Chapter: Twelve   

The evening proved to be very cool and gentle compared to the scorching morning. Birds flew off, following the slowly sinking sun as they all headed home. The sky was smeared with hues of ivory, yellow and rosy and clouds spread about like blank spots on a canvas which the painter left untouched for an enhanced effect to the piece of art.

Humming some song in a tranquil manner, Kirti worked about in the garden. Her hands were soiled with the earth as she finished digging a little, deep pit for the roses which Sekhar brought to her today. She still smiled at the thoughtfulness of Sekhar. Kirti's Dad had an immense love for roses. She remembered how her parents used to cherish roses of variant colours all around the backyard and the garden in the front before he left them. Even today, no matter where they moved to, Kirti's mother would always purchase a little rose from a nursery and place it somewhere around the house in a flowerpot.

The sounds of some loud western song penetrated Kirti's thoughts and drowned out her memories. Glancing up, she realized that her friends had begun streaming their tracks on Spotify up there in the apartment. She smiled to herself as she thought of Abhi and Jiya who, probably, were fighting over which song to play first.

Pulling the little bag towards her, Kirti pulled out the little plantlet with gentle care and slowly placed it into the pit as if it were a fragile infant. A few minutes later, she had finished filling up the soil into the pit with her hands.

"You should add a little water to it," A voice suggested and upon raising her head, Kirti met a pair of aged, brown eyes.

Kirti smiled back at the man and nodded in agreement. The old fellow looked like a local Keralite with white sandalwood paste applied neatly over his forehead in a traditional manner and his silver hair shimmering underneath the last rays of sunlight. He was dressed in a vest and silvery mundu, (a traditional lungi draped around the waist). The man held a cheery vibe about him with his creased, wrinkled face and that small, serene smile over his lips.

"How come I've never seen you around here before?" The man asked, curious.

Kirti dusted her hands in vain to get the soil off as she pushed herself up and stood facing the man with a small smile. "I'm Kirti Mishra, sir. I've arrived here just a few days back, actually,"

The man's face brightened with recognition. "Oh so you're the girl who was going to share the rented apartment? Sekhar did mention you but my forgetfulness always makes it hard to recall,"

Kirti beamed a smile at the man's friendly approach.

"I'm Shankar Thomas," The man introduced himself, "Landlord of the apartment,"

Kirti nodded mutely.

"I'm glad that a girl such as you has joined those monkeys up there. You seem to strike a balance among them," Mr Thomas mused, "Otherwise the boys and Jiya end up making too much mess,"

Kirti grinned and nodded a 'yes'. From Mr Thomas's tone, it was evident that though the group was notorious, the old man loved the lively atmosphere which they brought to the otherwise silent building.

The old man then turned to look somewhere behind Kirti and passed a merry smile directed to somebody. Turning around, Kirti found a group of five little boys, all about the age of ten or eleven, standing at the entrance. They smiled back at Mr Thomas as they swayed their school bags over their little shoulders. Kirti recognised one of the boys as Om, the little boy she had met at the tea stall the other day and whom Abhi had mentioned about.

"Looks like Abhi sir turned up late today, huh?" The familiar, deep voice reverberated over Kirti's ears and she smiled at Abhimanyu who walked out of the apartment with a grin directed at the kids.

The boys chuckled and nodded at him. Abhi was dressed in a white T-shirt and black trousers which gave him a casual look. Reaching the boys, he told them to go ahead while he'd join them in a moment. Nodding obediently, the boys scurried off into the apartment through the stairs. Kirti wondered where Abhi taught them. Considering how much havoc Jiya and Yash have the potential to create, tutoring the kids in the house was definitely not an option.

"Good evening sir," Abhi greeted Mr Thomas who beamed at him with a nod.

"Hey," Abhi turned to smile at Kirti who tried and smiled back without blushing.

"I hope you won't be dropping anything from the terrace today?" Mr Thomas asked Abhi and he grinned sheepishly.

"No sir," He reassured, "That was just a one-time experiment,"

Nodding, Mr Thomas decided to take their leave as he strolled out of the gates to take a walk around the neighbourhood. Kirti looked at Abhi questioningly.

"Where do you teach the kids?" Kirti asked.

"Up at the terrace," Abhi answered, "It's a peaceful and silent place and nobody usually interrupts my classes,"

Kirti nodded. "And what did you drop from the terrace?"

Abhi rubbed the back of his neck with a smile. "The kids asked me what was 'gravity' and there was no way to teach them theoretically because they are mere ten-year olds so I picked a basket of dry leaves which had been placed in the corner of the terrace and I upturned the basket... The pile of leaves plummeted down and showered over Mr Thomas who happened to be standing at the perfect spot..."

Kirti couldn't help but shake with a good laugh. Abhimanyu seemed to attract one bad happening or the other naturally, no matter how careful he attempted to be. Abhi smiled along, realizing what a blunder it was to upturn a basket-full of trash over your landlord.

"You are..." Kirti tried to find the right word for Abhi.

"Charming? Charismatic? Amiable? Fascinating?" Abhi guessed adorably only to receive a shaking head from Kriti to gesture a 'no'.

Before they continued the conversation, Abhi flinched when a little pebble hit his head from the skies. Abhi gaze at the pebble incredulously.

"Gosh," He mused, "Even the Gods have found me irritating and have started throwing stuff at me,"

Kirti glanced up to find the five boys peering down at them curiously. Each of them pointed the finger to the other to load off the blame. Abhi followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes playfully at the boys who giggled nervously from up there.

"Today's lesson is going to be about 'how to respect your elders'," Abhi yelled up at the boys and they nodded with suppressed smiles.

Nodding one last time at Kirti with a smile, Abhi headed off for the terrace as he ascended the stairs quickly. Once Abhi was gone, Kirti turned back to glance down at the little plantlet which stood upright and happy around the other flowers and bushes. She decided to grab a mug and water it before heading off to her room.

The apartment was surrounded by neat gardens on both sides, making it all green and enchanting with the colourful flowers faintly visible in the dying light of the sinking sun. Kirti headed for the water tap situated at the far end of the garden which was meant to be used to connect the hosepipe and to water the plants. She grabbed one of the many colourful mugs and filled it up with water.

Walking back to her rose plantlet, Kirti gently sprinkled the cool liquid over it. She smiled as she watched the drops of water splash over the fragile little leaves and rolled off to plunge down at the grounds and disappear into the brown earth, dampening the soil.

Mom will be so happy to see this, she wondered.

Kirti's thoughts got interrupted by the sudden screeching of tires and the loud growl of an engine. Raising her head, she smiled when she took notice of the red Hyundai which belonged to Sekhar. Kirti took notice that someone else was driving the car while Sekhar was on the shotgun who jumped down the car even before it came to a halt. She raised herself up from where she was kneeling and thought of showing Sekhar the plantlet which he had presented to her just today morning.

"Sekhar I planted it-" Kirti began but trailed off when she took notice of the grave expression over Sekhar's face.

He held her by her arm and dragged her aside to the car. Kirti silently followed him with rising anxiety in her chest. Sekhar opened the door to the back of the Hyundai and she climbed in silently with Sekhar following up quickly. He closed the door and sighed out audibly. The confined space of the car further worsened Kirti's situation as she anxiously looked at Sekhar to start speaking.

"We found some digital footprints into the CCTV cameras which were hacked two days back all around Alleppey and Trivendrum," Sekhar spoke sounding tired, "And we have a hunch that Ifaaz is involved in this,"

Kirti felt her heart turn slower and her lungs stop working at the new bit of details. Her fingers trembled and breaths turned shallower with every passing moment. Ifaaz was here. He was after her and he knew where to look for her. The most convenient way to track her would be to check the CCTV footages over Alleppey and it wouldn't be long before he showed up with his malicious intentions.

Sekhar realized that she was panicking out. Leaning over, he wrapped his arms around her in a protective hug as he patted her head in a soothing manner. Kirti tightened her arms around Sekhar's torso, hugging him back.

"Don't you worry Kirts," Sekhar whispered, "Armaan over here would be keeping an eye right at the gates of the apartment, okay? I need to wrap up a few things after which I will come over to stay at your place tonight,"

Kirti glanced ahead at Armaan who smiled at her softly and gave a silent nod through the reflection of the rear view mirror. He seemed to be around the same age as Sekhar and had golden-brown hair and dark brown eyes. He had light beard over his jaw and his demeanour was calm and composed. Sighing, Kirti nodded silently.

"Where's Ma?" Kirti asked Sekhar, praying that everything's okay.

"She's alright," Sekhar comforted her, "Apparently she's in Delhi,"

Sekhar let go of Kirti when she seemed to have relaxed and climbed out of the Hyundai. She followed Sekhar out of the car and stood facing him.

"Just... stay a bit alert," Sekhar couldn't help warn Kirti once. Smiling a small smile, Kirti nodded to tell him that she'd manage fine.

Armaan got off the Hyundai and threw the keys to Sekhar who grabbed them in mid-air and climbed into the driving seat. Glancing back at Kirti one last time, he drove off, leaving her feeling concerned and fretful beside Armaan.               

Author's Note:-   

I have to agree that writing Abhi-Kirti moments has become my favorite part of We Never Knew! *grins*

Oh, what are your views about this CCTV Hack thing? What do you think is gonna happen next?

See y'all at the next update! *waves a goodbye*