Crepuscular Shadow《 ON HOLD 》

4 | Knocks From Bygone

Streaks of orange blended with gold overlaid her hazel orbs and she shut them. She could not bear the sudden brightness. Wind ranged with humidity swirled around the environment and grazed the bamboo slightly. Reverberation of chiming rhythm resonated throughout the room, creating a euphonious music to her ears.

"The chiming music will wake me up every morning along with the smiling face of yours." A juvenile tone filled with warmth articulated in her ears, not allowing her to open her eyes which were witnessing sight of nothing but blank. The voice faded sedately. Chirpiness dimmed and sorrow flowed through the sound. It was no longer puerile but was miserable.

Nerves of her brain tightened. Her hands reached the back of her head. She clutched her hair tight. She felt a stab on her head. Soon, her fingers loosened and the pain decreased. Her eyelids shrunk. Radiance of sun touched her pupils and stark of something purple came to her vision. She focused to decode what it was but it dispersed even before she could note.

She sat up swiftly and gazed around. Dhruv was not around. With a tight lipped smile, Dahini's palms roamed over her face and tucked all the strands of her tresses to its place. Her neatly braided hair was no longer arranged. Her lips and throat were dry. She was still in the daze of slumber.

Yawning, she moved out of the room, in search of her husband. Not finding him in lounge and kitchen, she reached the dining room, adjacent to kitchen. Finally, she found a trace of him. A white paper with scribbled letters greeted her instead of her husband.

Good morning. I am sorry. An important customer is going to visit our hotel today. So I need to go urgently. You were sleeping peacefully. I didn't want wake you. I will have my lunch there. Will reach home by evening.
-Dhruv Prasad

Dahini sighed and kept the paper down. His handwriting told her he was running late. She remembered him saying that they would tour around Mussoorie for few days. Smirking, she motioned to lounge. The view of the door made her to halt on her pace. She touched her left arm, where the door hit. Shaking her head, she gazed at the clock, right above the television opposite to the couch.

"9.30?!" She said in horror. She slumbered like a lazy bug. She would always wake up by five or six. She was always an early bird. What Dhruv would have thought about her? Muttering some scolds to her own self, she walked to the windows adjacent to the television.

Her slender fingers grasped the timber pushed outward. Hue of rays pierced into the room, causing her to close her orbs. The warmth of sunlight in the moisture of the atmospheric felt pleasing to her. She relished the warmth and slowly opened her orbs.

What welcomed her was more gratifying. Her lips stretched into a tranquil smile. Tanned leaves were peppered over the ground and stood a tree with long branches stretched enough to touch them from the window. She realised, the sun rays were peeping through the vacant branches. If it was summer, then leaves would have been hiding the sun behind them.

She stood staring at the tree briefly. She felt hot air being blew at her nape. Smile from her face vanished. The hotness increased. It felt more like a breath than air. She bit her lower lip. Hairs on her skin stood erected. She felt presence of a human behind her. He/she was so close, yet not touching her. Her pulse increased along with the hotness of the breath. With terror filled face, she twirled swiftly.

An enormous sigh escaped her mouth as she caught two bright yellow beads gawking at her.

"You scared me in our second meeting too." She said and rested on her knees before the white feline with golden pupils. Dahini forwarded her hand and the cat placed its fore limb on her palm, amazing her. She giggled. Soon the cat was in her hold, purring.