I am back! Sorry for the late update and jhootas, chappals...all granted for the chapter :/

The letter has got a few excerpts from John Keats' letter to his wife.

Happy Reading! :D :D

Chapter-13

Ranveer locked his cabin, making his way back to his house wondering about Ishani and hoping that she would have called his landline. His hands ran through the smooth burgundy pockets of his trousers which was formal while his eyes had the tension of her not calling him. He planned to call her once, twice, thrice since the morning only to keep back the phone, refraining from doing so. He thought "Ishani is not a baby for me to be so scared. She'll be fine." But then, the next moment, he felt that there was something wrong. Signing off from the resort for the night, he got into his silver Volvo, switching on the stereo for his favourite songs. He stopped at the barn after thinking thrice about the same when he got down after checking the time to be 10.30. Quickly sneaking out of the car after switching off his stereo and taking his coat off, he entered the barn to see the janitor at the reception, viewing the files and grocery list regarding the toiletries required for the dozen of puppies and the score of the bigger dogs, ranging in all sizes- tiny to huge, puny to fluffy, black to chocolate.

"Hello, sir," Ranveer greeted the janitor in a serene fashion, quiet and calm unlike his normal routines which are always messy, bustling and clumsy along with his own tensions.

"Oh, hello, Ranveer. What can I do for you? Skits is asleep already." Ranveer looked at the janitor with a plain one sided smile, his hands rubbing each other.

"I have come today to take her back home." The janitor looked delighted with Ranveer's decision as ground his teeth happily.

"Wow! That's great news! When did you change your mind?" Ranveer looked at him beaming with happiness when he replied "Uh well, it just happened. I- I don't know." He flushed, for his mind already thinking of Ishani's happiness when she knew about his decision to take back Skittles home.

"Okay, I understand," the janitor smiled at him sheepishly, "but she's sleeping now!" he threw his hands up in the air; a frown appeared in Ranveer's face when he retorted "It's okay. I will manage. Don't worry."

"Are you sure?"

"Mostly." Ranveer said, as he carried a sleeping Skittles from the kennel and tied her along the seat of his car so that she won't move away from the place. Waving a good night at the janitor, Ranveer fled back home before he stopped himself at a bar to drink...water.

"Let me get some water for myself and get back home. God! I never felt so thirsty in these few days! Summer is too bad this time!" he looked at the scorching weather whilst he made sure that Skits was tightened at her place. Quickly getting down, he rubbed his hands and got inside the bar to see a number of people with their glasses and songs, swaying to their songs, inebriated when he reminded himself not to drink as he had promised Ishani. Sitting in one of the wooden chairs, he asked the matre d'hotel for some water without raising his chin. He was scared to break his promise. Getting the glass from him in a friction of a second, he gulped it in one go when he heard the waiter say, "Monsieur, how 'bout some wine? They're fresh."

"N-No. I-I do-don't drink." Ranveer managed to say when he heard his neighbour say "Ha! Lie! This guy is a drunkard!"

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah?" his neighbour cocked his eyebrows. He had the perfect French accent while he was talking with his brown moustache and round figure.

"I-I don't drink. So, please. Mind your language." Ranveer tried to be formal so that there is no problem between them. But then the guy replied, "Oh, c'mon RV! Don't try to be so smart! I know you pretty well and I know even this fact that you drink. Have some, none will do anything here."

Irked as he was, Ranveer slammed hard at the bald head of the guy and hit him hard with the glass which he had in his hand which had now broken into pieces, some over his head and some on the floor, scattered everywhere. There was blood over his fingers and the guy's bald head when he screeched "I am not a drunkard. Get that." and left the place when he was stopped by a few other French people, in support of the round man.

"Hey! You can't do that!" one of them shouted when he raised his eyebrows at them and frowned, "Now don't get some more like I did for the guy. Save your lives." he gave them a warning and stormed when he was hit on his backside of his head, making him fall down on the maple wood flooring, resulting in his dizziness.

"Hey!" Ranveer flinched back, getting up, one hand over his head which was already bleeding red and the other trying to catch imaginary things, all thanks to his dizziness. He caught hold of the chair which was nearby to him and stabilized himself until a few more started to beat him hard on his face, stamping them and making it bruised up. Ranveer cried when he said "Leave me, alone. I gotta get back home!" But his wail had no listening because everyone was busy in merry making apart from the few who were beating him up, brutally.

He slowly got up after ten minutes, his lips cut, bleeding red, his eyes bruised up, nose swelled up along with his right cheek, head blistered with blood as he spit some blood from his mouth to see some more blood ooze out from his nose. He looked at them and took a wine bottle from the nearby chair and broke them into two, throwing each of the pieces at them, but his throw never reached them. Instead, he himself was the victim.

He noticed that his stomach was now bleeding, the glass pieces shred into his muscular bag when he screamed, pushing each and every one and hitting them as much as possible before he collapsed on the floor, murmuring her name.

"Oh crap! Is he dead?" the bald man screamed, the blood had now clotted before one of the guys spoke, "I-I don't know. He mustn't have died. Just unconscious, maybe."

"What the hell? Who asked you to beat him up like this? He-he looks dreary! What if he's dead? Check the pulse."

"Huh? As if you never beat him! It was-was a collective one." One of the guys responded as they checked for his pulse.

"Can you hear anything?"

"No, I guess. I guess, he's dead. Not sure. But then..."

"What?" the man asked the bald neighbour.

"I can hear some...They are not stable, though."

"Oh please! Take him to the hospital, right now! We don't want any complaints against us. I guess we beat him a bit too much."

"Yeah." They said in unison when they saw his hands numb and cold.

"Is"Is he dead?"

"Now stop talking and drive down!"

It was evening in Mumbai, the weather back to normal with the same clouds taking different forms in the sky with the breeze as cool as ever with the tides, apart from the traffic congestion in the city.

Ishani was playing idly with her supper as Nysa bought some more theplas for tiffin, her favourite since childhood.

"No, Nysa. I don't want anymore." She said, pushing away her plates when she retorted, "Ishani? What's wrong? They're your favourite!"

"No-No. I am not feeling good."

"Is something wrong with your health?" she asked concerned when Ishani let her hands into her soft hair and held it tightly, uneasy.

"I- I don't know. I am having some kind of fear and I don't know what it is." she admitted when Nysa changed the topic, "By the way, you gotta get ready for shopping now. The thing is, I have got some gifts for you and we have to meet your friend too, right?"

"Nysa! What-did you just say?"

"Gifts! Why?"

"Oh fish, oh fish! I"I will be back, Nysa." Ishani ran through the tiny cottage, getting inside her room and locked them tightly when Nysa questioned herself, "What's wrong with this girl?"

"Ishani!" she called her when Ishani said, "Don't disturb me right now!"

"Where am I, Ishani? But one sec""

"Oh Nysa! Just get away from the place! I don't want to talk with you. Stop irritating!" Ishani snapped which made Nysa feel really bad. Ishani never behaved like this. What's wrong with her now? Nysa thought, as she cleared the dishes, heartbroken.

"Oh Ranveer! I am so sorry! I"I completely forgot about the gift and the call!" she quickly opened her bag to see the gift intact with the same wrapper as she heaved out a sigh. Opening it swiftly, she saw a letter and a tiny heart enclosed with it which read, The heart is mine.' Smiling for herself, she opened the letter:

Springtale Lanes

My dearest girl,

I am re-writing this letter for the...seventh time, to be honest and I am not ashamed in doing so. It took two hours to think and write this letter to you. I told you, the other gift wasn't much worth, at least, according to me. I thought you'd like to carry inexpensive but heartfelt gifts with you for your life. So, there it goes. This is my letter for you. I may be alive or dead. But this letter will stay with you forever as this has my heart with it.

I saw you for the first time on the 2nd of June, the time of summer in the country, though in a not-so-good condition. I was all sooty, saving pups from the barn while the barn had already caught up with fire and I guess, you remember the incident. From that particular day, I have always been in love with you.

You have threatened me a lot of times with your behaviour but truth be said, I have threatened you with my erratic and eccentric behaviour and thank you, for tolerating me all while. My love wasn't to attain you. I know you would not accept the proposal even though I am yet to propose you. But just keep this in mind that even if you reject it, I would not stop loving you. My love for you is my only strength. You are in my heart, in my soul, in my blood. I may go numb before you. But my heart will beat till I die a thousand deaths.

Do you something, Ishani? It is like I have known you for years. Don't you feel the same? I want to live this life along with you. I want to marry you and enter into my wedlock along with you. But then, I am not forcing you. Think twice, thrice and then decide. I am not forcing you into anything, Ishani. Stay strong and be bold. Don't fret to throw any answer. I will accept any sort of a reply.

Do not threat me even in jest. Love is my religion - I could die for that - I could die for you. My creed is love and you are its only tenet - You have ravished me away by a power I cannot resist: and yet I could resist till I saw you; and even since I have seen you I have endeavoured often "to reason against the reasons of my love." I can do that no more - the pain would be too great - My love is selfish - I cannot breathe without you.

I love you, Ishani.

Yours for ever,

Ranveer

Ishani closed the letter and looked at the ceiling, sighing and flushed, "How can one not fall in love with you, Ranveer? Sigh, let me call him now. She looked through the balcony and saw the cloudy sky along with the breeze when she dialled up his number, to tell him about the gift and her travel. But then, she decided to apologize about her late call.

"Umm...It is 5 in the evening here. So...the time in France should be around 12 in the noon now. Its close for lunch, I guess he'll attend the call. But, he said he had meetings!" she thought, but then decided, "Nah. He must have completed with them yesterday."

She quickly dialled his number only to find it ringing. There was no reply from his side.

"Guess he's angry...no sad. Disappointed?" her thoughts ran when she snapped back from her thoughts, "Oh damn! What am I doing?" she hit her head playfully and tried once again but there was no reply yet. Scared, she twitched her fingers and tried once again. No reply.

"I'll try his landline. Maybe that would work. In case if his phone is not with him. I guess he's resting at home today." She dialled his landline quickly. After repeated tries, she heard from the other side.

"Hello, Ran-Ranveer? How-how're you?" Ishani asked without a break.

"Madame, it is me, not Monsieur. I am Abel, your helper."

"Ab-Abel? What are you doing here?"

"Madame, I am doing my daily chores. Is anything urgent?" he tried to be casual.

"Oh yeah. No-Nothing." Ishani quipped.

"Okay Madame. I'll rest the phone." He was about to hang up but was interrupted.

"Hey! Give the phone to Ranveer!" Ishani hit herself for her lame behaviour.

"Monsieur?" he asked, petrified.

"Yeah, yeah. Give the phone to him, now!" she screamed which was audible to Nysa who was just trying to understand her weird behaviour today.

"B"But Madame..."

"What?"

"Monsieur cannot talk at the moment."

"Why?"

"Madame..." he dragged.

"Oh please, Abel! What's wrong? Is he drunk again?"

"No."

"Then why can't he talk? I guess it's twelve in the noon there, right?"

"Yes, Madame." His voice sounded pale.

"Give the phone then. Or is he at office?"

"No. Monsieur is not at the office." Abel then clicked his tongue for having said the truth. He could have made up a good story, he thought.

"Is-Is he okay?" Ishani sounded more serious now.

"Monsieur met with an accident!" he shouted in fright as Ishani stood shocked for a moment.

"And?"

Done! Constructive Criticism will be more than welcome and sorry for typos :D :D