SR/A: Being Here, Only Ours Today UPD:1/18/12 P 30 - Page 11

Part 7: Lost and Found

The sudden panic seemed to engulf him, the acute feeling of loss spilling over to the very corners of his soul. He needed to find her; he couldn't lose her, not now, not after-

He needed to find her. Where was she? His hands roamed around near his sides, she really was gone! Gathering his strength he stood up, the dark room offered no solace to his frantic mind as he set out. Feeling his way around, he found the wall. Running his hands over the rough surface, he made his way towards a small beam of light that erupted from the bottom of a doorway.

Weak and about to collapse, he clasped at the doorknob, falling onto as his breath ran out. Slipping to the ground, he reached up, turning it with the last ounce of his strength, he fell out.

"Rhiddima?"

He heard his voice call out, how he managed to power to do so, he did not know, but he did it again. "Rhiddima!"

"Siddhant!" A faint reply caused his head to lift up from the floor on which it lay. Was that her? He looked out as footsteps hurried towards him and he was lifted up by strong arms. "Sid what are you doing? Are you ok? Sid!"

He closed his eyes, realization overcoming him, he hadn't found her. She was still gone.

"Nurse!" the voice above him called out, but he didn't pay notice; he allowed himself to go limp, slipping back into the darkness as a whisper escaped his lips, "come back."

=ll=

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Come on na, I thought boys liked adventure."

"Adventure is not being plain stupid! That is a fricken bhoot bangla! I refuse to move past this gate!"

Rhiddima paused mid step, turning around with a huff she stood with her hands on her hips, narrowed eyes focused on a hesitant Arjun.

"Arjun are you coming or not?" she questioned, her eyes were challenging his manlihood as she stood a mere few feet away from the front gates of the abandoned house on the outskirts of the small town.

The house, miraculously preserved despite the roots and foliage which surrounded it, seemed to be a regular old villa that was two stories tall, but as Arjun had stated, it gave off an aura that seemed to scream, "BHOOT."

"No," he replied, "and you're not going in either; come back!"

Rhiddima turned around with a snort, "fine," she called back, "you stay there! I'm going to go by myself!"

"Rhiddima stop!" she heard his voice calling after her, but she continued making her way towards the gates, saying, "Bade aaye devar banne."

"Oh hello!" a call came from behind, "Devar nahi, jeth! I'm older! Listen to me woman! COME BACK!" Receiving no response from her, Arjun ran after her, "women," he muttered. She smiled as he fell into step beside her, muttering away under his breath.

"Don't blame me if we get killed, this is all on you. And when Sid finds out, it's all your fault then too, and if-" Arjun's voice faltered as they pushed open the gate, stepping foot into the compound that surrounded the house. Almost immediately, the wind had seemed to pick up. Howling as if they were in the middle of a storm, it seemed to pull them towards the house, the only thing not moving as strong winds caused the surrounding plants and sturdy trees to sway like blades of grass.

"What the'" a whisper escaped from Arjun's lips, unnoticed by both him and the woman beside him. They stood in awe as the weather took a sudden change for the worse; before they knew it storm clouds were moving in, appearing to somehow center around that very property.

"We should head back," she declared, looking around wearily. Arjun willingly nodded in nervous agreement; as the wind howled fiercely, the two attempted to head back out. Turning tail, they ran towards the gate which was swinging back and forth due to the strong current. They'd barely made it past the property boundaries when the weather settled down, returning to a restive state disturbed only by the gentle breeze which blew through the rustling leaves. It was calming itself to an almost serene state, if it weren't for the strewn plant life, no one would ever have known what just happened.

They exchanged glances as they headed towards the road, when Arjun abruptly realized something."My phone."

"What."

"I don't have my phone! It must have fallen out back there somewhere."

They looked wearily at the house, both hesitant to step foot inside after what had just seemed to happen. Finally, gathering his wits, Arjun stepped towards the old building. Just as before, the minute he set foot on the property, the winds began to stir. The leaves began to blow. And Arjun Singhania was being pulled towards the house. Bracing himself firmly he knelt to the ground near where they had stood, hurrying in search of the missing device.

Outside the compound, Rhiddima stood anxiously waiting, after a whole two minutes she jogged back in too, to help Arjun. After a nerve breaking three point five minutes, they found his phone hidden below some dry leaves, and grabbing onto each other, they sprinted out and away. Rhiddima was more than happy to get away, she should have listened to Arjun, something about that house was off. In her haste to escape, she had barely registered the calming of the wind once again as they left, but Arjun paused for a second, turning back once more to watch in awe at the curious phenomenon.

=ll=

"Where is she?"

Shravan shrugged as Sid voiced his concern again, "I don't-"

Once again, he was cut off by his friend, who was frantically pacing in front their vehicles while asking the same questions over and over again.

"Where did they go? Why isn't he picking up his phone?"

Shravan opened his mouth once again to reply, only to shut it again. It was no use, Sid was beyond himself with worry; not that he himself wasn't worried, Shravan just happened to have more confidence in Arjun and Rhiddima. He was sure that wherever they had disappeared to from their previous location, they would be back, Arjun's inner Arohi finding device would surely lead them right back here. That along with the fact that they had only been gone ten minutes reassured him that not much could have gone wrong.

So Shravan sat silent, an arm around his wife as they watched Sid pace back and forth, and Arohi sit in the jeep fretting and fumbling with a towel in order to calm herself down. His patience was rewarded, as barely five minutes later, Arjun and Rhiddima appeared. Granted they were coming from a direction which did not lead to the bathrooms, they had in fact, appeared. So all was fine.

"WHERE WERE YOU?!" Sid's voice interrupted Shravan's inner monologue, he watched bemusedly as Sid ran to receive the duo, grabbing Rhiddima like it had been months, not just minutes he had gone without her.

She shook her head, "nothing, we'"

"we went exploring." Arjun completed for her, "just around."

"Oho!" Arohi finally spoke, leaping out of the jeep, "and you couldn't have told us! You just disappear without a word?! You are so-"

"I'm sorry." Arohi shut up as Arjun stood before her, hands holding his ears apologetically. She frowned adorably, refusing to look at him. Shravan grinned as Arjun reached out and grabbed her around the waist, reaching down to drop a kiss on her cheek. Arohi gasped in shock, turning beet red as she buried her head in his neck.

Saachi swatted at Shravan as he laughed at Arohi, but he kept grinning, pulling her closer to drop a kiss on her cheek too. As she rested her head against her shoulder, he looked out again to look contently upon his friends. Arjun and Arohi were leaning against Arjun's jeep, whispering in each other's ears. Sid and Rhiddima were off to the side, Rhiddima biting her lip as Sid continued chiding her for causing him a heart attack.

This moment is perfect, the thought ran through Shravan's head as he laid another kiss on his wife's forehead, nothing can ruin this.

=ll=

The leaves rustled in the undergrowth beside the vehicles as a tall imposing presence stepped away from his vantage point. He had seen enough, and he was sure they wouldn't return, that was all he needed to know.

He made his way back to the woods, his method of transport around this small town. There was so little that met the eye about this place he mused, yet there was so much to know. The dark green foliage easily provided his camouflage as he made his way on the narrow path. Practically invisible unless you knew it was there, and he was one of the few. He knew no one would see him, even with this bright red attire.