Aap Koun Hai? PT 1

Oh Who is She?🧙

The area is lonely, with only a wild road, and vines and thorns curling in the grass.

There is no sign of civilization except for the road that runs across the land, and the deserted modern bungalow.

We step out ,and from up close it's like the bungalow is having its own fight against nature. The moss patching the white paint, the roof captured by vines, and poison ivy sprouts on the surface of the door.

The inside however is massive, stretching for almost 15 meters end to end-and there is more that one floor.

Neat and pristine, wide in length and at least ten different maids are scattered around cleaning, mopping, dusting.

I soak it in.

This is where his family hides.

Not live, hides.

From the side door a little girl, just a few years younger than me runs up. She tries to hold back the giggles in her mouth as she approaches me, but it spills in her words when she talks

"hi! Welcome to our house! Do you like it? What is your name?"

I stumble back at the sudden outburst, as my mind races to recognise the girl.

I have see her before when I met his family, but gosh she seemed so quiet..

"Stop scaring her" His Dadi shouts, "Go to your room and study"

The girl rolls her eyes , hanging her head and runs back inside the door.

She then turns to me " Do you want something to eat?"

"N-No" I shake my head, I can't trust them right now. Why did they take me here? For what reason do they want to bring me to their bungalow, especially when it's this exclusive?

"I-I'll show her the rooms" Vihaan cuts in between, sensing my hesitation

*********

Vihaan leads me up the spiral stairs, dark and dusty, surrounded by a narrow cylinder like barrier. It's old, the iron handles rusted, the puddles of water on the steps, and the scent of decay that hung to the air, like a warning.

"Are you trying to kill me or something?" I ask him as I step up on one creaky stair after the next

He laughs, but that isn't an answer.

"No"

But that isn't comforting.

Once we reach upstairs, the sunlight greets us once again, and infront of us is a hallway that passes rooms after rooms. After a bit of walking we find his room.

Honestly, I am not surprised at it's state anymore. Of course, it's huge, comfortable and god damn expensive.

A large bed, cupboards, shelves and a window next to it, through which light streams through.

He shows me around, explaining everything, the cupboards, his books, his record collections.

I won't lie, it's not bad, but questions spur at the back of my mind. What is he trying to do? What is all this for?

"And this- " he pulls out one of the records from the box. Immediately I recognise it.

"Falguni Pathak record" I answer staring at the folder, with her face. His grin widens and he gives it to me "It's one of my favorite songs"

I love Falguni Pathak's music, they always have such a vibe. But this is not the time.

And then he rummages through his shelf again and takes a little black box, then taking the cd, he places it inside.