A Friend ०३

Its been two days since the visitors arrived in the village. The villagers had already approached them with the intention of helping them clean up the house and in other stuff but they were gently and kindly refused.

The message was clear, the new residents don't want anyone near their property and they are most certainly not friendly. A couple of days had already passed and the villagers didn't even knew the names of this duo.

Especially the bookreader. It was he to whom the villagers had grown most of their 'anti-feelings.'

Due to this behaviour, soon the village was filled with different type of rumours and gossips about these two weird newcomers.

Grandma of Chameli had already visited each of the houses in the villages personally telling them about how she feels like these two guys are in physical relationship and probably married.

When Sonu Singh asked her about what was wrong if they were married, she gave his mom a good advice as to keep her son on track otherwise he'll be visiting another village like these guys.

But when he asked wether he'd be able to buy a property like that or not, ('cause according to him it looked pretty cool to be able to purchase an estate wheerever you wanna move on to)was when she finally snapped and threated to slap him until all of his 32 teeth fall out of his mouth.

Somewhere else in the same village, two women were talking about how they think that these were some assassins or mercenaries who had decided to lay low since they had bitten more that what they could chew.

Other major rumours were about one of them being a boos of an underworld gang. He was either kicked out or were being hunted by their former collegues.

Talks like these were breaking news in the village. The weirder they were, the better attention and popularity they got.

In the afternoon, when the rennovation of the house was complete, the two new owners were sitting on the chair in the varanda enjoying the view of the sky which was partially cloudy today.

Sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds. It was at this time that these two notices someone entering inside the boundary of their new home.

A young little girl about seven or eight years of age was on her way towards these two. The man who was always reading some books, puts aside his book for once and looks at the upcoming visitor with a gentle smile.

The other man, who was sitting on his chair doing nothing looked surprised when he saw the happy face of his companion.

"Excuse me would you mind if I come in?" The little girl asked.

"Not at all. In fact we'd be happy to have you as our guest." The bookreader replied.

"Thanks." The young girl said and looked at him. Up close everything was more clear. He has a scar coming from the neck, dividing his lips and goiing up to his nose.

A straight cut which looked more like it was a burn mark from some rod or something like that. He was wearing white gloves which were mainly used in a science lab or in medical world.

Soon the young girl was given a chair and asked wether she'd like chocolates, buiscuits or chips to which she replied that she'd like all of them.

At this, the person who was reading a book a few minutes earlier was laughing his hearts out while the other one who did all the work was annoyed a bit though with a smile on his face as he simply couldn't deny the girls cleverness.

The girl was given a chair and served with 'all of them' that she had wanted. She picked up a chocolate bar and took a bite.

"YUMMMMMM THIS IS GOOD." She said in a cheery voice.

"So do you guys have a name or something?" She asked.

"Yes we definetly do. I am Prayog the bookreader and he is Vibhav the grumpy. We are friends." the bookreader finally revealed the big secret.

"Thats so amazing! You guys have a title too. Thats so cool." She said taking the last of the chocolate bar in her mouth.

"And may I ask what is your name young lady?" Prayog asked.

"Oh I am Nishika, Nishika the leader." She replied and looked at both of them for a complement for her title.

Instead, Vibhav the grumpy said, 'Well that sure backfired."

"Hey what do you mean by that. My title exactly tells you what I do." She said while angrily taking a bit of a potato chips.

"And pray tell my lady which one of our title does not clearly describe what we do?" Vibhav asked.

"Well both of yours. You know I have ears and I can hear too. The talk in the village is that you both are runaways who had decided to marry eachother due to the shame." Nishika said in a bit of loud voice.

"What? And why would we marry due to the shame? What type of 'shame' would that be?" Vibhav asked.

"The type which comes from getting your PP chopped off." She said with a chuckle.

"Watch your mouth kid, there is a limit to my patience." Vibhav was now getting fired up.

"Ohh looks like I am right there aren't I." She chuckled. "I already know all about you two."

"Oh and pray tell us all about ourselves, would you?" Came an angry voice from the grumpy.

"Well since you have asked by 'praying' how could I deny! Oh, but what a loss, I mean first falling in love with your boss' twin daughters and then when he found out he had both of your PPs chopped. Your girlfriends ditched you both. Seeing no other way, you guys decided to buy a land in a secluded village like this and get married." Nishika explained bit by bit.

Vibhav fumed over her. "You little twerp, I am gonna kill you." Vibhav had his fists clenched and was ready for a strike.

However, Prayog firmly grasped his friend's hand, urging him to find his calm. "Please pardon my impulsive friend here. It's his first encounter with civilization, so I can't really blame him."

"She's really getting under my skin, you know," Vibhav grumbled, still seething with fury.

"Well, the sentiment is mutual," the girl retorted.

Sensing the conversation veering off track, Prayog decided to intervene. "Enough of that! Why don't we each share something about ourselves?" he suggested, positioning himself between them.

"I suppose I'll have to go easy on him," Nishika, the leader, remarked, gesturing towards the visibly irritated Vibhav. "But I won't disclose anything about myself unless you guys open up first," she added, casting her gaze outside.

While the trio conversed, the onlookers in the neighborhood couldn't help but stare, utterly perplexed by the unfolding scene.

The two visitors couldn't help but notice the attention directed their way. "Why have we suddenly become the center of focus in this neighborhood?" Vibhav inquired.

"That's because they're wondering how you can talk to me after rejecting their assistance when they tried to help you settle in the other day," Nishika promptly pointed out.

"Your social skills are certainly lacking, boss. Let's not forget about me," Vibhav retorted, seizing the opportunity.

"Well, it's better to err on the side of caution, considering where we come from. I'm amazed we've managed to retain our sanity. The logical outcome would be ending up in an asylum," Prayog replied with a gentle smile.

"The only reason we didn't end up in an asylum or worse is because we possess far greater power than they can handle. Nevertheless, it's still surprising," Vibhav sighed.

"Excuse me, but I feel neglected here," Nishika interjected with an angry expression.

"Haha, my apologies. You could say we're like investigators," Prayog shrugged nonchalantly.

"Like the ones in detective movies?" the young girl piped up.

"Something along those lines, but with a touch of the supernatural," Prayog replied, evoking an air of mystery.

"Oh like the ones who investigate ghosts and stuff?" The girl asked in excitement.

"Yeah definetly like that." He said.

"Hmm so I guess those rumours are wrong then!" She sighed.

"Damn right they are and you better not mention them in front of me again." Vibhav was at it again.

"Hey I didn't made up any of those rumours. I just compiled them thats all." Said she.

"So you have been trying to tell me that that was you taking a bunch of loadcrap and mixing it up in a big bullshit?" Vibhav was still on the edge.

"You should watch your mouth. Its not a good manner to speak such words!" She said while making a resting pose on her chair.

"And spouting a bunch of nonsense in front of someone just to irritate them into answering your question is a good manner?" He asked.

"Calm down you two." Interrupted Prayog.

"So young lady, since we are new in this village, would you like to be our guide?" He asked.

"If you say so, but only if you agree to return the favour by doing something for me." She said.

"And what would that be?" Prayog asked.

"I need you to find my mummy" She said with a said expression on her face.

"Well that's unexpected." Vibhav looked at his companion who had a different reaction to the matter.

"Find your mom?" Inquired Prayog. "What happened to her?"

"Some people say the 'Chudails' took her but I think she went inside the three trees." she said now in a gloomy voice like she was trying to remember something.

"What do you mean by 'the three trees?" asked Vibhav who was suddenly cool and calm.

"Don't you guys know?" she questioned.

"I am afraid not. But if you could tell us more about it, then we could most certainly help you find your mom." Said Prayog who was now listening intently.

"These are the trees which appear sometime in the forest which surrounds the village. But they are not your normal trees." She said.