FF- Love You Eternally - chapter 25 & 26 the final chapter - Page 65

Chapter 17

Khushi took the company car and along with Payal she came to the small Kundanpur town.  The town had been set up around the old British guest house, which now held the town municipality office, a museum and library. The sprawling building was one of the few structures that were beautifully maintain.

Khushi had four agendas for coming into town, she wanted to avoid Shayam Jha for the moment, she needed to get her film role developed, she wanted to find out where she could get composite information about the Raichand family. And most of all she wanted time to think of all that Arnav and Akaash had told her.  She needed to wrap her head around such  an astonishing idea as reincarnation.

One hour into town she sat with payal at a small local Tea house sipping on her fourth cup of tea, facing a pale looking Payal.

"And you are seriously ready to get involved in this, with this man? Payal croaked.

Khushi shrugged, "I have no choice."

"Are you crazy, let's talk to Vishal Sir, tell him you want off this project and lets go back to Delhi and forget this whole thing." Payal said decisively.

"But that is just it, I can't walk away, I can't walk away from him, Arnav Singh Raizada." She said his name like a prayer, "I am involved, from the first minute is set eyes on him, I felt the connection. I know it seems so impossible, but even if for a second you think it makes sense then it does. It makes perfect sense. I don't have memories like Arnav does, but what I feel tells a totally different story. It's like my feelings match his memories."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, you sound like a crazy person."  Payal said fearfully.

Khushi grinned, "I know right, and it feels wonderful." She finished off her cup of tea and dropped some money on the table "come on lets go to the Library, I sure they will have some information about the Havali and the Raichand's."

With no choice Payal followed her meekly. She had no idea what she was getting herself into, a part of her wanted to high tail it from there and run, but her sense of loyalty to Khushi kept her at her side. This was the most absurd story Payal had ever heard, and Khushi was buying into it, nothing could change Khushi's mind once she'd made it up, so Payal decided to stick as close to her as possible.

Arnav was working in the study, going through the photographs trying to recognize faces from them.  When Shayam walked in and cleared his throat, "Hi, I'm Shayam Jha." He held out his hand.  Arnav looked at the man keenly taking in the saccharine sweet smile that didn't reach his cold eyes, with a malevolent glint in them.  Instantly disliking the man before him, it disturbed him the Khushi thought this man harmless, when every instinct told him that this man was dangerous. He took Shayam's offered hand in a firm grip squeezing lightly effectively conveying a veiled warning as Shayam  smile turned into a wince, "Arnav Singh Raizada."  Arnav said quietly with a hint of steel in his voice.

"Yes I know." Shayam pulled his hand back, thinking what he had heard from Kamya was true, Khushi had something going on with this man, or he would not have acted like this. His insides burned how could she, after everything he had done, he beat up Deepak to get here, he had done everything to let her know how he felt about her save from shouting it aloud from the roof top. Still she had gone and fallen for Arnav Singh Raizada. 

He looked the tall lean man. True, Raizada was incredibly handsome in a way that appealed to women.  A few years younger than himself, he radiated animalistic power of a panther, his shrewd eyes taking in everything at the same time emanating a veiled warning. And Shayam was sure that this warning was for him to keep away from Khushi.  Well he would see about that, he wouldn't give up that easily.

"I've got to get to work, seeing some of the staff is absent." He said indicating that he knew that Khushi was not here.

Arnav watched Shayam walk away, a bull of a man the very sight of whom put Arnav on the defensive, something about him struck a nerve but he could not identify it. He decided to keep this man as far away from Khushi as possible.

 After giving her film role to develop at a local photography shop.  Khushi and Payal make their way to the old British guest now turned municipal building come library come museum.  A man of about 60 stood behind a large counter, "Hello sir," Khushi said politely.

"Nameste Beta, how may I help you.  You don't seem to be from around here."

"No we are not, we're from Delhi, we are working on the renovation of the Raichand Havali."

"Bedi Havali??" he questioned, eyes wide "heard that it was purchased by some big company, and they are planning to build a Resort over there."

"Yes that's the one." Khushi smiled.

"Oh! Well, some good is coming out of that land." He said with irony. "I'm Mr. Gopal, the librarian I've worked here 30 years, got this job after my father died, he too  was the librarian here worked for nearly 30 years before he died and I got the job."  He said proudly. "those were good times, now with all this computer thing going very few people are interested in books. In my father's time this place used to be full." He went on. "its nice to see young people like you still interested in books." He smiled

Khushi rolled her eyes and sighed, "Mr Gopal, you have worked here 30 years and you father before you worked almost 30 years too." She gave him a brilliant smile beaming with delight. "That's great, I'm sure you  are the perfect person to help us find the information we're looking for."

Mr. Gopal puffed out his thin chest. "Oh course, I know everything about this place."

Khushi  turned on the charm, "Acutely Mr. Gopal  we are looking for information about the Badi Havali and Zamindar Raichand's family history and what happened all those years back."

"Ah ha! That" Mr. Gopal sighed, "such a said business, two families' destroyed, Young lives lost. Come with me." He indicated to Khushi and Payal, waving his hand to a young women who was sorting books at a nearby table. She came and took his place behind the counter.

"Few years after Independence, the old guest house shut down. Hunting was not allowed by then, and nobody came here anymore, even the err.. the place of ill repute, that was a few miles from here, and  was quite famous during the occupation started closing and all the, err..." the old man's ears turned  red but he continued, "the err... women of ill repute left too, good riddance  my mother used to say." Said Mr. Gopal, going off  down memory lane again.

"Mr. Gopal you were saying after Independence?" Khushi asked trying to draw he back.

Mr. Gopal blinked "ha yes. You see after Independence, the town council decided to turn the guest house into a municipality office with a museum and library.  My father stated working here them. They found a lot of articles and luggage left behind that were stored to the store room for years.  That year my father found a diary written by the daughter of  Thakur Uday Kumar Singh, along with letters." Mr Gopal smiled slyly, "love letters. It had been some 20 years of more since that incident had happened, and it was like an urban legend. The lands cursed, fruit rotting on trees. Strange noise in the Havali.  People only staying there, when it was turned into a guest house for no more than a day or two."

Khushi heart was beating faster with excitement, a diary written by the girl who was in love with Arnavya.  She followed the old Liberian eagerly weaving between book shelves after book shelves.

"My father figured that the poor Thakur sahib, in the grief of loosing he daughter and his home all within a weak time, didn't care anymore. The old ledgers showed that the Thakur and his wife along with a couple of servants  stayed at the guest house after their Havali burnt down." Mr Gopal said thinking deeply trying to remember, "yes, they were here for two days before they went to the train station,  I suppose they didn't care for the material things anymore and had left some of their luggage behind, or given that their Havali burnt down they could not have saved much and must have left all that they had behind, Poor people." He gave a heartfelt sigh.  

He indicated a shelf nearby, "Few people who fancied themselves historians, wrote versions of what they thought had taken place in 1935 over the years. But they didn't do such good jobs, lots of fanciful stuff I tell you, but you can still go through some of the books if you like." He took them towards a large glass cased cupboard and opened it with a key.  He took out a large box from a shelf and then placed it on a nearby table.  And opened it, " My father was very moved by the young girls writing and her life. So he spent years translating her diary and letters, but he never published them, he always said they were not his to publish. But belonged to a young girl with dreams of happiness and love."  He said in hush tones, he pulled out a thick leather bound book, and handed it to Khushi

Khushi untied the leather cod's and opened the book, the pages were fragile and yellow with age, the script and language was unknown to Khushi, though is looked Hindi it wasn't,  the elegant handwriting was neat and beautiful. Mr. Gopal pulled out two hard coved manuscripts. "These are the English translation of the diary and letters, my father also translated it into Hindi."

"Can we read these Mr. Gopal." Khushi asked earnestly.

"Yes of course what are library's for? If you need anything I'll be at the front desk." Smiling the left the two girls to their task.