Chapter 8

Bloomie

@bloomie

Part 8 [NOCOPY][MEMBERSONLY]

Using her long fingers, she shifts her hair to reveal a cut face.

Riya screams. The boys rush in. The ground slips from beneath their feet as they see the ghost…………………..

Arjun is the first one to raise his gun. He shoots at her. The others follow suit. They shoot multiple bullets at her but the woman laughs, mocking them.

Smoke covers all of them. They stop due to lack of visibility. Rathore shouts, afraid for the safety of his team.

Rathore: Sambhal Kar Raho!! Brace Yourselves!!!

The smoke clears up within a few minutes. Rathore heaves a sigh of relief seeing all four silhouettes in place. The eerie silence returns to the place.

Shree(shocked): ye toh… ye toh sach ki bhootni hai

No one responds. Chotu had fallen white by now.

Rathore regains his composure: let’s go

ETF Office-

Riya barges straight into the conference room to collect her stuff, muttering to herself.

Arjun arrives to pick up his bag: hyper hona band karo Riya

Riya: hyper na hou? Bhooton Se Ladna Mere Job Description Mein Nahi Hai!!!

Arjun scowled: oh come on, woh koi bhootni nahi thi!!

Riya: sir waha koi harness nahi tha aur agar woh nahi bhi dikha hota toh bhi, agar woh insaan hoti toh humari goliyon ka asar toh hota na us par

Arjun: toh tumhe kya lagta hai ki ek bhatakti hui aatma ne ek ladke khoon kar diya Riya?

Riya runs a hand through her hair in frustration: mujh nahi pata, mujhe bas itna pata hai ki waha jo bhi hua woh normal nahi tha! (she sighs) aur koi explanation ho sakti hai kya?

Arjun: exactly hua kya tha?

Riya: kuch bhi nahi, dhua aaya, maine aap logon ko inform kiya aur fir main Rathore sir ko jawaab de hi rahi thi ki woh achanak prakat ho gayi

Arjun: prakat ho gayi?

Riya: ha bas achanak se, uska chehra baal se dhaka hua tha shuru mein, fir jab chehra dekha aur woh khoon ka nishaan

Arjun: khoon ka?

Riya: ha woh uske chehre par katne ka nishaan tha na

Arjun nods reluctantly mv “us par khoon tha? mujhe dikha kaise nahi?”

Riya: bas fir, aap log aaye aur humne shoot kiya aur fir woh gayab ho gayi, par aap ye sab kyun puch rahe hai?

Arjun: bas…

Shree and Chotu enter just then, breaking their conversation.

Shree: Ri, nikalna nahi hai?

She nods: ha bas jaa rahi thi (she glances at Arjun to see if was going to ask anything else) chalti hun sir, good night

Arjun nods. The trio leave with their bags.

Shree: yaar aaj toh neend hi nahi aanewaali

Riya: sone ke liye zyaada waqt bacha bhi nahi Shree, do toh baj gaye

Shree: are par woh chudail

Chotu: maine toh pehle hi kaha tha, lekin koi nahi maana, ab dekh liya?  mujhe toh ghar jaane mein bhi dar lag raha hai

Shree: are tu kyun dar raha hai? ek kaam kar, aaj ki raat na Arjun sir ke saath jaa kar so ja, unhe darna nahi sirf darana aata hai, unhe dekhkar toh chudail bhi bhaag jaayegi

Chotu: usse toh better hai ki main chudail ke saath so jau

Shree giggled as Riya shook her head in disbelief.

Next day-

The team was gathered in the conference room. None of them had been able to make any sense of what had happened except for the explanation that it was a ghost. Arjun enters with a cup of tea in his hand. He stands near Rathore staring at the evidence board.

Chotu: Rathore sir ab kya?

Shree: ha sir, ye bhoot pret se hum kaise lad sakte hai?

Arjun blasts on them: Shut Up! Koi Bhoot Nahi Hai Waha Par! Officers Ho Officers Ki Tarah Baat Karo Warna Resignation Do Aur Chalte Bano! Shree Tumhari Ghadi Ke Neeche Dhaaga Lagane Se Kuch Nahi Honewaala, Chotu Apni Rings Nikalo!!! (eyeing a chain around her neck) Riya Tum Bhi?!

Riya grabs the pendant protectively: ye meri maa ki chain hai

Arjun crosses his arms in anger: Toh aaj ke pehle kyun nahi pehni?!

Riya: Kyunki! (glancing around) kyunki… aaj mera janam din hai

Arjun mellows down.

Shree(shocked): tera birthday hai!! aur tune hume bataya tak nahi?!?!

Riya winces: uh woh… uh

Chotu: kya Riya, party ke paise bachane hai toh seedhe-seedhe bol deti

Rathore(annoyed): enough! Case par dhyaan do!! (turning to her) Riya Happy Birthday!

Riya smiles: thank you sir

Arjun squints at her. It wasn’t her usual smile.

Rathore: ye toh tay hai ki waha koi aurat nahi thi, warna goliyon ka asar us par zaroor hota par fir woh kaun thi, kaise dikhi? Shree, kisi technology se aise possible hai?

Shree: sir holographic images ho sakti hai lekin usme disturbance hone par, glitch zaroor dikhega and after we shot at her, us par fir bhi asar nahi hua, woh waise ka waisa hi dikh raha tha

Arjun: mujhe nahi lagta ki waha par kuch bhi tha, woh chudail hum logon ko jaan buchkar dikhayi gayi thi sirf darane ke liye warna usne hum mein se kisi par bhi hamla kyun nahi kiya? hamlavaar koi aur hi hai, jo hume dekhkar baahar hi nahi aaya

Rathore: Rawte sawaal ab bhi wahi hai, ki woh kaha se aayi aur ladke ki post mortem mein saaf likha hai, nail injuries! Aur us, aurat ke haath mein bhi lambe nakhoon the!

Arjun: hume blood test karwana chahiye, ho sakta hai kisi drug ki wajah se hume woh dikhayi de rahi ho

Rathore: oh come on! Humare andar drug kaha se aayega? Woh chai waala? Tumhe yaad na ho toh bata du ki sabse pehle chudail Riya ko dikhi thi aur usne waha kuch khaaya piya nahi tha!

Arjun: kaha se aaya ye tab pata chalega jab hum check karenge!!

Rathore: mere paas faaltu ki cheezon ka time nahi hai! Fort ko firse check karte hai, kuch na kuch toh mil hi jaayega (looking at the rest) chalo!!

Arjun bangs the glass on the table and leaves. Rathore grits his teeth at his tantrums.

Barring the second-in-command, the ETF lands up at the Fort again. They search the entire area hoping to find something in the daylight. Shree specifically pays attention to the place where they saw the ghost and the places where the campers saw the ghost. Unfortunately for them, they don’t find a single clue as to where the woman turned up from or how.

Shree: sir, yaha kuch bhi nahi hai, koi harness, electrical wires kisi cheez ke koi nishaan nahi hai

Riya: aur na hi kisi insaan ke hone ke koi nishaan hai sir

Rathore sighs. Dejected, they return to office.

Rathore: lunch kar lo, aadhe ghante mein milte hai

They nod. He leaves towards his makeshift cabin. Shree and Chotu are ready to pounce on Riya. Her eyes darted towards Arjun sitting at a desk. She points in his direction.

Riya: sir bula rahe hai, aati hu

Shree squints at her: Ri…

Riya: tum log jao kha lo, aati hu main

She runs out before they could ask anything else. They continue to look at her through the glass wall, unsure if she told the truth.

Riya goes in front of Arjun: hi! Uh… do you mind? Shree aur Chotu peeche pade hai

Arjun turns his head to find the boys gazing in their direction. He gestures to her to sit.

Riya(sitting): thanks

Chotu: yaar, Arjun sir ne toh ise bitha diya, ab kya?

Shree: ab kuch nahi ho sakta, chal, use shaam ko pakad lenge

He nods in agreement as they head towards the canteen.

Riya: by the way, hume waha kuch mila nahi

Arjun registers the information but doesn’t respond. She picks up a file and flips through it, absentmindedly playing with her chain. He recalls the incident in the morning.

Arjun: Riya

Riya looks up.

Arjun hesitates and changes the topic: so… kisi aur se puch tach ki waha?

Riya: bas caretaker hi toh hai sir, aur woh toh ek hi baat par atka hai (her brain clicks) uske baare mein pata karu kya? (she opens her phone to text one of her informers) shayad kuch pata chal jaaye

Arjun: hmm

She resumes reading through the file: aapne lunch kiya?

Arjun kyun?

Riya: bas aise hi, yaha baithe hai isliye pucha

Arjun: tum bhi toh baithi ho

Riya: woh bas mera man nahi hai khaane ka, bhook nahi

Arjun easily notices the tinge of sadness on her face. He wonders why she, being the ever so cheerful one was not her usual self on her birthday. Plus, she was trying to run away from the boys. As far as he had noticed, the trio were pretty comfortable with each other though their friendship was new.

Something kept pricking him from the inside. It was unpleasant to see her in the state, hiding her emotions from everyone. A part of him was concerned and the other had no idea why he was bothering so much. Arjun justified to himself mv “Mujhe adhuri baatein nahi pasand”

Arjun: shehar mein akeli rehti ho?

Riya: huh? (looking up) main yahi se hu par ha akeli rehti hu kyun?

Arjun is unsure of how to proceed: woh tum… uh, subah se tabiyat theek nahi lag rahi zyaada tumhari

Riya gives a small smile: tabiyat theek hai sir, bas family ko miss kar rahi hun but thank you for asking

Arjun nods and looks away mv “kya matlab? Us din bhi keh rahi thi baap ne badla le liya?”

Riya mv “inhe kaise pata chala? kaha se pata nahi chalega? ACP Arjun Rawte ki nazar se kaha kuch chutta hai? (she shook her head) par itna toh tay hai, jitna khadoos bankar ghumte hai, utne hai nahi… sweet guy.” She smiles to herself.

Arjun mv “ab muskura kyun rahi hai? kuch toh choot raha hai… ye toh asli waali smile hai. Chal kya raha hai is ladki ke dimag mein? Aur ye lunch kyun skip kar rahi hai? kal toh keh rahi thi unhealthy hota hai aur ab yaha baith gayi?”

His thoughts were broken by the tea-seller boy coming in.

Boy: saab chai

Arjun nods and removes his wallet. The boy keeps the glass on the table and takes the money. Riya picks up the glass and goes to grab a tissue paper. Arjun shakes his head in disbelief mv “ise mujhse bilcul bhi dar nahi lagta?”

She comes back to the seat. Engrossed in the file, she keeps the tissue on the side. Arjun raises his hand to take the glass but she starts sipping from it. He is dumbfounded mv “What the hell!! Mera glass tha!!!” he stares at her drinking his beverage not having a clue what was happening right in front of her “iski toh…aaj tak kisi ki himmat nahi hui meri chai ko haath lagane ki aur ye hai ki piye jaa rahi hai (he glares at her) dekh bhi nahi rahi… ugh!! Woh meri chai hai!!!! Riyaaaa!!!!!!”

She feels the heat of his gaze on her and raises her head to find him glaring at her.

Riya: kya hua? (He doesn’t respond but continues to stare) sir?... sir?... sir bol…

Her phone rang. She kept down the glass to answer.

Arjun stares at the glass. The tea was still steaming. His fist clenched to refrain himself mv “bhaad mein jaaye, tum meri ho!!!”

He grabs the glass startling Riya mid conversation. Giving her an accusatorily look, he possessively drinks from the cup.

Riya is still in the moment of daze: …theek hai main dekhti hun, thanks

Call disconnect

She stares at him. He scowls at her.

Riya: aapki… chai thi?

Arjun: ha!

Riya braces for impact : sorry

Arjun glares at her.

Riya: are woh, dhyaan mein nahi aaya, sorry par, maine, maine piya tha usme se, aap…

Arjun(firmly): meri chai!!

Riya(taken aback): ok

He stands up in annoyance: bewafa!

And storms out of the room confusing her mv “bewafa? Seriously? Koi ek chai ke liye itna possessive kaise ho sakta hai? ye sir bhi ajeeb hai” She shakes her head in disbelief and starts working on the information that her informer passed to her

At the designated time, the team entered the conference room.

Chotu: are waah coffee taiyaar hai, thanks Ri

Riya: maine nahi banayi

Chotu: toh fir kisne…

Arjun enters: maine banayi

The rest of them turn to him in shock.

Shree: aapne…?

Arjun: kyun main coffee nahi bana sakta?

Shree: nahi sir, main toh bas, aise hi.. hehe thank you sir!

Rathore sips from the mug mv “iske haath ki coffee aaj bhi waisi hi hai” A smile forms on his face.

Arjun gives Riya her mug surprising everyone further. Rathore raises his eyebrow mv “kahi Arjun ke andar toh chudail nahi ghus gayi hai?”……………………….