Hi ya!

And we're in April now. Wow. Time sure flies fast. Let's just hope the Corona pandemic passes out soon and we are all able to emerge out healthy.

Moving on... 💃💃💃

"Words in double quotes." - Talking

'Words in single quotes.' - Thoughts.

Something's Rotten in the Night

"Mom! Please just give me some more time."

"No buts! You're getting married and that's it! You've wasted much time in US, fooling us with lies."

"They weren't lies! I really was looking for my passion."

Annapurna glared at Laksh. "And you searched ten years, which is enough. Now, I've decided that your only talent will be to be a good husband and an heir to your father's company."

"Mom!" whined Laksh, dramatically. "You know I don't wan-"

"Want to do business? Well, then tell me what dream job you've decided to pursue?"

Laksh gulped and looked away. "Um...I...I'm good...with making friends?"

Annapurna sighed in exasperation. "AND THAT WILL EARN YOU A FUTURE?! I THINK NOT!"

"Bu-"

"NO BUTS! YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED AND THATS IT!"

Laksh watched helplessly as his mother walked off in anger.

"That went well."

Laksh turned to glare at his elder brother hiding behind the door. "Wow! Thanks for all the help you gave."

"Hey, I agreed to help you. I did not agree to help you by compromising my own safety. Mother's scary when she's mad."

Laksh pulled his lips into a thin line. It wasn't like Sanskar was wrong though. He too feared her when she was pissed off. "But I'm too young to be married! I'm only 28!"

"Well, actu-"

"Don't you dare!"

"Okay okay!" Sanskar pacified, raising his hands in surrender. "But what I wanted to say is that married life isn't that bad. I mean look at me! I'm happy with Swara."

"Whatever! Don't lecture me." Laksh huffed out. "Where is she anyway? You're always following her like a puppy."

Sanskar huffed out in indignation. "I object! I'm actually a lion who just likes admiring his girl. Secondly, she went to the village nearby. She should be back by now though."

"Yeah. If she's not, you'll whine for her." Laksh snickered.

"No. But because there's a rumour." Sanskar whispered dramatically. "They say that on the road, where the large daisy garden is in the forest."

Laksh curiously edged near to hear more. "What?"

"There's a ghost. A lady. A lady who..."

"Who?"

Sanskar smirked. "A lady who kills handsome bachelors. So you better get married soon bro."

Laksh pushed him away in anger. "Yeah, yeah. Keep joking. My life crisis is a tragic comedy for you after all!"

"Hahaha...sorry, sorry. But seriously though. The rumor has it that it's true. So you better stay home. Mother would be worried otherwise."

Laksh felt wreckless. He maybe obnoxious and notorious, but no matter what was a good son who never wanted to worry his parents. But because of the marriage his mother was forcing upon him, he wanted to disobey her. He wanted to make her angry and worried. 'Maybe then she would realize my value over her stubborn decision. Maybe she'll let me off the hook too! Hahaha...its a stupid rumor anyways. But it's my lucky escape. Yosh!'

"Um...you sure okay Lucky? You're cackling out loud."

"I'm okay. In fact, I'm better than okay! Mwhahaha! See you later dear Sanky!"

Sanskar gagged as he watched Laksh pass by. "Ew, ew! "Dear"? Maybe mother's decision has given him a trauma. Wow, marriage is that scary for him, huh?"

"You're saying that you regret marrying?"

Sanskar whipped his head back with wide eyes. "S-Swara?!"

"Don't you Swara me! Ugh, men! You're all the same!"

"But...but...hey, wait! Darling!Swara!"

#12 at midnight#

"As if I would listen. Huh!" Laksh spoke out loud to himself. He walked closer to the forest with his mobile in hand. Flickering on the torch, he went inside the forest with determination. "Now, when she won't see me in the morning, she'll realize how important her son is." smirking to himself, he walked deeper and yet, deeper.

In the middle of the night, the only sounds in the forest were those of fireflies and crickets. The owls hooted in intervals, calling out to the silence of the night. Laksh could even hear his breaths, or maybe it was his own imagination.

He looked side to side as he passed each tree and bush. They seemed harmless enough, but he couldn't help but feel intimidated by them. In the middle of the night, amidst the trees, he felt like they had an advantage. An advantage of what? He didn't know.

With the moon shining luminously on the ground, Laksh walked alone, few branches creaking under his feet. Suddenly, something caught his eye. Something shining at a distance. Like pearls...or perhaps diamonds. "It's a lake." he spoke to himself, walking closer and closer.

The lake water seemed to shine in the moonlight, giving out an errie feeling of peace, as well as forbidding. As he breathed in the sweet scent of soil and trees, he felt a harmonious feeling. Yet, he couldn't feel at ease. He felt like he was being watched. "But that's ridiculous! No one's here." Laksh felt uncomfortable. He felt out of place in the unfamiliar setting. "Something seems...something feels unnatural." fisting his sweaty palms, he gulped. "I...I think it's just the summer heat getting to me."

Laksh realized he was talking to himself. "Great. And now, I'm becoming paranoid too. Man, Laksh, you're getting scared of a rumor now? Hahaha...foolish you!" chuckling to himself, he proceeded to open a game in his phone to pass the time.

However, his phone suddenly seemed to hang on him. It won't function! To his utter distress, the torch in his phone switched off as well. 'Shit, shit, shit! What's going on?! It's just like those horror movies when the phone becomes dead right before...' Laksh smacked himself in the head. "Stupid brain! Don't think about those things now! Think happy things! Rose, and...and...daisies."

'Daisies where the ghost is supposed to be?' his brain supplied helpfully.

"Not helping dude!" realizing he was talking to his brain as if it was a different person, he shook his head. "Maybe I should head back now. I think I worried mum enough."

Nodding to himself, he walked towards the trees, leaving the lake. However, the road seemed unfamiliar. 'Laksh Maheshwari, you stupid dolt! You forgot the way, didn't you?!'

With fear clutching his heart, he walked a little faster, a bit more briskly, a bit more faster until he was practically running away from there.

In the darkness, with no source of light but the moon, he ran like a beast was on his tail. Unfortunately, he stumbled and fell flat on his face. "Ouch my 100 dollar face-pack using handsome face."

Dusting off his clothes, he got up slowly. Shaking his head to clear the leaves stuck in his hair, he sat up straight. Something wouldn't get off, and he reached to pull it out. However, what he saw, made his feet grow cold.

There.

In front of him.

Was a daisy in his hand.

As he looked down, there was another on the ground. Blooming.

Behind it, there was another.

And yet, there were a few more behind it.

As he slowly widened his line of sight, he dreaded ever coming to the forest. "I think I should have just gotten married."

In front of him was the very garden that the rumors spoke of. The garden that is known to be home to the ghost he earlier did not believe in. The garden he wanted to avoid and run away from.

He could feel the earth shaking. However, he soon realized that it was actually him who was shaking in fear. "O-Okay Lu-Lucky...calm. Ca-calm down. It's just a ru-rumor. Just a r-rumor. Just a rumor!"

With his weak attempt to calm himself, he repeated the phrase again and again in his head like a mantra. Swallowing down his saliva, he slowly got up with the little courage he had left. "You're a man. M-man up!" nodding to himself, he repeated louder. "Man up! Man up! Ma-eeep!" Laksh squeaked when he heard a twig snap. Abruptly he turned around.

However, there was no one.

Gathering up his courage, Laksh glared. "Who's there!? Come out! Come out I said!"

In any other situation, Laksh would have patted himself for not shaking while speaking out loud, considering how scared he was. His feet were shaking like jelly.

He waited, still as a statue. However, no one came out.

'It must be some animal in the forest. Yeah, probably that.' Laksh nodded to himself. "I'm a man, man up! There's no such thing as gh-"

"Ghost?"

It took every ounce of Laksh not to scream out bloody murder like a banshee when he heard the soft velvety voice finish his words.

Slowly, like the ticking arm of the clock, he dreadfully and fearfully turned to look at the source of the voice.

Laksh could feel his heart thumping in his ears. It was like his heartbeat were drums banging in his eardrums as he watched the cloaked figure in the distance.

The figure was lithe, not bulky. Like it was a 'she'. In the moonlight, he could only see her cloak, and not her features. With slow and silent steps, she was edging closer and closer.

The way she was approaching, she seemed harmless. Laksh probably would have greeted her with a pickup line of his if they met in some different circumstances. But of course, now the "ghost of the daisy garden" rumor was the thing that hung in his head, making him regret all his life decisions.

'Wasted ten years of my life in the US! I should have done something. Now, I'll die a bachelor without doing anything adventurous in life! I didn't even have the experience of falling of a bicycle! But of course, it would be more awesome to fall off an Audi, bu-eeeeppppp! She's coming closer! Sanky! Mom! Help!' Laksh's lips seemed frozen as no word would come out. He was surprised he didn't die of heart failure because of how afraid he was right then. He knew he was a goner as he looked at the weapon held in her hand.

With sirens blazing in his head, lump stuck in his throat, he watched her coming near and standing before him. She stopped and brought up her hand below her chin. It held her so called weapon.

Now that he watched closely, the thing that he thought were the 'weapon-of-death-for-bachelors' was actually a...

'Torch? She's gonna kill me with a torch? Wow what a lame way to die. F my life!' Laksh grit his teeth as fear completely consumed him.

She flicked it on and opened her lips.

"L. O. L!"

Laksh blinked.

That was probably not the first thing he expected the ghost to utter. Even a "boo" wouldn't seem unreal.

"Ahahaha...! Wow. You look like you'll pee in your pants!"

Laksh could only watch in dumbfound shock as the figure removed the cloak and laughed while clutching her stomach, pointing at him.

"Um...why are you laughing?"

The girl/lady/ghostly entity, whatever it was seemed to laugh more at his question.

It was in a way ignoring and disrespecting him.

Ghost or not, he did not like being ignored. His ego was too big for that.

"Oi! Aren't you supposed to kill me with your light stick of death?!"

"Ahahaha...you mean my torch?! Ahahaha...! Man, you're funnier than Tom and Jerry!"

"Wait a second. That's a TV reference. That means you're not some ancient ghost out to hunt bachelors?"

She laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. "You should of seen your face. Why would you even think a ghost would hunt bachelors? I'm Ragini by the way. And you are? Let me guess. Ahahaha...you are the idiot who's just like the rest of the village. There is no ghost hunting down men. That's just stupid!"

Laksh felt dumb. He was a guy of the 21st century. And yet he bought into the rumor of the simpletons in the village. 'And I've stayed in the US for ten years. Man, someone throw me in a dump!' embarrassed, he laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Y-yeah. I guess they all traumatized me with their words so much that I eventually got convinced. And hey! It's not like it's my fault. Who comes into the middle of the forest in the middle of the night?! Especially a young girl like you?!"

She chuckled. "Firstly, I'm 25. Secondly, I live in the same village. I like to come to this garden."

"Usually, normal people come in the day."

"Yes, but then you won't get to see these daisies in the moonlight."

Laksh scoffed. "What's the difference? Flowers are flowers."

She chuckled and turned around. "Come with me!" without waiting for his reply, she rushed away.

"Hey, wait!" knowing he was lost in the forest, he followed her.

Laksh did not have to go far. Only a few steps later, she stopped and sat down, patting the place beside her. "Come sit."

Laksh, although confused, sat down. "Will you te-"

"Shh! Watch!"

"Wh-"

"Shut up damn it!"

Laksh shut his mouth at her glare. It came as a surprise that a petite girl like her could cuss so fluently.

Laksh sat there confused, not uttering a word. 'She's making a mockery out of me, isn't she? Ugh! That's it. If she doesn't explain herself in a few seconds, I will! I ha-'

Suddenly Ragini turned to smile at him. Hear smile caught him off guard. All his thoughts came to a stand still.

It was...in a word...

Beautiful.

He couldn't describe what he was feeling right then. But her smile seemed to be the only thing he could see. It seemed to be pulling his heart strings.

Her lips opened and she spoke something.

But Laksh was disappointed. All he wished for was for the lips to form back her smile.

"Huh?"

Ragini rolled her eyes. "You're really slow. I said look!" she stressed, holding his chin in her grip and turning his head ahead.

If he thought her smile was beautiful, he found another thing to awe at.

Hundreds of butterflies seemed to fly over the garden of daisies. In the moonlight, they seemed ethereal and so beautiful...words couldn't describe.

"This is why I come out at night. They are the northern butterflies. You won't see them in the day. They're beautiful, aren't they?"

'Just like you.' he wanted to say, but refrained. He didn't want to sound like a flirty creep. "Yeah. It's a pity the villagers won't see them since they're convinced of the 'ghost'." Laksh scoffed. "How come you don't tell them that there's no such thing?"

Ragini rolled her eyes. "Do you really think I didn't try? I told them the same, but they told me I was trying to be too 'English'. I studied Engineering in England actually you see. So they think I'm just trying to impose my "modern-ness" on them, whatever that means!"

Laksh chuckled. "Tough luck. Who spread this rumor anyway?"

Suddenly, Ragini's demeanor seemed to darken. "You really want to know?"

"Of course! I'd like to give them a piece of my mind for spreading such things!"

"You...you would really want to help?"

Laksh nodded with sincerity. "Yes of course."

Ragini watched him with hawk like eyes. Under her gaze, he felt she was staring into his soul.

She smiled. "I'm glad."

Laksh let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. She could be really intimidating.

Standing up, Ragini grinned at him. "Then let's go find and expose those bastards. Last one there is a rotten daisy!"

"Hey wait!" Laksh stood up and ran after her. "You're getting a head start! That's cheating! Ragini!"

"Get your old bones moving you sloth!"

"I'm not old!"

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

To be continued...

Stay safe and healthy.

~ 🌹Mona🌹