Prey of a Predator

Chapter 8

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I asked about their names and they all started telling me their names. We then started talking about many topics and laughed like crazy. I have to admit that being in this era is not so bad, there are so many good people. These children also are so cute and some well naughty. This era, when I don't have my phone, I still am able to find happiness in so many small things like helping maa, playing with these children, making new things, going to lakes and playing with water and many more things which I never did in my life ever in my time. We all were talking when we heard pandit ji chanting Aarti. We all stood up and went towards our parents, joined our hands and started singing with them.

After Aarti, all of our parents got blessings from pandit ji and we all started walking towards our home. We all were walking when Avni suddenly asked baba for the permission to go to that lake this evening to see the floating diyas. I also looked at him with pleading eyes. He looked at both of us, sighed and agreed. We both joined our hands and started jumping when maa told us to behave. We looked at each other and laughed but eventually behaved. And within 15 minutes we reached home.

In the evening

"Jaldi tayaar ho, kitna samaye lagta hai tujhe?" Avni angrily asked me. What can I say, I do take a lot of time to get ready. I even got scolded by my mother in my time. I wore my newly bought jhumka, put some kajal and went to our front gate where Avni was waiting for me.
She looked beautiful in her maroon lehenga which enchanted her beauty very much and added spark to her overall. Meanwhile I was wearing a white lehenga which pretty much did the job.

"Maaf karde, agli baar pakka jaldi ho jaungi."(Forgive me, next I will get ready fast.)  Saying I came in front of her and she started staring at me. I shook my hands in front of her eyes and asked her if she was okay. She came back to her senses and said that I looked like an angel. I thanked her and we went off to that lake.

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When we reached the temple near the lake where the Pooja took place and it still looked mesmerizing, even the lake was beautifully decorated near the ghats. The lake, well, shined with moon's reflection in it and the bright moonlight made it even more breath taking. I never imagined a lake could look so beautiful in the night time. As I said, I am experiencing many new things in here. I looked here and there and saw that many girls of our age were there and decorating their diyas. We also took one diya each and started decorating it with flowers and after decorating it, all of us were told to make a line near the lake. We took the diya in our hands and made a line and on my left side, was Avni.

After 2 minutes of standing like that, there were loud chanting of prayers in the temple and we lighted our diyas and kept it in our hands and were to keep it till the chantments get over and then we can release them in water. I got to know from Avni that keeping diya in our hands for as long as possible makes us lucky in love and getting a loving husband. And looking at the water in this time will show us our soulmate's face. I do believe in true love and soulmates but I never took it this seriously so I was curious and Avni also.

After 45 minutes

Now my palms are paining and so my legs but I stood still and didn't let that break my position.
Finally after 50 minutes of chanting the mantras, it got over and as a loud sound echoes by the shankh, all of us bend down, released the diya on the water and made some waves in the water to make it reach its destination and joined my hands to pray to god.

God I don't know if I will get a loving husband or not but accept my devotion and send me back in my time. I hope you will listen and accept my prayers.

The sound of Shankh was made three times, while we kept our hands joined and prayed to gods. When I opened my eyes, the sight before was the most breath taking I have ever had in my life. The lake, as if it didn't look beautiful enough back then, looked so divine right now with thousands of diyas floating on it. I glanced at Avni and saw that even she was staring at the lake and was just as mesmerized as me. We then went to temple, bowed out head on the ground before the Radhakrishna's Statue and then poured some milk on Shivling, joined hands and bowed down and came out of the temple. Then I took Avni to again look at the beautiful sight of the lake. Just then she sat on ghat and told me to sit beside her. I did and asked her about what we are going to do now. She said that it will take temple some time to make prasaad so we can enjoy the view in front of us. Just then I saw three girls looking at their reflection in the water and giggling. I shook Avni and made her look at the direction. She said that they were trying to see the faces of their soulmates. I asked her if this rumor was true, to which she replied as yes and that she herself never tried once but heard that people who looked at their reflection in the water especially after showing such devotion, we may be able to see their face. I asked her if I should try that, to which she nodded her head and stood up. She asked me to stand up as well. I did and she told me look in the water.

"Yahan dekh, paani me."(Look here, in the water)

I closed my eyes and dragged my face near the water to see my reflection and my soulmate's.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a man's reflection which was quite blurry and I was not even able to look carefully because of the lack of brightness.
But then, I noticed one important thing which shook me.

"Grey Eyes"