Part 3 :- Clueless Questions & Mirror Images
Complete calm and utter silence often precedes a devastating storm. Prabal was well aware of this fact but he had never experienced anything as such , until today.
The way his grandmother , Dipannita Dobriyal , had made herself comfortable on the sofa , her facial features reflecting the calmness of a saint in meditation , he was cent percent sure that a storm was on its way. Dipannita could be called a grandmother only because she was a generation older to Prabal's parents , else no one could tell her age by her looks. She looked really young , was in a better shape than Madhu , and did not have even a single grey hair. She wore sarees of only three colours - white , cream , or grey , and accessorized it with a white pearl necklace , her lipstick always being a blood red. She also applied a lip gloss that made her look like the skin of her lips had been scraped and fresh blood would drip from them any moment.
Looking at the ridiculously large , oval shaped wall-clock , Prabal was regretting the decision of replacing its used up battery with a new one. The clock was now ticking correctly and as annoyingly as the hammering of a woodpecker.
As the clock struck a perfect five-thirty , Dipannita shifted her pitch-black eyes from the face of the clock to that of Prabal's , making his heart skip a beat.
" Why is Piya not back yet ? " , asked Dipannita , in a sweet voice. " The train timings have changed Granny. She reaches the station at twenty five past five , and would be at home before six " , replied Prabal in as firm a voice as he could manage.
This honest piece of information did not sound good to Dipannita at all. She was well aware that Arnab never returned home before seven. Being the owner of a shopping mall did involve him in quite a good deal of paperwork. Providing people with the latest trends in clothing and accessories is no child's play !
So, it was pretty obvious that Arnab did not have the time to pick Piya up from the station. Her daughter-in-law Madhu would indulge in anything else apart from household chores ,was something that could never happen. Dipannita had tried a lot to train Madhu as a businesswoman like herself , but she could never understand Madhu's joy of being the dotting housewife. And Prabal , well , he was altogether a new species whose motto in life was - get up , survive , and go back to bed. Survive in Prabal's terms meant eating , watching cricket and loafing around with friends , wasting his father's hard earned money.
A car could not be sent to receive Piya because the way to the station was one of a queer shape. It outlined the dense forest , and after about five-six metres from the station the road narrowed dramatically all the way to their home and the sides of the road were filled with sharp stones. A car moving towards the station was sure to have punctured tyres before it would even reach its destination. The other way that led to the railway station went all around the city and was a journey of more than two hours by car. So , if someone did go to pick Piya up , the person used a two - wheeler that the Dobriyals had never required to own.
Piya didn't walk alone , all the way to home , did she ? , thought Dipannita. " With whom does Piya return ? " , she asked.
"Prabal ofcourse , Mom " , Madhu replied nonchalantly , while flipping over the pages of a fashion magazine. " How ? Arnab did not buy him a bike , right ? " , Dipannita querried further.
" Mom, his limbs are completely fine and so are Piya's. They walk back home " , said Madhu glancing shortly at her mother-in-law.
This was quite indigestible for anybody who knew Prabal. The boy who never walked even to fetch himself a glass of water from the kitchen , would walk to and from the station that was two kilometres away from the Dobriyal Mansion , that too six days every week !
" Really ? " , Dipannita found herself asking even before she had realized it. " Why are you both behaving like I am not present here ? " , asked Prabal , quite annoyed with his grandmother's continuous interrogation. " You ladies do realize that you were talking about me , infront of me , while ignoring me ? And , granny , Mom is right , I always step into the home after Piya. "
" Does not mean you accompany her " , snapped Dipannita.
"What makes you assume otherwise ? " , asked Prabal. The lady had returned only an hour ago and had neither met Piya nor talked to her over the phone , then how could she be sure if he had ever offered Piya a walk back home ?
As if it was the most normal thing to do at the moment , Dipannita smiled at him and asked politely , " What time did you say Piya reaches the station ? "
" 5:25 " , answered Prabal , feeling a little uneasy under her gaze. " What time is it now ? " , she inquired again.
" 5:40 , why ? " , he replied. It was difficult for him to understand , where she was heading with the conversation.
" Exactly my point " , said Dipannita confidently , " If you actually act like the responsible brother that you say you have done , then you should have left for the station at five o clock itself. It takes about twenty minutes to reach their by foot , doesn't it ? " .
Prabal knew he had been caught up in his own lie , and the best that he could do was to lower his eyes and fix his vision onto the perfectly carpeted floor.
"Prabal please don't tell me that you forgot your duty towards your sister only today because you were overwhelmed due to my return , " said dipannita trying to appear touched at the thought.
Prabal managed to snort inelegantly. Her presence was the last reason he could be excited about. The lady lived to annoy him , or everybody for that matter.
" But does she walk alone - in the dark - after 5:30 , then ? " , came Madhu's rathered panicked voice. " Oh God ! How wrong have I been in assuming that you could do something worthwhile for once ? "
Prabal could not see the reason behind all the drama. He knew it too well that Piya always had Abhay ,the guy with the intimidating aura , as a companion. Not that he had seen them walking together everyday but had often heard about it from his friends that spent more time on the streets than in their homes. He could have told it to them , but if there was any truth in Abhay being the Abhay of the old supernatural books his father was interested in , than his grandmother was sure to make this day the last day of his existence. So , there was no way he was uttering the truth in front of the ladies.
" So what if she walks alone ? What's the big deal ? " , shrugged Prabal , busying himself with his i-phone.
Madhu could not believe her son's irresponsible behavior. How could he act like he didn't know how important Piya was for them ? What if something bad happens to her ?
" Its not a big deal ? " , repeated Dipannita angrily , which Prabal chose to ignore. " Look at me when I talk to you " , she screamed and Prabal felt his own fury rise.
Dipannita had stood up to stand near him , menacingly pointing a finger at him , " You have the time to loaf around with your friends , but you cannot- "
Prabal stood up too and spoke in his loudest voice , " I am not her baby sitter , and - "
Dipannita's palm had connected harshly with his left cheek before he could even finish his sentence. The sound of the slap almost echoed around in the room.
Madhu's right hand instantly flew up to her mouth to cover the gasp that escaped her. Prabal's eyes darkened with anger at the insult. He felt the slap not across his cheek but across his pride.
" Baby sitter ? You are a servant to her , you boy " , screeched Dipannita. " The house belongs to her , the mall belongs to her , all that you refer to as yours , is hers. You would find yourself on the streets if she decides to throw you out of her property " .
" And you -" , Dipannita now turned to Madhu , " You rememebered to inform me that Piya's boss wants to marry her , but you forgot to tell me that train timings have been rescheduled, and probably she walks to home , all alone" .
She dialed Piya's number thrice , which rang and then switched to voicemail each time. " She is not taking the call. Call that boss of hers and put the phone on speaker " , she ordered Madhu.
Madhu complied and waited for Jeh to answer. He answered on the second ring - " Hello Auntie ! "
" Hello Jeh ! Do you know where Piya is ? She is not answering her phone "
A brief pause.
"Jeh , are you there ? "
" Yes Auntie ! Piya is here in the office. "
" Office ? but why ? "
" There is a problem - files missing from office's database sort of a thing - so the development team is still here. You know the development team , right ? Piya, Ruhi and Angad. "
"Oh yes I know. Thank You son. " , Madhu cut the call and looked at Dipannita who did not appear satisfied at all. " He was lying " , said Dipannita.
" What makes you think so ? " , asked Madhu , knitting her eyebrows together. " He paused a lot while talking and the rumbling of an engine was clearly audible. Means he is himself not in the office , so, he can't be sure of Piya's locations. "
Madhu pondered upon the facts and then called Ruhi whose phone was answered by Angad , because Ruhi had gone to bring coffee and had left her phone behind. Angad informed the curious Dobriyals that there was definitely a missing files sort of problem in the office's database and that the development team had been held back in the office , because they were to launch an anti-virus in two days and that would not be possible without the missing data. But, he also told them that Piya was certainly not in the office as she had resigned before leaving , earlier this afternoon. He also requested them to inform Ruhi and him when Piya showed up.
This made Dipannita's worries notch up a little higher and she dialed Piya's number again only to get the same result. She sank into the sofa with a defeated expression on her features , burying her head in her hands. " Why Madhu ? Why has it always been so difficult for you to take care of Piya ? I can't remember a single day that she has wronged you in anyway " , she accused. Then, she looked up at Madhu , and continued , " All that the girl has ever wanted from you is a little love and attention , that you could never provide. God forbid , but what if something bad has happened with her ? Who would she call for help ? I left her in your care to assist your husband in business , but you -"
Madhu fumbled for words but could not find any. Then , Dipannita did something that the mother and son's duo had never imagined.
She got up , walked up to where Prabal was standing , his head still tilted from the effect of the slap, and holding him by the arm , Dipannita pulled him out of the home. " Go , and look for Piya. Do not return without her " , she said , before slamming the door on his face. " But how would I know where she is ? " , Prabal asked from outside. " Then don't ever return " , came the stern reply from his grandmother.
And thus Prabal found himself heading out in search of his cousin that could turn him from glory to ashes if she chose to.
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The throbbing pain in her head and her spine made it difficult for Piya to breathe properly. Last time when she had suffered from such a pain in her head , she was just a six year old , and had opened her eyes to the huge , scary lights , beeping machines , and the never ending white walls of a hospital. That was the time she had lost her parents.
She had opened her eyes to find a doctor and few nurses surrounding her and pacing all around the room speaking certain medical terms that she didn't understand then. She looked across the room to see Madhu and a nine year old , Prabal standing in a corner , but she could not locate her parents.
" Mumma , Daddy " , she spoke in her childish voice , gaining the full attention of every eye in the room. " They will never return " , she heard Prabal speaking and then a " Shut up , are you crazy " , from Madhu , trying to drill some sense into her son's thick head .
Piya's tears had spilled out in large voulmes as she had screamed , " No ! You are lying " , but her words had not been able to change the truth. What was worse was that she had not been able to remember anything about her mother and father , not even their faces , till date. She had heard the doctors speak that it was just a case of amnesia and something along the lines of - the human brain is capable of locking painful memories away. When even after a week her parents did not pay her a visit , Piya believed in what the others had said and had cried hysterically.
Dr. Akhil Roy , the doctor that was attending Piya , had pulled her onto his lap , enveloping her into a warm , comforting hug , and had rubbed soothing circles on her back until her loud cries had subsided into soft sobs and there were no more tears to spill. Dr. Roy had explained her how she was the lucky survivor and that her parents would hate to see her cry. Piya had already begun to hate herself for forgetting her parents and she would not have been able to survive if they hated her for any reason. So, Piya had promised the doctor that she would always face every problem with a smile and would try to keep the tears at bay.
The senior doctors had advised Dipannita to keep away everything that could remind Piya of her parents , because they could have an adverse effect on her brain. Thus , her grandmother never let her see even a photo of her parents and that is why Piya could never place a picture of her parents in her brain.
Dipannita introduced her to Arnab , Madhu , and Prabal , as the relatives she presently knew , when they moved into her home a week later. Arnab had been good to her and still was , the only problem was that he was too absorbed in work to be able to spend time with her. But , Madhu and Prabal never accepted her as their own. Dipannita was busy in helping Arnab groom into the world of business which was new to him , and so, Piya was forced to grow up alone , making her pillows her best friends and the stars her parents.
Piya feared that this time when she opened her eyes she might forget Abhay , as he was the only one that had made her feel wanted , in a long time , and that was the last thing she would wish for. She could willingly prefer being engulfed by the darkness with images of him , than being gifted with a sting of dazzling light and no memory of the vampire that she had grown to love.
A cold sensation was spreading through her body making her numb , and she wondered if she would ever know how wonderful warmth felt , again.
Then she heard it, the lightest sound of someone running over dead leaves , and his voice- Abhay's husky voice , almost in a whisper - Piya !
Piya struggled to open her eyes and drink in his features before it became her last , unfulfilled wish. She fought against everything that was holding her back and managed to blink open her eyes to look in the direction of his voice.
He was there , just few steps away from her in his favourite black attire, but it confused Piya why he was looking away from her. He was staring at something on the ground , his electric blue dilated orbs appeared shocked and almost tortured. His face was blank , except for the few muscles that were contorted in pain and fear.
She tried to follow Abhay's gaze and the world seemed to spin in front of her eyes when she saw herself lying on the ground in a pool of blood , in her work uniform that comprised of blue jeans teamed with a half sleeved , green t-shirt , her hands bent at her elbows in a position as if she was trying to push herself up from the dirt she was faintly breathing in. Her hair that she had tied up in a pony tail had become disheveled and matted in blood.
Piya glanced around to find herself standing at a right angle , a few steps from her injured body , and also that she appeared translucent .
She remembered the numbness that had earlier conquered her senses. Had she already been wrenched out of her body ?
Was that the reason she didn't feel the pain anymore ?
No, her mind was creating images , Piya repeated over and over in her mind closing her eyes , wishing that everything would be normal when she opened her eyes again.
A gush of wind swept all over her , threatening to blow her away with it , but she kept her eyes closed , afraid of what she might see if she opened them again.
Piya heard Abhay call her name almost desperately , pleading her to open her eyes and talk to him atleast once. She found him going quiet abruptly and then he roared , " I WILL KILL YOU IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HER "
What ? Why was he saying something like that ?
She opened her eyes to see a masculine figure standing infront of her in black jeans and a grey shirt , blocking the spot where she had earlier located her helpless self in a pool of blood. He was taller than every guy Piya knew and had broad shoulders. It made no sense to her why Abhay should threaten to harm him when the culprit was Jeh. Just because he didn't know , he could not hurt anybody else.
Piya took a step to her left to find Abhay squatting on the road , holding her pale body in his arms. " Abhay " , Piya called out , but neither Abhay nor the other stranger heard her. Abhay didn't even look in her direction , instead , he kept removing her matted hair away from the face of her injured, bleeding body , while requesting her unmoving form to talk to him.
Piya wanted to decrease the pain visible in Abhay's eyes , but she was helpless when he could not see or hear her. A lot of emotions were rushing through her system , fighting for dominance , of which Piya knew , fear was the winner - the fear that perhaps she would not be heard or seen by anybody , anymore . Her breathing should have increased and her heartbeat should have gone erratic at that thought , but they were as shallow as the breathing and the heartbeat of her lifeless body in Abhay's arms.
Then she saw the glint of hope in Abhay's eyes as he spoke , " Misha ! Misha can help "
Piya had no idea how but the name sounded familiar to her. A smell like that of jasmine filled the air , and before Piya could locate the source , someone walked right through her , and Piya had to check her staggering balance , to keep herself from falling.
She missed whatever a young lady in green slacks and white t-shirt said to Abhay but clearly heard her familiar pleading voice - " Oh God ! Its Piya . Piya wake up " .
She saw the lady's face and tried to remember where had she seen her before but her brain refused to work. Misha's lips were pursued with worry but Piya could still hear her voice distinctly , calling out to her somewhere from deep in the jungle.
It all seemed scary but nothing could be as worse as watching herself depart from life slowly , but surely. So , she chose to drift away from her body , from Abhay , and moved towards the jungle , in the direction from where she could hear Misha almost screaming out her name , in panic while the girl was still patting Piya's cheek in order to wake her up.
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Piya in her translucent form walked deep into the jungle , through a dense foggy mass , and then she stopped when she noticed a thin figure dressed in an oversized white shirt and black slacks , standing close to the thick vines wrapped around a huge tree. Piya was facing the person's back and the person's hair was also covered under a turban , so she could not be sure if the person was a female or a male. The person had extended a hand and a beautiful orange- coloured butterfly was hovering right above its palm , probably deciding whether to settle down or not.
A male was unlikely to be interested in a butterfly , so Piya judged the person to be a female. But why would a lady wander around alone in the jungle in the evening ?
Piya did not get the time to think of a possible reason as she was startled by a sudden pull on her hair. She shrieked along with the lady infront of her , and saw the lady now turning to face her.
For the second time this evening Piya could feel her eyes popping out of their sockets as she faced an exact living , breathing version of herself ! The same height , same creamy complexion and every feature exactly like that of hers. Even if she was dressed in some misfitting men's apparel and her hair was a little messed up , the girl looked radiant enough to put any model to shame.
Earlier just few minutes ago when she had seen herself lying on the ground , it had been shocking enough , but had made sense , as Piya reasoned that her body and her soul had parted ways , but this lady ? Piya had heard that when people were in love they saw the face of their sweethearts in every other face. She was in love as well , which she had realized only earlier this afternoon , then why was she seeing herself everywhere ? A stray thought struck Piya's mind and she dismissed it immediately , " No. No. I just like clicking selfies but that does not make me a narcissist for sure ! ".
This new version of Piya had shrieked because a tall , well-built man in the same white and black attire had pulled her turban away making her thick mass of beautiful black curls fall rippling down to her hips. The man had appealing looks and was vibrating with laughter at her disheveled state.
Piya could feel a small bubble of anger but a lot of love for this man , which confused her. No, not the kind feeling she had for Abhay but the emotion she had always felt for Prabal and he had never reciprocated it. It was the love that one could feel only for a sibling and it confused Piya why she should feel anything as such for a stranger.
She heard her duplicate self scowl , " How dare you Siddharth ? Nobody pulls my hair. You get away with it every time just because you're my brother " , while soothing down her hair and running her fingers along them to remove the knots.
But before Siddharth could reply to that , there came Misha all huffing and puffing. Her apparel was the same as that of the other two , and Piya found herself getting shocked beyond words. How could Misha be in two places at the same time in different attires ?
And just few minutes ago Piya had seen her as a stranger but now she could feel a deep bond of friendship for Misha !
" You told me - to fetch those - berries and - managed to vanish " , Misha accused , as loud as she could manage through her rapid breathing. " I seriously hate you sometimes Princess Piyashree. I am sure the entire world could hear me screaming my lungs out in the search of a certain Piya " .
Yeah right ! thought Piya dryly , not only did a girl look like her but they also shared similar names. How much difference is there in the name Piya and Piyashree ? If the shree suffix were to be removed they will be just the same name !
Piya agreed that she had heard Misha screaming out her name but she was sure that world had better things to do than listening to someone in the dense forest. She could almost bet that apart from the siblings it was only herself and the vegetation around that had heard her.
" Sorry Misha , I will not leave you alone next time , alright " , Piyashree apologized. " But one thing I can bet is , apart from us and the animals and vegetation in the forest , nobody else would have heard you. The world has better things to do , don't you think so ? " , said Piyashree with a teasing glint in her eye.
Piya was sure she was going crazy. First , she felt it when Siddharth pulled Piyashree's hair. She even felt the love of a sibling for him before Piyashree said that he was her brother. She saw Misha as a friend and now Piyashree voiced her thoughts.
" Why am I feeling for strangers when I am neither Mother Teressa nor The Lady with The Lamp ? " , Piya groaned in frustration.
" Whatever ? " , said Misha , rolling her eyes , " Why weren't you responding but ? "
" I was trying to catch a butterfly but Bhai interrupted me " , Piyashree explained , throwing Siddharth a snide look , who looked totally amused at that.
" Seriously Piya , another butterfly ? " , Misha had begun what probably could be another chiding when a loud thump made everyone go still and a painful cry filled the air.
Piya felt an urge to check what the cry was when Piyashree had already rushed in the direction of the sound without sparing her mates another second. " Piya wait " , Siddharth and Misha called out in unison and scurried behind her.
Misha passed through a translucent Piya for the second time disturbing her balance , making Piya scowl at the top of her voice , " What the hell girl ? You can't keep passing through me like that ! " But Misha had already vacated the place . Piya too headed in the same direction while resolving , " I will sue her if she does that again. Stupid girl knows nothing about personal space at all ! ".
Piya reached the spot where Misha and Siddharth stood beside each other , their eyes fixed at something ahead . Piya looked ahead as well and she felt her eyes going wide and her jaw dropping low , because in front of her stood Piyashree lost in the eyes of a dashing as ever Abhay .
Abhay was standing just few steps from Piyashree in a grey shirt and his favourite black trousers , his hands and lips smeared with fresh blood. A deer lay at his feet in a pool of blood blankly staring off into space . Abhay's hair was longer than she had ever seen and he was equally affected by Piyashree's presence. Abhay and Piyashree were standing as statues , as if the world around them had frozen over and they could simply not look away from each other.
Piya took a step towards Piyashree and noticed the slightest tinge of embarrassment flash across Abhay's features as he wiped the blood on his chin with the back of his palm. Probably he hadn't wanted to be noticed in his look of a predator.
What scared Piya was the strange pull that she felt towards Piyashree's form . The pull was so strong that Piya felt as if she would be sucked into Piyashree's body any moment.
She backed away immediately and was confused when she felt as wrong as she had felt while walking away from her own body when heading into the jungle.
Piya felt like pulling her hair out in frustration. She should have been jealous that Abhay seemed all smitten by some other girl , instead she could feel a thrill , an excitement capturing her senses , pretty much the same way as she had experienced when she had met Abhay in the station for the first time.
Then like the distinct ringing of the morning alarm she heard her own voice in her mind , " How can a monster have such angelic looks ? " , when Piya hadn't even spoken anything as such in the first place. She turned her head sideways like a whiplash to see if the speaker was Piyashree , but no , Piyashree was as still as a statue. Then how ? Who ?
The only logical explaination that her brain could provide was that she was hearing Piyashree's thoughts ! This only sent Piya's head spinning in boundless circles.
What was her connection with Piyashree ? A person can hear only one's own thoughts than how could she hear Piyashree's ? Could anybody explain what was happening ?
There were too many clueless questions but no one to answer.
It is all Jeh's fault , thought Piya. Because of him she hit her head and she had gone crazy enough to see mirror images of Abhay , Misha , and herself , wandering around in the jungle , acting almost like real people , else what logic could her brain devise for whatever she was witnessing ?
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Out of the jungle , a few metres from the station , on the roadside , Piya's lifeless form lay on the ground , and Misha cowering away from Abhay , proceded to check her vitals with shaking hands.
It was for the fourth time that Piya's phone was ringing , the ringtone being something like , " It hit me like a heart attack , when you finally left me girl. I thought I'd never want you back... " , and some other rhyming words that Misha didn't pay attention to.
The name flashing across the screen was Granny , which Misha took to be Piya's grandmother , but she had not the courage to receive the call as Abhay was glaring at the device as if it were his sole enemy.
She was unsure if Piya's fragile condition and the very situational song stirred some deep emotin within Abhay or he was as cold on the inside as he presently appeared .
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A/N : We haven't buzzed an inch from the last chapter and certain instances have been repeated as well , because a lot of things are going on simultaneously and you agreed to read the details.
Hoping that I didn't confuse you and that the chapter lingered close to your expectations. Let me know if it was worth your time. 😊
PS : If you feel that you could actually enjoy more chapters to this story , then you may go ahead and thank Tanzie , for she was the one to have felt that the story can be extended.
Thank U for the suggestion Tanzie. ❤️ 😊
Edited by 2Obsessed - 10 years ago
Cricket
O Humnava Tum Dena Saath Mera
