Chapter 12: MYSTERY OF LOVE

Guys please pray for us and my state Assam which are having floods for the heavy rainfall from the past few days. Not just my state but also Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura is also drowning for this heavy rainfall in North-East India. Please pray we see sunlight soon, we need your prayers. O.O

CHAPTER-12:

Mystery Of Love(Sufjan Stevens) Language: English

Oh, to see without my eyes

The first time that you kissed me

Boundless by the time I cried

I built your walls around me

White noise, what an awful sound

Fumbling by Rogue River

Feel my feet above the ground

Hand of God, deliver me

Oh, oh woe-oh-woah is me

The first time that you touched me

Oh, will wonders ever cease?

Blessed be the mystery of love

Lord, I no longer believe

Drowned in living waters

Cursed by the love that I received

From my brother's daughter

Like Hephaestion, who died

Alexander's lover

Now my riverbed has dried

Shall I find no other?

Oh, oh woe-oh-woah is me

I'm running like a plover

Now I'm prone to misery

The birthmark on your shoulder reminds me

How much sorrow can I take?

Blackbird on my shoulder

And what difference does it make

When this love is over?

Shall I sleep within your bed

River of unhappiness

Hold your hands upon my head

Till I breathe my last breath

Oh, oh woe-oh-woah is me

The last time that you touched me

Oh, will wonders ever cease?

Blessed be the mystery of love

MYSTERY OF LOVE

Imlie climbed the outer walls of the ‘Tripathi Niwas’ and made her way in just like she did in the morning but this time rather than the balcony she chose the backdoor of the kitchen to go inside.
The backdoor of this house is mostly kept open in the evening as cold air blows in and keeps the temperature cool even in a place like Delhi. She went in hiding behind every nook and corner of the house. She made her way to Aditya’s room and saw Chavi packing her bags. Chavi felt something sneaking in the room and took the vase which was kept on the bed table to defend herself. But as she was about to shout Imlie ran from behind the curtain and pressed her mouth tight. She calmed down after seeing Imlie.

“Imlie”
“Are you ready to leave?”
“You came to take me out from here?”
“Yes”
Chavi hugged Imlie as she shed her tears in silence.
“There is no more time to cry. Before Aditya arrives we need to leave from here”
“But how? This family may not like me but they would not go against their son’s words.”
“What words?”
“He said if they had the tiniest bit of humanity left they wouldn't throw me out of the house. I know the women would have got rid of me but the elderly males are good here. Even my lunch was today given to me by Aditya’s father”
“It’s okay, I understand they are not any evil villains from movies, they are just normal human beings who fear law and gods.”
“I also think that way now after spending these few days here”
“Listen we will be leaving for Pagdandia tonight”
“Aren’t I staying in College Hostel?”
“Well, Chavi you can’t always hide. Also the biggest problem is Aditya’s righteousness which eats up his brain sometimes”
“Righteousness?”
“Look I will try my best to stop him not to find you but he may still make his way to the police station and make a missing report of yours. Then, when police will search you the College will end up throwing you out of its hostel. At least I need to keep you safe till 12:00 am”
“I will be eighteen tonight and before that they would only consider Aditya's words because he is an adult.”
“Exactly”
Chavi thought to ask about how Imlie knows Aditya’s characteristics so well but skipped it as she remembered Imlie knew that he would visit Pagdandia even before his arrival. Imlie was someone who seems to know exactly what’s happening and why in this world.
“Well Imlie how do we get out of here?”
“How many bags do you have?”
“Just two”
“Okay, I am going down through the balcony of this room. You throw both of your bags down, I will catch them one by one. And then just tell the Tripathis, you are feeling bored and will just take an evening walk nearby. You go out and make your way to the left, you will find a lane on the right. I will be waiting there for you.”
“That’s not the lane we came though”
“Yes, we will use the back way to reach the bus station”
“Okay”

Imlie went down the balcony by holding the saree which Chavi tied on the bed and supported by grabbing it with all her force. After that Chavi threw her bags out to Imlie who left the Tripathi house with the luggage. Then Chavi threw the saree which was given to her by Aditya during the ritual in Pagdandia, in the dustbin; though it was arranged by her own parents it symbolizes a cage for her. She made her way downstairs and after convincing Aditya’s father for twenty minutes that she needs some alone time and she won’t get lost, she left the Tripathi Niwas with a huge victory smile. She met Imlie at the same place where Imlie was supposed to meet her and they took an auto rickshaw to the bus station.

It was 6:45pm when Aditya arrived, he just sat in a restaurant the whole day and had done the ritual that most stressed people do, which was ‘Overeating’. He even went to the park to think about why his life is in such terrible chaos. He even tried to organize his thoughts but nope, its was as if bad luck had taken a route to his life from the very moment he stepped in Pagdandia. Nothing was in favor of him as if some unknown force was bending everything against him. Had he offended someone rich who could turn his world upside down in this way?

‘Aryan Singh Rathore?’  thought Aditya as it was the only possibility that came to his mind but he got rid of the thought as he had assumed that Aryan remembers the past like him.

‘What if he doesn’t remember anything like Imlie?’ Another big possibility hit his mind but he was unaware it's not money that destroys a person, it’s actually the human brain which keeps the power to turn things upside down even with the most limited resources. His life was turned around by the hands of a girl who had powers like him but she used it for her own gains.

As he stepped inside the house his father asked if he had met Chavi on the lane. Aditya was surprised with that question and ran outside to find Chavi. He searched the whole lane and even went to the main road asking every person he met on the road only to return back home empty handed. He was scared to his core for his bad luck but now he was fearing the horror of what might happen with her if she was kidnapped somehow.

‘What if some human trafficking group kidnapped her? Her face is the most known thing on the internet right now. What if some enemy of mine attacked her because I am her guardian. What if her own villagers came here to….No I can’t think anymore’ Aditya held his head in fear when he could hear his heart pounding frantically for the girl whom he married last Saturday.

He made his way back home and went to his room, he found a saree in the dustbin of his room. He remembered it was the same saree he gave her during the ritual. He looked at the saree for a few seconds without blinking and then something came over him. He immediately tossed the saree over the bed and looked at the cupboards, all of Chavi’s belongings were gone. That time Aditya understood the absence of her was all intentional. He rushed outside once again to look for her and make a missing report in the police station because if by mistake she returns back to Pagdandia they won’t leave her in one piece.

As Aditya passed the main door, he suddenly stopped; his eyes went to the letterbox which was half open. He slowly made his way to it and opened the letterbox. There was a pink envelope which had his name printed on a small piece of paper and pasted on it. As he looked at the stuff inside he found a pen drive and a note of paper. To see the content of the pen drive he made his way back to his room and took out his laptop from the office bag.

He looked at the content of the pen drive which made his blood go cold. It was a video of Meethi and Dulari where Meethi said Aditya instigated Aryan’s kidnapping. And the note which came along with it had this line printed on it,

‘TRY TO FIND CHAVI AND THIS WOULD GO VIRAL.’

“What should I do now?” muttered Aditya under his breath.

Imlie and Chavi reached the bus station, Imlie bought a ticket of the last bus of Pagdandia and handed to Chavi.
“Yours?”
“I am not going in that bus”
“Then?”
“I have booked a ticket of the sleeper bus to Bajuria which will leave at 8:30 pm”
“Why?”
“Because we shouldn’t be seen together. Else people will doubt that I manipulated you somehow. Look, I don’t have a positive name in the village for my origin, the only respect we get is for my grandmother else the villagers don’t care a bit about my mother or me. Also you belong to an affluent family. I don’t want much of a controversy”
“But the things you said to me in the auto; how will I be able to act that way without you? I will be so clueless.”
“You survived in Tripathi House without anyone Chavi. You know this is your journey. If you manage to come till here you can move further too. I can only help you but not be in your place like the way you can’t be in mine. You need to do it for yourself, Chavi. Always remember this teaching; before being kind to anyone else, be kind to yourself first.”
“Okay… I will try. Then see you in the village”
“I will reach by 11:30 pm I guess, the buses to Bajuria are fast as the distance they cover is long. Your bus will also reach by eleven. We can meet tonight only.”
“Hmmm, I hope so”

Imlie made Chavi sit on the bus and bought some food and snacks for her from the shops of the bus station like boiled eggs and Bhujia. She handed those foods to Chavi through the bus’s window and waved her a goodbye. The bus left and Imlie immediately booked a ticket on the bus booking app for herself to Pagdandia. Then she got to the nearest metro station and made her way back to the hostel. It was almost 07:25 pm.

Imlie changed to her salwar kameez, wore a pair of jhumkas and pleated her hair tying the end with a black rubber band. She filled her bags with some clothes and made her way out of the hostel after submitting an application for leave. She also told Niti to receive the delivery of mattresses which would arrive tomorrow and buy some essentials for her too if Niti buys any.

Imlie went to the bus station again and made her way to Pagdandia. She doesn’t know what kind of situation awaits there but hopes it isn’t something bad. Imlie reaches the Pagdandia bus station at 11:25 pm and as she made her way through the empty roads she suddenly saw a large crowd accumulated at the village square. She penetrated among the crowds and saw it was Chavi’s arrival to the village that had shaken up such a mass gathering at this odd hour.

“Oh Imlie” greeted a middle-age lady.
“Kaaki maa, how are you?”
“I am fine. But you…”
“Oh, college will start on Monday so thought of spending some time with Amma(mother) and naani(grandmother)”
“Oh, you arrived just now”
“Yes, in a night super bus”
“Which one?”
“The one whose last destination is Bajuria. By the way, what's happening here? Why is there such a big crowd?”
“Oh, you don’t know. Chavi has returned”
“Chavi? Wasn’t she married to the Sehri Babu”
“Yes, she said that she didn't want to stay with him. He has a fiancé back at home. But her parents and Sarpanch want her to go back to him because we have seen in the news that the guy rejected his fiancé though Chavi is saying the news were a lie, he still has plans to marry his that lady.”
“Wow that’s complicated”
“Indeed”

“You should have thought about the guy having a bride at home when you were getting intimate with him and broke my son’s trust” yelled the Sarpanch(Village Head)

Imlie noticed Chavi’s parent’s faces, her father was calm like an ocean before a storm and her mother was extremely angry at Chavi but got a neutral expression the moment she noticed others looking at her.
“Sarpanch kaka”
“Who’s calling me?”
“Here” Imlie picked her right hand and continued, “It’s already 11:45 am.”
“You weren’t in the village,” the village head exclaimed.
“I just reached a few minutes before, I think it’s too late tonight. Tomorrow you can do a meeting on Chavi, tonight I think we should not question her much.”
The village head looked at Imlie for a few seconds and got his composure back, he was known for his integrity in the village. He was a man of the village who had one of the most positive images, always law abiding and sweet though he liked to keep his power too.
“I think Imlie is right, tomorrow we will have a meeting at 6:00 pm with all the twelve elders where we will decide for Chavi. Everyone go back to your home. Dulari Laal, be present with your girl and wife tomorrow. We have to take a decision, we can’t let her do the same thing which Meethi did eighteen years back that is ruin the village’s face ”

‘Here he drops his sweetness’ thought Imlie. As the crowd dispersed Imlie went near Chavi and wished her an advance Happy Birthday. Chavi’s parents who were about to question Chavi stopped when they heard Imlie wishing her.
Meethi and Dulari reached the square, they were late in getting the news of Chavi’s return but as they reached there they saw the square had already got a lot emptier. They were surprised to see Imlie there,

“Gudia(Doll)” Meethi called.
“Amma” Imlie went and hugged her mother. She could at last hug her mother after the terrorists attack. She even checked on Dulari Devi’s appearance if there was any trace of injuries on her.
Chavi’s parents left with Chavi after wishing a goodnight and Imlie returned home with her mother and grandmother. Imlie’s family said her what actually happened during terrorists attack time and how police rescued them. They purposely skipped Khatti’s part as they didn’t want to compare their sweet child with an emotionless police officer which was Khatti according to them.

Imlie slept and woke up next morning. It was Thursday, the affiliated vegetarian day of the week. Today, her family not only avoids non veg, they even avoid onion and garlic. But today was a special day, Chavi's birthday and the day she planned to go to meet an acquaintance. She took a bus ride to Chautaalgarh, after she reached that village she bought some fruits there and took an electric rickshaw ride to the government hospital.

There she asked the receptionist about the room details and made her way to a room which was big like a hall and it was assigned to almost eight patients.

Sushmita was sitting quietly on her bed and looking at the ceiling fan. Some patients had their family with them and some were talking with each other.
“Sushmita di” Imlie called her.
She looked at Imlie for a while and after recognizing she sat straight welcoming her. Imlie grabbed a stool and sat on it. Imlie noticed there were neither any sign of personal things of Sushmita like others nor there was any belonging on the table nearby. She was there in her hospital gown when the lady of the side bed enquired, “At last your family member arrived. Is she your sister?”

Before Sushmita could say a ‘No’ Imlie answered a ‘Yes’. Shushmita looked at Imlie surprised.
“That’s why I called her di(sister)” replied Imlie.
“You are late. She doesn’t talk or even give any expressions. I thought it's because no one came to visit her. At least as a sister you did your duty. I know your big sister is a rape victim and as a family you guys should take care of her. She is in a fragile state. Now you came she will recover slowly” said the woman in one breath and left with a nurse for dressing.
“No one came to visit you, Sushmita di?” asked Imlie when the lady left.
Sushmita nodded her head in a negative response.

“Why?”
“They abandoned me. Don’t you understand that Imlie? I am a widow and raped what if I conceive?”
“I will instruct the doctor to give birth control medicine to you” said Imlie.
“Imlie that doesn’t matter. I am impure now for them and a village like Pagdandia won’t ever accept me”
“What about your own parents? Did you call them? I am seeing you from when I was twelve years old di and I have never seen you contact them”
“That’s because they are no more in this world. They left, my husband left; why am I even here? That day I would have died if that girl and the man hadn’t arrived. They shouldn’t have come there to save me. That girl’s voice rings in my head ‘breathe Sushmita breathe’ and my brain remembers how satisfied I was when she killed that rapist. But I don’t want to live. If I live, how will I survive? Her kindness was absolutely unnecessary”
“In this world no kindness is unnecessary. If you give up like that easily, how will you answer me who killed Raghu that day?” asked Imlie.

Sushmita looked at Imlie bewildered trying to grasp what this eighteen year old kid was saying who she saw growing up in front of her eyes. Imlie took out a mask from her handbag and put on her face and then wore the cap Aryan gave her and paired it with spectacles. Sushmita looked at Imlie as if she couldn’t believe herself. That look is of the girl who saved her, Imlie kept those things inside her bag again.

“You are that girl”
“Yes”
“But she was trained in”
“I know how to fight di. And I won’t call you bhabi anymore like others, from today I am your younger sister and I am your family.” said Imlie.

Imlie didn’t want to abandon Sushmita, maybe that’s why she was here today. She knew deep down somewhere the village which is full of prejudices won’t accept a lady who was broken down to such an extent. They like to break the broken pieces more, they neither were empathetic in nature nor someone who provides a stick to a person who can’t walk. Rather they would snatch the stick from that person and entertain themselves. This is ground reality.

Sushmita broke down in a pool of tears and hugged Imlie. Her coarse hug which showed her raw emotions didn’t care if the grip was too strong or unknowingly her broken nails were scratching Imlie’s body. Even Imlie ignored those physical inflicts which had shown how much of a broken person Sushmita was, she just patted her head to calm her down and kissed her hair to show that there is someone in this world whom Sushmita can call as a family. After Sushmita calmed down a little, Imlie went out to borrow a fruit knife and a plate from the hospital’s canteen and after returning back she herself peeled apples for Sushmita.

“I heard you are studying in a college in Delhi now” enquired Sushmita.
“Yes, City College”
“Oh my that was my College too”
Imlie looked at Sushmita surprised and asked, “You were from my college then you definitely sat in the all India entrance exam”
“I did actually thirteen years back”
“Di, you are someone with a powerful brain”
“No, my brain is now only limited to the kitchen’s utensils”
Imlie made a face on hearing Sushmita’s words. Suddenly she remembered that Malini and Aditya were from this college and asked, “Sushmita di have you heard about Aditya Kumar Tripathi or Malini Chaturvedi when you were in the college?”

Suddenly many flashbacks ran through Sushmita’s brain but the recent one made her quiet. She was extremely excited to meet Aditya when she heard he was visiting Pagdandia but when she bumped into him by mistake in the village square he couldn’t recognize her at all. She was disappointed and it was maybe something natural as he was a star during his college life and she was just a nerd.

And Malini, how could she forget her…the most beautiful girl of the Arts Department on whom every guy of the College used to give their hearts. Also the glossy and magnificent proposal Aditya gave her in their final year was memorable to every eyewitness.

“Yes, in my first year Malini Chaturvedi was my senior in third year. She was the star of our course”
“Subject?”
“Mine was Arts with an English major,” replied Sushmita.
“And Aditya?”
Imlie noticed Sushmita’s face went gruesome as she replied, “He was a famous guy of the BJMC(Bachelors of Journalism and Mass Communication) department but I didn’t knew him personally”

Sushmita remembered some random memories; how she was about to fall from the stairs once when some students bumped into her while running for their classes and Aditya caught her who was coming downstairs with his friends, she held his right hand with her right hand. Sushmita also remembered how she used to sit in the canteen with her books only to see him chatting with his friends there, she even remembered how she used to look at him from the corner of her eyes when he used to use the same elevator as her; even among the crowd her eyes would end up finding him.
She used to wear spectacles that time and always used to make a low ponytail with her oiled hair which never let her to stand out.

“Oh by the way dii, I have contacted my acquaintance in Delhi. He would book a private hospital there for your treatment”
“Private but I don’t have money”
“Don’t worry, from today I will take care of you.”
“But I will end up as a burden maybe”
“You will not di, I will provide you a job in future”
“But I have forgotten many things”
“Don’t worry at all, you can lay low till the moment you like and read to gain your knowledge back. I know you can do it and I will teach you some myself so that you don’t falter much”
“Then can you keep one of my wishes”
“What?”
“I have an apartment in Delhi, my family house. It will be your home too from today” said Sushmita.
“Thank you so much dii, by the way the acquaintance who will take care of you before I meet you again in Delhi is the police officer who saved you that day. His name is Harshit Khurana”
“Imlie I don’t know how should I thank you. I am extremely grateful to you to give me a reason to live again and take care of me”
“It’s my pleasure too Sush dii, I got another sister”
“Another?”
“I will tell you someday, by the way I have to leave now. I am glad I could see you finish all the apple pieces in front of me” said Imlie.
Sushmita gave a faint smile.

Aditya was pacing back and forth in his room as from yesterday Chavi’s thoughts had kept him worried.
‘Her life is in danger. What should I do? I can’t even go to Pagdandia what if the video gets viral and if it does there is a high possibility that I would end up in jail. But what if I stay here and they kill her? Damn, what should I do?’ as Aditya was immersed in his thoughts his phone rang, it was an unknown number.

He picked up the call and heard from the other side, “Hello Aditya”
“Imlie…” the voice was familiar enough to get recognized in a second.
“Yes and save this number it’s mine. I am calling from Pagdandia”
“You are in Pagdandia? Please listen if Chavi has gone there then her life is in grave danger. You may not believe me but her parents had threatened me that if I didn’t marry her in court they would even drag Chavi from Delhi and kill her. I think her parents had kidnapped her as I still hadn’t done a court marriage with her. They said your mother had informed them about Malini and for them their image matters the most. They will kill her and frame the murder on me saying their daughter had done a suicide for me”
“What?”
“Yes, I don’t know what I should do? But why did you call? And please save Chavi” pleaded Aditya.
“Aditya, Chavi arrived late last night. I will try to save her but can you do a favor to me though it’s for Chavi only”
“What?”
“Can you find a man called Sudheer Jha? He was a reporter from Bhaskar Times”
“But I don’t know any Sudheer Jha, I have been working there for last twelve years”
“You need to check out eighteen year old employee records”
“Are you sure about it? Actually I am suspended right now so it won’t be easy”
“Please Aditya, you only said her life is in danger. Actually I also found some suspicious information about them today hence I called you for help”
“Okay I am trying”
“Thank you” said Imlie.
As Aditya cut the call he thought, ‘Rather than just worrying I need to save that girl at any cost, if I can take so much slandering for marrying her I can also go to any lengths to save her. That video doesn’t matter if it circulates, it doesn’t matter if I end up behind the bars, just Chavi should be safe. I was ready to marry that kid to keep her safe, I can also sneak into my office to save her life. Sudheer Jha I will find you at any cost’

Niti was moving her hands through the shelfs of the store where electric kettles were kept. She grabbed the kettle she chose but then she realized she didn’t grab the kettle but a man’s hand; she looked to her right and found the hand belonged to Harshit who held the kettle's handle before her. Both looked at each other surprised and shouted, “You?”

Then Niti realized she would miss the kettle and grabbed the handle to which Harshit also went in reflex and caught the other side of the kettle.
“I got it first, Mr. Kharoos Khurana please leave it”
“What you got it first? I was the first one to grab its handle”
“Then why did you leave it?”
“Because you grabbed my hand”
“My intention was to grab the kettle’s handle”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that you grabbed my hand”
“If there would be no men left in this world then also I won’t grab your hand voluntarily. This kettle is mine you leave”
“As if I wish to be grabbed by you. Also the way to look at me…Leave the kettle”
“How do I look at you? You leave the kettle”

The sales boy went near them watching the tug of war going on in the shop. He called them twice but they were busy pulling the kettle and fighting.

“You look at me like a”
“Like a?”
“Like a starving hyena”
“Mister, did you just call me a Hyena?”
“Yes, I did”
“How dare you? Leave…it’s…mine”
“You leave…It’s mine”
“Stop it both of you” the sales boy shouted at the top of his lungs.
Both of them stopped and looked at him as he cleared his throat and said, “Sir, Ma’am this is not the last piece, we have more in the store. Both of you please don’t start a world war three over this kettle. Also could you please give it to me? It’s just a model.”
At that time both of them noticed that they were no more just holding the kettle, Niti’s right hand was above Harshit’s left hand and Harshit’s right hand was above Niti’s left hand. Upon this realization they almost threw the kettle but luckily the sales boy caught it, kept it on the shelf, told them to come to the counter and went ahead cursing both of them under his breath.
Harshit and Niti looked at each other and made their way to the counter. Niti bought two kettles, one for Imlie and one for herself. Harshit bought one but when he saw two he asked, “Two?”
“One for me and another for Imlie”
He looked at her confused to which she replied, “The days when the hostel chef would deteriorate the food quality we could at least make our two minutes noodles here”
“Oh, hostel jugaad (a flexible approach to solve a problem with limited resources)”
“Yes, and we can boil eggs too”
“What more do you want to buy?”
“May be an electric rice cooker too but in future when Imlie returns”
“Oh she is in Pagdandia”
“How do you know?”
“She called me today”
“What? But she didn’t call me? I dragged both of our mattresses alone to our room, washed her joggers and hoodie and she called you but not me? Let her return from Pagdandia I will chew her alive”
Harshit’s lips carved to a smile seeing Niti’s expressions.

Imlie cut the call with Aditya and stared at the sky, she couldn’t comprehend what was actually going on. Was there such an event during the past timeline? No, she doesn’t remember but she knows what Aditya said about Chavi’s parents might be absolutely the truth. She wouldn’t have been convinced about it if she hadn’t noticed Chavi’s parents yesterday, her father was about to almost twist her wrist when the village head was talking with her. But Chavi’s mother stopped him, his face was calm but his hands were approaching with an intention. And Chavi’s mother was giving a killing intent; Imlie was good at catching these intuitions as she herself had killed many people in both her past life and even in this. The only thing that let Imlie to allow her to go to her home was because her relatives came from another village to stay with them. But she had already seen them taking a bus today morning when she was leaving for Chautaalgarh and the thing she heard while crossing the village square made her suspicion more strong. As she was returning from Chautaalgarh with a vegetarian cake for Chavi, she saw Pawan, the sixteen year old guy who works in Dulari laal fields. She tipped him with some cash for information and he said that he was not there in Dulari Laal’s house when Aditya visited but another guy Lalit was there who was separating the rice hulls from the rice. But he himself noticed the couple talking about something strange.
“What were they talking about?” asked Imlie.
“Someone called Sudheer Jha. They said the biggest bad luck was that their daughter got married to another Bhaskar Times journalist. He asked his wife how could she forget that eighteen years before it was also about a Bhaskar Times journalist, and these journalist guys are extremely sharp. They need to get the rid of the problem in such a way that the snake dies and the stick also doesn’t break”
“Anything more?”
“Nope they stopped talking about it when they saw me”
“Okay Pawan I am giving you this five hundred rupees note, eat something good with this but talk with Lalit too. I need the information by tonight and don’t say that I asked you this. Not even to Lalit, I only trust you. Also, are there too many rats in the fields or the warehouse where you store their rice?”
“No didi”
“Okay see you later then”
Okay didi”
As Imlie remembered the conversation she had with Pawan, she walked faster to Chavi’s residence. That girl was indeed in some danger according to Imlie.

As Arpita was decorating Aryan’s room while he was in the shower she noticed two things and almost screamed. Aryan came out of the shower running wearing a towel though his body was still covered with foam.
“What happened didi?”
“Aru, what are these?”
Aryan’s throat went dry as she held the cap with her right hand and the earring with her left. But he was the great Aryan Singh Rathore so he didn’t panic and replied calmly, “A cap and an earring”
“I also know this is a cap and that is an earring. But my question is why have you not returned the cap and whose earring is this. Or both of these belong to a single girl?”
“Dii, what kind of nonsense are you spewing? Both of these belong to two different girls. One is in police force the other just joined college”
“Oh, I get it now”
“What?”
“One who saved you and the other who lent you the umbrella last Sunday”
“How did you know?”
“I just shot the arrow in the dark, you assured me that I hit the right place with your expressions. But you are indeed meeting strange girls these days.”
Aryan thought for a little and exclaimed, “Strange indeed, one is mute and the other just don’t stop talking”
“Total opposite?”
“Yes”
“Well Aru, I know you haven't done any romantic stuff for the last few years. But don’t approach a forbidden love”
“What forbidden love dii? I won’t meet one of them and the other also as we are leaving for Mumbai this Sunday”
“I know my brother is an intelligent kid but do think about our mother too, her choices and everything. The police lady who kills people will be a no go for her. She will bless you both if you end up with her but won’t be able to find a mutual space herself which every kind of relationship needs to sustain. So think before falling in love”
“Dii, you had a love marriage too and after seeing maa and papa, also you and jiju(brother in law) I would love to stay away from love. Love only means suffering but that remark was unexpected from you”
“Look Aru, love is said to be blind but don’t be so blind that you end up losing more than the number of people you gain by being blind. I don’t know about the college girl, she is young but the police girl might be of your age. And the way you said she killed people I fear both me and maa will have shivers down our spines even looking at her”
“You just think too much dii, I need to take a bath bye”
“Okay as you wish”
Aryan went inside the bathroom and Arpita made her way out of the room muttering under her breath, “Hope Aru understands, Arvind had that mutual ground with maa being the eldest son of the house but a girl who slices throats easily; will she be a good choice to keep the house together rather than breaking it?”

Imlie went inside Dulaari Lal's house with a smiling face and greeted them. Dulari lal said Chavi is in her room, and she went inside. When Imlie met Chavi she came running and hugged her.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know but my own house is feeling worse than the Tripathi Niwas” mumbled Chavi.
“Why?”
“Amma and baba none wished me for my birthday. And other times they would throw parties but today they sent the relatives away.”
“ Accha(okay) where is your mother?”
“In the kitchen”
“Oh then come to the kitchen with me”
“Okay”

Chavi and Imlie made their way to the kitchen which was an independent separate room on the courtyard.
“Amma look Imlie came”
“Jay Sita Maiyya kaki maa”
“Jay Sita Maiyya beta. Why are you here?”
“Oh I came to take Chavi at our place”
“Your place. Why? It’s almost lunch hour”
“Kaki maa look, I brought a cake for her. And I requested naani(grandmother) to cook for her specially today to celebrate her birthday”
“Amma please let me eat at Imlie’s place, please” pleaded Chavi.
Chavi’s mother thought for a while and replied positively. As she was busy thinking Imlie rolled her eyes over the kitchen and found what she was trying to find. The fifty bottles of rat poison medicine which Chavi’s father bought today saying their rice were getting bad in the warehouse for the rats and became the talk of the village. The medicine didn’t make its way to the warehouse but the kitchen to get added everyday to Chavi’s lunch.
After pleading with Chavi, Imlie was able to take her to her own house. There Chavi celebrated her birthday with Imlie by cutting her cake and the food Meethi and Dulari prepared on Imlie’s suggestions for celebrating Chavi’s birthday.

Aditya sneaked into his own office like a thief and made his way towards the room where old documents were kept during the lunch hour. There he went through the old documents, at first he didn’t find it but when he searched intently he found the name ‘Sudheer Jha’. That man had taken volunteer retirement when he was thirty two and he was the lead of the team which was working on different urban tales to folktales. Aditya remembered he used to enjoy a lot reading this section of the newspaper where they used to do research on the stories and find the truth behind them. The last story of this section was about the white lady on the roof which was later found by the team was actually a torn white section of an old ad which was not removed properly while putting a new ad on the hoverboard that was on that roof. But the files said a different story, it said Sudheer Jha’s last project was eighteen years back in Pagdandia, the story of the couple who vanished from the cliff near Sita Maiyya’s temple; Chandra and Shekhar. The biggest mystery was not only that there was nothing published about them but the most famous reporter Sudheer Jha who was leading this had resigned after returning from Pagdandia to Delhi.

The meeting started in the village with the elders and audiences at little late then the scheduled time at 6:30 pm. The Village Head wanted to send Chavi back but Chavi pleaded how she would live there if Aditya marries Malini. Also when their marriage took place she was not of age which makes the whole marriage invalid. But the elders said that they can’t keep a girl who probably slept with a man. Chavi insisted she would leave the village and study. When the trial was getting harder and harder Imlie was surprised by seeing Chavi’s father taking a stand for her. He said he would send his girl to study as she could neither go with that bad journalist nor can stay back at home. Imlie, who was observing everything from the far end of the crowd, felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked behind and found it was Pawan, she took Pawan a little far and asked if he got any information from Lalit. Pawan said the exact words which Aditya said in the phone call but there was more to his information.
“Didi, they said that at the end of the day they need to keep their image intact at any cost hence the story of Chandra and Shekhar needs to be repeated. Well I don’t know how the most famous love story of Pagdandia is related to their image in any manners”

Imlie gave him some cash and said, “No need to think so much, take this and have a feast”
“Thank you didi” Pawan replied.

As Pawan left Imlie called Niti and said to send an email to Harshit. Things were getting way darker than what was visible to naked eyes.
Imlie remembered the story of Chandra and Shekhar which she heard from her mother when she was a kid.

Eighteen years back, there were two lovers, Shekhar and Chandra. They were engaged from the time they were kids, their love story didn't have many ups and downs but they decided to get married when Shekhar was eighteen and Chandra was only fourteen. Their parents were extremely good people with high morale and they believed the laws should not be broken. They tried to explain to their kids that this is just lust that they wanted to achieve by marrying. They tried to convince the to stay for more four years as engaged partners and then the parents themselves would get them married.

But Chandra cried and said her love for him was so much that she couldn't stay without him for a second and Shekhar couldn't see his love shedding her tears. They went to Sita Maiyya's temple and said they would get married but without any Pandit(priest). They didn't need anyone to accept their love except Sita Maiyya herself. As it's believed that Sita Maiyya's temple vermilion aka sindur is the holiest blessing to any couple.

Their families tried to find them in the whole village and ended up in the temple only to find them already done the thing that can't be undone.

Their families criticized their love and said it was a wrong decision to get them engaged as they have ruined a pure relationship of marriage by showing lust in the land where every marriage is based on purity, Pagdandia.

"Our love is no lie Sita Maiyya knows it the best" both of them shouted at the top of their lungs and went to the cliff.

Their last words were, "Our love is pure as the white cloth without stains, our love has the innocence that blossom like flowers, our love is like vines which grows more and more with time, our love has thorns which will protect us from any evil"

And then they vanished into the thin air. Many thought they jumped from the cliff but there was nobody down, they just vanished before anyone could do anything.

‘Will the actual truth clear up the mist that is covering up the whole situation?’ thought Imlie as she had already shot the arrow in the dark, now time could only answer whether it had hit the aim or missed it.

Songs Used-
~Mystery of Love[Sufjan Stevens]

Kakima/kaki maa: kaki stands for the wife of father's brother and maa stands for mother, in India you can call any unknown elder lady as mousi(mother's sister), kakimaa( wife of father's brother) or even aunty. Every lady would respond to this call 

How was today's update?
Yours Mimi(❁´◡`❁)