“I will kill you idiot! This is all because of you! Who told you to do so!” Aparna was scolded Ritu, “Hey! Why are you overreacting? Did anything even happen when we were around there? Did anything? No right? We spent whole night there those fireflies and butterflies and flowers…. Just because that man saw us, our life won’t end here Appu!” Chandrika spoke in a strong voice.
“That’s true but… there was something off with that situation for God’s sake!” Aparna said again. “We saw how the temple’s atmosphere changed! It’s scary and exhilarating at the same time! And he is cursed Chandu! Cursed! How can we approach him? We are normal human beings!” She added while anxiously spinning the red stoned ring to her index finger….
“Appu is partially right” Varshika said looking farther from the other girls…in the spot of that temple which is now perfectly camouflaged in the dense forest region, they were sitting on high elevation in the forest where they started trekking on Saturday evening where it all has started, people are hiking and as it’s Sunday the crowd was more high than yesterday, the world as normal, but not them after that encounter, the last night, exploration of the temple, the miracles they saw, the forbidden history they saw and after HIM…his single arm and those haunting black eyes…his aura… but the girls couldn’t say anything to the forest range officers when they saw these four sat near a huge peacock flock stone in the forest where everything unfolded last evening….
When they questioned how they are even in this place when the place is now not open for the tourists yet… they just said, they were for the flowers and peacock feathers and are from the neighboring Ananta Giri village residents who work in city but come here on weekends. Gladly for them, it was actually a rule that people of Ananta Giri can come to the dense jungle for taking flowers to the Ananta Padmanabha Swamy…
“Appu is partially correct, and maybe fully? Still, her concern is true…” Varshika repeated again slower and more serious, and the other girls turned to her. “I felt really some kind of twist in my gut… no not harsh but something… different… my finger froze in his direction… why? Until then- leave about Appu, but I and Ritu we both thought we can just go around and come but… but we-” Varshika’s words trailed faster, and her expressions were puzzled, scared, something unreadable...
“I underestimated the gravity of situation I guess; I thought this as just another quest to find history and culture… I didn’t see this coming… you are right Varu, I thought the same, like its’ just another folklore where divine intervention is felt rather than seen... even in some of our cultures, we feel those aspects like even if it’s bad… but this is... as soon as his silhouette came in, my heart was thumping so loud that I can hear it…” Ritu said looking at Varshika with baffled expression, Varshika slowly kept her hand on Ritu’s shoulder. “Yes... now didn’t I warn you guys already? But anyways, we are safe and we never ever, ever going to that temple!” {remember this Appu we will talk about it later} Aparna said in an ultimate tone. “But he was-”
Chandrika was about to talk but stopped by Varshika “I know you saw him as a little clear image but not properly… Chandu please, it’s for our own good, the vibes are something off... we are forgetting about this topic here that’s it…now let’s leave this place. I am booking a cab..”
They left the place behind without any words spoken, silence stretched in between them. The cab ride back to Hyderabad was a relief, although they were sitting in the cab their thoughts whirled around the temple… sure, why not? Human brain likes something untouched and mysterious things faster than anything whether it’s fiction or reality… if we think someone or something is mysterious, we have only two modes – fight or attracted to it OR flight and never interact with it for our mental health… Now when three of them have the second mode whereas our Chandrika has the first mode...
She was having all of those dark romance fantasy fictions in her mind… but most importantly, the way he is and looks, although she didn’t get to see him properly, she know that he will be irresistible danger and poison, just like she read in books… But her reality isn’t fiction? Still, her mind was occupied by the temple and its beauty… those butterflies, fireflies, the water lilies, the temple in the night... the Natya Mandapa, the shrine everything…... she reminisced the holding the lotus from last night which she brought from there…
“Amma, memu trip ki poyame yem kaalede! Okka ratri ke yem mungi pole!” (Maa, we were just on a trip, and nothing happened! Nothing has changed in overnight it’s okay!) Aparna was talking in a whine tone with her mother even Varshika was trying to explain for why her phone went switched off to her father “Nanna…nanna please... nijam cheptunna nenu! Em kaaledu! We are alright now!” (Dad… dad please… I am saying the truth! Nothing has happened!)
“Amma, sorry Bangaram… ninna charging aipoyindi.. anduke cheyaledu... we are alright! Love you” (Maa, sorry dear… yesterday my phone got switched off of low battery, that’s the reason I couldn't call you…) Ritu was talking sweetly to her mother who is as chill as her… (the other way round) “Abba… sh… Daddy... yem kaaaledu... phone switch off ayindi ante it’s okay…” (agh.. nothing has happened Dad, phone was switched off that’s it okay!) Chandrika was answering in cool tone contrast to her father’s panic tone when his princess didn’t answer…
They made up a story of halting in the Ananta Giri village for the last night’s thunderstorm, and the village was blacked out for the storm... the phones got switched off (partially true but… still). They didn’t want to scare their parents (Typical Indian parent and child bonding….) and also added that they reached to their hostel by early in the morning…. White lies, pure white lies, for now)
After the call with their parents, the girls sat together in their hostel room, having the lunch…in silence…
“Hush, I can’t take this silence anymore. Alright let me talk, girls we did took a small, intriguing decision, cancelled it, but fate had its different plans, and it took it there just like that, we spent a beautiful night, saw the temple and bonus points for me… Because I saw him…so gorgeous! Even I can’t see him properly... Now it’s over, okay! We are out of there and I also promised you that I won’t bring the topic... right? Then why this distance!” Chandrika spoke with mixed emotions of resolute, dreamy.
“Well, you are right… we need to. So, I Ritu Addanki, promising myself and my friends that I would never ever do any dangerous thing to put myself or even my closest and dearest ones” Ritu said in a resolute voice, squeezing the hand of Aparna gently. (Remember Ritu, let’s talk about this later)
“Yeah, that’s a good one, but maybe we need time to recover from what we saw right? It will be okay. And don’t worry Ritu...” Varshika spoke softly with a weak assuring smile.
For the evening, the girls started to bound together again, they went out to roam for window shopping in the Ameerpet streets… just like they did when they got bored and needed some time in their lives.
“Bhaiyya yeh kitte ka hain?” Chandrika was at a Jhumke vendor, while choosing and testing the designs of the earrings, “60/- rupees, maam saab” The vendor answered “Kya? Ek jhumke set 60 rupees? Do lungi 80 rupayi mein dedo” she said nonchalantly picking up two set of Jhumkas.
“Nahi ayega”, “Toh nahi lungi, come yaar let’s see more somewhere else, look that other vendo as much beautiful designs...” She moved to another vendor holding Varshika’s hand who is shaking her head and chuckling at her bargaining skills “Mam Saab... arey... dekhiyena? 100 ko dedunga?”, “Nahi, 80 ki do?” She said without even looking at him, they moved to another store… but while Chandrika was shopping and continuing her search for good pair of earrings... something was off in the crowd, at least that’s what Varshika felt... She looked around in the crowd, but nothing was uncommon. It was the same Ameerpet Sunday’s shopping crowd, chaotic, vibrant, noisy and nuance...
“Anna... rendu Falooda.” Aparna and Ritu were enjoying the breezy, chaotic evening, while having inside jokes with each other, while Varshika and Chandrika were shopping. But Ritu who was eating her Falooda, looked in Varshika’s direction who was having an indifferent expression on her face subtly. Ritu sensed that gestured her raising her eyebrows like what happened... but Varshika shrugged off nonchalantly continuing to shop with Chandrika, but her mind couldn’t be at peace…
As the night fell, they reached their hostel room cooking for themselves and it was just normal Sunday after an unexpected expedition, at least they thought to themselves. The room was just like every weekend day, chaotic inside gossips about other room girls, cooking, cleaning, sharing workload, getting agitated with each other’s behaviors…
The room was silent, lights were off, it was past mid night that even night owls like Ritu and Chandrika were also asleep in their respective beds…piled inside the blankets, except the ceiling fan sound, and far away heavy load vehicle sounds on the road, everything was silent.
Aparna was stirring in her sleep... actually, this kind of environment is what all she needs to sleep which she gets rarely as her two papalu {babies} (Ritu and Chandrika) were night owls... but tonight she got it, but her sleep was getting disturbed…... “Devi” Her eyes snap opened for sudden whisper but nothing was there. Maybe she was so lost in sleeping... She fell asleep again... but she can get the faint smell of blue water lilies… she opened her eyes again, checking where the smell came from in the dark, her hands touched the night stand beside her bed, which has her mobile, glasses and a single blue water lily “Sh... the flowers from the temple, hush that might be the smell” she whispered herself falling asleep... this time nothing interrupted…
Except a tall silhouette, stood on the terrace of the nearby building… watching through the window, across two streets into the room of four girls who were sleeping peacefully without knowing what they have just unlocked…
I am really excited to write the upcoming chapters... this will be fun! And yes please, follow me on Instagram and here. Also, please comment, share, like the story it will be helpful to build this mystical contemporary more beautifully! Bye, dear reader....
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