OUIJA BOARD - A Fateful Night

1 : "Kaun.. ??!"

In the dark, sombre space of a huge hall, 6 People are huddled around a table. There's a thick, heavy silence engulfing all of them, their faces eerily illuminated only by the glow of the candles. The crickets are chirping around in an ominous tone, as if to warn them of a dark night that they're all about to live through .... Or Not ??

Arpita, the elder Rathore Sibling, and the Owner of Rose Garden Gate Events - an Event Management Group under the Rathore Empire, is focused on the table in front of them which holds a rectangular shaped thick, brown paper on which, what appears as ancient calligraphy is scribbled on. Her Spouse Sundar, is sitting on her immediate right, with what appears to be a mildly scared expression. Right now, He wants nothing but to go the Kitchen, and experiment on a New Fusion Dish, and if successful, tomorrow He could introduce it to the Chefs in His Restaurant Chain Sugar&Spice. Would solve the confusion on this Week's Chef's Special - but as usual, had to oblige to His Spouse's pretty pleading eyes, and try this Horror tonight ! Where does She get such loopy Ideas from ? Like Brother, Like Sister.

On Sundar's right, sits a younger Man, with all the bravado that His Profession of being an Advocate had taught Him, as if daring the Paper to scare Him. Huh ! He's Kunal Chauhan after all, the Rathore Empire's very own Lawyer, who has till now, Never lost a single Case. His Newly-Wed Wife Preetha, though, doesn't seem to share His courage tonight. Clutching onto Her Spouse's arm, She has even forgotten that She was supposed to take a picture of this whole Ouija Board Set-Up that Arpita Didi and Imlie had insisted on trying out, to upload it to Her Instagram. This whole set-up was freaking her out. Rathore Mansion was somewhere She had frequented since Her Childhood, to play with Arpita Didi, Aryan and Kunal when they were little kids. She had fond memories of it, walking around holding the hands of Her Aunty Blue, playing Girls Vs. Boys with Aryan, Arpita Didi and Kunal, until She was sent off to Boarding School, after the Death of Her Parents and Her Mausaji. Her Mausi had shifted to Rathore Mansion, and was simply Not in a mental state to bring Her up and care for Her. The Loneliness that was eating up a 10 Year Old Preetha then, had been shared with and erased almost completely by the presence of Her New Best Friend in the School - Imlie M. Satyakaam. But tonight, She was hating the very place She had spent a major chunk of Her Childhood, even when Her Bestie was sitting to her right. It was like the set-up had brought back Her Fear of Loneliness ; something felt off.

Imlie sat, gazing intently at the Ouija Board. She wasn't really focusing on it, though - all credits to one very annoying 5'8" stupid, stupid Man, who for some reason, had made it His Mission to get on Her Nerves. The bickering was non-stop. But what bothered her more was the surging affection behind it, both from Him and to her surprise, from Her as well. They were #Frenemies, according to Her Bestie Doll Ji aka Preetha. This was another Person, other than Preetha, with whom She could be Herself unapologetically. Sundar Jiju had asked Her to quit dancing around and make a move, but somehow, the shaming She faced in Her Childhood was eating away Her courage to ask Aryan, who seems to be battling the same dilemma as Her. Kunal Jiju had listed out a number of reasons why She making a move was a good idea, in true Lawyer Style, but all reason seemed to flow out right above Her head, resulting in cold feet, that was so much unlike Her. As for Aryan, Arpita Didi had scolded Him so thoroughly for the same the other day. His Head was filled with a certain someone with bobbed black hair, and a smile that made His knees go weak - who was sitting to His Left, absorbed with... What is She thinking about ? What is going on in that pretty Head all the time ?

Arpita :
"Good Spirit... Please Come.
Good Spirit... Please Come.
Good Spirit... Please Come."

Aryan : "BBBOO !"

Imlie : "Aryan, that was Not Funny !"

"It was, Imlie."

"Was Not."

"Was."

Arpita : "Chup raho tum dono. The Spirit needs a Silent Atmosphere."

Kunal : "Kyun ? Darpok hai Woh ?"

Sundar : "Kunal, Bhai, don't provoke the Spirit unnecessarily. If the Ghost arrives here, then we'll see who is the real darpok."

Kunal : "Jiju, aapko Darr hai, aur yeh baat mujhe pataa hai. I have seen a number of Cases with horrible crimes. Humans scare me, much more than Spirits."

Preetha : "Arpi Didi, Aaj yeh karnaa zaroori hai kyaa ? Mujhe bahut ashaanti mehsoos ho rahaa hai... aur yeh bhi, Aaj achaanak se. Mujhe lagtaa hain ki, kuchh anarth hone waala hai."

Imlie : "Ae Kunal Jiju, laagat hain Biwi naraaz hain. She didn't even take a single photo today ! Jee Phire, Doll Ji !"

Aryan : "Band kar bak bak. Kaan se khoon nikaltaa hai."

Imlie : "Achhaa.... Tohra gadhe jaise bade kaan..."

Arpita : "Shhhh ! Shhhh ! The Coin is moving !"

That brought everyone to a standstill. An unusually strong gust of wind had chilled the air around them, and the candle flames had flickered in response to it, almost extinguishing themselves. The Coin on the Ouija Board was moving on its own.

Arpita : "N.. Name. Please."

The Coin didn't seem to budge this time.

Arpita : "Place...?"

But the movement of the Coin seems to have been an illusion though. Arpita felt a bit stupid for wasting the time. But, Never One to give up, She decided to try one more time.

Arpita : "Are you here?"

The Coin stayed put.

Preetha : "Didi, why are you so disappointed ?"

Sundar : "Wahi toh hai, Arpita Ji, koyi Yamakaal nahin aaya. Ab tasalli mili ? Chalo, I'll make something to eat."

Aryan : "Didi, chalo. Maa and Badi Maa said that they wanted to go for some Pooja. Badi Maa had already forbidden us from trying this out, but you and Imlie were so adamant ! And this Kunal here as well."

Arpita : "Sundar Ji, ek aur baar ? Please ? I wanted to try this since so long !"

Preetha/Sundar : "Nooo.. Nahin..kyun ???"

Kunal : "Didi, aap ek aur baar koshish kijiye. What if some hot girl's ghost decide to grace us ? Hey Baby Doll, you can take a selfie with her."

Preetha, glaring at Him: "Hot Girl's Ghost huh... We'll see about that. Arpi Didi... dekh - "

Arpita : "Shhhh.... Good Spirit, Please Come.
Good Spirit, Please Come.
Good Spirit, Please Come."

It all happened at once. A Stronger gust of chilly wind blew in. The Candles were extinguished - all but one. The crickets's chirping intensified. And even in that faint eerie glow of a single candle, all of them could see the Coin moving at an alarming, unnatural speed.

Arpita : "Are You Here ? With Us ?"

Coin moved to : "YES"

Preetha whimpered and clutched Kunal's arm tighter.

Arpita : "Kaun hai aap ???N..name.. ?"

And to their terror, the Coin began drifting to each of those 6 ominous letters.

"M - A - L - I - N - I"

To be continued....