Her hands that were coiled around the gun trembled as the door opened in front of her.
“You?” she gasped.
“Yes, me. Who were you expecting? And are you planning to shoot me down with that gun?”
Riddhima immediately flung the gun down. To say that she was surprised to see her bestfriend, Seher before her would be a understatement.
“W-what are you doing here?” Riddhima stuttered.
Seher kept her arms akimbo and gave her a death glare.
“What am I doing here? You know what, you are the one who should answer this damned question. What the hell are you doing here? Do you’ve any freaking idea about how worried we had all gotten for you when we couldn’t find you anywhere, neither in your house nor at the hospital?”
Riddhima meekly looked towards her friend. Normally, Seher was the sweetest person ever, but when anger came over her, she turned into nothing short of a blood-thirsty vampire.
But now more than Seher, it was Vansh who was worrying Riddhima. Vansh had clearly mentioned to her last night that he didn’t like any persons to be prowling about his house. That was the reason, he had built this house behind a tall row of pine trees, that perfectly hid it from everybody’s sight.
But now that Seher had come to know about this house’s existence, how would he react? Would he get angry on her and cut off all ties with her? No. She has already lost enough in her life and now, she couldn’t afford to lose Vansh.
A snap of finger broke her from her reverie.
“Where are you lost?” asked Seher.
“You tell me, how did you know I was here? And how did you find this house?” Riddhima asked her back, looking skeptically at her.
Seher started narrating, “When you weren’t picking up your phone, I thought of personally checking up on you. Your maid told me that you weren’t at home. You hadn’t even reported at the hospital, and I had no idea where you could be. Even Yash and Neeti didn’t know anything about your whereabouts.
“That’s when the conversation that we had the previous night struck my mind. I don’t know what it was, but I had a strong gut feeling that maybe you had gone back to the jungle in search of that mysterious man. When I walked a little further into the forest, I saw your broken bicycle stranded on the ground but strangely, there wasn’t any sign of you nearby.
My eyes suddenly landed on a reel of thread, presumably from your dress, entangled in one of the pedals. Following the trail of thread, I reached this house that was located right behind the thick canopy. And when I entered, voilà, I found you here.”
Riddhima held Seher’s hand and tried to send her away.
“Before Vansh gets to know that you’ve been here, you must leave! Or God only knows how he’ll react.”
Seher jerked her hand away from her hold.
“Now who’s this Vansh? Wait, is he the same man whom you’ve become besotted with? And does he live here, how strange!”
She opened her eyes wide when she noticed Riddhima wearing an oversized shirt. Her hair was messy, and there was a natural tinge of blush and glow on her face.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Did something happen between you two last night?”
Riddhima hung her head down in shame, preferring to remain silent.
“I asked you something?” Seher pressed upon her.
“Y-yes.”
Seher grabbed her shoulders getting visibly furious.
“What the hell, Riddhima! How could you sleep with an unknown man like that? You were always a sensible girl, then what happened to you all of a sudden? Why are you acting crazy?”
“There’s nothing wrong with falling in love with someone. And whatever happened between us yesterday, was nothing but love,” clarified Riddhima.
“It was love for you, but what about that man? I’m sure that you were nothing but just a means of having some fun with for him!” barked Seher.
“Seher!” Riddhima looked mortified by her accusation. Hearing even a single word against Vansh was akin to feeling a knife in the back.
“Vansh isn’t like others. He loves me immensely, too. He’d never break my trust,” she started defending him outright.
“If he really loves you, then where did he disappear to all of a sudden? Is this a gentleman thing to do that he makes love to you in the night, but abandons you the very next morning?” said Seher.
But Riddhima was in no mood to listen to her.
“No, no. I’m sure that Vansh must have gone outside for some work. That is why….”
Seher cut her off, “This man, he is a complete stranger to you, he lives all alone in a spooky house right in the middle of a forest, doesn’t like to interact with people and literally leaves you to your fate after spending the night with you. All these are red flags which you are blatantly ignoring. That man, Vansh or whatever his name is, is not to be trusted upon.”
“I’ll wait for him here. I’m sure he’ll return in a while….”
Seher said firmly, “No, you won’t, Miss. You are coming along with me. We aren’t going to stay in this cursed place any longer.”
Despite Riddhima’s protests, Seher did not pay any heed and instead kept dragging her along.
As she was being led out of the forest, Riddhima noticed the trees swaying to the wind, the birds dancing above her head in a flock and all sorts of jungle calls echoing throughout the surroundings. It seemed like even the jungle did not want her to leave…..
______________________________________
When a sullen appearing Riddhima returned to her home along with Seher, she saw Neeti and Yash who were pacing about the hall, looking quite anxious.
Neeti pulled her into a hug.
“Thank God Riddhima you are safe! We were so damn worried for you.”
Yash tried to follow suite, but Riddhima forbade him from coming closer.
“What are you doing here instead of being at my Papa’s service?” she mocked.
“C’mon Riddhima. Let bygones be bygones. Till when will you be stuck on the same topic?” asked Yash hurtfully.
“Until you don’t stop informing every little thing to my Papa!” she snapped. “And I’m a hundred percent sure that you might have told him about today’s incident as well. Am I right?”
Yash spoke timidly, “Look, Ajay Uncle is your father and he tends to get worried for you….”
“I’m not a little girl anymore! I’m a grownup for heaven’s sake. I can take care of myself very well. Don’t I have even this much of free will, that I can go whenever and wherever I want?” yelled Riddhima. “And as for my dear Papa, when he never gave me enough attention when I needed it the most, why do it now?”
The three of them were aghast to hear such words from her mouth. This was the first time that they heard her speak ill of her father.
Yash opened his mouth to say something more, but Seher told him otherwise.
“I think you should leave. You can talk to Riddhima later but now is not the right time.”
With a heavy heart, Yash left from there. He couldn’t understand as to what wrong he had done to earn this kind of treatment from Riddhima. Especially when he loved her truly.
Giving Riddhima a pointed look, Neeti enquired, “Where had you been all this while? Your car was also in the garage and that made us even more apprehensive.”
Riddhima fidgeted with her fingers, thinking of a good excuse to come up with. She couldn’t possibly tell her the truth, and she sincerely hoped that even Seher didn’t.
“She went to see the sunrise,” Seher said all of a sudden. “One of her patients told her that one can get a beautiful view of sunrise from Tuli Hills. So that’s where she went. Isn’t it?”
“Y-yes, that’s what it is,” replied Riddhima.
Neeti looked to and fro between Riddhima and Seher. She was a sharp woman, not dumb like Yash. She knew that something was amiss and that both of them were hiding things from her.
“Fine, I’m getting late for work. I’d have wanted to stay around for sometime, but my Boss would eat me up alive.” Neeti planted a kiss on Riddhima’s cheek and whispered into her ear. “I really hope that you might have got an awesome view of the sunrise. You must take me there some day, too.”
Saying this, she left. But Riddhima didn’t miss the hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Seher shut the door rendering both of them into privacy.
“Thank you,” mumbled Riddhima. “For not telling anything to them.”
“Friends aren’t strangers that you go about thanking them,” said Seher. “But what I want to know right now is did you really venture into the forest all by yourself late at night? Especially when you have such a huge phobia of forests?”
“To be honest, I myself don’t remember exactly as to how I reached there in the middle of the night,” said Riddhima. “The last thing I knew, I had gone to sleep in my bedroom. But when I woke, I was there in the forest. I guess I sleptwalk or something.”
Seher was astonished. “What? You never told me that you have the habit of sleepwalking!”
“I’ve never sleptwalked my entire life. It’s the first time I experienced something like this. I guess I was thinking about my first encounter with Vansh to such an extent, that it even took over my subconscious mind while sleeping,” explained Riddhima.
Seher turned grim. “But this is damn serious, Riddhima. You need to take that man out of your mind as soon as possible. You aren’t understanding, but it’s literally taking a toll on your mental health. Thinking about someone day and night is nothing less than an obsession. And obsessions are harmful.”
Riddhima tried to laugh it off, but Seher wasn’t going to take this so lightly. She decided that she’d always keep a close watch on Riddhima from here onwards.
______________________________________
Even though Riddhima was physically present in the cabin of the hospital, yet her mind was wandering somewhere else.
The only word that kept lingering in her mind was Vansh, the only voice that kept playing in her ears was his, and the only face that kept coming up in front of her eyes was his.
How and why he had become so important to her all of a sudden, she herself didn’t know.
The memories of that night were still etched in her brain and she had a sudden longing to relive them once again. She was dying to feel him against herself, dying to listen to the echo of his heartbeat when she laid her head on his strong chest, and dying to to get a mere glimpse of those handsome features.
She wondered if he missed her too just like how she madly did, or had he forgotten her like a random page of a book.
These feelings were getting too wild to come under control. So as soon as the clock on the wall struck 1PM, Riddhima rushed to the parking lot and got into her car.
1-2PM was her stipulated lunch time. And she decided to use this free time to go over and meet Vansh. Yes, all the warnings that Seher had given her had gone above her head.
She revved up the engine and pressed down upon the accelerator as much as her heels would allow her to. She seemed proud of herself when she summed up the hour-long drive in only half-an-hour.
The jungle stood in front of her, looking all mighty, powerful and scary. She quivered when she stepped outside the car. The thought of going inside all alone was enough for her to curl up in a corner.
But right now, her love for that man had overpowered her fears even. Braving her phobia, she walked inwards, reciting a silent prayer that she remembered.
Was she acting stupid by taking such a risky step? What if something happened to her?
No. Vansh wouldn’t let anything to happen to me. He has always protected me and will continue to do so in the future as well, she thought.
A strong gust of wind blew by, messing her hair and scattering all the leaves upon her. She remained unfazed and continued moving ahead.
She came across a diversion. All the paths in the jungle looked alike, and she didn’t know which path to tread upon.
Riddhima started getting worried when she couldn’t find her way. Where was Vansh? Would he be able to find her? What if she remains stuck here itself for days to come?
That’s when she realized that she had indeed committed a great blunder. She shouldn’t have come here. Now, she was completely lost in this jungle and did not even know which way led to the exit.
Stumbling to the ground, she started sobbing. “Vansh….where are you? Your Riddhima needs you?” she let out a whimper.
That’s when a strange sound coming from a distance away, caught her attention. As she drew nearer, the voice became clearer.
Whack! Whack!
The sound was coming from behind the bushes.
Whack! Whack!
Mustering enough courage, a heavily breathing Riddhima ventured past the bushes.
There in front of her was a shirtless Vansh, chopping some wood. In spite of the strong wind that blew around the forest, he was perspiring profusely. The beads of sweat that smoothly travelled across his broad, muscular body was a literal delight for her virgin eyes.
A sense of happiness and relief swept over her. She hugged him from behind, encircling her palms across his bare chest. She could feel his muscles tense up at the sudden contact, but then he eased up when he recognized her touch.
“I thought you betrayed me,” she mumbled, resting her head on his back.
“Look at the irony. The one to leave all of a sudden is talking about betrayal,” he said.
“I didn’t leave you, but rather you left me in the morning after that night,” she complained, holding him even tighter.
Vansh took her hands off him. “I had to leave because I saw your friend walking up to this place. And you know very well that I absolutely hate meeting people,” he spoke rather harshly.
“I’m sorry about that. But Seher is an understanding girl and my really good friend. You don’t need to fear any harm from her.”
Riddhima grasped his hands and brought them closer to her lips. When she placed a soft kiss on his knuckles, she realized that his hands were quite rough, perhaps from all the hard work he did around in the jungle. There were some scars too that didn’t go unnoticed by her.
“Why don’t you take care of yourself?” she asked worriedly. She then attempted to kiss each of the scar or wound present on his hand.
“Don’t do this,” he said in a deep voice that titillated her.
“Don’t do what?” she fluttered her lashes at him.
“Don’t make me fall in love with you much more than I already do,” he replied.
She ruffled his luscious black hair, scattering few strands across his forehead in the attempt.
“But you don’t love me more than how much I love you,” giggled Riddhima.
“That, only time will tell,” said Vansh.
He tucked her long tresses behind her ear. Then, he brought his hand closer to her neck, making her shiver in anticipation. His rough hands grazed against her delicate skin in order to brush off a leaf that had gotten stuck there.
“Come, I want to take you somewhere.”
Saying this, he took her by her arm and led her into the deeper part of the woods.
“Where are you taking me?” she was becoming out of breath by keeping pace with his long strides.
He didn’t answer and instead took her to a cliff after a long stroll. There were no trees in the vicinity to give them cover from the bright sunlight, and Riddhima’s cheeks were tending to burn under it’s effect.
“I only believe in what I see,” said Vansh. “I’ve never seen God, that is I why don’t believe in it. But the sun is what I see everyday. It rises and keeps shining, sending us it’s blessings through it’s rays.”
He pressed Riddhima’s hand firmly in his. “Today keeping the sun as witness, I make a promise to never betray you.” He paused to find his words. “I know how much it hurts to get betrayed, and I’d never do something like that to anybody.”
Riddhima caressed his face. “Who betrayed you, Vansh?”
“Life betrayed me, in the worst way possible,” he had a sad look in his eyes. “It snatched everything from me, literally everything me….”
Riddhima placed her head on his shoulder. “I know how it feels to lose something dear. When I was younger, I was really close to my mother. I remember running around with her, playing hide and seek with her. But one day, she left this world rendering me completely lonely. I had my Papa, but he was never there for me…..”
A silent tear escaped her eye. Even though it was years since her mother’s death, but still her heart cried out in pain whenever she recalled that moment.
She snuggled closer to him to find some support. “We are two lonely and broken souls. And it is this very loneliness that makes me feel connected to you to such an unexplanable extent.”
She nearly gasped when he bent down to flower her face, her neck, her everything with numerous tantalizing kisses. His prickly beard made each kiss even more memorable, driving her into a concoction of pain and pleasure at the same time.
After some time, Riddhima pulled away from him as she started getting the same vibes of déjà vu once again.
“Whenever I’m around you, why do I get the feeling that all this has happened between us before? Have we met each other before?”
“Maybe we have met each other in our previous birth,” he chuckled softly to which she nodded.
With that, he nuzzled into her neck, the tickles making her laugh and laugh more than ever.
Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, as she realized that it was after such a long time that she was happy like this. In fact, she didn’t remember the last time when she had ever laughed to her heart’s fill.
Verily, this was the best time of her life. She was in love and had learnt to laugh again. What else could she possibly crave for more?
______________________________________
“I need you to keep an eye on her. 24×7 all round the clock. That is what you are assigned for. You know that very well, don’t you?”
“Yes. But what if she finds out? You know how much she despises lies and cheat….”
“You cannot let your feelings for her come in the way. You ought to perform your duty well, don’t you dare forget that. We just cannot let things to get out of our hands. Is that clear?”
“Yes, it is.” The uncertainty with which the person replied was quite evident.
*
Hello everyone! That is it for today guys. Do comment.
Peace out!