This is note from me
Holla people, I know I know you are taking out your shoes to hit me but hear me out, ya? There is actually a really good excuse for not updating😆 umm, I got a job? *yayy*. But the downside is it leaves me with zero time, or the time where parents breath down my neck. It seems like all I am doing is getting up-eating-going to work-coming back-sleeping *nay*🥱 I am having a little bit trouble to adjust to this new experience, it doesn't mean I am leaving this story halfways. I just have one request, don't curse me if I am late to update, yeah?😆🤣 in the meantime feel free to pester Momma /Leki/DivineDarkness
Next chapter Sanskaar entry pakka, even I can't procrastinate it now😆 Swasan ff but zero swasan scenes yet.Maza nahi ata.
Riya
Part IV
Ragini Gadodia stared around the posh five star hotel room, feeling ridiculous and intrigued at the same time.
People says she takes after her Grandmother, which might be the only explanation as to why, a 21st century girl like herself, believes in the lines of her palm and future prediction, which sounds ridiculous to others. Her Dadi always visits this particular Palmist whenever he is in town, and this time she pushed her to meet him after much cajoling.
Beside her Swara was busy in her phone, no doubt Chatting with Uttara and playing Candy Crush at the same time. Shaking her head at her sister, she stared around once again. When she had heard the word Palmist there were certain imageries which developed in her head- An old lady in black saree, crystal balls and decorations everywhere in a small, dingy room which gives creepy vibe. Entering here though, it blew Ragini away.
She believes in making her own future, but she also wants to know what her future holds so what she can do necessary correction. She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for this Famous person to arrive, and almost immediately the Man did. As if God heard her thoughts.
The Man was in his mid thirties; with a gentle face and dressed in crisp shirt and jeans, he made Ragini wonder if this was a mere assistant of the Palmist himself. But she was proved wrong when the Man took the seat opposite her and extended his hand.
"Hi. Kingshuk Raheja."
She shook it hesitantly, discreetly elbowing Swara to divert her attention away from her phone. But it failed when Swara let out a startled yelp, making Ragini's cheeks hot and the Man amused.
"Candy crush." He said to Swara, who massaged her hand where the other girl elbowed, "I can understand the pull."
"How many levels did you pass?"
"120 currently. You?" At the girl's sour expression he whispered conspiratorally, "Do some cheating. Or else you will be stuck in level 30 forever."
Swara narrowed her eyes, her full attention immediately to the man, "How do you know?"
"Spirits whispered in my ears." At her sceptic expression he amended, "Alright, I took a peek."
The girl's lips twitched into a smile as she locked her phone. Ragini cleared her throat and introduced the duo, wasting no time to know her future. Kingshuk traced the lines in her palm with his fingers as he let out random informations but no particular time frame. He got Ragini when he predicted she will get the Man of her dreams.
When the client was satisfied he turned to Swara, "Don't you want to know anything?"
"Pardon me, but I don't believe in things like this." Swara wriggled her fingers, signaling his skillset. Beside her Ragini let out a shocked "Swara!", her face fearful in case they had offended the famous Man.
"It's alright. Lots of people who visits me first are skeptics. They come around after the first meeting." He extended his hand, "Why don't you give me your hand? Try me, just to humour yourself."
Both the sisters looked surprised at the request, and after a few seconds Swara gave in, her right into his left ones. He gave a smile at that, then turned his whole attention to the palm in front of him. For some reason Ragini didn't look too comfortable with this arrangement, fidgeting with the edge of her Dupatta.
The Palmist started with small details, like Swara's favorite subject when she was in school, her interests, likes and dislikes. Both sisters listened to him with rapt attention, one in awe while the other still treating this whole experience as BS. A few minutes had passed and the Palmist suddenly stopped mid rant, eyeing her.
"How am I doing?" He asked in all seriousness. Swara quirked an eyebrow and shared a silent conversation with her sister before replying.
"I am still having trouble believing that the lines on my palm told you all these." Her eyes glinted mischievously, "But enough about my college life and childhood. Tell me a secret. Tell me something that will happen in the future."
"You still don't believe me." Kingshuk shook his head, "Fine. Let me try."
Ragini glared at Swara when the latter looked ready to laugh at the man. She composed herself, her face looking strained due to suppress laughter.
"You have lost too much." He started speaking, dropping his voice dramatically for the desired effect, "And it all had shaped you irrevocably. The past, the present, and the losses will determine the course of your future as well. Nothing will be in your control, no living person on this world can stop what is about to come. Only the Dead shall speak, cause they have remained silent for too long. It's time they rise from their graves and write the destiny of you." His eyes darted toward Ragini, "Yours too. Everyone of you will be effected, King and servants alike. Nobody will be spared. Not a single being."
After a few moments of complete pin drop silence, Ragini croaked out a "Wh . . . what?" whereas Swara regarded the Man with a cool expression.
"So the dead people are coming?"
"Indeed." Kingshuk bowed, ready to let go of her hands. She nodded at his reply, suddenly looking very serious and very pissed at the same time.
"Give me a name. A single name who will rise from the grave and bring our doom. Just a name."
"Swara Bose, you are not easily impressed." He shook his head in mock seriousness.
"It's Gadodia." Snatching her hand away, she stood up, fury blazing through her eyes, "Do you have no shame? Making this business of yours by mentioning the dead, how low are you going to stoop?" Without looking away from him, she reached for a few notes of thousand rupees and threw it over the coffee table, "Your payment. We shall be taking your leave."
Both the girls were near the door when Kingshuk spoke up once again, "Don't you want to know the name? You asked for it." Swara paid no heed to it but Ragini stopped in her tracks, turning slowly toward him with a deer caught in headlight look.
Kingshuk smirked at her, "S. K. R. Think what you want to about the letters."
Once the sisters were in lobby Swara burst out, "What a conman! He surely researched us before we arrived here, or Dadi maa must have spilled things about us. How cleverly he tried to impress us, and when I pressed for more he brought up dead people and nonsense because obviously, he had no other information to impress us! Famous Palmist my foot!" She stomped away toward their car, cursing the palmist all the way as she did. Ragini looked conflicted, not sure if she should believe the Man and his words or regard them plain old cock-and-bull-story. If he lied to Swara and tried to trick both of them, that would mean whatever he said to Ragini was completely false, and she didn't want it. She wanted them to be sure, a set point in her future which will never change no matter what.
Irritating with the voices in her head, she looked away from the place where their car was still waiting outside the Hotel, her eyes going everywhere but not focusing on anything. She tried to calm herself down, but failed miserably in the next few seconds.
She felt as if a familiar figure had just entered the elevator and she stood shell shocked, as if someone had dumped a bucket full of ice over her head.
"S. K. R. Think what you want to about the letters."
No no. He was just saying things which doesn't make any sense. There was not a grain of truth in his words, Ragini said to herself. She saw wrong, of course an effect of the earlier meeting with the palmist. She is wrong, she had to be.
That person she saw, he doesn't exist.
He can't.
She shook her head and headed outside, her heels clicking on the clear marbel floor.
In the other side of Kolkata, the headquarter of Centaur Pharma was buzzing with extra activities with its workers and owners alike. None was sitting idly, everyone was moving, or typing furiously in their PC, or barking orders in phone. The office smelt like excessive caffiene and hyperawareness, as Adarsh walked back and forth between his Father's and Shekhar Uncle's cabin to various other departments of the company.
He never understood his Father's obsession with Mr. Sanyal and Disha Pharma. Adarsh knew that it was an old rivalry between the two companies, and while Mr. Sanyal was alive he never met anyone from their company without a hatred filled sneer, contrary to his father's ever calm and composed persona. Sanyal's business was going bad, which was a gross understatement, yet he never wanted to sell his company. But Durga Prasad can be relentless in his pursuit, so he finally managed to make this merger happen, with his single minded focus whenever it comes to Disha. If Adarsh could, he would have said it was a matter of ego for the elder man, but he knows better. He also had a curiosity as to why Sanyal was never cordial with them? He pretended as if Maheswari's were anomaly on the face of Earth.
Alas, none can answer this question, he thought, turning pages of a file he was reading, feeling a headache coming just by looking at those typed words. Sanyal may be dead, but before signing off the deal he made a new development in secret, therefore leaving the rest of them scrambing in the dark. They were so caught up in the celebration of a long awaited win that none noticed an annonymous client buying off Disha's share from market, and by the time someone did take notice, 23% was gone and suddenly the market was on fire. Though it was good for the buzz of the company, they were keeping this news hidden from media, trying to find out who was this party while keeping an eye for any new developments. As if it was not enough, Sanyal's lawyer paid them a visit, claiming he had sold off his portion to a NRI party. Shekhar immediately reached out to his contact in CID, who in turn didn't get anything new than what Sanyal's lawyer had already told them. People with money are either excessive flashy or discreet, and Suraj Khanna, their new partner, seems like the second one. It's been 7 days since they had come to know about it, and Adarsh has never sat quiet for more than 5 minutes, always running from one meeting to another, reporting to his Father, assuring Board members that all is okay for the company, and calming down Shekhar who looked like ready to burst due to the constant tension.
Sighing loudly, Adarsh pulled at his tie to loosen it, feeling claustrophobic and sweaty all of a sudden as he moved uncomfortably in his chair. The headache was increasing as well, making him clench his fists and teeth to control it. Had to be the tension of the office, he said to himself, opening his drawers to check if there's any medicine for migraine. Finding none, he huffed in frustration, getting up to check the rest of cabinets.
And felt everything moving around him.
What?! He gripped his chair tightly, his frame still and trying to fight off this unwelcome guest. After a couple of minutes and few long and slow breaths later he tried to stood up once again. Everything moved, but not with the same intensity as before. He took a tentative step to the other side of the cabin, then two, and soon he was there, searching for white little pills to save him. He felt another round of vertigo hitting him and before he could hold onto anything, he fell down on the floor, his eyes shutting close, unable to bear the pain. Adarsh curled into a ball, mouth opening to scream for help but no words coming out, his breaths coming out short and quick.
Then darkness overtook him.
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Somewhere in the world
"I am really sorry for your loss, Mrs. Sanyal." A deep rumbly male voice spoke soothingly to the phone, his other hand reaching for a bottle of water on the old wooden desk.
"Me too." Came the reply, followed by, "Make them hell to pay."
The former exhaled sharply, "I fully intend to." Shutting off his flip phone, he stared ahead for a few moments, his eyes unfocussed. Behind him someone whistled, to which his lips quirked upwards. His fingers reached for the buttons of his shirt, opening them one by one quickly yet leisurely at the same time until they had reached to all of them. With one swift motion, the material was off his shoulder, now lying around his legs. The man rolled his neck and straightened his back, making a sinful show of his well built muscles twitching and relaxing, his hand throwing off the phone casually on the table.
The burnt scar glistened in the Evening sunlight coming through the sideways glass wall.
"Quit wasting time." An old man with noticeable Marwari accent growled, his eyes narrowed and suspicious as he took in the young man's every action. His only hand was busy clutching a sword tightly, as if it was his only defense.
The young man grabbed the sword lying on the ground and moved toward the former in a mock-attack stance, waving and practicing a few tricks in the air as they circled each other. The old man might have an disadvantage, but his unpleasant expression and defensive body language made it up for him. They circled each other for a few minutes, none making the first move, with each passing second the old man's ire rising.
"Make a damn move already!"
There was a cold smirk on the young man's face in reply, followed by metallic sound as two swords met each other and started a rigorous battle. He moved like a dream, swift and brutal, leaving no room to put up defense or attack back, like a ferocious experienced predator cornering his prey. To an outsider, it might seem that the old one was the teacher who's student besting him, but it was not the correct deduction.
Later, when the duo took a break from the physical activities, sipping down water to satisfy their raspy throats, the old man stared at the other in a calculative eyes. Feeling the gaze, the other one turned to look at him.
"Who was it earlier?"
"Mrs. Sanyal." The young man ran fingers through his already wild hair, "It's done."
He grunted, "So it has started."
The former nodded, determination and something hard entering his voice as he replied, "Yes. It has started."
The dark moonless sky with gloomy stars seemed to agree with his proclamation.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Maheswari Mansion has never seen a day of quietness in it's lifetime, especially after Durga Prasad made a name for himself. The place is always buzzing with people and activity, either be it from people from work or relatives, which increased more after news of Adarsh and Parineeta expecting a child went out. Gifts, flowers, visits from well wisher and opportunists were frequent, which delighted Sujata immensely even though irritated Annapurna who was still, rubbing balm on her hurt ego after being snubbed by her husband. Parineeta tried to put on a brave face and welcomed everyone with politeness, answering same questions with the patience of a saint. Her Kakisa sometimes went overboard with guests but they were all a nice distraction from the disturbing thoughts in her head, Parineeta thought to herself, glancing affectionately to Sujata who had became more of a mother than Annapurna could ever be.
Nobody noticed when Annapurna's personal phone rang, or the range of emotions crossing her face as she listened to the person on the other side. The guests were quite startled when Annapurna Maheswari herself joined them, more so when she dismissed them in a sentence or two, requesting them to leave because the rest of them have to attend a 'Important matter'. Once they were gone, she turned to her family members, and dropped the bomb without any preamble.
"Adarsh is coming home. He is unwell." She raised her voice slightly as the duo was about to ask what happened, "Lakshya is bringing him home from Hospital. Sujata?" She turned to her in-law, who nodded quickly, hurrying off to inform other family members and see if there's any arrangement lacking. Releasing a harsh breath, Annapurna closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, fire was coursing through them, shooting glares at Parineeta as she turned her eyes on the former. The young one looked a mixture of worry for her husband and surprise at the amount of contempt directed at her.
"What are you two playing at?" She hissed at her.
"Mom?" Parineeta sounded confused, "What happened?"
"What happened is this, Parineeta," Annapurna bit out every word, her face twisting in a ugly way to convey her disgust, "Adarsh is upto his old tricks once again. You know, Drugs." Ignoring the soft gasp escaping her Daughter-in-law, she continued, "He had the audacity to do this in office, in his own cabin of all place on this damned earth! He didn't even think what his stupid rebel act will do to this family or company's reputation." Looking away, the older woman seemed to put two and two together in her head, a surprised expression on her face. Parineeta, who was close to tears by now, watched the play of emotions wearily.
"Did you know about this, Parineeta?"
"Wh . . . no! Of course not Mom." She stammered, shocked out of her wits. Unfortunately, Annapurna was now set on a path and no answer from her could change her opinion.
"Maybe you didn't, but I think you have an idea why He did it. He was clean in the last few years, so why now?" She continued, "He thinks if he carries on his old tricks we will let him go. He has gotten this much desperate, eh?"
"Mom." The former's voice hardened unexpectedly, making Annapurna look upto her sharply, "I don't believe he was being 'Rebel', as you mentioned earlier. He had vowed never to touch drugs, he won't break it. Not especially now."
"So why he did it Parineeta? Do you have an explanation?"
"No." She shook her head, "But I have faith in him. He had worked hard to get out of that dark hole, he has improved so much. He will never do that to himself, or us. He will never do anything to damage the reputation of this family or the company." Her tone dipped at reputation, making Annapurna flushed slightly at her lack of control. She took a couple of breath and stared at the former, who matched it bit by bit, adoration and complete faith on her husband shoning from her eyes.
"Forgive me, Pari." Rubbing her temple, the Matriarch of the family looked down, seemingly ashamed at her earlier outburst, "When I got the call from your Dad . . . you know how he gets. I didn't mean to be so harsh, I was just so worried, you know? None of us wants to go back to those ugly days of the past, and the mere thought of it . . . " Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, she grabbed her Daughter-in-law's hands, "Mothers sometimes go a little bit crazy. You will know soon." She attempted a laugh.
"Don't apologize Mom." Parineeta spoke gently, but the guarded look in her eyes never wavered, "And don't worry, he won't go anywhere. We are not that desperate."
Annapurna opened her mouth in protest, and was about to say something when Sujata burst in, announcing the arrival of Maheswari Brothers. Mentally taking a note to continue this conversation later, she let go of the former who wasted no time to run toward the door, the earlier defensive posture making way for caring and nurturing one.
