Angad awoke a few hours later, squinting at the sunlight, and with a throbbing headache. He felt a presence in the room, and turned his head, only to looking right into a pair of honey-colored eyes. Kripa had been smiling slightly watching Angad, but now as he held her stare, her expression become sterner.
"Uth gaye tum? Yeh niche kya tamasha kar rahe the? Itni bhang peene ko kisne kaha tha?" Kripa gently scolded. Instinctively, Angad felt guilty, and he lowered his head like a small child. Kripa fought hard to stifle a laugh. She put down the tray of food she was carrying and picked up the glass of water. She held out her palm which contained a small white pill. "take it, it will help with the headache." She turned around to leave, but Angad stopped her.
"Kripa I, uh, I hope I didn't do anything too stupid" he said, sheepishly.
Kripa just smiled and left. After finishing his food, Angad took a quick shower, and headed downstairs. As he descended the stairs, he heard loud voices coming from the front door, which he assumed were some drunken men arguing. Angad was only partially right.
Josh Sharma had another young man by the collar. His eyes were cold with rage and his jaw was tightened. "I'll kill you" he repeated over and over again. Dilip and Suryaban tried in vain to stop him. The other man seemed to have some sort of an arrogant but smug smirk on his face. Angad didn't know why, but he hated him right then and there. He quickly climbed down the stairs and held Josh back.
"Tum abhi, issi waqt yahan se chale jao, Prithvi" Suryaban said through his clenched jaw.
"Main Kripa ko sirf happy holi wish karne aaya tha" Prithvi said, sarcastically. Angad didn't know what got into him, but he stepped forward and pushed Prithvi backwards really hard. Prithvi, stunned, stumbled a couple of steps backward. "Didn't you hear what uncle said? Get out" Angad said.
Everyone finally retreated to their own rooms. Angad anxiously looked for Kripa, but she was nowhere to be found. Adi came up to Angad and took his hand. He led Angad outside, through the backyard and across the plain. They stopped at a hilltop where Angad saw a figure hunched over. On closer inspection, he saw that it was indeed Kripa. She sat with her legs pulled up to her torso, bent at knees; hugging herself tightly. Her head rested upon her knees, her face expressionless. Her eyes, however, reflected storm. The tears had dried. Angad sat beside Kripa. They sat like that for sometime, watching the brazen sun set. It had started to get dark outside, and Angad turned his head to Kripa to say something, but stopped when he saw streams of tears down Kripa's face. He took her hand in his and rubbed it for a while. The tears had stopped, but Kripa stared straight ahead.
"Kripa" Angad began softly. He took a deep breath. "Kripa, I don't know what's going on, and I don't even know if it's my place to ask you this, but tell me what's bothering you? What happened?"
Kripa shut her eyes tightly and began. "Angad, when I was 17 a guy named Prithvi came into my life."
Okay guys, I FINALLY continued...I know it's short but this is like a prelude for the upcoming part(s), so keep reading and do leave comments.
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