Part 4:
Raman opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the hotel room bed.
His body was aching severely, so was his head. He dint even have the energy to get up and check the time.
Something inside him pushed him to run his hands over the left side of his bed. There was nothing there, ofcourse.
"Ishita" he spoke, he was expecting her to be next to him.
And then he realised wat he trying to do.
"Ishita is dead Raman..what are you doing"
"Par wo to kal thi na mer saath" he thought..
[But she was with me last night]
He even remembered coming back to the hotel room with her in the night, and then them sleeping together..
His mind was giving him conflicting thoughts at the same time.
He somehow gathered courage, pulled himself up and rested his back on the cushion.
He picked up his phone lying on the side table to check the date and time. It was 5th of May 2015, the time was 11:00 am. He had left for Rishikesh on 4th May 2015 evening.
So it had just been a night that had passed. Logic told him that he had been dreaming.
"But aise kaise ho sakta hai.."
[But how is that possible..]
The whole thing had felt so real. He still felt he was in a different sphere altogether, in that space he shared with Ishita all this time.
His head pained further, he felt drugged.
He replayed the memory of the time he just spent with Ishita, in the dream, if that was d case.
Their non-stop love-making..d dhaba..the lake..the cliff..the saree..
"She was with me..she was with me i know"
"But how come I forgot totally that she was dead already, n never even questioned her?!"
"It was a dream Raman" he told himself.
He thought again...trying to assess everything very carefully.
He noticed there were moments he did feel she wasnt there with him, and that she might be a ghost infact..
Like all those conversations about making up for the lost yrs or the rest of the life..about becoming a star after dying..about him loving her after her death..
Then she avoided being seen with him- she dint come down with him and made an excuse of tripping over d saree.. she took a seat in the dhaba where they could not be seen by others..then she took him to a secluded area..
Maybe he had actually just spent time with a ghost and she forced him to forget that she was dead.
Or maybe while dreaming his sub-conscience always knew she wasnt alive, and so this was its way of denying her presence..it was giving him hints throughout, to question her presence..and so he had the lingering feeling time and again in the dream that he was infact spending time with a ghost.
Or maybe there was no ghost at all, maybe she was actually alive and he was forgetting or misunderstanding something..n there was more to it..
It was all so confusing. He pulled up his phone again to check the date again.
"Dream.." he told himself.."But.."
Raman called up the hotel staff. He was the same guy who had come to his room last night.
Raman: "Suno, kal raat ko tum mujhe chod ke gaye the yahan pe..uske baad koi aaya kya yahan? Ya main kahin gaya yahan se?"
[Listen..yesterday night after you left me here..did anyone come here after that? Or did i leave the room anytime?]
Hotel Staff: "No saab. Kal aap wo darr rahe the na.. So I took special attention of you. You have been in your room all night. And nobody came in as far as I know. I think u locked the room from inside.
Hope you slept well and are feeling better now"
Raman: "Hmm..thanks. You can go now..and yes pls get me a lemon drink, my head is aching very badly"
Hotel Staff: "Yes sir, i will get you."
"You have been here all the night Raman. It was a dream for sure." he reassured himself.
He picked up his phone to check his mails and messages.
He noticed he had received a message from Mr. Sinha, the land owner who was gonna fix the land deal with him today.
It read:
"I tried to call you in the morning Raman, but it looks like you are still taking rest. This is just to inform you that for some reason our meeting will be delayed. I will meet you at 7:00 pm in the evening instead of 1:00 PM in the afternoon as planned. Hope its ok."
"Ok Sir..we will meet in my hotel only then at 7:00 in the evening" he replied to the message.
Raman got up from his bed and went to the washroom.
While washing his face, he remembered the red saree he had mistaken for the curtain last night. He realised it was the same saree that Ishita was wearing in the dream, the same saree he had gifted to Ishita on her first bday after marriage..
"Was there a ghost actually in the room yesterday night?" he thought.
He remembered how he was unable to sleep and then infact Ishita had made him sleep..
"But maybe Ishita making me sleep was a part of the dream too.. and I saw this saree in the dream bcos our dreams tend to incorporate dose lil happenings/memories of the day in them.."
He drank the glass of lemonade sent for him.
He took a bath and then dressed himself up.
He went down to the hotel reception, he wanted to book his room for another day, bcos his stay was gonna be extended.
And then he overheard some tourists inquiring at the reception..
"Madam ye Bhulla lake kaisi jagah hai? Yahan jaana chahiye?"
[Madam how is this place called Bhulla Lake? Should we go there?]
Bhulla lake..it clicked in Raman's head. That place he went with Ishita in the dream. He also remembered him seeing a sign-board of the place on his way to the hotel. But maybe that's why he saw that place in his dream..bcos he had seen a sign board of that place earlier during the day..
"No sir..Bhulla lake is not a safe place..u shoudnt go there" the receptionist replied to the tourists.
Raman felt like inquiring further.
"Madam" he asked the receptionist.
"U were telling those people that Bhulla lake isnt a safe place.. y is it so?" he continued
Receptionist: " Sir, they say that place is haunted. Also there are a lot of alligators in that lake..its dangerous to go there."
"Ok" he replied.
He was shocked to know this.
He needed to go there. Now. Maybe that place could give him all the answers.
He quickly went back to his room, took his car keys, rushed out of the hotel, got into his car, and drove off.
***
He parked his car outside Bhulla lake.
There was nobody to be seen in the place.
He went close to the lake side, he could find no clue around.
"Ishitaa!" he shouted.
His voice echoed, but nobody responded.
Ranjhan dhoondhan main chaleya
Ranjhan mileya naa ye...
[I went out to find my lover,
but couldn't find the lover..]
He looked around.. the sight was beautiful. He noticed the waterfall gushing down and then the cliff they had went up to.
He decided to go up there.
On reaching the place, he looked around very carefully.
"Ishita" he shouted continuously, and yet again, there was no response.
And then he noticed a possible hint.
He saw a soiled red-colored piece of cloth flying in the air, it was stuck to a small pole located near the edge of the cliff.
He moved closer. He noticed the embellishment on the sides of the cloth.
It was a part of Ishita's saree, the red saree in the dream..the one he had gifted her.
He was stunned for a few seconds.Tears filled his eyes in no time.
Jigraan vichon agan laga ke Rabba
Laqeeran vich likh di judaai
O God, having started a fire in my heart,
why have you written separation in my fate..]
[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2VaF0ZX65w[/YOUTUBE]
He took the piece of cloth off the pole and crashed down on the ground.
He crushed the cloth in his arms, hugged it, and cried his heart out.
Chadariya jheeni re jheeni
Chadariya jheeni re jheeni
Aankhein bheeni ye bheeni ye bheeni
Yaadein jheeni re jheeni re jheeni..
[The sheet is thin, worn..
(the meaning here is that it's a little transparent, as it is wet with tears.)
My eyes are moist,
The memories are delicate...]
"Ishita! " he shouted the loudest this time.
And then he noticed a very familiar piece of jewellery lying on the ground..
**End of Part 4**
Link to next part: Part 5
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Edited by peace.. - 8 years ago
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