The Haunted Fortress of Bhangarh: Book 1

58. Talks of a wedding

Rudra had gone off to sleep late at night as a lot of troubling thoughts plagued his mind. On top of the list was, of course, Ishita's run-in with an inferno the previous evening. Hence, he was quite irked when he heard his phone ringing early in the morning. However, all the irritation went out of the window when he saw Ishita's name flashing on the screen. Picking it up immediately, a vibrant smile creeping up his lips, he sat upright and pushed the blanket away.

"Good morning," she chirped. "Get ready. I will be picking you up in ten minutes."

But before he could get a word out of his mouth, she had already dropped the call.

Throughout the time he took a shower and got ready with his hair gelled to perfection, he couldn't fathom where she wished to take him. However, he didn't have to wait long and ponder pointlessly as the moment he took his phone off the nightstand, her rosy fragrance reached his nostrils, and he sprinted downstairs to find her chatting with Shweta. She seemed ebullient and invigorated as opposed to the dullness of her skin the previous evening. He sighed in relief since she was no longer bothered by the incident, and he made it a point not to remind her about the same. Shweta was also chattering about various other things—the upcoming exams in college, the winter break, and the lovely breakfast she had prepared for Ishita and Rudra—but she didn't bring up the topic of the conflagration from the previous night.

He hopped down the last stair, landing right in front of her. "Where are we going?"

Ishita's attention shifted towards him. "Good morning to you too."

He grinned. "Where are we going?"

She forwarded her palm towards him. "Come with me, Rudra."

***

He regretted feeling too excited to go with her, admonished himself for acting like an eager child and gripping her hand tightly as she guided him out of the house and made him walk for almost a kilometer. He censured himself for following her like a fool without asking a question, for she had brought him to a temple where the morning prayers were still underway and the priest was chanting one mantra after the other and blessing the crowd with positive energies.

His exuberance plummeted down the moment she giggled and gestured towards the temple edifice, and he had to be hauled inside and reminded over and over again that the lady in red wouldn't be able to harm fatally if they perpetuated renewing the balance of energies. However, both agreed that Manisha Madan had kept her word and gotten Kalavati off their backs for the time being since the lady in red had not made a random appearance anywhere. The permanent solution was only a few days away as Manisha had repeatedly asserted, and the trip back to Bhangarh was bound to be fruitful.

Even Rudra had begun believing in the existence of positive energies to cancel the negative, and when the priest gesticulated at him to outstretch his right arm, he conceded without hesitance. Taking the holy oblation that comprised of pieces of freshly broken coconut and a very decadent ladoo, the two of them made their way back towards their neighborhood, babbling about the upcoming exams.

"I have one more practical exam left this week, and the theory papers are next week," he said.

"I have a paper to submit tomorrow." She exhaled deeply. "A write-up about the effects of the Great Indian Revolt of 1857 on the way modern India has shaped up. I haven't typed a single word yet."

He chortled. "Solo project?"

"No. Rishabh and Fatty are my group mates. They haven't written anything either."

"Oh." He licked his lips. "Did you ask Rishabh if he is willing to accompany us to Bhangarh as the eighth person? It's totally okay if he doesn't want to come. I understand if he is scared."