Sahil, Vanya and Tara. All three looking at each other. Tara was glaring at Vanya with genuine anger in her eyes, while Vanya was glaring at Sahil with fake anger and was deliberately ignoring Tara's warth. And between those two ladies stood Sahil with his head bowed down. He was stealing glances every now and then.
Before anyone could say a word, some alien voice interrupted the prolonged silence. All three looked towards the direction of the source, or were trying to look for the source in that pitch darkness. Tara felt the world collapsing under her feet.
Is he here??
That thought started haunting her. Those footsteps. Heavy footsteps. Slowly getting closer to them. Tara was shivering like hell and before she could comprehend the situation anyfurther, she was dragged inside the house as Vanya held her hand, and Vanya's wrist was under Sahil's harsh grip.
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Tara's trance was broken with the latching sound of the door lock. She looked around and got shivered down her spin.
The house. The same old abandoned house. The one she saw in her dream back in Trivandrum.
Her nightmare was welcoming her...
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All three of them were looking around the house with different emotions. Sahil felt like some sort of achivement whereas Vanya was feeling as if she had entered in some sort of horrer movie. And Tara was feeling suffocation. No not the real one. She felt as if she was reliving the same dream which she remembered only in bits.
It was all dark and the only source of light was the lightening from the clouds which was followed by heart stopping thunder. These two were followed by the heavily rain that just started.
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The sound of the raindrops against the roof top was scaring the three of them.
The whole of the house was covered in pitch blackness. The three of them stood rooted at their places and waited for their eyes to adjust in the dark.
In admist the thunderstorm and rainfall, they were able to hear some muffled voices. Af if few people were standing right at front of the door and were talking in whispers.
It felt as if they were not the only ones present there in the house. They were definitely not alone. The house was giving them all sort of hints. Someone was surley keeping an eye on them. Those eyes were always there, since the past three decades.
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All alone in an unknown city, trapped inside a haunted house along with two souls whom she hardly know for like less than a week. Plus her crazy stalker was on loose. She could hear Vanya and Sahil arguing about something in whispers but her mimd couldn't comprehend a single word spoken by either of them.
Before she could react she again felt someone holding her hand. The touch felt familiar thats why she didn't reacted much and allowed Vanya to drag her anywhere she want. Vanya and Sahil were running towards a room with the clueless Tara following them like a lost puppy. Suddenly she stumbled upon something and fell flat faced on the floor. Now the fall broke her trance. She raised her head and saw Vanya being held tight by Sahil. It immediately reminded her of those cheesy bollywood films. His hands held Vanya by her waist and her hands were hands were holding him by his shoulders.
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God knows what got into her. Tara, still laying on the floor shouted,"Hello people! There is a girl scattered on the floor!!". As accepted, the couple finally broke their eye contact and straightened themselves. Sahil forwarded his hand fowards Tara, who for the first time without any hesitation held his hand. He helped her in standing straight and finally left her hand. Tara started sorting her saari and meanwhile Vanya started checking out the photographs that hung on the nearby wall.
"Sahil", finally Vanya said in a low voice. Sahil looked at her while she continued speaking,"I think we need to talk",saying this she turned to face him. The damn serious expression on Vanya's face was enough to tell Tara that she was done with her love in with prince charming mode.
Sahil took a deep breath and said," Yes lady, I definitely owe you two an explanation as well as an apology."
"Well honestly you don't look like a thief to me", Vanya said as she crossed her arms against her chest. Sahil smiled at her a bit but she continued with a stern face,"But Tara is quite uncertain about you". Both looked at her with disbelief.
He sighed and said," Trust me I am not a thief. Neither a bad news. I will explain everything to you".
The girls exchanged some looks and finally agreed with him.
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Sahil was sitting on the swing which was situated in the courtyard.
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Vanya sat beside him while Tara sat on the floor, leaning against one of the pillar.
"I live in this colony with my family. My family consist of me and my parents. It was the last month when we got to know that my father was suffering from cancer. Stage one", Sahil started recalling those events and he wiped away the tears that dared to escape from his eyes. He sniffed and took a long sigh. Vanya slowly kept her hand over his and squeezed it. Not because she wanted to show him how much caring she is but because watching him in this situation pinched her heart.
Plus she was the one who was stalking him and now because of her his personal life has became a show of display.
"I am sorry Sahil", she said in a low voice. Sahil shook his head and admist the pain he passed her a sweet smile.
On the other hand, Tara kept looking at his face. One can easily cook up any story and can gain sympathy. But here she was a writer. No fake stories with a twice time best seller. She was trying to catch any sign of fakeness on Sahil's face. But that expression and face felt genuine to her.
Or maybe due to lack of light she was unable to study his face properly. After all the only source of light in the courtyard were the three smartphone torches.
Sahil took a deep breath, cleared his throat and continued," My acchan (father) was initially heartbroken but he is my superhero and he knew that breaking down in front of his makan (son) wasn't any good. He said that he had lived enough and each of his wish was fulfilled, except one...."
