From the inside, the 1st Commander's faint voice echoed— "I knew it... you still have faith in us." It was still silent inside, but movement had begun. Rising from his seat, the 1st Commander gave an order to the 2nd Commander in his grave and heavy voice.
"2nd Commander! Reach that hospital immediately and tighten the security there. After Yash's letter, we cannot take any risks. Tonight... I will also stay there. There is no trusting these people; they can stoop to any level."
The 2nd Commander replied, "Yes, 1st Commander, I will prepare the boys right away."
The light sound of boots was audible inside the mansion. I knew that the real 'War-Room' preparations had started there. My heart told me to go inside and stand shoulder to shoulder with them, but the Commander's words about 'faith' had tied my feet. I looked at the cracks of that old house one last time and turned back, heading quickly towards home.
The cold air of Himachal was hitting my face, but my mind was stuck on Room No. 7, Bed No. 14 of the hospital. Reaching home, as per my habit, I took the key out from the flower pot and opened the door. Silence... the house was completely empty. Just as I started taking off my shoes, a voice suddenly came.
"Aryan? How did you come so early today?"
Removing my shoes, I said, "Oh Mom... actually... I didn't feel like it, so I skipped (bunked)!"
Mom's voice came, "Bunk? Aryan, have you become so old that you will bunk now? Did you think I wouldn't find out?"
Looking towards the camera, I said, "Don't you remember the date? Today is March 31st! Today is a half-day. You also forget everything. Don't you have any work at the office that you are sitting here idle waiting for me?"
Mom looked at the pile of files kept in front of her for a moment. Her face looked tired and troubled. She said with a bit of irritation, "Oh, so today is a half-day? Is it necessary for you to talk nonsense? There is so much work here, I don't even have a moment to breathe. Fine, we'll talk later."
I went upstairs. Took a bath, set my hair, put on perfume... there was no smile on my face, but I couldn't do anything about it now. I took some money, picked up my phone, and went out. I kept the house key back in the same flower pot.
As soon as I reached the park gate, I saw Anaya. She was quite angry. Leaving my sadness behind, I went up to her and said, "I'm here!"
Anaya shouted in anger, "Why are you so late? I would have left by now. If you were even 1 minute later, I would have definitely left from here!"
I said, "Sorry baba, forgive me. It was a mistake."
Anaya asked, "So where should we go?"
I said in confusion, "Where to go? Anaya, we have come on a date, will you talk like this?"
I continued, "Yes, this is my first time on a date, what do I know. Until today, I've only seen dates in movies."
Then Anaya said with a bit of anger, "So am I going on dates all the time? This is my first time too!"
Then Anaya said, "I knew you boys were like this. Anyway, I had already thought about where we have to go." She took out two tickets for an amusement park from her pocket. I got a bit annoyed and said, "Hey! I was supposed to spend the money, so why did you?"
Anaya said, "Oh you fool! Whether I do it or you do it, it's the same thing. Now it's 2025, girls can also spend money on dates. My mom won these tickets, but my dad wasn't at home and these were expiring today. So mom said to go with my friends."
I asked, "Does that mean your mom doesn't know who you've come with?"
Anaya said, avoiding eye contact, "Yes... she doesn't know." Then she asked me, "Does your mom know?"
I said, "No."
Hearing my words, she got a bit angrier. Then I said, "Okay, so shall we go?"
Anaya said, "What will we do by going now? It's 2:30 right now, let's go in the evening at 5. You wanted to spend money, right? So spend it, let's watch a movie! Okay, so shall we go?" Hearing Anaya's words, I nodded with a smile. Both of us came out of the park gate and started waiting for a rickshaw by the roadside. Just then, a shiny Electric Rickshaw passed by. I signaled, but it didn't stop. I thought it was gone, but after going about 100 meters, it suddenly braked and slowly started coming backward.
The driver sitting inside looked at us from top to bottom and asked with a naughty smile, "Where do you want to go? And what's the matter... are you going on a date or what?"
Hearing his words, both of us were suddenly taken aback. The atmosphere suddenly became very Awkward. To hide my embarrassment, I changed the subject and said, "Brother, tell me if you want to go, don't talk nonsense."
"Yes-yes, where do you want to go?" he asked.
"Have to go to PVR, how much will you take?" I asked directly.
He waved his hand in the air and said, "Not much sir, just 1000 rupees."
"Take 800," I said. He refused and stuck to 950, then came down to 900, but finally said, "It will be 950, it won't be less than this." Then Anaya jumped in and said with great confidence, "600 rupees."
The driver shook his head, "No mistress, not less than 700."
Anaya stuck to her point, "400." The driver came down a bit and said 650, so Anaya gave a shock of 300 directly. The driver started scratching his head, he played his last card, "Okay, neither yours nor mine, make it 550."
I thought of finding a middle ground and said, "500 is right." But Anaya was not one to agree, she clearly said, "No, only 300 is right."
The driver said irritably, "Sir, I'm leaving, you guys talk among yourselves." And he went ahead without saying anything. I thought the deal was over, but after going a short distance, he stopped again and came back. He said with a very sad heart and making a bit of a face, "Okay mistress, just give 325."
Anaya made a strange face and said, "325 feels a bit weird, let's round it off."
The driver was almost about to cry, he pleaded, "Mistress! You sit... you just give 300, but please sit down now!"
Anaya quickly sat inside and signaled me to sit by patting the seat. I was shaken to the core seeing her Bargaining Skill! Her art is at my mom's level or maybe even above. I was thinking to myself that if I were alone, I would have agreed to 1000, but she brought it down to 300. I thought to myself— "Brother, if I get married to her, then only money will be saved at home!"
Then Anaya looked at me and asked, "What are you thinking?"
I said nervously and a bit shyly, "Nothing... look there, how beautiful the mountains are!"
Anaya started looking at the view outside and told me to look as well. She was looking at the beauty outside and I... my view was right in front of me. She was truly looking very beautiful. Then suddenly she looked at me and asked in a very low voice, "What are you looking at?"
Her voice was so 'Low' that I felt she had caught me looking at her. I got flustered, "Uh... nothing, just like that!"
To lighten the mood a bit, Anaya changed the topic, but what she said made everything even more Awkward. She spoke a bit carefully, "By the way, don't think that I wanted to come on a date with you. All my friends had work today, don't know why! Then I had to go with someone, so thought who should I go with? No friend was free, so thought I'd go with some boy. But I found only you decent in the whole class, so I called you... otherwise, for me to keep any other boy with me is impossible, right! And I said 'date' because I wanted to see what actually happens on a date."
I just kept looking at her hearing her words. Thought to myself— "Meaning I am here because I am decent? Was this a compliment or an insult?" The rickshaw stopped in front of the mall and Anaya handed 300 rupees to the driver in style. The driver was still mumbling something, but Anaya didn't even look at him and walked straight into the mall with me. As soon as we stepped inside, the cold AC air and the glitter all around dimmed that 'hospital tension' for a while. By lift, we reached the third floor directly and were standing in front of the PVR counter.
The tickets there were quite expensive. I slowly looked at Anaya and whispered, "Listen... will that 300 magic work here too?"
Anaya looked at me as if I had committed a very big crime. She said with a bit of anger, but keeping her voice calm, "Aryan, you are truly a fool! This stuff doesn't work here, everything is at a fixed rate here. Will you get me and yourself insulted?"
I said embarrassedly, "Oh I know, I just thought that if it worked, some money would be saved."
Hearing my words, she suddenly burst out laughing and said, "Nothing can happen of you! Okay listen, if money is short, tell me, I will pay."
"No-no, I can do it," I immediately refused and moved towards the counter. I asked the boy present there which movie was playing. He told me the name of a movie and said that only this one is available right now and no other show is free. I said half-heartedly, "Okay, so how much are the tickets?"
He replied, "750 rupees for one ticket sir. Do you want to add anything else with this?"
I thought we've come on a date so why leave any stone unturned, "Yes, do it. Two tickets, one medium-sized popcorn, two bottles of cold drink, and one medium-sized pizza."
He calculated something quickly on his screen and said, "Sir, 1500 rupees for your two tickets, 600 rupees for one medium popcorn bucket, 80 rupees for two cold drinks, and 450 rupees for one medium pizza. Your total bill is 2630 rupees. Since your total amount is above our limit, you are getting one hamburger and one French fries free from our side."
I thought to myself happily, "Oh wow! This is a Big W (big win)!" I told him, "Okay, so done all this."
I paid the money and turned back with the tickets, where Anaya was waiting for me. Seeing the heavy bill and the free offer slip in my hand, she was a bit surprised. She probably thought that I would really mess something up in an attempt to save money, but here the matter was something else entirely.
Suddenly, the phone in my pocket vibrated. My heart stopped for a moment. I immediately took out the phone and looked—a notification was shining on the screen. But it wasn't any attack or a message from the commanders, rather it was a simple 'Health Insurance' update.
That one word shook me again. I immediately remembered my secondary commander. A strange pang arose in my heart— "Am I doing the right thing? My companions, my secondary leader is swinging between death and life on a hospital bed in that state, and I am having fun here?" But then that calm and deep face of the 1st Commander rotated in my mind. His voice echoed again— "I knew it... you still have faith in us." No! I have full faith in all of them. They will handle everything. I took a long and deep breath and left that sorrow completely behind me. Today is my day, and I am heading out to enjoy it fully.
As soon as the movie started in the dark hall, the calm and snowy mountains of Himachal spread on the screen gave some peace for a moment. Initially, my focus was more on Anaya than the screen, who was enjoying the popcorn with great relish. But as the story moved forward, the temperature of the hall seemed to drop. When that peaceful silence turned into a deadly silence, I didn't even realize.
The movie starts outside a rich and grand school, from where innocent children are kidnapped in broad daylight. The police investigation does start, but it starts feeling like a labyrinth. The villain was making the police and that rich father dance on his fingers. Sometimes he would leave trails of blood in the valleys of Himachal, and sometimes he would disappear into the crowded streets of Pune and Mumbai.
The scene of terror on the screen was such that when that villain was taking out the henchmen of that rich man, every person sitting in the hall would hold their breath. That scary 'background score' playing with every murder was piercing straight into the heart. Both of us were holding our tray, but as the movie got darker, the taste of burger and pizza also seemed to turn bland. A strange bitterness was felt in the throat with every sip of cold drink. Whenever the shadow of the villain came on the screen, Anaya would unknowingly squeeze my hand so hard that the marks of her fingers would be imprinted on my skin.
The surprising thing was that not even once was there an 'Interval' (Break) in the whole movie. A small note was shining in the corner of the screen stating that no break has been kept to prevent the 'suspense' of the audience from breaking. Although the movie was only 1 hour 40 minutes long, enduring that terror continuously without any interruption was no less than a torture. It felt as if we too were caught in the web laid by that villain.
The end of the movie was soul-shaking. When the body of his own child reached the door of that rich father's house like a parcel, screams erupted all at once in the whole hall. 'Part 1 Ends' as soon as the hall lights turned on, but no one had the courage to get up from their seat.
While walking out into the dazzle of the mall, Anaya's face had turned pale. Leaving a long and shivering breath, she said, "Oh my god! What a terrible movie this was. What was the need for that villain to do all this? And the strangest thing was that the whole movie ended, but the face of that villain wasn't even shown! I think this will be the first movie in which the face of the villain has been kept missing. But I am sure that in Part 2 the police will catch him, after all, the police are the real heroes."
Fear was clearly reflecting in Anaya's voice. She further said in a low voice, "There was something in this that I would never want to see again. All that... was very dark."
I looked at her and nodded slowly. My mind was still thinking about the 'invisible' power of that villain and his face. "Yes, you are right, the view was quite dark," I said, looking into her eyes. "But to be honest... I will be eagerly waiting for its Part 2. I want to see whose face that is."
As soon as we came out of the mall, Anaya looked at her watch and panic started showing clearly on her face. "Aryan! It's been quite a long time, we should leave for the amusement park right now!" she said, almost pulling me.
The same drama happened again on the road. Anaya made another rickshaw driver cry so much with her words that he, making a face, dropped us at the gate of the amusement park. I thought to myself— "All the powers of the whole world on one side, and this girl's bargaining skill on one side." We reached the ticket checker standing at the entrance with our tickets. He looked at our tickets and tied 'entry bands' on our hands. Signaling us to go inside, he suddenly looked at us very closely and asked, "Are you both brother and sister?"
Hearing this question of his, I got a lot of anger, but Anaya? She started laughing in a suppressed voice, keeping her hand over her mouth. She found my red face and the guard's question very funny.
I said in anger, "No!"
"Then who are you?" The checker continued his investigation.
"What do you have to do knowing our relationship? You just do your work," I replied irritably and moved forward glaring at him.
The guard let us in with a smile. Seeing us going from behind, a smile of an old memory came on his face. He remembered the time when he too had come here on his first date at this age. In those days, one had to lie to some guard like this for fear of being caught because back then they wouldn't even let couples go inside. Those old memories rotated in his mind like a reel.
After reaching inside, I was still a bit angry. Anaya shook my hand slowly and asked, "What happened? Are you still angry?"
"No," I dismissed the matter in a short reply, but my face was telling everything.
Anaya asked, "What should we do now?"
I looked towards her and said, "Whatever you say."
Anaya stopped for a moment and then said a bit carefully, "Look Aryan, I won't lie to you. I have come here only once with my mom and dad, that too when I was maybe 3 or 4 years old. Since then I've never come... so I really don't know what happens here."
Hearing this innocent talk of hers, all my anger disappeared in a moment. I suddenly held Anaya's hand. As soon as I held her hand, Anaya suddenly froze. Expressions of surprise and confusion were clearly visible on her face, as if she hadn't expected that I would do this suddenly. She couldn't say anything, just started walking silently with me.
I pulled her towards a giant 'Dragon Swing' (Dragon Boat). While climbing the high and old iron stairs, Anaya stopped a bit and said hesitatingly, "Listen Aryan... let's sit in the middle, right? The view will also be visible properly from there."
I sensed her nervousness and teased her, saying, "Why? Are you feeling scared? Tell me, I won't make fun."
Anaya immediately changed her stance and said excitedly, "Oh! Who is feeling scared? Come on, let's sit at the very top!"
Hearing this word of hers, my own condition became a bit thin, but now there was no chance to back out. We chose the last and the highest seat of the Dragon Boat. There was no fancy safety bar there, just a thin iron rod, holding which was our only hope.
The operator blew a sharp whistle and the Dragon Boat started moving slowly. The first two or three rounds were like some cradle, but then suddenly there was a heavy rumbling from the machine and it caught speed. As soon as the swing took a deep dive in the air and moved upwards, it felt as if the heart would come to the mouth. When the boat reached the very peak and fell down with a jerk, a strange turmoil was felt in the stomach.
"Aaaaaaaa!" All of Anaya's bravery was laid to rest in a moment. A scream escaped her due to fear and she immediately clutched my hand with both her hands tightly.
But my condition? Brother, my eyes were wide open, my face had turned white and I was sitting holding that iron rod as if if I let go, I would be found straight down. My throat had dried up and my speech was completely blocked. Seeing my 'terrified' condition and shivering legs, Anaya, who was scared herself, suddenly realized that she was holding my hand. As soon as she understood this, she got a bit embarrassed and immediately let go of my hand.
But seeing my pathetic face and my scared face, the fear completely fled from Anaya's mind. She understood that this 'decent' boy is more scared than even me. Now instead of being scared, she raised both her hands in the air and started shouting with full force, "Woooooo!"
To save my dignity, I shouted with a trembling throat, "Hey... don't be scared Anaya! Just look ahead and shout loudly, all the fear will flee!"
Hearing that foolish advice of mine and seeing my trembling face, Anaya burst out laughing. I was just praying that this round ends quickly, but seeing Anaya shouting like this happily with her hands raised, I got a different kind of peace amidst my fear. Seeing her so happy, my nervousness didn't decrease much, but a smile definitely came on my face.
When the swing started slowing down, there was a winning glow on Anaya's face. She was still enjoying my condition. After this, both of us start wandering here and there and just then Anaya suddenly says in fear, "Aryan, hide!"
I get surprised and ask, "What are you saying?"
But this time, instead of saying anything, Anaya holds my hand and runs away from there taking me with her.
The End