Sometimes instincts prove to be useful...but only sometimes.
6:45 AM. I was terribly bored.
I made an attempt to watch TV, but found nothing interesting...reading wasn’t my early morning preference, and I wasn’t hungry anymore. I browsed through all my social media apps, and liked all my friends’ posts. I was too nervous to style myself, so I changed into a simple blue shirt with sleeves folded till mid-way, accompanied my dark blue denims and white sneakers. I had no idea how long our ‘trip’ would last, so I packed a couple of outfits; probably for three to four days. If our mission extended, I would manage with traditional Rajasthani clothes from the local market; my favorite!
Opening the green phone-in-a-speech-bubble icon, I checked if he read my message. To my horror, there were no blue ticks at all!
“Hmph...how long do you sleep?!” I muttered under my breath. His last seen was at 2:03AM--well, what else do you expect when someone decides to transform into an owl and stay up all night!
Another change in plan
….I’m coming over….so get up!!
With that, I took my wallet, dumped an apple along with it into my sling bag, grabbed my suitcase, and stepped out of the door, ready to fight for justice!
…
I squirmed in my bed, ready to doze off once more under my covers. Last night had been a long one...Jannat had called the gang over; the gang that was formed during our MRP days...the gang that once consisted of her….There were times when I really missed her laughs and jokes whenever we met up...and I missed her more when I was alone at home...we used to frequently visit each other, always warmly welcomed by each other’s families. Checking the time on my side table clock, I realized it was just 6:50 AM; we still had a lot of time before I pick Roshni and head towards the airport. I tried to presume what the others might’ve been doing right now; Dad was an early riser; he must’ve headed for work by now. Mom might be on her two hour long morning walk and workout session. And my sisters might have reached school by now, leaving me in pure solitude.
I stretched in bed and let out a satisfied sigh and decided to sleep in till 8 AM....the day couldn’t get any better!
…
I stood right outside his door, clasping my hand around my hip as it hurt from the excess strain I put on myself. I wasn’t sure if he was alone; I knew his family members were early risers and went off to work; leaving him as the only abnormal one...but a lot had changed over these months. Trying to stay on the safe side, I resolved to ring the bell once. If no one opened, this meant Faisal was alone; probably sleeping. However, if I did hear someone approaching towards the main door, I would run and hide. A full-proof plan! I gave myself a pat-on-the-back before taking a deep breath and ringing the doorbell.
“Ding-dong!” It created a typical doorbell sound as I waited anxiously.
One second…..two seconds...three seconds…..four seconds….and five!
No one was home….except that sleepyhead! I knew his thoughts too well--I couldn’t hear him like yesterday--but I knew he would ignore morning doorbells; assuming the newspaper or milk delivery man. The only way to get in was through the secret passage built in his house, that would lead me to his room.
My feet slowly tiptoed towards his backyard, from where I could clearly see his bedroom window. I couldn’t remember how, or when Faisal and I came up with the idea of constructing a secret passage. We built this during our shoot days; after a lot of sacrifice on our personal time. Enacting the dangerous circumstances made us more cautious; and out of our weird craziness, we decided to make something secretive for emergency situations.
His backyard wall was filled with vibrant creepers, decked with beautiful flowers. It looked no less than an animated setting of a Disney movie, and the artificiality annoyed me. I carefully crouched to the ground, letting out a slight sigh in pain. I digged through the fertile soil on which the soft grass lay. My hip was probably cursing me for straining without proper treatment...but this had to be done, before it was too late.
After five minutes of constant digging and shuffling sand and mud, my hands touched a rough manhole, as my lips curved into a satisfying smile. I looked around, confirming no one was around. We planned on making our secret passage in a secluded area, and his backyard was a place people rarely passed through. Gently pulling off its lid, I slid inside--with my bags and my torch--I couldn’t leave any traces!
The darkness inside seemed very suffocating, as beads of perspiration soon formed on my forehead. I turned on my torch--so that I could conserve my phone’s battery-- and paved my way through the horizontal path, in between the filthy smell. Walking down the horizontal part was the easy section of our passage; it started from his backyard to right under his bedroom floor. In order to reach his room, we built an attached ladder on which we could climb. The struggle was climbing the ladder with a 10 kg backpack AND an injured hip.
It took me a lot a ‘Ahhs’ and ‘eehhs’ to finally climb the 10 meter ladder. Gosh, how tall could his house be?! I was right under his bedroom floor now, and I reached out to feel the rough manhole lid. As soon as I identified it, I knocked on it a couple of times until it got loose. Slowly, it slid with a creak, introducing the Arabian smell of his carpet. I pushed his carpet --with great difficulty--and landed up in his bedroom.
My hair ruffled, hands dirty with mud, and hip hurting intolerably.
And there he was squirming in bed, snoring peacefully!
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