Sneha and Jyoti waited patiently for the Class Representative of the Geography department to call their name and take the parent's consent form. The entire social science institute along with ten teachers was assembled on the main ground of the college. Ten buses were lined up to take them to Goa.
"Look there...Tina, Ananya and Shruti have arrived." Jyoti said and Sneha looked in the direction where she pointed. The three girls joined the students of the History department where they gave their consent forms.
"Are they going to settle down in Goa?" Sneha joked as she scanned the large size of their luggage and fancy handbags.
Jyoti chuckled.
Soon they submitted their consent forms too and the Sports teacher asked them to enter the bus.
"Window seat...Window seat..." Jyoti mumbled as they entered but unfortunately, all the window seats were already taken.
With a sigh, they both sat at the three-seater and interacted with their classmates. Sneha was about to keep their luggage under the seat when she heard Ananya's loud voice, calling her.
"Sneha! Jyoti!" Ananya called for their attention.
"Hi!" They both said in unison while looking down at Ananya from the window.
"Hi! Come with us..." Ananya asked while pointing towards the third bus in the lane. Tina and Shruti were looking at them from the spot with a big smile.
Sneha looked at the bus and then at Jyoti.
"Shouldn't we be travelling with our classmates according to the departments?" Sneha asked since they both had suddenly felt comfortable on their non-window seats.
"I asked my professor. He said it is fine if we mix up a little. Come on! We have planned so much to do together. It will be fun! It is a 12 hours ride after all!" Ananya said excitedly to which Sneha felt uneasy. It wasn't like she felt uneasy with Ananya, but she also had her own set of classmates with whom she wanted to bond with.
Looking at Sneha's reluctance, Ananya pouted.
"Come on, Sneha...Jyoti! Come, please?" She requested. They couldn't deny it anymore.
"Uh...Okay, sure!" Sneha said after Jyoti nodded silently.
They both took their luggage again and walked in the direction of the bus of the History department. Luckily, this time, they got the window seat which Sneha and Jyoti decided to share 50-50.
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Sneha was sleeping on Jyoti's shoulder by the time they reached the hotel in Goa. They had begun the journey with a thousand-watt power. But, by the time they crossed Maharashtra and entered Goa, their energy level decreased exponentially and almost everyone slept on the bus.
They began the journey by playing the game of Antakshari. Meanwhile, Sneha had quickly prayed mentally to God for a safe journey. Within an hour, they got bored of Anktakshari and decided to sing and dance randomly. Sneha enjoyed the entire journey with enthusiasm. She met new students, talked with them and got to know a little more about others, especially about the scope of History. Then, they stopped for a quick refreshment and to use washrooms as needed.
While having the refreshments, the girls had a little conversation that caught Sneha's interest.
"Ananya, how did your father give you the consent to go to Goa this time? Last time he didn't even allow you to go to Juhu beach. And, now he allowed you to go out of the State!" Tina had asked casually.
"Bhai gave the consent. He signed my form. Didn't you see his signature on my form?" Ananya had answered.
"Nope. But, even Viraj allowing you to go out of the station is unbelievable! Isn't he worried about your safety?" Tina asked.
Ananya chuckled and pointed behind them. Everyone looked behind them to see four men in black suits and black sunglasses. Sneha had almost spilt the juice when she saw that Ananya's bodyguards were following her! They were sitting far from them but close enough to reach in time if the need arises. And she could see that they were armed.
'What kind of insane family is this?' Sneha wondered and was thankful that she didn't have to travel with these many guards following her!
"Okay, students! Wake up!!!" The teacher announced and Sneha almost fell in surprise.
Yawning a little, she helped Jyoti in taking out the bags. The five girls walked together in the direction of the reception of the hotel.
"Oh, God! I am so tired!" Shruti whined and slumped on the reception's sofa. Sneha chuckled at her behaviour. Even she was tired and was happy that it was already night. Their real trip will start tomorrow morning.
"Don't worry! Get recharged tonight so that we can enjoy these three days!" Jyoti commented to which they nodded.
"Okay, students. Attention! Come in pairs to the receptionist and he will give you the keys to your room. Only two students per room are allowed, but you may extend it to three if you want. But, not more than three. Show your college ID cards to him. We will meet tomorrow at 7 am sharp. We will not wait for the latecomers. So, sleep early and wake up early to not miss the fun. Any doubts? No? Good. Now, come." The teacher said and everyone formed a queue to get the keys.
"Damn! We won't be able to share the rooms!" Ananya sighed.
"It's okay! We are anyway going to sleep now or else we will be too tired to enjoy tomorrow." Jyoti consoled.
"Right! Okay then, Sneha and Jyoti, you both share the room. And, Tina, Ananya and I will share the room. Is that okay?" Shruti asked to which everyone nodded.
"Yep!" Sneha answered while texting her sister and Shashank that she had reached Goa safely.
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Sneha knew Jyoti was a heavy sleeper. So, she literally had to push her off the bed in order to wake her up.
"Jyoti, wake up! We will be late otherwise." Sneha scolded her. She had already taken bath and done her routine earlier than expected. But, Jyoti was still sleeping.
Slowly, like a snail, Jyoti woke up and crawled towards the bathroom to get fresh. Sneha looked at the clock and it was already 6:30 am. Sighing, she quickly opened Jyoti's bag to take out her clothes for the outing in order to save time.
"Thank you, Sneha!" Jyoti mumbled after coming out of the bathroom. Taking her clothes, she got ready in a flash.
"You are worse than Priya!" Sneha chuckled and closed the doors of the room.
"I know! I hate waking up early. My mum says the same thing!" Jyoti whined as they walked towards the reception to join others.
Sneha only laughed at her words.
Soon they were joined by Ananya, Tina and Shruti. Together they hailed the bus to their first tourist destination, Reis Magos fort.
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As the evening of their first day of the trip fell, their teachers allowed them to go to the common market to shop for souvenirs. They were only expected to arrive before 9 pm at the hotel.
So, the five girls together took a rickshaw to the market. Everyone bought something for their family members.
Ananya was stunned to see Sneha's bargaining skills.
"My God, Sneha! You should be a businesswoman!" Ananya praised as she saw Sneha bargain a Rs 2000 handbag to Rs 350!
"It's not like that!" Sneha chuckled. "This is a tourist place and they know that we will buy something or the other. But they also know that they have stiff competition. So, yeah!" She explained.
"Your future husband is so lucky, really!" Tina appreciated it too as she also bought the handbag that Sneha successfully bargained for.
"Yesssss! Her husband is really lucky!" Jyoti teased Sneha while indirectly referring to Shashank.
Sneha only blushed at the comment. She was already missing Shashank and it seemed impossible to connect to someone in such a short period! He had called her only once in the morning when he had a half-hour break. Since then, he had been too busy to call or text her. She hadn't even received a reply to her text to him. However, she didn't disturb him since she knew his workload and she didn't want to be a nagging fiancee.
"Sneha! Bargain for this footwear, please!" Ananya called her to another shop and just like that, Sneha became a bargaining machine. It wasn't that Anayna couldn't afford to buy these items. But, she was enjoying Sneha's bargaining skills and how she reduced the price of the item drastically.
By the end of the tour to the market, they were loaded with souvenirs. Sneha had bought a handbag for Priya, an earring for her mother and a key chain for her father. She also bought a handmade wallet for her fiance, at which Jyoti didn't stop teasing her yet again. For herself, she bought a handmade hat that she decided to wear to the beach tomorrow.
It was 7 pm and they decided to come back to the hotel. But, on their way back, they saw a road-side teddybear-picker game. It immediately caught Ananya's attention and she automatically walked towards it.
"Guys, let's play this!" Ananya said enthusiastically.
"Ananya, seriously!" Tina scolded her friend for trying to play such a childish game.
"I have always wanted to use this. I saw this in KDramas! And not even one is in Mumbai. Come on! Just give me a minute and I will win teddys for each one of you." She said excitedly and gave Rs 100 to the shopkeeper to play the game.
To say that Ananya was horrible at this game would be an understatement. Soon, Tina and Shruti joined Ananya in trying to win a cheap teddy bear! They had used 1500 bucks in trying to win Rs 50 worth of soft toys.
"Are they crazy?" Jyoti whispered to Sneha who only shrugged in response.
Jyoti's eyes fell on a shiny board of a fortune teller which was opposite the game machine.
"Let's go there?" Jyoti suggested. Sneha turned around to see the board.
"Seriously?" Sneha asked.
"It will be fun! They are not going to win any toy, anyway." Jyoti whispered.
Sneha thought over it and nudged Shruti.
"We are going into that shop. Call us when you guys are done playing. Okay?" Sneha informed to which they only nodded. Their attention was trapped into the silly game, after all.
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"Jyoti, this place looks like a haunted place!" Sneha mumbled as they entered the fortune teller's den. Strange items were placed everywhere. Fragrant incense sticks were lit to attract customers. They saw a signboard and they followed it.
"Is someone here?" Jyoti called when they saw no one there.
"Let's go back." Sneha suggested.
Jyoti nodded and they turned around to leave.
However, they both gave a heart-wrenching scream when they saw an elderly woman standing right in front of them. They didn't even hear her come towards them. She was wearing a white coloured saree with red borders. Her face was painted in a grey coloured powder and a big red coloured paint in the shape of a triangle was applied between her eyebrows. She looked scary.
"A...Aunty! You scared us!" Sneha stuttered while trying to calm her breath. Jyoti was still in the process though.
"Rs 500 for one hand." The elderly woman said in her strange deep voice.
Sneha gulped hard and glared at Jyoti for bringing her to this strange place.
"Uhh...we were just passing by. We don't want to see our future." Sneha said politely, trying to get away from this place as quickly as possible.
The elderly woman got aside and pointed at the exit door.
Sneha and Jyoti sighed in relief. For a moment, she thought that the woman was a ghost or worst...a serial killer! Blame the movies!
As soon as the girls stepped in the direction of the exit, the old woman spoke.
"Whosoever goes out of my house without taking my service, loses their loved ones within an hour." The woman said and walked towards her seat that was behind a small table lit with five candles around a red coloured powder.
Now, they would have taken a chance if their lives were at stake. But, when it comes to their family, both Sneha and Jyoti didn't want to take any risk. Call them superstitious, but that damn thing did work in scaring them!
They shared a look and then decided to give it a try.
"We...we would like to see our future, aunty!" Jyoti stuttered.
The woman only pointed at the box kept beside her. Sneha and Jyoti understood the meaning of it and quietly placed Rs 500 in it.
Jyoti went first and showed her left hand to the fortune-teller. The old woman then asked her to pick up three cards from the pile of cards that she placed on the table.
The woman read the cards and then Jyoti's left hand again to draw a conclusion.
"You are soon going to enter a new phase of your life. Marriage probably. You will not like this beginning initially but it will bring you happiness and comfort later. So, choose properly." The woman said and Jyoti furiously nodded. Right now, she didn't care about what the woman said. She just wanted to get out of this place without any curse hanging on their head.
Sneha's turn came next. She quickly sat in front of the woman and flashed her palm in her direction. She too wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.
"Pick three cards." The woman guided and Sneha picked up the first three cards.
Sneha looked in horror at the cards. One was the Lover's card in which the couple were in a highly intimate position. The second one was the Devil's card. And, the third one was the Chariot card. She had no idea what meaning she should derive out of this. So, she ignored them. However, the old woman didn't.
She looked at Sneha's hand again before drawing her conclusion.
"Sexual intimacy...a lot of it awaits you which you will have with your life partner, soon. However, you will be trapped in this relationship. But the chariot says that you will overcome all the difficulties and sail through victoriously. So, have patience and be open-minded." The woman concluded to which Sneha nodded robotically. She too, just like Jyoti, didn't care for what the woman said.
"Thank you, aunty! Can we go now?" Sneha asked politely so that she won't curse them again.
The strange woman only pointed in the direction of the exit. Both the girls literally ran out of the shop.
"Jyoti, you almost killed us today!" Sneha scolded Jyoti as soon as they came out of the shop. The three girls were waiting for them.
"I had no idea that the owner is a crazy woman!" Jyoti defended herself to which Sneha sighed.
"Did you two get your future examined?" Ananya asked curiously while holding a small soft toy in her hand.
"No! But, we definitely saved our future by coming out of that place." Sneha said while pointing at the shop.
"Yes, that woman is crazy. Let's get out of here!" Jyoti mumbled quickly and called for the rickshaw.
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Back in the hotel room, as Sneha and Jyoti lay on the bed, their mind wandered back to the advice of the fortune teller.
"What do you think about that fortune-teller?" Sneha asked curiously.
"I don't know! She just looked scary! I wonder what new phase am I going to enter! I mean, marriage is something that every girl of my age is soon gonna enter. It is no big thing. Anyone could guess it!" Jyoti said.
"But she also said that you will not like it initially and that it will give you happiness later." Sneha added.
"In that case mine is going to be arranged marriage." Jyoti chuckled.
"Maybe!"
"And what about you? Sexual intimacy...that too a lot of it!" Jyoti laughed as she said that.
Sneha made a face at it.
"Shashank is going to be wild in bed...Be prepared for a lot of action." Jyoti teased to which Sneha hit her leg playfully.
"He didn't even kiss my hand. I don't think he will have time after marriage to even look at me." Sneha complained.
"Well, men will be men. And who knows if he is already fantasising about you!" Jyoti teased again making Sneha imagine dirty thoughts. She wondered if Shashank really thought about her like that. It made her feel tingly.
"If that is true, then what about me being trapped in the relationship? And coming out victorious?" Sneha asked.
"Well, marriage is kind of a trap for the woman...especially in our super patriarchal society. And perhaps you will learn to strike a balance in your marriage and thus, be victorious in maintaining peace in your relationship with Shashank?" Jyoti suggested.
Sneha nodded in understanding.
"Well, that may be possible. But I seriously don't want to feel trapped in the marriage. I hate to be controlled!" She accepted.
"Both partners have to make a lot of compromises, Sneha. It feels like a trap initially for both of them. But, then, slowly everything eases out. We learn with experience. And, Shashank seems like a good man. I am sure he will give you as much freedom as you want." Jyoti consoled.
"You speak as if you have married multiple times." Sneha chuckled at her advice.
"That's common sense. Now, sleep. We need to recharge again. Remember, sir told us that we need to visit three beaches and two churches tomorrow!" Jyoti reminded. Sneha nodded and closed her eyes to call it the day.
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The last day of the trip arrived sooner than the students had wanted. Sneha woke up early and looked at the clock.
5 am.
She looked outside and it was morning already. The silent crash of waves was audible. Since it was her last day in Goa, she suddenly felt the desire to stroll on the beach. She desired some alone time to connect to her own self.
Knowing that Jyoti will not wake up anytime soon and that they had to board the bus at 10 am, she decided to go to the nearby beach alone. So, she got fresh, wore her sea-green coloured top and black jeans quickly.
Within five minutes, she reached the beach. As it was early morning, no one was present there. It gave her the perfect opportunity to stroll around freely. She hummed her favourite song as she walked on the sand, sometimes coming too close to the water. For almost half-hour, she walked casually.
Deep in her thoughts about her expectations with her life and how she wanted to make her career, she didn't see the slight bulge on the sand and stumbled over it.
"What is this?" Sneha mumbled as she looked at the obstacle that made her trip over it.
She kneeled on the sand and examined the thing carefully.
It was a sea shell! And a pretty one too.
With a smile, she started digging the sand to take out the shell. As she continued, she became more interested in the shell. It was a rare kind of shell...a perfectly shaped, cone-featured, beige coloured one. Being a Geography student, she knew its importance and process of formation.
Finally, Sneha pulled the shell out completely and scanned it again. It was beautiful.
Trapped in its beauty, she didn't even realize someone approaching her. It was the moment when she saw a pair of shoes in front of her that she realized that someone was standing in front of her. So, she looked up to see who it was.
In that second, she had expected every single male on Earth to be in front of her, except this specific man.
'What is he doing here?' Sneha wondered and her narrowed brows didn't hide her confusion.
With the shell in her hand, she slowly stood up to her full height. However, she was still many inches short in front of this huge man...Viraj.
Noticing his evergreen serious expression, she thought he was here for his sister.
"Uhh...Ananya is in her room..." She was about to complete her sentence when out of blue, Viraj stepped forward, grabbed her left arm and pulled her towards him roughly. He instinctively placed his left hand behind her head as he crashed his lips on hers.
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Time stilled for Sneha and the shell fell from her hand. She wasn't expecting this sudden movement and definitely not Viraj to kiss her! It was her first kiss...the kiss for which she had so many expectations and fantasies! She had imagined thousand of scenarios where she'd share her first kiss with her husband...and recently, with Shashank. But...but...
Sneha's eyes watered as realization hit her within five seconds. She began pushing Viraj by hitting his chest but he had caught her in a very tight grip. All her self defence knowledge flew out of the window as panic rose in her heart.
She hated this.
She hated his lips on hers. And worse, he wasn't even letting her move away from the kiss as the wetness and warmth of his lips interlinked with hers.
The sound of her resistance was clearly audible to her own ears. Was he deaf then?
Gaining some sense, she hit Viraj on the shin making him finally loosen his grip on her. The sound of the kiss became even more audible as he left her lips. His eyes were in a daze.
Sneha stepped back quickly and her hand automatically flew in the direction of his cheek. She slapped him...hard. However, he didn't even budge and continued looking at her as if intoxicated!
"How dare you?" She asked in both anger and disappointment. A tear left her eyes for being taken advantage of.
Her breathing was hard and desperate. It made her chest rise and fall rapidly, gaining his attention again.
"I..." He began explaining his action by taking a step forward and trying to hold her again in his arms. But, she was hyper-alert right now.
So, she immediately stepped back and turned around to run away from him...as far as she could.
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(Note: I do not support non-consensual intimacy. It is wrong and inappropriate. This is a work of fiction and I hope you understand that it is not something that should be praised.
So....Viraj has finally accepted his feelings for Sneha in his own weird way. And, the story is going to go really nasty now. I am actually scared of Viraj's father more than Viraj! LOL!
The spoiler of the next chapter will be soon uploaded on Instagram. Make your predictions as to what will happen next! I'd love to read them.