They were walking back towards their place of stay in a hurry. As if some power was chasing them from behind. Some evil power that was gaining more strength with each passing second! The clouds gradually started spreading, the winds blowing through the dense pine forests creating a whisteling sound. The sun that was shining bright over head got blanketed by a thick layer of clouds.
Naina jaldi chalo.. hume Morgan Housa tak pauchna hoga jaldi. Warna pura bhig jayenge. Lagtha hai its gonna rain soon… said rajveer increasing his speed.
Ha Raaj… chal to rahi hoon..isse zyada tez mujhse aur chala nahi jayega.said Naina panting. Raaj hum uphill chal rahe hai..and its really tough!
Aap log kaha se ho? A sudden female voice made them turn their heads back. It was a girl in the early twenties, who was standing by the side of the road.
Tum…tum kaun ho? Asked naina out of surprise.tum kaha se aayi? Hum toh abhi abhi waha se guzre. Tab toh tumhe dekha nahi.. confusion still prominent in her voice.
Hello.. im Rosy Thapa..the girl smiled and extended her hand towards Naina for a hand shake. The girl had all together a different aura around her that attracted Naina and Rajveer towards her all the more. The fair smiling face.. the slant in her eyes the silky black long straight ironed hairs, the lean tall figure in blue denim and pink hoodie, the bag on her back , the thin knife her left hand fingers held, all made it clear that she was a college student and may be she was a localite.
Hi, im Lieutenant Naina Singh Shekhawat. Naina said as she met her hands with hers. He is my husband Captain Rajveer Singh Shekhawat..Naina introduced Rajveer and they exchanged smiles.
Yeh iski haath itni thandi kyu hain? Naina thought as she removed her hands from Rosys grasp. But she didn’t pay much heed to it.
Woah.. army! Rosy exclaimed.. good good… she smiled. Her white teeth dazzled Rajveer Naina both.
Tumne bataya nahi tum kaun ho? Yaha kaise ayi and kar kya rahi ho yaha? Rajveer inquired again.
Who mai us pine tree k peeche thi jab aap log guzre yaha se. im a botany student. 3rd year Darjeeling Gov College. Kuch plant specimens collect kar rahi thi jab aap dono ko bhagte dekha.. laga kuch hua aap dono ko. Isliye peeche se bulake poocha. She said. Im sorry if ive disturbed you both. She explained.
Arey nahi nahi.. aisa kuch nai.. asal mein asman mein baadal chhaya hua hai. Isliye hum log jaldi wapis jaa rahe the take bheege na… naina said immediately to coverup Rajveers strict interrogation.
We are really happy meeting you. Haina Raaj? Naina signaled Rajveer to be normal looking at him. And then she continued… Sunsaan raaste mein koi toh mila jisse hum baat kar sake. Warna lag to aisa raha tha k pure downhill mein bus hum dono hi hai..
Ha Rosy.. its nice meeting enthusiastic youngstar like you. Rajveer smiled reluctantly.
Chaliye.. aage chalte chalte baatein karte hain… proposed Rosy..
Ha.. lets move…. Barish kabhi bhi aa sakti hain…. Rajveer added to Rosys point..
Nai… barish hogi nahi.. replied Rosy confidently as she moved ahead with them..
Tumhe kaise pata? Asked naina surprised.
Woh hume sab paata chal jaata hai… bohat dino se yaha hai na.. Rosy smiled again. So…. First time in dowhill? Rosy asked. Aap log kaha par ruke ho? She inquired further.
Ha Rosy….. hum log pehli baar yaha par aye hain.. kal dopahar paucha yaha… humlog ruke hai Morgan House par… answered Rajveer this time. He is graduall y getting easy with this girl. The girl had a different charisma that can make anyone like her. Tum yehi ki rehne wali ho kya? Rajveer asked her.
No….. im from mirik.. yahapar apne final year project ke liye kuch indigenous specimens dhundne ayi hoon joh ki bus isi pahari par milte hain… she replied.
Achha…. To tum yaha kisi hotel par ruke ho? Asked naina..
No maam.. Rosy smiled again. Yaha par mai ek old lady ke saath rehti hoon. I know her since long. Unka ghar yahin hai. Jab bhi mai yaha collection k liye aati hoon, I stay with her. Unko bhi company mil jaati hain. She said looking at Naina.
Good… toh tumhe mila kuch? Asked Rajveer showing his interest on her topic..
Yes.. would you like to have a look? She asked generously..
Yeah.. why not? Rajveer shrugged.
Happy Rosy opened her bag in the midroad pulling the materials out from her bag.. and what she took out made Naina shiver out of disgust..
Chhhhhhhaaaaaaaa……… yeh plant specimen hai? Naina looked disgusted..
Yeah… these are plant specimens… creepy isintit? Rosy laughed…
Yes… put them back again… Niana retorded immediately….
The trio started walking together again after Rosy had packed her backpack again.. they taked all random stuffs, asking each other about their career family etc.. Rosy had an amazing personality and Rajveer Naina never felt any awkwardness…
Rosy, Dowhill k baare mein kayi kisse sune hai.. kehte hai key eh jagah haunted hain.. koi headless aparation hai yahapar. Kisi kisi ko dikhta bhi hai.. phir koi Morgan sahab apne ghode par sawar hoke raat kop chalte hain…. Tumne kabhi kuch nahi dekha? Asked Rajveer.
No.. kabhi nahi….came her short reply.
Maine kabhi aisa kuch mehsoos nahi kia.. neither in the broad day light, not at night. Sab afwa hai..she elaborated. Kyu aap logo ne kuch mehsoos kia?? Kahiin aap log mujhe bhi bhoot toh nahi samajh rahe hai? She winked..
Nai nai.. humne bhi kuch feel nahi kia.. bus aise hi pooch lia..Replied Rajveer in a hurry.. ha.. waise agar tum bhoot ho, I must say bohat interesting and educated bhoot ho tum…he tried to joke back smiling foolishly..
Rosy… tumne theek kaha tha.. asman se baadal hat gaye.. said naina looking at the sky, where the clouds that had assembeled blanketing the sun disappeared. The sun now shining bright overhead clearing their creepy feelings..
Chaliye isi baat par ek ek cup coffee ho jaye……Rosy proposed smiling..
Hmnnnnn…. Not a bad idea…. Naina smiled too…. Coffee would really add charm to this moment Rosy. But yahapar coffee milegi kaha se? she asked.
Wo aunty ka ghar paas mein hain.. aap log chaliye mere saath… Rosy suggested.
No Rosy.. unhe pareshan karna theek nahi hoga abhi.. Rajveer said.. tumne kaha she is aged.. may be who rest ley rahe hain. And she doesn’t know me or Naina.. I think hume kisi coffee shop chalna chahye. Rajveer suggested further
Hahahhaha...Rosy laughed out loud. It seemed her voice came from far away...and not her throat.. eerie feelings creeped again!
Yahapar dur dur tak koi coffee shop nahi milegi.. yeh Delhi thodi na hai….Rosy laughed looking at them. Aunty bohat hi khush honge.. believe me… she would really be happy.. aap log chaliye mere saath… Rosy assured them..
Ok… lets go then… Rajveer said reluctantly..and they walked ahead again following Rosy.
After 10 minutes walk they reached a house. Yeah a house it was! They identified the almost broken structure as a house. The house of the ancient British pattern with reddish roof and white walls that turned grey due to dampness. Messed up garden that has grown weeds, and other shrubs covering the windows of the so called house. The boundary wall, broken completely, leaving only a single row of bricks to prove its existence. The entrance path which once had pebbeles was covered with wild flora. The first look of the housemade it hard for them to believe that someone could reside there.
Tumhari aunty yehi rehte hain? Naina asked Rosy surprised.
Ha.. yehi par rehte hai.. main bhi rehti hoon unke saath.. aap log yaha rukiye.. main coffee leyke aati hoon.. jaldi.. Rosy ran towards the back side of the house jumping and hopping through the grown up weeds without giving them cny chance to ask more.. her moving figure disappeared soon as she took the final left turn towards the house.
Naina… chalo is patthar par baith te hai... Said rajveer pointing towards a boulder.
Ha Raaj… chaliye… mai bhi bohat thak gayi hoon…. Said Naina as they walked towards the boulder and finally they sat on it.
Yeh Rosy kafi friendly hai haina? Asked naina..
Ha Naina…. You are right.. aur yaha ke localite ka hospitality bohat achha hai. I know how good hearted north eastern people are.. Rajveer smiled genuinely. And now you are witnessing one.. he said looking at her.
Naina smiled in return.
They kept waiting.. for long.. about 30 minutes…. By then the clear sky started clouding again.. the pine tree tops those were visible clearly faded away… mist covered them and the house gradually.. the entire area became densly covred with fog..
Yeh ladki kaha reh gayi? Asked Rajveer conscious…
Ha Raj…bohat der ho chuki hai..chaliye chalke dekhte hain… .. naina said in similar tone.
And they together moved front calling Rosys name. the bushes and shrubs made it difficult for them to move front, but overcoming these obstacles, they reached the spot where they saw Rosy last.and they turned left to face something unreal…….
Raaj……… Raaj yeh……….Naina fumbled being scared.. Rajveers condition was no better.. his legs stopped there.. he felt heavy… what he saw in front, was unreal..
There was nothing towards the left… the house, where Rosys aunty was supposed to stay, only had the front wall, but not the back.. its back side broken totally, ending in the slope that plunged thousands of feet deep.. the backside of the house serving as home to some hundreds of bats those were hanging heads down, looking at them..
a pine tree bent over the plunge in a weired way making it look spooky all the more.. like the tree had given shelter to all darkness within its dense leaves..
And to the right was a bit long stretched mountain cliff covered with green grass. And that was nothing but a graveyard .. the marble slabs and the cross over it got engulfed by the incoming mist from the deep plunge at the cliff end. The dark green algae over the slabs made it clear that no living being has entered this compound at in the recent past..
The winds started roaring suddenly and along with it echoed a guffaw…. Loud and clear… the sound took the hell out of both of them out of scare. They wanted to move..but couldn’t.. they were freezed at that spot….may be to witness the paranormal events!
Along with the guffaw then appeared out of no where few skeletons hanging from the pine tree….the winds making them move and collide against each other, creating typical sound that disturbed the bats that hung.. it seemed the skeletons intentionally collided to make sound, just to make the bats fly..
And within moment…….hundreds of bats started flying towards them……their stretchd patagium blocking the last ray of light over Rajveer Nainas head…
Naina……bhagooo……………..the only words that escaped Rajveers mouth before he started running holding Nainas hands, taking her out of her state….. the run, they ran for their life…
The mist followed them along with the cloud of bats..….the guffaw echoed louder…..amidst which came Rosys voice……..”Rajveer……. Naina……..coffee peeke jaiye….. dekhiye coffee ready hain……. Hahahahhhhhhhahahahahahahahhahah…………..”