Chapter 4 Oh, he's our neighbour

Madhulika slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was the face of someone bending towards her.

"Stop whatever you are doing!" She yelled and spranged up from the bed.

"Miss, are you okay?" The man asked.

She stared at him from his head to his toe and that was when it dawned on her that the man was a doctor. She could tell from his outfit.

She looked around the room and started wondering why she was there. "What am I doing here?" She asked the doctor.

"How are you feeling now?" The doctor asked, ignoring her question.

"I am fine" She replied, patiently waiting for him to answer the question she had asked.

"Good to know. You passed out at the market and someone called an ambulance" He told her.

"Pass out?" She began recalling what happened. How she went to the market to buy foodstuffs, how she bumped into 'the guy', how her stuffs fell down, her conversation with the guy and finally when she passed out.

She gasped recalling the money she had used to buy the foodstuffs was her last personal savings.

She had her own personal savings and another one which Kashika and her were saving to pay the rent. The one she used was the last of her personal saving.

"Lord why?" She mumbled to herself. "So doctor, what's wrong with me? Why did I pass out?".

"You were stressed out. It is advisable for you to stop overthinking, it's might cause you headaches. You should also do well to rest" He advised.

Speaking of rest, she instantly recalled she had to be somewhere at that time.

"Thank you doctor" She said in a rush and walked away quickly.

"Hey!" The doctor called and ran after her.

She stopped walking and turned to him. "Are you referring to me?" She asked and he nodded.

He brought out a pen and a sheet of paper, wrote something on it and gave it to her.

"This is a prescription, get the drugs written and make sure to take it" He said.

"Okay doctor, thanks so much" She said and resumed walking.

*****

Liam opened the door to his apartment and then walked inside.

He was supposed to head back to work but he didn't cause he was tired, he decided to just go home and relax.

He kept the bags he was holding on the table and sat down on the bed.

He chuckled when he remembered how those men threatened him with the cops.

The men were quite surprised when he didn't get arrested.

*

FLASHBACK

Liam stood still with his hands still folded on his chest.

He would have walked away from the men but he was sure they wouldn't let him pass. They were ready to do anything to hold him till the arrival of the police.

The man made a call and in no time the sound of sirens could be heard.

The police car parked in front of them and three cops stepped out of it.

"Adhikaaree, aane ke lie dhanyavaad. yah aadamee hai" (Officer, thanks for coming. This is the man) The man who had called the cops said to them, pointing at Liam.

"sach mein kya hua. kya tumane ladakee ke saath aisa kuchh kiya?" (What really happened? Did you do something to the girl?) One of the cops asked.

From the way he was looking at him, Liam could tell the cop was referring to him.

"I don't understand what you are saying" Liam said.

The cops stared at each other. Even though some of them didn't hear what he said, they knew the language he was speaking - English.

Fortunately, one of the three could hear and speak, as he had traveled to an English country during the time of his training to be an IPS officer.

"So you are not from India. Your looks says it all tho... What happened to the girl?" He asked.

"I don't know. We bumped into each other and her things fell down, she was at the point of crying cause of her stuffs that was wasted on the floor. We were still talking when she held her head and passed out all of a sudden" Liam explained.

"These men think you did something to her, that's what they told us" The cop said.

"If you don't believe me you can ask around. I didn't even touch her, how on earth did I harm her" He said, dipping his hand in his pocket. He brought out an Identity card and showed it to the cop. "I am not some irresponsible dude doing shit".

The cop looked at the card for some time and then sighed.

He turned to the other two cops and said something to them in Hindi.

One of the two walked to the stores around and after some minutes, he came back.

"vah sahee hai" (He's right) He said to the one who could speak English.

"Sorry for misunderstanding you. I think she passed out because of her health issues... You are free to go" He said.

The man who had called the cops (The one who spoke English to Liam earlier) walked away in anger.

Liam faced the remaining men. "Fuck you all, jobless niggas" He said and walked away.

The men stared at each other, wondering what he said to them.

They decided to ask the cop. "usane kya kaha?" (What did he say).

The cop looked at the men and smiled knowingly.

"unhonne aap logon kee taareeph kee. unhonne kaha ki aap log achchhe naagarik hain, ki aap vaastav mein apane saathee vyaktiyon kee paravaah karate hain aur isalie aapane hamen bulaaya. use aapaka saahas pasand hai" (He complimented you guys. He said you guys are good citizens, that you really care about your fellow persons and that was why you called us. He likes your courage) He told them another thing.

That was his own way of making them pay for wasting his time and that of the colleagues.

They didn't know what really happened, yet they called the cops and wasted their time.

The men grinned, some revealing their not complete teeth.

"ham isake lie kuchh bhee karenge" (We will do anything for our country) One of the men smiled.

*

End of FLASHBACK*

Liam knew he wouldn't get arrested cause he did nothing wrong. And if things didn't go well, he would call his boss.

His mind went to the health of the girl and he couldn't help but wonder how she was doing.

*Why are you so callous? You threw away someone's only meal and all you can do is ask if the person is insane?* He recalled her words.

"Only meal?" He muttered. "If only I know her house".

As soon as he made that statement, his mind flashed back to the day he arrived India.

He had knocked on a wrong door, a girl had ushered her in, then inside the house he met the girl who he bumped into.

He immediately stood up. "We are neighbors, how come I didn't think about it all these while".

The reason they both hadn't seen each at the house was because Liam lives invisibly. He goes to work so early in the morning, and come back late at night.

He had an idea; To go to her house and give her money to replace the foodstuffs. But what if she doesn't takes the money? He thought.

For someone like her, he knew she was the kind of girl that likes proving tough. Definitely she wouldn't accept the money.

"If it's her only meal as she had said, I need to persuade her" He muttered.

He looked at the bags he had dropped on the table and then went for it.

He carried it and went out of the room.

He headed to the room. He could still remember it, it wasn't far from his.

He got to the doorstep and dropped the bags on the floor. He began knocking.

He knocked for few minutes and his knuckles began hurting.

Meanwhile, inside the apartment only Divya was around, but she was in a deep sleep.

*

Kashika pouted when her packet of chips was grabbed away from her by Shruti.

"Give it back, we bought it same time, I wasn't the one who told you to finish yours on time" She said and began dragging it from Shruti.

"It's not my fault that I want more" Shruti whined.

Both of them began dragging for the chips and the chips fell on the floor.

They looked at each other's face and began laughing.

"It is better than you eating it" Kashika stuck at her tongue.

They resumed walking.

"Wicked witch" Shruti frowned playfully.

"And is there a witch that isn't wicked?" Kashika chuckled.

"Maybe" Shruti smiled.

"Our business hasn't been moving lately. If only we went to Adyita's party today I am sure we would have met some rich men" Shruti said.

"Sorry we couldn't go because of me. It's all that witch's fault for showing up" Kashika wiped her mouth with her palm in order to remove the chips crumb from her mouth, if there was actually any.

"Salma" Shruti chuckled.

They entered the big compound and Shruti immediately held Kashika's hand, stopping her from walking further.

"What is it?" Kashika didn't know why Shruti grabbed her hand like that all of a sudden.

"Someone is in front of your apartment" Shruti informed her.

She looked up and really someone was there.

The couldn't see the face of the person cause he was backing them, but from his posture they could tell he was a male.

"I should check who it is" Kashika tried to walk forward but Shruti dragged her back.

"What if Salma sent him?" They all knew Salma to be an unpredictable human, no one could tell her next move.

"Why would Salma send just one person to us? That too after an agreement has been made" It just didn't make sense to her.

"Look, there are bags on the floor. Maybe she sent the person to bring the wedding stuffs" Shruti assumed.

Kashika's eyes widened when she realized what Shruti said might be true. But she still had little doubt cause the wedding date hasn't been fixed, so why would Salma send the stuffs now.

But on another note, Salma could be unpredictable, so maybe Shruti was right after all.

"That woman is really serious in getting Madhulika married to her son. This fool here has the guts to bring the wedding stuffs, how dare he!" She ranted.

"How about we teach him a lesson" Shruti suggested.

Kashika looked at her and they both smirked.

They rushed out of the big compound and some minutes later they returned carrying a bucket of water each.

They pulled off their shoes and walked slowly to the guy.

Immediately they got to him, they emptied the bucket of water on his body.

"Oh my fucking days!" The person exclaimed and turned to them.

They both gasped when they saw him. Their reasons were different though.

Kashika was surprised to see it was the cutie who had came to their apartment on the day of the festival. While Shruti gasped because of how handsome he was.

"Mister handsome" Kashika called guilty, flinging the empty bucket away.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Liam was so angry.

How could someone just pour water on him for no reason?.

He started regretting why he came there in the first place.

"I am so sorry, mister. It wasn't intentional, I swear to Lord Ganesha. I thought it was someone else. I am sorry" She apologized.

Liam shut his eyes, he inhaled deeply and exhaled, then he opened his eyes. "It's okay".

"What are you doing here, if I may ask?" In her head she was already thinking he came to the house to look for her. He couldn't resist her beauty and that was why he came looking for her - She thought.

'Jackpot!' She screamed inwardly.

"The other girl that I saw inside your house that day, where is she?" Liam didn't like going through corners, he liked going straight to the point.

Kashika furrowed her brows,,, why was he asking of Madhulika?.

"She's not around, she's my sister. Why are you looking for her?".

"Please give her this bags when she returns" He said with his lips shaking, pointing at the bag on the floor.

He was beginning to catch a cold and it was so obvious.

"Umm, please come in Mister. I will make you a hot cup of coffee" She offered.

"You don't have to" He walked away after that.

Kashika bit her lip. She looked beside her and saw Shruti staring at the handsome guy's retreating figure with her mouth opened.

"Wake up" She snapped her fingers in front of her and she (Shruti) blinked.

"He... He is so cute" Shruti muttered, not taking her eyes off him.

Kashika joined in staring and her brows furrowed again when she saw him enter the apartment after their's.

"Wait, this handsome guy lives here?" Shruti asked, facing Kashika.