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Chapter 14

The Destination doesn't matter, when the Journey takes your breath away..

*

Just in a fraction of second, when suddenly everything begins to change around you, there's very little one can do to stop what is happening.

When you run for some answers frantically everywhere, only to realize that the answer always lay within you, your heart believes that perhaps you averted the unpleasant, or maybe this was just the beginning.

.

As she walked through the corridors of the college, waiting for the new day to commence with the first period, she patiently waited for the new emotions to sink in.

Hard it was though, but it was bound to happen.

Somehow.

.

Things were to take a different turn.

It was inevitable.

As her steps became steadier with every passing second, the grip on her own thoughts strengthened along with it. For a change, she was feeling nothing like yesterday. For a change, she didn't find everything detrimental to her own existence. And for a change, she wanted to study, fathom, and be a part of this new reign.

Was she ready for it?

She hardly knew the answer to that. But what she knew now rigidly was that she wasn't a weakling anymore. She didn't have to run anymore. She didn't have to get subjugated by unknown demons anymore.

Yes, her obliviousness had cost her a lot, but now things were going to change. If frivolous was her attempt to uncover the truth previously, then now she was going to be feral in her approach.

After all, she was meant for this, wasn't she?

This was her domain, her arena, her space to explore.

.

The pawn in the game was now transitioning into the Queen.

After all, one day the caterpillar has to come out of the cocoon and turn into a butterfly..

Metamorphosis is bound to happen.

When not even an iota of expectation of the truth was tugging at her heart, here she was, emerging as the winner.

.

She stood stern for a while and caressed the bracelet on her right wrist with her other hand.

With a faint smile tugging at her lips, she then continued walking towards the classroom.

The new life, as she considered calling it, maybe today was just a baby step towards it.

.

The unusual things didn't appear to be unusual anymore.

The answers weren't hard to discover anymore.

The parallel reality didn't appear to be unreal or dicey anymore.

.

And Arnav Sciarrone Ray, didn't appear to be a stranger anymore.

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"Good Morning!"

Khushi's steps came to a halt as she looked at Mase standing in front of her with a grin on his face.

"Morning, Mase."

She replied, reciprocating his smile.

.

"So will you be my subject?"

He asked sheepishly.

His question confused her, as she looked at him with an arched eyebrow.

Studying her confused features, he quickly averred,

"Dumbo! You forgot? Psychology is my combination subject. I need a person to be my subject in order to proceed with the practical class!"

His justification got her relaxed.

After a period of brief silence, she inquired, "Oh! But why me?"

.

"Because I didn't find anyone else. LOL."

He answered.

"Oh come on Mason. You can get a better person as your subject. You know someone with psychological disturbances like Schizophrenia or Necrophilia, etc?"

Mason stared at her with wide eyes as she continued her jabbering, teasing him at leisure.

"I'm such a boring person with zero psychological variations to be actually eligible to be your subject you see."

Khushi further added.

On hearing no answer from him, she had a second thought on how he was actually interpreting her words.

"Well, you can ask Ree. You know, she will be so excited. Moreover, she is a psycho herself."

She winked at him as she recalled the countless times Mase had regarded Ree as a psycho' in the past.

.

He gave Khushi a faint smile hearing that as they continued to walk together towards the classroom.

She thought perhaps she had succeeded in convincing him to replace her with Rebecca as his subject, and fortunately that was the case.

But something didn't seem to be fine.

.

"I understand Khushi. You are way too busy these days with your dance rehearsals with ASR, aren't you?"

His rhetorical question gave Khushi the crystal clear reflection of the thoughts in his mind along with his innuendo.

Although nobody was capable of inculcating strong emotions in her, there were only a few people in her life who had the audacity and power to do so.

And to her, Mason was definitely one of them.

.

His words had already put her in a dilemma, but no matter what she answered, nothing was going to change his mind.

Thinking for some seconds, she just smiled at him and stated, "No Mase, I have many other things to do. Jazz is really getting on mom's nerves these days. Handling her is the toughest job you see."

She knew her answer didn't even seem to be related at all, to what the actual issue was.

But she was never good with words.

Especially with people who were important to her.

.

"It's okay Krazyy. I was just kidding."

He smiled back at Khushi, making her calm for a while.

At least for now, it was more than enough, that she could evade that dicey question of his.

.

Getting back to their usual selves, they entered the classroom.

*

Today her mind called the decisions of her heart a vindication of this whole scenario.

As the seconds went by, she could feel the tension in her muscles and a strange line of uncertainty drawn in her mind.

But now it didn't scare her.

Not anymore.

.

She was way past that era of hysteria, where her own life appeared to be a joke to her.

The unknown conspiracy, the uncanny stage, the mystic desires were now all bygone.

But some part of her still wanted it to prevail.

Some part of her never demanded any retribution from anyone.

.

As her thoughts continued overlapping each other with every minute, her eyes wandered in all directions of the classroom to find him.

But to her dismay, he wasn't there.

She sighed, as she once again looked at Mr. Waylon who was busy explaining an excerpt of Shelley.

Khushi jotted down the important points while her heart continued racing in anticipation to see him.

Through the corner of her eyes, however, she saw Judith, his blonde girl seated in her usual place minus him of course.

Where would he be?'

The thought unwarrantedly bugged her.

.

Some things are better forgotten.

But that appears to be impossible when those same things hold the most important place in your life.

Especially, when those very things are the most invaluable substance in your life.

.

The previous day was one such thing.

Perhaps, one of those many days she wanted to forget, yet wanted to live again and again.

.

.

The Woods..

The Ocean..

The Run..

The Fall..

The Cut..

The Healing..

The Drive..

The Journal..

The Letter..

.

She wished it was all just a dream that would end the moment she woke up.

But she was forbidden to dream, maybe.

As everything turned out to be real.

Be it a dream.

Or a Nightmare.

.

.

"Yayy!!"

She heard some guy shout like a stupid primary school student when the bell rang denoting that the class was over.

Chuckling at his antics, Khushi arranged her stuff and put them inside her bag.

She was about to walk out of the classroom, when suddenly she saw Judith approach her.

.

"Hey! Let's go to the canteen?"

She proposed enthusiastically with a big smile.

That would be the last thing Khushi wanted.

There was so much to do, and her random proposal of heading to the cafeteria together gave her a hit on the nerve.

.

"No Judith. Actually I have some important work."

Khushi replied.

"You know, this is not done. Even that day we couldn't have a proper talk. Courtesy-my silly boyfriend."

Judith complained with a pout.

.

Her words reminded Khushi of the day at the cafeteria, where everything seemed so weird.

The flashes returned to her, wherein the devil had pulled Judith away from Khushi and she and Rebecca had read his lips where he told her to stay away from "her."

Was it 'Me' he had referred to?'

Khushi still wasn't sure about it.

And even if it was indeed her that he was implying to the other day, what could be the reason for it?

No logic once again.

But those hadn't appeared to be mere words. It appeared more as a warning.

And some way, the other thing that gave Khushi an uneasy shudder, was the mention of the word boyfriend from the blonde's mouth.

Sure, she knew a lot now, but still a lot remained unknown.

She was once again drowning in the pool of the past, unanswered questions, when Judith's voice and her strange question fetched her back to reality.

"Hey! That's such a beautiful bracelet. Where did you get that from?"

Khushi looked at her while she stepped closer to Khushi, so much that there was hardly any distance between the two of them.

She examined the bracelet with narrowed eyes, as if trying hard to control the limitless questions and emotions inside her.

The sight was uncanny, and it made Khushi somewhat nervous.

And so she stepped back, feeling uneasy at Judith's gestures and unknowingly, she slightly shielded the ornament with her other hand.

.

"Thanks. It's..It's uh, my grandmother's. I got it as a birthday present."

Khushi replied awkwardly, before shifting her gaze at the bracelet.

"..Oh!"

Judith's astounded face and exclamation came as a surprise to Khushi.

It felt, as if she interrogated me despite knowing everything.

Yet, she was mesmerized by the ornament so much.

.

.

Maybe she knew the reason.

But how was she connected to it?

Darn, another unsolved question!'

.

"So, shall we go now?"

Mason's intervention gave Khushi a relief as she looked at him and readily indicated that they shall indeed leave.

.

To Khushi's surprise, Judith neither requested nor insisted for her canteen proposal again.

Though it relieved Khushi, it was also surprising for her. She was confused noticing the suddenly all silent demeanor of Judith.

Waving her hand at her, she left the classroom along with Mase while Judith gave her a faint smile and stood there still, as if greeted by some thunderbolt.

One day had indeed changed so much.

*

She pursed her lips as she finally concluded that he hadn't come to college at all.

Arnav Sciarrone Ray was absent.

And at that realization, she only let out a sigh of disappointment.

Mason went to attend his other classes, while Khushi stood at the parking lot, trying to decipher things, which still appeared to haunt her somehow.

One of which was the blonde's weird and unnatural behavior.

The dark clouds never left the sky, as their dominance continued to retain in Verman Hills.

.

Was this town cursed?

She wondered yet again.

.

She fiddled with the keys of her Chevy in her hands, while her heart suggested the next step to her.

Was she really expecting to meet him?

Or was she willing to meet him?

.

She didn't know whether her expectation was going to drown her in disappointment. But she did know that this time no will of hers was going to lead her to futility.

Without a second thought, she opened the door of her car, put the key into ignition and made her way out of the main gate of Southeastern Verman.

As she accelerated the speed, the less than 15 hours fresh truth flashed in front of her eyes once again.

.

"Now that you realized the power of the bracelet.."

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"1862.."

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"The Cult.."

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"..Witchcraft.."

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"..Now You.."

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"..A Secret.."

.

As her eyes remained fixed on the endless road ahead, her mind skipped through the words that appeared as a thunderstorm in her life, but unfortunately it appeared as her only weapon at the same time. The only weapon that acted as an anchor to keep her alive, the only bridge that made her a part of solstices belonging to two diametrically opposite worlds, the only reason she felt insane right now, but also remained sane.

.

The dark clouds became more prominent, as she continued to cover the distance in seconds with the bidding speed of her car.

.

.

"Wear it."

.

The Devil's words once again rang in her ears as she could feel her destination getting nearer.

Though she didn't have a sense of understanding regarding what her true goal was,

what her real destination was..

But this journey..

It seemed so worthwhile, that nothing else really mattered.

Was this an adrenaline rush?

Her speed was thrillingly high, but today she didn't care.

.

"How dare you??"

His first words to her echoed in her mind as she recalled their very first meet in her former office.

His molten grip still appeared so real to her, as if she could still reel under its impact if made to.

.

"..Khushi are you all right?"

His concern from just a day before resurfaced and her mind was boggled further.

She found herself entangled in the cobwebs of unknown facts as she recalled the events of last day and the drastic contrast in everything then and now, once again brought her to the very vulnerable border of reality.

Was he bipolar?

She had all the reasons to deduce that, but nothing seemed viable.

.

.

"..There are many things that you now need to know.."

As the line from her Grandma's letter resurfaced in her mind, the rampant emotions in her came to an abrupt halt and she realized that perhaps, she had reached her destination.

.

.

The similar ambiance greeted her as she got off her car and witnessed the cold winds and dark sky, which had once got her so petrified.

Just Yesterday..

.

Yes, she was at the same uncanny spot today, the only difference was that this time, she had come here willingly.

Closing the door of the car behind her, she walked towards the dark forest, having no fear in her.

Not anymore.

.

As she made her way through the narrow path amidst the tall, dense trees, she wondered how could everything change so easily?

This was real.

.

So was she.

.

And so was everything that she now knew.

.

Was he a cynic?

She had no answer to that.

But today was not to mourn about the unanswered.

It wasn't about sulking regarding the unsolved.

.

.

Her eyes darted at all the directions to locate that one precious thing, one precious person who had the power to turn her life upside down.

Who had the power to detach her from the whole world, put together.

Who had the power to distract her from reality.

The cold breezes hitting her already suggested that her person of interest was near. Just like she had anticipated.

.

The Devil.

.

And then she saw him.

Standing at the extreme end of the precipice, which brought vague glimpses of their fall from there, the previous day.

.

His back facing her, she could easily make out who he was with that familiar physique, that irresistible scent which appeared to be so strong that even the air screamed to her, it was none other than him.

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Her breathing labored as she stepped ahead, walking towards him, but neither did he flinch nor did a word escape his mouth.

But the winds suggested that he already knew about her presence.

The thunders told her that he already knew what was in her mind.

Just the way she knew, what was there in his mind.

.

.

As she stood some feet away from him, the dark ocean came into her view and she suddenly felt jittery recalling how easily she had followed his words and actually jumped into this perennial floor holding his hand yesterday.

.

Her lips curved into a smile as she realized her faith and held onto the bracelet on her wrist, looking at the tall figure still standing in the same position.

The thunders continued to echo, while the cold winds continued to ruffle her long wavy tresses.

The atmosphere was so appalling, yet to Khushi, it was enthralling.

No matter what, she couldn't justify why it was so.

.

.

"..So you found me..?"

.

His husky voice broke the silence as the drizzles made their way to the surface of Earth and a shiver reverberated in her body at its impact.

.

.

He didn't move even a tiny bit from his previous posture as his question came to her.

Fortunately today, she didn't need to search for words to provide him with an answer.

.

.

"Yes, seems I did..After all, why should it always be you who would keep coming to the aid of this damsel in distress..?"

She didn't know what encouraged her to utter those words that too with that unbound level of confidence in front of him.

Was it even humor or levity?

But whatever it was, it had certainly made an impact on him as even from that fair distance and his concealed face, she could hear the light chuckle in his voice.

So the devil could be amused too?

She noted.

.

.

He turned around, suddenly making her heart skip a beat, as she looked into those favorite objects of hers.

The pair of his mystic dark brown eyes.

.

His face displayed that fresh yet irresistible smirk of his, and she realized that his eyes weren't the only thing that was her favorite.

His skin, chiseled features, the glint of mystery in those eyes and those thousands of questions that now seemed to revel in the air. Everything about him could induce in her desires unknown, make her dwell in a zone unexplored, have her feel something indescribable.

He bridged the distance between them in three long strides, and for some strange reason, she didn't feel the urge to step back, very unlikely of what she had previously felt every time they met before.

.

Taking a look at her bracelet, his eyes remained locked on hers as he tried hard to figure out what her next words would be.

"You shouldn't have come here. This place. It isn't really something that should be on your frequently visited spots."

His words reflection purity in them as his soft voice seemed such a boon to her ears.

.

Standing just inches away from him, she could already see the invisible proximity between them, and feel the intangible trust between them. Maybe trust wasn't the word, yet. But it was something that made her believe that she could count on him.

.

.

".. Neither should you."

Khushi replied softly but confidently, as she felt the small water droplets from the sky fall on her forehead, making their way to her pale cheeks.

His face showed no change in expression as his gaze remained fixed on her as if cursing the fact she was here.

Or maybe, cursing the fact that he failed to keep her away from something.

To keep her away from an impending disaster.

.

.

Exhaling deeply, she took a step towards him as he continued staring at her with those intense molten brown eyes.

"..You can't keep me away from it, Arnav."

His lips formed a straight line as the words escaped her mouth and she could feel his senses becoming alarmed.

The thunders echoed once again as they both stood near that edge of the precipice, the horizon of the sky so prominent to our sight.

.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she gathered all the courage in her while the light rains kept pouring and she finally managed to utter,

"Or shall I address you as.. Arnav Sciarrone Ray, slash... The Warlock or the Occultist?"

**

If I am not mistaken it's a man who practice magic or a male witch..

Hi dear

Warlock is a male who is naturally imbibed with the powers of witchcraft, but whether he practices or not, is up to him.

And occultist is a firm believer and practitioner of various forms of spellcraft, and an occult is a cult hidden form the common people and world.

Hope that helped. :)

Best,

Simi

This update is shocking.😲

To know the true identity of Arnav, dear I had to google the term...

This FF is getting interesting...

Dear please update quickly...