Moonlit nights

Fifteen

Khushi Gupta,the only daughter of Sashi and Garima Gupta was lost. They filed case in police after her friends in hostel informed her father about it. There was nothing wrong. Khushi had gone to roof top to get clothes. And thunder struck. And she never came back..

After an hour as it rained hard,her roommate Farida looked for her. But Khushi was not there..

Where was Khushi?

In the dense forest Khushi opened her eyes..At first she was surprised. How beautiful it wàs. Then she recalled how she came in. That thunderbolt. It was like torrents of lightening. Or was is lightening rain? She was scared by that flash of light. But what could she do..

As she was sitting wondering what to do,she heard roars.  Of wild beasts. Her hair stood up. She got chills with fear. Where was she?

So she decided to be brave and run.. Luckily she found a path,little grass growing here and there. It felt like it was taken by humans. There were things as mark,like clothes,arrows to tell direction. She ran..

And came closer to a river. But it was wide,with current. How to cross it,she wondered..

Taking Devi Maiya 's name she jumped. Thankfully the current was not that harsh. She could come out. On the other side,she could see,fire lit up. It seemed some sort of village or something. As she walked closer,she saw a group of people sitting around camp fire,singing and dancing. Their instruments were the same as her world. They were speaking and singing in English too..

Someone watched Khushi as she came. And exclaimed..

"A new comer"the cute girl with two pigtails hair braid exclaimed as she leaned onto the tall man near her. The tall man smiled gently,as she was happy..

"Who are you?And what are you doing here?"asked Khushi with lot of trepedition..

That cute girl laughed. The few others too laughed..

"We are ghosts. You crossed our area. You are going to be barbecued today and we will enjoy the meal..Right dear?"she said trying to make big eyes to scare her and looked at the man beside her,in whose arms she was literally snuggling like a cat..

The man nodded yes,smiling. It seemed all his focus was the woman in his arms..

Somehow,Khushi felt it was a joke. Look at that cute silly smile. Would she even kill an ant,let alone her.. If only she knew..Sigh..

She looked around her. There were few more people. But all of them seemed to come from different regions. But one thing was sure. They were happy..

"Sit down. The food is going to be served soon.."the man said,and looked back at the job he was doing.

Khushi sat down..

Soon,they were offered hot food to eat. Everyone had different food. But she did not see any pot or pan before. May be it was in the tent..

"But baby..There is another guest. Her soulmate has come too.."said the woman looking at the man. The man smiled and sat. But beside him was another plate. In it was same food as Khushi's..

And there he came..

Arnav Singh Raizada walked in. In his track suits. Wet from crossing the river. He walked towards them..

And repeated the questions asked by Khushi. This time the man answered. There was a tactic understanding between both it seemed..

Arnav sat beside Khushi and ate the hot roti and Paneer in his plate. After eating,the couple told them to walk forward a little
They would soon reach home..

They all got up and walked towards that direction. Soon,they vanished..

The couple sat,enjoying the fire as they snuggled closer to each other. Now it seemed. The woman became serious and silent,the man's eyes were twinkling with life..

"Would they make it?"the man asked..

The woman sighed..

"Beloved..Making,not making does it matter anymore? These kids have messed up something so good. All we can do is help as much as we can. Otherwise love would continue to fade"said the woman as she sat in his arms. His arms around her,as he put his head on her shoulder..

"By the way..Why do you like Arnav and Khushi? It's not easy for anyone to come and meet us. But you pulled them out like this.."said the man,as his breathe caressed the woman's neck. She gulped down..He knew the effect he had on her and was taking full advantage of it. And of course she liked to be taken advantage of by him.

As she turned towards him in his arms,to look into his eyes,as the flame reflected in them,she gulped..

"Because there was a time,when to write to you,I used to use that name..Take it as a thank you gift to those names."she said, as she felt his hands tighten..

The night was young as the young lovers left towards the cottage a little afar..

On the other side,Khushi got up from sleep. She was feeling disoriented. Like something had changed..

She ran to bathroom as she had an interview at AR design..

As she walked in the interview hall,she was mesmerized by the caremel eyes of the man sitting in dark three piece suit..

And another story started. Of endless bickering,of love..

And Sun and Moon laughed..