The Haunted Bhangarh Fort- Rajasthan, India

CHAPTER 3

It wraps you around its finger, and there's nothing you can do but oblige. Evil, it is. That steals the hope of seeing the faintest light.

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Nikhil-

I flung open the door and barged into it feeling the sweat trickle down my neck, wiping it off in one swift motion before it tickled me again. The moment I slumped on the couch, it screeched.

What?

I looked down and poked it. Where the hell did that come from? Suspiciously sitting down again I put my imaginary inspecting shades on- "How many times do I have to tell you Nikhil? Don't enter the house with your shoes on!"

Holy crap, it screeched again.

I looked up. What I saw made me deliver the sweetest, apologetic smile possible because I had no plans of dying tonight. My mother was standing on top of my head shooting glares that could even make the Grim Reaper scurry back to hell.

Oh, So it wasn't the couch.

"Ma, sorry. I was super tired. Today Abhinav and I had a serious fight, you know? It was violent. See? I got hurt." She looked at me impassively. So to add some emotion to my drama I showed her a scab that I was awarded with a few days ago while trying to fix the door in my classroom. Don't tell anyone. I did that because Nandini was there but ended up falling flat on my face hitting the loose screwdriver that I always tend to carry. Needless to say, she didn't even spare a glance. I frowned at the embarrassing thought.

"So are you going to shove those shoes outside my house or should I pick my broom up?" She glowered with impatient foot taps.

Those words were enough to make me spring from my couch and run to the shoe rack. I heard another trail of foot tapping. "Ma, I didn't even-"

"Fifty rupees and I don't tell Ma that you broke your butt while trying to fix an irreparable door in school."

I rolled my eyes, "I've already saved your ass when you went for a canteen date with Sagar in school 'kay?"

It was her turn to roll her eyes, "Ma knows it was his birthday. Now fifty before. I. Ma! Nikhil was trying to-"

I quickly grabbed her ravaging mouth, "make it thirty." She shook her head furiously muffling a refusal out. Pulling four fingers out, Nikki bartered our deal to forty. Great, I lost forty percent of my bet money. Digging out the crumpled currency from my pockets I threw the notes on her face. Don't judge me, I always wanted to do this dramatically and I couldn't let the chance go.

I could feel her make a face behind my back, "ew, you're so untidy."

"Neater than that potential boyfriend of yours, dumbass."

"Not a word about him, I'll-"

I didn't hear the rest because I realized my precious shirt was soiled, so I had to run to rescue it.

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Do you ever get this feeling that you fall in love with something so much so that you want to cry when you can't protect it?

That was me in the bathroom right now trying to wash the stains off my shirt, that was now blurring with my tears. Will I ever be able to take these stains off?

"Nikhil?"

"Nikhil! What have you been doing in there for the past half an hour?"

"Ma, I can't get these stains off my favourite shirt."

"I'll help you out with it later. Now leave all that and get in the dining room right now. Dinner is ready." My stomach growled in response. I stood up to its duty as my shirt lay on the wet floor like a fallen soldier. I lazily walked over to the dining room before pulling another one of my precious shirts over my head. I swiped my straight, brown hair off my forehead wiping beads of sweat along too.

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"Why do you always cook dinner that I despise?" I scowled at Ma. "She always gets to eat what she wants."

"She's younger no, Nikhil?" Ma glared at me subtly. I scowled even more trying to stuff the god awful pizza in my mouth.

"Well, we can't help it that out of seven billion people, you're the only person who doesn't like pizza, you buffoon."

"Hm? Nikki? Language." She just hogged some more pizza in response. I cringed before I gave up on the last piece and Nikki was just as quick to grab it from my plate. I silently thanked her.

My father just entered the hall during this banter with a phone deep in an important conversation. Maybe.

"I don't think so. No it doesn't seem like a good deal... Mhm? Yes? Right. Okay. Let's think about it after November. The stocks might rise then, and we can consider their offer.... Bajaj? Okay. No no. Nothing this month. I need a break. It's been a while that I've spent some time with my family. Paris?" He let out a short laugh, "No no, not so far. Maybe a short trip so that I can come back to work without having to reset everything. Somewhere in India... Yes yes. We'll think about it. Okay. Good night." And he hung up. No trace of a please, thank you or sorry. That's just how my father feels, and actually is. Authorized.

Nikki and I were of course eavesdropping on that conversation. She beamed, "we're going for a trip?"

"Probably."

"When?"

"In a few days."

"Where?"

"Nikki, honey let him eat at least."

"I was thinking of Rajasthan. It's your mother's hometown. She would enjoy there."

I frowned and my mother smiled at him coyly. Boring. I was planning of not dying this summer. Nikki was unusually happy. No idea why. "Exactly where I wanted to go too, Paa! You're the best!" She clapped and squealed. My eyes reached heaven again. Typical.

"Why? Is that idiot Sagar coming with you?" I commented once we were in our room.

"Shut up," she tried sounding infuriated but an unnoticeable blush crept up her cheeks and I'm sure she ran to the washroom to hide it.

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I'm generally an enthusiastic person when it comes to trips. Doesn't matter where, but this time, I don't know why my gut had its protective mode on. It felt like I was going to find something that I wouldn't ever want to let go. However? What was tugging at my biggest fears?

I couldn't point at it, but...evil?

Author's note: I don't have much to say, but follow me if you like my works, lol. And of course, thank you for giving me a chance to narrate this story to you.

Lovely love,

Mansi.