"Huda!",
calls out Pooja, all serious, staring somewhere at the floor, with her unblinked eyes.
That drags Huda's attention.
"Haan Punjaban?",
replies Huda, thinking that maybe she has something to say about his story that he narrated.
All of them mirror Huda's thought. They look towards Pooja, curious.
"Pichle saal jab tu ghar gaya tha tab tere saath wo hua jo tu ne humein tab nahi bataya!",
she pauses.
Looking towards Huda, staring him throughout, Pooja continues,
"Pichle saal jab 'main' ghar gayi thi tab mere saath bhi kuch hua...",
she emphasizes on 'main'.
Huda widens his eyes in surprise.
Looking towards all other, she continues,
"Jo maine ab tak aap subko nahi bataya!",
she shakes her head in negative.
All of them stare her in shock!
"Kya hua tha Pooja?",
asks Naina, tensed and curious.
"Pichle saal... balki kuch maheene pehle ki baat hai October mein jab main academy mein thi to pata nahi kyun mera mann baar-baar ghar jaane ko kar raha tha.",
says Pooja, knitting her brows.
The rate of heartbeats of each of them slowly picks up pace.
"Wahan gayi to sub kuch theek hi laga mujhe. Magar phir bhi mann mein ek bechaini thi. Mujhe aisa lag raha tha jaise main yahan apni marzi se nahi aayi hoon balki mujhe bulaya gaya hai.",
reveals Pooja.
"Bulaya gaya hai? Isse aapka kya matlab hai Pooja ji?",
asks Ali, confused.
Pooja looks towards Ali and says,
"Matlab... jaise koi chahta ho ke main uss waqt wahan rahun. Magar kaun chahta hai aur kyun, ye main samjh nahi pa rahi thi."
Lolita Ma'am wonders who it could be.
"31st October ki raat Mummy ji aur Papa ji pados ke uncle ke yahan jagaran mein gaye hue the. Mere block se paanch blocks chhorh kar venue tha jahan unhe jaana tha.",
says Pooja.
"Main ghar pe akeli thi. Bhai bhi Mummy ji aur Papa ji ke saath gaya hua tha.",
says Pooja.
Halloween Day! Pooja used to find this day funny and unreal! Why do they celebrate the dead ones - dead people, vampires and other stuffs like that? She had no valid answer to her question. She wasn't a believer of ghosts. She had always been a happy and cheerful person away from all these unreal and out of world stuffs. She loved staying in her lala land which itself is an unreal world; but despite being a fan of unreal stuff - imagining herself with her ShahRukh; she hated the unreal stuff - ghosts and spirits!
