The Girl & The Ghost || Arshi FF

Chapter 1 - House-Hunting

Khushi Kumari Gupta wiped the sweat off her brow and double-checked the name of the street. It was a little after noon and the May sun of Delhi was scorching. She had come from Lucknow a couple of weeks ago when she got a new job at a small publishing house. At 25, she would've imagined her life going a little differently but given the state of the economy, she was happy to land any decent paying job she could. The only catch – the rents were sky-high near her office. Luckily, one of her colleagues had told her about his relative's flat, a few minutes drive from her office, which was within her budget.

The few minutes cab ride had become almost an hour long (since she couldn't locate the area) till Khushi stumbled upon a small suburb. The neighborhood was much sparsely populated. Some of the houses, were battered and in bad condition, others somewhat maintained. They had a small front and backyard – adding the much needed greenery in the midst of concrete.

She was currently staying in a guest-house and her bills were already piling up. Her previous house-hunting experiences were futile and she was on a string's end – she had to find a place to stay as soon as possible.

There were some young boys playing cricket on the wide street. Khushi skimmed to the barely existent sidewalk to avoid being hit by the ball. She heard a small scream and looking ahead she saw a girl had fallen on the ground with her bag and belongings strewn. There was a small maroon leather ball near the girl. She had been hit by it.

Khushi rushed over to help her. Wrapping her small palm around the girl's arm, she helped her stand. "Are you okay?"

The girl nodded, bending to pick her belongings. She was slightly taller than Khushi. Her pigtails bounced as she dusted off the dirt from her salwar kurta.

A group of boys sitting in a nearby tea-stall – mostly older than Khushi, started hooting at the girl, who became visibly uncomfortable. One of them walked over to the girl and spoke in a sweet but mocking way, "Did we hurt you?"

The girl averted her eyes from the guy. This taunting must have been a daily occurrence, Khushi presumed, given the girl's growing discomfort at being in the vicinity of the guy.

Khushi interrupted, "Leave her alone." Her tone was firm.

The guy shifted his gaze to Khushi. He was taller than her, somewhat muscular and very intimidating but Khushi didn't budge. She had dealt with bullies like him her entire life. After her parents passed away when she was a toddler, Khushi had been living with an aunt but for most part of her life, Khushi had looked out for her own self.

"What did you say?" The guy paced each word, angrily.

"We don't want trouble," the girl spoke timidly, muttering a "sorry" and hurriedly walking away, pulling Khushi by the arm.

Khushi gave her a confused look as they stopped in an alley away from the group of boys.

"We don't argue with them. Those boys are not nice people," the girl whispered though there was no one around them.

"Thanks for helping me though. I am Payal," she extended her hand. Khushi took it and introduced herself.

"That guy," Payal spoke again, now in a less timid tone, "is Shyam. He is kind of the..." Payal searched for a word when Khushi added, "Goon of the hood?"

Payal nodded, "Kind of. It's better to stay away from him. Are you new here?"

Khushi replied, "I am actually looking for a house. 23 A. They have 1 bedroom house to rent."

"That's my house!" Payal mumbled. She eyed Khushi, up and down. "You seem like a nice person and you did try to stand up for me, back there," Payal added after some thought, "My mother will probably kill me if she finds out I am driving away potential tenants but I feel like I shouldn't misguide you."