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“Sir aap pehle aaram ki jiye. Fhir baad main aap ki baat karwa dunga hamare malik se.” Danish said in a possessed voice looking straight. But this time he was not looking at Kabir, instead he looked at Misha.

 

I’d doubted when his eyes were engrossed on Misha. I saw Misha getting uncomfortable with his continuous staring. Misha walked towards Kabir and holds his arm tightly. Maybe she was trying to prove that her boyfriend is there to protect her. I could see a tiny effect of fear in Misha’s face and her rough lip that were shivering while gulping her throat.

 

“Tanushree, bellboy ko bulao.” Danish voiced possessed.

“Maine Rehmat ko bheja tha, par woh budha ho gaya hai. Har kaam der se karta hain.” Tanushree was simply copycat of Danish. Her voice had same possession.

 

I could feel this easily that hotel was definitely not, what it seems. The staffs are weird. Everyone talk so similar, it is too difficult to understand whether they are human or a ghost, as per the speculations media had spread in the form of rumours.

 

Rehmat Ali finally arrived with a bellboy. Finally, I could see a young tall wheatish boy. His uniform was blood color with a black pant, blood color sweater and a black bow towards his neck.

 

The nameplate on his uniform had a name, “Shankar Menon”. He was clean-shaved and his hair was gelled, just like Danish Singh.

                                                                                                                

He too didn’t smiled and was giving a serious look.

 

Danish: Shankar inn bacho ka saaman leke jaao aur inhe apna kamra dekhao.

 

Shankar Menon nods his head and bowed in front of us. He talked in a deadly serious tone, just as if he is possessed too, “Chaliye, aap ko apna kamra dekha deta hoon.” Every word he uttered slowly.

 

I gulped my throat and was about to walk. But, Kabir and Misha stopped me.

 

Kabir: Piya ruko.

 

I turned behind to see Kabir, who was still standing near the reception counter.

 

Me: Kya hua Kabir? Kamre main nahi jana hai?

Kabir: Nahi Piya. Abhi nahi. Ruko.

 

I paused while Kabir looked at Danish and talked to him, “Pehle mujhe iss hotel ke owner se baat karni hain. Unko bulao?”

 

Danish: Sir, main aap ki malik se meeting zarur karwa dunga. Pehle aap apne gile kapdo ko badal di jiye, isse pehle ke aap sab ko thand lag jaaye aur aap bimar pad jaaye.

 

When he said last sentence, he looked at Misha, Angad, Ruhi, Me and at last Kabir. Even though, his eyeballs were not moving, but his head moved while looking at us.

 

I realised that we all were wet and I was already shivering due to coldness. I could still hear the sound of lightning and the rain that was non-stop falling outside, visible through the open doors of hotel.

 

Kabir and all of us agreed to listen, as Danish promised to talk with his hotel owners and fix a meeting with us.

 

We walked from lobby area towards the upstairs. Ruhi had tightened her hands in Angad’s one-arm. But Kabir and Misha wasn’t scared anymore. They were walking normally just like me. The wrought iron staircase looked elegant. Everything on the second floor looked pin drop silence. The clicking sound was coming from our sandals, shoes while walking on the floor.

 

There was a woman in a pale grey flowery saree, who was wiping the floor with a long laminate flooring brush and a blue bucket filled with water. She turned back and stared at us but her hands were moving by holding flooring brush on the marble granite floor. Her wheatish dark skin blemishes towards the corner of her cheeks.

 

She was standing near the wall and without smiling, she simply stared at us. The nameplate on her saree was visible too. In the nameplate, her name was mentioned as, “Anita Rawat”

 

Suddenly, the bulbs on the second floor started flickering.

 

Ruhi got scared and she voiced shivering: Yeh bulb ko achanak kya ho gaya?

She was looking up on the ceilings where hanging bulbs were flickering.

 

Angad started consoling Ruhi: Kuch nahi baby, shayad bulb main problem hoga.

 

We all stared up at the ceiling. Unknowingly the corner of my eyes looked towards the sweeper who was busy looking at us. My eyes witnessed a soft smile at the corner of that woman’s lip. As if she was thinking something and smiled for a second.

 

Suddenly, the flickering of bulb stopped as if nothing happened. Ruhi was getting too much scared. We tried to calm her, but her emotions were out of control.

 

Kabir worriedly asked Shankar: Achanak bulb ko kya hua tha?

Shankar: Sir, ghabraiye mat. Yaha aksar barish main electricity jata hai.

Kabir: Generator nahi hain?

Shankar: Sir, generator chal raha hain abhi.

Kabir: Oh theek hain.

 

We all walked towards our room. Shankar Menon unlocked our rooms and gave keys to us.

 

Boys were in Two hundred and five, room number and we (girls) were in Two hundred and six, room number.

 

He left us in our room and then walked out, without taking any money from us. However, Misha offered but he rejected by saying that they don’t take money.

 

We felt a very professional treatment from him, though the staff looked different, but everyone was professional and soft-spoken, even if their voices were strange but no one gave back-answer, especially when Kabir lost his control and got angry on Tanushree and then at Danish.

 

The room was huge just like any five-star hotel rooms. I don’t know why this hotel has not given five-star ratings. The wooden double bed was broad in shape and we three can easily sleep on this bed. It integrated with bedside table, where a small elegant lamp adjusted on the table. Two candles lightened in the wall-attached table that was few inches away from bed. Two resting sofas, wooden table in the middle of the sofas. The room designed with marble flooring and two wind chimes hanging on the ceilings that were making noise continuously.

 

The balcony door was open, I walked towards balcony which was broad in size. The raindrops flew inside the balcony as the air passed through my way, drops dripped on my face, on my windcheater and I became wet.

 

Misha screamed from inside: Piya. Bahar kya kar rahi hai? Andar aaja, bheeg jaaogi aur fhir bimar paad jaaogi.

 

I laughed thinking in my mind: Itni toh bheeg chuki hoon.

 

However, she was right. As soon as she talked about illness, I started sneezing by holding my mouth with both the hands, so that Misha and Ruhi shouldn’t be infected because of me.