The End Of Us

Chapter 7

27th June 1995,

My sleep was interrupted by someone constantly knocking on the door.

"Let me sleep!" I shouted, pulling the blanket over my face.

"Nandani, it's noon! Get up, you lazy ass," Navya yelled.

Groaning, I sat up, yawning and stretching my arms. I got out of bed and unbolted the door.

"Good afternoon. Freshen up and come down for lunch," Navya said, smiling. I nodded sleepily, yawning once more.

I removed a new pair of clothes from my bag and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. Standing under the shower, the hot water relaxed my body. As I rubbed soap onto my skin, I heard a knock on the bathroom door.

"Navya, give me ten minutes. I will join you guys soon," I said as I continued to shower.

The knocking persisted.

"Navya, can't you just let me bathe in peace?" I yelled angrily, but the knocking continued.

I quickly finished my shower, wrapped myself in a bathrobe, and opened the door.

"Navya, what the hell-" I began, but there was nobody outside.

"This girl keeps pulling stupid pranks on me," I muttered angrily to myself.

I quickly changed into jeans and a black top, combed my hair, and then went downstairs to the living room. Everyone was engaged in lively conversation.

"Navya, I'm going to kill you! You disturbed me while I was taking a bath. "You know how much I dislike being disturbed when I'm bathing or sleeping," I said, clearly annoyed.

"When did I disturb you?" Navya asked, looking baffled.

"Oh, please, stop acting innocent," I retorted, taking a seat next to her.

"I am innocent, babe," she exclaimed dramatically, and I playfully swatted her.

"I am starving. Is there anything to eat?" I enquired.

"No, we need to go to the hotel. I am hungry, too," Abhimanyu responded.

"I am still sleepy. Aryaman, you have ruined our sleep, man!" Dhruv yawned widely.

"Thanks for the reminder, Dhruv. I forgot to talk about this with him. Aryaman, you need to stop drinking alcohol. You talk absolute nonsense when you're under the influence," Cabir advised.

"Guys, believe me; I saw that little girl with my own eyes," Aryaman insisted.

"So where did she go when we all went to the room?" Abhimanyu questioned.

"I don't know. But please, let me explain everything that happened in detail," Aryaman begged.

"Go ahead," Navya retorted, leaning forward attentively.

"See, I had a terrible headache and went to my room to rest. Around three a.m., I woke up to the sound of someone giggling. I initially thought I was hallucinating, so I tried to fall back asleep. But I heard it again."

"The sound came from under the bed, so I bent down to see what was there," Aryaman explained.

"Well, what did you see?" Abhimanyu inquired sarcastically.

"Oh, Abhi, I saw that little girl under the bed, holding a doll. Her hair obscured her face, making it difficult for me to see clearly. But she said she would kill us all to exact revenge," Aryaman said, and we all burst out laughing.

"Aryaman Saxena, that is a fantastic story! You could write a horror movie," Dhruv joked.

"I'm not making this up, Dhruv," Aryaman insisted.

"Say no to alcohol, man," I added, laughing along with the others.

"Guys, I'm starving," Navya exclaimed.

"Let's head to a hotel for lunch," Cabir suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan," Dhruv agreed.

We all made our way to the door, and when we opened it, we were startled to see the caretaker standing there with tiffins in his hands.

"Man, you scared me!" Dhruv exclaimed nervously.

"Food," the old man simply stated, holding out the tiffins.

"Thank you very much, sir. We were actually just about to go out to a restaurant because we were hungry," Dhruv said gratefully, but the old man didn't respond. Instead, he turned and started walking away.

"Excuse me, sir, could we possibly stay here for a few days?" I called after him.

He nodded in response and continued towards his cottage, without looking back.

"He is so weird and creepy," Aryaman commented.

"You are not much different," Cabir teased, and we all burst into laughter.

"How did he know we were hungry and were about to go to a restaurant? He brought the tiffins just as we were leaving, almost as if he's trying to keep us here," Harshad pondered aloud.

"Come on, Einstein, don't overthink it. I'm starving," Navya quipped.

"Me too," Mukti chimed in with a playful pout.

"Harshad, could you please get some plates from the kitchen?" Navya requested.

"Why should I? You've got hands and legs," Harshad replied, raising an eyebrow.

"So do you! Put them to good use," Navya shot back with a grin.

"I will get the plates," I said, heading into the kitchen.

I was washing some plates and spoons under running water and was about to walk into the living room when I collided with Harshad. He instinctively reached out and grabbed me by the waist, concern etched on his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, tightening his grip slightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, trying to step away. But Harshad gripped my hand tightly and drew me closer to him.

"Harshad, what are you doing?" I yelled furiously.

"Can you stop avoiding me, Nandani? "You know how much I love you, baby," he pleaded, his grip on my waist firm.

"But I don't love you. Let me go," I shouted.

"Why don't you love me back?" He pressed, his grip becoming tighter.

"Because I love Manik. Now let me go," I retorted.

"Manik is dead, Nandani," Harshad exclaimed angrily, and I froze, tears welling up in my eyes.

"Could you please repeat that? What did you just say?" I inquired, my voice trembling from shock.

"I meant it is been a decade and there has been no news about him. Even the caretaker mentioned that the entire Malhotra family had disappeared. He could be dead," Harshad said gently.

"Shut up! If you can't say anything good about him, then don't speak ill of him. I love Manik and will continue to do so until the day I die. Get that through your pea-sized head," I snapped angrily, pushing him away forcefully.

"Nandani, please listen-" Harshad begged, but I turned and walked away furiously.