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Moving on...

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts

Chapter 4 - Needle in a Haystack!

"🎶 Bite my tongue, bide my time
Wearing a warning sign
Wait 'til the world is mine... 🎶 " 

"Ragini?"

Ragini stopped singing and took off her headphones. "Yes Baba?"

Shekhar sighed. "Finally she listens! I have been calling you over and over for about 5 minutes."

"Ehehe...oops. Sorry Baba. Did you want something?"

"Yes dear. You see Thakurain is having some special guests over tonight. And she doesn't trust other servants to know how to choose the right vegetables for the tiny feast. So, she wan-"

"She wants me and mother to shop for her, doesn't she?" Ragini sneered. "Mum is the cook here. Not her slave!"

"I know beta. But these people seem really important. That is why she has trusted you two for the job. However, your Mum is suffering from a little headache."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me earlier! Maa? Maa!" Ragini shouted as she jumped off the bed and rushed towards her parents' room. She found her mother nursing her aching head while lying horizontal on the large bed. "Maa?! Why didn't you tell me? You had to the morning chores too. I could have helped."

"And ruin everything with your clumsiness?"

Ragini flinched. "Maa!"

"Haha...joking dear. I know you would want to help. But I didn't want to trouble you. It's alright."

"Are you absolutely sure? I mean if there is any work for today, I'll do your part!"

"Aww...so sweet of you. But that won't be necessary dear. Mira will do my part today. She agreed to help. I'll be better by night to cook dinner for the guests."

"But you shouldn't have to. Can't they let you rest?"

"I will for the entire day dear. Don't over worry, okay?" Jaanki consoled. "Now, as for helping, it would mean a lot if you can get the veget-"

"I'll go right away!" Ragini took the bag from her father who was standing near the doorway and rushed to her room to get her sandals and phone. "BYE!" she hollered loud enough for them to hear.

Shekhar chuckled at her notorious nature. However, he was greeted with Jaanki's glare when he looked back. "What did I do?"

"I told you not to tell her. She over-worries!"

"Well, how was I supposed to explain you not going with her?"

"Ugh! You're increasing my headache. Leave please."

"Wha...and I didn't do anything!"

#With Ragini#

Ragini hummed to herself as she walked towards the nearby market. She could always book a cab. But she enjoyed walking through the road. The reason was the pond that she crossed on the way.

Ragini stopped in front of it, like she always did, and stared at the morning sun over the horizon. "Good morning world!" she breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the moment. She felt free and at peace. Only thing that was irking her was the purpose she was out for. As Swara's mother  Shramishtha and Swara's face flashed before her mind, she gritted her teeth.

"🎶 You should see me in a crown.
Your silence is my favorite sound
Watch me make them bow...
one by one, one by one, one by one... 🎶" smirking to herself as she sang the lyrics, she tried to imagine a scenerio in her mind where she was the owner of a big mansion, by hook or crook. With her mind in the fantasy world, she continued her way.

#Rana Singh's Mansion#

"Maa!"

"Coming dear. What's wrong?"

"Maa, look! This is unacceptable!"

"Your wardrobe? What's wrong with it?"

"Maa, don't you see!?" Swara cried out dramatically. "Your guests are coming tonight, but I have nothing to wear!"

"What about that new dress you shopped with Ragini for the party last Friday?"

"Mom, seriously? I already wore it. You can't expect me to click selfies with the guests in the same dress. What would my friends say?" Swara scoffed. "And all these dresses? They're boring!"

Shramishtha turned to look at the open wardrobe that Swara was pointing at. It was filled with glittering dresses, salwars, denim jeans, crop tops, gowns and what not! Shramishtha sighed, her look turning into a glare. "I can't believe this!"

"Can't believe what?"

"I can't believe Mira didn't tell me about this. She is supposed to look after your needs."

Swara smirked. "Exactly mother."

"Shall I fire her off work?"

"Nah. Let it be. I'll just go shopping with that bimbo, Ragini." Swara sneered. 'I would never admit it, but she's got a far better fashion sense than me. But as if I'll ever admit that! Heh!'

#Market#

"You have got to be kidding me!"

"I am not ma'am."

"I have brought onions last week and they were only 15 rupees per kg. How can you say it's rs. 20 just after 7 days!"

"Well, we can't help it. It's the sto-"

"Oh, save your excuses! I know you're trying to trick me!" Ragini shouted. However, she knew she hadn't come to the vegetable market for over a month with her mother. "I will pay rs.15 per kg, which is the real price! Since I'm taking 3kg, I'll give rs. 45."

"Ma'am, I'll take only rs.20 per kg."

"What the heck!? You're trying to cheat me?! Now, I'll only pay rs 10. per kg!"

"What!?"

Suddenly, interrupting them, a hand came in between paying the grocer rs.60. "3 kg will equal to rs. 60 then, right? I'm paying it for her."

The grocer's frown at once turned into a large grin. He quickly kept the money and passed the bag to him. "Have a great day sir!"

"Thank you." he turned to look at her with a smile. "Shall we go then?"

Ragini was still in shock to find him there. "Sanskar?"

"Yes, it is me Ragini."

"But...but didn't you leave?"

Sanskar took her hand and slowly lead her away from the market area. "No, I didn't. I got into the bus alright. But after riding for about five minutes, I jumped up and told the conductor to stop the bus. He told the driver and then I got off once they stopped it. Pretty cool, right?"

"I heard the bus drivers here are really strict and do not stop for anyone unless it's an emergency." Ragini stated thoughtfully.

"Well, I may have kinda...punched the conductor and told them I was an underground don."

Ragini looked at him wide eyed. Slowly, but gradually a snicker escaped her. A snicker which soon turned into a full blown laughter with tears coming out of her eyes. "Y-You...you, a don? Ahahaha...!"

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh as much as you want. I did whatever came to my mind."

"Hahaha...! I can't believe they bought your lie. I mean you looked like a depressed teen who didn't even have the energy to hurt a fly! With how cute you were looking, th-"

"Cute?" Sanskar asked, stopping to process her words. "You think I'm cute?"

Ragini shrugged. "Yeah. The type of cute when they look like they need cuddles. Miserably cute."

"Gee, thanks." Sanskar replied with a scowl. 'I thought she found me cute in general. Not that it matters of course. I mean it doesn't matter what she thinks about me. No, definitely not! It's a ridiculous thought tha-...wait wait. She's staring at me? Why is she staring? Did she ask something?' Sanskar cleared his throat. "Um...yes?"

"I was asking why you stayed back. Man, you're a weird guy, you know that?" she replied with a chuckle.

"I get that a lot." he confessed. "As for the fact of not leaving...you are the reason."

"Eh?"

"Um-hmm." he smiled at her. "The chat we had that day at the tea really changed my perspective about things and made me question myself. It made me think if my family really was that cruel to me as I made it out to be. I mean, all I was thinking was about me and Kavita. Never did I try to think what my family saw. So I..."

"So you? Go on." Ragini urged. By now they were away from the market and heading down the road towards where Ragini stayed. Looking ahead, she could see they were approaching the pond.

"I thought to face what I've been running from. Instead of running away, I confronted them. I confronted my family."

"Then what happened?"

Sanskar looked at her with a pained gaze. "I found out that I was about to commit the biggest mistake of my life. I was wrong. I was so damn wrong!"

Ragini looked at him in alarm. "You mean they weren't wrong in keeping you away from your love?"

"No. Not that. They were biased in telling me to leave Kavita because she was of a different class. But other than that, they never did anything to harm her. They never tried to kill her."

"In the name of all things messed up, what do you mean they tried to kill her?!" Ragini shouted in shock and horror. "Why are you even speaking to me right now? In fact, why are you even here right now?! Shouldn't you be in the police station reporting them?!"

"Shh...shh. Not so loud." Sanskar tried to calm her down. He had forgotten that Ragini only knows he lost his love because of his family. She doesn't know the details. "It's a long story. But the point is that, they didn't plan to kill her. It was never them!"

"Bu-"

"But nothing Ragini." he smiled confidently at her. "Yeah, Kavita hates me now. But it doesn't hurt as much as it should. I mean I always want what's best for her. If she's happy without me, than so be it. At least I'm no longer alone. I know my family is and will be always there for me."

"Huh." Ragini commented thoughtfully. "So I guess the big apocalypse that you were going through is over?"

"Yeah."

"So there won't be a civil war in your family?"

Sanskar snorted. "I guess you could put it like that."

She giggled at his reply. "To tell you the truth..." Ragini uttered. "I thought you left. Because I didn't run into you over a week!"

"You were expecting to run into me?" he asked with hope. Hope about what? He didn't have an answer for it.

Ragini shrugged and smirked at him. "You're an interesting character Sanskar. You're hard to forget about that easily."

Sanskar felt his heart skip a beat at her words. Only she had the habit of making him smile with such sentences. "Yeah, I guess I did come out as an over-dramatic person, didn't I?" he admitted."I was actually home for the next two days after I got back to my family. Everything was sorted out and everyone back home was happy. But...but then it occurred to me that I owed you a 'thank you'. It was because of you that I came to know of the truth."

"Oh." Ragini blinked at him owlishly. "Don't tell me you have been searching for me all these days."

Sanskar blushed and laughed sheepishly. "I kind of have been looking for you. You're really hard to find, you know? Like a needle in a haystack. I tried to ask people around for the address of the Gadodias, but people didn't seem to know it."

"You know my title? But I only told you my name. Are you stalking me mister?" she asked with her hands on her hips.

"Woah, no! You yourself mentioned it once while we were fighting."

"Eh?" Ragini frowned in thought. Her eyes widened in realization as she finally recalled it. "Oh, right! Oops! Sorry for doubting."

"That's okay. But I guess you could say it's stalking if you take into account that I've been searching for you all this time. Luckily, I found you today!"

"Haha...! I guess you did."

'She looks more beautiful when she laughs.' Sanskar's mind provided the thought. Her laughter echoed in Sanskar's mind. It was as if he was trying to mentally record her laughter. It was like the sweet jingling of wind chimes that make you feel at peace.

It suddenly occured to him that he still hadn't let go of her hand from when he held it at the market. He was still holding it as they walked. He looked at her face from the corner of his face. However, she didn't seem to mind, or simply didn't pay attention to it. 'It isn't affecting her. After all, it's not like its something to be so conscious about right? But why can't I stop thinking about it? Odd.' he shook his head of those thoughts. "What are you looking at over there?"

Ragini turned to him and pointed at the pond. "Look there! The water looks like it's been coloured gold by the sun's rays, doesn't it?"

"Hmm...indeed."

"It's as if someone sprinkled diamonds and stones made of gold over the water." she spoke in a dreamy voice.

"You like jewellery?" he asked offhandedly.

In response, he got a wry smile that he wasn't expecting. "One does not crave for things they have never had the luxury of experiencing."

"Eh?" he blinked in surprise at her statement. With the way she behaved, he didn't think she was capable of such deep thoughts. 'Guess you can't judge a book by it's cover. Interesting...'

Ragini didn't reply but looked at the horizon, deep in thought. She knew how much her family earned. If she requested, they would get her jewellery. But she didn't want to be a burden. Besides, avoiding those tempations had made her half a tomboy. Now, she it didn't affect her and she was able to ignore the shiny things in the stores. But still, at times she wished she could see her mother wearing such expensive things. But her mother too ignored them. "'Ignoring isn't the same as ignorance, you have to work at it.'" Ragini chuckled at her own statement.

"Atwood?"

Ragini looked towards him in surprise. "You've read her novels?"

"The Handmaid's Tale is from you quoted, isn't it?" he smirked and straightend up. "'A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.'"

"My, my...you know your books well I see. I didn't take you for a person who would sit by the table with a coffee in hand and read novels. You seem more of those who are married to their work."

"Well, I'm glad I could surprise you Miss Ragini."

Ragini giggled, making his heart skip once again. 'What is this thump that happens again and again?! Ugh! It's so annoying.' Sanskar shook his head off those thoughts.

Beside him, Ragini stopped.

"We're almost near my home."

"Oh. Okay. Let's go then. I'll hand you over the groceries once we're at the gate."

"Um dude, it's okay. I can go myself."

"What? No! I'm not letting you carry them. That won't be very gentlemanly, now would it?" he joked.

"Well alright but um..."

"Yes?" he titled his head to look at her in confusion. She was looking from side to side and then down. Side to side and then down.

Oh.

Oh.

OH!

Abruptly he let go of her hand and stepped back, flushing in embarrassment. "I-I almost forgot while chatting with you."

Ragini cleared her throat, bringing her hand to act as if she was covering her coughing. "It's alright."

If Sanskar wasn't mistaken, he thought he saw a slight blush on her cheeks, although it was fading fast. 'I thought she didn't care. But I guess she too felt uncomfortable to tell me to let go of her hand. Never thought this tomboyish girl with an obnoxious nature was capable of blushing like an actual girl. Interesting...'

"Oi, oi! If you're gonna help out. then come fast. I ain't got all day, you know!" she shouted from ahead of him.

'And there she goes back to her character.' he chuckled, quickening his pace. "Yeah, yeah. Coming."

After sometime...

"Wow! This is where you live?" Sanskar questioned as he gazed at the large building in front of him.

Correction. Large mansion in front of him.

Sanskar whistled. "You're quiet a Princess I see." he joked.

"I wish." she smiled at him and pointed at the house near the big mansion. "That's where I live with my parents."

"Oh. But why not there?" Sanskar asked in confusion.

"Ragu beta. There you are."

Ragini smiled at the man. "Hey there Kaka. Help me with the vegetables?"

"Sure dear!" he walked ahead and took the bags from Sanskar. "Thank you son for helping out our Ragini. She hardly lets people help her. It's good that you made her take your help."

'But she allowed me. Why did she allow me if she usually doesn't let others?' Sanskar wondered.

"Okay! That's enough of chit chat now. Bye Sanky!" Ragini smiled and pushed the man inside so that he didn't speak to Sanskar further. 'Oho Kaka, why did you have to say that! I like his company. That's why I allowed him to accompany me. But now you embarrassed me!'

Sanskar waved at her as she went inside the large gate. He waited for a moment, still confused, but let it go. He would ask her about it some other time...now that he knew where she lived.

It was only after he walked half the way that he realized something. 'Sanky? She called me Sanky? Huh. I really don't like that childish name. But...but I guess I can consider her calling me an exception. After all, she's a good friend right now.'

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~ 🌹 Mona .