he rests his head against the wall. He is wearing a blue jacket over his black t-shirt and blue pants. His black boot shoes are pretty though.

A gush of wind blows through one of the cracks in this house, and a shivering sound leaves me and the feeling of cold flows through me. In that moment a big palm places a jacket over my shoulder. As I turn to look at him, his eyes are closed again and his hands resting on top his knees. I don’t know if I can figure out this person.

I try to take this moment in when suddenly it resurfaces, the memory I try to keep locked away flashes before my eyes. I try to lock it away but it doesn’t go. A boy, dimples, headphones, black shirt, walking, smiling – all these images appear before me. I shut it down. Not because it is not appealing, but because it doesn’t make any sense in my world. Not here, not anywhere. It’s probably a wrong memory, a wrong moment left behind in me. Wish I had nothing to remember.

I reach out to the now calm puppy. He feels just like me. Lost trying to be found. How did this sweet little boy end up here? Who left him behind? I run my hand through his white fur which is somewhat dirty now. I realise that it has a collar on, suggesting that it has an owner. I check out it collar and I feel something. There is something stuck in its collar. Maybe an insect or a fly.

I put the puppy down to retrieve the fly from the collar. No, it’s not a fly, it’s a piece of paper? A paper stuck in a puppy’s collar? I slowly take it out. It’s folded. Is it a chit? Maybe it’s information about the puppy’s owner. Maybe it will help us out with contact with people outside this place.

I open the chit and it feels the ground beneath me shakes. No, I start shaking. No, I rather start trembling. This is not happening. This feels like a prank. Beside me, Ray comes up. “Nika, are you okay? You are trembling.”

I pass him the chit I was holding and he goes silent. The chit falls from his hand and I look at it again.

“HELLO NIKA & RAY, WE KNEW YOU WOULD COME”

[dolphininwater-8]

Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

I think I am awake again after a long sleep. Felt like I took a good nap. I open my eyes and see the cracked ceiling of the room I have been in before. My head feels dizzy and eyelids are heavy. It feels like I am on a roller-coaster, have I ever been on a roller coaster? Before my mind could wander off again, I hear Iva’s voice coming from the other direction. “Hey! You’re awake. I was so scared for you.”. I look towards her and I find her sitting on the mattress besides mine. She is wearing a white tank and black cargos which are different than what she was wearing in the meeting room. My vision is still foggy and it takes in a lot of effort in me to get up and sit straight.

“Whoa easy girl, don’t take so much strain on yourself.”, she calls out again. I know I should lie down for some more time but I don’t want to. I don’t want more rest, I want more answers and resting here wouldn’t provide them. “No, I am fine.” Or at least trying to be fine I tell her. At the same time Jia also enters the room holding a bowl with steams coming out from it. Before I figure out what she has brought in, she keeps the bowl near my mattress and holds me into a hug, a tight hug. “Thank God, you woke up. You know all of us have been so anxious for you.”

“For how much time was I gone?”, the words come out of my mouth as I try to remember what happened last. I was in the meeting room, Ray was talking something, maybe Gray was even talking and then I remember what I saw… myself, dead people, blood and blue eyes. “Fourteen hours”, Iva’s words bring me out of my thoughts. “All of us were talking or rather arguing and then all of a sudden it felt like you went in a shock state and then you were unconscious.”

I don’t know who I am, I don’t know where I am, I don’t remember anything, I get weird flashbacks and then I am gone for 14 hours? I don’t even know what I am. A sudden feeling of hollow flows through my veins. Everyone here has lost part of their lives but they know themselves, they remember something to hold onto and I remember nothing. But there is one thing I feel I remember that is to fight. I know before I can fight what’s out there, I have to fight myself. I have to find answers.

I drink the soup Jia has brought me. It doesn’t taste the best. But it’s warm and that is enough. Our room is filled with silence except for the occasional slurping sound which comes as I drink my soup. The three of us sit in silence for a long time. Maybe they are also trying to make sense of what all is happening, maybe they also feel as lost as I feel.

“You know I never had any sisters”, Jia says all of a sudden, “None that I can remember anyways. I don’t even remember any females present in my life before you two. But today sitting here, made me feel complete. I know we don’ know each other and all this is new. But I feel like I knew you all before, I feel the feeling of being friends here.” A long pause and then “And I want to keep that feeling.”

“All of us are here on our own and we do need to hold onto something to carry us through this journey.”, this time it is Iva who speaks up. “I don’t know who but someone in my life said something about destination, journey and people. I want to believe that people make the journey beautiful” I feel my cheeks getting wet as I realise I am sitting with two such brave women who no matter the circumstance want to see the light at the end of the road. This brings out a feeling I have no name of. All I do is take them into an embrace and with trembling words say “Friends?”. “You two are the first friends I will remember.”

The three of sit together in that room for some more time. Our conversations are filled with words of encouragement, some tears, some laughter and a lot of unsaid heavy feelings.

Our bonding moments are interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. It’s Gray standing there. He asks us to come down for a group meeting. My previous experience of a group meeting has not been so pleasant. So maybe I hesitate a bit. “It’s important, please”, he says to me again. And  we go for another group meeting.

I am back again in the meeting room with its shabby blue walls and broken paintings. A set of blue eyes catch my attention and I feel like I am back in my flashback. It takes everything in me to forget it and focus on the reality of now. This meeting feels better than the last time we all were together. The seven of us are sitting around a makeshift table. Our clothes are all seemingly worn like maybe trying to tell a story we don’t know.

 “Our foremost priority at this point is to remember and understand ourselves. With no information of our past, we will not be able to do anything further.”, Ray’s words hang in the air. “I agree with Ray”, Zen speaks looking up from the diary he way busy reading. “We have to move out of here, see things around and understand our situation.”. This time it is me who says, “I suggest we divide ourselves in three teams and look around to get answers. There have to be some answers, some clue, hint something has to there somewhere.”

Iva adds in, “But how do we team up? We can’t just randomly split up. There has to be a connection between the team members.” Ray follows, “Let’s keep it in order of how much we remember about ourselves. People with most memory retained end up together and so on. This would make us all effective.”

“I agree with him”, Gray who had been unnaturally silent all this time speaks. “I’ll go first, I remember broken pieces of a lot of things… I can remember my childhood, my school, even parts of my college. My memories faint just after that.” Mark adds up, “Even I remember till my high school. Guess both of us could be team 1.”

“I have faint memories of my life, not clear, but some parts I clearly remember.”, Jia says. “Same with me”, Zen chips in followed by Iva, making them team 2.

“I remember nothing about myself”, I say with a half-smile as if trying to humour myself to lighten the mood. “Me neither”, Ray’s voice fills in the room. “Except a handful of moments, I have no idea about myself either. So, we are team 3 I believe.”, he says.

My mind starts racing again. He is same like me? I am not alone then? Is he telling the truth? Something is off, I feel it. My thoughts keep on lingering as Ray directly looks into my eyes. Blue eyes staring into brown. Like ocean staring into the sand. Like sky staring into the ground.

[dolphininwater-8]

Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The sky is blue, the ocean in front of me is blue, my dress is blue and I am happy. The wind is blowing through my hair making it fall in front of my face. I can hear freedom and laughter and the sound of waves. I feel I am at home and I smile with all that is in me. I smell the ocean, the faint smell of water when it reaches the shore. I see myself standing there taking it all in.

I feel like I am at home, I don’t want to go back, I feel like I am at home and then I am not. I am not at home. I don’t even remember home. I don’t even know if this is my home. Hell I don’t even remember who I am, what I am, where I am. All I know is this memory left behind in me. And another memory which I bury deep inside my mind. I don’t know anything. I don’t even know if I am in the correct place of mind. I don’t know if I am sane but I do know that I am strong. Strong enough to fight these battles and strong enough to win them.

“Nika”, a familiar voice calls out my name. My name? Is this even my name? All I know is the bracelet on my left hand which reads the words “NIKA” making me believe this is actually my name or the name people here call me. “Nikaaa, are you up?”, the same familiar voice calls me again. And then she is standing in front of me, “Come on, all of us are ready for ‘the talk’. Ray and Mark will be there in five.”

“Yeah Iva… I know. Give me 2 minutes and I will be down there.”, I tell the redhead whose bracelet had the letters ‘IVA’ written on it. As she leaves the room, I stand up and look around the room I am in. It is not a room made for luxury but a room made for survival. Grey dirty walls, cracks in the ceiling, three mattresses laid across the floor and a cupboard tucked away in one corner. Across from me is a mirror on the wall and I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. A normal person in that mirror would see a girl, brown hair tied in a French braid, brown eyes, trembling pink lips and a fair skin marked with tiny cuts and stitches. But all I can see is the girl who has to fight, fight the unknown battles but SHE HAS TO FIGHT. I take a deep breath, square my shoulders and say an unknown prayer to an unknown god. I look at myself once again in the mirror, then I look at my bracelet and then I am ready to go.

I go down to the room which I think must have been the meeting room or perhaps a living room? I don’t even know this. I see four unknown but familiar faces scattered around the room. Two girls, one Iva and the other what was her name… Jia I think… are sitting on the grey couch in the centre of the room. They seem to be in deep conversation, maybe something emotional as I see few drops of tears role down Jia’s face.  There is a guy, tall guy actually standing near the window with his eyes closed with a deep frown on his face. Gray is the name he had told me. There is also another guy standing right next to him fiddling with his bracelet which must also hold his name. A few inches shorter than Gray. I remember his name, Ben, Gen… what was it, something with en.. Ken it might have been or Zen, it was Zen I remember again. As I am trying to figure out basic things in my life like the names of people here, there is a slight sound of footsteps approaching. Two more set of heads appears in the room. Both guys. One of them Mark as I clearly recognise says “Hi” to me and acknowledges me.

Next to him is the only person I don’t want to see right now - Ray. The one who makes no sense to me. This tall 6 ft guy, with a lean muscular built, black hair, a pretty smile, a somewhat crooked nose and deep blue eyes. The same shade of blue I remember. The same shade of blue that feels like home. And the same shade of blue whose memory I try to push back in my mind.

As everyone has now come into the room, all of us settle in different places. Iva, Jia and Mark on the couch. I take the stool beside the couch and Ray takes the stool directly in front of me at the other end of the couch. Gray and Zen remain standing at their place near the window though they are focused towards us now. I once again try to take in the whole room with its shabby blue walls, broken frames of painting I don’t recognise, a centre grey couch with two black stools on either side and a single window across the wall with its glass all foggy.

“It’s been 36 hours since all of us woke up and also 36 hours of losing ourselves. I know the position we are in is not easy for us. Not remembering fragments of our life, not remembering our identity”, Ray says in his deep but calm voice, “and for some of us not remembering our whole life.” He says while looking at me. “But we have got to get going. We can’t just sit here our whole life when we clearly have a mission to complete. We need to gather ourselves quick, get to our feet and move on.”

“You think this is all easy?”, Gray’s voice yells from across the room. “You think all of us are kids crying over broken toys. We are adults crying over our broken lives. We have lost so much of part of ourselves. None of this is easy. It will never be easy again.”

The room suddenly falls silent. It stays silent for a minute until I hear a sob, a cry maybe and I see Jia crying with Iva consoling her. “Just don’t fight guys….uhhh…..it….uhhh…won’t help us out”, Jia says in between her sobs. Ray speaks next, “I know Jia, all I want for all us is to be together and just not give up. I wish it was as easy as listening to music for me.”

Mark speaks up now, “Everyone please just calm down. We need to relax aaaannnnnddd eyeeerrryyyoooonneeee focccuuuuuus………..”. Suddenly his words stop making sense to me. I look around and I see faces and their mouths moving.

I hear more talks and voices but nothing makes sense and suddenly it feels like I am not present in the room anymore. I cannot see people around, I am not sitting in the meeting room. I am in a different place, I have never been here. I look around and I see myself. I am standing with people lying on the floor around me. Why are they sleeping here? Oh, wait they are…. Dead? There are dead people lying on the floor and I am standing there and there is blood on my hands and then I look up and there are blue eyes looking at me. I look up again and there are blue eyes looking at me again and maybe I hear something. “Nika, Nika, are you there? Are you okay?” and then everything turns black and all voices become silent.

[dolphininwater-8]

Synopsis

Nika wakes up with no memory, no past and no idea who she is. All she has is a bracelet on her wrist that says her name and six strangers who seem to know her just as little as she knows herself. The mission is simple — remember who they are, figure out what happened, survive whatever comes next. The problem is Ray. Tall. Blue eyed. Infuriatingly calm. The kind of person who moves closer when he should run and says nothing when he should explain. Nika doesn't trust him. Doesn't understand why her chest does something strange when he looks at her. Doesn't know why his eyes feel like a memory she keeps trying to bury. She has bigger things to worry about. Like the visions she keeps falling into — blood, bodies, blue eyes in the dark. Like the battle none of them remember signing up for. Like finding out who they were before someone decided they shouldn't know. But the heart is inconvenient like that. And Ray has always been afraid to get close. Until the moment she needed him to.

[dolphininwater-8]

[dolphininwater-8]

Introduction

Hello. I have started writing a book which has been in my mind for quite some time. I have finally have the courage to bring my thoughts to life. This piece is very dear to me and I would appreciate your honest feedback. Thankyou for visiting me.

Book name: Something Like Home