Getting back inside was the hard part.
Climbing up a tree was not as easy as jumping down a wall but Barkha had made quite an effort to pin steps on this particular tree making it easier to climb up.
It was pretty evident that Barkha had risked it several times before.
Shefali struggled to climb up the tree and landed on the adjacent wall to crawl inside the same room through the open window.
The sun was already down and it was dark outside.
"What if they see us walking out from here?"
Shefali asks panicking.
"Don't worry. Everyone is busy decorating the glass hall for the evening shift"
She says closing the window to clear any residing clues.
"If Chote Chauhan does not inform them, they won't know"
She adds in a shady tone.
Shefali gulps down her anxiety.
"Common, let's go"
Barkha says leading their way outside of the abandoned building.
They walked through the way and met a few other girls preparing themselves with gajras and kajal.
The moon was out and a few clouds partially covered the sky.
"Why are you wearing such clothes?"
They hear a familiar voice from behind.
Shefali thinks of different possible reasons while they turn around.
"Barkha, I did not see you preparing the stage even"
Abhilasha says frowning.
"She was with me"
Shefali says with a mild smile quickly invading their conversation.
"Why? What's the issue? And these dresses..."
Abhilasha enquires.
"I was very curious about the native dresses here"
Shefali says with a straight face but her fingers kept scratching each other. If it was her grandfather, he would have known whatever she was saying was not the whole story.
Abhilasha listens.
"Not just clothes... everything here"
She adds quickly.
"So Barkha showed me the dresses and I wanted to try them on"
Shefali says with a nervous grin.
Abhilasha does not look completely content with the answer.
"You wanted to try them on then why are you wearing similar clothes?"
Abhilasha's gaze turned to Barkha.
Barkha's mouth opened but she could not speak.
"I was too shy to wear them alone. They look so different so I begged her to wear a pair with me"
Shefali says holding Barkha's hand with a smile.
Barkha smiles in collaboration.
"Shy?"
Abhilasha stepped forward and held Shefali's chin.
"Child, this is not the kind of place to feel shy"
Abhilasha whispers making Shefali uncomfortable.
"Why are you not ready yet? Go get ready"
Abhilasha hisses Barkha and she runs off.
YOU ARE READING
𝟏𝟓𝟐𝟗: 𝐀 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚| Indian Historical Fiction
Ficción histórica𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 Ⅰ 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐀𝐉𝐏𝐔𝐓𝐈-𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐀 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 Shefali Roy had lost her parents in a pandemic when she was just one year old. That was the first time she was orphaned. The next time she was orphaned was when she was seventeen. The army of...
