In my Devil's Arms

Place: Forbidden Forest

Time : 2 A.M.

A creepy female figure was moving in the forest. Her face was covered. She wore a torn red saree. She had a kill in her hands. Some animal. She kept it near a hole under a babool tree.A slither came through and the kill disappeared. The woman floated away in air.

Time Morning 8A.M.

Place : Oberoi House

" Beta you need to rest. You look tired these days", said Ramcharan to Riya.

" I agree", said Vicky. " I am putting her under house arrest".

" Thanks", smiled Riya at them. " I did plan rest today", she said.

She just sat in a recliner reading Lily's diary.

" Rose is my twin but sometimes I just don't get her. Why does she have to go in that village when specifically told not to"

Research probably thoght Riya. She turned pages.

" I met Padmanabh Pundit today"

Riya was on high alert reading Pundit.

"Handsome and witty. Highly educated too. Studied at London but is also fluent in Sanskrit. I speak a bit of language too".

Riya read more about Padmanabh and then a paragraph caught her eye.

" I read Sushant Pundit's memoir today. About a massacre in their village. Its described vividly. I used it in my research"

RESEARCH..WHAT RESEARCH?

But Rose was the historian right..Not Lily..

She immediately called Shalini.

" Meet me in my house. I want everything on Lily Healey and Padmanabh. Bring that book too. I am at my home".

" Bad idea", said Shalini. " Your husband hates me around you".

" He'll live. You come", said Riya.

An hour later

" How did you know Lily", asked Riya to Shalini.

" She interviewed me. She was writing a book on famous Indian courtesans".

" Rose or Lily"?

" Rose", Shalini scrunched her nose. " That brat was good only for smoking and booze. And yeah easy money".

Riya showed her the book by Rose.

After reading Shalini said, " Little brat stole her sister's work. Only she could never fool Padmanabh. He knew who his wife was. He could tell with eyes closed".

SHE FONDLY REMEMBERED THE PAIR.

" Show me the book", said Riya.

Riya quickly went through some pages.

Reincarnation this word caught her eye and she started reading....

Padmanabh wrote,

" Ever thought you were someone else in some other life in some other time. Time is relative. I am living an another life right now in some other world. But then how do we know? Dreams, Visions..."

Riya could so relate to him. She came to know about Gunjan similarly.

Further he wrote;

" I am so drawn to her like moth to flame. She has an identical twin but I can tell them apart. My visions intensified on meeting her. I see Kashi. I see us happy. But then I see her burning in flames. And I walk in."

The book fell from Riya's hands.

Gautam and Aditi..

" What else you know on them", she asked frantically. " Where they lived? Any kids? What happened to Rose? I heard she stayed in India too. And married an Indian boy".

" Impossible. Witch was as racist as they come", said Shalini. " Calling us servants and coloured animals. Lily was the one whom Padmanabh married. She sent me a photograph of her marriage too".

" Did she umm ever enquired about Chandbai", asked Riya.

" Yeah she has seen her portrait at the palace", said Shalini.

" And", she asked.

" I did not tell her much", she replied. " Where are you going with this"?

In reply Riya just ran and got Lily's diary.

" I can't stop myself. I belong to Padmanabh ", wrote Lily.

" I don't know what you are searching but a record was kept on British people in India back then. Actually freedom struggle was gaining ground and they felt unsafe. Any record on sisters would have been kept", said Shalini.

" How could I get them", asked Riya.

" Through archives in history. Very little chance but worth a try", she said. Then smiling deviously Shalini said,

" I have a client there. Your work is done".

Later

Thanks to Shalini they got in. As they searched Rose and Lily they found that Lily died in a train accident.

" Rose", said Riya.

" Marries Padmanabh Pundit", Shalini was stunned to read it.

" IMPOSSIBLE "she said. " He would never marry anbody except Lily."

Riya searched for any next of kin. But she got nothing.

They came back completely confused.

Evening

As Vikram walked in the house in the evening; Riya was sleeping on a chair with lamp on. Her hairs were in disray and she was in work clothes. He pursed his lips. He picked his wife up and gently laid her on bed. Then switched off the lamp. He removed the tight dress on her. Her eyes fluttered open. And she looked at him.

" Vicky", she moaned softly.

He smooched her. She kissed him back.

" Didn't I ask you to rest Hmmm", he said firmly.

She knew he was angry.

" I found a clue on Gautam and Aditi", she said directly on point.

" What clue", asked Vicky.

" Both of them were reborn too. And met again falling in love. But she died again".

" Okay that makes no sense. Lets have some caffeine inside ourselves and then we taļk", he said.

" Okay", she giggled.

" Fancy a bath", he smiled deviously.

She nodded shyly. He picked her up again.

" Oouuuch you devil", she yelped.

But he effectively slenced her lips with his.

😘😘

It took a lot of time for both of them to come for tea and snacks for OBVIOUS REASONS...

" Now tell", he said munching a cookie as he sipped his black coffee.

" Rose Healey was a British historian. She married and lived in India. She married in Pundit clan", said Riya.

" I know Padmanabh", Vicky said.

She was shocked..

" You, how"?

" Met him just like Alok and Vishnu. I was searching for a way to end my life. I had a few weapons from which I was hit while practicing. Thought any of them could be passed down ", he said.

" I am sorry", said Riya.

Vicky just shrugged. Both Ram and Riya knew he still wished to be a mortal.

" Padmanabh was a learned man. And it was Lily whom he married not Rose. Rose died", said Vicky.

" You are sure about it", asked Riya.

" Agni got them married. So yeah", he said.

" But records", she said.

" I manipulated them", he confessed.

" But why"?

" Rose got along with bad crowd. She tried to steal her work", he said.

" Padmanabh ", asked Riya.

But Vicky shook his head. " No love lost between him and Rose".

" So what happened", she asked.

" She was a historian and she entered that forest. Her husband who was her bpyfriend back then was speculative. He met Agni one day and he expressed concerns. He confessed his feelings too. He knew his parents will throw him off. SO I MET HIM".

" He knew about you", asked Riya.

" I told him", confessed Vicky. " Well as it happened Rose lured Lily in that castle and she was attacked. I followed with him. A fight happened and the evil escaped but Rose was dead. Lily killed her", said Vicky.

" But why"? Riya was shocked.

" She tried to kill him", said Vicky.

" A historian's death in a freak accident was more plausible story. So I told her to swap places. And Rose remorseful of her sister's loss turns a historian. They married and Agni told them to disappear. So you can't find a kin".

" You know where they are", she asked.

" London", he answered. " Why"?

AND THEN IT WAS HER TURN TO SHOCK HIM

" They were Gautam and Aditi reincarnated. And he came back in his own kin", she said.

She showed him a sentence from his book. Padmanabh wrote

" Life comes a full circle".