Pratiksha and Hetvi were going back home after college.Well their classes finished earlier than always so they were walking back home rather than their daily public transportation.They were walking when all of a sudden a boy came and collided with Hetvi and they both stumbled very hard that both the girls fell down on the road.

"Sorry....Sorryy ..!I didn't mean to hurt u guys.."the boy fumbled with his words seeing both of them glaring at him fiercely

"What sorry ....!Aankhein kya behan ke shaadi ke wakt usse dahej mein de diye?!"lashed out Pratiksha (Did u gave your eyes as dowry to your sister)

"Hein...?I don't have ...."he was cut off by Hetvi. "Nahi hai toh kyaa netradaan karke aaye ho yaa bech ke aaye ho apni aankhein jo bina dekhe aise humein lag gyi aapse?!"(Or have u donated your eyes to someone or worst u did u sell your eyes that u hurt us)

"Aapseee......?"Pratiksha exaggerated the word

"Okayy fine tumse...!Dekh ke chala karo tumm..! jaao ab chalo niklo yaha se...! Irritating fellow"said Hetvi hurriedly looking at Pratiksha who was 2 minutes away from bursting out (U should watch out while walking ..Now get lost from here..!)

The boy walked out .Hetvi looked at her friend for a second analyzing her but all of a sudden Pratiksha yelled"Aapse...!People like these don't deserve respect.They deserve a nice beating "glaring at Hetvi

"Accha sorry na....!Let it goo.Chal let's go and not spoil our mood "said hetvi trying to cheer her bestfriend.Both moved forward but Pratiksha was still frustrated

"Main na kasam se bohot try karti hu hetu ki main apne soft girl era mein rahu lekin ye neech log jab tak muh Tod dungi waala era bahar nahi laate hai inhein sukoon nahi milta hai . Bewakoof log."Burst out Pratiksha taking out all her frustration out(I swear I really try a lot to stay in my soft girl era but this wretched people are hell bent on making me re-enter my phase where I break everyone's face .Until then they won't get peace . Stupid people)

"Ho Gaya...!Ab shaant calm down Okayy...!Chal let's have ice cream hmm.."!said hetvi calming her Best friend (Are u done?Now calm down..)

They both had icecream together but saw it was still 2 hours for them to leave at regular time....!They started strolling in opposite direction.While walking down the road they saw an ambulance stopping near the crematorium next lane

"You know I am soo scared of crematorium..!It haunts me what if out of somewhere ghosts appear"exclaimed hetvi afraid

"You know you are scared of it until and unless u loose someone and see them being burned in front of your own eyes then this crematorium won't haunt u but your person's memories will"said Pratiksha sounding distant as her expression was somewhere distant lost in memory lane.

"It's Okayy..!Let's go.Its a rule everyone has to go some or other day and we just can't do anything"said hetvi trying to comfort her Best friend

"Hmm... Chalo let's goo"Sighed Pratiksha

"Well when it was new i didn't voice out but now after 1 week I want to know why did u do that to Eshank bhaiya"asked hetvi cautious

"See my intentions were pure ..!I didn't mean any harm it was him who made a scene out of the petty little thing "said Pratiksha dryly while rolling her eyes.

"Accha fine now where are we going? We roamed every nearby places in this 3 and half hour "asked hetvi trying to sound less tired

"Ab hum jaayenge ghar ..!Mera bed mujhe bula raha hai!"said Pratiksha dramatically (now we will go to our house. My bed is calling me)

"U know what u always do this.U run away like your husband and children are waiting for you"snapped hetvi done with her love for bed and sleep

"Areyy if not mine someone else's children and husband are waiting for me" said Pratiksha naughtily

"U know what u are mad ...!Akkal se paidal hai tuu...!"groaned hetvi done with her antics

They both walked back to Jha house as Hetvi's parents were out of town for a week ,so both sanghavi sisters were staying there.They both reached house and were shocked to see Singh's present there along with Hem's family .They were present to discuss about kirti and Atharva's engagement.

"What is this..?Achanak se ye log kyaa kar rahe hai yaha pe bhai?!"whispered hetvi to Pratiksha (What are they doing here all of a sudden?)

"Kyu aaye abhi yrr..!Mujhe sona tha but lagta hai aag lag gyi mere plan ko ...!Pakka tune hi nazar lagayi hai" whispered back Pratiksha dramatically to hetvi making a crying face.(Why are they here now?.I just wanted to sleep right now but I guess my plan is burned now.I feel u casted a evil eye on my plan.)

"Shut up ..!See your aunt is glaring us"whispered hetvi without looking at her.Her eyes fixed on Divya.They both straightened up as she signed them to freshen up and come back. They went to the room and Pratiksha sprawled on the bed and said hetvi to freshen up first .Hetvi sighed and went to bathroom ,after 15 minutes she emerged and saw Pratiksha sleeping .She shook her hard and pushed her down the bed to wake her up.

"Bhukamp aagya...!Heyy bhagwaan..!Bachao"said Pratiksha sleepily (Earthquake...!Ohh god. Save us please)

"Stop your drama and get up and freshen up or else aunty will throw us both out of the house"said hetvi irritatingly as she too was tired. Pratiksha freshened up soon and both went down. Just as everyone was drinking tea door bell rang . Pratiksha stood up to receive and went to door.She opened the door and saw eshank standing there.Eshank looked at her and smirked.

"What are u doing here?U can't enter inside my house. Hum aise bhi kisi nawabzaade(son of a prince)ko andar nahi lete.U know safety matters naa..Aise hi kisi aere gaire ko andar nahi le sakte hai hum soo byee..!"said Pratiksha angrily (We can't let any son of Prince enter inside the house..!Safety matters na .We can't let any nobody enter our house,so byee.)

"U really think I don't understand why are u soo hell bent on making me leave from here.I know u are running away from me ."said Eshank coldly

"Now...now... Now sweetheart where will u escape"smirked Eshank and entered inside while she stood mouth agape.

She turned and saw her aunt looking at her in confusion.

"Kyu nahi aane de rahi thi tum usse andar?"asked divya sternly(why were u not letting him in?)

"Areyy chachi ye vahi tamatar chor hai jisne meri tamatar chori karne ki koshish ki thi ..!Bola thaa na maine"replied Pratiksha reminding her of the day .(Aunt he is the one who tried to steal my tomato ..!Don't u remember?)

"Kuch bhi bolti hai tu aisa nahi ho sakta hai..!Chal andar chal pagal kahi ki"reprimanded divya before shaking her head and moving to living room.(U blabber anything. This is not possible!Come inside ..!Mad girl)

Soon everyone was seated in living room whereas Pratiksha was in her room and Eshank was on terrace attending a important call.

Near kitchen the electric board was emitting little sparks .And weird sounds were coming from it but it wasn't audible to people outside as they were engaged in conversation.The board continued emitting sparks .Here in living room Anil asked rishi to switch on the AC as they were feeling hot.

"Mumma where are my last year books..?I need it now!"asked Pratiksha to Avni entering living room.

"Andar waale room mein jaha pe newspaper ka bundle rakha hai..!Vahi pe rakha hai"answered Avni as she kept it last month after scolding her for using soo much space just for a single person's books.(It's inside the room where newspaper bundles are kept ,take it from there as I have kept it there)

"Hetu chal na dekhte hai..!"said Pratiksha to hetvi to which she gladly accepted as she too wanted to get out of the crowd .Both walked in the room and started searching for the books.Soon hetvi saw the books behind the newspapers bundle shelf .As she went near the bundle a pungent smell hit her nose.

"Bhai idhar aa dekh kaha se smell aa rhi h"hetvi told Pratiksha to come over (Bro come here and see where the bad smell is coming from). Pratiksha reached her and touched the newspaper bundle.

"See this newspaper is stinking. It's thinner ,it is drenched with thinner. Lets keep it outside.U go and keep it I will get the books see it's there."said Pratiksha showing her the shelf where books were kept

"Tu pakka aajayegi?"asked hetvi little concerned (U sure u will come by yourself)

"Nahi chaar kandhe lagenge "joked Pratiksha bursting out laughing at the absurdity of her own joke (no, I will need four shoulders)

"Shut up and stop this nonsense"said hetvi little angrily

"Okay my dear hetu ...!Aisa nahi hai na ki main yahi pe reh jaungi ya tujhe chhodke chali jaaungi kahi pe..! Chill yrr...!Mazak kar rahi thi...!U know I love u the most naa..!"said Pratiksha hugging hetvi from behind keeping her chin on her shoulder.(It isn't like that I will stay here only or I will go away leaving u anywhere.I was just joking)

"Okayy theek hai jaldi aana theek hai..?Ek piece mein hi aana with no scratches samjhi kyuki tujhe akele chhodo do minute ke liye bhi toh tu khudko chot laga leti hai..!Dhyaan se Okayy ..!I don't know mujhe ajeeb lag raha hai jaise kuch bura hone waala hai..!"said hetvi still convincing herself to calm down(Come soon okay..!Come in single piece with no scratches because as soon as we leave u alone for two minutes u get hurt out. Be careful..!I don't know why am I feeling as if something bad is about to happen )

"Areyy it might be because u are nervous as your in laws are here..!Don't think too much..!And If u want to overthink ,u can overthink about positive things too right"said Pratiksha convincing hetvi .Hetvi nodded and caressed her cheek

"Abey bhai main mar nahi rahi hu jo tu aise behave kar rahi hai"said Pratiksha laughing clearly taken aback by her friend's action(Bro I am not dying that u are behaving like this).Hetvi shook her head and went out with newspaper bundle and Pratiksha followed with another stack .Once they were out they kept the stack of newspapers near kitchen.Pratiksha went inside room again to get her books ,hetvi was about to follow her but kirti called her for help.

"She too needs help now only .I don't know why my instincts are saying something is wrong .should have went with her "muttered hetvi to herself under her breath looking clearly disturbed .Kirti and Vrushti noticing her expression looked at her concerned

"What's wrong hetvi ..!U look disturbed?"questioned vrushti keeping hands on her both shoulders .Kirti nodded waiting for her answer

"Nothing dii ...!It's just I feel something is going to happen "said hetvi trying to calm her nerves

"Nothing is going to happen ..!calm down Okayy "comforted vrushti side hugging her while kirti hugged her from another side and caressed her back.

"Kuch ajeeb si smell nahi aa rahi hai?" enquired vivan

"Koi smell nahi hai tujhe hi aati hai smell hamesha"replied rishi brushing his words (there is no smell ...!Only u get all the smell). Eshank to came down till now,he frowned as a strange smell hit his nostrils but shrugged of as nothing. Near the board a spark of fire fell on the newspaper stack which instantly burst into flames.Soon the fire spread and caught the curtain of kitchen.The smoke curled in air and Ayaan's eye caught the flames.He instinctively stood up.

"Aag lag gayi hai Ghar mein !"He shouted in alert and panic.Soon everyone followed his gaze and saw the fire spreading on the curtain of living room too..!Everyone rose on their toes.

"Everyone out...!Out of the house right now...!Let's goo"yelled Rajeev but he was late as fire spread wildly to the sofa and to the door...!Ayaan and Atharva exchanged glances and marched towards the main door and kicked it twice..thrice..four times...five times and at last the door broke and fell flat outside. Cautiously rishi led his mother,grandmother and aunt outside ,Whereas hem led kirti,hetvi,vrushti and rajeev led divya out,Anil led his wife Avni. In this chaos devika stumbled but Eshank held her hand firmly and pushed her near dev and shifted to side as the curtain near the window caught fire and it fell down ,Prerna and Radha with Hem's mother were in centre with their husbands and sons covering them,Soon everyone was out of the house ...Atharva instantly called hospital and ambulance arrived .

On the other side,in house .As soon as Pratiksha entered inside the room she slipped and fell down injuring her foot.Her feet was bleeding and she was unable to walk,she helped herself and tried to crawl out of the room but saw the flames in the room...!The fire spread violently in the room as there were paint containers and thinners .The door creaked and fell inside just near her feet.She yelled and crawled back...!She saw there was noone to help and pushed herself on her toes.

"Bappa help me please..!Kyaa karuu...!Mummaaaa....Papa ...Bhai koi hai help meee"she cried out in fear and agony.She somehow tried to get out of the room but her hand brushed against nail leading to scratch .Here,ambulance arrived as hospital was just 5 minutes away from home .Dadi has lost her consciousness due to smoke. Devika was hardly conscious clinging to dev and Vrushti unable to stand more...!She lost her balance but soon dev picked her up in his arms .He ushered her to ambulance where dadi was being taken to hospital ,he sat inside the ambulance with kirti and vrushti accompanying him.Every elder followed his lead where as singh siblings waited for fire brigade,hetvi was barely standing due to irritation of eyes something struck her and she opened her eyes with a jerk.

"Pratiksha..."she whispered. Eshank caught her whisper but didn't understand.

"What's wrong...?"Eshank enquired but all of a sudden something struck him .Both looked at each other wide eyed..!Eshank thought that they helped everyone out of the house except one...!

"Pratiksha is stuck inside".both of them spoke at the same time .Ayaan looked shocked whereas vivaan,Adhrit and kunal were scared . "We should wait for fire brigade"Atharva suggested.

"Are u mad bhaiya?How can we wait ..!We don't know how much time will fire brigade will take to reach here..!How can I forget about her..!She would be soo scared ...!My girl"cried out hetvi loudly while her knees buckled and she fell on the ground on her knees ,clutched her hairs .She took a deep breath and stood up.

"I am going to save her...!If u guys want to sit here and wait then suit yourself"said hetvi determined to save her friend at any cost .

"Stop and control yourself hetvi ...!Wait for fire brigade guys while I go inside and search for her"said Eshank firmly

"But bhaiya ..."Eshank cut her firmly"I said what I said!Don't u trust me hetvi?"said Eshank cupping her face.Hetvi nodded her head"She is in storeroom"she added

Eshank marched towards the house which was burnt badly .Gates were turned into ashes .He entered inside and went towards store room but a pillar collapsed in front of him and his arms caught fire,He walked further but what he saw shook him.

He saw Pratiksha emerging out of storeroom while limping ,hands bleeding and burnt badly her sleeves were burnt leaving her arm bare now stained with blood ,hairs disheveled ,eyes and nose red due to smoke .Tears running down her eyes but she stood strong ,her fire intact.She looked fragile yet stubborn.Her bloodied palms holding onto the woolen shawl she found from one of the room downstairs .She lifted her panic ,fear-filled eyes and her eyes landed on him .She sobbed in relief looking at him. She walked forward but the railing wrapped in fire fell down just between them.

The fire continued to consume them from all the side but Eshank's eyes were scanning the place trying to understand how to get away from there.His eyes landed on her who was trying to move from where she is standing as that place caught fire but her woolen shawl in that chaos came under her foot and slipped down."Stop don't try to bend down or you will burn yourself"Eshank shouted when he saw that she was trying to bend down to take that shawl.His eyes widened even more when he saw her foot was above burning curtain but she wasn't reacting much.He reached and pulled her by her wrist ,she collided with his chest and looked at him ,he wasn't looking at her but his arms were around her .He was busy finding way out when she saw that a pillar was about to fall on him to be precise on them from sideways .She pushed him to a safer side were there was lesser fire and shifted herself to another side unfortunately that side had too much fire spreading fastly .Half of the house was already starting to collapse ,fire caught her back due to which her clothes from backside burnt leaving her bare from back,she cried out in pain .Eshank saw her back burning, he instantly bent down and picked up the shawl and instantly draped around her,As soon as shawl touched her back she jerked in pain and pressed her lips in a thin line.Eshank quickly took her out from the left side window which was safe from fire. Hetvi and all the boys saw that Pratiksha was pressed to Eshank's chest sideways while his arms remained around her protectively resting on her back and waist .She was barely standing,As soon as they were out they saw everyone was waiting for them. Pratiksha in her half consciousness searched for her family but found no one .All she saw was her bestfriend and singh siblings.When she looked around she saw that her family was not around her.She felt abandoned by her own family .She felt a pang in her heart ,her body already hurting , bleeding from everywhere and now the hurt took a toll on her she collapsed on the ground .Eshank too was barely able to stand as smoke entered his lungs making it difficult for him to breath .His knees gave up he too collapsed beside her ,his arms still around her .Hetvi panicked but vivaan held her hand and asked her to be calm.Ayaan picked up Pratiksha in his arms while hem and kunal helped Eshank in the car.They were taken to the same hospital as devika and dadi were,they reached hospital and Ayaan stepped out of car with Pratiksha in arms and Hetvi on his trail.Nobody knew they were here,they were soo worried already so Ayaan suggested not to say anything to parents about Eshank .

"Pratiksha ke parents toh aa hi jayenge usse dhundhte hue"said kunal but hetvi knew better .(Pratiksha's parent will be here soon searching for her)

Night went in soo much stress...!Dadiji's lungs gave up due to smoke and she was on oxygen cylinder's support,while a good news came out that devika was pregnant. Here,Eshank hadn't gained his consciousness all night but early morning 4 o'clock clock he opened his eyes and doctors declared he was safe but the condition was not same with Pratiksha.She was in critical condition,due to excessive bleeding she lost too much blood and she needed blood urgently so hetvi donated her blood.Everyone was wounded little or not everyone's wound was attended,Ayaan had a little bandage on his arms,hetvi had a bandage on her forehead and palms ,while hem was safe whereas vivaan,kunal had small scratches to which ointment was applied. Jha family shifted to the other house arranged by Rishi urgently and dadi and devika were discharged ,Singh family accompanied them but Pratap was in hospital as he and Singh family came to know about Eshank .Pratap was with them..!

Evening came sooner than expected,where Pratiksha was discharged,Ayaan and Eshank along with hetvi went to drop her..She was walking with hetvi and Ayaan's support .Eshank rang the bell and kirti opened the gate and gasped looking at Pratiksha who was almost wrapped in bandage.

"Kaise lagi tujhe itni heyy bhagwaan Pratiksha bol na"Avni exclaimed looking at her situation(How did u get soo injured ...!Ohh godd ..!Speak something Pratiksha)

Everyone kept questioning her. Atlast Geetanjali lost her patience "Who do u think you are? Not even answering anyone?"sneered geetanjali irritatingly

"The forgotten child of this house! The one who everyone forgot that she exists.From yesterday did any of u thought where she is ?Noo no one did..!Khair nevermind"said Pratiksha plainly with no expression.

That's it for today ...!Thank u guys❤️