"I never knew - that soothing, beautiful art could ever hold the key to those devastating memories. I wasn't aware of what my move for you reminded you with. Maybe that is why I'll have to pay a heavier price for it!
-Ranbir Kohli
He was amused by what he saw. Was it really her? She .....danced? She has learnt Bharatanatyam? Was dance her passion? Or was it not important at all which is why it is lying here? Why was this place such? Why have all of these things been locked here? What all are here? Even if these are things she doesn't use or need anymore, why have they been locked here as in why put the lock in the first place? Why has this place not been visited since ages? Who was Pranati Mehra? What were her things doing here? They had the same surname so was she somebody family? Or it was a coincidence that they shared the same surname? Questions, so many questions stormed his mind. He closed the wooden trunk and covered it with the cloth again.
He then looked around and spotted a locked cupboard. What was it with Ice Maiden and her fascination for locked things?
He tried to open it the same way he had opened the door but it did not budge. He sighed, he needed to try with something else. One look at the time and he knew he couldn't stay any longer. He had no idea when she would return. All he knew was if she caught him here, in her house and specifically in this part of her house, he wouldn't live to witness the next day! He imagined her gritting her teeth, her eyes burning with fire and chuckled softly.
Placing everything back, he stepped out of the room and placed the lock back so that it wouldn't look like somebody had been here though he knew she wouldn't even notice a thing!
As he sneaked out through the window, he couldn't help but feel like a romeo climbing up the pipe to meet his beloved. He shook his head at his absurdity and moved towards his house. After all, he had a plan to formulate.
___________________________________________
She reached the door and opened it only to find him smiling at her goofily. She rolled her eyes and asked gritting her teeth,
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"We have a place to go to"
"We? What makes you think I'll just come along?"
"You'd know it's worth it when you see it"
She recalled his music concert she had gone to and immediately her fists curled and uncurled. No she wasn't going to repeat that mistake again.
"No!"
"Huh what?"
"Are you deaf or too dumb to comprehend that I said NO! I'm not going anywhere with you" she lashed out at him.
He pouted and said,
"Why do you have to yell at me for that?"
His expression then immediately transitioned into a smirk as he moved towards her and bending near her ear whispered,
"So the Ice Maiden is scared huh? Remember you had once told me to grab the opportunity you're lending me because not everyone is that fortunate! Today I'm telling you to accept this challenge and come with me to show you aren't scared. It's not everyday that somebody dares to challenge you isn't it?"
She stood frozen for a brief moment after which she grabbed a scarf from where it was placed on the sofa and picking her bag, stepped out behind him, shutting the door behind her. He who was infront of her and hence his back was facing her, smiled a broad smile like an excited kid and exhaled deeply. Part one of his plan was successful! He hoped the other part would be successful too!
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Her feet froze at the entrance as the first thing her eyes fell on when he removed the blindfold (which by the way she was thoroughly annoyed by) were two Bharatanatyam dancers dancing on stage. Numb wasn't even a word to describe what she felt. Like a stone she stood at the entrance without batting an eyelid, without taking in the next breath, without moving even a tad bit!
For a moment he felt like just taking her away. The way she stood scared him. What he saw on her face scared him as well! Was it even a good idea? Did he do right by bringing her here? Was it right to implement the same approach he had used the first time? He had no idea what this meant to her so he decided to make her see it. He wanted to see her reaction to this. So far he just knew she was sensitive to "Dad". He had no idea if anything else meant anything and if it did, just how much?
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Her breaths came out in pants as she held onto the frame near her to support herself.
Those torn, long white gowns. Those red anklets. That big round bindi. That golden mangteeka stained with black. Those huge, dangling jhumkas. Those thick silver bangles. That flying thin dupatta. Those claps. Those eyes. That dirt. That disgrace. The red leaving her coloured feet. That thick black kajal. That red lipstick. That pull. That thud. Those marks. Those cuts. Those hands. Creepy, abhorrent touches. That push. That tear. Those tears. Those laughs. That metallic redolence. Those scars. Those wild tresses entangled in a mess. Those sticks. Those wounds. Those screams.
The bitter memories of her past associated with this hit her hard. She felt tears fill her eyes. All of a sudden she felt her body go weak. She swayed due to which she gripped the frame tighter to maintain balance and then without looking at him, just ran away from there. He ran behind her and called out to her as well but she did not stop. She ran and ran. She just kept running till she reached an auto stand and grabbing an auto, just exited from there. He ran behind her but couldn't catch her before she left.
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Love,
Pratyusha
Sara_imprfctScribblr thanks a lot for your lovely gift. Yeh meri taraf se thank you ka token. Epistles - Embers of Darkness - title itself is enough to tell me it shall be another masterpiece by you like TKSM and AV. ❤️
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