Last Week – That Weird Carnival That Definitely Shouldn't Exist
"Okay, but hear me out," Ananya said, licking pink sugar off her fingers. "What if this carnival is cursed?"
I squinted up at the blinking sign: 𝓢𝓱𝓮𝓲𝓵𝓪 𝓴𝓲 𝓙𝓪𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓲'𝓼 𝓣𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓒𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓿𝓪𝓵Neon letters flickered like they knew too much. It hadn't been here yesterday. The lot was supposed to be condemned.
"I mean, look at that font," I muttered. "You can't trust anything that curly."
I narrowed my eyes. "That sign is literally pulsing. Like a heartbeat. That's not normal branding."
Ananya shrugged. "Cursed vibes are in this year."
The carnival looked like it had been plucked straight out of a dream—or a mildly concerning fever. Dim lights. Tents that seemed to breathe. Shadowy attendants who blinked too slowly. Not a single normal food stall in sight.
I finally spotted a little booth labeled "Snacks of Destiny".
Great. Maybe I could bribe the universe with carbs.
Inside was a woman—old, hunched, draped in fabrics and mystery. Her hair was a cloud of gray curls. Her eyes sparkled like she'd been waiting for me.
She shoved a paper plate at me. "Try my special dumplings."
I stared at the glistening blob. "Is it… supposed to be gray?"
"It is timeless," she whispered like JYpeee
I took a bite.
Immediately regretted all of my life choices.
"Tastes like regret and carpet lint," I muttered, chewing with the determination of someone too polite to spit.
Ananya leaned in. "What does it taste like?"
"Despair. Seasoned with sadness. With a hint of shoe."
The aunty smiled mysteriously. "Ah, you have spirit."
"Yeah, and I'd like to keep it inside my body, thanks."
She gestured to a table beside her, covered in random junk: broken watches, melted candles, a single rubber duck, and—
A Nokia 3310.
"You may choose one," she said.
I blinked. "This isn't a thrift store."
She smiled wider. "It's a fate store."
"Oh no," I said. "That's worse."
Ananya nudged me. "Touch the phone. You know you want to."
I rolled my eyes. "This thing's probably possessed."
"Possessed with infinite battery," she whispered.
It was true. The little green screen glowed gently, untouched by time.
Did I touch it? Hell yeah! Do I regret it? Hell Yeah!!!.
Later I took the plate of cursed dumplings and the phone back home, walked to my room, dramatically flopped down on my comfy bed, and said the six most fateful words I've ever uttered:
"Ugh. I need a nap."
The First Jump
It started like any other cursed moment in my life: hungry, half-asleep, and singing out loud at 2 a.m.
I stumbled out of bed, groggy, scratching my head, and headed toward the kitchen like a zombie.
"Meri maa ne pakae Aloo Anday~~ Aye Aye~~," I mumbled to myself as I shuffled toward the stairs.
Only… the stairs wouldn't end?
Bro, I live in a 7 marla house with barely 4 stairs. Not the Great Wall of Punjab.
I blinked, and before I could finish the next line of my tragic hunger ballad—
THUMP. THUMP. ROLL.
I somehow tumbled down what felt like a thousand stairs.
(Gracefully, obviously. Like a slow-motion cricket ball.)
Then came the screaming.
Not from me. From some poor maid.
I groaned and sat up, dizzy and confused.
Corset. Frilly gloves.
Not my pajamas.
My hair? Perfectly curled. My waist? Tortured into a Victorian hourglass. My dignity? Missing.
And at my feet?
The Nokia. Sitting politely. Like it belonged here. Like this was all its fault.
Apparently, when I sleep, I don't just snore…
I switch timelines.
The fu—
That was the first real jump.
The moment it hit me.
That phone? Cursed.Me? Body-swapped.New name? Lady Zarabelle.
And this Lady Zarabelle? She had a scandalous reputation, a dramatic noble family, a duke fiancé who was possibly the biggest jerk alive, and a gift for causing public mayhem.
So now?
Every time I fall asleep…
I don't dream.
I wake up in another century.Wearing silk.Running from scandal.And threatening men with a Nokia 3310
Back to My Room – Pillow Fort of Existential Crisis
Ananya sat cross-legged at the edge of my bed as I explained everything for the fifth time.
"So it only happens when you're asleep," she said slowly.
"Yes."
"And every time you wake up there, the phone is with you?"
"Yes."
"And you can't control it?"
"No."
She nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds like a vibe."
"I slapped a duke yesterday."
"That's your vibe now."
I groaned. "What do I even do with this? Am I supposed to… solve a mystery? Fix the past? Un-slap the duke?"
Ananya poked the Nokia. "Have you tried uninstalling the curse?"
"It doesn't even have the Snake game, Ananya."
She tilted her head. "I mean… maybe it's not a curse."
"What else would it be?"
"A cosmic LinkedIn connection request."
I stared at her.