"Amit...aap kal hi undercover gaye hai aur mujhe abhi se bahut akelapan mehsoos ho raha hai..." Mugdha complained to Amit. He chuckled.
"Moo, tumhe iski aadat ho jaani chahiye thi ab tak." He replied walking upto the window in his room. The moon lit up the sky and the stars danced around in joy. The sea waves just beneath it helped to calm Amit's nerves. The sea breeze fanned Amit's face. He sat on the window sill.
"Kitne kharab ho aap. Aapki ardhangini idhar aapki tanhayi mein doob mar rahi hai aur aap ho ki..." Mugdha scoffed. Amit smiled.
"Acha? Meri tanhayi mein mar rahi ho tum???" He asked.
"Haan..." She replied.
"Iska matlab mera chotu sa baby bhi meri tanhayi mehsoos kar raha hoga..." Amit said.
"Toh...?" Mugdha asked confused.
"Toh kya? Kuch nahi mein toh aise hi pooch raha tha." Amit laughed. Mugdha let out a cry of frustration.
"CM toh ho aap. Lekin aapke jokes kitne bekaar hai. Hasee bhi nahi aati. Bas aap khud hi apne aap ko humorous samjhte ho aur apne hi jokes par haste ho." Mugdha rolled her eyes. Amit laughed harder. He glanced at his watch.
"Moo, its 1 a.m., Tumhe rest karna chahiye. Jao so jao. Kal subah baat karenge." Amit said with concern.
Mugdha yawned.
"Haan...Even I think I should sleep. Kal check up ke liye jaana hai...aapko yaad hai na? Aap aayenge na?" Mugdha asked. Amit's eyes widened.
"Oh shit!" He cursed. How could he forget?
"Kya hua? Yaad nahi tha?" Mugdha asked. She seemed a little upset.
"Nahi...but don't worry, mein kaise bhi karke aaunga...tum chinta mat karo." He assured her. Suddenly, her face lit up with a bright smile.
"Okay...goodnight!" She chirped happily.
"Goodnight, Moo." Amit smiled. She ended the call. Amit locked his phone and threw it in his pocket. He began to pace back and forth in his room. He couldn't sleep. He walked downstairs into the living room of the farmhouse.
It was pitch dark. He was about to switch on the T.V. to watch some news when suddenly, there was a loud crash in the kitchen. He became alert and quickly crept towards the kitchen. He grabbed a vase on the way.
"Kaun hai yahan?" He asked firmly as he entered the kitchen. He saw a man with a dark coloured blanket over him. He was bent towards the open refrigerator. On the ground, next to his feet, fresh milk had been spilt with the 'patila' fallen nearby. Amit shouted angrily.
"Kaun ho tum?! Kya chahiye?! Security ke baawajud kaise ghuse tum???" He put his arms around the man's neck and began to knead him in the stomach.
"Owww!" A familiar voice moaned. Amit froze. Suddenly, the kitchen lights went on. The sleepy figure of Aarushi stood there.
"Kya kar rahe ho tum dono?" Aarushi yawned standing infront of the man and Amit. She was dressed in sweat pants and sweat shirt just like Amit.
"Tum dono matlab?" Amit asked surprised. Aarushi looked at him as if he had grown horns on his head.
"Yeh Sumedh hai na?" She asked pointing at the man inside the blanket.
"What?" Amit asked blinking completely confused.
"Jab tum abhi isse maar rahe the toh Sumedh ki aawaz suni meine..." Aarushi explained. Amit made an awkward face. He quietly helped the man to face him. Gently, he removed the blanket off the man.
Sumedh stood there glaring at him.
"Kutte! Maara kyun?!" Sumedh shouted. Aarushi was least interested in listening to their stupid conversation so she went and sat down on the sofa. She leaned back against the sofa and closed her eyes. In the kitchen, Amit and Sumedh were arguing.
"Bhai, tu itni raat gaye kitchen mein kar kya raha tha aise choro ki tarah?" Amit asked.
"Mujhe zoro ki bhook lag rahi thi! And I didn't want you both to know. Mera jeena haraam kar dete chidha chidha kar." Sumedh explained.
Amit huffed and went and sat next to Aarushi who was in a nice deep sleep.
Sumedh followed him.
Sumedh's phone started ringing in his pocket. He removed it and saw the caller I-D.
"Veda?" He asked. "Mau, Kya hua? Abhi toh baat ki tumse..."
"Arrey, woh actually pakki khabar aayi hai...Randhir Mahajan bhi undercover gaya hai..." She told him the reason. "Aur woh humare joint farmhouse ke saamne wale penthouse mein ruka hua hai..." Veda informed.
"What?" Sumedh laughed. "Ab uski biwi aise ajeebo garib kaam karegi toh aur kya hoga?"
"Sumedh...mujhe ajeeb lag raha hai...tum teeno please apna dhyaan rakhna...kuch acha nahi hone wala hai..." Veda said.
"Veda, don't worry...sab theek ho jaayega...tum chinta mat karo aur so jao..." Sumedh assured her. She hummed. The spoke for 5 minutes and then they cut the phone. Sumedh looked up at Amit's expectant eyes.
"Kya hua?" Amit asked. Sumedh explained.
"Oooo...Should have known..." Amit said.
Suddenly, Aarushi started stirring uncomfortably in her sleep. They both looked at her. She started mumbling something.
"Nahi...nahi...Devaki...nahi!" She was mumbling and shaking. Amit and Sumedh looked at each other.
*Aarushi's P.O.V.* (lol, for the first time ever a P.O.V. is inserted in this story.)
I was in deep sleep. Or maybe it was a part of the nightmare that I was getting.
I don't even know if you would call this a nightmare or a vision. I could hear someone's voice in my head. Suddenly, the world swirled infront of me. I was standing like a ghostly silhouette in a room.
I recognised the room instantly. Those same gothic red walls, well-furnished, rich and royal room of Devaki and Randhir. Devaki was sitting infront of the mirror combing her hair. There was no one in the room except Devaki.
I was just a shimmering figure. She couldn't see me.
At first Devaki seemed very normal. Suddenly, there was a flash of lightening and Devaki's stare in the mirror became fierce. She intensely stared at her reflection in the mirror.
"Devaki..." Aarushi heard a husky whisper. It sent shivers down her spine. Devaki's stare intensified.
"Devaki, tumhe iss bacche ki koi zaroorat nahi hai..." It was the same voice! That old woman's voice who spoke through Devaki at the night of the party.
"Haan, isse aise hi uksaayiye Urmila ji..." Aarushi heard a man's hoarse voice. She couldn't recognise it at all. It seemed so foreign to her. No one could be seen. The winds started blowing into the room. Devaki's hair began flowing.
"Mein aayi thi na tumhare paas uss raat Devaki Mahajan. Mujhe laga tum virodhi sangathan mein ho isliye sarkaar ke khilaaf tum meri aur meri bahu ki madad karogi. Par nahi. Tum bhi unhi logon ki tarah nikli." Devaki spoke in a different voice.
"Ab dekho...mein tumhari kok mein pal rahe iss nanhi si jaan ko kaise maar daal deti hun..." Devaki let out a horrible laugh as she picked up a knife lying in the fruit basket.
Both the spirit of the woman and the unknown man began laughing evilly.
A chill ran through Aarushi. Devaki was about to stab herself. She had to stop her.
"Devaki nahi!" Aarushi tried to reach out to her but it was too late. Devaki stabbed herself multiple times. She screamed loudly each time she stabbed herself but she never stopped. Blood was gushing out of the wound yet she didn't stop. Aarushi watched in horror.
"NO!" Aarushi screeched.
**********
Aarushi woke up with a start.
Sumedh and Amit were staring at her with surprised looks. Aarushi was sweating and panting hard. She tried to calm her breathing. Sumedh handed her a glass of water. As she started taking the first sip of water, the mark on her back began burning. She cringed in pain and dropped the glass causing the water to spill on the carpet.
"Kya hua? Kar Kya rahi ho?!" Amit shouted. Aarushi looked at him, panic-stricken. She got up and turned around. She moved her hair over one side of her shoulder so that her mark was visible.
"Pehle batao yeh mark kaisa dikh raha hai? It just became extremely hot." She told them.
"Aarushi...yeh woh mark nahi hai..." Sumedh observed with his mouth hanging open. Amit noticed it too and became surprised.
"Exactly." Aarushi said. She explained to them in detail what she saw in her dream.
"Dekho mujhe nahi pata kya ho raha hai...par itna sure hai ki jo bhi ho raha hai acha nahi ho raha hai..." Aarushi said.
"Kamaal ki baat hai...Veda bhi yehi keh rahi thi..." Sumedh wondered.
"Hum kal sabse pehle Nivi se baat karenge." Amit said folding his arms over his chest. Both Aarushi and Sumedh agreed.
"Aur mujhe Randhir se Devaki ke baare mein baat karni hogi." Aarushi declared.