OUTSIDE DEHRADOON:A DARK CAVE
Maithili listened to Chiraag as he spoke.
Chiraag- It is done, Maithili. I have put the paper in her room.
Maithili(looking at him sharply)- And I hope Abhayendra will be there too.
Chiraag(scowling)- I don't know that. U want him to come on his own, to avoid him from being suspicious, don't u?
Maithili-I know that. But he must come. Otherwise how will Piya see-
Chiraag(angrily)- Look, I m doing what u say. Whether he comes or not is not my business. And what is the guarantee that he won't kill me? Piyali may start to hate him, but what about my life, Maithili?
Maithili(in a cold voice)- How u save urself is entirely upto u. Just remember that u must wait till Abhayendra is there. And then pretend to attack Piya. Don't kill her, mind u.
She went away.
Chiraag glared after her.I wish I did not have to listen to her!.I wish she hadn't saved me. Then, I wouldn't be indebted to her and be forced to listen to her. This is a werewolf's negative point and she is taking advantage of it! He thought angrily
*********
JAISWAL HOUSE
Arnab Jaiswal leaned back on the sofa, looking contented.
Arnab(closing his eyes and sighing peacefully)-That was fantastic food, Piya! Ah! How I missed ur hand-made food when u were in London! Thank u dear!
Piya(smiling, though her mind is with that chit of paper, which has been haunting her)- Its my pleasure, Dad.
Misha(sitting down beside her father and yawning)- Good food always makes me sleepy. Specially ur food. It rocked, dude! U r brilliant!
Piya doesn't say anything. Misha looks at her to see that she has a faraway look on her face. She goes up and claps Piya on her shoulders.
Misha(loudly)- Hullo, Miss Dreamy!! Where r u lost?
Piya was spared the effort of inventing an answer by the ringing of the doorbell.
Madhu(who has just come into the room)- Get the door, please, Misha.
Misha(yawning again)- Tell Piya to go and open it.
Madhu(in a scolding tone)- Mish!Don't be lazy!
Misha scowled at her mother but went to open the door. She came back with a boy of her age, who had almond shaped brown eyes and dark hair. He was carrying a trolley-suitcase with him.
Misha(in a grumpy tone)- This is Jay Khurana. Says he has business talks with you, Dad.
Arnab stood up quickly.
Arnab(looking at Jay)- Jay khurana. From the famous Khurana family? The business family?
Jay(smiling as he extended his hand)- The very same, sir.
Arnab(shaking his hand)- What a pleasure to meet you! Jay Khurana. The youngest of the Khuranas, right? (Jay nodded)- And what brings you to Dehradoon?
Jay could smell the vampire smell now. Curiously, it seemed to be coming from the girl standing next to the one who had opened the door for him. He glanced at her briefly before answering- I m here on business, Mr. Jaiswal. There's an empty plot of land, just outside the Dehradoon forests, and I thought of buying it for-um- business purposes. I was thinking of you, Mr. Jaiswal. Maybe we could jointly-
Arnab(his smile widening)- A joint venture would be excellent, Jay! I will contact you.(eyes his suitcase)- Where are u staying?
Jay(pretending to be innocent)- Um, Mr. Jaiswal, I am searching for a place to stay. The hotels in which I asked r all full and-
Arnab(clapping his hand on Jay's shoulder)- Not to worry! Why don't u stay with us?
Jay(looking grateful)- Thank you, Mr. Jaiswal-
Arnab(with a smile)- Mr. Jaiswal sounds too formal.At home, you can call me uncle. And this is Madhu, my wife.(Madhu smiles)- And yeah(notices where Jay is looking)- These are my daughters, Misha and Piya.
Misha scowls but Piya smiles, coming forward- Good to meet you, Jay.
Jay(looking curious)- Hello, Piya.
Madhu- Go and freshen up first, Jay. Then you can talk to Arnab.(notices Misha scowling and frowns)- Misha, U show him where the guest room is, please.
Misha scowled even more deeply and said to Jay-Follow me.
After another look at Piya and a quick smile at Arnab and Madhu, Jay followed Misha up the stairs.
Misha- Look,this is the last time I m doing something for U. Don't start expecting me to turn up with ur bed tea tomorrow.
Jay(cannot help smiling)- Ok, I wont expect that. What can I expect?
Misha reached the landing and turned on him furiously- Expect to mind ur own business, Ok?
Jay(falling in to step beside her)- A bit wild, aren't you?
Misha(angrily)- Watch who u r calling wild. This is my house u r staying in.
Jay(his eyes twinkling)- I thought this was ur father's house.
Misha(coming to a stop, now furious )- There's urroom(pointed to a brown door at the end of the corridor)- And here are the keys.(pressed the keys into Jay's palm. As their skins touched briefly, they both felt a jolt of electricity. Misha withdrew her hand quickly, turning away)- U can open the door for yourself.
********
PIYA'S ROOM:
Piya lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her eyes watered as she thought about her mother. Should I go, Mama? Could it be a trap? But then, who would trap me? What is the truth, Mama?How I wish u were here, Mama, she whispered. How I wish you were here The tears fell down her cheeks.
********
JAY'S ROOM:
Jay stood at the window, staring at the dark sky outside. Mission one successful. He was now staying in the Jaiswal house. But now he had another mystery to solve. That vampire smell on Piya. She was not a vampire. Then? I have to find this out myself ,he whispered. I cannot ask for anyone's help. Especially not that sister of hers, Misha.
The thought of Misha brought a smile to his lips. "Misha", he whispered softly, as the breeze caressed his face. "I like your name."
*********
TWO DAYS LATER:EVENING OF THE FULL MOON NIGHT
KABIR'S HOUSE
Abhay could see that Piya was distracted. All of the last two days, she had seemed lost somewhere. And today, she seemed terrified and restless. Her eyes kept on darting to the clock hanging on the wall. When Abhay had danced with her earlier, he had felt the tension in her. Something told him that something was about to happen. He could sense danger. He saw Piya hurry towards Misha and murmur something in her ear. Misha shrugged and nodded. Piya rushed out of the front door. When she had still not returned after ten minutes, Abhay got worried. He went to Misha.
Abhay(with a frown)-Misha,where is Piya?
Misha(rolling her eyes)- Has some work, she said. I guess U wont have any more practice today. No holding her today-
But Abhay was not listening. He could sense danger, feel it. Before Misha had even finished her sentence, he had reached the front door. There, his foot caught something and he stopped abruptly, looking down. Something brown. He bent to pick it up. Piya's purse! Piya had forgotten to take her purse. It was lying there. As Abahy picked it up, he saw that it was not fully closed. As he started to snap it shut, a piece of paper fell down. Abhay bent down, meaning to put the paper back into the back when a word in the paper caught his eye. Forest. Frowning, he picked it up and started to read it.
Piyali,
I was a very close friend of your mother's,close enough to know some of her secrets. If she would have been alive, she would have wanted you to know them. But I can tell you those things,Piyali, now that she is no more.Can you meet me on Thursday night, at Ridge Road, in the outskirts of the forest? I will be waiting, Piyali. I am sure she would have wanted you to know. She told me so.7 in the evening, Piyali.
"What the-?" Abhay stared at the note, and for the first time since he had become a vampire,he felt fear. Fear for her. No, she can't go! She will be in trouble if she does!No!
But in his heart, he knew that that was exactly where Piya would go. For the matter concerned a person she loved. But he had to go and see if she was safe. He could feel his eyes starting to turn red as he crushed the paper he was holding. I m coming,Piya, he whispered.
*********
JAISWAL HOUSE:
Madhu- where has Jay gone, Arnab?
Arnab(flicking a page of the newspaper he was reading)- Said he has some work. Will be back by tomorrow.
*********
OUTSIDE DEHRADOON: A DARK CAVE
Chiraag(preparing to leave)- I will be transforming soon, Maithili. It is only half an hour before the full moon comes out. I'm going.
Maithili(looking at him)- U know what to do, right?
Chiraag(shrugging)- I will play my part, Maithili. Whether Abhay is coming or not is entirely upto him. U will know what will happen anyway. We are bonded.(leaves)
Maithili(smiling evilly as she watches him go)- Oh, I know Abhayendra will come, Chiraag. Its in his nature to be disgustingly kind to these worthless humans.
**********
The setting for the first climax of the story is here, frens!!
PRECAP: Chiraag-Piya-Abhay, Abhiya and Jay- Chiraag. Next update will be full of romance and drama…so watch out!!!
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
Vanshaj
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