The Haunted Fortress of Bhangarh: Book 1

34. By the pool, on the ceiling

It had been two hours since Avinash and Shweta returned home after their dinner party and an hour and a half since Rudra, Nidhi, and Ishita received a nice rebuking from the woman because of the pizza party that had transpired after forsaking a vegetable as healthy as the bottle gourd. But throughout the discourse and even during the time Avinash asked him about the progress he had made on the particular workbook assigned to him, Rudra could only think of the range of weird incidents happening to him and engulfing him from all sides.

He was so disturbed that neither could he concentrate on the Atomic Physics assignment due for submission in two days nor could he go to sleep. Hence, he chose to sit by the pool in the backyard. The coolness of the evening air was sure to help him soothe his nerves and calm his senses, but the source of all the relief in the world was already perched by the pool when he reached the spot.

With her feet dipping in the frigid water, she was busy scrolling through her phone and typing away messages furiously as her orbs shone with jubilance. Even in the partial illumination from the backlight of the screen, he could see the spark in her eyes.

"You can't sleep?" he said.

She craned her neck to look at him and beamed. "You can't too, I am surmising."

He shook his head. "Can I sit here?"

She shrugged. "Your house, your rules."

Chuckling, he plopped alongside her but refrained from dipping his feet in the water. A gentle sigh escaped his lips when he sensed her unwavering gaze on him. He peeked at her and passed a small smile before looking away, but he could tell she was still peering at him. "You don't need to stare, Ishita."

She pursed her lips. "You were disturbed throughout dinner," she murmured. "Why don't you talk it out?"

***

And he did. For the next half an hour, he narrated everything Shravani had told him, all the strange occurrences happening around him, and his girlfriend's conjecture regarding past lives and reincarnations. She patiently listened on without interrupting, without passing snide comments, and without laughing at the ludicrous conversation. With her expressions as serious as his, she occasionally nodded her head to convey that she followed him while her reassuring hold never left his forearm.

He took a deep breath when he was done talking at a stretch. "Yup! As much as I try to refute it, there's no doubt left that there is a spirit... a ghost... some kind of negativity encumbering us."

She snapped her fingers as realization dawned on her. "Negativity! Yes!" She let out a nervous laugh. "You are going to guffaw but," she tucked her hair behind her ears, "hear me out."

"Go on," he mumbled.

"The negativity is consistently trying to draw you out. Even Nidhi. Because the veneration held here a few days ago prevents it from entering and harming you upfront."

He scoffed. "Classic Bollywood! Gods repel ghosts!"

She clicked her tongue. "I asked you to hear me out." When he pursed his lips and nodded, she resumed. "It's not about Gods and ghosts. It's about force fields. Negative and positive."

His lips parted in surprise. "One more than the other, and the scales tip over."

"Exactly." A glint shone in her eyes. "Be it any religion, it's always about spirituality to reach the ultimate power. I am not even saying God. Just the uninhibited raw energy that governs the laws of nature and the universe. We may term it to be the mighty Shiva. Some call Him God. Others might give Him a different name, but it's always about a force above everything you and I can comprehend."