The Ballad Of Nirvana

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Despite his rich car and Chag's appearance, she noticed he had a very simple apartment, which was very queer.

He showed Indriya her room and she liked it for its well-lit, airy interiors. The window had a great view of the lake and a walking track surrounding it behind, the morning sun shone brightly through her window. The bedroom was cosy, with a king-sized bed and an empty wooden cupboard.

She unpacked without any complaints while Chag left to make her breakfast. She set all her belongings and her clothes in the cupboard, neatly and ambled into the kitchen to find Chag making Idlis with some ready-to-use batter.

She didn't know why Chag had gone off early in the morning in those official clothes and why he had such a cool car or why he lived alone or where his parents were. Clearly, there was something off about this man and still, she was going to stay with him for a month instead of being with her parents safely.

But something broke the flow of her thoughts suddenly, there it was again, that nagging feeling. She was being watched again. She didn't feel it in the morning or in the car, but she was feeling it again, in Chag's apartment.

"I made Idlis for breakfast. Let's eat, shall we?" He shouted from the kitchen which was ten feet away from her room. She walked out of her room and sat at the dining table.

"You know how to cook? And yes, let us eat for I am starving." She said in a mildly surprised tone while he only gave her a knowing superior smile and nodded in response.

"Why is that so surprising? A man can't cook?" He asked, setting the plate and putting the peanut chutney on the table.

"No, a man can definitely cook, but didn't know rich ones can." She raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

"Huh, I am rich cause I own a Range Rover? Well, you could say that, but I cook for fun sister. It's kinda my hobby, I also bake cakes, macarons and my personal favourite cheesecakes."

"That is very cool, just so you know I could kill for a cake." She gave him a mischievous smile.

"Then I will bake you one, kill my neighbour for me, will you? She is very nosy." He chuckled.

Chag, as she noticed, was very jovial and comforting and he made her feel at home at once. But then she still had the feeling she was constantly being watched. She squirmed on her chair uncomfortably trying to push the feeling aside.

"What's wrong? You don't like it?" He asked all of a sudden.

"No, this is delicious." she took a bite off the soft perfect Idli.

"Say, Chag, If you don't mind me asking. How come you live here alone? I mean you are nineteen." She asked.

"I-- live alone. About that, well, My college starts in a few months and so I live here instead of the hostel because...uh.. the hostel is pretty bad and usually my friend stays with me. But he has gone home- for holidays." He stammered and looked sideways at a chair beside him and then looked back at her.

"Mm, I see. So, you went to college in the morning? You were dressed in those formals so..." Chag interrupted.

"I-- yeah, I had some work so yes." He answered in a hurry and Indriya simply nodded in response.

All the while they chatted she felt like she knew him all along. She and Chag had so much in common starting from the shade of their eyes that it was very surprising. They both loved books, free knowledge, cotton candy and good comedies. Chag, with his compact, muscular built and unusual thirst for knowledge, seemed simply like an intellectual rebel. Apart from all that their childhoods had also been the same as well, his parents would also leave him with a nanny and leave him to work so he too ended up spending his time in the library. Like her, he loved the smell of books and coffee.