Krishna Soumya _verified_ — Nandana

The bell rang one last time—softly, like a question answered.

When Nandana woke up the next morning, she was in her own bed, her feet still dusty from the temple floor. The bell never rang at midnight again. But something had changed inside her. nandana krishna soumya

The bell was still swaying gently when she arrived. In the dim glow of the oil lamp, she saw a boy sitting on the temple step. He was dark as a monsoon cloud, with peacock feathers tucked behind his ear, and he was eating butter from a clay pot with his fingers. The bell rang one last time—softly, like a

She shook her head.

"You are not gentle because you are weak," Krishna said. "You are gentle because you have seen the dark and chosen not to become it. That is Soumya. That is your power." But something had changed inside her