chapter 19
The door had closed behind Veeransh with a quiet click, but the sound kept echoing in Aariv's head long after he was gone.
The silence of the room felt heavier than before as if every shadow was watching him, waiting for him to break.
He sat there on the edge of the bed, his fingers clutching the bedsheet, Veeransh's words looping in his mind again and again.
He thought of Shanti's eyes when she spoke about the shrap
He shut his eyes, trying to think clearly.
And then, it struck him.
Pandit Harinarayan.
He had seen the old priest several times in the haveli a silent figure who always walked with slow, deliberate steps, his gaze filled with something that looked like knowledge... or fear. Aariv remembered the way Shanti maa often lowered her tone when speaking in front of him.
Maybe... he knew something.
Maybe, he was the only one who did.
Aariv sat up straighter, resolving hardening in his chest.
He had spent days in confusion, fear, and silence not anymore. If Veeransh wouldn't tell him the truth, he would find it himself.
"Pandit ji," he whispered to himself.
"He'll tell me. He has to."
He glanced at the clock it was almost midnight again. He sighed, closing his notebook and setting it on the side table.
Tomorrow, he would go to the temple where Pandit Harinarayan often stayed.
Tomorrow, he would get his answers.
For the first time in days, Aariv lay down with purpose in his heart.
Outside, the haveli was quiet... too quiet.
Somewhere deep within its walls, an old door creaked softly as if it had heard his decision.
The night stretched endlessly, the silence of the room broken only by the faint ticking of the clock and the soft rustle of curtains against the cold air.
Aariv sat curled on the sofa, knees pulled close to his chest, his eyes occasionally flickering toward the door.
The lamp beside him threw a warm golden glow that made the corners of the room dance with long, soft shadows.
But Veeransh... still hadn't returned.
He had been waiting for hours since their talk.
Now, only the soft hum of the night kept him company.
Aariv tried to distract himself, flipping through the same pages of his notebook he'd read earlier, but the words blurred in front of his eyes. His mind wasn't in the book it was with Veeransh.
Where was he this late? Was he okay? Did that wound hurt again?
He bit his lip, fighting the anxious thoughts.
He knew Veeransh wouldn't like him waiting , he was cold, distant, always wrapped in walls yet... Aariv couldn't help it.
Something deep within him whispered that behind that silence, behind that harshness, Veeransh was breaking too.
He looked at the clock again. It was almost 2 A.M.
"Maybe he's busy... maybe he's with Pandit ji..."
"Or maybe he doesn't want to come back here," another voice inside him said softly.
The thought pricked his heart.
He stood up and went to the window, pulling the curtain aside. The garden outside was bathed in faint silver light, the moonlight resting gently over the old banyan tree. Everything seemed calm, yet something about the stillness felt... wrong.
Like the calm before a storm.
Aariv sighed, his body finally giving in to the exhaustion of worry.
He came back to the sofa and sat down again, curling up beneath the blanket.
His eyelids grew heavy.
"You didn't come..." he whispered drowsily, his voice trembling between sleep and sadness. "do you hate me that much?"
The words faded as sleep finally claimed him.
The lamp's glow dimmed to a soft halo around him.
His breathing evened out, his small frame resting quietly fragile, peaceful, unaware that beyond the heavy doors of the haveli, something stirred in the shadows again.
Something that watched him... like.
.
.........
Veeransh sat in his study, the heavy silence wrapping around him like a curse.
The air smelled faintly of old wood, paper, and whiskey.
A half-empty glass sat on the table beside him, catching the dull glint of the table lamp.
He took another slow sip, eyes fixed on nothing.
His jaw was tight, his fingers tracing the rim of the glass restlessly.
Aariv's trembling voice echoed in his head.
"Kis cheez ka darr hai aapko haan? Aap bataiye to hum kuchh solution nikal lenge.
"
And then his own broken shout
"DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE THE ONLY SOLUTION! "
He squeezed his eyes shut, exhaling sharply, as if trying to drown the memory in liquor.But the image of those soft, tear glazed eyes refused to leave him.
"Why don't you understand this..." he muttered under his breath, his tone low, almost a plea.
"You are not safe with me."
The whiskey burned down his throat, but it didn't hurt half as much as the thought of Aariv getting trapped in this storm that surrounded his family with his curse.
He leaned back in the chair, the shadows of the study falling across his face. The portraits of his ancestors loomed above the shelves their eyes dark, hollow, and accusing. It felt like they were watching him, whispering the same words he'd heard all his life.
"You can't escape it, Veeransh.and not even him"
His grip tightened around the glass until it almost cracked.
"No," he breathed. "Not him. I won't let it touch him."
For a moment, his expression softened a rare flicker of tenderness in those otherwise cold eyes.
He saw Aariv's face flash before him again a small, brave, heartbreakingly pure standing up to him with trembling defiance.
"Mai kahi nhi jaane wala, shaadi ki hai to nibhani padegi..."
A dry chuckle escaped his lips. "You don't even know what you're saying, Aariv..."
The clock ticked. Outside, the wind howled against the windows.
Somewhere, a door creaked faintly the sound making Veeransh's gaze lift, tense and alert.
He stared toward the hallway, the faint draft that slipped in through the crack in the door.
For a second, he thought he saw a faint shadow move across the wall long and crooked gone in a blink.
His pulse jumped, but he didn't move.
He simply looked down at the glass in his hand and whispered, almost to himself.
"Stay away, Aariv. I don't want to include you in this. "
He finished the drink and let the glass fall heavily onto the desk, the amber liquid spilling slightly over old papers.
The silence returned heavier than before pressing down on him as the faint whisper of the wind echoed again... like laughter from somewhere deep within the haveli.
.
.
Thank you
Love u all??????