Part 23 Full Moon Day
Parthiban got into the action without wasting time. He called his man to his college. When Arnav came out of the college, Parthiban showed him to his man.
"Rakesh, he is Arnav. Follow him and get to know his whereabouts. Be careful. He should not see you"
Rakesh nodded ok. He waited for Arnav to get into the bus and followed him on his bike. When Arnav got down from the bus, he stopped his bike and followed him keeping a long distance between them as it was a small pathway and they were no one other than them.
He wondered seeing the lonely house that was far away from the nearby village. He shared the location with Parthiban and called him.
"His house is nearly two kilometers away from the nearby village. It's half a kilo meter distance to his house form the main gate. I'm standing there only. There is no one around. We could finish him and bury his body in the daytime too... no one would get to know about it"
"Is it?"
"Yes... if you send our guys in the night... we will finish his chapter noiselessly..."
"We should not be careless. His father is an inspector. We should keep it in our mind"
"Oh..."
"You stay there hiding. Tell me when his parents leave the house"
"Whaat? Staying here? There are no shops nearby. What will I do if I'm hungry?"
"I will send you dinner with our guys"
"Please don't forget"
"Mmm," Parthiban disconnected the call.
Rakesh waited, hiding himself well. It was not hard for him. There were many big size trees and bushes around. He went in the opposite direction and sat behind a tree, watching Arnav's house.
It started getting dark. Arnav's house lights were switched on. Rakesh started feeling cold. He waited for Arnav's parents to leave the house. Then only he could call Parthiban. Then only he would send him dinner.
It was 6:30 pm. Ratna and Arvind came out of the house, switching all the lights off and locked the door from outside. Rakesh who was watching them from far frowned.
"Is not Arnav there in the house? Then why are they locking the door from the outside?" He asked himself confusingly.
He doubted for a second whether Arnav was inside or not. He nodded his head from left to right.
"No... he is inside only. There is only one way to their house and Arnav didn't come out of the house after he went in. He must be inside... then why did they lock the door? Is he sleeping?"
He slowly came to the house without making a noise. There was no trace of Arnav's existence in the house. All the lights were switched off. There was a pin-drop silence in the house. He didn't know whether he should call Parthiban or not. What was the use of calling them if Arnav was not at home? Did he miss noticing Arnav going outside? He was scratching his head. Parthiban was going to kill him for missing Arnav.
Rakesh sat on the wooden steps of the house wearily, not knowing what to do.
The MOON appeared in the sky. Rakesh looked at the moon and smiled. The FULL MOON could make anyone admire it... even a Rowdy...! It looked pleasant in between slowly swaying trees. The chilling breeze made it more beautiful.
Suddenly, Rakesh felt a vibration under his feet hearing a weird snarl. Slowly, the sound increased and changed into something. It sounded like a vicious angry growl that froze his blood. He jumped on his feet fearfully. There was no single light in the surroundings, except the moonlight. The moon that looked pleasant a few minutes ago looked scary to him now.
It sounded like a yawl of a wolf but was so horrible and bloodcurdling. Rakesh's heartbeat rose like hell. Could not stand the scary noise, he started running aimlessly. He didn't know in which direction he ran. His shirt was torn by a thorn plant. He even got many scratches on his body but he didn't care about it. In fact, he didn't even sense the wounds. He saw a bus crossing by. Without thinking of anything he got into the running bus and left the place.
Parthiban was waiting for Rakesh's call and became fed up. He was continuously trying his number but he didn't respond to it as he missed his mobile while running like hell.
Parthiban wanted to send his men to the location shared by Rakesh but he didn't know what happened to Rakesh. He hesitated to send his men because he thought it could turn into danger. He didn't want to get into trouble. His father would kill him if his name and his party name became controversial.
Parthiban huffed in relief when Rakesh appeared in front of him who was panting hard.
"What the hell... where did you go? Why didn't you attend my call?"
"I missed my phone while ESCAPING from Arnav's house"
"Escaping? From whom did you escape?"
"From the wild animal that was in his house"
"Whaaat?"
"Yes, there was an animal in his house... just like a wolf... if I had been there for a few more minutes, it would have killed me..." he said without thinking.
Parthiban was confused.
"Do you know how horribly it howled? My blood frozen... I didn't even expect that I would come back alive..."
"What are you blabbering?"
"Me? Go to his house tomorrow if you have the guts. Then, you will get to know my condition"
Rakesh walked, blabbering,
"In the process of helping him, I lost my phone"
Parthiban didn't understand anything. He didn't know whether he should trust Rekesh or not.
The next day, Arnav didn't come to the college. Khushi called Arnav but his phone was switched off. She frowned. Didn't he say he was going to attend his relative's wedding? Then why did he switch his mobile off? She didn't call him after that. However, he would come to the college the next day...!
The next day
Khushi rushed to Arnav who entered the college.
"Hi... how has the wedding happened?"
"Great..."
"You know how bored I was yesterday without you?"
Arnav smiled.
"I felt like it was not just twenty-four hours but twenty-four days..."
Arnav walked and said nothing.
"I don't know what will I do if you are not with me," She said, observing his face where there was a smile.
That was when they saw Parthiban coming to them. Arnav looked at him plainly.
"It seems you are raising a wild animal in your house?"
Arnav frowned. What was he talking about?
"Don't you guys know it's an offense to keep wild animals at home?"
"We don't keep any wild animals at our home"
"Then what was that howled in your house the day before yesterday?"
Arnav was stuck. The day before yesterday? How did he know?
"What happened? Do you think how do I know about it? Do you know what will happen if I complain?"
"Hey, what nonsense are you talking about? There is nothing at his house..." Khushi said.
"How do you know?"
"I know... I went to his house and roamed wherever in his house. There is nothing called wild animal in his house..."
"Then what about the howling my man heard in his house?"
"It would have come from somewhere else. If you have doubts, go to his house and check it by yourself. Then you will get to know that there is nothing"
Parthiban was supposed to say something, but stopped hearing,
"By the way, what was your man doing in his place?" she asked the same question that was raised in Arnav's mind. He became nervous. What would have happened if his men entered his house that day? He gritted his teeth.
"Their house is located in a private area. It was a restricted place. How would your man enter without their permission? Did you try to hurt Arnav?"
Parthiban was trapped.
"After crossing a limit, you are blaming him... how cheap you are? If you have guts, deal with him face to face" She challenged.
Parthiban left the place glaring at her.
"Come, Arnie..." She clutched his wrist and pulled.
"Ahaa..." Arnav hissed by the sudden pull.
"What happened?" she tried to check his wrist, which was covered by his full hand shirt.
"Nothing..." Arnav pulled his hand making her dumbfounded.
"Are you hurt?"
Arnav nodded NO.
"You hissed..."
"Leave it..."
"What happened, Arnav?"
"I said nothing..." he hurried his steps.
Khushi stood looking at him perplexed. She came to the class and saw Arnav covering his wrist properly. She came to their bench and sat silently. Arnav looked at her from the corner of his eyes. He didn't like her being silent. He looked at her and asked,
"Are you upset?"
She nodded no.
"It's nothing..."
"If it is nothing, why did you hiss? You are hurt and you don't want me to know about it... will you be like this if I'm hurt? Won't you care?"
"How could I be?"
"Then how could I be?"
He removed his cuff buttons and showed his hand to her. Khushi looked at him puzzled.
"How did it happen?"
"I was slipped into a well..."
"Whaaaat?"
"I clutched an iron chain that was near the well. I circled it in my wrist to grip it tight. That's how I got this wound"
"You went to attend a relative's wedding. Then why did you go to the well?"
"I just liked to see the village... I didn't notice the well on the way"
Khushi sighed.
"Why are you careless?" she caressed the wound softly, making him close his eyes.
"Why did you hide it from me?"
"I know you would scold me for being careless. That's why" he smiled.
Khushi also smiled. Arnav felt bad for lying to Khushi. He didn't know when would he get rid of all of this. He didn't like lying to her...to the only girl who loved him madly! Yes, he knew that.
To be continued...