Blackout

Next morning they wake up pretending as if nothing happened last night. They came here to talk about things, to win back the love that got lost in the shades of doubts and fights. But it seems as if they became more distant. The mysteries behind this cottage, the secrets that Ishita is hiding, repel them from each other. It seems as if they are two worlds apart.

The day is clear and bright today. It is not raining. The autumn sky looks beautiful. It seems like a great day to go out.

"Go get fresh. We are going out today like I said yesterday", Neel says.

"Okay. Where would you like to go?" Ishita asks.

"You will see. I'm not going to say it now." Neel replies.

"I used to live here. I know the places better than you do. If you tell me, maybe I can be your tour guide." Ishita says.

"I do not need a tour guide dear. Please go, get ready." Neel requests.

While Ishita goes to take a shower, Neel feels guilty about not saying anything to her and pretending like everything is normal. He feels guilty about having doubts. He doesn't really want to have any second thoughts in his mind. All he wants to do is believe in her and love her. But how can he deny everything that has happened so far? He tries not to think about those things. He wants to give it one more try. He wants to talk to her and he wants to know about the secrets so that he can trust her again.

He does not realize how the times fly away when he is thinking. Ishita is getting ready. 

"I think you should have a shower as well." Ishita says while she is doing her hair. 

"Yeah, you're right." saying that Neel leaves with a towel.

After getting ready, they leave for the hill trip. On the way, they stop at the same cafe where they went yesterday. The place does not look as empty as it looked last night. People are there. After eating the food, they leave in the hope to have a good time and melt the cold. 

They go to Kempty falls. It is only 13 kilometers from Mussoorie. When they reach there, they find the place is very crowded. But the view is worth the crowd. Nice waterfall has created a beautiful sight of nature. They spend some quality time there, talk about good things and leave for the next destination. 

When they reach the hill stations, they get moved by the scenery. It seems as if the hill in the distance has dressed in blue color. It seems as if the different colors of the clouds have made an empire. Beautiful scenery like this is capable of attracting even the most boring eyes. Neel takes his phone out and takes some photos. Everything is nice. But somehow Ishita seems to be very absent as if she is not even there. As if she is reminiscing about some old memories. As if she is living in the past.

"Let's take a photo together." Neel says.

Ishita snaps back to reality when he says that. She takes a photo with him. Even though she is smiling, her smile seems absent in the photo just like her mind.

"You look pale. Are you alright?" Neel asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can we go somewhere else?" Ishita asks.

"Why? What are you running away from? Mind telling me?" Neel asks.

"I'm not running away from anything. Why are you asking such a question?" Ishita asks.

"It's because you seem very different to me since we got here. What's the matter?" Neel asks again.

"I'm still the same. It looks like you are overthinking about something." she replies.

"Let's go to Mussoorie Lake." Ishita says.

"Alright." Replies Neel.

When they reach the lake, time has surpassed a lot. 

"How do you feel?" Neel asks.

"I feel amazing. We should come more often here, you know", Ishita replies.

They both talk for a while and look at the beautiful surroundings. Neel realizes there is no hope at all. He will ask her questions and she will ignore the questions and lie. So he chooses to see nature as he sighs.

While they are standing beside the lake, a hill lady joins them. 

"The weather's nice today. What do you say?" Dhriti asks with a soft smile. 

"Yeah as long as it's not raining." Neel says.

"Is the beautiful lady your girlfriend?" Dhriti asks. 

"No, she is my wife." He replies.

Ishita does not feel interested to join in the conversation. She wants the hill lady to go away but Dhriti continues the conversation with Neel. She feels insecure and jealous but she does not say anything while Neel keeps talking to Dhriti.

One thing about the hill is you never know when it starts to rain again. And the sky starts to get cloudy. This time is no exception.

"It's getting cloudy. We should leave." Ishita says. 

Neel could understand she does not like him talking to Dhriti but he is a polite person. How could he stop a normal conversation? Honestly, he does not want to stop the conversation either. He feels tired of the secrets, lies and controlling behavior of Ishita. But all that comes out of his mouth is :

"You are right. We should go back", saying that they left.

She did not talk to him on the way. As soon as they reach the cottage, she starts to act jealous. He talks to her and tries to calm her down. He tells her that he loves her. She thinks "I wish I could trust you."

Neel kisses her lips while pulling her close. while he tries to make love to her, the vision of the man suddenly appears out of the blue and he feels very distracted. He pulls her away. 

"I'm sorry. I'm not feeling alright." Neel says to Ishita.

"It is funny how you flirted with that woman and now you don't want me. Maybe you took an interest in her instead." Ishita says.

"What are you talking about? I never flirted with her. That's not it. Since I got here, I've got a strange feeling about this cottage and the man in the photo…" Neel explains.

Neel knows Ishita can get a little possessive sometimes but after he explains, she tries to understand. But this time it is different. It is like he doesn't even know this lady. She becomes very aggressive.

"Men are the feathers of the same flock. I should not have given you a second chance." Ishita yells and she starts to speak disrespectfully.

"Second chance, what are you talking about? It is you who are keeping secrets. What happened between you and your cousin? What's the matter with this cottage?" Neel asks in anger.

"Did you figure it out?" She asks nervously.

"What is it? Can you tell me?" Neel asks.

"I wanted to trust you but you are the same. I'm getting a positive feeling about how you're going to cheat me and leave me soon." Ishita says.

"If you do not trust me, maybe we should get a divorce. And I'm tired of your lies and secrets", Neel says. 

With that being said, she leaves the cottage in a fury and she doesn't even notice that it is raining. Emotions are a strange thing. A good emotion can make you feel good about yourself and the people around you while a bad emotion like envy can lead you into doing something so dark.

Neel goes after her but he sees her nowhere around the cottage. How can she disappear this fast? Who is this woman? Is she the same woman who he once married?,Neel thinks. Is she the same woman who he wanted to trust? He regrets coming to this trip. Rain and the darkness has created a strange view. He wonders how everything comes to this while he is standing in pouring rain. Suddenly he feels something heavy hit very strongly behind his head. He touches his head and takes a look at his hand. He sees blood. He doesn't even have the energy to turn around and see who did this. Then everything is black out.