Chapter 5: Morning After, New Doubts

I woke up, dazed, staring at the ceiling. My mouth was dry, my heart fluttering. It was still dark, but the first sounds of the milkman’s cycle echoed outside.

“Arjun…”

I touched my clothes. My pyjamas were drenched with sweat, hair clinging to my forehead. I looked like someone who’d just woken from a steamy dream, unsatisfied.

“Hiss hiss—”

By the pillow, the little black snake stretched, coiling like a kitten. It looked up at me, big black eyes blinking as if to say, “So? Did you sleep well?”

For some reason, my face burned. Like a child caught doing mischief, I was overcome with embarrassment. I pretended to be busy, grabbing clothes for a shower, fumbling and dropping my towel.

Since my bathroom was broken, I had to use the big one outside. The corridor felt chillier than usual, each step echoing in the silence.

As I reached the bathroom, I saw Arjun coming out.

“You…”

He was wearing only a towel. His bare chest, the same as in my dream. My brain froze. I stammered,

“You, you, you—put on some clothes!”

Arjun clicked his tongue, but his cheeks flushed too. He shot back, “You peek at me every day, and now you want to act all sharmili? Should’ve thought of that earlier.”

At that moment, the comments returned:

[Guys, why couldn’t we comment at all last night?]

[Yeah, when the bad snake hypnotises, we can’t see a thing.]

[Isn’t the author, why can’t us VIPs see? Bad review.]

I hugged my clothes, mortified. I muttered, “I’m going to shower, you go away.”

Arjun glanced at me. “So sweaty—did you dream of me last night?”

“Get lost.” I snapped, cheeks flaming, and rushed inside.

He didn’t tease further, just asked quietly:

“Are you still scared of snakes?”

I froze, last night’s dream flashing through my mind. Awkwardly, I replied,

“Yeah. Scared to death.”

As I closed the door, I thought I heard him sigh softly. It sounded like the wind rustling through the neem tree outside—gentle, but sad.