sas chp 5

 CHAPTER 5 - phargadh forest

I climbed in the bus, believing that the world will spin; I'll fall into some black hole and disappear for life. Thankfully, and to my surprise I reached our rappelling spot- safe, sound and alive. Aksha was uneasy the whole way too. She was concerned about me. Frankly, without her having constantly distract me, this journey would have been damn scary. The rappelling point was a few minutes’ walk from where our bus was parked. There was a small river, which we were first supposed to cross, midair, with the help of a rope, and guidance of course. Once we crossed it, the other activities followed, but we couldn't see the other end.

It was first John's chance for the river crossing and abseiling. He fastened his safety belts and started his adventure. It was chilling yet enthralling to see him up there. I could hardly wait for my turn!  "I'm so scared guys, I think I'll puke up there" Khushi whispered. Aksha immediately started telling her about all the enthusiastic details. They were supposed to get Khushi excited, instead it only made her nervous and she ran back into the bus. Aksha and I exchanged looks, and she followed her to convince her.

"Miss Khushi please come forward. It’s your turn" Kumar sir called. I went stiff for a minute. I couldn't tell him what just happened. It could mean trouble for both Khushi and Aksha. So I decided to lie. "Sir, actually Khushi forgot her purse in the bus so she has gone to get it." He looked more annoyed than I expected him to be. I suppose my group was slowing down the trip a lot of times.  "Sir, Khushi and I could exchange places, I'll go first." I suggested. I'd hoped I could make up for my earlier delay. But Kumar sir disapproved at the same instant. Instead, he sent Adhiraj. Couldn't He just send me? Anyways, thankfully in about five minutes, both my girls were back while Kumar sir was busy with the setup for the next student. "Mission accomplished!" Aksha said giving a radiant winner-smile. I quickly gave them an overview. Aksha was a little mad. She wanted to see Adhiraj doing his turn, but she was glad they weren't in any trouble.

"Sana, come forward." I was really excited to go, but the moment my name was announced, my anxiety kicked up. Sweat started dripping my forehead. My friends smiled at me, showing they were pretty confident I could make it. This gave me a boost. I moved forward.

The guides fastened the security belts around me. The descender was tied on the harness at my waist, which was a friction hitch device. "When you get to the other side of the lake, there will be another guide who will help you get down. There onwards you will climb down a small hill in a similar way." Kumar sir's instructions were clear, straight forward and so low that only I could hear his voice. I clutched the rope with my gloved hands and started moving forward. It was really exhilarating. I dared a peek downwards, knowing I was never afraid of heights. It looked beautiful! In an upside-down way, since I was upside down, but this was going to be a memorable experience. I could tell.

Just like sir had told me, the other guide was standing, ready to put me down. As my equipments moved back for the other students, I moved forward to spot the hill. Sir had asked me to make it downhill, so I started going in that direction. I was hoping Adhiraj will be there, but maybe he was fast and went down the hill already. Well, I was on my own then.

The Ground was a little moist. It made getting a grip difficult. My fears came true when I slipped over a pebble making the hill a bumpy slide. It hurt, real bad. But at least I cleared a big patch faster. There were supposed to be other students here but I was alone. Maybe I took a wrong turn somewhere. According to what sir said, to the right there was supposed to be a waterfall. My GPRS tracker said the same. Hoping that the others were there, I took off to the right. It was a relief seeing the waterfall. But alas, no students. However there was one face I knew, the face that I could identify anywhere, the face I’d seen on the night that still haunted me. It was Dravya.

"I told you Miss Sana. I told you not to come here. I told you about the dark forces. Don't you love yourself enough to stay alive?" Well, Dravya was wrong this time. "I'm not technically in the forest. Just it’s outskirts. Our group is hiking and trekking and stuff." To My surprise he gave me a bitter laugh. "You Are in the midst of the Phargadh forest Miss Sana."

His words sent a chill through me but I didn't believe him. But unfortunately my GPRS tracker agreed with him. It showed me a waterfall right in the center of the forest. No. This can’t be, I said to myself. Not again. I wish Aksha was here with me. She could wipe away all my tears without letting me know how bad I was crying. If John was here he'd change my mood within seconds. But I was alone, alone with Dravya. I realized I had to snap back to reality. He sensed my mood and offered me a gentleman smile. “I can’t change the fact that you’ve risked your life, but I can definitely help you with the way out. Follow me.” “Thanks Dravya” I said but didn’t move. “Can I ask you something?” I asked. He was in a tux similar to what I’d seen him wear last time. “How is it that you’re in the forest every time I’m here?” He chuckled. “Are you under the impression that I’m following you?” I didn’t have that in mind for sure. I replied, “No, I was just curious. I’m sure it was a co-incidence, but aren’t you afraid? You warn me not to come here, but you linger here all along. How come you’re not scared then?” He gave me another quick chuckle, like he was laughing on some inside joke. “Uhm” He hesitated for a minute and then replied with “I live here”.

“Here as in the forest? What are you, Mowgli?” I didn’t mean to make it rude. It was more like a snide comment. He didn’t seem to mind, so I didn’t bother apologizing. We started walking. “No, I’m definitely not Mowgli” he said, still laughing. “I’m not sure whether you’ll believe me.” He now had a serious tone. “Please tell me Dravya.” He was making me really curious. He peeked at me analyzing if I was serious and finally gave in.

“We’re the guardians of the forest. We’re humans that nobody outside our little world even recognizes. We stay here to save any humans that wander off in the jungle. We want them safe and happy in their own lives.” His voice was so heavy with emotions. He spoke every word distinctly. He looked at me trying to judge whether I was buying it. Somehow I did trust him. Every word that he said, every sentence. His voice and expression said it all. He continued, “The humans need to be safe and away from even the knowledge of what exists here. Ignorance is bliss. These dark forces are bad enough. With science and technology, it can go up to heights you cannot even imagine. Some things are better unknown.”

“What is it? What’s the secret of this forest?” He looked at me sternly and said, “Like I said, it’s better unknown. It’s a secret hidden for the best.” Somehow his denial was only half-hearted. It was like he wanted to tell me. I pushed him on the topic a little. “Come on please? I promise I won’t tell anyone.” I tried making a puppy face, and I suppose it worked. “Fine I’ll tell you. But you have to keep that promise.” I agreed. I only stopped when I saw where we were going. “Are you crazy Dravya?” I screamt out loud. He was walking right towards the waterfall. I was in no picnic mood. He gave me a look that said ‘Can you handle it girl??’. I crossed my hands and looked at him a little angrily. He replied, doubtful if I would listen and said “Behind the waterfall is a cave that links the jungle to your highway.”

sas chp 4

 CHAPTER 4 - the misunderstanding

It was a guy dragging her. Tiara did not look aghast, only annoyed. Like she knew him, but didn’t want him to take her away. I kept track of how far I was from my bus, but eventually I couldn’t tell. I ran until I finally reached him and yanked him away from Tiara. “What the hell are you doing? Forcing this kid to come with you? You can’t kidnap her. I’m reporting to the police.” I said, very sternly. All I got from him was a confident smirk. He had a good build, fit for a gangster. “What? You think I’m gonna let this go? This isn’t an empty threat.” I took out my cell phone to prove my point. Urgh! That smirk again. What was wrong with this guy? Wasn’t he scared? That was it, I couldn’t take any more of his super annoying expressions.

I started dialling when Tiara spoke. “Stop. He isn’t kidnapping me. This is Armaan. He’s my neighbour, and my friend." Friend? He looked my age. “Why are you forcing her to go then?” I asked, unable to interpret anything. All he said was “I’m not letting Tiara close to any impure souls”. And he left. Just like that. Did he just call me an impure soul? There was something in the way he confidently said it, and in his expression that was fierce. Whatever arguments I had in mind, I kept them to myself. He didn’t know me at all and the hypocrite had already decided that I have an impure soul. Whatever the case, I could see he cared for Tiara and wasn’t as harsh to her as it seemed from the distance. She wasn’t hurt. But I had a strangely strong anger build in inside me. I had the urge to twist his neck hard enough for him to die, or strangle him some broad yet pointy object. I wanted to see him down on his knees, begging for life. No! I said to myself. I was becoming a devil. What the hell? One line. One line of his made my worst side come out. I wasn’t that monstrous. First the drama in the morning with Aksha and now this. I felt ashamed. I turned back to leave and bam! I was lost.

            My heartbeat sure picked pace, but it wasn’t all that scary as it would have been, if it was dark out here. There weren’t many people on the road, but there was a small mart. Hopefully they’d give me directions. “Excuse me? Can you tell me the way to the cotton factory?” I enquired at the counter. I was pretty sure that was a big landmark. I followed his directions and my gut told me I was on the right track. Things slowly started seeming familiar and I spotted my bus.

“Where were you Sana?” Kumar sir’s voice sounded heavy and angry. I realized I’d slowed down the trip. My JHAKAS group looked really relieved on seeing me, but also worried at the same time. I gave everyone a recap of what happened, except for the part where I’d been called an impure soul. John was the only one who burst out into laughter, while others had an angry glare fixed on me. The misunderstanding was clearly amusing to him, but eventually everyone started laughing, including me, easing the tension a little. Kumar sir strictly forbade me from wandering off again, and I was happy he didn’t know anything about my night trip to the forest.

Once I got into the bus, I noticed Khushi glaring at me. The glare had nothing to do with my detour of course. I went to sit beside her. “Hey”, I said. No acknowledgement from her side. This was going to be tough. “What is it Khushi? Just say it.” “You know what this is about Sana, no need to act all innocent.” I knew what she meant. I clarified immediately, “Look I’m not dating John. And neither is Aksha with Adhiraj.” “Reeeeally?” she finally said with a friendly teasing smile, emphasizing on the ‘e’s. Anyways, it wasn’t official. I was glad she finally accepted my say. I didn’t want her to feel left out. We didn’t want to hide anything from her.

 We had our activities lined up after lunch. Aksha asked me once we were alone, “You look upset about something. Everything okay?” She was still careful while talking to me after my outburst this morning. She was my bestie and I couldn’t hide this from her. I told her about me being called the “impure soul” and my reactions to it. She was definitely mad at Armaan, though she didn’t even know him. Obviously, I would feel the same way if we exchanged our places, but she was concerned about something else. “I didn’t know you have a violent streak miss softie” She was trying to joke about it, but I could see her unease. I shrugged it off.

Our next stop was a scientific research centre tour. It was very interesting. Or maybe it was just me, because everyone else seemed quite bored. I guess I was very satisfied because it was something normal. Given the past few hours of my life, normality was something I was really looking forward to. We left from the science centre and headed back to our hotel. I needed sleep so bad I actually fell asleep in the bus. It wasn’t even night time, just about early evening. Aksha’s voice woke me up. She seemed uncomfortable and confused. What was the matter?

            “I’m not sure whether I should tell you this…” now she was making me extremely curious. “Just say it already Aksha”. “No I’m sorry I shouldn’t have brought this up” she said while slipping her cell into her pocket. “Go to sleep. Want me to tell you a bed time story?” I was in no mood for her jokes. She was hiding her cell from me? Why? “Just tell me Aksha please?” I supposed a request and a little emotional blackmail would suffice. And it did. “Please Sana, don’t get very angry.” She seemed like she was bracing herself for something.

“I searched for it online. For the Phargadh forest. About its stories.” I was afraid I’ll snap at her, like I had in the morning. However I managed to control my temper which seemed to be rising every second. This is what she was afraid of. When she noticed me taking this cool, she continued. “And the stories are not good. They say it is… abnormal? I don’t know. Something like that. Like its bewitched or something. People who go there don’t come back and stuff like that. Similar to Bermuda Triangle. They just disappear. And some stories say that…” “Stop Aksha stop it!” I couldn’t control my anger now. I was curious. I wanted to know about the forest but I was yelling at Aksha to stop. Why? It just happened. Aksha was taken aback too, but she understood. “I’m sorry” I whispered. She was my best friend. Why was I acting like that with her? Urgh. I hated myself for this. We quickly changed the topic and moved on to something…. Normal.

            We reached our room and I loved seeing my bed empty. It was so tempting that I climbed on without even removing my footwear. Within seconds I was fast asleep. I must have slept really well because when I opened my eyes, I felt sunrays touching me softly. I was glad for that. Aksha and Martika were still asleep. I smiled, happy that I slept carefree. Here I was, awake, alive and smiling. I liked it.

            A knock on the door, woke the others up. The volunteers were asking us to get ready for breakfast. Sounded good to me. We were supposed to have an adventure today, starting with rappelling. “Where are we going?” I asked Kumar sir. He seemed excited about this. “On the Firuki mountains” he said. I used my GPRS tracking to know its location. It told me that the Firuki mountains were right there, right where I dreaded to go. It was beyond the Phargadh forest. And the only way to reach there was through the forest…

sas chp 3

CHAPTER 3 - Tiara

To Sana’s relief, the sun was finally up. She could now lose her pretence on sleep and get up. She was still confused whether what she had seen the previous day was real, or was it just a dream. “Hey Sana! Good thing you’re up!” Pack your stuff, we’re going down for breakfast. We’re going to a factory remember?” Sana needed a distraction to get back to normal. Aksha was very careful while taking to her, she didn’t want her to be scared again, so she asked her softly “Are you feeling ok Sana?” Sana snapped her head so forcefully that it scared Aksha. “How many times should I repeat?” Aksha had never seen Sana so angry. “Aksha, you need not tell me what I should do, and what not to. Let me live my own life.” With that note, Sana banged the bathroom door and went in for a bath. Aksha was left horrified. She had never seen Sana like that. So rude, so angry, talking so disrespectfully. Tears welled in both their eyes. Aksha was standing right where she was, when Sana came out after her bath. Even Sana looked miserable. “I’m sorry Aksha, I don’t know what happened…” They both gave each other a friendly hug, crying this time. “I guess I’m just so scared after yesterday, my head’s not straight”. “Your head was never straight!!” Aksha giggled through her tears. She was happy their friendship was strong enough to survive silly fights.
They went downstairs for breakfast and joined their friends. “I’m excited to go to this village, Phargadh with you Sana” John exclaimed. As he realized the “ahem-ahem” sounds and stares that everyone was giving him, he added, “I mean I’m excited to go with everyone!” Sana couldn’t resist the small playful smile. The breakfast was so different in taste. “I didn’t know rural food tastes different!” Hemant said, “Oh what did you expect? A McDonald’s burger??” Khushi was always all about teasing and sarcasm. With all their witty comments and gossips, they boarded the bus. Sana and Aksha sat together as usual. John wanted to sit with Sana today. So he made up a plan. Instead of sitting with Adhiraj, he secretly texted Aksha, “Hey… Adhiraj is sitting alone. Wanna join him? Ya, ya I know you like him and all! I’ve seen the way you look at him. An exchange of seats is all I want. You keep it mum, so will I”. Immediately after he texted her, he started looking at her for her reactions. But Aksha was so busy talking to Sana, she didn’t even realize her cell vibrating. “Uhm Aksha?” John interrupted, “Can you please give me your cell? My balance is over, and I need to call home.” John hoped that this trick would work, and it did. Finally she read his text and nodded in agreement. She was horrified though that John knew the truth, but she made a quick excuse and went to sit beside Adhiraj.
“Hey Adhiraj” Aksha greeted him. He was a little startled at first, but then welcomed her with the cutest smile Aksha had ever seen him wear. Her heart was literally floating in the air, when she turned back and winked at Sana. Sana was laughing at Aksha’s expressions already. That’s when John broke their eye-to-eye girl gossip. “You look really tired Sana, is everything alright?” It reminded Sana about that damn night trip again. Her mood instantly fell as she replied with “No, nothing. Just didn’t sleep well last night.” That part was true. However, John was successful in bringing her mood back to normal in just two minutes. Sana liked the fact that he’d chosen to sit with her today.
Their bus passed the jungle in a few minutes. It sent chills through Sana. But she avoided seeing outside so that it didn’t bother her much. She was talking with John when she suddenly heard Dravya’s voice. The same rich guy who she’d met in the jungle. She looked everywhere, but couldn’t anticipate the direction of his voice. Since she was passing the jungle, she guessed that he’d seen her through the window or something. But she ignored the thought successfully. Sana was feeling better now with the daylight, friends and excitement.
After some time, the bus reached the village. They got down and were supposed to visit rural houses and a cotton factory. They started off with small houses. It fascinated them as to how cute the small huts were. Though they were small, they were comfortable. The students had questionnaires which they had to fill. The kids of the village were pretty excited too. All students were playing with the kids, enjoying themselves. Sana and Aksha were playful as it is. They were the first ones to join the kids. As they were about to move to the next house, Sana spotted a small girl looking intently at her.
SANA’ S POV:
               The little girl was staring at all of us, especially me. She was such a cute little doll. Just about 6-7 years old. I walked towards her. “Hi sweetie, what’s your name?” I expected her to give me an innocent smile and tell me her name in her amazingly cute voice. Instead, she said, “I don’t talk to strangers” and looked the other way with her chin up. She looked so cute as she showed me some attitude, I felt like adopting her! “Okay, but tell me your name at least… Where’s you mom?” As soon as I said that, she turned back with something in her eyes. I couldn’t make out what it was. Agony? Plead? Tears? Hope? A mixture of something like that. It made me want to hug her. This little stranger was making me feel so attached to her.
               Just then Kumar sir called, “Come on guys. We need to visit the factory.” I got up, extremely unwilling to go. As I turned back, I heard her voice, “My name is Tiara.” I looked back and smiled, “Bye Tiara.” I said before leaving. Such a perfect name. Tiara meant a crown and she did look like a princess fit to wear her name. I joined the others to the factory and told them all about Tiara. John said sheepishly, “I saw you with her, she was really cute. But not as much as…” he left the sentence trailing, incomplete, but I knew what he would say. “Not as much as me…”. Every time he did something stupid, I smiled. I couldn’t believe I was falling for him. He wasn’t my type but still special to me. We proceeded to the cotton mill, walking! That was too much! But there wasn’t a road wherein a bus could enter. So that was the only option left.
We realized we’d almost reached there when we could see buds of cotton hover above us. Occasionally one of us would catch it in the air, and blow it on the other. I hadn’t thought this factory thing would be cool, but here we were, enjoying ourselves thoroughly! We went inside the mill. After a long interview on pillow and sofa making, we left the mill. Aksha was so happy here. She liked spending time with Adhiraj. And for a change, he was enjoying her company too. I was happy for her. And for me too! A little space from Aksha let me spend time with John. Khushi was eying us with suspicion. I think she’d guessed the whole thing. Moreover, we were going to tell her sooner or later.
We were about to get in the bus when I saw her. Tiara. Had she followed us? She came to me and I automatically smiled. She surprised me by saying, “Don’t be so happy, I’ve not come here for you. I stay nearby. I only came here to tell you that… that… you look like my mom, that’s why I told you my name. Please don’t tell it to anyone else. I don’t want anyone coming and pulling my cheeks saying ‘Tiara is soo cute!’” My God! I was just in the final years of my teens and here was a kid telling me I looked like her mother! Although I loved her cutely annoyed expression! I promised her what she asked for. I saw her until she walked away. As she approached the wall, I saw a hand pulling her mercilessly dragging her away. This, I couldn’t bear. And I started following her and the stranger…

sas chp2

CHAPTER 2 - the dreaded night

Sana and Aksha were dreading the night since they had to share their bed with Martika. To their surprise, when they entered the room, Martika was not there. This gave them some time to relax. “I’m so tired with all the traveling, yet so excited!” Aksha said. “Hey let’s call Khushi in here and watch a movie.” Sana offered. Aksha liked the idea and they went towards the door. Just before Aksha could reach the handle, the door opened in full swing and hit her hard on her nose. “You…” She was about to swear assuming it must be Martika, but to her surprise it was Kumar sir. “I’m so sorry dear. Does it hurt?” Aksha wanted to say “it not only hurts, it stings!” but she went on with, “No sir. I’m okay” and continued rubbing her nose.
“I’m here for a regular check" sir said, "and also to inform you about some restrictions. You will not go outside, call anyone else other than your roommates inside, or let anyone other than faculty members or volunteers in. And there’s something else too.” Kumar sir’s voice grew softer, “There’s a jungle nearby. But it’s forbidden to go there. Don’t do anything stupid.” He then turned and walked away to the next door. “There’s something about this jungle, it keeps popping up again and again.” Sana said.
Their plan about inviting Khushi would obviously not work now. The professors would be on their rounds. “It’s just the two of us then. Let’s begin!” They took out their laptop and played a horror movie. The sound was low enough so that it wouldn’t pass through the door. The movie started and the girls were missing their popcorn and hot chocolate. They ate wafers instead. It was a movie on ghosts and lost souls. They were so involved in the movie that Aksha accidentally bit her finger once. Her scream was loud but thankfully no one outside heard, they assumed. The next scene started. It was a pitch dark night and all the ghosts were attacking the hero’s isolated house. The scene was intense. Deadly music was playing. Scary musical wind was blowing. The ghosts in the movie were about to enter the house when Sana and Aksha heard a knock on their door. Their heartbeats sped.  Sweat along with fear started to drip.
Sana held Aksha’s hand. They started chanting. Both of them sweating, their hands started to slip, when the door was knocked again. This time, it was louder. Somehow they held their scream. Two seconds later they heard a voice from the door. The voice said, “Girls, I know you don’t want me inside. But since I’m your roommate, and Kumar sir won’t let me share a room with my friends, you need to let me in. Right now! Or else I’m gonna get you out of this camp!” The girls let out a loud sigh. “She’s no less than a ghost!” Aksha mumbled while giggling. She opened the door and saw the same irritating and annoyed expression she was expecting. “What took you so long?” Martika demanded.  “Nothing, we were just watching a movie about YOUR kind of people and your knock scared us” Sana explained.
“Kittens! Shy, scared, good for nothing kittens!”  she threw back. “And please I don’t wanna listen to ghost music while I sleep. Put that thing off right now or I’m gonna tell sir that you two are not in bed. You know the consequences of that now, don’t you?”
“She’s such a spoilt brat!” Sana said. They had no other option but to stop the movie and shut their laptops. The three of them went to sleep. Martika annoyed, Aksha’s heartbeat still fast and Sana still thinking about the forest. Aksha had the urge to throw Martika off the bed. But considering the fact that she hadn’t told sir about their movie yet, she dropped the idea. Each of them closed their eyes and eventually drifted to sleep. Except for Sana. She didn’t want to go to the jungle. But somehow after Kumar sir’s fair warning, she felt reverse psychology kicking up. She was a kind of person always acting on instincts. She thought of taking Aksha with her. But she looked at her and she was sleeping so peacefully. She hadn’t seen her sleeping like that ever since her break-up with her former boyfriend. So she decided to go on her own. She put on her shoes, tip-toed and sneaked out.
She took a map with her. It was about half an hour’s walk. It was a pitch black night, just like the movie. “It was just a movie. It was just a movie.” Sana kept assuring herself. She checked the map and her GPRS app. She was on the right track. After a few turns, she could finally see the jungle. She felt as if the forest was calling out to her. Sana was in a two-state mind. Whether to go inside or not to. But she wasn’t foolish. She knew what happened to over-curious girls in horror movies. She turned back. Just at that instant, she saw a bright light from within the forest.
“Looks like a human settlement. A small visit won’t do any harm” Sana thought. She went towards the light coming from a small room. The door was wide open. “Hello? Anybody there?” Sana called. She heard soft music playing. The music was catchy and rhythmic. She went further in. It led to another door which revealed a big hall. It was decorated. What amused Sana was that all the decorations were translucent. She couldn’t guess the material they were made from. It was beautiful and elegant. She wanted to touch it, just to know what it feels like. She extended an arm towards it. Sana was amazed to see the semi-solid, semi-liquid, semi-gaseous material. “What is this thing?” she asked  herself.
“You shouldn’t be here.” Sana snapped her head back to see where the voice came from. She saw a shadowy figure. “Oh I’m sorry sir. I just thought… Well, actually these decorations are quite fancy.” The shadowed figure came closer to her. Sana was a bit shaken. “Oh please don’t call me sir. I’m Dravya. What’s your name?” Sana was startled because Dravya was translucent too. Just like the materials inside. She rubbed her eyes assuming it appeared so because she was sleepy. She was right. As she finished rubbing her eyes, she could see Dravya, clearly solid. Just like any other person. “Hey. I’m Sana.” Dravya looked a few years elder than her. He was handsome, perhaps an inch taller than her. His hair matcher hers, brown curls. From his attire, Sana guessed he must be pretty rich. He was wearing a smart tux and had branded shoes.
“Sana, I told you, you shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe. Don’t you know about the stories of Phargadh forest?” ”What stories?” Sana was more curious than ever. Dravya’s voice was low and watchful. “You really don’t know anything. Do you? Hm. For now, trust me on the fact that this forest is filled with dark secrets. Go back to where you came from.” Sana was confused. Before she could ask him anything else, he turned back and went away. Sana reached the door to see him but he was already gone. She turned back to close the party hall door. What she saw, kept her haunted for a minute. The decorations were gone, replaced by spider webs. The fancy lights were gone. The music was gone. All that she could hear was wolves howling. Sana was frozen. Her hallucinations were increasing every damn hour. She was scared to death. As soon as she was back to her senses, she ran back to the hotel.
Aksha was peacefully dreaming about Adhiraj when she heard the door knock. “Sana please see who’s at the door” she said, opening her eyes a little, realizing Sana was not beside her. She went towards the door and opened it. It was Sana. “Where were you idiot?” Aksha asked in a low sleepy voice. Sana’a eyes were red, frightened. She was sweating like crazy and her hair was messy. Sana was almost in tears. She hugged Aksha tightly and started crying. She told her the whole story. Aksha was pretty sure it was just her imagination. But she said, “Sana, don’t worry. We’ll get there first thing in the morning and see it ourselves.”
”No way Aksha, I’m not going there again.” Sana still had a ragged breath. “Okay, okay. Just relax now. Remember you’re back and safe. Relax...” Sana closed her eyes, not sure if she could sleep tonight.

the SEEN and the UNSEEN

chapter 1
chapter 2
chapter 3
chapter 4
chapter 5
chapter 6
chapter 7
chapter 8
chapter 9
chapter 10
chapter 11
chapter 12 - last

sas chp 1

CHAPTER 1 - introduction

It was a bright sunny day. Sana was pretty excited after her best GNO with her BFF Aksha. They often spent their night outs watching horror movies, with popcorn, blanket and hot chocolate. They were eagerly waiting to go to college and tell their friends about the horror movies they saw. This was a weekly routine for them.
“Come for breakfast girls, pack your bags, be quick”, Sana’s mother called. They quickly packed their stuff, stuffed some food in their mouth and ran towards the door. They were fun loving girls, playful and jumpy. Their college was hardly ten minutes from Sana’s house. They preferred cycling their way to college, making it a friendly race. “Yes! I win again!” Sana squealed as they reached the pavement. But Aksha’s attention was elsewhere. Sana turned to see what she was gawking at. It was a notice about a week’s camp, a field trip. They both read the notice, looked at each other, and the happy dance started. Within a few seconds, their entire friends’ gang was there, jumping and sharing their excitement.
Taking the permission slips from the teacher made them feel like they were accepting some glorious prize. “Okay students get the slips filled at home” Kumar sir announced. He was their science professor. The industrial visit was his idea. “Now, pay attention in the class, no more chit chats about the trip”. Sana whispered softly to Aksha, “This means, it is paper-chatting time!” Their exhilaration could definitely not be subdued today. Sana, Aksha, Adhiraj, Khushi, Hemant and John called themselves JHAKAS, formed by their initials.
Sana went home and got her letter signed. So did the others. And their phone calls had begun. “Put the phone down now, go to sleep” everyone’s parents said one by one. So they kept their calls, and started messaging. Giggling and laughing, eventually everyone slept, eagerly waiting for Sunday, their departure day.
As Sunday approached, so did their enthusiasm. Finally the day arrived. “We can have horror night outs every night for a week!” Aksha said to Sana as she sped towards the college bus. Their other friends were already inside; reserving the seats. Adhiraj was late as usual. Aksha had a huge crush on him, but she was nervous to reveal it. Sana helped her keep it a secret. Similarly, John secretly loved Sana, but she had already guessed. John was a happy go lucky guy. Sana also found him attractive. But she didn’t want to get too involved.
As their journey began, they started singing songs and playing games. Kumar sir and some other professors accompanied them. John often stared at Sana’s brown curls. He found them amusing. But just as Sana looked back, he pretended to look somewhere else. Sana found herself enjoying his attention. As they reached Phargadh, their destination, Sana got up to take her bags when someone called her name and tapped her shoulder. She turned to her other side but didn’t find anyone. It scared her for a minute. But she assumed it was probably the scary movies wearing off.
She was about to get off her seat when she saw something translucent outside. She went towards the window and stared at nothing. She was so sure she had seen something fly. Suddenly something tickled her scruff and she let out a small scream. “Haha! Why are you so scared?” “Oh it’s you Aksha! You scared the hell out of me!” she gave Aksha a small pat on her back and they moved forward. Sana was assured herself that she was hallucinating.

The JHAKAS gang and other students reached the hotel reception where they were supposed to stay. It was almost evening. Mr. Kumar assigned the students their rooms, in groups of three. Thankfully the students’ preference for room partners was considered. Sana was sure she and Aksha would be grouped together. Their eagerness grew as Kumar sir gave them their keys. Just before he did that, he told them who their third partner was. They gasped when they heard the name, it was Martika. Martika was a bitchy, annoying and most attention seeking girl. The hatred between her and Sana-Aksha was mutual. Aksha started to oppose Kumar sir when he said “Don’t argue with me girls. I know none of you are happy with the situation. But we’re here to enjoy and learn. Keep aside your differences and behave like decent roommates. I do not want any complaints from you. Get that?”
“Yeah…”
“As if we can say no”, Sana murmured once sir left.
“Why aren’t we paired with Khushi? She was our preference.” Aksha couldn’t stop herself from taunting; “We prefer living with humans, not make up boxes” she threw at Martika. “And I prefer to live with beautiful good looking girls, rather than ugly humans who nobody even knows” Martika threw back. This was going to be tough. While they were in the midst of these childish arguments, Sana spotted the three guys of her gang happy together. They were paired as they wished for. They didn’t even realize the small war going on. She felt a little jealousy running through her veins. Albeit she had accepted what was given to her, and they left for the room.
Sana spoke loud enough for Martika to hear, “I wish there are two beds for humans and none for artificial make up factories”. Martika would obviously not take it easy, she replied in the most annoying tone, “Dear roommate, if I were to bring my entire wardrobe with me, you two would take a lifetime just looking through it.” Both of them know this was true, though not literally. They quietly moved to their room to find the biggest disappointment of their trip. There weren’t three separate beds, it was one huge double bed. The three of them were supposed to snuggle in together! This was highly impossible. After several tantrums, they decided to leave it for the night and they decided to have some snacks downstairs.
All students were roaming about except for these three. But once they reunited with their respective friends, they started feeling amused again. “Let’s go to the forest tonight” Sana heard someone say. “No guys, the forest isn’t safe at night. Besides it’s about half an hour from here.” Everyone stared at her like she was insane. “What are you talking about?” John asked her, curiously. He was pretty much confused, just like everyone else. Sana explained, “I just denied what you, uhm I don’t know who said it, but going to the forest is a bad idea.” “No one said anything about a forest Sana, what are you mumbling about?” Aksha’s firm response made Sana wonder, she definitely heard that voice. She chucked it off when Kumar sir entered in with the other faculty.
“Girls and boys will separate after 9 pm. No wandering about on your own. Regular checks will be made in each room, every night.”  A series of instructions were given to them after which the students were told of the next day’s schedule. “Tomorrow we will be visiting a factory in a nearby village. Breakfast will be served at 8.00 am. By 9.00 we will leave for the factory.”
After some time, everyone had dinner. The students dispersed thereafter. “Sana, what were you saying about the forest?” John asked her. Sana felt rather embarrassed that she had spoken about something that didn’t happen at all. “We all could sneak out and go check it out if you want” He offered. She wanted to avoid the topic so she started talking to Hemant about something else altogether. John’s attention obviously shifted to the fact that she was talking with some other guy, but he let the topic go.

mother-daughter song

I entered the world and I Instantly loved the person I could see It’s only because of her, that today I am Able to be the person I’ve always wanted to be She had to do it all alone:look after me, make a home When I was scared and looked back, she was there When I was ill and felt very sad, she was there When I broke down, I lost it, she was there When I wanted the fun, she was there In ups and downs, she was there Our love is certainly endless I’m proud to say that I have the worlds Bestestest mother

Hermoine-Ron-Harry song

This one's from Hermoine's perspective over the years:

Intelligent, I am. Smarter than the others

Yet my Hogwarts admission is giving me shudders

I board the train, from a platform pillar

The tricks I learnt at home are really a killer!

A shy guy Neville, loses his frog in hour one

While searching for his frog, I meet Harry and Ron

Harry Potter is famous, who the hell is Ron?

Well, it doesn’t matter; I might as well be gone

It turns out I’m friends with Ron and Harry alone

But no one can beat me at academics, yeah! I got them blown

Life threatening events, bold and scary

Get the three of us close, although we’re weary

Friendship is my biggest asset, as of now today

Harry Potter is famous, yet Ron sweeps my heart away

How do I tell him? He doesn’t treat me like a girl

He doesn’t think I’m beautiful, neither imagines me twirl

I have a date at Yule Ball, I look beautiful oh yeah

I’m just happy that Ron keeps staring at me from the corner of his eye

Things are very serious, now that Voldemort has returned

The situation is pretty dicey, the tables have been turned

A war is going to follow, that’s for sure

But Harry, don’t worry, I and Ron are always with you dear…

nr2 chp10

CHAPTER 10

                  They roras grew easy on us. We freed ourselves and stood before the crowd. They were all looking at us. I said to Marsella, “You’ve got your wish Mars. It’s only ten minutes. We need to hurry up.” Marsella started speaking like she was giving a speech. “Hi everyone. We know what all of you think of people from earth. But that’s not true. Everyone is not like that. We don’t want to hurt you.” “Make it better Mars. We’ve tried this already, nobody believes us.” Arya spoke up “I’m gonna give you proof.” He quickly grabbed one of the lamors before it jumped away. The world was spinning. It abruptly came to a stop and I could see the wrecked shuttle, that we came here in. Arya continued, “I wished for all of us to reach the shuttle.” The shuttle was manually destroyed, partially. Arya quickly entered in the remains of the shuttle, and bought back Marsella and my cell phone. He told us, “You have videos of your friends on your memory card right? Show them. Show them the love.” We did as he said. Their expressions loosened a little but they still didn’t believe us.”

                  Ten minutes were about to get over. Grandma and grandpa still couldn’t believe what the Prismates had in mind. “Tell them humans aren’t bad grandma. Fiddle please tell them.” They didn’t utter a word. “Lune, they’re Prismates. Even they can’t speak till ten minutes get over.” Shoot! I’d completely forgotten about that. “There’s only one way then.” I turned towards the crowd. “I want you’ll to come with us to Earth. We want to show you ‘humanity, love and peace’ on earth. When you cry, you wipe each other’s tears. It is a gesture of showing concern. People on earth are also very caring but they have a different way of showing it. I want you’ll to see that.” Everyone including Marsella and Arya looked at me like I’d lost it. “Guys this is the only way.” I told them. “Once the ten-minute limit gets over they’ll get all furious again. Please support me here”. “Lune is right.” Arya said. His convincing power was much better than mine. “Tell us where you kidnapped the other guy in the shuttle. Take us from your shuttle, and we’ll show you what you need to see.”

                  Mitiksha stepped out of the crowd. She hated humans the most. “How do we know you will not kill us when we reach earth?” she asked rather accusingly. That means ten minutes were up. “Trust us Mitksha. Send your best, strongest people” Arya suggested. Grandpa added, “They’re right. I and my wife had been on earth for a really long time. There are many bad people and culprits out there. But the good caring people are hundred times more.” He said something else in Pris. His smile and the calm attitude of Prismates told us that they had agreed. It was a done deal. Grandpa told us that all the Orea leadres were gonna accompany us. And this was going to happen right now.

                  I started feeling homesick. I was going home! Finally! I was about to cry. All the leaders including Mitiksha were with us. They showed us their space shuttle. “It is very similar to ours” I said. “When Pikshtra invaded Prisma, he left one here as backup. We modified it.” Mitiksha informed us. No way! The fake story that we’d told Tony the other day was actually true! We took three shuttles. Even Rhodes-our payload specialist was bought here. He looked relieved too. We took our places and longed to reach earth. After a few days we the announcement was made. “We’re about to land”. I felt yearning to meet my family, Yen and Abhi so strong that I felt I was going to blast.

                  We landed on some sea shore. The Prismates first decided to visit my place. All of us went to my house. Seeing my city itself made me cry. It was about evening. As we entered my lane, my heart was pounding. I called out to my parents before entering the house. Everyone was home. They came running out just at the sound of my voice. They were crying and hugging all of us so much, it made me cry even more. I was so glad I met my parents and Bob. I was afraid I never would. We introduced the Prismates as people who saved us from Tony’s gang. That’s the story we’d chosen to tell everyone. The longing in my stomach stopped once I met my family. I felt like ‘yeah I can die now!’. Mom cordially invited all of them for dinner and they stayed. They studied how much my parents were doing to make them feel comfortable. The food, some clothes, the drinks and all. I told my parents we would leave to go to Marsella’s hostel and meet Abhi’s friends. They didn’t let me go alone. But it was essential that the Prismates met the nice people. My parents tagged along. That was the best part! I wasn’t ashamed to get my parents with my friends. I loved them so much.

                  The Prismates saw concern and love in each one’s eyes. One of Arya’s gang member saved a Prismate from a mad dog. They witnessed a mother saving her child’s life in a road accident. We took them to welfare communities and events. “Angel? Angel!” It was Yen! He knew we were here! Yen!! I didn’t think even once before going and hugging him in the middle of the road. Even Abhi was here with his family. “Where were you sweetheart?” “I’ll tell you everything Yen. For now, just know that I’m back, safe.” I couldn’t stop the happy smile that spread across my face on seeing him and Abhi. They were both almost in tears too. Both of them were hugging Marsella and Arya as well. And then came the time. Yen hugged Arya and asked him if he was fine. It was just a friendly hug. Although, it sent flumes of jealousy throughout my body. Arya smiled at me from the corner. I chose to ignore him at the moment.

                  In a few days time, seeing all the reunions and other welfare programs, the Prismates decided that they wanted to check the rest of the world as well. I considered this as a white flag. The next day they set off. Mitiksha said sorry to us, especially to Arya, before she left. Even grandma and grandpa left with them. Before they left, they told us “We’re going with the Prismates. And we want to go back to Prisma after we’re done here. We miss our home.” They were saying goodbye. I didn’t want them to go. I wouldn’t let them. If I were in their place, I would feel the same. This thought made me change my decision. We all were sad, at the same time happy for them. With a quick farewell, they all set to go. “Hey, grandma? Could you do me a favor?” I askd her. “Please say hi to Shikhar. Show him this memory.” She smiled and said, “sure thing Lune. Goodbye.” With that they left.

                  “Hey Yen?” I called. “Why did you mention the circus on that letter? It wasn’t funny.” He looked at me and smiled. “No baby, I know it’s not funny. I was serious. Come with me right now.” We reached the city circus and he took me to the room of mirrors. I could see a fat us, short us, slim us… “Is that what you want to show me? Different sizes of you and me?” “Just follow me Lune.” I followed him to a room inside the room. It had mirrors on all four sides. I could see unlimited reflections of us. Yen hugged me from behind and said, “Lune, I want our life to be like this. Only us everywhere. With unlimited love like these reflections. I love you angel” My heart was melting inside me. We had our first kiss imitated innumerable times in the mirror. Yen had chosen me, not Arya. I kept reminding myself. He’d finally proposed and I’d said yes.

                  We gave this news to everybody. All of them were happy except Arya. Well, there was a little secret between Mitiksha and me. I’d spoken to Mitiksha about Arya before she’d lost her trust in us. She liked him. Really, really like him. We all could see it except Arya. Mitiksha and I had a small conversation on the day they were supposed to leave. The more she’d known him, the more she loved him. She’d promised me she’ll come back for him. That she’d make him straight. Arya would enjoy more in Prisma, with her. It would happen soon. All in all, I was happy. Happy for reuniting with my loved ones. I missed my grandparents and also Shikhar. They called us on the day when they were going back. There was one thing that I’d learnt in the past few days. That life goes on, no matter what. I was going to use grandma’s advice more often now. I had plans for my life. I just didn’t know whether it would go as I planned. And that’s exactly what adds the spice to life…

nr2 chp9

CHAPTER 9

                  Each footstep that the roras took, fastened our heartbeat by double the speed. Our hatred was mutual it seems. The roras never approved of us, it was clear from their eyes. Why had I ever used the terms intelligent and beautiful to describe them? Their sound alone was frightening. I couldn’t see Marsella, Arya or myself dying.  My eyelids dropped. I sensed a jerk and then strong wind blowing through my hair. The pace of the wind kept increasing and I felt myself floating in the air. I could feel mom and dad embracing me. It seemed like I was in heaven. “Lune? Lunette can you hear me? Lune?” I could hear Marsella and Arya’s voice. So both of them were with me in heaven? It felt nice. An afterlife with friends, cool! I opened my eyes and I could see clouds below me. Yep, definitely heaven. My parents were still embracing me. Then I looked up to find my parents. “AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” I couldn’t help screaming.

                  It was Shikhar. I felt very much alive and both my friends were with me. My expression told them how insane I was feeling. “Shikhar had the element of surprise. He uprooted the entire tree we were tied on. We got rid of the tree, but you need to wake up now. They’re chasing us.” I looked behind. Shikhar was saving us. From his friends. How much more weird could the day get? I was on Shikhar’s back. His small hind wing wrapped around me, which prevented me from falling. It was twisting and turning many times, so balancing myself was pretty tough. But I was actually enjoying this ride. I’d always loved adventures, and this one was amazingly thrilling. I was flying! Over the trees, crossing the rivers, right through the colorful rays of light. Prisma did not need a rainbow, the entire place was so colorful.

                  Two roras were chasing us. “Hey, roras can read each others mind all the time, right?” Marsella confirmed. “Then how did he plan this? How could he surprise them?” I hadn’t thought about that. Shikhar was in full speed, giving us Goosebumps. “I have been thinking about the same Mars, but let’s think about that later!” I couldn’t agree more. Balancing ourselves was getting trickier with each of Shikhar’s sharp turns. One of the roras was right behind us, so Shikhar turned the other way round but bam! There was the other one. Shikhar was falling, we were falling with him. It was sort of a valley. We fell so deep that I couldn’t even see where the top was. It was narrow and we soon couldn’t even open our eyes fully. With the largest thump I had ever heard, Shikhar hit the ground, with a little creek full of water. All the water flashed out in a blimp. My brain was shaking inside my head.

                  The three of us greeted each other, confirming we were alive. We all looked at Shikhar. I had gone near him before when grandma asked me to. I was going to make this the second time, and looked intently in his eyes. He didn’t reject me this time. He lifted his free wing to place it on me. But before he could reach me, his wing fell back on his body. He had fallen from such a great height. We fell on him, he was the one who hit the ground. I hadn’t even realized when I’d started calling Shikhar ‘him’ from ‘it’. We needed to take care of Shikhar. He had saved us. Now it was our turn. I looked up. We’d lost the other roras.

                  The three of us set off in different directions to find some Lusciata for Shikhar. Marsella told us how the lusciata leaves looked like. She’d seen Mitiksha use it once. We were supposed to meet back after an hour what so ever. We’d only started trekking when Arya called. He looked aghast. “What happened Arya?” He was so amused. He replied, “do you know where we are?” he asked. Marsella was always the sarcastic one, “Yeah sure, let me check on the map!” “What’s the matter Arya?” He looked at us, then ran towards the trees. Man! He was so fast! “How did you do that?” we asked in chorus. He replied, “when we fell, some of this grass entered my mouth. I’d thought I’d taken most of it out, but I was wrong. Lusciata gives speed right?” We looked at each other. We were standing on it? On Lusciata? “But Mitiksha hadn’t used that one” Marsella pointed out. “Let’s try this at least” Arya suggested. A flash of how Nana had experimented with us came before me. “Shikhar is not a guinea pig” I refused to ‘try’ it on him.

                  We were bruised as well. I decided to try it myself first. I made crushed the golden brown grass and applied it on my fists. It worked! I could see my skin getting back to normal. We used the whole lot of it on Shikhar. I was in front of Shikhar, Marsella and Arya at his left and right respectively. He seemed even bigger to me. I was so glad we could help him. Only there was one problem. We couldn’t reach its back. We were so tiny. Our jumps didn’t even take me near to his back. His wings were back to normal already. Suddenly he picked me up with one of his wings and put me on his back! I was so amused, I choked while laughing. So were the others. Once Shikhar was back to normal, we urged it to stand on his feet. After a few attempts, he could even fly a bit. I was glad he was fine.

                  I felt the urge to sleep so many times on Prisma. Shikhar invited us by opening his wing. We chose to sleep on the ground. Only it wasn’t discern this time, we wanted him to rest. I felt so restless, I couldn’t sleep. I looked up at Shikhar. He often stared into the open sky. I went to sit beside it. “Beautiful isn’t it?” I asked him. The sky was always pretty here. Shikhar looked at me too. He closed his eyes. Even my eyes closed automatically. I could see grandma and Fiddle practicing their connection skills. I opened my eyes quickly. I had not seen them practicing. Then how did I have this vision? I looked at Shikhar and realized what was happening. He was there while this was happening. He closed his eyes, simultaneously closing mine. He even appeared bigger in size. Shikhar had accepted me as a member of the clan. He now belonged to me as well…

                  It was an out-of-the-world sensation. I felt so… I had no words to describe it. I hugged him showing him my acceptance. Shikhar opened his wing again. I cuddled myself in. It was the best sleep I’d had in months. When I woke, I told Arya and Marsella about what happened. Even they had mixed emotions like mine. Shikhar walked towards us gracefully. He closed his eyes again, and even mine did. I knew why he was showing me that vision of grandma practicing her skills. I translated the images. “The reason why the other rora’s didn’t read Shikhar’s mind is connection-blocking. It was the first time a rora had seen the practice and Shikhar tried to implement it. He was obviously successful!” We could only smile. “Shikhar also told me about the Lusciata. It wasn’t exactly Lusciata. It was its variation. That’s why it looked different. It’s a hybrid.” The shocked expression was a daily thing now.

                  “Where were you three?” It was grandma’s voice. My grandparents were on grandpa’s rora. “I saw what Shikhar was showing you. It’s impossible to believe that he chose you. It’s a very rare thing they do.” Before she could complete her sentence, Shikhar attacked grandpa’s rora. It was calling the others. It was too late. There were several other roras flying towards us with their Orea on them. It was the entire village I guess. All the rora’s cornered us and a war began. Shikhar was torn between watching out for me, grandma and also himself. We updated grandma and grandpa with everything that happened, in the midst of punches and kicks. The Prismates fought differently. But they were good. The five of us were on the verge of losing. A rora pinned each of us down.

                  The only way we could save ourselves was to tell them that people from earth are not all that bad. That we weren’t going to hurt them in any way. Of course, our voice wasn’t even audible. All I could remember is grandma’s advice. I was singing the moon song in my head. It was what I liked doing the most. Something soft was tickling my feet. Even Marsella said the same. She added, “I wished all Prismates could just shut up and listen to us for ten minutes!” But only I could hear it. The roras leg was on our throats. All of a sudden, everyone was quiet. There was pin drop silence. I felt the tickling again. I bent down to see what it was. Oh my God! They were lamors. They had given Marsella her wish.