A Sew Through Time [Bandbudh And Budbak]

7: Hide and seek

Gyan pressed his ear on the thick cold wood, fingernails clenching the rough bark soiled with moss. Trees whispered.

It stood behind the other side, very still.

The toddler clutched Budh's sleeve, her nose began to twitch, and the moment she was about to sneeze, Budh pinched her nose.

The door knocked.

Gyan stepped back, watching it clatter.

"Why did that dragon go back Saira?!" Budh whispered loudly.

"Do I look like I know?!" She was more confused than him, "Maybe it got hurt"

The door knocked again.

Gyan grabbed the knob and pressed himself on it, wondering why it was standing and knocking like a guest when it could barge inside easily.

The gun clicked. Karan stood beside and exerted himself on the door as well.

"Hehe, partner, " Budh's voice sounded ticklish, "Doesn't this feel like you're sitting in the toilet with your phone, and mummy's knocking to check whether you're alive inside?"

"Wait a minute..." Myra looked around, "W-where's Jeeva?"

"Jeeva...?" Gyan breathed.

"Itna bara aur bhari insaan aise kaise gum hogaya?" Badri looked back.

"Darke tapak gaya bechara" Budh pecked the wall.

Myra went back to the couch scattered with newspapers and ribbons, cleared them away and pushed it towards the door. Karan helped her.

"I hope this puts it away for sometime"

But the door knocked again.

"Kitna sharif hai ye" Badri said, "Even I don't knock when coming inside Khushi's room"

"If this sharif creature gets inside..." Gyan trembled.

"I can shoot it" Karan spun the gun in his hand, "It will run seeing this babe!"

"Really? How many bullets do you have?" Asked Badri.

He opened the barrel and counted them, pressing his thumbnail into his finger creases, until pausing and replying in a ghastly manner,

"One..."

"Dekha laparwahi ka nateeja?" Budh snickered.

"Save it" Gyan instructed him, "We can't reach the exit together even if you fire at it"

"You shot at it and made it angrier!" Saira found Karan to blame on, THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

"Ya wanted me to just stand there and watch it rip mah guts out?!"

"We don't need anyone's guts out here" Budh trembled, "It's calling Khushi, Jeeva's missing, think of something na Badri!"

He was about to reply when someone's disastrous ringtone pierced through their ears in maximum volume. They yelped with feeble hearts pounding in their throats.

But no entity sings the orchestral 'Over the Horizon'... do they?

Scrambling into her handbag like a berserk creature, Saira whipped out her glittering phone and pressed on the screen. Blue light tumbled in her hands and casted over her cheeks red from embarrassment.

"Saira!" Gyan gritted his teeth, "Stop that!"

Budh and the toddler began dancing.

"Your phone's ringing?" Badri smiled wide, "Are you finding signal here?!"