Gehraiyan: New Thread Link Posted Page 141 - Page 68

But be warned, it's 10am here and I don't get home until after 6pm.

I will be in train by then. I will read chup chupke😆

Originally posted by: TheBrat

I will be in train by then. I will read chup chupke😆

Oh yeah. They should. Last time I was having their vegetable biryani since I was forced to eat something by my friends. I was making faces through out and gave a good entertainment to my fellow passengers :P

Thank you all for being so patient throughout my impromptu break. This was a chapter that simply refused to write itself and the credit goes to you all for its completion.

I would like to direct you to the first page of this story, where I have uploaded something you might like to see. Before or after reading the chapter is fine but I think it would be preferable to wait until after.

- Zarin

They were picking up pace now, twisting deftly around the sharp turns and rolling dutifully down the steep hills. She was the last of them, left alone after the latest stop some twenty miles away. The hills had changed since, their jewelled green grass becoming increasingly sparse as more and more rough, rocky expanses appeared.

"Darjeeling, na?" The man at the service station had attempted to engage in friendly chit chat while she used his computer.

"How did you guess?"

"With this route at this time, you would either have to be going to Darjeeling or coming back from Varanasi." He had eyed the bus that was visible through the window before giving her power suit a once over. "And if I may be audacious enough to say, you don't look as if you've been touched by a holy spirit."

She had made no reply but continued instead to check the booking made for her by the managing company.

"You are going at a good time. You will see the last of the sun before the new season begins. Perhaps." He had paused then and she had looked on as he watched the overcast sky ominously. "It wants to tell us a new story this year."

When he had started to peer curiously at her face, she had decided it was time to thank him and leave.

It appeared to her now that he had been right. Gone were any traces of sunlight and in its place was a swirling mist that lay encircled around the hills.

"Madam, we have arrived at the Darjeeling bus stand." She looked up at the driver's announcement. The sensation of being pushed into an ocean bubbled to the surface as she absorbed the ring of finality.

Ten minutes later, she stood at the deserted bus stand, the comfort of the bus now a distant dream. According to the internet, a bus ran from here to the guest house every hour on the hour. She looked down at her watch. Eleven minutes past. Brilliant.

She was surrounded by trees and as she waited, she heard them rustle restlessly in the breeze. Something about their quick, papery movements reminded her of the impatient tapping of a foot.

"Shut up," she muttered irritably.

In what appeared to her as an act of revenge, the breeze strengthened, permeating into her bones, its chill numbing her until she could barely move her lips. Tugging her blazer closer around her, she had found, was a poor shield against the relentless Darjeeling air. Nature was endurable - more than, in fact - but the cold, she decided, was simply unnecessary.

When the wait of another ten minutes wasted away in vain, she clutched the handle of her suitcase and set off on the downward trail that led to the guest house.

As she walked, she noticed the return of the greenery she had witnessed on her journey. In fact, it was all returning a little too quickly. Thick, prickled vines hung lower and lower until she was trapped in an encumbering mass of jade.

She didn't notice when the open space became a narrow, steep path. On more than one occasion, she was forced to take support from the rough trees to avoid tripping over the roots that lay twisted on the floor.

She pulled at her suitcase ferociously, resisting the urge to swear when she noticed that the sky was no longer visible. Where the hell was she? And more importantly, where the hell was everyone else? She was in a freaking ghost town!

In horror, she realised that the path was now leading her uphill and the dread that followed brought with it a wistful flash of home.

Home. She sighed. The longing disappeared quicker than it had come when she remembered what awaited her there.

The ground was slowly flattening out now and although it had become gravelly again, she welcomed the relief to her legs. The dense smell of the earth and the looming bulk of trees were finally beginning to lessen and a few moments later, she understood why.

She had found the guest house and now saw that it was nestled at the foot of one of the cliffs she had seen earlier from the bus.

It was less of the humble guest house of her imagination, she noted, and more of a very large stone villa... or a small mansion... or a few pieces of stone thrown together perhaps and smoothed into high arches and dark balconies...

She had found, it seemed, a world untouched by all that marred her soul.

Walking down the natural slope, she paused before the house; there was something ever so slightly intimidating about it.

Once upon a time, she could see that it had been quite majestic. Now, its beauty lay in its gentle state of dilapidation.

Like everything else she had encountered here, the house had been brushed very lightly with age. The slated roof had begun to grey with rain, a small dent had gently carved itself into the wooden door where its ornate knocker had landed many times and upon closer inspection, she noticed the shallow, cracked veins that ran along the veranda's cool, stone floor.

Facing this self-assured place, she suddenly felt acutely aware of her own inadequacies.

She stepped forward and knocked on the door. Once, twice and then a third time. When even then, there was no reply, she pushed against the door to find that it was already open. Stepping inside, she closed the door and entered a large corridor enveloped in darkness.

She made an attempt to call out to someone but found that her voice had abandoned her. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed a dim glow coming from a distant room. Using the cold walls as a guide, she led herself forward towards the light.

She didn't know what she had expected to find but was relieved when nothing in the room appeared to belong to the dark path her mind was taking. A few armchairs and stools, a lit fireplace, an oak desk and a window glazed with mist. Ordinary.

She waited at the desk and called out, "Hello?"

There was no reply.

She tried again, expecting to meet the same response. "Koi hain?"

"It's of no use. No one will come to help you."

Her hand released the suitcase in surprise and she gasped as it landed with a thud. Heart in her throat and prayers streaming unconsciously through her mind, she turned to see the silhouette of a man on a stilled rocking chair.

"Uh... where is everybody?"

"The chudail has gone away for a while and the old man who works here said something about taking a break. As for everybody else in town - well, they are wise enough to stay indoors today." He paused. "There is a storm coming, after all."

The man tilted his head and she finally saw his wrinkled, shadow-cast face.

She took an unconscious step forward. "Who are you?"

He sat up a little, his eyes shining in amusement.

"And might I take the liberty first of asking you the same question, Miss..." he eyed her from head to toe. "...Mumbai?"

"Geet," she offered begrudgingly.

"Geet." He nodded, as if her name made perfect sense. "Please, Geet, have a seat." He gestured towards the chair opposite him. She took a quick look around the room and, seeing no signs of the owner, took the seat.

"So tell me, Miss Mumbai, what brings you to this forgotten land? You will not find your beloved vada pav here, you know."

She shot him a sarcastic look before replying curtly, "Work".

"Yes, of course you are. I can see that." He gestured dismissively towards her suit. "But what, Miss Geet of The Great City," and this time, he watched her intensely, enough for her to notice the blue in his dark grey eyes, "are you really doing here?"

She didn't know whether it was his steady, Headmaster's gaze or the fact that he reminded her of her own father but she suddenly felt her reserved demeanour simply melt away.

She looked down at the ground. "I couldn't stay there any longer," came her whisper. "I needed to escape."

His gaze did not change. Somewhere in the distance, the seconds on an old Grandfather clock ticked by. After the pause of a few moments, he nodded. "Very well," he said, stretching slowly up off his chair. "Let's get you checked in."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she followed him to the desk. "I thought you said the man who worked here was on a break?"

"He was," he replied. "But he is back now."

He stood behind the desk with something of a flourish and set his palms down on either side.

"I am Gopal Kaka, Miss Geet. Welcome to your new home."

To say that the title of the chapter shocked me would be an understatement. Though I wasn't sure after reading the chapter if it was the end or not but I've read your edited note now and I'm relieved! 😆

"...you don't look as if you've been touched by a holy spirit."
This one made me laugh at first, at the audacity of the man and the awkward situation it would've made for Geet had she been in a normal mood. But when I think over it now, there's a question that coming in my mind. Why do people associate appearances with what kind of a person one might be? Why do they think that a person who wears traditional dresses is the only one who can be religious or something like that? Can't people who wear suits and contemporary clothing have beliefs and can't they also be religious at heart? And can't people who wear traditional clothes be as modern and open in their approach as any other person? I know I'm going off topic here but this is what came to my mind, that it's wrong to assume about someone judging them from how they're dressed.

" The sensation of being pushed into an ocean bubbled to the surface as she absorbed the ring of finality."
I don't know why I stopped to read and reread this one sentence thrice. Maybe it's because this one sentence proves that up until now, we've believed she was content with what she was doing but that wasn't entirely the case. With this one sentence, it's shown that she still was somewhere dubious about her decision but now she believes there's no turning back, that she's being pulled into a maze and she knows she won't be able to return...

"... the dread that followed brought with it a wistful flash of home."
Home is where the heart is and how-much-ever Geet refuses to accept, her heart is still back there. The first thing to come into her mind at such a time was a reminder of home and the hurt associated with that home came second. That's proof enough to what her deeper desire is; to be at home.

"...its beauty lay in its gentle state of dilapidation."
Isn't this the case with everything we come across? Things, people... relations, every single thing on the face of this earth sees its high times and falls. It depends on us to actually see the beauty behind it when it's over its majestic time. A lot of problems would be solved if we started seeing the deeper beauty of things, the beauty that isn't only what is in front of the eyes.

"But what... are you really doing here?"
This question of a stranger in a place like that would've given me chills down my spine. But since I'm reading it, I got goosebumps. There's a strange time when everybody around you seems to know that you're in a difficult situation even though you try hard to cover it up. It always makes you feel paranoid if you land up in such company!

"...Welcome to your new home."
What does this mean? It's deeper than it appears, I know that but it doesn't give me a good feeling. It doesn't feel like a guest is being warmly welcomed in the guest house for her stay. Rather the man has made it seem like she's left her home for good to settle down here.

And now when I think about the title of the chapter, does it mean that a phase of Geet's life has ended? A painful phase. Will this end make way to new beginnings for her, to lead her life the way she wants to and with the people she wishes to be with...?
Only the coming story can answer the questions.

Thanks for updating and the PM, Z! And if my comment here seems convoluted, just ignore! 😆