Chapter 17 - Those eyes

" Aaah! I'm tired! " Ashmit groaned as he dragged his feet through the busy market streets. It was noon by the time they had actually even reached the market. The Sun was above them, shining brighter than ever and illuminating everything that lied under.

" The afternoon heat is crazy I tell you, we should really just skim through the important stuff and go back to the inn. "

Ashmit suggested the option for the third time in the last five minutes.

" Ashmit, I thought I told you already that if you complain one- more -time I'm gonna leave you behind here, possibly tied to one of the tenthouses. WITH NO FOOD!"

Aryan threatened,accentuating every word with a simultaneous pat on Ashmit's back.

" Ughh Fine! You say that but you'd never ACTUALLY leave me behind right?" The former meekly asked, now a little uncertain about his friend's intentions.

Aryan only gave him a pointed glare in response.

Darpan who had been walking right behind them was in charge of all the looking for quality stuff role. He made occasional stops at shops and looked for their ideal fit of a commodity. Of course a little haggling was also in order.

They had only managed to get one thing checked off the list so far- it being the silk sheets that Shashi somehow arranged for them and had it delivered to them before they left for the market.

' One more favour from Shashi-ji ' Darpan thought to himself , simply shaking his head.

" Bhaiyya! Look over there! " Aryan's voice rang out clear and loud even in the chaos of the marketplace. When Darpan turned his head towards the direction Aryan pointed ,he let out an audible gasp.

" Bhaiyya ,I'm sure we could get like almost everything in there. Let's go?"

Aryan seemingly questioned his brother who still seemed rooted to the spot.

" Aryan, I'm sure it's a wonderful store but....." Darpan trailed off gazing at the fancy shop- no, large store in front of them. It was a large brick-house modeled into a front-open store. There were bright lamps at the entrance , the wooden doors had beautiful chalk drawings on them beside the actual wood carving designs.

The doors were left quite largely ajar with a good view of the shop's attractions. The bluish light that seeped from the source somewhere within drowned the whole room in a sapphire glow making it look almost like a sight under water.The gold colour curtains framing the Terrace window and the front door in two layers and a huge sign that said

'Sabki Dukaan' ( A shop for everyone) that hung atop the front doorframe.

Aryan simply glanced at his brother , his eyebrows raised questioningly . " But What...? Are we short of money? Then we'll just go and inquire in there then... Seems good?"

Darpan shook his head,slightly hesitant.

" It's not that Aryan. But ..... that store looks a bit too fancy and ...weird. I mean that it looks a tiny bit sketchy...if you ask me."

He looked back towards the store , it didn't look creepy nor that visibly sketchy but Darpan just had a weird feeling. It stuck out like a sore thumb somehow even in the midst of all other colourful structures and people in the market. But what was more weird was even though it was not really far from the main market area, there was almost nobody around that store. If not for the glowing lights and open door he would have thought this was an abandoned building.

" Yeah. I mean sure it looks a bit odd, but you know what? Maa said you find treasures in the most odd places , ones that you never imagine. So maybe we could simply try?..... Also we've been walking for so long but no luck so far ; I personally don't think it would hurt to take a peek inside.."

Ashmit glanced at the older man for confirmation. The truth was he didn't actually care anymore at this point. Walking in the sun for so long had sucked the energy out of him. He was pretty sure Darpan wouldn't mind walking another few hours until he got what he looked for. He needed some rest and just breezing through the store wouldn't be so bad right now.

Aryan too pressed further. Darpan looked at the two younger guys looking at him expectantly. Ahh- the way they looked at him so innocently like a small puppy asking for a treat. It really tugged at his heart. Giving in, he finally nodded . The three soon stepped into the store. Darpan walked gingerly into the hall. The store was actually huge from the inside than it had looked. The first thing they saw was a huge hall with the right side occupied by cabinets filled with artifacts, sewing sets, charms, jewelry and all shiny stuff imaginable.

On the left was a wooden desk, things like papers ink and ribbons scattered here and there. Something that instantly caught Darpan's eye was a small crystal ball. He would have almost mistaken it to be the source of the light until he looked behind it to find a small lamp wrapped in a Neela* thin cloth. Whatever it may be, Darpan was finding this atmosphere a little uncomfortable.

" Woah! Look at this- Oh! It moves!"

Ashmit who was already near the cabinet exclaimed in surprise. A little wooden lion toy he was messing with started moving a little when turned a certain way. A lot of toys worked on keys like that. It shouldn't be weird right?

He looked around for Aryan who was engrossed in admiring the artwork on the ceiling. Sure the artwork was interesting and intricate but why was a huge indecipherable sign hanging from the ceiling? His attention now on something that looked like a wooden carving imitating a flame and some words written on it that he couldn't exactly read.

Aryan walked towards the cabinet ,his eyes scanning through all the items that were displayed. After messing around with one of the clay artifacts, he walked back towards his brother who still stood near the entrance.

" See? I told you it's a nice store. Seems like the owner is not here at the moment but I'm sure we can find something useful. "

Aryan nudged Darpan who still was hesitant to walk in further, especially in the absence of the owner.

" Aryan, the owner isn't here. But we shouldn't be walking in and touching objects like that. Not until we have permission. Call Ashmit back here."

He didn't feel uncomfortable anymore. The atmosphere in here was slowly getting more nicer for him but he still felt a different kind of weird. As if they've landed somewhere completely different than where they were.

Ashmit was soon by their side, pouting because he wanted to play with moving dolls some more. Just as they were discussing what to do from here, the door behind suddenly slammed shut.

The three couldn't process what was happening at first but ran to the door, trying to figure out a way to open it.

" Bhaiyya , the knob is stuck, it won't move!" Aryan cried out.

" Bhai! The door doesn't even have any other locks or chains!" Ashmit exclaimed.

" The door doesn't have a slit or open gaps either. It's shut completely!" Darpan sighed.

After a few futile attempts at opening the door, the three stepped back. Realization setting in that they've practically jumped into a hunter's net.

" I told you! It seemed too weird for its own good. Hell, it's super sketchy no matter how you look at it!" Darpan yelled, glaring at Aryan.

" But Bhai... Okay, listen. I'm sorry but how was I supposed to know that this thing would turn out so creepy?" He reasoned while knowing it was part of his fault that they're stuck here.

" What is this place though? And why are we stuck here? I've only heard of places like these in those stories Maa used to tell me.... You know....those ones with ..Chudail*.."

Ashmit spoke in a rather hushed tone as if worried that someone was listening to them.

" Seriously Ashmit? Chudail? You scared of that?.... They're not real! Why don't we focus on how to get out of here instead of whining about some supernatural stuff that doesn't exist" Aryan plopped down on the ground with a thud.

" I wasn't whining! I'm just... saying. You know stuff like this only happens in such stories.So why would we be locked in here without a reason? This seems pretty serious to me!" Ashmit retorted. They were in a scary situation right now. He didn't want to be used as a target for Aryan's anger. He was tired of being branded the coward of the group.

Aryan opened his mouth as if to say something but Darpan's glare shut him down.

" This isn't the time for this! We need to figure what exactly is even happening and why. For now though it seems like we need to stay here for the meantime."

Darpan leaned against the door, staring blankly at the entire view of the store in front of him. Sure they should be looking for ways to escape but .. was it really wise to barge into a territory where they don't know what lies? It was safe for the time being here in the hall, and all three men had somehow agreed on it without exchanging a word.

They had waited there for a few minutes before Ashmit's patience ran out. He got up , surprising both the distressed brothers.

" Cmon let's just go and see. We're wasting our time here anyway. If we keep sitting motionlessly like this, we might never be able to get out. Maybe we can find something of use!"

He said before turning towards the other rooms. But before he could step closer to the room, Darpan and Aryan had grabbed him by the shoulders.

" Ashmit! Are you insane? We don't know what's in there! You're going to get us in trouble!" Aryan yelled at him , pulling the former's arm harshly towards him.

" Ashmit, Aryan is right! We'll just wait a little longer. Let's just not do things recklessly okay?"

Darpan tried to pull him back. Never would he have expected Ashmit to be the brave one in such situations. Or maybe this stubbornness was to prove something.

" Alright. Tell me what are we waiting for? Who are we waiting for? We don't even know what predicament we have landed ourselves in! I'm tired and hungry. .....and sleepy! Weren't you guys telling me that Chudails are not real? Then why are we so scared of something that doesn't exist?"

Ashmit had managed to free his arms from the boys.

" It's not about that Ashmit! It's not necessarily something... supernatural you know! It could be evil people, humans! Either way, it's not wise to just put yourself in front of danger." Darpan patted his back soothingly.

Aryan simply glared at Ashmit . Darpan had started walking back right behind Aryan to where they previously sat.

However just as Ashmit proceeded to take a step, he felt something soft, furry underneath his feet; almost like a ball of flesh. Before he could even process anything, his feet lost their balance and leaning backwards,he was already falling.

Darpan and Aryan turned their heads back on hearing his surprised yelp but it was too late. Ashmit's back crashed hard onto the door of the first room,it swinging wide open upon the impact and Ashmit landing straight on the floor with a loud thud.

Darpan and Aryan rushed to their friend's side however what was in the room caught Darpan's attention. As Aryan helped Ashmit stand up, Darpan dazedly stepped into the room. Aryan and Ashmit weren't far behind as they too, entranced by the sight, slowly walked in.

The room was beautiful, glittery curtains, ribbons, colourful shawls and fabric occupied the cabinets on the left. The right side had a smaller cabinet filled with bottles of some kind. Each bottle made of glass: shining and glittering in different colours because of the light directly reflecting on it. The source of the light being a similar lamp to what they had seen before in the hall, wrapped with a thin Gulaabi* paper, covering the whole room in a soft,pinkish light.

The walls had been painted with some black ink , drawings consisted of some humanoid figures that progressed by each sequence; almost as if telling a story through pictures.

As if the colour and soft lovely lighting wasn't enough, there was a sweet sugary scent wafting through the air. It was kind of weird that as soon as they had walked in they were hit by this amazing smell, however the air outside the room hadn't been this nice.

But what really intrigued Darpan was the centerpiece of the room's design. Within the small colourful ,sweet smelling room, doused in a pink light ; there stood a large mirror that shone so bright as if it was the second sun and not glass.The mirror was huge , almost touching the ceiling and wide. It's rims painted golden with little silver flowers painted on the sides of the glass itself. In a room so full of colour, it still somehow stood out.

This time instead of Aryan and Ashmit, Darpan was the one really tempted to touch the piece. While the two younger guys were still busy adoring the scent and overall look of the room,Darpan's feet moved.

He stepped closer to the huge mirror that seemed like it was basically hypnotizing him. He was sure that this was wrong, he should not go around touching random things but his limbs wouldn't listen.

As he got closer and closer to the mirror, he saw something dark, something devoid of colour reflecting in it. That was odd since this room was basically the colour treasury itself, how could something monotone be reflecting there when there wasn't anything like that present to begin with? He wanted to stop and turn back but his body kept moving forward, and forward.

Then the figure turned.

It was brief but he was sure, he was super sure that he had seen those eyes before . The same pair of eyes he had seen this morning, no- actually he had seen it even before,yes! The person who he saw outside the window! In a flash , Darpan closed the distance towards the mirror but as soon as his finger touched the glass , a roar was heard echoing throughout the entire building.

" What are you rats doing here!!????"

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1. Chudail -In Hindi , Chudail can be used for various versions of female ghosts but most commonly is used for 'Witch'. So basically witches are called Chudails

2. Gulaabi- This word too , it literally means 'rosey' or 'rose-like' but it's used to denote the colour 'Pink '. So yeah the Pink colour in Hindi is called Gulaabi.