CHAPTER - 9

As promised to Vinay,Akash escorted Ananya and Natasha home safely after the sun set.After reaching home,Vinay happily welcomed them and then asked,”To dargah ghum kar aayi?Peer baba ka aashirwaad liya?”Natasha nodded her head and then replied,”Ji uncle humne unse aashirwaad bhi liya aur unhone hume bohot saare gol gol baate bhi kahi hai jo hume bilkul bhi samajhme nehi aaya.”Vinay laughed and replied,”Ha hamaare peer baba thore isi type ke hai,vo hamesha thora ghuma phira kar hi baat karte hai.Khair ye sab choro!!Tum dono Akash se to miley honge na?Matlab I introduced you but abhi tum sab ek saath gaye the to tum dono ne thik se baat vaat to ki hogi.Hai na?”Ananya looked at him with the corner of his eyes and then said to Vinay,”Ha uncle bohot achche se jaan pehchaan ho gayi hai aur ek cheez maine jaani hai inke baare mein inka bheja na inke dimaag ke diameter se zyaada bara hai isliye akalmandi to inke dimaag se tapak tapak kar geerti hai.”She made a face to Akash and Natasha and Vinay both understood that she was mocking at him and Vinay guessed that something might have happened between Ananya and Akash or Akash might have teased her which made her angry since from childhood Ananya used to be very angry if anyone teased her.Vinay smiled thinking about Ananya’s childhood and he made a fake angry face and asked Akash,”Akash tumne meri pari ko kya kaha?”Akash made an innocent face and said,”Meri aisi koi majaal jo main yuvraani ji se kuch kahu.”He looked at Ananya for a second and found that she was standing very proudly and too with a happy face seeing Akash getting scolded and thought that even after being a princess,she had a heart of a small child and then he said to Vinay,”Main to bas inse bohot achche se baat karne ki koshish karta hu lekin ye hamesha samajhti hai ke main inko chirhaa raha hu.”Ananya raged with anger and asked,”Kyu tumne hume ye nehi kaha hai ke hamaara upar waala maala khaali hai?Hum bewakuf hai hume yuvraani nehi hona chahiye tha?”Vinay made a face of being shocked and asked,”Akash tumne meri pari se aise baat ki?”Ananya said to Vinay,”Ha ha uncle daato daato inhe.”Ananya was asking Vinay to scold Akash in such a way as a child asks her father to scold the one when someone takes away his/her candy.Akash replied,”Maine aapse bas itna kaha tha ke Natashaji aapse zyaada samajhdaar hai varna aapke to naak par gussa chara rehta hai.Ab yuvraani ko itna gussa thore hi shobha deta hai aakhir aapko thande dimaag se bohot saare important faisle lene parte hai.Ab bataiye uncle kya maine kuch galat kaha hai?”Ananya looked angrily at Akash and Vinay agreed to him and said,”Vaise pari ye baat to bilkul sahi hai ab tum yuvraani banne ja rahi ho to in sab baato ka to tumhe dhyaan rakhna hi chahiye hai na.”Akash was smiling in a teasing way looking at Ananya which was making her all more angry.Akash then came forward and said,”Vaise main yuvraani ji ke baare mein ek aur cheez prove kar sakta hu aur vo ye hai ke inke na Kanpur mein hartaal hai.”Ananya looked confused and asked to Natasha and Vinay,”Kanpur mein hartaal matlab?”Natasha pressed her lips and then replied,”Matlab ye hai ke...tum behri ho.”Ananya yelled at Akash’s face,”Kya kaha?”Akash looked at Ananya at first and then at Natasha followed by Vinay and then he walked upto them passing Ananya and said,”Hence proved!!”Vinay and Natasha both looked at Ananya’s innocent face and then burst out into laughter and guessing what could be Ananya’s reaction,Akash ran away from there.

                                                                                                Akash went to his room took a shower and then opened his laptop to have a chat with Neil.He already had asked Neil to be online.The convo :-

A :- “Hey dude!!Wassup??”

N :- “Kuch nehi chachu,vohi jo bagal waale ghar ki khoon ki pyaasi rehti hai na jo hamesha laal kapre pehenti hai vo aapke baare mein puch rahi thi ke bohot dino se aapko dekha nehi hai,blah blah and all.Abhi abhi isko set karke aaya hu.God!!She’s so annoying...By the way any recent news?Vaise na maine aapki jungle waali baat na ghar mein kisiko nehi bataayi hai varna daadi vo to wahi aa jaati aapko lene ke liye.”

A :- “I know,isiliye to main tujhpar hi sabse zyaada bharosa karta hu na us ghar mein.Vaise aaj ek bohot ajeeb baat hui,guess what,aaj us mahal ke raj parivaar waale yaha aaye.Vo jo raja hai na unki bhatiji ki shaadi karaane aur unke saath do larkiya bhi hai,unme se ek rajgaddi ki waaris hai aur dusri dulhan hai.”

N :- (who was excited) “Photo nikaali unki?”

A :- (he gave an obvious smile) “Of course!!Bagal mein larkiya ho aur main photo na nikaalu aisa kabhi ho sakta hai kya.Maine tujhe send bhi ki hai dekh zara.”

N :- (after checking) “Inme se jo white dress waali hai vo aapki nayi setting hai.Hai na?”

In the picture Ananya was wearing white and Natasha was wearing pink.

A :- “Setting...nehi hai,bas achchi lagi hai thats it.”

N :- “Right!!Bagal mein khubsurat larki hai aur aap line nehi maaroge aisa to kabhi ho hi nehi sakta hai aur in dono mein sabse khubsurat vo white waali hi hai.”

A :- “Ye blue waali dulhan hai aur ye white waali hai hamaari yuvraani ji.Itni nakhre waali hai na ke kya bolu?Aur gussa to inke naak mein rehta hai.Isey pataane mein mehnat lagegi main bol raha hu.”

N :- (becoming very happy) “Wow!!Koi maamuli larki nehi seedha princess par haath maar liya?Vaise na jo larki aapke so called charm se nehi pati hai to usme kuch baat to hai aur main 100% sure hu ke vohi meri chachi banegi.”

A :- (made a face) “Neilu watch your language yaar!!Kitni gandi zabaan bolta hai tu.”

N :- “Aaphise seekha hai,aap to mujhse bhi zyaada gaye guzre the meri umar mein.Aapko kya lagta hai mujhe nehi pata hai ke aapne meri umar mein school mein pehla love letter likha tha phir aap na papa ke vajah se us larki ke bhai se peetne se bache ho.”

A :- (made an agry face) “Achcha achcha thik hai,apna muh bandh kar.Main chalta hu main bore ho raha h uteri shakal dekh kar.”

N :- “Same here!!!Isse achcha meri chachi se baat karwa dena.”

Saying he shut down his laptop without saying bye to Neil.After switching off the laptop,Akash half lied down lazily and said,”Yaar vaise galti uski nehi hai,agar koi itni khubsurat ho to show off karna to banta hi hai na.”Just then the servant entered Akash’s room with a tray of glass containing juice and said,”Bhaiyaji ye lo aampanne ka juice,pee kar dekho yaha ke mausam ke liye na ekdam sahi hai.”Akash took the glass and took a sip and then closed his eyes to enjoy the taste and appreciated it and said,”Whah!!Mazaa aa gaya bilkul hi!!”The boy smiled and replied,”Vo yuvraaniji aur rajkunwariji hai na unke saath jo rehne vaaste aayi hai unhone banaya hai.”Akash then asked him to sit but the boy didn’t and Akash forcefully made him sit and said,”Arey yaar main koi tumhaara maalik thore hi hu to mujhse kyu sharma rahe ho?Achcha ek baat batao yaha jo tum kaam karte ho to tumhe tankha to zarur milti hogi.Hai na?”The boy replied,”Ji bhaiyaji mahine ke 5000 rupiye mil jaave hai manne.”Akash took out his wallet and then took out a 500 rupees note and showed that to the boy and his eyes glittered brightly and then Akash said,”Tumhe pata hai tumhaari bohot achchi kamaai ho sakti hai.Ye lo mere taraf se bakshish.”The boy took the money and then in order to make sure that he had really got a new 500 rupees note,he checked it carefully and then he suddenly became serious and said,”Na bhaiyaji na,babuji kehte hai ke bina mehnat ke paise haraam hove hai aur aise paise lene se paap lage hai.”Akash held his hand and said,”Arey nehi ye paise to main apne khushi se de raha hu tumhe.Rakhlo!!”The boy looked at Akash very curiously and then said,”Maare babuji ye bhi kehte hai ke koi bina vajah hamaare liye kuch na kare hai aur vo bhi aaj ke zamaane mein.Jab aapne manne paise diye hai to bina vajah to na diye honge,boliye ke kaam karaana chahte hai aap maare se?”Akash gave a big smiled and then pulled the boy’s cheeks and said,”Tum kitne akalmand ho,zyaada mushkil kaam nehi hai,bas aaj na aadhi raat ke baad jab sab gehri neend mein honge tab tumhe mere liye darwaaza kholna parega kyuki mujhe bahaar jaana hai.”The boy was surprised and asked,”Bahaar kathe jaano hai aapne aur vo bhi aadhe raat ke baad?”Akash replied,”Bas ye samajhlo ke manne kaam hai aur vo bhi zaruri waala.Tum apne baare mein socho,main jab bhi kahunga agar tumne mere liye aadhi raat ko darwaaza khola to tumhe har baar isi tarah ek 500 rupiye ka note milega.Sochlo?”The boy thought about it,at one side he was scared what if he gets caught and on the other side he could not restrict himself from getting money.But his greed for money won and so he looked at Akash and asked,”Aap lautoge kiswaqt?”Akash replied,”Raat ko kareeb 1 baje ko darwaaza kholna aur 4 baje main laut aaunga.Bolo kar sakte ho?”The boy replied,”Thik hai manne manjur hai.Bas je baat na to aap kisiko bataaoge aur naahi main.”Akash grabbed the boy’s hand and shook it and said,”Deal!!Meri taraf se pakka hai!”The boy agreed to Akash’s proposal and then left from there.After he left,Akash said,”Mujhe is mahal ke andar jaana hi parega.Aakhir mujhe bhi to pata chale ke ye mahal ka raaz kya hai.Jab churail mera kuch bigaar nehi sakti hai to jaane mein kya harj hai?”Akash smiled at himself.

                                                                                             On the other side,Ananya was sitting on her bed in her room and was showing Natasha’s wedding attire to her and said,”Dekho it may appear a bit old fashioned but after all tum princess ho to humne ye royal dress design kiya hai tumhaare liye and it even has glass pieces.”Natasha was very happy seeing her dress and the design given by Ananya overwhelmed her and she said,”Wow!!Ananya it is awesome,humne kabhi sapne mein bhi nehi socha tha ke hamaari shaadi ka joda itna khubsurat hoga.Thanks a lot Ananya aur sach mein tumse behtar mera joda aur koi bana bhi nehi sakta tha.”Ananya smiled and replied,”Thanks a lot and thank God too ke tumhe ye dress pasand aaya varna humne to socha tha ke tumhe ye dress pasand aayega bhi ya nehi.Achcha ek kaam karo,ek baar try karke dekhlo ke fittings thik hai ya nehi.”Natasha went to her room to check on the fittings and returned after a few minutes and Ananya was awestruck seeing Natasha in her dress and said,”Wow Natasha you are looking damn gorgeous.Hum keh rahe hai jab tum mandap mein bethogi na to dulhe ki nazar tum par se hategi hi nehi.”Natasha blushed but then in a careless manner she replied,”Rohit ki nazar vaise bhi hum par se kabhi nehi hathti hai.Vo bara hi patnivrata type hai,you know one woman man types.”Ananya folded her lips and raised her brows in appreciation and said,”Arey waah!!Matlab apne hone waale husband ko tumne abhi se hi botal mein utaar liya?Kya bbaat hai!!Iam so proud of you Nats!!”Just then Akash knocked in their room and asked,from the doorstep,”Agar ijaazat ho to kya andar aa sakta hu?”Ananya,looked at the door and with that view of Akash’s face,Ananya’s whole mood spoiled and she immediately answered,”Nehi tumhe ijaazat nehi hai andar aane ki.”Natasha glared at Ananya and then asked Akash to come inside.On entering inside,his eyes fall on Natasha in her royal wedding dress and Akash,in a praising tone,said,”Wow!!Natasha aap to bohot khubsurat lag rahi hai apni shaadi ke libaaz mein.”Ananya eyed him and asked,”Aapka yaha kyu aana hua?”He replied,”Well...uh main yaha ye dekhne aaya tha ke do mohtarmaayein hamaare desh mein padhaari hai vo thik thak hai ya nehi.”Ananya gave a fake smile and then replied,”Ha hum yaha thik hai aur bohot khush hai,abhi aap ja sakte hai.”Natasha angrily said to Ananya,”Ananya you’re being very rude!!Asal mein mehmaan ye hai,hamaara to ye apna ghar hai aur tumhe yuvraani hote huye aise mehmaan ki beizzati karna shobha nehi deta hai inhe dekho kitne politely tumse baat kar rahe hai.”Akash put his hands on the pockets of his trouser and then with a naughty smile said,”Rehne dijiye raajkunwari ji,khubsurat larki ka rude hona...it does match with the image aur upar se ye to yuvraaniji hai.Kyu main thik keh raha hu na yuvraaniji?”Ananya looked at him angrily and then turned her face away from him.Natasha said to Ananya,”Ananya iski fittings bilkul thik hai,main abhi change karke aati hu.”When Natasha left from there,Akash asked Ananya,”Vaise yuvraaniji chota muh bari baat to hai par phir bhi puch hi leta hu,jahatak mujhe Natashaji ne bataya tha ke aap unse bari hai,actually apne generation,aap hi sabse bari behen hai to Natashaji to shaadi kar rahi hai,to aap shaadi kyu nehi kar leti?”Ananya’s expression changed and with blank look towards the outside of the window,she replied,”Sabki kismat mein sab kuch nehi hota hai,usi tarah se hamaari kismat mein shaadi nehi hai aur vaise bhi...”She gave him a stern look and said,”Ye hamaara neeji maamla hai aur is baare mein sawaal karne ka aapko koi haq nehi hai.Aap apne hadh mein rahiye.”Akash raised both his hands in a surrendering way and said,”Okay Iam really very sorry!!Vaise aap to jaanti hai na ke aapke mahal ko lekar kaisi kaisi abvaahe hai aur khaaskar ye bhi sunne mein aaya hai ke mahal aur uske peeche jo jungle hai waha churail hai.”Ananya glared at Akash and said,”Vo sab jhut nehi hai,sab kuch sach hai.Humne bhale hi kabhi na dekha ho,par hamaare rajparivaar ke har sadasyo ko is dardnaak sach ka ehsaas hai aur hum sab isey maante bhi hai kyuki humne aur hamaare purey parivaar ne ek bhayanaak sach ko sirf dekha hi nehi balki jeeya bhi hai.”By that time,Natasha returned with the wedding dress in her hand which she gave back to Ananya and said,”Ye lo,isey tumhi rakkho hum baad mein tumse le lenge.”Ananya stretched her hands to take it and while giving it back to Ananya,Natasha’s finger pricked with the glass pieces attached to the dress and she squeezed with pain.Blood was oozing out slowly and seeing that Ananya panicked and was behaving like complete mad.Her hands were shaking and she was looking horrified on seeing blood and this was not unnoticed by Akash and he was very surprised at her behaviour.Ananya held Natasha’s finger and said,”Tumhe kuch nehi hoga Natasha hum hai na,hum tumhe kuch nehi hone denge.”Natasha replied,”Ananya chota sa ghaao hai hume pata hai hume kuch nehi hoga,you just don’t panick.”Ananya yelled,”Kaise kuch nehi hoga?Kitna saara khoon beh raha hai dekho.Par tum na daro mat Natasha hum abhi first aid lekar aate hai tumhaare liye.”Ananya ran from her room to bring first aid for Natasha and Akash put his handkerchief over Ananya’s finger and seeing that typical behaviour of Ananya,Akash asked Natasha,”Inhe kya hua?Aise paagalo ke tarah kyu behave kar rahi thi?Maamuli si chot hi to hai.”Natasha looked at the door to see whether anyone was there or not and then said to Akash,”Actually vo kya hai na ke...Ananya ko ek bimaari hai jisme vo aksar neend mein barbaraati hai kyuki usko burey sapne aate hai,hamesha aisa nehi hota par kabhi kabhi hota hai aur na usko neend mein chalne ki bhi bimaari hai.Neend mein chalte huye vo kya karti hai usko ye baat subhe yaad nehi rehta hai.Ananya ke paas na canary birds the,ek baar kya hua,raat ko neend mein chalte huye usne un canary birds ko berehmi se maar diya aur agle din subhe dekha ke uske haatho mein khoon laga hua hai aur uske canary birds mare parey hai aur tabse khoon dekhne bhar se hi vo paagal ho jaati hai aur pata nehi kyu is haadse ke baad se hi Ananya ko hamesha ye mehsoos hota hai ke vo dheere dheere puri tarah se paagal ho jaayegi aur ek din vo mar jaayegi.Asal mein ye hamaare khaandaan mein pehle bhi ho chuka hai,hamaare pardadaji ko bhi aisi hi bimaari thi aur unhone ek din chat se kood kar apni jaan de di.”Akash was stunned on hearing about Ananya’s illness and then he said,”Sorry mujhe itna sab unke baare mein nehi pata tha aur main khaamakha mein unko itna pareshaan karta hu.”Natasha said,”Nehi nehi balki hume to khushi hai jo aap usko pareshaan karte hai,kamsekam isi vajah se thori der ke liye hi sahi uska dhyaan to bhatka rehta hai varna vo to hamesha yu udaas hi rehti hai.”After that,in a confused tone,he asked,”Par sleepwalking to bohot logo ko hi hoti hai aise mein unko ye dar kyu lagta hai ke vo mar jaayengi?Ab aap logo ki riyaasat to in that sense rahi bhi nehi jo aapke dushman aapko maar daale.To phir?”Natasha swallowed the lump formed in her throat and then said,”Asal mein...aapne to shaayad suna hi hoga yaha aane ke baad ke hamaare mahal ko ek shraap laga hua hai vo bhi aaj se nehi kayi saalo se aur isi vajah se hamaare khaandaan mein bohot saare untimed natural aur unnatural deaths bhi huye hai.Us shraap ke mutaabik,hamaare khaandaan mein...”Just then she heard footsteps and found that Ananya entering her room with a first aid box and so Natasha immediately whipered to Akash,”Ananya se is baare mein koi baat mat karna.”Akash blinked his eyes in assurance and then Ananya tied Natasha’s finger with a bandage and then Akash looked at Ananya for sometime and thought a person who has a heart like a child also consists of immense pain which can’t be explained by words.

                                                                                            After the dinner,Akash opened the scholar’s diary and thought that today he had to read from the diary as he didn’t get proper time to read it.He opened the diary and read a few pages and found that it was written only about the village,about its people and about thepalace and jungle.It also consisted of the story of fear in the village and the curse placed on the royal family of Vijaygarh but nothing was mentioned about the story of the curse.After sometime,he started feeling very sleepy and so he closed the diary and to take a small nap,he closed his eyes.Slowly he fall asleep and he too didn’t have the idea for how long he had been sleeping but with the ticking sound of the alarm of his digital watch,which he had preset for his last minute arrangement,the almost jumped under his skin and looked at the time and found that it was 12.45 am.Akash was stunned as the dizziness of his sleep was working on his brain but he shook his head hard and then got down from the bed.He immediately got ready within 15 minutes and took a torch and also his gun with him for safety.He came out of his room and then looked everywhere whether there was any trace of anyone and finally being assured,he closed his door from outside and and very carefully and without making any sound came downstairs as he had trained like that in the academy.After coming out in the veranda,he found the servant waiting for him.Seeing him,Akash praised his punctuality and said,”Arey vaah mere sher time ke to bare pakke ho yaar!!”The servant angrily replied,”Bhaiyaji main kabse aapke liye yaha khara hua hu aur aap hai ke aap neeche hi na aa rahe ho.”Akash bit his tongue and said,”Sorry yaar thori aakh lag gayi thi.”The servant then opened the main door for Akash and when he got out,he said,”Bhaiyaji jaldi jaldi aa jaana bakhat rehte hi varna manne daat paregi.”Akash put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and said,”Don’t worry main aa jaaunga 4 baje tak.”Saying that Akash left from there.Akash was walking down the street straight away very carefully with his torch and continuously monitoring the time and said to himself,”Usdin aadhi raat ke baad gaya tha jungle mein aur churail mata ke darshan ho gaye pata nehi aaj mahal mein jaakar kya dekhunga.Bacha lena bhagwaan.”After walking for sometime,the tower of the palace slowly started to become clear in front of his eyes.After walking for at least 10 minutes more,Akash finally was standing in front of the famous or infamous the Great Palace of Vijaygarh,about whom he had been hearing since he entered Vijaygarh.It was a huge palace covering a huge area.He stood there for sometime looking at the palace and thinking about the mystery associated with it but the thing which actually interested him was the curse due to which the people of Vijaygarh were so scared.He remembered about the peer baba’s words,which he once told him that the palace was bearing the curse for tormenting an innocent and the once strong walls of the palace still had the fade stains of an innocent blood.The palace was really looking like a haunted one,like a demon which would devour anyone who would try to unveil its deadly secrets.Akash said,”Sahi hai yaar darna chahiye logo ko bilkul hi Hollywood ke horror movies jaisa hai.Agar yaha kisi bollywood horror film ki shooting ho jaaye na to usey Oscar mein jaane se koi nehi rok sakta hai.”He looked at the gate and found that it was locked and so he decided to climb up the gate since there would be no one guarding the palace at night especially.He grabbed the torch with his mouth and then started climbing the gate and finally he could reach inside the gate.

                                                                                              When Akash jumped inside the gate of the palace,it appeared as if the dark skies went darker and a wind started blowing all over in the environment.Akash could easily hear the sound of crickets as if they were pleading him not to go inside the palace but as it was said that we can run away but we can’t hide from our destiny,just like that Akash too started walking inside.When he finally stepped inside the main door of the palace some bats flew away and to save himself from them he covered his face.When the bats flew away,he started walking again inside the palace and tried to open the main door way but could not since it was locked with a big and heavy lock and he didn’t use any means to open the door,since after some days,the palace will be opened so he started thinking of findng another way out to get inside the palace.It was always said that if we search with all our heart,even God is available so just like that Akash too found a way to reach inside and that too was a very easy way through the ladder which was probably left by the workers who were fixing the backyard of the palace.Though the ladder was not a very high one but still it was more than enough to serve the purpose for Akash.He put the ladder leaned in the support of a wall and climbed.After reaching the dead end,he found that the relling of the balcony was almost a hand away from his fingers.He tried and tried to reach upto the relling and in that process he raised his feet and the ladder under his feet started shivering as the bamboo portion of the ladder on which Akash was standing was becoming unable to take Akash’s weight and it was going to break soon.On seeing that,Akash tried to reach the balcony relling with all his strength just then suddenly...something...something very strange happened with him.He felt like he was floating in the air and the ladder under his feet suddenly vanished and it appeared as if someone...some unseen force was trying to help him to climb the relling.He looked downstairs and found that he was floating in the air indeed and the ladder had fallen in the ground.Akash started feeling very thirsty out of fear and was feeling that his whole body was paralysed and he could not feel anything.Just then...just then Akash’s hand was grabbed by someones’ firm hand and that hand pulled Akash upto the relling.On finally getting climbed up on the other side of the balcony,as soon as his feet touched the floor,he put on his torch and looked forward and found that there was no one in front of him and Akash was boggled thinking who might have helped him to pull him out and with that one thought he could easily hear his heart beats.At one moment,Akash thought of running away but at the next moment,he remembered that the ladder has fallen and there was no way out except to face it whatever it comes.He swallowed the lump formed inside his throat and then was about to give a step ahead –

Tere dil mein thikaana rahe umr bhar...

Tere dil mein thikaana rahe umr bhar...

Phir kisi aashiyaane ki parvaah nehi...

Ae meri zindagi tu mere saath hai...

With that one voice,Akash felt like banging his head on the walls of the palace and cursing himself for coming there that too at night time.He said to himself,”Meri matti maari gayi thi jo main yaha is waqt aaya hu.Khair abhi to peeche nehi mud sakte ho.”Akash started walking and found that the walls of the palace were covered with spider webs and though their condition was not very good but still the foundation was too strong to fall down abruptly.He found a door which leads probably to the first floor but was still closed from inside and so Akash started for something to break the glass of the door thinking since it is a very very old building and above all,rumoured to be haunted,so no one will doubt anyone of trespassing.He searched a found a piece of wood and just the moment,he was about to break the glass of the door to slip his hand inside and open the lock,giving him a huge blow of shock,there was a thundering sound of opening a very old door and the door opened by itself.Akash was really scared this time because all these things were not natural but was happening right in front of his eyes as if an unseen entity was helping Akash and was trying to let him inside.Akash was not willing to get inside,at least his conscious brain didn’t want to but his heart had now smelled a mystery without solving which he won’t be able to rest.Akash took a deep breath and then gave a step inside and as soon as he stepped inside,the door closed down immediately.He was deeply scared without limits but still he carried himself on and started walking through the corridor and found that it consisted of many big bedrooms,may be of royal figures.While walking suddenly the door of a room opened automatically and Akash was startled with the sound of the opening of the door.He looked at the direction of the sound and found that a ray of white light was coming through that door.Akash followed that ray of light and then walked towards that door.As soon as he stood in front of that door,he was stunned almost screamed with fear to find a man,almost of Akash’s own age was standing in front of a portrait and a white ray of light emitting from his body.As soon as Akash stepped inside the room,the man turned towards him and gave an innocent and content smile as if he was waiting for him.Akash could feel that his legs were shivering and the man said –

“Daro mat main tumhe kuch nehi karunga kyuki mujhe to tumhaara hi intezaar tha,aaj se nehi kayi sadiyo se kyuki tumhi ho jo mujhe is duniya se mukti dila sakte ho.Main yaha se jaana chahta hu aur tumhaare alaava koi hamaari madat nehi kar sakta hai,par ye...”

He pointed at the portrait but Akash could not see anything due to the bright light emitting from the man’s body and the man continued –

“Ye hai ke ye yaha se jaana hi nehi chahti kyuki iske sar par badle ka bhoot sawaar hai,jabtak is raj gharaane ke aakhri insaan ko vo maar nehi degi vo chain se nehi bethegi.Usey sirf aur sirf tum rok sakte ho.Hamaari madat karo...meri madat karo...”

The man moved away from in front of the portrait and the scene which unfolded in front of his eyes,made a strong man like Akash to dash on the floor ad he looked horrified towards the portrait.The only reason of his horror was that the portrait which was hung in the walls of the palace,was of none other than the woman whom Akash met in the forest,the well known ghost of Vijaygarh,but unlike her ghastly features,she was looking extremely beautiful in her portrait and her name was dug in the portrait which glowed like fire –

Rajkunwari Neelakshi Pratap Singh Rathore...