HOUSE-HUNTING

"Go away...you don't belong here."

I had barely even moved into my new home. I was pretty sure there was no one in there when I had made my first move, but had now realised how wrong I was. I had found it exactly where I was told I would find it, and in the same state as was described to me. It lay serenely, draped in marble-esque white, some places turning blue as melancholy, and overall cold as death herself. And yet, it had fresh coats of paint in all the right places. It was perfect.

But suddenly there was a problem. I had been expecting zero resistance. To be fair, Teacher did mention that there could be some presence. However, he had asked me to completely ignore any signals.

"Aaaaarrrggh...GET OUT OF HERE!!!" The shrieks were only getting louder.

I'll be honest...I've never been the type to lose sleep over trivial matters or the odd delusion, but the cries were startling and unsettling. But Teacher had warned against letting my senses and sensitivity blind me. I had to maintain my composure. House-hunting had seldom been an easy game anyway, and I have had to seek help to learn the art. I had lost count of the number of times that I have had to abandon fresh catch. The reasons had been manifold - incompatibility, weakness of structures, and the biggest spoilsport of them all, natural wear and tear. But as the game goes, I had to be patient. So it was only apt that I held on to what I had found and what was now rightfully mine. I casually ignored the voices and got back to getting comfortable in my new home.

But just then, things got even worse.

Two more entities appeared. One of them flashed a blowtorch at my face, while the other started barking strange incomprehensibles while giving me a long deathly stare.

"...behold the Cross of the Lord..."

I instinctively sensed clear and present danger.

So I quickly did what Teacher asked me to do in such a situation. I jumped out of the room through a glass window, with the young woman's body still in my control.

I think I've finally mastered the art of house-hunting.

Teacher will be proud.

Today's image is a click by Pune-based Manpreet Chauhan. She is pursuing a Master's degree in English Literature, and has previously worked as a pre-school teacher. She is an art buff and a loves to dance. Her muse in the pic is Rutika Patel. You can find Manpreet on Instagram at www.instagram.com/mannpreeeet and Rutuka at www.instagram.com/rutikap_

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Welcome to my first post of 2018. Hope the new year has been good for you guys so far. January had been chaotic for me. December was wonderful though - went on a vacation to Jaipur-Fatehpur Sikri-Agra. Posted a few clicks on Instagram. Hope you like them.

Cheers,

CRD