I want to hear the rest

Priya sneaked out of her hostel in the middle of the night. She had a scarf around her face as she quitely walked away from the metal gates. Her pace was quick as she looked suspiciously alert. She walked out to the road and hired a cab. As she got in she finally relaxed and removed her scarf. Her face perfectly depicted the disgust and envy inside her. Priya took out her phone and sent a message. She anxiously waited for the reply. How good it would feel if Vikram noticed her? Admired her beauty like he admired Visha's. Priya knew Visha was beautiful and that she could never compare to her in that aspect. The best she can do is to force her to leave or transfer. But maybe just a little bit of humiliation wasn't enough to do that. The phone finally buzzed. She picked it up and her lips curved upwards as a sinister smile covered her face. She got off near a dark alley and went inside. A man wearing a black hoodie looked around cautiously as he came to her. Priya took out a bundle of cash and he immediately snatched it. He looked around again to check as he took out a little packet and handed it to Priya.

"This better work." Priya warned.

"It will." He then turned around and left. Priya hurried back to her cab as she tightly clenched that packet in her hand.

***

Visha closed the door of her room and picked up her bag. She rummaged through it and pulled out a book. Visha stared at it for a while and then tossed it on her study table. She was fighting against the urge to read it. Whatever Dhira and Shivam told her today made no sense. Maybe they are part of some cult or they are crazy. They could be nerds or fanatics. How dare they call her mother a witch? But her mother was in that picture. Visha took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She doesn't believe what they said but it was just a book. Yes, she was going to read it for educational purposes. Visha sat down and picked up the book again. The title read- 'History of Witchcraft'. She started reading. It contained documentation of historical events in which witches were killed. Or woman who people thought were witches. And a detailed research about the myths surrounding witches and witchcraft. There were different practices among the witches. There was necromancy, spell casting, demonology, white magic, sacrificial and blood magic. The more Visha read the more interested she became. One page after another, one book after another. After the books, Visha sat on her laptop and read things online. All night she read about witches. And one thing stood out, there were no definite proofs but the myths have been around for centuries. It was a folklore some believed some didn't.

One thing was clear, Dhira and Shivam were believers. And Visha wasn't. But she still needed to know the connection between that picture and her mother. She couldn't imagine that her gentle sweet mother was like Dhira once. She won't believe them. But she could listen to what they had to say.

It was already morning, she got up and got ready to leave. She hurried downstairs. Her perfectly tied up in a bun with a white shirt and denim shorts complementing her well rounded body. She was unsure how to face her mother. Payal saw her come down and smiled at her.

"Have some breakfast before you leave." Visha nodded at her. She then went to Visha and kissed her forehead before leaving for work. Visha sat down and picked up her bowl of cereal. She had just heard that Payal was a witch. But maybe her mother just got involved with the wrong people when she was young. That is quite common in that age with everyone. Plus how could she be a witch? She cried her eyes out a few days ago just because Visha was a little late. There is no way she could have been like Dhira in any point of her life. Visha was determined to get to the bottom of this and clear her mother's name.

She went straight to Dhira's class and saw Shivam talking to her. They saw Visha standing outside and came out. Dhira was straight faced as always but Shivam greeted her with a warm smile.

"So, what did you decide?" Dhira asked firmly. Visha had found out that Dhira was not the small talk type. She was the quick efficient type who had no interest in following social norms. She always got straight to the point and not bounce around it.

"I am not in." Shivam sighed in disappointment when he heard that. Then he saw that Dhira was still looking at Visha. "But I want to hear the rest." Dhira thought for a while and then nodded. She could understand why Visha had chosen to stay neutral for now. She wouldn't have readily trusted anything like that either. In fact if Visha'd have agreed that might have made her suspicious.

"I hoped for you to change your mind so I had brought this." Dhira pulled out a worn out thin book. "These are some harmless beginner spells. Try them. Tell me if they worked." Visha hesitantly took it and nodded. Dhira smiled. She may have not achieved her goal. But she was a step closer to getting what she wanted.

***