Naina was quite happy being in the eastern hills… the fresh pollution free air, the greenery all around… the small waterfalls... the forests and the emerald green river on their right accompanying them in their journey..

Raj….kitna achha lag raha haina…..she said happily……

Ha naina… mujhe to hills bohat pasand hai.. aur tum bhi hill se ho…. Our choices converge at this point..his voice made it clear he is happy… happy for the reason….finally he is on his way to spend some quality time with his lady luck amidst the mountains.. happier for the reason naina is calling him Raj.. and not Rajveer Sir..

Ha Raj.. yeh raasta kitna beautiful hai… aur yeh nadi dekhiye… aisa lag raha hai maano humare saath saath chal rahi hai…jaise humara manzil ek hai.. waise Raj is nadi ka naam kya hai?? She asked

Tista hai madam…. Answered the driver instead of Rajveer….

Aur yeh nadi jitni khoobsurat hai utni hi khatarnak hai madam... najane kitne logo ki maut hui hai is nadi me girne ki wajah se, maine apni ankhon se dekha hai  madam.... maano yeh nadi nigal leti hai apne andar.... gaari neeche giri.... ki gayab....
said the driver....

Rajveer felt a shiver run down his spine.. Unknowingly he looked at the river imagining terrible things..

Kya bol rahe ho bhaiyya….he exclaimed…

Aap mujhe Lakpa daju bula sakte hain.. the driver smiled for the first time since when the journey started…

Lakpa Daju…..naina smiled sweetly.. aur bataye na….

Aap log bade sheher se aye hai... AAP logo Ko viswas nahi hoga humare baaton par...said Lamps smiling..

Kyu nahi?? Hum karenge viswas.... Aur hum bhi pehli Baar aate hai... Hume bhi savdhan Rehna padega ki nahi?? AAP bataye.. Naina assured him..

Madam scientists ka kehna hai is nadi k garv me jo ret hai who ret aapne taraf sabkuch kheechta hai.. lekin scientist log to kehke chale jaate hain…  he exhaled hard... sound even they could listen  .

Humse poochiye iske baare mein…. Is nadi me jaan hai…. Aur har barsat mein isse bhook lagtha hai… jabtak koi jaan isme naa jaye na, iski bhook nahi mit ti.. Shared Lakpa his views..

Kya bol rahe hain daju…said naina surprised..

Maadam hum log kai peedi se yaha par rehte hai.. apni dadi ji se suna tha maine.. pehle har barsaat mein yeh nadi ajeeb awazein nikalti thi.. shankh jaisa… aur jab se aisi awaz shuru hota tha… saab daar k marhe kaanpne lagthe the.. najane kiska ghar abhi ujharega yeh manhus nadi… aur hota bhi yahi tha.. kisi na kisi k ghar se koi jawan ladka ko taan leti thi yeh nadi…. Said lakpa… anyone could say that he believes in this story or reality from the core of his brain.

Abhi bhi awazein aati hai is nadi se?? asks rajveer… the topic attracted him…

Sahab…. Maine to aisa kabhi suna nahi.. lekin haa… haar saal yahapar maut hona abhi bhi barkarar hai.. achha khasa chalne wala gari palat ke khai me girta hai… aur yeh nadi kha jaati hai.. his words sent another chill down Rajveers spine..

Isliye hum driver log Mahakal ka naam leyke is raaste se guzarte hai… kehte hai un saab mare huye logon ki aatma bhatakti hai yaha…in pahario k beech…. Scare evident in his voice..

Itni shan't Sushil dikhti hai... Aur itna khauf iske saath juda hua?? Pata nahi kya sach hai.....Naina wonders..

The car moved towards the destination crossing the turns and twists of hilly roads… Naina didn’t pay much attention to all the stories Lakpa said… but…. Rajveer was deeply immersed in all these.. Ali’s warnings and now Lakpas thories… something within him said him to return…

Saahab yeh dekhiye Coronation Bridge.. 1941 se khadi hai yaha..

Itna old??? Naina said surprised.. But no one answered... And she chose to ignore and happily kept gazing at the surrounding...

Kitna Sundar hai...najane yaha k log itne khauf me kyu rehte hai... Yeh neela asman.... Itna sundar.... syed hi maine kabhi dekhi hai...jahatak  Nazar jaaye sab hara... Ajeeb si sukun mil Rahi hai... She thinks..

Aasman mein baadal chha rahe hai phirse Raj…lagtha hai yeh barish humara peecha nahi chodegi… nainas words brought Rajveer out of his trance….

Huh naina…. Kuch kaha tumne??

Jee haa… mai yeh bol rahi thi phirse barish hone wali hai.. she repeated.. aur aap kis soch me dube hai?

Kuch nahi… bus aise hi.. tum batao.. achha lag raha hai na?? he tried to change the topic..

Ha Raj.. mujhe bohat achha lag raha hai..she said in glee…

But Rajveer couldn’t calm himself… he peeped out of the window…. The sky growing darker…. So is the eerie feeling inside him….

Daju… yahapar itna barish hota hai?? He inquired..

Ha sahaab….. a short and curt reply….making it clear that he has lots more inside him than he said..

Kuch baat hai kya? He asked further..

Nahi… sahab mujhe lautna hai jaldi….. agle 30 minutes tak hum pauch jayenge… saying this he Lakpa shut his mouth again..he accelerated..

Rajveer's noticed the grey clouds...and something within him said something is gonna happen. Something that he can't escape!

As they advanced,  the surrounding turned darker gradually.. it seemed dusk while the clock showed it was only 1.30 pm…. Turbulent winds started blowing…… making the dry leaves aside swirl to form typical figures.. thunders cracked…. The prayer flags that stood high in the road side flapped with full strength.. it seemed that they tried to spread the holy words all the more.. ….from farther to the farthest corners… to stop the evil powers that was trying to engulf them.  Within 5 minutes it was so dark that Lakpa had no other way than turn on the car head lights..

Daju samhal kar…..said naina as she got concerned with the  weather changes.. with the sudden disappearance  of the sun behind the clouds.....and these changes she felt was not natural... Suddenly she realised that each of her body hairs standing erect..... Goosebumps! And she felt a chilly wave run down from her nape..

Raj…. Baahar kitna andhera hai. Mujhe dar lag raha hai……saying this naina came closer holding his arms, looking around with her big eyes…. Her eyes which now carries fear.. she suddenly remembered the tale of a headless boy that she had once googled searching about the horrors of downhill.

Chilly cool winds started to pierce their skin by now….. and they both raised the glass panes up on their respective sides….. to prevent the wind from letting in…. but is it only the wind or the weather they are afraid of now?? They both had one uncanny eerie feeling inside them…..but none disclosed to each other…

Aum mane padme  hum……suddenly starts the chaunt….. Lakpa had turned on the music system…..surprisingly within moments they found themselves calmer. Not that they were free from all sort of eeriness….. but conditions inside the car were a bit better….

Naina kuch nahi hoga… mai hoon na tumhare saath…. He tried to assure naina…… he cant let himself go weak.. he has to save her whatever the situation may be. Naina bus yeh kharab mausam hai… kat jayega.. isme darne ka kya baat hai? My cadet singh is brave enough.. isint it??..he tried again to relax her…but in vain..

Raj… pata nahi.. mujhe itna ajeeb kyu lag raha hai?? I cant explain how am I feeling..  aisa lag raha hai kuch bohat bura hone wala hai…naina clasped her fingers with his..

Kuch nahi hoga naina…. Tum ek kaam karo.. ankhe bandh karlo… saying this he spread his arm around nainas shoulders bringing her closer to him… aao naina….aankhe bandh karo.. kuch nahi hoga.. mai hoon na… he assured again..

Naina didn’t object this time… she side hugged Rajveer closing her eyes, putting her head on the crook of his neck…Rajveer patted her head slowly tryimg to calm her down….

Ghurrrrrrrrrrrrrr………… thunder sound and light flashed…

And it was in that flash light rajveer saw  a manly figure following them running parallely with the car…. But not on the road….through the jungle… a cloud like apparition. Not exactly running….but flying….crossing the trees…. Through the trunks… its speed much higher….but it is not moving ahead of the car….  And this made his heart skip a beat..

And the tress through which it passed, the trees started glowing... One ethereal light illininated the trunks... Seemed they have entered all together a different earth....

Daju…..woh…….woh………he tried to explain Lakpa… but his tongue fixed…..his eyes stil on the apparition.. he couldn’t speak.. his eyes transfixed on the creature… creature if it was… the white cloudy figure in the dark background!

Sahab…… mai dowhill town tak hi jaunga… uske aage nahi……lakpa said.. his voice made it clear that he also has witnessed that figure and his condition is no better…

Rajveer pulled naina with his fill strength….. his eyes bulging out….without a blink….

Suddenly….. all of a sudden……it started raining… and along with that the figure vanished…..pitch darkness around... Only the headlights focused till few metres on the road ahead..

Rajveer looked to and fro…….nothing he found except the waters pouring from the sky making the surroundings hazy…

To Rajveers outmost surprise………after 5 minutes of heavy rain….the weather cleared so beautifully that it made himself hard to believe that they were in such a situation minutes back…

Naina dekho….. sab thik hai abhi…….he made naina look to the surrounding…and he made himself believe that they have already stepped into a condition that he cant reverse…..