NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON KINDLE: THE LEGEND OF AMARA BOOK I

 

The Legend of Amara Book I is now available on Amazon Kindle. 

Here is an exclusive chapter:

From Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

School was closed down for at least a week. A notification had been sent to every parent via email, informing them of the unfortunate incident, and that classes would begin once police investigation was complete. Students who felt traumatized were advised to seek counselling.

Kiara sat in her room all day, occasionally opening her laptop to complete an assignment due in two weeks, but finding no motivation to do any research. Part of her feared finding articles on Ruchi if she used the search engine. There were no friends to connect with so she avoided social media.

She found some comfort in playing solitaire on her computer. When her mother would peek in to see if she was fine, she would be tricked into believing Kiara was doing school work.

Five days after the incident, Kiara was watching a comedy show on her laptop when her mother knocked on the door.

"Busy?"

Kiara turned off the sound and sat up straight on her bed. Outside the sun was beginning its descent. She blinked when she looked out, then down at her bed where an empty chips packet lay beside a chocolate wrapper.

"Hi, you're home early."

Her mother smiled. "Busy with homework?"

"Yeah, just some research. I was watching a tutorial video." Kiara pressed her lips together and absently wiped her mouth.

Her mother nodded. "Rekha invited us for dinner tonight. Be ready by seven."

Kiara felt her stomach drop. "Shanaya's mom? No way."

Her mother frowned. "We are going."

"She's your friend. Shanaya and I hate each other."

Her mother sighed. "Look, it's sort of a family dinner. Her nephew is visiting and she wanted to introduce him. It will be over soon. And home is right across the hall, right?"

Kiara felt dizzy. Veer. The guy she had given wrong directions too. "I have an assignment to complete."

"You can watch your shows later." Her mother rolled her eyes. "You really need to keep the volume down or use headphones if you're going to use this as an excuse. We are going. I was asked to invite my family and you are all I have."

Kiara frowned. She was being emotionally blackmailed and she knew it. "Fine. But if Shanaya says one mean word, I'm leaving."

"Or you can think of a way to defend yourself or simply ignore her. Those are options too, you know." Her mother tapped on the door. "And wear something nice and comb your hair. It's going to be a fancy dinner party."

"I don't have an evening gown."

Her mother gave a disapproving look at her sarcasm. "Just wear clean clothes. Not pajamas."

Kiara pouted but nodded. Her mother walked away and Kiara looked at her computer screen where she had paused her video. She shut the lid and sighed. It was no use. She was too distracted about the dinner to focus on any comedy show now. She walked to her wardrobe and opened it.

"I have nothing to wear."

****

At seven sharp, her mother appeared at the door. She took one look at Kiara’s outfit and sighed.

Kiara was combing her hair into a ponytail and noticed her mother’s displeased countenance. She turned. “What?”

“Jeans and top?” Her mother made a disapproving sound.

Kiara checked herself in the mirror. “You always did say that this pink blouse made me look cute. And what’s wrong with jeans? It’s a darker shade.”

Her mother had curled her hair, was wearing mascara and bright lipstick, and dressed in a black silk blouse and skirt.

“Don’t you have any formal wear?”

Kiara finished applying pink lipstick and walked over to her mother. “We are meeting our neighbours. Not visiting a palace and meeting royalty.”

“Let’s go.” Her mother took her clutch from the table outside and held up her keys. “It’s pointless arguing with you, isn’t it?”

Kiara slipped into black strappy sandals and joined her at the door with a playful grin. Her mother opened the door and then locked it behind her.

As they walked across the hall, Kiara prepared herself for whatever Shanaya was going to throw at her. She had been at her home once, five years ago, and still remembered how fanciful the decoration was.

Her mother rang the bell and Shanaya opened the door.

“Hello.” Shanaya greeted with a smile. Her hair was open and combed till it shone. Her dress was dark brown with small flowers and ruffles on the short sleeves. “Please come in.”

Kiara followed her mother and heard Shanaya mumble, “I can’t believe you came.”

Inside, Kiara looked around and saw that the furniture had still not changed.

Probably antiques, she thought. 

The living room was warm and inviting with cream-colored walls, and a red oriental rug which covered the entire floor. High-backed chairs and a couch faced a large TV screen. On the ceiling was a crystal chandelier. All around the room, she noticed shelves filled with miniature marble statues or crystal pieces. Right beside the TV was a shelf filled with DVDs of classic movies on one side and hardcover books on the other.

Kiara noticed a few classics she had read the abridged version of as a child. Shanaya went over to plop herself down on one of the chairs near the window, while her mother Rekha came over to Kiara and gave her a hug.

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen you, Kiara.” Rekha smiled. “If I wasn’t so busy with work, we would have more get-togethers. But my current schedule just allows me a day off and I spend that sleeping.”

Kiara gave a polite smile and looked for a place to sit away from everyone. However, Rekha led her to the couch and sat down next to her, her arm still around Kiara.

“How has everything been? I know the last few days must have been so difficult for you.” Rekha glanced at her daughter who was typing away on her phone. “Shanaya has been so distant.”

Kiara swallowed. She had readied herself for Shanaya’s meanness, not Rekha’s sympathy over what happened at school.

Kiara once again found herself back in the classroom, staring at Ruchi through the window as she desperately called for help. No one could save her. She had lost too much blood from the several cuts on her body. 

“I understand how disturbing it must have been. Shanaya told me that you saw it up close...your friend’s death.”

Kiara’s mother came to her rescue. “Rekha, how about we talk about something else? Aren’t you going to offer us something to drink?”

Rekha but her lip. “Oh, sorry Kiara.” Then glanced at her friend, “sorry Neena. We have vegetable juice or apple. What would you both like to have?”

Kiara cringed at the mention of vegetable juice. “Apple will be fine.”

“For both,” Neena replied quickly and exchanged a look with her daughter.

After the juices were served in wine glasses, and some casual conversation about the weather and Rekha’s job, a maid arrived at the doorway to announce that dinner was ready.

“Did you make the salad?” Rekha asked. The maid shook her head and Rekha got up. “I’ll do that. Would you like to help me, Kiara?”

Kiara almost uttered a no, but one look at her mother’s stern expression, and she stood up quickly. “Sure.”

Rekha smiled. “Come.”

Kiara followed her to the kitchen, ignoring Shanaya who hadn’t contributed another word yet and was still staring at her phone.

Kiara imagined she was gossiping to her friends about her. She entered the kitchen and her eyes widened. The kitchen had white tiles, white cabinets, and every equipment imaginable. From a cake mixer and ice cream maker, to a state-of-the-art coffee machine, the large kitchen had it all.

She could smell garlic and butter emanating from the oven and wondered what dinner was. Everything smelled good, even whatever was cooking on the stove smelled pleasantly of cinnamon.

Rekha led her to a counter away from the stove and handed her a carrot. “Grate this please.”

Kiara looked around, wondering which machine she was supposed to use, when Rekha offered her a hand-held grater.

Kiara began grating while Rekha sliced cucumbers.

“I’m sorry about before,” Rekha said. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you, but I spoke out of concern. Shanaya hasn’t talked since the incident and I wanted an idea from you about how you were coping.”

“Not that well.” Kiara pressed her lips together. “I get it’s not healthy to bottle things up, but in this case, I’m just not ready to talk about it.”

“I understand.” Rekha picked up a tomato from a basket. “I wanted this to be a cheery affair for both you and Shanaya. Also, I did want to introduce my nephew, but he’s running late, as usual.”

The carrot from Kiara’s hand slipped. She had forgotten Veer. She imagined him coming over and telling everyone what silly prank Kiara had played on him. Everyone would laugh.

“Hi!”

Kiara jumped when she heard a voice from the doorway and turned around with wide eyes.

Veer gave her a polite smile before going over to his aunt and hugging her from behind. “The food smells great. Is it all for me?”

Rekha grinned and patted his cheek before pulling away. “You’re late. I thought I would have to serve everything cold.”

Veer grinned. “The meeting ran a little late.” He looked around the kitchen and shrugged. “Looks like dinner wasn’t served yet. I’m just in time.”

The maid entered and spoke, “The table is set.”

Kiara slipped away while Veer and Rekha talked. She went over to her mother, trying to think of an excuse to leave.

But before she could open her mouth, Rekha asked everyone to come to the dining room.

Shanaya finally stood, and gave her an annoyed look before heading down the small passageway to the dining room.

Kiara saw another large room with a chandelier hanging above a long table with a cream-colored table cloth on which a red runner with golden embroidery was placed.

There was a flower piece in the center and two candles standing beside it. She spotted a silver tray of garlic bread, and a pan of baked pasta, a large bowl of salad, hummus and bread sticks, and roasted potatoes.

The maid brought in another large bowl which was heaped with fried rice.

“I didn’t know what everyone would like.” Rekha laughed. She took her place at the table with Veer on her right and Shanaya on the left.

Neena sat down opposite Rekha and Kiara found herself seated across Shanaya who wouldn’t look at her.

“Shanaya made the pasta,” Rekha announced and patted her daughter’s shoulder.

“Then it is bound to be under-cooked and tasteless,” Veer muttered.

“Oh, shut up. Your pasta is basically tomato soup with a few pasta pieces floating in it.”

“Ha ha.” Veer rolled his eyes as he served a large portion of baked pasta.

Rekha served the others and Shanaya passed the bread around.

Kiara mumbled a thanks to her as she picked up a piece of buttery bread and put it on her plate.

She picked up her fork, kept her head down and studied the pieces of penne and vegetables in tomato sauce and cheese. Finally, she took a bite and had to admit to herself it tasted good.

“This is really good,” Neena told Shanaya. “You are quite a cook.”

Shanaya beamed.

Neena turned to Veer. “Rekha has told me a lot about you even before you arrived. But do tell, how did you land a job at the newspaper?”

“It’s an internship,” Veer replied while serving himself a little hummus. “After completing my degree in journalism, I was looking everywhere for a job but couldn’t find anything in my hometown. Finally, I decided to write to my favourite journalist, Vikram Mehra, and told him I wanted to work with him. He must have been impressed with my email because he responded and told me that he was retired and had come to live here in this city. But he did have contacts at the local newspaper and would offer me his guidance. So, here I am.”

“I find journalism fascinating,” Rekha said. “Being on top of everything that is going on in the world, seeing and reporting everything first hand...”

“Not every journalist gets to do that,” Veer said.

“I know. But if you start early and work hard, one day, you may just get to do all that.” Rekha turned to Shanaya. “I was hoping my daughter would show some interest in journalism. But she’s decided to take up business studies after school. What about you, Kiara?”

Kiara took a sip of water. “Uh, I’m in two minds at the moment,” she said without looking up.

“It is a difficult decision to make, but one you have to do so immediately. Graduation is just a few months away,” Rekha said.

Kiara looked at her and nodded before returning to her food.

Neena spoke again, “Our little city barely has much to offer. We have a low crime rate, the people running the city aren’t very corrupt. It’s a sleepy little town to say the least. So why come here? Or are you planning to use this opportunity as a stepping stone?”

Veer put down his fork. “Honestly, I was just happy to land a job at first. But this city, quiet as it is, has a rather interesting history.”

Kiara finally did look at him, then at Shanaya. Veer glanced at her before looking at Neena. He leaned back in his chair.

“I pitched a story and the newspaper agreed to it.” Veer glanced at Shanaya. “I mean I was told there was nothing new to find, but I promised an investigative approach.”

“Oh, do tell us more,” Rekha also put down her fork and folded her hands.

Veer scratched his cheek. “I really didn’t want to bring this up now considering what happened in the past few days, but since you asked...”

Kiara turned to Shanaya and saw her looking at her cousin with wide surprise. The city’s only interesting history was about Amara.

Veer folded his napkin and placed it on the table. “Five years ago, there was an incident in this town. A girl disappeared. No names were revealed but my sources informed me of all the names.”

Kiara watched Shanaya’s fork slip from her fingers and clatter on the plate.

Veer looked at Shanaya. “I was trying to find another way to bring this up. If only this incident hadn’t happened, I would have brought this up a little delicately.”

“What are you talking about?” Rekha’s voice had grown firm.

Veer glanced at Kiara and then back at Shanaya. “Five years ago, a girl called Nari Venama disappeared. According to her friends, she was near the woods that is supposedly inhabited by a tribe.” Veer cleared his throat. “Because they were minors, the names were concealed. But I’ve found out the names of her friends now.”

Rekha shook her head. “Veer, I don’t want to put Shanaya through all that again. If you’d told me what your assignment was, I would have told you there was no story here. Nari got lost in the woods. She was probably attacked by animals and died.”

“Here’s the thing.” Veer leaned forward. “All of this is just a probability. What really happened to Nari? What is this tribe that resides in the woods? Did they kill her? Is Nari still alive and lost? And then there’s the connection with Amara. I heard Nari wanted to take a glimpse of Amara’s statue.”

Kiara stood, pushing back the chair. “Excuse me. I have to leave.”

Her heart pounding, she didn’t wait for anyone’s reply. She walked outside the room and headed to the door. After struggling with the locks for a few seconds, she finally opened it and walked out, finally able to breathe freely.

She felt in her pocket for the spare key and was glad she hadn’t forgotten to remove it from her jeans the last time she had gone out.

She put the key into the lock of her door and walked inside. Closing the door quickly, she leaned against it, glad to be in her comfort zone again.

Her heart rate returned to normal after a few minutes and only then did she move. She reached for her earrings, eager to remove them as she walked to her room.

She was passing by the kitchen when she paused. The lights were off, and the only light came through a small window.

She thought she had seen someone.

Her heart thudded once again, and the few pieces of pasta she had eaten, rose up her stomach.

She stepped back and felt her breath get stuck in her throat.

Someone was standing in the center of the kitchen. The dark silhouette was of a girl with long hair and long arms. Her hands were scraggly and twitching.

Kiara opened her mouth but only a little air came out.

A knock on the door caused tightness in her chest. She stared at the door, her hands trembling. Then she looked back into the kitchen and saw the dark shape had disappeared.

When the knocking resumed, Kiara headed to the door, realizing it could be her mother.

She opened it quickly, and gasped when she saw it was Shanaya.

“What are you doing here?”

Shanaya took one look at her and started to say something, but then pressed her lips together before speaking, “My mom wanted me to check on you to see if you were fine.”

Kiara eased her shoulders and turned to look behind her. The apartment was too quiet.

“I’m okay. Is my mother going to be there long?”

Shanaya rolled her eyes and nodded. “Veer is convincing her and my mother to let him talk to us about Nari’s disappearance.”

“My mother wouldn’t agree.”

“Veer has a silver tongue. Before I left, our mothers were almost convinced because according to him we need to let our feelings out or face serious psychological damage.” Shanaya crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame. “He did a few psychology courses in college and now he’s apparently a psychiatrist.”

Kiara felt her stomach twist into a tight knot. “I don’t want to talk to him. How are you okay with it?”

“I’m not. But we won’t have much of a choice.” Shanaya lowered her voice and looked behind her before turning to her. “We have to come up with a story.”

“What story? Just say no.”

Shanaya snorted. “Uh huh. Before leaving Veer was talking to our mothers about taking us out and writing down a report. Look, my cousin is very persuasive. The more we decline to answer his queries, the more curious he will get and dig deeper. Let’s just hand him a convincing story.”

“And what story did you have in mind?” Kiara asked, wishing more than anything she could just disappear into thin air rather than discuss Nari.

“It was Nari’s idea to go into the woods. We told her not to but she wouldn’t listen.” Shanaya straightened. “And then we never heard from her again.”

Kiara swallowed. That was exactly what hadn’t happened. Nari had been a timid girl who never wanted to go into the woods in the first place.

Shanaya looked down. “Let’s just stick with that story, okay?”

Kiara saw her mother come out of Shanaya’s apartment and nodded quickly. “Fine.”

Neena walked over to Shanaya. “We had a lovely dinner,” she said and gave her a brief hug. “Your pasta was delicious.”

“Thank you.” Shanaya looked pleased with herself. “Good night.” She walked back to her house.

Kiara moved inside to let her mother enter. When the door was closed, she frowned. “What were you guys discussing?” 

Her mother put down her purse in the small table near the door. “Rekha’s nephew wants to do a report on the disappearance of your friend. He promised no names.”

“Mom, no.”

“I’ve never had a heart to heart with you about that with everything that had been going on between me and your father then.” Neena bit her lip. “And now this thing with Ruchi...”

Her mother led her to her room and made her sit on the bed. “It wouldn’t help to brush everything under the carpet. I don’t want you to be so traumatized you never have a chance at a normal life.”

“Ruchi died in front of me. And now you want me to talk about Nari with a total stranger?” Kiara felt close to tears.

Her mother sighed. “The police tracked Ruchi’s trail. They found evidence that she was near the woods before she walked over to the school. Veer said the police are making connections with a case from five years ago. Nari’s case. Sooner or later, they are going to come and talk to you about it again or perhaps another journalist might. Veer is someone we know. I rather you talk to him rather than some stranger who won’t be so sympathetic to what you have gone through.”

“Ruchi was in the woods?”

“That’s what is being reported.”

Kiara grabbed a pillow and hugged it as she saw flashes of Nari standing by the woods. It was after sunset, and they were all outside on an adventure. The adventure being playing a prank on the new girl – Nari.

“Veer will take you and Shanaya out on the weekend. He wants you both to be comfortable.” Her mother kissed her forehead. “Change and get some sleep, okay? Everything will be fine.”

She headed out the door and Kiara mumbled, “Good night.”

She knew she wouldn’t get any sleep tonight. She would be haunted by Ruchi and Nari in her dreams.

*****

To her surprise, Kiara woke up the next morning from a dreamless sleep. The sun had just risen and cast a golden puddle on her bedroom floor.

She lay staring at the ceiling, aware of how she would be spending today. She would have to be prepared for an onslaught of uncomfortable questions. She had seen and read interviews by journalists. They could be quite persistent.

Kiara sat up. As usual, she would be asked to dress properly. Shanaya had elegant tastes; no doubt Veer would bend to his  aunt’s preferences and take them to a fancy restaurant.

Kiara swung her legs over and looked outside. The view was of another tower, but she could spot someone in their balcony hanging out clothes to dry.

Kiara walked over to her wardrobe when she heard a knocking sound on the glass. She turned, but there was nothing on her sill.

“Probably a bird,” she muttered to herself. She lived on the eighteenth floor, of course no one was knocking on the window to be let in.

Kiara knelt to reach for a bag on the last shelf. Last year, her mother had taken her shopping and she hadn’t had a chance to wear any of the new tops or pants. Her mother was always too busy to go out anywhere except to the supermarket or mall once in a while, and Kiara had no friends to hang out with.

She opened the bag and picked out a light olive-green sweater and dark slacks.

Another knock on the window, annoyed her. She turned, but again, saw nothing out of the ordinary. She stood and walked to the window, thinking maybe it wasn’t shut properly.

She was reaching for the handle, when she stilled. The air had suddenly become still and heavy. She could feel a warm weight on her shoulders, and a chill coursed down her spine. She let out a breath and saw some fog.

The clothes fell from her hands when she heard soft footsteps on her carpet behind her. She knew her mother wasn’t awake yet. If she was, she would be in the kitchen first, boiling water, and then heading out to the living room to stretch and do a few yoga exercises. Then half an hour later, either she would be calling to yell at her ex-husband or he would.

Kiara was known to wake up at around ten on non-school days, so her mother never bothered to come into her room.

Outside, a bird fluttered its wings and settled on her sill. It appeared to be tilting its head and looking inside. Kiara knew it was a ridiculous thought, but the pigeon stared at something behind her and flew away.

“I’m being silly,” Kiara told herself, still staring outside.

Behind her she heard a low growl and then more footsteps heading towards her.

She turned, her arms in front of her, ready to defend. There was no one else in her room.

Kiara felt close to tears as her shoulders eased.

Of course there’s no one. What was I expecting? A wolf? In the city? In my bedroom?

She stared at the carpet and staggered backwards, hand on her mouth. There were imprints on the carpet. A wolf’s paw prints.

A thud on the window made her scream and she turned to look outside. There was no mistake. Someone had banged on her window and it wasn’t a bird pecking for food.

Her shoulders trembled when she spotted a blue ribbon lying on the sill. She walked over to the back of the door where the jeans she had worn to school still hung, awaiting wash.

She dug into the pockets, searching for the blue ribbon she had found outside school.

“Where the hell did I keep it?” She pulled the jeans from the hook and shook it. “Dammit!”

She flung the jeans on the floor and looked at the window. She remembered throwing it out and it landing on the ledge below. The wind must have brought it back to her. She went over to look out and felt her shoulders stiffen.

The blue ribbon was no longer outside the window.

It lay like a small snake, curled up, on the ledge inside. 

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