Kahaaniyan: Moran OS Collection

8.5- End Of A Chapter

END OF A CHAPTER:

Note: This is Part 5 of 5 in the Bundelkhand series.

Monami smiled to herself. It was a sweet date and Karan had taken her for a drive before the two had walked around, eating ice cream. It was quite similar to the date they had on the road, but she loved it nonetheless. It was with Karan. What was there not to love?

Karan had dropped her to the right in front of the house and it was a few minutes later that she realized her bracelet had fallen somewhere. It was a gift from Sid, but thankfully, it had fallen where she had gotten down from the jeep. She hummed to herself happily as she fastened the bracelet back on.

A slight noise behind her made her pause and she turned around, inspecting the quiet veranda. She glanced at her watch. 2:38. Who was awake at this time?

Another noise from behind her made her whirl around, back to the front, in the direction she had been going in, and she frowned.

She stood still, listening for more noises, but none caught her attention and she shook her head after a minute. 'Shayad koi cat ya dog hoga', she thought, shoving her hands in her jacket's pocket and walking back to her room. 'Aaj subah hi dekhi thi ek cat. Kitni cute thi.'

A noise behind her interrupted her thoughts again and she glanced behind herself again. Nothing. She shook her head, her heels clicking lightly in the silence of the night.

A hand suddenly covered her mouth, someone else restricting her arms, and something stabbed her neck, making her scream in pain. The hold didn't waver and her body grew heavy.

She tried to struggle, but the hold was too firm for her. Her senses dulled, and she tried to keep her eyes unpeeled, but it wasn't long before her world went black.

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Chitra rolled over, instinctively reaching for the person next to her to cuddle, but empty space was what greeted her.

She moaned, feeling around, before she opened her eyes. "Monami", she called, looking around. Suman ji was asleep on the cot next to her, and she looked around. Light filtered in from the windows, and she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Hum abhi aa rahe the tum logon ko uthaane", Faizi said, entering the room. "Tum toh uthi hui ho, Chitra." He paused, glancing around. "Monami kahan hai?"

"#No Idea, Sir", she said. "Kal raat wo humaare sone ke baad aayi hogi, but abhi kahan hai, pata nahi."

"Idhar udhar hi hogi", he said. "Tum dono ready ho jao, aur aa jao."

She nodded, reaching over and shaking the other woman as Faizi left the two girls to themselves.

Two hours later though, and no one had caught a glimpse of Monami. Karan walked in, glancing around at their serious faces.

"Kya hua?" He asked.

"Karan, Monami tumhaare saath thi raat ko?" Faizi asked.

He frowned. "Haan. Matlab 2:30 baje ke aas paas tak thi, phir sone chali gayi. Kyun? Kya hua?" He glanced around. "Kahan hai wo?"

"Pata nahi, bro", Sid said. "Hum bhi subah se usi ko dhoond rahe hain."

"Pata nahi matlab? Chitra? Suman ji?" Karan asked.

"Sir, hum jab subah uthe, toh wo #room mein nahi thi", Chitra filled in. "Aur uske aane se pehle, hum dono so gaye the."

"Call kiya kisi ne use?" He asked, whipping his phone out, and calling her. He held it up before keeping it down the next second. "Off hai."