Excerpt from Chapter Six The Legend of Amara Book I
It took a little more than a week before school reopened.
The incident sparked an outcry by parents who asked if their children were truly safe. The mayor, Mr Adesh Sarbhan, a forty-five-year-old man, replied that the investigation had yielded only one result: Ruchi had been attacked by an animal.
She had gone into the woods and been attacked by a wild animal and had barely managed to run away from it. HarborOne High School was the closest to the woods so her first instinct was to go there.
The citizens weren’t fully convinced because it wasn’t revealed what kind of animal had mauled Ruchi to death. There never had been any sightings near the woods, and some of the citizens swore they had never seen a bird enter the woods. A few kids claimed that they had seen ants turn away from the woods because they were afraid of what was in there.
There were stories floating about the tribe that called themselves the Protectors, and many believed they indulged in black magic.
The police cordoned the path that led to the woods, but they didn’t have to. Nobody ever voluntarily went into the woods.
“You need to find a different path to come home,” Neena said over breakfast on the day school reopened. “You need to take the road that leads to the vegetable
Market, then take a right and...”
Kiara held up her hand. “Mom, I know that route. And that will take me an hour and a half to come home.”
“I don’t want you walking by the woods.”
Kiara bit into her toast and chewed slowly. “I don’t have to go to school at all. Didn’t the principal say I could take as much time as I wanted? They said they will email the assignments to me.”
“Shanaya is going,” Neena replied.
“She wasn’t the one who saw Ruchi die up close.”
Neena sighed. “I’m not going to push you. If you need some time to recover from the shock and trauma, then okay. It’s your decision.”
Kiara sipped her green tea and looked at her mother, wondering if she was finally going to let her daughter do what she wanted, which was to avoid everyone she didn’t like. Or didn’t like her back.
“I’m not ready yet. I’m having recurring nightmares.” Kiara played with the handle of her mug and didn’t make eye contact.
“Do you want to see a therapist? Mr Wardan did advise you see one.”
Kiara shook her head.
Neena tapped her fingers on the table. Her phone was buzzing but she gave it a glance and kept it face down where it continued to vibrate.
“Is that Dad? I mean, Roy?”
“It is his daily call time. He wants to make sure I’m nauseous from the very start of the day.”
“Don’t you just want to give him back the ring and be done with it? He would stop calling you and move out of our lives forever.”
Her mother gave a small smile. “He used to be a nice man. It was sweet when he proposed to me in high school with that ring and said he wanted me to be his forever. I told him to wait until we finished college. And he did.” Neena sighed deeply. “The ring symbolizes the love I once had that I thought was pure and everlasting. At that moment, I thought he was a decent, caring man. I’m never going to have that again and I wanted to keep the ring as a souvenir to something I had that not everyone gets.”
“That’s a really sweet story,” Kiara said, putting her palm under her chin. “So tell me, the news about Ruchi’s animal attack was spread all over the media. It was mentioned by international media as well. Has Dad asked how I am doing?”
Neena’s wistful smile fell. “No, he hasn’t. I’m sorry you had to become so bitter because of him. I wish he wasn’t so callous and I wish he hadn’t cheated on me. Imagine two years into the marriage, I’m pregnant with you, and a girl from our college contacts me to tell me that she had an affair with my husband. It broke me because I thought he had been patient and faithful all those years.”
“Mom, my advice to you is to throw that ring on his face. It isn’t a symbol of love, but of deception.” Kiara stood. “You’re keeping a souvenir not of true love but of cruelty. He cheated on you. He never gave a damn about me. Let’s just throw him out of our lives and be done with it.”
Neena nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
Rapid knocking on the door startled them both.
Kiara stared wide-eyed at her mother before shaking her head. “I think I know who it is.”
“Who? And why aren’t they ringing the doorbell?”
Kiara shrugged before heading to the door and opening it.
Shanaya stood in her pajamas with a phone in her hand.
“What are you doing here?” Kiara asked.
“Have you seen Veer?” Shanaya’s face was pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her hair wasn’t combed and she wasn’t wearing any makeup.
“Your cousin? Why would I have seen him? What’s wrong?” Kiara considered inviting her in, but Shanaya kept darting her eyes around the corridor and made no move toward her.
“I made a mistake,” she said in almost a whisper. “I...”
“Shanaya, do you want to come in?” Neena asked, cheerfully.
Shanaya hesitated and looked at Kiara with raw fear in her blue eyes.
“Mom, Shanaya was telling me...”
“I wanted to talk to Kiara. Privately.”
Neena looked concerned but didn’t ask any more questions as she suggested she come in.
Shanaya hesitated again before stepping over the threshold. Kiara stepped back, surprised that Shanaya was entering her house.
“You can talk in Kiara’s room. Would you like something to eat or drink?”
Shanaya didn’t look at Neena as she shook her head. “I just finished breakfast,” she mumbled.
Neena nudged Kiara and pointed to the bedroom.
Reluctantly, Kiara led Shanaya to her room. Once inside, Shanaya locked the room.
“I screwed up,” she said, then looked around the room.
Kiara was aware she hadn’t made the bed and that her clothes were hanging on her desk chair, but Shanaya held back her catty remarks as she sat down on the foot of the bed.
“The day after Veer took us out, he said he wanted to find out more about Amara,” Shanaya said, looking down at her shoes.
Kiara stayed close to the door and folded her arms.
“I told him the story everyone in this city reiterates: that she was a hero. He said he wanted to see the statue for himself.”
Kiara let a gasp escape. “Is he crazy? That will get him killed!”
Shanaya looked up at Kiara with watery eyes. “I know. He wouldn’t listen. So I told him the truth.”
“You told him about who Amara really was?”
Shanaya nodded. “He didn’t believe me. Asked me again about Nari but I stopped myself from saying what really happened. He said he would find out himself.” Shanaya began to sob. “I haven’t seen him for two days. Mom said he did message he was going on a special assignment that may take some days so she isn’t worried. I’m not sure if I should go to the police.”
Kiara shook her head. “That whole area is blocked.”
“It’s just some tape.” Shanaya wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “He could go over or under that.”
“Have you gone looking for him?”
“I’m too scared. What if...” Shanaya wiped her tears and took a deep breath. Kiara handed her a tissue box which she took without thanks.
Kiara swallowed. “What do you want from me?”
“Can you help me look for him?”
Kiara felt her heart turn into ice. “Are Rami and Veena helping?”
“They said they were at school and since they are failing classes, their parents are being too strict to allow them to go anywhere.”
“That’s a convenient excuse,” Kiara said.
“I don’t want to go alone.” Shanaya bit her lip.
Kiara went over to her purse that was hanging behind the door and removed the blue ribbon. She dangled it in front of Shanaya who looked at it curiously before staring up at her. “Nari used to wear blue ribbons. Why are you showing me this?”
“I keep finding it everywhere. Outside my window, inside, around the school, in my purse...just everywhere. And I can’t get rid of it. I tried. But it keeps showing up in my things.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. I keep thinking, what if Nari is...”
“We saw what happened to her.”
“I know Nari is behind this.”
Shanaya’s lips trembled. “Veer is in so much trouble.”
Kiara licked her dry lips. “Shanaya, I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I don’t want to go back in there.”
Shanaya sobbed silently. “Veer could be dead.”
“You should go to the police.”
“Do you know how they handled Ruchi’s death? Nari’s? They implied it was their fault that they went into the woods.”
“You think Ruchi was killed by Amara?”
Shanaya nodded as more tears flowed. “The day before she disappeared, she told me she was having nightmares and felt like she was being followed. She told me that maybe it was a sign that they needed to tell everyone about Nari.”
“She thought Nari was following her?”
“I don’t know. I thought she was being an attention-seeker. She kept talking about the truth, but I told her to keep her mouth shut.”
“She died the next morning,” Kiara said.
“I didn’t know she was planning to go to the woods.” Shanaya pulled out a few tissues from the box and dabbed her eyes. “And now Veer is missing. It’s like anyone who even utters the name Amara...something bad happens to them.”
“Especially when you are involved as well,” Kiara said, abruptly. “First Nari, then Ruchi, now Veer. Anything that happened to these people, and you were the last person who spoke to them.”
Shanaya stood and looked at her in disbelief. “I can’t believe you just said that. You think I wanted these people to die?”
Kiara knew she couldn’t take her words back. The truth was, she did make the connection as soon as she said Veer was missing. She didn’t know for sure about Ruchi and Veer, but five years ago, it had been Shanaya who had egged Nari on.
“It’s too much of a coincidence,” Kiara said, dryly.
Shanaya just stared at her, a hurt expression on her face, more tears streaming down her face.
“That’s what it felt like when you put the entire blame of what happened to Nari on me,” Kiara continued. “And then afterwards you turned the whole school against me. Imagine what I’ve felt like for the past five years.”
Shanaya looked toward the window and nodded slowly. Wiping her tears, she said, “So what, you want revenge now?”
There was a knock on the door, and Neena entered with a smile. “I got you girls some snacks.” There was a tray in her hands filled with pretzels, chips and fresh orange juice.
Shanaya took a deep breath, wiped more of her tears before turning to her. “I have to go. Sorry.” She walked to the door, and Neena moved aside, watching her curiously. Then she looked at Kiara.
Kiara shrugged and went to sit on her bed.
Neena went outside, set the tray on the table in the passage and opened the door. When Kiara heard the door close, she clutched the sides of her mattress.
She had been waiting for the day when she would tell off Shanaya. She had imagined that pained look on her face as Shanaya would finally understand what Kiara had been through these past five years.
Yet, Kiara couldn’t feel a thread of happiness or victory as Shanaya walked away dejectedly. No one was going to help her. Her so-called friends weren’t going to put their lives in danger.
“What happened to Shanaya? Why was she crying?” Her mother came in.
“Veer is missing,” Kiara said. “She’s just worried.”
“What?” Her mother reached for her phone. “When did this happen? I should talk to Rekha.”
As her mother spoke on the phone, she wondered if Shanaya was now going to go all alone into the woods. She cared too much about her own skin. But would she do it for Veer? He was her family after all.
“Rekha said he’s off on an assignment somewhere. She said Shanaya is unnecessarily worried because they had a fight before he left and she’s worried he doesn’t want to talk to her,” Neena said.
Kiara looked up. “And Veer has called her or something to say he’s okay?”
Neena shook her head. “Rekha said she hadn’t heard from him but it wasn’t unusual since his assignment was somewhere where there isn’t a good network.”
Kiara gripped the mattress edge. Shanaya had told Veer about Amara. There was no way he wasn’t going into the woods with that piece of information.
“I have to go to the supermarket to get some things, do you want anything?”
Kiara shook her head.
“No chips or chocolate bars?” Her mother joked.
Kiara managed a weak smile. “Yes, please.”
“Don’t worry, okay. Veer must be fine.”
“Yeah. I should go speak to Shanaya.” Kiara reached for her shoes under the bed.
“Good idea. She did look too upset.”
Her mother walked out and into her room while Kiara put on a pair of jeans and picked a light jacket from her wardrobe. She put on the shoes and then stuffed her cellphone into her jeans pocket.
She walked out the door and saw Neena already by the door. “You have the house key?”
Kiara patted her pockets, rushed into her room and opened the top drawer on her desk. She took the key and stuffed it into her other jeans pocket.
Neena was already by the elevator, so Kiara closed and locked the door before joining her.
“Shanaya said she’ll be at the garden,” Kiara said when he mother raised a quizzical eyebrow.
Kiara knew she was being stupid and impulsive. She wasn’t doing this for Shanaya, she kept telling herself. She was doing this for Veer. She didn’t want him or anyone for that matter to suffer the same fate Nari and Ruchi did.
They got off the elevator and her mother waved before heading into the direction of the local hypermarket.
Kiara quickened her steps and headed to the path that led to the woods. She promised herself if she saw any police officers, she would walk away. This didn’t give her much relief but she kept going.
She reached a turn and took a deep breath before continuing down the street. The woods loomed large. It was too quiet with not even a bird chirping. There was some police tape around the trees but nothing to barricade entry into the woods. It was impossible anyway to block the woods.
Up ahead, she did see traffic cones set up to stop cars from entering the area, but she didn’t see any police officers.
Kiara slowed her pace. There was no one here. She couldn’t see Veer from here. She should just leave.
But her feet kept moving forward. She reached the spot where there was even more police tape wrapped around the trees and stopped. This was probably the spot where the police must have found evidence of Ruchi being there before she headed to school.
Kiara looked all around, wishing she had come with someone. Even Shanaya. She should have just agreed to help her.
Nevertheless, her feet continued to make decisions for her and she found herself crossing the road and standing in front of a large bush.
The wind swept over the trees and the leaves rustled into a sound that appeared to be beckoning her inside.
Kiara stepped forward, then paused. She went around the bush and put a hand over her mouth.
Veer’s motorcycle. He must have hidden it near the bush before he went inside.
“Shit,” Kiara said breathlessly. Damn Shanaya for inciting Veer’s curiosity.
She told herself to stop now. There was only one outcome for people who ventured into the forest. Veer hadn’t been seen for two days. There could only be one reason behind that.
She started to turn when she saw a movement from the corner of her eyes. She stiffened and stared ahead. The wind brushed the dry leaves away from the grounds. The tree branches continued to sway violently.
Kiara felt like something heavy had settled on her shoulders. Her phone beeped and she let out a small cry while simultaneously pulling it out of her pocket.
She saw it was Shanaya calling her. Kiara swallowed. It appeared the phone wasn’t the only thing she had pulled out of her pocket. She used her other hand to pull the blue ribbon from around the phone.
“What the hell,” she muttered. She took Shanaya’s call and at first, couldn’t hear her as she spoke frantically.
“What? I can’t...”
“I’m across the road. I saw you go in,” Shanaya said. “Do you see anything?”
Kiara turned around but couldn’t see Shanaya. “Where are you?”
“Near the traffic cones. I’m inside the car. They’ve closed the roads leading to the woods. I’m coming on foot now.”
Kiara heard another rustling sound and turned around. This time she did see someone.
There was a girl standing with her back turned near the birch trees. She had long hair that reached down to her knees. Below that, she could see dirty blue denim folded up her ankles.
Kiara felt herself being pulled forward. One hand still had the phone up her ear, but she wasn’t replying to Shanaya anymore.
She pushed through the low hanging branches of a tree that was almost leafless and stepped over rocks as if in a daze.
There was someone else. Someone was standing in front of the girl. As Kiara drew closer, she heard whispering. The girl was saying something but Kiara couldn’t hear a word because of the wind whistling in her ears, coupled with Shanaya’s voice asking her what she was doing.
The girl seemed to sense her presence. She turned her head slightly, but Kiara couldn’t see any of her features. But it was when she moved a little to the side that Kiara saw Veer standing in front of the girl.
“I found him,” Kiara said on the phone, then ended the call. She pushed the phone back in her pocket.
The girl stretched her bony hands and Kiara saw she had long nails. Her hands were veiny and looked like talons.
The girl suddenly moved away from Veer. Kiara rushed forward and almost skidded as she stopped herself.
Veer didn’t look like himself. He was standing with a hunch, his arms dangling in front of him. His eyes were vacant, his lips dry and slightly open.
A hand came over her shoulder and Kiara gasped as she lost her balance. She whipped her head around, expecting to see the girl standing over her.
“Where’s Veer?” Shanaya asked.
Kiara looked at her wide-eyed, catching her breath, waiting for her heart to stop thudding against her chest. She raised an arm and pointed behind her.
Shanaya followed her gesture but look confused. “What?”
Kiara turned around to see Veer no longer standing there. She pushed herself off the ground and dusted her jeans. “He was standing right there.”
“What was he doing?” Shanaya took a step forward then stopped herself. Only twenty feet away was the entrance to the village the tribesmen protected.
“Talking to a girl. Just standing there.”
“What girl?”
Kiara looked all around her. “I didn’t see her face. She had long hair. After she left, Veer looked like he was in a trance.”
“That’s...just ridiculous,” Shanaya said. “Where is Veer?”
They heard a motorcycle engine starting and turned toward the direction of the sound.
“His motorcycle was near that big shrub,” Kiara said.
They rushed over and found Veer getting on his bike.
“Veer!” Shanaya ran over to him. “Veer, look here!”
“Hey! What are you girls doing here?”
Shanaya and Kiara turned to see a police officer walking toward them, a baton in his hand. “Don’t you know you aren’t allowed here?” He turned to see Veer sitting on his bike and not moving. The engine continued to rumble.
“Don’t you know this whole area is closed for civilians?”
Two more police offers headed over to them and Kiara felt her heart sink. She glanced at Veer and saw the same glazed expression in his eyes.
“You three have to come with us,” the police officer stated.
Veer turned off the engine and got down. He pocketed his key and glared at the police officer. “I did nothing wrong!”
Kiara was surprised at his sudden transformation. One minute he was a zombie, the next he was ready to spew anger on whoever stood before him. His eyes were blazing and his hands were clenched tight.
Shanaya came over to him. “Veer, just relax, okay?” She turned to the officers. “He didn’t mean it. He’s just tired.”
The three officers remained unmoved. “The three of you are coming with us.”
*****
They were made to sit at an officer’s desk.
Shanaya kept asking Veer if he was okay, but he remained silent. He kept staring ahead, and Kiara saw confusion in his eyes.
Shanaya finally turned to her. “What were you saying in the woods? Where was he?”
Kiara opened her mouth to reply when the officer came and took a seat from across them.
“Can I call my mother? I thought we were allowed one call,” Shanaya said.
The officer was a heavyset man with a balding head and a gray mustache that curled at the ends. He checked the papers the other officers lay on his table and gave half a smile.
“Calls only when arrested,” he said dismissively as he read the paper. “Both you girls are over eighteen. And he is twenty-five. Do you know what you three have done?”
“We went into the woods,” Kiara said. “We shouldn’t have, but...”
“There is a police investigation going on. I am going to charge you with impeding investigation and tampering with evidence.”
“And just what evidence did we tamper with? The leaves on the ground? The grass?” Veer glared at the officer.
“Veer!” Shanaya warned in a curt whisper.
The officer laid down the papers and leaned forward on the desk. “Yes. There could have been important DNA that we needed to collect. Besides, you were trespassing. I can throw you into jail if I want.”
“I wasn’t aware the woods are privately owned,” Veer challenged.
“Please sir, there has been a misunderstanding,” Shanaya said.
Kiara stayed huddled in her chair, unable to believe her plan to stay at home and do nothing had turned into an encounter with a ghost, then being arrested. Her mother would give her hell when she learned about what happened.
“And what misunderstanding would that be?” The officer stared at Shanaya and Kiara could sense her trembling.
“I got lost and the girls came looking for me,” Veer said, his tone rude.
The police officer narrowed his eyes at him. Another police officer came forward and whispered something to which the officer reached for the newspaper on his desk.
He turned a few pages before pointing at an article. “Veer Rathod. You’re a journalist.”
“Yeah,” Veer said impatiently. “I came here a few weeks ago to do a story on the town. I acquired the necessary permissions to conduct my investigation into the history of this town that required me to go into the woods.”
“First of all, this isn’t a town. This is a city. HarborOne City. Secondly, all your permissions go for a toss if a police investigation is being conducted in that area.”
“Look, sir...” Shanaya half-rose from her chair. “Veer hasn’t been home in two days. I thought he was lost. I didn’t report him missing because I wanted to check if he had indeed gone to where I thought he must have.”
Kiara nodded quickly.
An officer appeared again to whisper in the senior officer’s ear to which he responded with a sigh.
He turned to the three. “I’m letting you three go with a warning. If I see you near the woods again, I’m going to arrest you. You know of the pact we have with the people in the woods.”
The three of them stood. Kiara couldn’t wait to get out of the small stuffy room that was filled with hundreds of files.
“You are fortunate to have connections, Mr Rathod,” the officer chided. “The minute your boss learned you were here, they called my boss. Next time, I’ll make sure...”
“What?” Veer whipped around and put his hands on the desk. “Next time you will do what?”
“I apologize on behalf of him,” Shanaya said. “He’s tired and dehydrated. He doesn’t mean it. Veer, let’s just go.”
Shanaya dragged Veer out but he continued to glare at the officer. Only when they left the office did he shake off Shanaya’s grip and walked faster to the exit.
Kiara stepped outside the police station and took a deep breath of fresh air.
“Veer, will you stop. We have to get a cab and go home.” Shanaya ran after Veer who was walking with rapid, long strides.
“I have to get my motorcycle,” he said.
Kiara stayed on the spot. She considered calling her mother to come get her but knew she would first be reprimanded for being caught by the police.
I don’t have to tell her. I can just walk a few blocks ahead and tell mom to pick me up from a restaurant or something.
Shanaya managed to grab Veer’s wrist and drag him back to where Kiara was standing.
“I’m calling a cab,” Shanaya said, taking out her phone. “You should call one too.”
Veer glared at Shanaya. “We are all going in the same direction. She’s coming with us.”
Kiara wasn’t sure she wanted to. She considered just walking home, knowing it would take her almost an hour. But at least she wouldn’t be caught in their family drama.
“That’s okay. It’s a nice day for a walk...”
The cab arrived promptly and stopped. Shanaya took note of the license plate number with the notification on her phone and opened the door.
“Get in,” Veer told Kiara.
She saw the darkness in his eyes, the tightening of his jaw, the flared nostrils.
Kiara got in first, followed by Shanaya. Veer slammed the door shut before getting into the passenger seat.
Twenty minutes of silence later, they arrived at the building and got out. Veer didn’t seem angry anymore but looked tired and confused. As they walked to the entrance, he almost fell sideways and Shanaya grabbed his arm.
“Are you okay?” She asked.
He rubbed his forehead. “I feel exhausted.”
“You need to get some rest. We are almost home.” Shanaya went to the elevator and pressed the button for their floor. Kiara slipped in with them.
She wondered if she should offer help, but didn’t know what she could possibly do. “Maybe he should see a doctor,” she suggested.
“Let’s see how he feels when he wakes up,” Shanaya replied. “And after he eats.”
They came to their floor and Shanaya helped Veer to the apartment. “Bye,” Shanaya said and Kiara went to her apartment.
“Oh!” She heard Shanaya say and turned to find Veer almost falling to his knees. Shanaya pulled him up and put her arm around his shoulders.
Kiara watched them head to the apartment and was about to use the key to enter her apartment when she saw something around Veer’s left wrist.
When she realized what it was, she almost called out to Shanaya but her breath caught in her throat.
Blue ribbon. He has a blue ribbon tied around his wrist.
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