"Aryan, hide!"
"But where?" I had barely asked when Anaya, instead of answering, grabbed my hand firmly and started dragging me through the crowd. I was completely bewildered, wondering what on earth was happening. She pulled me behind a small nearby stall.
Her face was etched with clear panic. She whispered sharply, "Stay quiet! And don't you dare ask me what's going on." I immediately pressed my finger against my lips. Suddenly, she said, "Run from here!" and with my finger still on my lips, I started running right behind her.
She led me to a food stall where the aroma of Chole-Bhature and Pav-Bhaji filled the air. She stood me right behind the stall and began peering outside from there.
Gathering some courage, I whispered, "Listen, we came here for a date today, so maybe we could—"
She cut me off irritably, "What did I tell you? Keep your finger on your lips and don't look over here!" I instantly put my finger back on my lips, wondering what had happened to her. She was so happy just a while ago, and now she was acting like a secret agent.
Then she said, "Let's eat cotton candy." She grabbed my hand and took me to the cotton candy vendor. She snatched two sticks. For a moment, the vendor thought she was stealing them, but then Anaya slammed the money down on the counter.
She handed one to me and said, "Hold this in front of your face and eat it like this. Eat from the middle, not the top! That's how it's fun." I tried it. To be honest, eating from the middle was a bit fun, but it felt very strange—as if I were hiding my face from the entire world. Then she said, "Are you going to just stand here and eat? Let's go," and we moved on.
Anaya led us to a Horror House. By then, I had finished my cotton candy. I noticed that Anaya had only taken hers for show; she had barely taken a bite, let alone tasted it. Without a word, she started pulling me inside. She jerked my hand with the entry band up in the air for the attendant to see and yanked me inside.
As soon as we stepped in, I saw that the cotton candy was gone from Anaya's hand. Surprised, I asked, "Where did it go?"
"Finished!" she replied shortly. I wondered if she had stuffed the whole thing into her mouth at once, or if she had tossed the stick into a bin while running. I looked at her, and she asked, "What happened? What are you thinking?"
I blushed instantly and stammered, "N-n-nothing!"
Then we moved further inside. First, some bats flew over our heads, and suddenly, a headless ghost came charging at us. Without a second thought, I grabbed Anaya's hand and bolted. She said, "Man! You're so scared of ghosts; they aren't real, they're just people." I replied, "Fine, but then where did his head go?"
She didn't say anything, but seeing a cave-like opening nearby, she said, "Hide in here." So, she and I hid inside. It was very small, so we had to lie down. We couldn't see much outside, but I was blushing intensely because Anaya was incredibly close to me. Suddenly, she pushed my head down because she heard footsteps outside.
From outside, a woman's voice drifted in: "You're so scared of ghosts, is this how you're going to be my boyfriend?" Then a guy's voice said, "But that headless ghost..." The woman cut him off, saying, "There's no such thing as ghosts, okay? They are all just humans." The guy asked, "Then where did his head go?" The woman replied, "Just come on, let's go!"
For a moment, I felt as if they were talking about me, like someone was making fun of me.
Once they left, we came out, and that's when the real game began. The atmosphere inside the Horror House was truly terrifying. A severed head would drop with a thud from somewhere, and red-eyed dolls would stare us down. Suddenly, a walking skeleton appeared right in front of me. I was scared to death! My face turned pale white. Anaya grabbed my hand and pulled me outside.
The moment we stepped out, there wasn't a trace of fear on her face. She grabbed my hand again and suddenly said, "Get ready!" and started running as if she were participating in a marathon.
A thought flashed through my mind— "Is this some new way of dating?" She dragged me into a Mirror Maze. She showed our bands at the gate and we entered. Once inside, amid the crowd, our hands accidentally slipped apart. I couldn't stop my momentum and crashed straight into a glass pane. The impact was right on my head, and I fell to the ground.
I got up and started searching for Anaya. "Anaya, are you over there?" I said, only to hit another mirror. Anaya, watching me crash repeatedly, couldn't hold back her laughter and started giggling.
That's when a lightbulb went off in my head. I stretched one hand out in front of me and started moving slowly, so if there was glass ahead, my hand would hit it first. Using this trick, I made my way out and immediately grabbed Anaya's hand.
The moment I grabbed her hand, Anaya suddenly blushed and— 'Smack!' She slapped my cheek.
"Why did you hit me?" I asked, clutching my cheek with a tearful expression.
"Why did you grab my hand so hard?" she said with a glare and walked ahead. "Now, follow me."
Now my temper was rising. I was fed up with all this running around. "Anaya! What kind of date is this? If this is how dates are, then it's terrible. At least act normal, man!"
"Shut up!" she snapped.
"Why should I shut up? Who exactly are we hiding from?" I said, my voice rising slightly as I took a frustrated step back. Suddenly, my body collided with something very solid.
I turned around slowly, trembling. Standing right behind me was a massive man. He wore a black T-shirt that clearly showed off his heavy-set, muscular build. On his chest was a 100kg dumbbell design. His face was hidden in the shadows, but his eyes were glowing bright red like a predator's, and he looked incredibly terrifying.
Seeing him, only one thing escaped my mouth— "Game over