Gehraiyan [2] - (Resuming) Author's Note pg. 58 - Page 30

Talk about jumping the gun and reserving without checking what you posted

update is not here still m reserving because of my losing thread habit 😳

The next chapter is set five hours before Heer and Nayantara's accident, around the same time as when Dev received the phone call in the previous chapter. The 5 Series, so to say.

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Shika help me get on to the next page?

I thought there was a chapter on page 43 :-D.
Waiting!

It is Maan and Geet, I guess :).

Trying to get it on Page 45 now after all the confusion 😆

Oh good!

The next chapter is set five hours before Heer and Nayantara's accident. It is set around the same time as when we first see Dev in the previous chapter. The 5 Series, so to say.

Previously...

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

"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."

5: The Khuranas

5 hours earlier...

"We're going to get in trouble."

She snorted. "As if that's never happened before."

"Not for trespassing!"

"Oh, potato, pot-ah-toe."

"No. No. Not potato, pot-ah-toe. Attempted skinny-dipping versus actual trespassing!"

Geet looked up from the lock she was picking to grin at him. "But you had fun that night, didn't you?"

He looked away stubbornly. "No."

"Liar." The lock clicked. "There," she said with satisfaction.

With a little effort, one of the heavy doors gave way to a house filled with dust and darkness. She coughed and stumbled backwards as a shower of peeled paint and cobwebs fell on the entrance. He placed his hand on her back to steady her and she took the opportunity to convince him to join her.

"Look at this place! Come on, Maan, let's explore!" Even she could hear how childlike she sounded. All that was left was for her to tug his arm continuously until he relented; if it came down to it, she would do that too.

"Geet, this is someone's house. We can't just walk in. Or rather, we can't just pick the lock and claim the place as ours. What if the owner returns?"

She snorted. "Aankhein hai ya button? Have you seen the state of this place? No one's coming back here any time soon."

As if to emphasise her point, fat drops of rain water began trickling through gaps in the overhang, forcing Maan to huddle closer to Geet, who had quite surreptitiously begun inching inside.

He had been trying very hard to not get seduced by the admittedly beautiful, deteriorating building but when he stepped inside, his eyes were immediately drawn to the long, majestic pillars carved with intricate details. He had begun walking towards the closest one when he caught the smug look on Geet's face.

"So this is your plan. Lure me in to the haunted old cottage and -"

"Have my wicked way with you? Yes." She grinned. "Convincing you is a no-brainer. You're an architect. You're fascinated by old buildings. I figured, why tell," she casually ran a hand down the pillar, "when you can show?"

He shook his head with a smile. If nothing else, the woman knew him well.

He looked over his shoulder at the relentless downpour outside. The muddy forest floor had already been difficult to walk on; looking at the watery mess the storm had turned it into, he knew it would take hours for them to find their way to the inn again.

Geet followed his gaze and this time, she did not speak to convince anyone. "Torrential rain and a storm people had warned me about even before I arrived in Darjeeling. It's no joke, Maan. This is trespassing, yes, but it's also survival."

She left him to consider his options and began hunting for matches. When they had left for the site inspection, she had only filled her toolbox with things she had foreseen them needing; candles and matches because they were stuck in a forest in the middle of a storm had not been part of the plan.

On a whim, Geet ventured over to the dust-covered fireplace and, after poking around the heap of coal, was surprised to actually find a charred box filled with matches.

"Yes! Resul - tchoo!" She quickly stepped away from the fireplace but a series of three more sneezes followed. "A cold?" She grumbled. "Really?"

Noticing Maan still hesitating by the door, she called out, "Maan! You in or out?"

She turned towards the wall and started to squeeze the water out of her shirt.

He sighed and rubbed his face in his hands. "In, I guess. Okay, I'm in." He closed the front door to stop the cold wind from creeping in. "We're going to get caught again, I'm telling you from now."

Laughing, she looked over her shoulder and peeled off her shirt. "Don't sound so sad, Khurana. Where's your sense of adventure?"