𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗢𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶 𝗧𝗮𝗱𝗸𝗮: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐫𝐚 𝐎𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

1. Darpok Billi

Pink hues in the sky made the view look ethereal as the sparrows chirped in their sweet voice and the wind blew the green leaves on the trees while the spring flowers danced enjoying the wonderful weather. This small village of Amonchiyala was indeed the most beautiful place of the island.

Two girls sat under the shed of the old tree on the soft grass surrounded by the beauty of the village view as their smooth brush strokes tried to capture the perfect scenery in their paintings.

"Nahi nahi nahi!" The brown eyed girl whined loudly as the pink paint spilled on her almost completed painting due to her dupatta hitting the paint box as she was trying to grab the water bowl from the other end. She face palmed in frustration as the paint brush ended up stroking her forehead with the paint as well.

The innocent green eyed girl sitting beside her giggled. "You're so clumsy." While shaking her head, she grabbed the corner of her dupatta to clean off the paint from the clumsy girl's face which caused it to spread more instead of coming off.

"Han han ura lo mera mazaq." The brown eyed girl sulked moving backwards. Bara Hani Michelle, was a clumsy soul who needed a lot of pampering and care with her child-like personality. Folding her arms, she looked at the mess she had created around her with the paints scattered around her, some covering the grass due to splashing in different places including her clothes.

Meanwhile, the green eyed girl had all the paints placed in a perfect order, and her strokes with the paintbrush were smooth and perfectly curved knowing where was the right spot to draw, making her piece of art look very neat. She had always been like this, accurate in all the works without making any mistakes. Wafaa Ismia Shiraz, was not only a best friend, but a sister figure for Bara.

"If you can't erase it, you just need to cover it with something better." Wafaa smiled at a pouting Bara and moved forward to blend the spilled pink paint with the blue clouds on the painting. She smoothly did the job as Bara stared at the painting in awe.

"Wah! This actually looks...wah!" Bara covered her mouth showing she was completely in awe. "Acha bass kaafi hai-" Wafaa chuckled putting the paintbrush away.

"Ismia!" Bara shook Wafaa's shoulder calling her with her second name as usual, "yeh dekho!" Picking up the painting in the air just above their head levels, she compared it to the real pink hues the sky showed off, with the ones in the painting. "They look exactly the same! You created a masterpi- AH!"

Two loud screams were heard from the panicked girls now, as the painting stuck to the tree beside them with an arrow tearing it right from the middle. Bara was covering her head with her hands as Wafaa had protectively wrapped her arms around Bara's shaking figure. They both turned their heads to look at the painting with the arrow, shocked.

Wafaa looked around the large open garden with her confused and scared gaze. She couldn't find anyone in the open area around them which meant someone shot the arrow from behind the bushes which were quite a distance away. That person must've been a professional, or else one wrong move and the arrow could've hit one of them. Or, what if he made a wrong move and actually wanted to hit.....

"Ismia!" Bara's small voice made Wafaa look at her. "Yeh...kon..?" She pointed at the arrow, fear visible in her eyes.

"Don't worry, you're safe. You're fine." Wafaa grabbed Bara's arm as they stood up. "Let's go home quickly. Okay? Come." With her eyes still roaming around the area to find a clue or idea of where the arrow came from, she started walking ahead close to the trees to hide while holding Bara close.

"B-but the painting." Bara stopped walking looking back at the painting attached to the tree, half torn now. Wafaa pursed her lips, she had to be kidding. "Meri baat suno, iss painting ki jagah tumny leni hai?" Pulling Bara to walk forward, Wafaa spoke with clenched teeth.