Met By Chance Part 8 (Bhangarh Special)

After Tara’s pregnancy everything changed. Myra got busy with Tara; she stayed with her most of the times as Aman stayed out of station. So Shashrek and Myra hardly got time for each other, Myra would come late from Tara’s place and Shashrek was also busy with his work. Shashrek thought of going back to his apartment but he got too used to Myra’s food (she still managed to cook).

‘Myra?’ Tara said

‘Yes?’

‘How long is Shashrek going to stay?’

‘It’s June and…’ she realised something

‘Oh God!’ Myra cried

‘What?’

‘He is about to leave next week, this happened to fast. I don’t even know anything much about him, just the food he likes, shit what have I done? This is so not going to work’

‘How will it, you have been spending most of the time here than your place. You know what, I have got bored of you and so has my baby, now buzz off and get a life’

 ‘But what will I do? How will I cover up for the days I have lost?’

‘Go on a holiday, take a break. It’s a three day weekend anyways and Aman is going to be here, you don’t have to worry about me either’

And Myra agreed upon this. She had to do something fun and adventurous. So she decided to talk to Shashrek about it.

‘Hey, you are back early. How is Tara?’ Shashrek asked

‘She is good. What are you watching?’

‘Some horror movie’

‘You like horror?’

‘Yes, I do. I have seen this almost every time when it is on TV and I still love it’

‘Not bad, by the way what are you doing for the weekend?’

‘No plans yet, why are you asking?’

 ‘Let’s go somewhere, I mean out of town’

‘Okay, where?’ he asked enthusiastically

‘You like horror, want to see real horror?’

‘Don’t get me curious, where do you want to go?’

‘Bhangarh!’

‘Bhangarh? Are you crazy?’

‘What? Are you scared?’

‘No, I am not scared but why?’

‘I want something adventurous and I think this is the place. Lonely Planet marked it as one of the most haunted places in the world but if you are…’

‘Adventurous?’ he raised his eyebrow.

 ‘Where are we going to stay?’

‘That’s my headache, Yes or No?’

He didn’t utter anything for a long time, Myra started to get worried. She really wanted to go to Bhangarh.

‘Okay fine but don’t curse me if a witch catches you because I am not coming after you’

‘Yeah! That’s the spirit. Now get set for it boy, we are going to Bhangarh’

Myra and Shashrek planned it all, she booked the hotel at the Sariska Tiger Reserve. He hired the cab for three days; they both wanted it to be amazing. Shashrek who was reluctant in the beginning was actively planning his vacation. He decided all the places that he wanted to visit in Bhangarh.

 This time Myra didn’t tell anyone where she was off too, she wanted to have quality time with Shashrek and that was only going to happen if she kept her family out of it, especially Arav. He wasn’t happy when he got to know about Shashrek. The brother and sister never fought before but this time, it was Arav who was going crazy.

‘If mom and dad are cool with it then why are you having any problem?’ Myra asked

‘They are cool with it because they think you are planning to marry each other whereas this is just a trial. Myra how could you be this crazy? Have you seriously lost it and you are telling me all this now?’ Arav shouted on the phone.

‘Arav you cancelled that dinner I didn’t, now don’t speak anything that you will regret later’ she tried to cool him.

  ‘You don’t give me wisdom, I know such boys, he will just use you Myra’

‘He isn’t like that’ she defended

‘Fine do whatever what you feel like but you are still making a mistake. Don’t cry if he leaves you at the end’

‘Yeah you just wish for that to happen’ and she cut the phone. They both didn’t talk to each other since then. Arav really had hurt Myra’s feelings.

‘Ready to go, packed everything?’ Shashrek asked

‘Yes, let’s move we need to reach by 3 pm’  

‘Yes ma’am!’

 Their journey wasn’t long and they reached their destination by noon. Checked into the hotel that was an hour away from Bhangarh. They found a person who was willing to guide them through Bhangarh, his name was Ram Kishan. He belonged from the nearby village and knew about all the tales associated with Bhangarh.

 ‘Why is this place haunted?’ Shashrek asked when they reached the famous Bhangarh fort

‘It is said that it was cursed by a tantrik (A person who performs black magic) in the sixteenth century. Singhia, a lecherous tantrik, was attracted to the beautiful queen of Bhangarh, Ratnavati. One day, he saw her maid buying some hair oil for the queen and put a love spell on it. The queen was a tantrik herself. One look at the swirling oil and she threw the flagon away. As soon as it touched the ground, the stone magnified into a boulder and moved towards Singhia. All the tantrik could do before the boulder crushed him was to curse the land, “Bhaag jaao”(Go away) he warned the people’ Ram Kishan narrated.

‘But what evidence have then found?’ Myra asked curiously.  

 ‘People came and spent a night here, they heard footsteps and the screeching of a woman, their motion sensors went off and stones were thrown at them, some have driven crazy to death, it all proves the existence of the spirits’ he continued.

 ‘Are you enjoying?’ Myra asked

‘Yes aren’t you?’

‘Somehow it just doesn’t feel real, what I heard about this place and what it turns out to be like’

‘Don’t let the tantrik come after you?’

‘And this is the way to the queen’s chamber; would you like to go in?’ their guide asked

‘I will, are you coming Myra?’

‘No, I will wait for you all here’

The two left Myra all by herself. She had been wondering if this trip was really worth it, ‘we should have gone to Jaipur instead’ she thought

‘Jaipur? Bhangarh is good too’ a short woman said who stood beside Myra.

‘Who are you?’ she asked

 ‘Ratnavati is my name, I live here’

‘Yeah right, the queen. Amazing way to attract tourist, please leave I don’t have change to give you’ Myra said coldly

‘Your money is not what I want, it is your beauty. Look at me now; I have gone frail and weak. My skin is terrible, help me child’ cried the old lady. She grabbed Myra’s wrist, Myra started to shout for help

‘Get off me! Shashrek help’ she shouted

The lady started to chant some words in some different language, and Myra couldn’t feel anything at all. The next thing she remembered was that Shashrek was calling out her name.

‘What happened?’ she asked

‘Thank god! You know how much I got worried; you scared the shit out of me Myra’ Shashrek gasped

‘But what happened? And where is that lady?’

‘Myra you passed out and which lady?’

‘Some lady came next to me and claimed that she was Ratnavati’ Myra said

‘Myra is this some kind of joke, are you trying to scare me?’ Shashrek

‘I am not joking, I saw her’

‘Myra let’s just go back’

‘I saw her’ she murmured

The two of them decided to leave; Myra had a terrible fever that night. She couldn’t sleep and so couldn’t Shashrek. They decided to leave Bhangarh as she wasn’t really keeping well.  Thus their so planned vacation ended in a soup.

‘Bhangarh? You went to Bhangarh? Are you crazy and you haven’t been keeping well since you returned, Myra are you seriously out of your mind!’ shouted Tara

‘It’s because of the change in weather; Bhangarh has nothing to do with it’

‘Yeah why not, how is Shashrek?’

‘He is good, in fact for the first time he is actually taking care of me. He cleaned the house too!’

‘Well that’s good news. When are you moving with him?’

‘Next week it shall be done’