Sumedh woke up drenched in his own sweat and breathing heavily. He looked around and saw Prajakta sleeping peacefully on the bed. Her angelic face calmed him down a bit, but he still needed some fresh air.

He got up and went out. The sun was rising but it was still sitting on the sea, it was a beautiful view. The sky was a mix of blue, purple, red and orange.

He stood near the edge as the cold breeze hit his face, calming his nerves a bit... but this didn't put an ease to Sumedh's mind, which was spinning on a roller coaster of thoughts.

Again... he had this nightmare again. It wasn't the second time, it was the fourth time he was having this dream. Same people, same location and same dream. Now he was afraid of sleeping. He couldn't stand it... he couldn't just watch his friends dying infront of him.

But it was just a dream. It won't become real, it can't.

"So nhi pa rhe ho? (Can't sleep?)" A young girl around Sumedh's age said in a low and mysterious voice. The girl had long brown hair that danced with the cold breeze. She wore the typical clothes of a pirate with a sword and a pistol tied to her waist.

"Tumhe hindi aati he? (You can speak hindi?)" Sumedh asked the most stupid question in the world. The girl rolled her ocean blue eyes.

"Pehle me farsi me boli thi kya? (Did I talk in Farsi before?)" She asked seriously. Sumedh chuckled and shook his head.

"Yaha par koi indian nhi he, iss liye thoda shocked tha (There are no indians here, so I was a bit shocked)" Sumedh explained. The girl nodded and stood near him. They stayed there in silence for some minutes.

"Tumhe bhi neend nhi aa rhi? (You can't sleep as well?)" Sumedh broke the silence first with another stupid question. The girl nodded again, making Sumedh a bit annoyed.

"Tumhare jaisi khubsurat haseena yaha kya kar rhi he? Jaha tak me janta hu, yaha koi bhi ladki pirate nhi hoti (What is a beautiful girl like you doing here? Girls aren't pirates here)" Sumedh said turning towards her fully. The girl raised her eyebrows.

"Pehli baat, Prajakta ke hote hue mujhse kyu flirt kar rahe ho? Aur dusri, ladkiya bhi pirates ban sakti he... tum hi andhe ho (Firstly, why are you flirting with me when you've got Prajakta? And secondly, even girls can become pirates... it's you who is blind) " she replied with a lot of confidence in her voice. Sumedh looked in shock but quickly changed his expression to normal.

"H-how do you know about Prajakta? Aur hum sirf dost he, aur kuch nhi (We are just friends, nothing else)" Sumedh clarified.

"Enough talking for tonight Sumedh, go and get some sleep... you really need it" the girl ignored Sumedh's question and started walking away.

"Hey! But what's your name?" Sumedh called out. She stopped and turned around with a smile.

"Sara Singh" and with that she left.

****************

In the next few days Sumedh didn't find Sara on the ship. It was quite strange because she couldn't just disappear... but something else was bothering him: the nightmares. He continued to have them non stop and because of them he had dark cicles under his eyes. Waking up at night was normal to him now.

Bandana noticed it first. She tried to talk about it but Sumedh always changed the topic and avoided her. Bandana was really confused by his behaviour.

They were all sitting in Sumedh and Prajakta's room because it was a bit bigger. Rohit was sitting on the floor while Sumedh was literay laying on it. Bandana was sitting on the sofa and Prajakta on the bed.

"This is boring" Prajakta said. She always got bored easily. The others nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Prajakta's face lit up.

"Idea!!!" She exclaimed more loudly than she thought to and grabbed everyone's attention.

"Care to explain?" Rohit asked lazily resting his head on his palm.

"Why don't we play 'Never Have I Ever'?" She asked excitedly.

"I got a better idea mate... why don't we play 'Truth Or Dare'?" Sumedh asked sitting up properly.

"Dunno... same thing. I just want to pass my time" Bandana said emotionlessly.

"Okay then, we are playing Truth Or Dare" Sumedh confirmed. "But buddy, where's the bottle?" Rohit asked.

"Here" Prajakta said getting up and walking towards the drawers. She opened the last one and took an empty rum bottle out of it. She came back and sat on the floor.

"Okay everyone, please sit in a circle" Prajakta said. Everyone did as they were told. She placed the bottle in the middle of the circle.

"Start kon karega? (Who's gonna start first?)" She asked.

"I'll spin it first" Rohit volunteered. Prajakta nodded. "As you wish" she said.

Rohit spun the bottle and it landed on Sumedh. Sumedh rolled his eyes and said truth before Rohit could even ask the question.

"Okay then. Would you rather not shower for a month, or eat the same meal everyday for a month?" Rohit asked seriously. Sumedh made a poker face.

"Yeh kesa sawal he be? Tu utna innocent he nhi jitna dikhta he (What kind of question is this? You are not as innocent as you look like)" Sumedh said.

"You have to answer truthfully!" Rohit said ignoring what he said before. Sumedh thought for a moment.

"If I really have to pick, I would eat the same meal everyday for a month. I like to remain clean..." Sumedh said. He then spun the bottle again and it landed on Rohit. Sumedh smirked and Rohit gave him an innocent look.
"Truth or dare?" He asked. "Truth" Rohit answered quickly.
Sumedh started to think.

"Who is the hottest? Hagrid, Dumbledore or Dobby?" Sumedh asked. Rohit gave him a death glare. Sumedh bit his lower lip to maintain his laughter.

"I'd say, Dumbledore" Rohit answered remaining serious. Everyone burst out laughing. After controlling themselves, Rohit spun the bottle and it finally landed on Bandana. "Truth or dare?" Rohit asked.

"Dare" she said confidently. Rohit raised his eyebrows in surprise and nodded.

"You must tell a Knock Knock joke. Everyone must laugh" Rohit dared. "You are damn childish man!" Bandana said but gave in.

"Knock knock!" Bandana said after a while.

"Who's there?" Rohit asked.

"Yah!" Bandana said.

"Yah who?" Rohit asked.

"Nah buddy... I prefer google" Bandana said. Everyone chuckled.

'So she does have some sense of humor' Rohit thought and smiled.

Bandana spun the bottle and it finally landed on Prajakta. "Truth" she said.

"Why do you want to be friends with me when you know that I always push you away?" Bandana asked very seriously. She wanted to ask this question from ages now, finally she got this opportunity.

"Because I am sorry for what I did. I know I've been wrong in the past and you'll never forgive me... but at least I can try to make things better between us... to correct my mistakes" Prajakta answered very truthfully. Bandana looked down. "Your mistakes can't be corrected Prajakta" she said.

Prajakta remained quiet for a bit. She still spun the bottle to avoid the awkward silence that was forming between them... even if she had this urge growing in her to just leave. It landed on Rohit. "Truth or dare?" Prajakta asked. "Dare" he said.

"Go outside and scream at the top of your voice 'I am adopted. Nooooooo'" Prajakta said. Rohit gave her a strange look and then shifted his gaze to Sumedh.

"Teri waali puri ki puri pagal he (Your girlfriend is totally insane)" He said before getting up and leaving Sumedh and Prajakta shocked. Bandana looked very uncomfortable.

He came back in a minute with a smile. "Mission completed. Ab sab mujhe pagal samajhte he (Now everyone thinks I am mad)" he smiled proudly. Everyone chuckled.

He spun the bottle and it stopped on Sumedh. A smirk appeared on Rohit's face as soon as Sumedh said 'dare'.

"Kiss Prajakta" he said evily. Sumedh and Prajakta became red as a tomato as they looked at each other. Bandana couldn't take it anymore.

"I need some fresh air guys" she quickly said, her voice heavier than normal, and stormed out of the room without looking back again.