Author's POV
The whole neighborhood was filled with lights and the sound of crackers, people laughing and celebrating the auspicious festival with joy. Small kids running around the street, while others enjoyed playing with firecrackers.
Amidst them, stood the whole group, with bags of firecrackers in their hands as they found a quiet spot in a corner where they can enjoy themselves, away from the crowd.
They all grabbed sparklers, Anaar and chakris excitedly, like a small child bursting a firecracker for the first time. In a matter of seconds, the peaceful corner of the neighborhood was filled with chaos. Anaar showered the flames, chakris danced on the ground, sparklers flew in the air, the occasional sound of ladis bursting got mixed amongst the chatter as the group continued lighting more and more of them, laughing and chatting amongst themselves.
Radhika rummaged through the bags, trying to find the packet of Ladis. She had seen it in the bag a while ago, then where did it disappear? While she continued her search, a tiny bomb - a single ladi, fell near her legs, not close enough to cause any harm, but enough to startle her. Unbeknownst to her, the tiny bomb was lit, and just like that -
BOOM!!
She jumped, letting out a startled yelp. She put a hand on her chest to calm her heart, which was beating rapidly due to the shock. She looked around with wide eyes, looking for the culprit, when she spotted Rishi at a distance, barely suppressing his laughter. As soon as their eyes met, he couldn't control anymore. He burst into laughter. She stomped towards him, raising an accusing finger, she started, "You-", but before she could say anything, he grabbed her raised hand and pulled her closer, not much - but enough for her breath to hitch. He smirked, "Looking for these?", he asked, raising the last packet of ladis left.
She reached out with her free hand to take the packet from him, only for him to raise his hand higher, out of her reach. She wiggled her hand out of his grip, her eyes narrowed as she jumped, trying to get the packet, but he continued pulling it further away from her.
She huffed as she continued trying. Suddenly, someone reached out and took the packet from his hand before he could react. They turned to find Raj standing there, a smirk playing on his lips as he handed her the packet. She grinned at him, "Thank you Raj!", to which he winked back at her. Rishi narrowed his eyes at Raj as he turned to leave. His eyes followed Raj until he was back with Ruhi and others before turning back to Radhika.
Radhika, who was grinning until now, looked at him and smirked, "See! I have got back up!"
Rishi rolled his eyes, "Whatever!", saying this, he turned away and left, making his way back to where everyone was still playing with sparklers.
Radhika blinked, a frown forming on her face at his sudden departure. She followed him there, the packet of ladis still in her hand.
As she made her way back to the group, someone snatched the packet from her hands. She looked up, only to find Naman grinning, "Thanks, Radhika! I was looking for them!"
"Hey! Where are you taking the whole garland? At least give me a few!", she shouted as he walked away. He shouted back, "I am going to light them all in one go!"
Radhika sighed, "Why is everyone against me!"
Aditi heard her and said, "Naman! Why do you want to burst them all together? It's the last one, let her too!"
Naman, pouted like a baby and said, "I want to light the whole garland! Let me pleeaaseee!"
Aditi shook her head, holding back a chuckle at his childish behavior, finding it cute. She turned to Radhika with hopeful eyes, "Let the poor baby enjoy."
Radhika smirked, "Okay, I'll let your baby enjoy!"
Aditi opened her mouth to thank her but closed it as she realized her words. She bit her lip to hold back her smile as she glanced at Naman, who seemed oblivious as he searched for the incense stick to light the bomb.
She threw a flustered glare at Radhika, who winked at her and went towards where Isha, Raj, Ruhi, Siddharth and Rishi were standing, chatting randomly as they took a break from lighting the crackers.
They saw the interaction between Aditi and Radhika, and how Naman was so enthusiastic about lighting the whole garland together. Rishi smirked, an idea popping in the mind as he turned towards the others, "Guys, Naman is always scared while lighting the crackers. Like, he would pull away the fire without even touching it to the cracker, just because he thought it would burst on his face!"
Radhika smirked back, "Yes! Let's annoy him!"
The group grinned mischievously as they saw Naman, who had finally found the incense stick, and was now placing the garland on the ground.
Just as he was about to lean over to light the cracker, Siddharth spoke, "Careful, Naman!"
Naman looked up as Siddharth continued, "Be careful. These ones catch fire quickly... See to it that you pull away in time."
Naman's expression changed slightly, his grin faltering as he looked back and forth from the cracker to Siddharth.
He said confidently, though his voice faltered slightly, "S-so? I'm not scared!"
He turned his attention back to the cracker lying on the ground, waiting to be lit. He slowly moved the incense stick towards the cracker, just as he was about the stick was about to touch the cracker, Rishi shouted, "Aye jal gaya!", making him jump.
The group controlled their laughter as he glared at Rishi and composed himself, turning back to the cracker.
This time, he even touched the stick to it, but before it could light, Raj shouted, "Naman run!"
Naman let out a yelp, stumbling back immediately. He groaned, "Stop it guys!"
They chuckled as he took a deep breath and turned back. No one said a word this time, but by now, he was already scared. The stick came in contact with the cracker, he swallowed as he waited to it to catch fire.
He counted, "One, two, thr- aaaaa!", he rushed away as soon as he saw a single spark. After finally reaching a safe distance, Naman turned back, only to find the cracker didn't look like it'd caught fire.
He groaned again as the group burst into laughter. He took tentative steps towards the cracker. Just as he stepped closer, a tiny bomb burst, and then another. Naman ran away, "Aaaaa!"
As he was running, a stray dog came out of nowhere and started chasing him and barking at him. The group doubled over from laughing, their voices mixed with the bursting of the crackers as they continued enjoying the little show.
After an eternity of running, he finally seemed to get away from the dog as he came back to the group panting. He glared at each one of them, which only made them laugh harder.
As the laughter from earlier subsided, the group continued bursting crackers. Amidst them, Ruhi turned to Siddharth and complained, "Why is there no sutli bomb? It's so much fun to light that loud bomb!"
"You are loud enough. We don't need a bomb for that!", he said.
Before she could answer, Rishi came out of nowhere and smirked, "Look Ruhi, Siddharth just called you a patakha!"
Ruhi and Siddharth looked at him in disbelief. Siddharth said, "Seriously Rishi?"
Rishi just smiled sheepishly and went away just like he came. Ruhi and Siddharth turned to each other again.
They narrowed their eyes at each other.
"Huh!", they scoffed together.
And left.
The group finished bursting the crackers and were now preparing to go to the Marine lines for the firework show. Ruhi excused herself to use the washroom before leaving. She went inside the house.
After a few minutes, Raj went in to drink water.
Siddharth's eyes narrowed suspiciously. He hesitated for some time before following him.
Inside the house, Ruhi had just come out of the washroom when she heard footsteps. She found Raj in the kitchen drinking water. Grinning mischievously, she went near him and pushed the glass through which he was drinking water, resulting it to double over. Water got spilled on Raj's shirt.
He glared at her, to which she just grinned, "Oops!"
He narrowed his eyes at her, a devilish grin spreading on his face as he kept the glass aside and ran after her. She let out a yelp before sprinting away. They ran around the house laughing. As she turned a corner, she entered Aditi's bedroom. Before she could lock the door behind her, he was already inside.
Raj smirked, "Where will you go now, sissy?"
She tried to run away, but Raj was faster. He grabbed her from behind and started tickling her. She tried wiggling out of his hold, "Oh God! Stop! Hahaaha! Ugh! Nooo!", she said between her laughter.
Siddharth, who was looking around the house for them froze as he neared Aditi's bedroom. His eyes widened as he heard the muffled sounds coming from the room. Was she laughing or was she -? No no no no no no no no!
His mind went blank. She was trying to stop him, but he was not listening to her. "Shit!", he cursed and without thinking twice rushed to open the door.
But as soon as he opened the door, he froze again. There she was, laughing, while Raj was holding her from behind. They paused when they saw Siddharth. Raj finally let go of her as they both turned to Siddharth.
Raj, observing his panicked expression, asked, "Yes? Everything alright?"
Siddharth looked back and forth between the two of them. They stood there, confused, waiting for him to say something. Siddharth's face turned red as he realized he had misinterpreted the situation, that it was just harmless tickling and not anything else.
He stuttered, "I..That...You both - What are you doing?"
Ruhi chuckled, "Did you just stutter? And are you - why are you blushing?"
Siddharth looked away, trying to compose himself, he decided telling the truth, "I...I thought you both... you know...uhmm.."
They blinked, realization dawning at them. Ruhi gasped, "How can you even think of something like that!?", though she sounded more amused than offended.
Siddharth's blush deepened, "I.. I heard your... Shit... I'm sorry.."
Raj and Ruhi looked at each other, trying to suppress their laughter as Siddharth avoided eye contact.
Ruhi cleared her throat. Crossing her arms, she said, "We forgive you. Now leave us alone."
Siddharth's head snapped up at her, he immediately blurted out, "No way!"
Ruhi raised an eyebrow, clearly amused, "Why not?"
Siddharth cleared his throat, "Because...Because...we are getting late...Yes! We need to leave. Now."
Ruhi suppressed a smile as she nodded, "Okay, you go ahead. We'll be there."
Siddharth gave Raj one last look before leaving. As soon as he was out, both of them burst into laughter.
"This is better than I imagined!", Ruhi said in between her laughter.
"I know, right! God, his expressions were priceless!", Raj said.
"And his face? His face was completely red! He looked like laal tamatar! All red and cute!", she regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth, her laughter dying.
Raj smirked, "Uhm uhm, someone is finding their enemy cute! Are you sure he is just your enemy, Ruhi?"
Ruhi looked away, "That...um...We are getting late! Come on, let's go!", saying this she dashed out without even waiting for him.
Outside the house, the group impatiently waited for them to come. Siddharth came back and they all started scolding him, "What is taking so much time?"
He rolled his eyes, "Ask that to those love birds!"
The group shared amused glances, clearly enjoying this prank.
Two minutes later, a flustered Ruhi came, with Raj following her with a smirk. Siddharth didn't even glance at them and moved towards their bikes.
Isha started her scooter, with Aditi behind her. Siddharth and Naman sat on one bike, while Ruhi sat behind Raj on his bike. Radhika sat behind Rishi, adjusting her helmet. The four vehicles took off, the cool breeze hitting them as they navigated through the busy streets of Mumbai.
Suddenly, Rishi increased the speed, making Radhika yelp as she placed her hands on his shoulders for support. Rishi didn't do it intentionally. No, he was just enjoying the thrill. So, when she placed her hand on his shoulder, he was caught off guard, his posture visibly tensed.
Radhika, sensing it, was about to pull her hands away, when he blurted out, "Don't.", realizing it came out weirdly, he immediately covered up, "I mean, let it be. For balance, of course."
Radhika smiled softly, tightening her hold on his shoulder, just for balance, of course.
The bike ride continued in a comfortable silence. Her hands on his shoulder comforting both of them.
The group finally reached Marine lines. The usual hum of the Mumbai traffic softens beneath the crackle of fireworks bursting above the skyline, painting the sky in bright colors.
The group huddled near the sidewalk, looking up at the sky in awe as rockets after rockets were sent into the sky.
Among them, Naman found himself standing beside Aditi, their shoulders brushing every now and then, sending a spark through them occasionally. Naman glanced at Aditi, admiring her features as the soft glow of the fireworks reflected on her face.
Aditi was admiring the fireworks, while Naman was lost in his personal patakha.
He looked back at the fireworks, his fingers twitching to hold hers. He moved his hand towards her just a little, still not touching her. He took a deep breath, gathering courage as he moved his hand closer. Their fingers brushed. Both of them felt the spark but pretended to be unaffected.
He swallowed hard, his fingers just an inch away from wrapping around hers. She bit her lips nervously at the brushing of their fingers. Naman hesitated before doing the final move. Aditi, sensing his hesitation, suppressed a smile. Before he knew it, her fingers found his, intervening them.
Naman's head snapped towards her, caught off guard by her action. She pretended as if she hadn't just held his hand, her focus solely on the fireworks, but the slight twitch in her lips gave it all away. Naman smiled, tightening his fingers around her.
They stood like that, pretending to be focused on the fireworks, but their hearts were a chaos, beating rapidly in their chests. He rubbed his thumb against her skin, making her breath hitch. The small gesture giving her a zoo of butterflies in her stomach.
Suddenly, someone's phone rang, making them snap out of their fairytale and pull their hands away.
It was Ruhi's.
She checked her phone, a video call from her mother.
Her face lit up.
"Mumma's vid-", she paused.
Her face fell.
Siddharth was here, and so was Raj. He would know about the prank if she picked the call. Her eyes darted towards Raj, who seemed to understand her situation. She couldn't ignore her call. Raj gave her a nod, and she hesitantly picked up the call.
A smile formed on her lips as soon as she saw her mother's face, bright and happy. She wished her mother, "Happy Diwali Mumma!"
Her mother, Sheetal Mehta, a businesswoman in her mid 40s, beamed, "Happy Diwali, bachaa! How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, mumma. We are here at the Marine. Wait, let me show you the fireworks!", she said excitedly, turning her back camera on. She showed her the fireworks and kept her busy with random, senseless talks so that she won't mention Raj.
Aditi and Radhika wished Sheetal too. Ruhi, trying to find a topic asked, "Where is papa?"
Sheetal sighed, "You know your papa! It's 11 in the morning and he is still asleep!"
Ruhi chuckled, "Thank God you are with papa, or God knows what would have happened to the company!"
Sheetal shook her head, chuckling, she started, "Achha, where is-", but Ruhi interrupted her, changing the topic, "You know I made paneer tikka today! It was so tasty!"
"Good, good! I'm proud of you! Now tell me where-"
"And you know, we were playing dumb charades and our team won too!", she said, not letting her mother speak.
Sheetal frowned, "Ruhi! Will you let me speak?"
Ruhi chuckled nervously, her eyes darting between Raj and Siddharth, as she said, "Y-yes mumma, say na."
"Where is my son, Raj?", she asked, her expression softening.
Siddharth froze. 'Even her family knows about him', he thought, his chest tightening for some unknown reason.
Raj hesitated before stepping forward and taking the phone from Ruhi, "Hello mummy! Happy Diwali!", he said with a smile.
Siddharth's eyes widened, 'Mummy? They have gone so far already?'
Sheetal smiled back at him, "Happy Diwali to you too, beta! I hope Ruhi isn't troubling you much."
Ruhi whined, "Mumma yaar! I'm not a kid!"
Sheetal snapped back playfully, "And I'm not your yaar!"
Raj chuckled at the banter, "Don't worry, mummy. She doesn't trouble me.... much.", he said, only to receive a smack from Ruhi.
Siddharth stood frozen a few steps away, his mind reeling.
Sheetal said, "Achha, I will talk to you later. Ruhi, don't trouble your brother. And Raj, take care of your little sister."
Raj and Ruhi waved her goodbye weakly. The damage was done, and they couldn't do anything about it.
Siddharth choked on air at her words. Brother? Sister? They are siblings?! He looked around at the others, thinking they will have a similar reaction, but the group just shared amused glances, trying to suppress their laughter.
Realization dawned at him, his eyes widening as he observed Ruhi and Raj, avoiding eye contact from him.
They didn't know how to react. They didn't want the prank to end like this. Siddharth took a step forward, but before he could say anything, Ruhi cleared her throat, "Guys, I think we should go back.", she said, completely ignoring Siddharth.
Everyone nodded, making their way towards the vehicles, stealing glances at Siddharth who just stood there, his jaw clenched.
Ruhi walked beside Raj, biting her lip to suppress a giggle as she quickly glanced back at Siddharth before looking away.
Raj asked, "What will you do now?"
Ruhi shrugged, a mischievous smile playing on her lips, "Nothing. Act like we never did anything."
Raj shook his head, chuckling.
Siddharth finally walked back to his bike, where Naman was waiting for him. But his eyes were fixed at one person. He was glaring at Ruhi the whole time.
Naman poked his shoulders, "Siddharth! Let's go."
Siddharth blinked, finally looking at Naman, "Huh?"
Naman sighed, "Let's go?"
Siddharth nodded and straddled his bike, wearing his helmet. Naman followed suit.
As he rode the bike, his mind was still stuck at one thing - one person. Ruhi.
Why did she lie?
What was the need?
Why did she fool me?
He unconsciously increased the speed of the bike, startling Naman as he grabbed the back of the bike for his dear life. His eyes widen as he felt the bike gaining more speed.
"Siddharth! Do you want to get us killed? I don't want to die so early, Siddharth! I haven't even proposed Aditi yet! We will die together once I propose to her, but please - I don't want to die now!", Naman pleaded in fear.
Siddharth let go off the accelerator, decreasing the speed, as he muttered, "Drama queen."
Naman sighed dramatically as the bike slowed down. Siddharth continued riding the bike, ignoring Naman's drama, his mind drifting back to her. He doesn't even know how to react.
Should he be angry?
Should he be embarrassed for getting fooled by her?
Or should he be... happy?
He shook his head, brushing that thought away before he could overthink it. He won't admit it, but a really, really small, the tiniest part of his heart felt relieved to know that she was actually single.
But what should he do now?
Should he fight with her?
Should he go back to ignoring her?
Should he behave like this prank never happened?
He groaned internally, not knowing what he is supposed to do now.
Everyone was finally back home, waiting for Aditi to announce what they were going to do next.
Aditi cleared her throat, "We are going to play another game - Hide and seek!", she announced.
The group looked at each other in confusion. Radhika asked, "But how are we supposed to play here? There's no place to hide."
Isha smirked, "Who said we are going to play here?"
Rishi asked, "Then?"
Isha and Aditi shared a glance with each other, a smirk playing on their lips, they said, "Follow us!", and started walking out of the house with the others trailing behind, utterly confused.
After a 10-minute walk, the group found themselves standing in front of an abandoned house. It was a single-story house with way too many creepy rooms for their liking. The paint of the house had peeled off, the window glass broken. Earth had swallowed the house, with weed and vines covering the place. The whole house was dominated by cobwebs, giving it a spooky touch. The house was known to be haunted by 'The girl in the red dress'.
The story was simple, like every other horror story. A couple lived here; the man killed the girl and ran away with his lover. Rumors has it, the girl still haunts the house, wanting to seek revenge.
The eerie silence was too much for their comfort. A shiver ran down their spines as a gush of wind passed around them, resulting in the rustling of leaves in the distance.
Rishi jumped in fear, "Aaaa! Who's there?!", he said, hiding behind Radhika.
Radhika rolled her eyes, "It's just the leaves, Rishi! Relax!"
Naman asked, "Why are we here?"
"To play hide and seek.", Aditi declared, as if it was the most normal thing to do.
Rishi's jaw dropped, "WHAT? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!", he exclaimed.
Isha crossed her arms, "Don't be dramatic, Rishi! It's just a game of hide and seek."
"A GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK IN A BLOODY HAUNTED HOUSE!", Rishi shouted.
Ruhi jumped in excitement, "Yes! This has always been in my bucket list!"
Rishi looked at her as if he'd seen a ghost, his eyes wide.
Aditi clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention, "Guys! We all have heard stories about this place. The ghost of a girl, long, open hair, red dress, typical Bhootni things. And what could be a better time to visit a haunted place than a new moon day? And hide and seek is the best game to play in such a location!"
Everyone grinned in excitement - everyone except Rishi that is.
He cleared his throat, "Uhmm...Guys, I was saying that - Uh..."
Radhika giggled, enjoying his scared stutter, "Come on, Rishi! There's no ghost here, it's all fake!"
Rishi shook his head dramatically, "No no, Radhika! Don't say that! The one who doesn't believe in ghosts is the one to be targeted first!"
Everyone laughed.
Naman smirked, "Aww, poor Rishi got scared?"
Siddharth rolled his eyes, "Nothing is going to happen. Come on, let's get inside."
Rishi swallowed hard as he saw everyone walking towards the door, leaving him alone. His eyes widened even more as he rushed towards them and interlocked his arms with Radhika's, mumbling, "Don't leave my side, please."
Radhika giggled at his childish behavior.
The group now stood in front of the door, ready to get inside, but were stopped by Aditi. She said, "The seeker will come inside after counting up to 100, giving the others time to hide."
Ruhi starts excitedly, "Akkad bakkad Bombay bo, assi, nabbey, poore sau, sau se nikla dhaaga, chor nikal ke bhaga!", she sings, pointing at each one of them, before it lands on Rishi.
[A/N: I hope you guys know thisðŸ˜]
All eyes turned to Rishi. His own eyes now turned into ones the size of saucers as he groaned, "No way!"
The group laughed devilishly as they ignored his groans and turned back to the main door of the house. Radhika turned too, but Rishi's grip on her hand tightened as he looked at her, his eyes silently begging her to stay.
She shook her head and wiggled her hand out of his hold, leaving him standing there, utterly scared.
Isha slowly opened the main door, the creaking sound filling the air as they went in. They looked around, taking in the spooky surroundings. The house screamed two things - Danger and adventure. However, the group seemed to be focused on the latter. The house was fully furnished but was covered with dust and cobwebs.
The living room led to three different hallways. The one on the left led to a big kitchen and laundry section. Everything was in place just like a normal house, the only thing different was the dust and weed covering them.
The one on the right led to the basement and garage. While the middle one to a series of rooms.
Rishi, finding no way out, started counting up to 100, his heart pounding his chest.
Inside, everyone started searching for a place to hide. Aditi, Isha and Naman, tagging together, selected one of the many rooms in the middle hallway. They slipped in, taking their surroundings. There was an old wooden wardrobe that was empty, a small study table covered with dust and a bed that creaked every time someone touched it.
Radhika and Raj found themselves in the kitchen section, trying to find a place to hide. Raj hid behind the kitchen counter, crouching down, while Radhika hid inside one of the wardrobes in the laundry.
Ruhi rushed towards the basement, which looked like a storeroom, large boxes and items were kept there, everything covered in dust. There was complete darkness, so she turned the phone's flashlight on. She hid behind a large painting and turned the flash off so that no one finds her.
Siddharth was still in the living room, contemplating where to go, when he realized Rishi had already passed 70 while counting. Without, thinking twice, he ran towards the basement.
Ruhi froze when she heard footsteps getting closer in full speed. She shut her eyes tightly, swallowing hard.
Siddharth rushed towards the first place he found - the same painting. He went behind it, the darkness making it difficult to understand the surroundings properly. He almost yelped when he saw a figure already standing there. He hesitantly moved closer, leaning in to identify the figure, when she opened her eyes.
Even in the darkness, she immediately recognized his eyes. Their faces were inches apart. Her breath hitched, her eyes widening. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. They stood there, frozen, lost in each other's eyes. She swallowed, her heart racing rapidly due to their proximity.
Their stare was broken due to the sudden intrusion of a small spider, as it slowly crawled on Ruhi's face. She stood still, her eyes widening even more, just as she was about to shout, he brushed the spider off her face with one hand and covered her mouth with the other, "Shh...."
Her chest heaved, not due to the fear of the tiny animal, but from the closeness. She looked down at his hand on her mouth, then back at him.
He immediately dropped his hand and finally took a small step back but remained behind the painting with her, running a hand through his hair, he sighed. "Why are you here?", he whispered.
"Haww! You monster! I should be the one to ask that!", she whisper yelled.
"Shhh! Shut up! Someone might hear us!", he whispered back.
Ruhi huffed, "Go somewhere else!"
Siddharth denied, "No way! You go somewhere else if you have a problem!"
Ruhi groaned, "Why do you always choose what I choose?!"
"And why do you always think that I'll back out?!"
Ruhi sighed, her shoulders dropping in defeat. She was in no mood to fight right now. Siddharth leaned against the wall behind them, looking around. They acted as if the other person was not standing so close to them.
Meanwhile, Rishi had finally completed his counting. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. But his heart refused to beat normally.
He announced, "I'm coming guys!" and stepped inside the house.
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