Started on 24.2.2023

The sudden banging of the jeep's bonnet skips Rajveer's heartbeat and forces him to look towards the person who disturbed him while he was busy checking a message on his mobile, sitting inside his jeep.

"Naina!",

sighs Rajveer and closes his eyes briefly before opening them and asking her,

"Tum subke saath enjoy kyun nahi kar rahi?"

Naina smiles and turns to look towards her friends who are enjoying this night out - laughing and chatting amongst themselves.

She turns back to look towards Rajveer. After a moment she checks her mobile going through the pictures of her mobile. She suddenly stops at a picture and checks the previous picture, smiling at it.

"Rajveer Sir!",

she looks towards him, smiling.

Rajveer looks back towards her and says,

"Hmmm...?"

"Aapko ye aurat yaad hai?",

she asks him.

"Konsi aurat?",

asks Rajveer, knitting his brows.

Smiling throughout, Naina reveals the picture to him.

The smile stretched on his lips vanishes immediately as he remembers seeing the potrait in the motel they had escaped from....

*Flashback*

Rajveer quickly brings out his mobile and switches on the flashlight as the little ray of light that was guiding him uptil here too dies as he walks forth.

Rajveer decides to check around the wall to make sure that no danger at least on the walls awaits him. As he walks forth, his steps now turned slow, checking the walls, he discovers a large painting of a woman. Her hair left untied. Her face expression stern on Rajveer.

Rajveer wonders who could it be? And why would someone put her frame here in this dark secluded area? He walks further but the thought doesn't leave his mind. He focuses on the further part of that side of the wall too and now discovers a chandelier earring stuck in between two bricks. He tires to pull it out but to no avail.

*Flashback ends*

"Ye... ye photo tumhe kahan se mili?",

asks Rajveer staring her in horror!

Taking back her hand and locking the screen, looking towards the mobile, Naina in a calm manner says,

"Ye to bus photo hai Sir..."

Looking back towards him, Naina rests her elbows on the roof of the jeep such that her forearms are folded towards her chest and she asks,

"Aap mujhe ye bataiye ke aap humare saath isse academy kyun laye hain?"

Every hair tendril of Rajveer's body stands erect hearing that.

"Ye... ye tum kya keh rahi ho Naina?!",

exclaims Rajveer in shock.

"Aapne mujhse jhoot kaha?",

asks Naina.

"Naina main kisi ko...",

Rajveer begins to explain but stops abruptly upon hearing her,

"Aapne mujhse jhoot kaha! Jhoot kaha aapne mujhse! Aapne mujhse jhoot kaha! Jhoot kaha aapne mujhse! Aapne mujhse jhoot kaha! Jhoot kaha aapne mujhse!",

she begins to chant like a maniac.

"Na...ina...!!",

Rajveer's state of shock worsen.

He literally begins to shake as he gets transported in the same state in which he had been when he found Naina possessed in the motel.

"Wo aapke saath kya kar rahi hai Sir?",

she asks him, her tone reflecting her disrespect and anger towards Rajveer.

Rajveer, realising that he needs to stay calm in order to manage with Naina's peculiar behavior all over again, chooses his actions and words with proper care.

"Mere saath koi nahi hai Naina. Bus tum ho.",

Rajveer assures her, uttering each word slowly, gauging her reaction.

Slowly he gets out of the jeep. Naina by then - in her current state had taken few steps back as a result of which Rajveer had got space to get out of the jeep.

With her head bowed; her eyes cascaded, Naina stretches her right arm and points behind Rajveer,

"Wo wahan kya kar rahi hai phir?"

Rajveer, who has now started sweating, though not profusely, slowly with his eyes wide opened turns to look behind him across the jeep where Naina is pointing towards and to his utter shock he finds no one there. His heart thumps audibally inside his chest.

"Nai...",

Rajveer turns to look towards Naina but finds her running away at a tremendous speed.

"Nainaaaa!!! Nainaaaa!!",

he shouts, running a little ahead.

His shout drags the attention of others. They run to him whilst searching for Naina, who them discover running away.

Reaching a tree, Naina holds its bark and turns to look towards her spectators who are staring her in utter shock, freezed to their respective spots.

All of them as if have lost their voice respectively to ask what has happened to Naina!

"Koi nahi hai tere peeche Rajveer!! Kyunki jiski baat main kar rahi thi wo main hi hoon!!",

Naina says in a weird voice and laughs out loud throwing her head back.

She quickly climbs the bark of the tree, laughing throughout.

Rajveer, looking up towards her entwines his fingers and pleads Naina,

"Please... please... meri Naina ko chorh do. Please chorh do meri Naina ko.",

his forehead touches his knuckle, he cries further.

Naina jumps from the tree.

All of them shout in horror, concerned about her well being,

"Naina!!!"

Naina runs away in a tremendous speed.

While Rajveer, Pooja and Alekh get into the jeep to catch her; Ali, Huda and Yudi run after her not wanting to miss her route in the process of getting into the jeep - all three of them taking different routes in order to trap her from all the sides.

Soon Naina reaches a village area where she knocks every door especially uttering,

"KNOCK KNOCK!",

and hides before they open the door for her.

She laughs silently, enjoying disturbing everyone.

Each door that she knocks - opens and curses her upon finding her absence from there,

"Pata nahi kon tang karne aa gaya!"

This she does at 6-7 houses. Upon reaching the 8th house she knocks the door in the similar manner and hides behind the adjacent wall of the house.

An aged man in around his 80s opens the door and upon discovering her absence rotates his eyes towards left; then right; then left again in search of Naina, and gets back into his house.

Naina relishes the fact that she has succeeded in disturbing him and hasn't got caught.

Naina feels like disturbing him again. She returns back and knocks the door again. This time the old man who was waiting for her knock, opens the door immediately. Startled, Naina turns and was about to run when the old man having white long hair and white long beared and white mustache, fists Naina's hair, clenching his teeth in anger.

Naina makes weird noises shouting and crying in pain.

Getting out of his small house he drags Naina still fisting her hair.

"Chal! Cha...llll !!!",

he applies all his energy to pull her with himself.

Hearing her loud and weird voice all the people of the locality including whose houses were knocked by Naina, gets out of their respective houses to witness what is happening and is about to happen. They all widen their eyes in horror.

By the time Rajveer and others reach there the old man had already set few leaves of a particular tree on fire. The smoke emitted by the burning leaves disturbs the spirit inside Naina.

"Naina...!!!",

shouts Rajveer.

Others too, who are with Rajveer, stare the old man and Naina in horror.

"Galat ghar dastak diya tu ne dayan! Ab saza to tujhe milegi hi!!",

states the old man loud and clear, his eyes burning in anger.

The spirit inside Naina fights with Naina's spirit wanting to overpower it. But the effect of the smoke weakens her. Finally she sets Naina free.

Naina falls on the ground unconscious.

Rajveer and all her friends run to help her. Rajveer gets down on his knees and supports an unconscious Naina.

"Naina!!! Nainaaaa!!",

he lightly slaps her face thrice in quick succession, trying to wake her up.

"Guys isse academy le jana hoga. Jaldi.",

commands Rajveer.

●●●●

At the academy Dr. Shalini injects medicine into her and Rajveer carries her to her room in girls' hostel.

Staying with her for an hour, rotating his hand lovingly on her head, he gets suggestion from Pooja,

"Sir main hoon iske saath. Aap jaiye jakar aaram kijiye."

All others including Dr. Shalini show their agreement on that.

Rajveer initially shows his disagreement but eventually with a heavy heart resigns for his room.

●●●●

At the middle of the night Rajveer hears knock at his door, twice - KNOCK KNOCK!

Rajveer who had dozed off moments ago after his constant thoughts about Naina, wakes up upon hearing the knock.

Opening the door he gets shocked upon witnessing Naina standing in front of her.

"Naina?!",

he addresses her, skeptically, his earlier drowsiness vanished witnessing her there.

Naina enters his room and sits on his bed. Holding her forehead she says,

"Mera sir itna bhaari kyun ho raha hai. Mann hi nahi lag raha tha room mein. Isliye yahan aa gayi."

Rajveer stares her with his eyes wide opened, holding his breath.

"Tum... tum theek ho na Naina?",

he asks, nervously.

"Haan bus sir dard hai. Neend tut ne ke baad phir aur neend nahi ayi. To socha agar aap jage hue hain to yahan aa jaun.",

says Naina.

"Acha kiya Naina.",

says Rajveer, once he gets assured that she is fine and this is indeed his Naina.

"Tum...he kuch yaad hai Naina kya hua tha?",

asks Rajveer, uttering each word slowly, not wanting to mess with her state of mind.

Naina looks towards him deep into his eyes.

"Kya hua tha?",

asks Naina, confused.

Rajveer's heart skips a beat hearing that.

"Kuch hua tha? Mujhe... mujhe aisa feel ho raha tha ke kuch hai jo hua but mujhe yaad nahi aa raha.",

says Naina, widening her eyes in shock.

Rajveer stares her keeping his eyes wide opened.

"Mai...ne... mai...ne kuch kiya kya?",

she asks, her rate of heartbeat starts increasing.

"Bataiye na Sir! Kya kiya maine?",

asks Naina in desperation.

"Naina....",

Rajveer tries to calm her down.

"Mujhe laga jaise hangover ho. Magar... magar drink ka koi program to tha hi nahi. To drink kaise kar sakti hoon?!",

she puts further her feelings.

"Shhh.... kuch nahi hua Naina. Kuch nahi hua.",

he hugs her to calm her down.

●●●●

KNOCK! KNOCK! The sudden knock at the door drags Naina's attention. Getting out of Rajveer's embrace Naina begins to walk forth to open the door, staring at the door throughout, as if hypnotised by it.

"Naina!!!",

Rajveer calls out, wondering what has happened to her.

But his voice seems to knock the deaf ears.

Reaching the door, Naina pulls it, keeping it ajar. Rajveer stares her, standing at his place from where only her back is visible to him, dumbstruck. Good amount of white light that has the power to turn someone blind, enters the room. This is definitely unusual!

Before he could understand what to do and how to react, Naina vanishes in thin air, as if pulled by the light.

"Nainaaaaa!!! Nainaaaa!!!",

Rajveer pulls the door with a jerk. And stares in the darkness with his eyes wide opened more out of horror than because of the darkness. His heart thumps inside his chest so much that he could hear his own heartbeat hitting his eardrums hard. He stands there paralyzed!

The KNOCK KNOCK has knocked happiness, love and peace out of his life forever!!

-THE END-
(24.2.2023)