The mansion was a two-story building with a dozen rooms. It was spacious and fully furnished. It was kept in pristine condition, fully staffed. So they did not need to do much here.

Zeenath woke up after her nap when she heard her phone ring. Blinking her eyes, she rubbed her hands over her eyes and took the phone in the other. But the ringing stopped before she could actually attend the call. She did not bother to call back and just threw the phone on the bedside table.

She blinked her eyes and looked around. When she first came in, she was too tired to even look around. Her room was on the ground floor as she was one of the first people to actually enter behind Zack.

Her king-size bed had a white cover and plush pillows. And straight in front of the bed was a huge sliding door made of glass which actually led to the backyard garden. She first came and stood in front of the door for a minute and looked out.

It was well after sundown.. but the garden was actually lit with yellow lamps making them glow. It looked pretty. And in a corner, she also saw a lounge chair. Her own room had a couch and attached bath which she guesses was probably present in all the rooms. The furniture was antique-style furniture which gave a sense of elegance and comfort rather than a luxury. It was a standard in all of Shreya's buildings. Shreya never liked the kind of style that made people not want to go near or intimidated.

After a minute of inspection, she strolled out leaving her phone in the room. The living room was noisy with Pritham, Ayush, and Nakul playing video games. They were busy arguing about Pritham cheating or something.

"What's the point of coming all the way here if you are going to end up playing video games??" Zee asked stopping their argument.

Pritham glared at her and said sneering, "What does what we are doing has to do with you anyways?? If you want to play, you can play. But if you don't want to play, just go away!" He puffed her cheeks when he said the last part. After all, he was always too lazy to go out and play. But he knew coming here he wouldn't be able to avoid it. But today since everyone else was tired, he got a chance to stay and play.. how can he miss it?

"I can play??" Zee asked twitching her brows questioningly. Nobody can really miss the mocking arrogance in her voice.

"You think you can beat me??" Pritham scoffed arrogantly mocking her back.

Zee did not reply. She simply extended her hands towards Ayush and he very obediently handed over his controls to Zee.

Zee might not be as proficient as Pritham but she was not a stranger to video games. After all, she was in the same class as Shreya and was best friends with her. So whenever she came over to Shreya's, she would invariably end up playing video games with Akash and Adam. Shreya never really got the hang of it.. at least not enough to beat anyone. But Zee had been pretty good. And since Adithya particularly favored her, he would even give her tips secretly to beat the boys.

SO by the time she was done with him, Pritham was beaten to a pulp. Strictly speaking, skill-wise, Pritham actually had an upper hand and was more agile. But what he lacked in was people skills. Since it was a combat game they were playing, more than anything, it was essential to be able to read the mind of the opponent to win this one. And Zee is an expert in reading people's minds. Especially a person like Pritham who are open book. So she was able to predict each and every move of his with ease.

SO in the end, it was almost like she was bullying a kindergartener.

Pritham shooed her away aggrieved. Zee just smirked and went away. She did not have anything else to do, so she decided the look around and in the process of looking around the mansion, she actually reached the terrace. It was a vast cement floor with potted plants all around. But in there she found a silhouette of a person sitting on the floor in the smack center of the terrace.

When she approached, she realized it was Srinivas. He was simply sitting with his legs stretched out and leaning back on his hands, staring at nothing in particular.

"You know, Shreya brought you here to mingle with people.. not ghosts." Zee said sarcastically.

Srinivas looked up at her startled not expecting someone to find him here but then his lips twitched at her comment just a minuscule as he commented, "What's wrong with talking to ghosts.??"

Zee simply rolled her eyes not bothering to comment. After all, arguing with unreasonable people will just end up reducing your own IQ.

Srinivas looked at her standing and gestured her to sit down beside him.

Zee gave him a reluctant look at first, but then eventually sat down.

"I thought you got along with Ayusha and Nakul??" Zee asked enquiring.

"I do. But then I have seen way too many real battles to find guns and killing entertaining.." Srinivas said with a smile. But that smile actually looked more painful than anything she had ever seen.

Zee did not know how to reply so she just smiled back and kept quiet.

And Srinivas being the person he was, did not speak either. Silence ensued. It was peaceful.

But Zee was a person who is always surrounded by people and noise. So after a while, "What are we doing here exactly??" She asked impatiently. After all, it was he who asked her to accompany him and now he was not talking at all.

"Shh.. Listen.." Srinivas said putting a finger on his lips.

"What?? I can't hear anything!!" Zee said frowning her brows and opening her ears to the maximum. For a second, she even thought she developed some hearing disability before hearing him answer.

"Exactly.. You can't hear anything here. No loud horns, no bright streetlights. All you can hear are the wind and waves. And all you can see are the sky and the vast expense of the ocean all around." Srinivas explained with peaceful eyes and a tranquil smile.

Zee looked around still frowning. She found that he was actually right. She can't hear much more than the trees rustling to the wind and the waves crashing on the shore. And since the island is isolated, except for the lights in and around the mansion, everything else was practically dark making the whole sky full of stars light up like a Christmas tree.

But this silence and darkness was something that made Zee uncomfortable. She did not like either of them particularly. It made her feel alone.. She was someone who is used loud DJs and sweaty dance floors in clubs.

"And you find this fascinating, why??" Zee asked slightly annoyed.

"You are after all a city girl, aren't you??" Srinivas asked chuckled.

He was someone who had lived through raining bullets and people's screams for help. For him, this silence and stillness.. it was almost as if it was lulling his mind to sleep.

But it was the straight opposite for her.. She was someone who numbed her mind with deafening music. For her, this silence was almost like torture. It brought forward every last unpleasant memory to surface..

Srinivas quietly pulled his headphones from his pockets and plugged it into her ears. He then went straight to the playlist she likes and increased the volume to the maximum.

"Better??" He asked.

Zee replied with a soft smile.

He laid back and Zee followed course. But 10 minutes in, Srinivas could hear her soft snoring. His lips twitched involuntarily.

He was someone who had lost his parents in very early stages of his life. Army, in many ways, had been his saving grace. But it also showed him the most pathetic and ugliest face of humanity. He had seen the depths of depravity and hopeless struggle for survival. People desperately holding on to every last ounce of their energy to survive at the harshest of conditions.

And Shreya.. she had a knack of finding people like him somehow. Once he was out of the army, he was lost. He was not self-destructive like Zack but he became an emotionless robot.

But then this girl, peacefully sleeping beside him.. she made his smile after such a long time. She also made him panic and get frustrated and angry and all those other emotions he had long forgotten.

His hands subconsciously reached for her hair and caressed on them.

But this atmosphere came to a quick end when they were called down for dinner.

Srinivas shook Zee awake and dragged her down.