Waking up slowly from the deep slumber , they flutter their eyes open to see a pitch black room with no traces of sunlight . After doing the necessary morning routine and changing into some fresh set of clothes , they descend stairs one after another .
Carlos who woke up late today than usual was going through his social media when he see Emily running down the stairs . On the first glance of Carlos, she rushes towards him and starts blabbering about a plan she made during her shower . He starts laughing hysterically but stops when he gets to know it would mean a lot to Aastha . He has developed a sister-ly bond with her over the weeks and is ready to do a simple thing to make her happy but soon their good deal is turned into a shouting competition -
" HOW THE HELL CAN YOU DO THAT ?" Emily shouts standing up from the couch .
" I TRUST HIM " Carlos shouts back falling onto the couch .
" WHERE THE HELL DID YOUR SO-CALLED OVERPROTECTIVENESS GO ? OUT OF THE WINDOW !
" HE . IS . JUST . A . FRIEND " He shouts back emphasising each word .
" DAMN THAT FRIEND "
" Get some popcorn "
" Drama is about to start , of course " Aastha and Mia utters slumping onto a beanbag without tearing their eyes away from the scene . They are enjoying to a point they shouldn't though they don't care .
" HOW THE F**K CAN YOU ALLOW THAT ?"
" LANGUAGE !"
" ANSWER ?"
" AHH ... I HATE YOU "
" BE GLAD THE FEELING IS MUTUAL "
" YOU WON'T STOP , WOULD YOU ?"
" OF COURSE NOT "
" Here's the synopsis- LISTEN CAREFULLY , You guys were asleep and I couldn't take you up to the bedroom so I just asked him to carry one of you . IT WAS HIS CHOICE . Alright ? "
" YOU ALLOWED THE JERK TO CARRY ME UPSTAIRS !"
" A THANK YOU WOULD BE NICE , WON'T IT ?"
" Shut up , you two . We are trynna sleep here ?" Aastha states but it came out more like a question .
" As if ! You look as refreshed as ever to me "
" Oh , Darling , you won't understand - OUR souls are tired not the bodies " Mia says in a dreamy way and they all burst into a fit of laughter .
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Caressing the seats with warm hands , they come out of the car and head towards the house , no scratch that Mansion suits it a bit better . The house is humongous in size with probably every luxury and cozy thing inside ( they can only dream ) . The interior is designed in pastel and royal colours with indoor plants hanging inside .
Withouting knocking , they enter the big doors and are awe-struck to see the beautifully designed house with modern and ancient touches here and there .
" Aastha , you sure you don't mind staying alone with my brother ? " Liam questions entering the living room .
" Nah , I enjoy my company "
Emily , Mia and Carlos sit on different couches and Mia grabs an apple biting on it . Seeing this Carlos says sarcastically ," Ohh , Yes Yes ..... Please make yourself at home "
" Ahh , No need for the formalities!" Mia shots back waving it off easily .
It being an unknown agreement between them to not bring up the thought-changing events of yesterday and giving it a rest for the day or two .
" This property belongs to me now " Aastha says playfully eating grapes from the basket near .
" Do I look like an idiot ?"
" No , you are an idiot " Emily says glaring at him playfully .
" Mate , support me here "
" You are on your own this time around "
" Snitch !"
" Seriously, this mansion is beautiful and we love it " Mia praises, holding hands with none other than Carlos .
Soon , a beautiful woman in her late-forties , wearing some decent formal clothes enter inside with a 10 year old boy hiding behind her back . They fit unmistakably perfectly with the rich look aroundthem and makes a front page magazine cover .
No doubt , they are the small kid is the youngster of family and the women is Mrs.O'Brian .
All of them stands up to greet the newest members of living room .
" Hi , Mrs.O'Brian !"
" Greetings , Ma'am "
" I must say your home is Beautifulll !"
" Hey , mom ! All good ?" They greets politely and enthusiastically the last one coming from Carlos .
" Hii, kids ! Glad to meet you all . You all are lovely and thank you Carlos son I am good " She greets back smiling al them . She has always had a motherly aura around her .
In a minute or two she leaves them on their own as she has to do attend some important meeting .
" Sometimes , I wonder she likes you better than me "
" Of course, she does . After all I am more handsome and intelligent than you " Carlos replies shooting a pillow towards Liam .
" Get . Off . Your . Damn . High . Hoarse . " Liam shoots back the pillow which hits Carlos straight on the face .
" Alright , let's go !" Emily exclaims jumping on her feet .
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Soon all of them had to leave leaving Aastha and Timpu together for an hour . Aastha made small conversation with him and got to know he likes video games and adore dogs . Firstly , he seemed to answer glumly but later on he too enjoyed the wonderful company of Aastha and appreciated it as she is his first friend . Now , one of them is playing on PS5 and Nother one is as usual , reading .
" While entering the auditorium , Fire saw someone sitting at the fixed cement bench just near the main gate. Fire couldn't take his eyes off from this lost but naive creature. That was water. Water saw a stranger looking fearlessly at her. She tried well to hold the eye contact. But, she was probably a bit shy. Fire passed water and then he kept walking. After some minutes of walking, fire again saw water in front of her and found something special in her. At this point, some meters in front of water, fire realized that if he doesn't say hello to water, he would probably regret not doing that and will be thinking about her on his way back to his hostel room. He took his chance and kept walking towards water. He said hello while looking in her eyes and sat beside her on the other corner of the bench. Water probably didn't expect that she is going to be approached at that moment. She realised that she couldn't douse this fire and probably felt a bit anxious. Because of the presence of a stranger, water felt very uncomfortable and left saying hi. After some days, they met again and water called fire charming " Aastha was reading in between when the book is snatched away from her hands and she whines like a baby .
Quickly shutting her mouth with a hand, the unknown person pushes her towards the outdoors . She looks helplessly at Timpu though he is already looking at her probabbly controlling his laughter though failing miserably .
She closes her eyes for a minute to thunk of a plan when she something happens -
" SPLASH "
" OWWWWWWWW " Someone pushes her into the freezing cold water of the pool , she surfaces herself a second later and breathes out loudly .
The high-pitched laughs of people surround us who are laughing like there's no tomorrow . It didn't took a genius to know that they are the idiots she calls her friends.
" HAPPY HOLI " They shout in unison splashing water on her .
" You guys ..... knew ?" She says coming out of the pool .
" Of course, babes !"
As soon as she comes out Emily and Mia rushes forward and cover her all with gulal ( colours used in the festival of Holi ) , in her hair , her sheek , her face and even it even entered her mouth . This isn't how you play Holi .*She mentally rolls her eyes and pay them back by eagerly getting the colours from them and caressing their cheeks with it , happily muttering 'Happy Holi' .
As Holi can never be played nicely with friends , this one also turned dirty with everyone splashing water , pushing each other into pool , adding the colours in hair and turned into a huge mess .
" I thought you guys had something important " She mutters overwhelmed with feelings . She has thought that this year there won't be any fun as she isn't woth her parents but her friends made her forget all the worries .
" It was an illusion "
It has been one hellof a festival !