Chapter
7: Warnings
Her
heart froze. Her breathing stopped. Her icy hands were wound around the phone,
gripping it so tightly that her knuckles turned an unearthly shade of white. It
couldn't be. He couldn't have said it.
"What?"
She asked, suddenly feeling suffocated. "What did you say?" Even as
her lips spoke the words, she knew the answer. The person in her vision. Arnav.
The car? Arnav's. And the accident? It was Arnav.
"Is
everything alright?" Came his voice. She couldn't respond. Her knees
buckled underneath her as she fell to the floor, still clinging onto the phone
as if her life depended on it.
It
was coming back. Happening all over again. Like a never ending nightmare. She
remembered Arjun. How, despite being able to see his accident, not being able
to stop it. It was happening once more. She closed her eyes, trying to tell
herself that this time, she would change the ending. This time, she would not
let him die.
"Hello,
Khushi? Are you ok?!" She heard his faint voice escape from the phone. She
had to remember the vision. Remember the clues.
The
accident would take place around late fall or early winter, judging by the
naked branches of the trees. That meant sometime in the next few months.
Then
there was the cliff.
Where
had she seen such a cliff? Hands trembling, she pressed it onto her ear.
"H-Hello?
Arnav ji? A-Are you planning to go out of town somewhere sometime soon...?
L-Like next month?"
Silence.
"Arnavji?"
And
then she heard him laugh. Her worry soon bubbled into anger. This was all deja
vu. Exactly as it had happened with Arjun. He had made fun of her. Exactly like
this. Told her to stop believing in the visions. Her hands clenched. And she
had been stupid enough to do just that.
She
felt tears line her eyes. She couldn’t let it happen again. “Arnav ji, I’m
scared. For you. And this is not helping! Please! You need to tell me!”
Silence.
And
then he responded. "I don't know Khushi. I mean, I'm always out of town
for business meetings and things like that.... It's hard to tell. But as far as
planning goes, no. I don't have plans to go anywhere in the near future."
Khushi
bit her lip. This wasn't helping any. She needed to know where the accident
would happen. She had to tell him. Not all of it. Just...she had to warn him.
"Look,
Arnavji. This might sound really stupid but I have no other way to say this.
Please Arnavji. Don't go out at night for the next few months. Please. At
least, nowhere where there are cliffs. And... stay sober." She pleaded.
She
didn't know why his safety was so important to her. But what had happened to
her husband... she wouldn't let it happen to anyone else.
His
reply was hesitant.
"...Alright.
I won't. But Khushi, will you please tell me what the hell is going on?!" She
closed her eyes, groaning, mentally. She had known this question would come up.
And it was to this question that she never knew how to respond.
"Consider
it a warning. The truth would sound too far-fetched anyways. You wouldn't
believe me. I...I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow Arnav ji.... Take
care...."
And
saying so she put the phone down at last.
Her
job was done. She had warned him. Now, whether he listened to her or not, was
all in his hands.
She
gave a silent prayer to the lord above, to protect him, before she stood up,
trying to steady herself.
