CHAPTER 16. THE MYSTERY DEEPENS!
"Are you sure you got the right house?, Dev asked as they looked at the house in front of them. Maan, who stood beside him, nodded, "I am sure! This is the house where the current owner of the Lodge lives! I asked around in the Main Market while you were parking. Sabne yahi address bataaya! "Chalo phir!, Dev straightened his shirt, "Lets see from whom he bought this house!
Meanwhile, at Handa House, Geet and NT rummaged through the boxes in the attic. This was NT's plan to divert Geet's attention. She had asked Geet's mom about Geet's childhood, which also got Geet excited, and next thing they knew, they were given the keys to the Attic and both were heading towards the Attic to go through Geet's old things. Geet's mom had mentioned that somewhere in the Attic were also albums from Geet's childhood. Daarji was very fond of Geet and would take numerous photos of her since her birth.
As NT checked the name scribbled on the boxes in the Attic, searching for Geet's name, Geet, who was doing the same on the other side of the room, couldn't stop herself from wondering, "Yeh Maan aur Devji kahaan gaye? Subah se dikh nahi rahe! NT's eyes widened. Come on NT! You are Bollywood fan! You surely can act! Ek jhooth hi toh bolna hai!
NT smiled at Geet, "Woh ghoomne gaye hain! Village ko explore kar rahe hain!
"Sachchi?, Geet turned around to look at NT, "Toh mujhe kyon nahi leke gaye? Iss gaav ko mujhse achcha kaun jaanta hai! Chalo! Hum abhi nikalte hain! Wahaan unse milenge aur main aap sabko apna gaav dikhaaungi!
Right away Geet turned towards the door and NT almost shrieked. Ab kya karein? Ab kya karein? Ab kya... Haan! Perfect idea! She snapped her fingers mentally.
"Actually kya haina..., NT acted as if she was embarrassed, "Kuch dino pehle I had gotten a face treatment done. Kahaa tha, face pe aur glow aayega! Glow toh chodo humaara chehra almost jal gaya!
Geet gasped in shock.
NT gave herself a mental pat for her genius idea and continued to narrate, "Since then my face is little sensitive to sun! Isliye hum ghar par hi reh gaye! Aur hum tumhaare saath nahi aa sakte! Toh tum ek kaam karo! Tum chali jaao! Aur hum..., here NT did a sad face and looked down praying that Geet would feel bad for her enough to not go, "...yahaan reh lenge... akele! She turned to the boxes and started checking the names, moving a little jerkily and letting her shoulder slump. Her plan worked!
"Nahi Nahi!, Geet spoke up, "Main nahi jaaungi! Rehne do! Main yahaan tumhaare saath time spend karungi! Waise bhi gents ke saath kya ghoomna! Hum yahaan maze karenge! NT looked up and smiled at her and Geet smiled back. As Geet turned back to forage through the boxes, NT grinned. Thank you Bollywood! Thank you all Khans and Kapoors! Aaj aapne humaara kaam bahut aasaan kar diya!
As they continued to look around, NT had a thought. Roz raat toh Geet Preet ban jaati hai aur Haveli pahunch jaati hai! Aur roz subah Geet ghar par hoti hai! Toh phir Geet Haveli se yahaan kaise pahunchti hai? Aur kal Geet Maan se rooth gayi toh gayi kahaan? Matlab Haveli toh Preet gayi thi, Geet nahi! Toh Geet ko kya lagta hoga, ki woh kahaa gayi hogi? Uski theory kya hogi? I wonder. Poochke dekhein kya? Haan! Poochte hain!
"Waise Geet..., NT probed, "Kal raat ko tum Maan Veerji se roothke gayi kahaan thi?
Behind her, Geet stumbled. NT turned around, "Sambhaalke!
Geet smiled at her uneasily, "Main theek hun!
Her hand fiddled nervously with the Dupatta end and NT's eyes narrowed. Both went back to going through boxes and NT piped up, "Bataao na Geet! Kahaan thi tum? Poora ghar chaan maara hum sabne! Lekin tum nahi mili!
Geet stuttered, "Mmmain... main toh yahin thi ghar par! Her hands were still fiddling with her Dupatta, NT noticed.
"Haan! Ghar par thi! Par ghar pe kahaan? Hum logon ne toh kidhar kidhar tumhein nahi dhoondha!, NT continued probing.
Geet gulped, "Main toh main toh... Haan, Attic mein thi! Aap logon ne yahaan nahi dekha hoga!
NT nodded, "Haan! Shaayad!
Jhooth! NT thought. Yeh jhooth bol rahi hai! Par kyun? Kyunki... And she got her answer. Because Geet is in denial. She refuses to believe that there is something wrong with her! Oh man! Yeh problem toh aur complicate hoti jaa rahi hai!
"Matlab aapko kuch nahi pata?, Dev's voice was sceptic and his expression was shock filled when the man sitting in front of him simply shook his head. And why wouldn't Dev be? The Owner of the Lodge kept on saying only one thing and that was he knew nothing about the past of the house. How's that even possible? Dev wondered. Won't you want to know everything about the place before buying it? How can a man buy a house without knowing everything about the place that is to be known! Weird! And he lived in this Village for years! And the village was not much big! He must have heard something from the Villagers! Atleast they would have come to warn him or talk to him about the house if there really were ghosts there! Something is definitely wrong here! Either the man is the biggest fool in the world or he is hiding something! Dev glanced at Maan only to see the same suspicion on his face too. Good! So I am not imagining it! Something is wrong here!
And Dev was right. Maan was suspicious too. But he decided to not question the man about it more. It was clear that the man was scared. His eyes kept on shifting here and there. His wife, who stood beside him, also looked harried. Yes! Something is cooking here. He is definitely hiding something. And whatever it was had him spooked. No need to scare him into a heart attack, Maan mused.
"Achcha! Waise aapne kahaa ki aapne yeh Lodge saat mahine pehle khareeda? Khareedne se pehle kisine aapko bataaya tha ki iss ghar mein bhoot hai?, Dev asked. Maan realised that Dev was thinking along the same lines. No need to press the man regarding the past owners of this house.
The man nodded, "Agent ne khareedte waqt bataaya toh tha! Par mennu bhoot vooth pe vishwas nai tha! Isliye maine bewakoof ki tarah ghar khareed liya! Ab mennu ki pataasi ki yeh sab hojaayega! The man sighed, looking morose and Dev and Maan shared a glance. Both thought the same thing. If the Agent warned him, then the Agent knew. We have to talk to the Agent.
Dev asked the man if there was any way to contact the Agent and the man gave them the Agent's number. Soon, both said their byes and decided to get going. But just as they were about to cross the threshold of the house, the man cried out, "Rukiye!
Maan and Dev turned around.
"Aap sach much mein Bhoot bhagaa sakte hain?, the man asked. That was the story Dev had given the man. Dev had told him that he was expert in driving ghosts off and it was his hobby. And whenever Maan found about any house which had ghosts then he used to call Dev. And as Maan had stayed at the Lodge a month back and had even met the Ghost he had called Dev to drive this ghost off too.
Dev replied in affirmative and the man shuffled forward looking guiltily, "Dekhiye! Main toh aapko uss Lodge ke baare mein kuch nahi bataa paaunga! Mere hoth sil diye gaye!
Dev and Maan shared a glance again. They were right! The man was hiding something! But why?
As if reading their minds, the man said, "Kyun? Kaise? Main kuch nahi bata sakta! Lekin haan, main aapki madat jaroor karna chaahta hun. Kyunki woh Lodge mera hai! Aur main use chalaana chaahta hun! Toh main aapko sirf itna bata sakta hun ki woh ghar mujhse pehle Alhuwalia naam ke bande ka tha! Iss naam mein hi saare raaz ka khulaasa hai! Iss naam ke insaan ke baare mein pata lagaao! Saare jawab aapko mil jaayenge!
Dev and Maan thanked the man and walked away. As they walked off, both could think of only one thing. That Preet had introduced herself as Mrs. Preet Ahluwalia!
"Hey Bhagwan! Kis kis era ke saamaan hai yahaan?, NT looked around in wonder.
"Haina?, Geet said, shaking her head as she continued to check the name on the boxes and push them away, "Ma ko kitne baar bola ki kuch toh saamaan phenk do! Lekin Ma hai ki samajhti hi nahi! Suddenly, NT saw something and was unable to breathe for a second. She was holding a big carton with a name written on it. She dropped the box as she stumbled back.
"NT!, Geet shrieked as she ran towards NT who had turned pale, was stumbling back and was looking at a box with horror on her face.
"Tum theek toh ho? Tumhein chot toh nahi lagi? Box tumhaare pair vair pe laga nahi na?, Geet was worried as she swerved around the boxes to reach NT. But just as she reached NT, NT looked up right into Geet's eyes as if she just noticed Geet there, let out a scream and ran away. Geet blinked in surprise. Ise kya hua? Aisa kya hua ki yeh aisi darr gayi? Geet turned to look at box wondering what NT saw that scared her so much. Ek naam hi toh likha hai us par! Naam pe itna bada reaction! Mujhe NT se baat karni hi padegi! Geet walked out of the attic and the box that NT dropped remained on the floor, looking innocent and plain with only a name written on it. "SONI HANDA
As NT paced in her and Dev's temporary room, she was mumbling to herself.
"Yeh kaise ho sakta hai? Soni Handa, wahi naam jo Preet ne bataaya tha kal! Uska samaan iss ghar mein kaise? Aur iska matlab toh yahi hua na ki Soni Handa exist karti hai! Par yeh kaise ho sakta hai? MPD mein toh log normally ek naya personality create karte hain, jo reality mein exist nahi karta. Aur uss hisaab se Preet should be Geet's creation. But if Soni Handa exists, then Preet has to exist too! Iska matlab toh..., NT stumbled back in shock, "Preet ek aatma hai! Aur koi option nahi hai! Yeh MPD nahi bhoot ka case hai! Hey Bhagwan! Ab hum kya karein? Humein toh bahut darr lag raha hai! Dev! Haan Dev! Humein Dev ko call karna chaahiye! Humein bahut darr lag raha hai!
NT swallowed, trying to calm her fast beating heart. She wiped her forehead which was drenched with sweat and with shaky hands she typed a message to her husband asking him to come back soon. Suddenly she heard Geet calling her. Oh no! Geet bhi ho sakti hai ya Preet bhi! I mean she can come to kill me now that I know a little about her secret, nahi? Oh no! She scrambled towards the door of the room and locked herself in. Phew! I am safe! Dev! Come back soon! Just then somebody banged on the door. NT turned around in shock. She stumbled back just as the banging continued as Geet shouted for her to open the door. NT shook her head, ran to the bathroom in the room and locked herself in. She sat on the floor, clutched the mobile to her chest and prayed that her husband came back soon.
Outside the room, Geet frowned. Ise kya hogaya hai? Darwaaza kyun nahi khol rahi? Shaayad nahaa rahi hogi? Haan! Ho sakta hai! Kitna dhool tha attic mein? Maybe isliye... Geet suddenly realised something. Isliye she was screaming. Kuch chipkali ya scorpion gira hoga uspar, isliye NT chillaake bhaagi hogi! Aur ab sab dhool nikaalne ke liye nahaane gayi hogi! Waise... She looked down at her own clothes... Main bhi kitni gandi hogayi! Mujhe bhi shower lena chaahiye! Geet turned around and walked off to her room.
"Damn yaar! It says number not in service., Dev growled as he pulled the phone away from his ear.
"What?, Maan looked at him annoyed.
"I have tried calling that Agent ten times! Same message all the time! The Agent must have changed his number!, Dev told Maan.
Maan sighed as he rubbed his forehead, "Ab kya karein? Owner kuch bata nahi sakta, Agent unavailable, what are we going to do?
Dev was about to reply when his phone beeped. His eyebrows rose as he read the message.
"Kya hua?, Maan asked noticing Dev's expression.
Dev shook his head, "NT wants us to come back! Something about her being scared.
Maan nodded, "Maybe she is scared that she won't be able to divert Geet's attention for long!
Dev shrugged and then looked at his mobile, "Lets go home. Baaki investigation kal fresh mind ke saath karenge!
Maan agreed and both headed back to the Handa house.
How was that people? If Soni exists then Preet exists too!
But Preet toh ek fiction haina! Ya sach much mein it's a Bhoot story?
You will come to know more in the next update!
Thank you, take care and have fun,
Kalpana
Book Talk
132