Shadows of Kasauli Chapter 1

​The road to Kasauli hadn't changed in ten years. It was still a series of dizzying, bends that smelled of damp earth and pine wood. Arjun shifted gears, his old Jeep protesting as it climbed higher into the clouds. In the passenger seat sat a heavy brass key and a legal notice, the only things left of his grandfather’s legacy.

​He passed the main Mall Road, the heart of the small town. Through the swirling fog, he saw the stone facade of the Heritage Library. He slowed down, his heart hammering against his ribs. He knew she was in there. Somewhere behind those tall, arched windows, Vanya was stamping books and filing away histories, while her own life was being written in a language he no longer understood.

​Meanwhile, inside the library, the air was still and smelled of decaying paper. Vanya pulled her woollen shawl tighter around her shoulders. The silence of the library used to be her sanctuary; now, it felt like a countdown.

​Her phone vibrated on the desk. A message from Sameer.

​“The Oberois are coming for dinner at 8. Wear the emerald silk. Don’t be late like last time.”

​No "hello." No "how is your headache?" Just instructions. Vanya looked at her reflection in the glass of a bookcase. The emerald silk was Sameer’s favorite because it made her look like the perfect trophy wife. Beautiful cage. 

​Suddenly, the heavy teak front doors creaked open. A rush of cold mountain air swept in, fluttering the pages of the ledger. Vanya didn't look up. "We close in fifteen minutes," she said, her voice practiced and polite.

​"I only need ten," a voice replied.

​Vanya froze. The voice was deeper than she remembered, roughened by years of city smoke and distance, but still recognisable. She looked up, and for a moment, the ten years of resentment, the forced marriage, and the quiet mountain nights vanished.

​Arjun stood there, damp from the mist, looking at her with a raw intensity that Sameer had never once possessed.

​"I'm looking for the archives for the Aashraya estate," he said quietly, his eyes searching hers. "And I heard the best archivist in Himachal works here." He smiled.