Shrouded in Mystery
Shrouded in Mystery
"I am told that my father was in the army before he died and left me all alone in the world," she said in an expressionless voice.
As a by-product of parents who were spies, Abhirath had been taught early on to evade and avoid all probing questions or their cunning follow-ups. He didn't know whether the girl was being genuine or not in her seemingly pitiable act. Either ways, he didn't care. The only person whom he wished to know in detail about, was sitting right next to him.
At his blatant disinterest in engaging into conversation, Vaishali also became quiet.
Mriga, who had been feigning sleep till now, raised her head sideways and whispered very softly in her partner's ear even with her eyes closed, "The girl seems to be showing some sort of interest in you. Look at you being so rude. You could have at least asked about her mother. I am so curious now!"
She didn't wait for his biting reply but slipped back into her previous position with a smirk on her lips. Abhirath shook his head helplessly at the mean girl. He wanted to flick her forehead so hard that a hole opened up there and he could pour some sense into it. Under normal circumstances, she would be the last one to understand or grasp such nuances. Then how come she over-read a one-sided conversation by another girl? So unfair!
Same night, Gurukul
Prithvi was pensive and stared moodily at nothingness while sitting in the dark room. Saraswati walked in with a lamp and a bowl of dal and rice. She knew that her boss was perturbed about something but as was the norm, she didn't ask.
Working for Suraksha Chakra was a matter of honour and she had undertaken all her tasks with great pride right from the start. But it was only when she was handpicked by Prithvi to be a part of his core team that she learnt the true meaning of brilliance. He was a true legend and despite spending a long period of time working closely under him, she was still stumped by his foresight and thoughts.
But tonight, he was troubled enough for it to filter through clearly.
"Guruji, you haven't eaten anything since morning. I got this delivered from the foodhall just now. It doesn't have any spice, just as you like it," she coaxed.
Prithvi exhaled heavily and pinched the space between his brows.
"I want you to go to the courier office tomorrow. Bring the man to meet me, the one whom we use once in a while for sending messages. Leave the tray here. You can leave now. There is a lot to prepare for the next round," with that, he shifted his gaze and went back to staring into thin air again.
Saraswati suppressed the sigh and went out, leaving the food tray near him.
Medical facility, Gurukul
Mriga stepped out of the clinic after a second change of her wound's dressing. Upon reaching the Gurukul earlier in the day, Abhirath had waited for her to finish with her bath and taken her to the Vaidya before he went up to his dorm to finally clean up. Mriga had slept like a log till 8 pm before Ishani had actually shaken her up and asked her to come along for dinner. Everyone had been wanting to meet her downstairs and were looking forward to a detailed account of the day's event.
Though Mriga wanted to sleep for another twenty hours, she had groaned and dragged her abused body down the steps. As soon as both the girls came out of the dorm, Abhirath had imperiously informed everyone that he and Mriga would see the others at the foodhall. Before anyone could react, he had held her forearm, mindful of the injuries on her hands and dragged her away.
At this moment, Mriga grunted at the stinging pain in her hands and looked at the bossy guy standing next to her.
"Are you happy now that the pain is back on my palms? Couldn't you have waited for me to eat my dinner peacefully before making me change the bandage," she cribbed.
"Ishani can feed you if you can't manage it on your own. But your hands need to heal as soon as possible. We don't know how much will you have to write in the upcoming written test. You have only two days between now and then. How can you be so blasé about it?" he sounded upset.
When the Vaidya had opened her bandages now, Abhirath could see the angry red pricks on the back of her hands and fingers. Due to the continuous activity in the day, the hands had been in use all the time. But now, they had swollen up to the size of potatoes. His heart was part hurting and part furious at this moment. But this girl couldn't be bothered and was treating the whole thing so lightly.
"There you go again… do you know that you nag like an old woman? But I am so tired right now that I can't be bothered to fight with you. Let's just go and eat," she said on a huff.
Suddenly, he felt contrite and wanted to make amends but couldn't find the right words.
"Yo… you were great in there today," he said after a beat.
Mriga had started to walk ahead of him but now stopped at his awkwardly spoken sentence. She knew that he wasn't the most eloquent when it came to giving a compliment but praise coming out of his mouth meant a big deal and she turned around to give him an impish smile.
"We made a fab team, right. If I become the QIT, I will make you part of my inner council," she told him with a laugh.