In the next morning Lucky was walking to home with a troop of 6-7 dogs when a large SUV pulled up beside her. She recognized it in an instant—it was KK's car. How could she ever forget it? If she could, she would have blown up this car long ago. But hearing about KK's wife had made her feel a bit sorry for him. That's why she had at least given up the idea of robbing his house. The car window rolled down, and KK looked outside. Like on the first day, he was wearing his blue sunglasses today.
"Seems like your workload has increased."
"Yes... If it continues at this pace, I'll have all the dogs of Palampur with me in a few days," Lucky replied with a light chuckle.
"Would you mind if I add a little more to your work?"
"What do you mean?" Lucky asked in confusion.
KK stepped out of the car and called out, "Bobby.. come here." And a cute little white doggie came out of the car.
"From tomorrow, you're responsible for this one too." Seeing Lucky's confusion, KK chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll pay you for this. After so many years, I've found a friend. You wouldn't meet me directly if I asked, so I thought, why not keep our meetings under the guise of a job."
For the first time in years, someone had called Lucky her friend. She was almost at a loss for words. Was she really that special to KK?
"If you're free this evening, shall we go out? It'll give us a chance to talk some more."
"Sure... but where shall we go?" Lucky asked in a dazed voice. In response, KK handed her a card.
"I'll be waiting for you at exactly 7 PM this evening." With that, he got back into his car and drove away. Lucky dropped all the dogs at their homes and returned to Mrs vadolas house. That evening. Mrs. Vadola had apparently thrown a kitty party at her house. Dozens of women from the neighborhood were present. Lucky knew most of them quite well because of her dogwalking job, and others because of her friendly nature. Since arriving here, Lucky had won almost everyone's heart.
"I heard KK got a new doggie," Mrs. Sharma asked while looking at her cards.
"Yes... I saw it too. My God, KK is so handsome. I wish my husband was like him," Mrs. Barua giggled in response.
Mrs. Vadola then looked at Lucky, "Why are you standing there? Come sit with us."
Lucky had been waiting for this moment. The cards were dealt again, and the game resumed. But those poor women had no idea that Lucky was a seasoned player of the game. After she won four games in a row, everyone folded their hands in defeat.
"I should get going. Tomorrow, I have to take KK's doggie for a walk too," Lucky said as she got up.
"You're working for KK too?" Mrs. Sharma looked at her in surprise, and Lucky nodded in affirmation.
"Lucky girl..."
"Not lucky... unlucky. Do you know, years ago, KK's wife Shruti jumped from the upper floor of his bungalow and committed suicide. It's been so many years, but that man hasn't remarried. After the accident, he locked that floor and never went there again. The maid who was working there a while back told me that she hears a woman crying from that floor. I think Shruti's soul still wanders there," Mrs. Barua said, and some of the other women agreed.
"Yes, I've also seen a shadow at the window of the upper floor a couple of times. It scared the life out of me. So I will advise you to stay away from there." She gave her a worried look.
Lucky couldn't help but laugh at all this. Does Ghosts really exists in this era? In her opinion no one could be a bigger ghost than humans. And anyway, most rumors that spread in the neighborhoods of the rich start at these kitty parties. But she didn't let it show on the outside.
"Don't worry, madam... even ghosts run away when they hear Lucky's name. But still, I'll stay away from the upper floor." Hearing her response, Mrs. Vadola and the other women seemed satisfied.
Upon entering her room, Lucky pulled out the gold ring from her jacket pocket, the one she had stolen from a woman's hand while playing the cards. A big smile formed on her lips automatically. Overall, the day had been quite good for her. She got another job, won a lot of money in a card game, and finally got her hands on this gold ring. She glanced at the clock. It was already 6 PM.
"Oh my God... I had to meet KK at 7 PM."
She immediately took out the card KK had given her from her pocket.
'Hotel Blue Moon...'
It was a very expensive hotel. Lucky looked at her clothes. As always, she was in her 'Girl in Black' attire. Going there in these clothes meant tarnishing her own dignity. People would see her less as KK's friend and more as a servant. In the end, with a heavy heart, she decided to spend the money she had won today. She went straight to the mall and bought a beautiful gown for today's evening. After fixing up her look, when she saw herself in the mirror, she whistled at her own reflection.
"Go on, Lucky... cast your spell on that handsone guy so he could gladly transfer his property in your name today."
At exactly 7 PM, she arrived at Hotel Blue Moon. Stepping out of the taxi, she looked around and spotted KK leaning against his car at some distance. He was talking to someone on the phone. But as soon as he saw Lucky, his gaze fixed on her.
"I'll talk to you later." With that, he quickly ended the call.
"You are looking beautiful..." He said with a smile, looking at Lucky from top to bottom.
"Thank you..." Lucky replied with a smile.
"Shall we go?"
Lucky nodded in agreement, and they both headed inside the hotel. As soon as they reached the entrance, the staff immediately stepped forward to open the door for them. As soon as Lucky entered, her eyes widened. It was the first time in her life she had stepped into a five-star hotel. The beautiful interior and the staff standing neatly for every little task made her wonder if she had made a mistake coming here with KK. What If she had to pay the bill? She might ended up cleaning the dishes here. The money she had won in the card game had all been spent on the new dress. Now she barely had a few rupees left. KK had already booked a table here.
"What will you have?" He asked, extending the menu card towards Lucky.
"Let me check." As soon as Lucky opened the menu card, she was taken aback. There where Dishes she had never even heard of. When she couldn't understand anything, she chose the cheap and best option as always. But even the cheapest dish on this menu card was about 2000 rupees. Even a cup of black coffee was more than 100 rupees.
"What happened? Didn't you like anything?"
Seeing the confusion on her face, KK waved his hand in front of her face. What could Lucky tell him? She didn't like the prices of these dishes?
"Give it to me... I'll order." Without saying anything, Lucky handed the menu back to him. KK started dictating the order to the waiter and ordered about five different dishes, none of which Lucky understood.
"Why are you so quiet? Didn't you like this place?" KK turned to her after the waiter left.
"I've never been to such a big hotel before." Lucky replied hesitantly, and a slight smile appeared on KK's lips.
"Why did you call me here to meet?"
"I just felt like having a chat with my new friend." He laughed. Lucky just kept looking at him. Today he looked quite different from the last time. He was wearing a shining black suit that suited him very well. Each strand of his neatly combed hair gave him an even more perfect look.
The waiter had now brought the order. Seeing so much food, Lucky was astonished. KK had also ordered a bottle of red wine and desserts. He poured wine into two glasses and extended one to Lucky. Lucky noticed that he was staring intently at her. At first, she thought KK's gaze was fixed on the lower part of her neck, which was visible due to the deep neckline of the gown, but then she followed his gaze, and her heart skipped a bit.
"Where did you get this ring from?" he asked, sipping from his glass of wine. She clenched her gown tightly with her other hand. How could she have made such a big mistake? This was the same ring she had stolen from Mrs. Barua's finger today.
Lucky was terribly panicked upon hearing KK's question. But she had ample experience dealing with such situations. So, maintaining her composure, she replied, "This... This was a gift from a friend of mine. Why are specially asking about it? Is there something special in this ring?"
KK glanced at Lucky and replied nonchalantly, "I had gifted the same ring to my wife... so.."
"Oh... I am really sorry... I heard about your wife.."
"It's... okay." KK quickly interrupted her, "Let's not talk about her."
"Okay... then let's talk about you." Lucky said, smiling as she picked up her glass of wine.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything.."
"I am from Jaipur. My parents were from there. I did my college studies in Mumbai. That's where I met Shruti. Then marriage and then..." He suddenly stopped. Lucky understood the silence, so she quickly changed the subject, "So, have you never thought about going back?"
"Jaipur? I often go there for work anyway. My wife had a small company here. After her demise, I became responsible for it. So, I frequently visit here. After all, what else do I have left besides her memories?" He refilled his glass as he spoke.
"Okay... enough about me. Now I want to know about you. Where is your family?"
"In Chandigarh. My aunt has taken care of me since I was a child. My parents left me alone when I was very young. I came here for my studies. But I don't want to put the burden of my education on my aunt, so I am doing a part-time job to meet my expenses." Lucky told a mix of half-truths and lies. Although KK seemed like a good man, she couldn't tell him that her real profession is thievery. During dinner, they both talked a lot. And KK paid the entire bill for the night, which made Lucky feel a bit regretful because the bill was thirty thousand. After dinner, when they both stepped out, it was quite late at night. The chill in the air had increased significantly. In the light of the street lamps along the road, their shadows stretched far and wide. Lucky was wearing high heels and a fancy gown for the first time. Walking in them was no less than a spacewalk for her. Suddenly, a small stone got under her heel, and she stumbled badly. But luckily, KK caught her in his arms.
"Thanks..." Lucky said, looking at KK with a bit of embarrassment. He looked at her for a few moments and then let go of her hand. After this awkward moment, they both walked silently go KK's car. KK drove her home and during the ride, there was complete silence between them.
-------
The next morning, when Lucky took the other dogs for a walk, she also thought of Bobby. KK had messaged her that he had to go out for some urgent work. But he had left Bobby in the garage so that she could easily take her for a walk. Bobby was the only female among all of the dogs. To avoid a situation of Third world was just because of a single stunning female doggy between the crowd of dogs Lucky decided to take her for a walk alone at the end. After dropping off all the dogs at their homes, Lucky reached KK's bungalow. KK had left the backyard door open. There was also a way to the garage from inside. Bobby was sitting there, chained, having her breakfast. Before leaving, KK had left breakfast and water for her so that she wouldn't face any problems. Seeing this a cute smile appeared on her lips. KK was indeed very caring. She grabbed Bobby's chain and as she was about to leave, her eyes caught a door. It was probably the back door of the house. KK's car was not in the garage, which meant he had gone far from home and it would take him a long time to return. It was a good opportunity for her to sneak into his house. Opening this door was not a big deal for her, was it?
Lucky took out her special key, and after some skilled moves, finally the door opened with ease. Lucky stepped inside. This door led her from the basement to the hall. There was no one in the house, and due to the lights being off, there was a dim light there. In the ground floor there were a hall, library, kitchen, and guest room which she had seen before when she came first time with tuffy. So she took the stairs and headed for the second floor. There were two large bedrooms. Lucky slowly opened the door and entered inside. The room was extremely beautiful. The walls here were adorned with colorful pictures. Windows had very beautiful curtains. In the whole house, this was the only place where Lucky felt as if someone else lived here. Otherwise, the rest of the house seemed to have a strange silence and emptiness. While glancing around, her gaze finally rested on a picture on the table. Lucky picked up the picture and looked at it closely. The picture seemed quite old. KK looked much younger in it. Along with him in this picture was a girl who had her arms around his neck. The girl was wearing a white suit and looked very beautiful with her hair open. For some reason, Lucky felt the girl's face was very familiar. She tried to remember by concentrating hard, but she couldn't recall anything. The picture in KK's bedroom made it clear that this was Shruti. Lucky was still looking at the picture when suddenly, the sound of someone's soft sobs caught her attention. Lucky was startled at first. Is there someone else present in this house? She came out of the room and listened those sobs carefully. The sound was coming from the upper floor. Lucky thought she should go up and check who is there? But then, remembering Mrs. Barua's words, her heart skipped a beat. "So, does Shruti's spirit is really wandering in this house?"