Previous: Chapter 2
Chapter 3:
Past continues…
Ragini wakes Laksh next morning.
Rag: laksh..where is the bathroom??
Laksh takes her to one door and opens it. there is a small wooden room on tree same as tree house and the small bridge is connecting that room and tree house.
Ragini amazed looking at it.
Laksh: that is the bathroom.
Ragini: wow…you have nice artistic qualities. You build all this on your own??
Laksh: no… tribes helped me.
Ragini: tribes??
Laksh: yes..don’t fear. They are friendly and innocent. They help us a lot..
Ragini walks through the wooden small bridge and goes to bathroom. She looks all through the bathroom. A tap, and a shower…. It’s also cute. Suddenly, her eyes gaze at the ventilator and she shouts, “aahhh…”
Laksh trembles and runs to her. “Ladoo..what happened? Open the door..”
Ragini soon opens door and hugs Laksh being scared.
She feels scared and shows her finger towards ventilator. Laksh looks and laughs.
Lak: it’s a monkey.
Rag: what..?
She looks and realizes it as monkey.
Rag: I thought it something else.
Lak: even though it is out..y to afraid??
Ragini realizes her position with Laksh. She moves far.
They both start walking into house.
Rag: how can humans stay in this place? No electricity… my god..! how my mobile will charge now?
Lak: don’t worry. I have power bank. I will charge it in office.
Rag: but, how can I time pass until you come??
Lak: don’t know…
Rag shouts: don’t know?? You don’t care me about at all..! we shall shift from here..!
Lak angrily: I said you already, that u can’t adjust with me..! I’m poor and I earn less. I can’t arrange you everything…
Rag almost in tears: why are you shouting like that??
Lak in anger again: it is you who said that you will adjust for everything. And, you also said that you will bear my anger.
Ragini starts crying: bearing means…you keep on shouting??
She keeps crying. Laksh feels sad and takes her near. He hugs her. “I’m sorry my ladoo.. I generally have much anger. But, I will try not to show it to you..!”
Ragini pushes him: don’t try to take advantage. I said know, not to hug me.
Laksh: haa…????
Later Laksh goes to office. The tree house is 6 feet above from ground level. Laksh gets down from the wooden lift, pulled by rope.
A jeep is ready for him.
Lak: ladoo.. be careful. Don’t come down. I will come by evening 4…
Ragini who is in small balcony waves him hand sadly. He goes away.
She goes inside and looks her mobile. Charging is very less. “I can’t even do time pass with this” she sighs.
Then her gaze falls on a window from where she could see the mansion. She stands near window and keeps looking at it. she remembers the weird sounds came from it last night.
Rag: maybe I was tired. So, it was my hallucination??
Suddenly, a small log starts beating a wooden base in the house. She scares what is it? later she realizes someone is pulling rope, so it’s beating. She comes to balcony. A middle aged lady is standing.
Lady: madam, are you lucky babu’s wife??
Rag: lucky babu??
Lady: my name is chameli. I’m dobhi. Give the cloths I will wash and go…
Rag: ???
Chameli: you need not come down. Put them in this bucket. I will take.
Ragini pulls the bucket with rope and keeps cloths in it and gives it with rope again to her.
She takes them and starts working. Ragini is standing in balcony.
Rag: how do you know Laksh?
Chameli: this whole village knows him. He is nice boy. Good officer. And I wash his cloths and gives him curries sometimes.
Rag: I see… may I ask you one thing??
Chameli: haa madam ji….
She is washing cloths and hanging them to rope.
Rag: what is that mansion? Who used to stay there??
Chameli looks at that mansion and looks at Ragini. She tells seriously, “don’t ask me about it..”
Ragini looks her suspiciously. She don’t want to drag it more.
Rag: ok..leave it. tell me something more about Laksh..
Chameli: you are very lucky madam. He is really a nice boy, he came here two months back. Everything, was going ok…except Kavya…
Rag: kavya???
Chameli stops telling.
Rag: chameli..who is kavya?? Tell me..!!
Chameli work finishes. She starts going away ignoring Ragini’s calls. That lady keeps looking at mansion and goes away looking scared.
Ragini sees mansion and remains suspicious.
Later she comes to do breakfast and observes something in moving in shelf. She thinks may it’s some insect. She goes near it and about to remove the cloth. A small sound comes from it. Ragini gets scared and jumps from there.
She sits far away from it and calls to Laksh from mobile.
Laksh: ladooo..
Rag: laksh…something…moving..
Lak: what??
Rag: come here soon…!
Laksh thinks what might have happened and goes to home. He comes inside, she is sitting at a corner shivering. He goes near her and holds her shoulders.
Lak: laddooo…
She shows that shelf with her hand.
Something is moving and making low sound.
Lak: it’s like some animal sound.
Rag: animal??
Laksh keeps going near it, Ragini holds his hand tightly.
Laksh removes the cloth. She amazes. A big eyes, long nose, dotted skin, it’s a deer’s baby, fawn.
Rag gets excited looking at it. she takes it into her hands.
Rag: aww..how cute it is..! my pyaara bachaa..how did you come inside?
Lak: maybe it came from window. Give it, I have to leave it back in forest or I have to give it in office.
Rag holds it: no..i won’t give it. it’s mine.
Lak: ragini…as a forest officer I’m telling, it’s illegal to keep deers or other forest animals in house.
Ragini: call me ladoo… I don’t care with your rules. Who will see this fawn here?
Lak: but ladoo…
Rag: I want it… I want it…
Laksh keeps looking at her innocent face and agrees with smile. She gets happy.
That night, in lantern light, they are doing dinner. Ragini is feeding carrot to that small deer(fawn)
Laksh keeps looking smilingly at her.
Rag: what name should I keep to this?? hmmm….chotu..!
Lak: chotu??
Rag: yaa..it’s small know…
Laksh laughs.
Laksh sleeps on bed. Ragini makes chotu sleep in small wooden basket. She too sleeps.
She is about to go into sleep, suddenly a girl shouts in mansion. Ragini trembles and wakes. “Laksh..!” she shouts. He wakes.
Rag: “did you hear? Someone shouted..!”
Laksh looks around confusedly.
The shouts of the girl keep coming.
Rag: can’t you hear..! I can hear it clearly.
But Laksh can’t hear anything.
Lak: it’s ur hallucination…
Rag: no…
Then sounds stop.
Rag:- it stopped..!!
Laksh sleeps.
Rag also tries to sleep. Then she hears fox sound. She gets scared.
Rag: laksh..now do you hear it.
Lak: yaa… it’s common in forest side.
Ragini tries to sleep, but those sounds keep oscillating in her mind. She comes on bed and sleeps beside Laksh being scared.
She hears other weird sound. She gets even more scared and moves near him.
She holds his hand. Laksh amazes with her behavior. He understands that she was doing being scared.
She opens her eyes and looks at mansion again. She scares and hides her face in his shoulder. Laksh smiles looking her close to him.
He puts other hand on her cheek. “dear…don’t fear. I’m here..!”
She beats his hand. ‘idiot..don’t take advantage..!’
Laksh smiles and sleeps. She feels secured beside him and sleeps peacefully.
Precap: past and present simultaneously.