CHAPTER ONE
It was easy to get lost in New Bridge City. With a population of more than ten million, Veer Rathod found comfort in the fact that he didn’t know anyone.
No one would bother him unless he wanted them to. No one had to know where he came from or what he had gone through.
His life could remain a mystery if he chose to.
And in a way he did.
Who would believe what he had experienced in HarbourOne City anyway? He still had trouble believing all of it was real.
A move to a new city was just what he needed and that to a place like New Bridge City where people generally kept to themselves.
Over here, the people were caught up in a rat race. The only thing they concerned themselves was with earning enough money to afford good housing.
Not many succeeded and spent most of their lives in tired old apartments where it was considered to be fortunate if you had running water and plumbing.
The summers were hot and humid, the winters bitterly cold.
Veer had come to the city believing he too would have to struggle to keep up pace with the others. But a week after he had moved and found a small apartment to live in, he had received a job offer for sales.
He no longer wanted to write, no longer wanting to reach into the depths of his soul to seek out inspiration.
He wanted to do anything that didn’t require him to rake up memories that he wished would just erase from his mind.
On the day of his interview, he took one look in the mirror and decided he would have to shave and shower. He ironed his clothes, wore cologne, and combed his hair back. It was time for a haircut but it could wait. Right now he had to focus on the upcoming interview.
A new mall in the city had just opened, and a major electronics retailer was looking for salesmen. The night before he did his research on gadgets and other electronics. The next day, he put on his most charming demeanour and met with the interviewer.
Veer answered all his questions, impressed him with his knowledge, most of which he acquired last night.
Two days later he found out he was hired.
*****
New Bridge City Mall was vast and had thousands of stores and restaurants. He was working in Planet E Electronics which had the largest range of electronics in the country. He was one in a hundred employees at the store. He was required to always be on his feet and entice customers into buying the latest and most expensive cell phones.
There was a uniform; he had to wear a dark gray shirt, black tie and pants. He had to appear prim and professional at all times.
Veer was allowed a break for lunch, then work another three hours before he could leave for home at five.
Accommodation was provided near the mall in a building that was fortunately not too shabby. There was electricity, water, and maintenance.
For the first six months he shared the flat with three other co-workers, then when he was promoted to assistant manager, he rented an apartment of his own and moved into it.
Once a month, he would call his parents and let them know he was fine. They grew increasingly worried when he just up and left after his cousin Shanaya died.
The memories of his cousin tormented him every night. She was his best friend, his younger sister. She was perky, lively, and aspired to create a successful life for herself. All of it had been cut short in one tragic night.
It was his fault. He knew it was his fault. He really did believe he was doing the right thing but all he had done was put innocent lives at risk. And now he couldn’t even face Shanaya’s mother. He had to believe Aunt Rekha was okay. Veer’s mother had said her sister was coping well with grief, but Veer could imagine what she must be feeling. Probably anger at her nephew for being responsible for her daughter’s death.
Summer turned to autumn, and then winter. The end of the year was a busy time with everyone looking to buy gifts for others or themselves. Veer appreciated the extra work he was saddled with because that meant he was too tired when he returned to his apartment to think. And the less he thought about his guilt, the less chance was of it following him in his dreams where he had no control.
Spring came and the company hired new employees. Ravina was one of them. She had just moved into the city after finishing college. She was short, had curly hair, and a great sense of humour. Everyone liked her and she liked Veer.
They did go out a couple of times, but Veer was too wary of forming relationships. By the end of summer, Ravina told him they were better off as friends because he clearly didn’t reciprocate her feelings.
Two weeks later, she started dating another co-worker and a month later, announced that she was engaged. The wedding would be in December.
When he told his mother one evening about his co-workers, just to change the topic from the usual exchange of weather reports, his mother sighed and asked him, “When are you planning to get settled? Are you at least dating anyone?”
“No.”
“Do you have a good life there? Many friends?”
He replied again in the negative.
“Veer, you need to come back,” his mother told him. “I don’t know what happened in HarbourOne City. You were doing so well according to Rekha. You were a journalist and at least we knew what you were doing and where you were headed. Now you won’t even tell me what your job is. Come back, son. Your father and I will set you up with a nice, stable job. My friend Mina’s daughter is a dentist. She’s looking to settle down as well.”
“Mom, I don’t want to...” he let out a frustrated sigh. His mother wasn’t even listening as she went on about how pretty Mina’s daughter was.
“I’ll send you her picture so you can see for yourself,” she said.
“Don’t do that. It’s just weird.” Veer groaned. “Look, I’m busy with work and not really looking to date anyone.”
Veer stifled the next sentence he was going to utter. He didn’t want to be responsible for someone else’s death. The more people were distant from him, the better chance they had at living a normal life.
“I’m not asking you to get married immediately,” his mother said, a tad kindly. “There are thousands of dating sites. Try one at least. Get yourself out there into the dating world at least.”
“I don’t...”
“I’m going to make your profile tonight if you don’t,” his mother warned.
“No, I’ll do it myself,” Veer replied with gritted teeth.
“Good, then send me a screenshot of it when you’re done,” she said firmly before her tone developed sweeter notes as she ended the call.
Veer knew his mother would keep pestering him until he did as he was told. He was getting worried that his parents would show up one day at his apartment and demand that he return home with them. He would revolt, of course, but their mere presence would destroy the harmony he was seeking in a new city.
He searched for a dating site and began to build a profile. He didn’t have to use it. It was just a show for his mother who would no doubt go to the site and make sure his profile was there. He would later lie about dating and then how things weren’t working out and eventually deactivate his account. He finished making his profile, sent a screenshot, and immediately received advice via text from his mother on how he didn’t write an appealing enough bio.
The whole night was spent on correcting his profile.
*****
It was the first week of December and the mall was full of eager shoppers looking to buy gifts. There were sales everywhere. The mall was decorated with hundreds of stars and Christmas decorations.
Kids thronged outside toy shops and there were the persistent sounds of tantrums as weary parents dragged away their children from the display of expensive toys.
Veer had just finished working an eight-hour shift and his back and neck hurt. He took off the Santa hat and his tie as he made his way to the escalators. He had to go down four floors and the elevators already had a long line in front of it.
His phone buzzed and he saw a notification of someone who had liked his profile on Just Date. He imagined it was some lonely woman looking for someone during the holidays to spend time with. Then next month, she would unceremoniously dump him.
He put his phone back in the pocket and then bumped into someone as he came off the escalator.
“Sorry.” The woman’s voice was cheery as she dragged along with her an eager girl who kept chanting about being late to meet Santa.
“Yeah, no problem,” he said distractedly. Then stopped. His left hand tingled, then vibrated. There was a time when he had felt all this, usually accompanied by an ominous feeling.
He swallowed.
Kiara Someri.
The girl who had brought such a drastic change to his life. The girl who was possessed by an evil witch. The girl he was supposed to protect. The girl he couldn’t save after all. She was gone too, just like Shanaya.
With it was gone the strange intuitive feeling that came whenever she was in danger.
Now, more than a year later, the feeling had returned. But he didn’t feel a threat or an omen. Rather, he felt strangely happy.
He turned, the floral perfume reaching his nostrils. That familiar scent that only belonged to her. He saw the girl as she went up the escalator. Her long hair was deep brown and wavy. She was wearing a deep red sweater and beige pants and boots. With her was a girl dressed in a thick pink jacket and cap, and who kept jumping up and down.
Veer went up the escalator, but she was too far off. She stepped off the escalator and struggled with holding onto the little girl. Veer wished he could push through the crowd, but there were some elderly people on it and he didn’t want to be the one who hurt and spoiled their holidays.
As soon as he stepped off the escalator, he looked all around and remembered the girl wanting to go to see Santa.
He made his way as fast as he could toward the display set for Santa. A whole area, where a small cottage was built with sculptures of reindeers placed up front. High school kids had volunteered to be elves.
Veer came to the section in the middle of the mall which was decorated with posters and wooden boards that welcomed everyone to the North Pole.
There was a crowd of parents and screaming, excited children.
He almost didn’t see her. She spoke to an elf at the start of the line while the little girl looked up at her.
“Kiara,” he called out, but she didn’t turn.
It couldn’t be her. She was dead. It couldn’t be her, but something inside him refused to listen.
He could feel it was her and that was enough for him to keep moving forward. He saw the elf shaking his head and the little girl’s look of disappointment.
No doubt she was being told she couldn’t meet Santa today or that she would have to wait a long time to meet him.
The woman led the small girl away, holding her hand and looking down at her smiling. The little girl pouted back at her but no longer struggled in her grip.
“Do you want ice cream?” She asked and the little girl’s eyes lit up.
He was right behind her now. He put his hand on her. “Kiara?”
She turned and it was her. It was her eyes even if they were a dark green. It was her nose, her mouth, her feel.
“No,” she said with a smile.
Then something inside him shook and stiffened. “Amara?” He almost choked on that name.
She looked at him with narrow, suspicious eyes. “Uh, no. You have the wrong person.”
He didn’t see a flicker of recognition in her eyes.
“I want ice cream, now!” The little girl demanded.
“Excuse me,” the woman said and walked past him.
She had the same perfume, she looked the same, except for her eye colour. It was her. It had to be.
But then why didn’t she recognize him?
CHAPTER TWO
He followed her as memories poured into his mind, memories he would have preferred to forget.
Two years ago, he had left home to come to HarbourOne City. At that time, his mentor Vikram Mehra had been able to get him a job in that city after he retired there. Veer thought he would get to learn a lot, grow in a small city, and then finally move on to bigger and better opportunities elsewhere. HarbourOne City was simply a stepping stone, and it helped that he had family there as well; his mother’s sister Rekha and his cousin Shanaya.
He had to impress his boss Shiraz Omeri, head of The Early Report, by showing keen interest in the city’s history, and what a history it was.
HarbourOne City was once called Yamara, a small-town settlement surrounded by mountains. History told of a story of a young girl who saved the town from a pack of wolves by using herself as bait and luring them to the edge of the cliff where they all fell down one stormy night.
The story had plenty of holes to begin with. The town had never seen wolves there before. The girl was supposed to be a young woman who was a midget. And then there were stories that delved into the supernatural.
Amara was a witch, angered by the people who ridiculed her for being a dwarf. She summoned the wolves as part of a dark magic ritual and had them attack her bullies. She, however, wasn’t the only supernatural being there. There were those who practiced white magic and put a stop to her evil intentions. They had been the ones who had gotten rid of Amara, stopped her, then encased her soul in stone.
The stone statue had to be hidden in the woods for decades and the people who lived there were known as The Protectors, misunderstood as Amara’s cult followers when in reality they were projecting the citizens from Amara who managed to use what little power she had to kill those who came near her.
Never in his lifetime would Veer have believed that story if he had never gone to HarbourOne City himself and seen everything and more.
It took him a long time to believe in Amara’s story and by then it was too late. The whole city was in danger. Shanaya died, the girl possessed by Amara, Kiara, died. And all that remained with him, was his guilt. He should have believed everyone when they said Kiara was possessed by Amara. He should have never interfered in the ritual the Protectors had been performing on Kiara. He should have just stayed away.
But he hadn’t. And now his life was full of regret. He was responsible for dozens of deaths. He could never again meet Rekha’s eyes, knowing she would blame him for her daughter’s death. He should have never interfered that night.
Now he followed the girl who looked like Kiara up to the food court, unable to help himself. She looked so much like her, and her clothes...Kiara had been wearing a similar outfit when he first came to HarbourOne City. She was the first person he had met. The one who gave him wrong directions.
He had been mad at her when he saw her on the middle of the road because he had almost hit her with his motorcycle. Then when he saw her, he had been a little taken by her innocence. She was attractive, but she looked sad and worried. He was unaware that she had witnessed another one of Amara’s victims die before her.
Yet, she had still managed to keep it together and given him wrong directions. He had been following the GPS maps and hadn’t really need her help, but he was just making conversation and when she gave him the wrong directions, he thought she was just one of those girls who liked to tease and make fun of people.
Later, he found he was further from the truth. She was the victim of Shanaya’s bullying. He loved his cousin dearly, but she had a mean streak in her which constituted of bullying her classmates, making her friends follow her orders, and float vicious lies about people. One of them had been about Kiara sending a twelve-year-old girl called Nari to the woods to die.
Veer massaged his forehead. He hadn’t thought about the past for a year now and he succeeded in suppressing all the emotions that were raked up with it.
Nari had been one of Amara’s victims too, but she was revived by the Protectors—a tribe who dwelled in the woods—and became one of them. She was the one who had tethered him to Kiara so he could protect her from Amara. She was in danger, Nari had told him. What she didn’t say was that Kiara’s mother had pledged her daughter to Amara before she was even born. Kiara was cursed to be possessed by Amara as soon as she turned eighteen.
The Protectors had been trying to protect Kiara from Amara but they were unsuccessful in stopping the evil witch from luring and playing on Kiara’s weakness. He had been unknowingly tethered and in charge of protecting Kiara because he was an outsider and also because he was neighbours with Kiara. He had failed that time too.
Kiara had been so heartbroken when she learned the truth about her birth that she gave herself up to Amara voluntarily. She had changed fterwards; became more open with her feelings and her annoyances. Her appearance had changed and to an outsider, it would seem she had grown confident. She was making friends, dating dozens of guys, drinking and smoking....
Except that hadn’t been Kiara. It was Amara who was using Kiara’s body to put her own plans of revenge into action.
The only chance they had was the fact that Kiara was a witch herself. The leader of the Protectors was her grandfather and he was trying to get Kiara to realize her powers and defeat Amara herself. Kiara had fought and for some reason, she could read Veer’s mind.
For some reason, she was able to push Amara down and emerge whenever she was with him.
Veer watched the girl who looked like Kiara head out of the ice cream parlour with an ice cream cone. The little girl with her was holding a sundae cup with a large scoop of ice cream, chocolate syrup, nuts and cherries.
He wondered if Kiara could read him now.
If I call to you, can you hear me? Kiara?
She of course didn’t even flinch or turn. She was talking to the little girl and laughing. Then pointed ahead and smiled widely. Veer followed her gaze and saw a couple heading toward her. They looked to be in their mid-forties. The man had gray hair, a moustache and glasses, and a wide belly. The woman was tall and had a belly too, but she carried herself well. The couple looked friendly and warm.
They approached Kiara and the little girl and talked about something that gave them all a hearty laugh. Then Kiara looked around and Veer quickly slipped behind a pillar. He peered out and saw her heading to an empty table at the food court.
“Daddy, I’m going to sit here, and Mummy will sit here, and Siyara there,” the little girl instructed.
Siyara? He thought he had misheard her name.
“What if I want to sit where Mummy is sitting?” the girl who looked like Kiara asked.
“I didn’t get to see Santa so I get to make the rules now,” the girl said cheekily and jumped on a chair and sat down.
“You almost dropped your ice cream,” Kiara squealed.
Veer narrowed his eyes. What was Kiara doing with these people? Was she their babysitter? A family friend?
While they all sat down, Kiara still stood. “Mom, Dad, what do you guys want for dinner?”
Veer pulled himself away from the pillar. Why is she calling them Mom and Dad?
“I’ll have a super duper burger meal,” the man said.
“Same here,” the woman chimed in.
“Me too!” The little girl said.
Kiara raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Little Alia is going to have a super duper meal all by herself?”
“Yes! Yes!” Alia’s ice cream was melting but she made no move to spoon any more into her mouth.
“And you’re going to finish that also and have a super duper meal?” Kiara asked, still licking her ice cream cone.
“I can eat that much!” Alia said, her little legs dangling on the plastic green chair.
“You’re six and your appetite is pathetic.” Kiara gave her ice cream cone to her mother who gladly finished it for her.
“Daddy!” Alia pouted.
“Siyara, don’t tease your sister,” the man said distractedly as he checked his phone.
“Yeah, Siyara, don’t tease me.” Alia stuck out her tongue.
Veer started to walk slowly when he saw an elderly woman looking at him. No doubt she was thinking he was a creep for watching a family have their dinner.
Siyara.
They were calling her by another name. It did sound a lot like Kiara, but that wasn’t what they were calling her. He made a turn and took out his phone, pretending to read his messages.
He had walked a little too far, and could barely hear them now over the noise of the other diners.
He saw Kiara complain to her mother and then acquiesce. She walked over to Crown Burger and stood in line. Veer stood in the adjoining line for a sushi restaurant. He didn’t even like sushi, but it was where he could stand and watch Kiara while being inconspicuous.
Her turn came and she greeted the cashier with a smile. She placed four orders for a super duper meal and chose her drinks. She was handed an electronic beeper and before she was about to leave, the cashier woman told her about a special raffle they had where ten lucky winners would get a free meal voucher. Kiara showed interest and the woman took down her name.
“Siyara Dholand,” she replied. “That’s S-I-Y-A-R-A.”
“People get your name wrong a lot?” The woman smiled.
“You have no idea.” She smiled back and was told she would receive her order in ten to fifteen minutes. She headed back to her family while Veer was asked what he wanted.
Veer looked at the cashier, a man who was waiting impatiently. He pushed the menu card at him and Veer ordered a bottle of water. The cashier mumbled something but handed him a bottle of water and took the change.
Veer walked away, watching Siyara as she sat down with her family and laughed at something. She seemed happy. Nothing like Kiara was or even Amara after she possessed Kiara.
He opened his bottle of water and drank from it. His appetite had waned and he wondered about skipping dinner. He couldn’t loiter about anymore. The security guard was already eyeing him suspiciously, probably wondering why he was roaming around and not eating anything and continuously watching a family.
He walked away. She wasn’t Kiara. She couldn’t be. Then who was she?
****
An hour and a half later, Veer was back in his apartment. It had been a wrong move to take the metro back. There had been so many passengers that he was worried that once the doors slid open, everyone would just tumble out.
He was happy to be back in his apartment. It wasn’t much but it was his. He had a tiny hall with one sofa in front of a TV. The kitchen was even tinier but then again he was never much of a cook anyway. He was pleased with his small stove and an electric oven where he usually tossed in ready made dinners that needed to be heated. His fridge was small and still almost empty. There was an apple or two in there, three bottles of beer, a litre of milk and some cheese slices. He had forgotten to get some bread to go with it.
He took a shower, changed his clothes and sat down in front of the TV, to watch a football match. He already knew the results of that, but didn’t care. He just wanted a distraction.
His phone buzzed again, reminding him he had notifications from the dating site. He ignored it, and returned to watching his match. A minute later, he was getting up and bringing his laptop with him to the hall. Then he went into the kitchen to get a bottle of beer from the fridge. He opened it, took a big gulp, then turned on his laptop.
He realized he was being a creepy stalker, but then muzzled that annoying little voice who was supposed to be in charge of making rational decisions and keeping him safe. That little voice hadn’t been much help in the past after all and had lost all credibility.
He was a journalist and what he was doing now was research. That gave pause to the voice in his head.
He quickly typed in Siyara Dholand and received dozens of entries. He narrowed it down to those who lived in New Bridge City.
It wasn’t easy to find her because she had used a blurry profile picture of herself. Her bio read: Live the moment before capturing it.
There was another picture of her with her family at a restaurant. She looked happy. Her profile was built five years ago. Her friends list was blocked.
He took another sip from the bottle and typed again. This time he searched for which school she had gone to. He found another one of her social media pages where she wrote that she had gone to New Bridge City Castle School. She had graduated five years ago, finished her Bachelors degree and was currently studying MBA at New Bridge City University.
He found a picture of her with a group of girls at a water park. This one was taken three months ago. He scrolled further and found a picture of her gardening, taken six months ago.
He scrolled down further, seeing more and more pictures of her, some with friends, some with guys, some of her posing in a dress.
He found one dated more than a year ago. It was a picture of Siyara with her sister Alia. They were wearing funny caps and were cutting the cake together. Siyara had cheerfully captioned the photo: Happy 5th Birthday little sister!
Veer sat back on his sofa and finished his beer. The date the picture had been taken was pretty much the day Amara had been defeated. The day Shanaya had died. The day Kiara had too.
He went back further and found a close-up picture of her with a parakeet. She captioned it with: My new best friend.
Veer rubbed his forehead, but it was no use. His headache had come into full force. He got up, went to his room to get an aspirin and gulped it down without water.
He returned to his laptop and went to the search site. Massaging his neck, he stared at the screen, reminding him it was silly. Then again, if Kiara was a supernatural being herself...
He had heard about doppelgängers, about how they looked exactly the same but weren’t and how their personalities were different as well.
He clicked enter, then deleted the search term. No, it couldn’t be. Some people did say there was a lookalike for everyone on this planet, but Siyara looked too much like Kiara. Except for the colour of her eyes, her skin colour, the way she walked, her voice, all of it was the same.
Unless...
His breath caught in his throat and his head throbbed. He had put off doing this for a long time, but now he had to know. He had to know what happened in HarbourOne City after he left.
His fingers trembled as he typed in the city’s name. At first, all he saw were articles on a new bank opening, a new centre for the disabled, and a new kindergarten.
He recognized the names of his former co-workers below the article headings; most of them written by Rita, a woman he had taken on a date once.
He went back to that fateful year and swallowed.
‘City rebuilds after a massive fire. 108 people killed.’
The city apparently received donations from other cities, including New Bridge City. It was redeveloping now after the supposed fire had destroyed City Lights; a multimillion-dollar city project that consisted of popular nightclubs and gourmet restaurants. The city had suffered a major loss, but the Mayor insisted that they would stand strong once again.
Veer searched further and found videos of reporters covering the news. In one of them, he caught a glimpse of a statue in the background. He paused the video and zoomed in. It was blurry, but he was certain it was Amara. She was trapped in stone once again. But he doubted anyone would revere her now.
His window vibrated and he heard a crack. He turned, jolted from his thoughts. The sudden movement caused his neck to hurt and his mind to sway. He walked over to the window and saw a crack that looked like spiderwebs in the corner.
He gingerly touched it and exhaled. He was on the seventh floor, who could have been tossing rocks at his window?
He slid open the window and looked out. There were plenty of people on the streets at this late hour, but he couldn’t find anyone looking up. He was too high up and couldn’t imagine anyone making the target.
He was about to close the window, thinking that perhaps a bird had hit itself while flying like in the cartoons he saw as a kid, when something grabbed his wrist.
Before he could exclaim, much less pull his hand away, he saw it was a graying, decomposing hand, wrapped around his wrist. He felt a tug, as if someone was using his hand to pull themselves forward.
“You didn’t forget me, did you?” He heard her hiss.
Veer tried to pull his wrist away, but the hand wouldn’t budge.
As she drew closer, Veer caught the stench of decaying flowers, burnt flesh, and the coppery scent of blood. He kept pulling his hand away, but she was stronger, resilient. She came forward and he opened his mouth to scream.
But just like in dreams sometimes, he couldn’t. He felt too cold, too numb.
“Hello, Veer.” The hag cackled and he saw her eyes, gleaming yellowish- green, full of malice.
He put his other hand on hers and twisted it. He heard the bone crack and the woman howl in pain. He pushed himself back and stumbled. His back hit the floor and he felt his breath escape him.
Still, he scrambled to his feet, reached for the window and shut it fast.
“Fuck!” He cried out. He went to his room, got tape and went over to the window. He used as much tape as he could to seal the windows, his hands trembling with fear as he did so.
When the roll was finished, he stepped back, breathing heavily, his back aching, his head throbbing. He doubt even an ant could get through with the amount of tape he had used.
He let his breathing return to normal, looked back at the picture of the statue on his laptop and shut the lid.
A year ago, his life had had a modicum of normalcy. He was moving on, had a new job, a new life...
And today he had seen Kiara. And now, accosted by Amara.
It was her. He knew that. It was Amara. This couldn’t be a coincidence.
Something had happened in HarbourOne City and Amara had somehow been brought back.
CHAPTER THREE
He could barely concentrate at work the next day. A new model of a budget smartphone had arrived and he was fumbling his way through a pitch to a potential customer, a middle-aged man who wanted a second phone for his business.
“I’ll have to think about it,” the man said. “I’m not really looking for a phone’s best feature to be attractive colours.”
That wasn’t the best feature of the phone but Veer couldn’t remember what it was. He nodded in understanding and watched the customer walk away only for another salesman to swoop in and sell him that exact phone.
It was Ravi, the new recruit who was persistent and so far had managed to make enough sales in the week he joined the company for the supervisors to be impressed.
Veer knew it wouldn’t be long before his job as an assistant manager would be in jeopardy. He was supposed to oversee the staff and if a customer approached him, he should know how to direct them. And here he was, trying to make a terrible sales pitch when he was supposed to be getting back to paperwork.
“You okay?” Ravi asked as he came back with a winning smile after the customer left with a new phone.
“Not really. I’m taking a break.” Veer loosened his tie and went into the break room.
Everything was going sideways again. He was fine before he saw Kiara. He was moving on with his life before he tangled himself with Amara’s legend again.
Or maybe he was just going mad.
He made himself an espresso and sat down with his phone. He had to know more. There had to be a reason for all that happened last night.
He typed HarbourOne City, the deleted it and typed The Legend of Amara. Instantly he found dozens of blogs dedicated to her.
There were some created by teenagers who had made up a chant to summon Amara. She would make all their wishes come true, they claimed. A blog he found mentioned that speaking one's enemy's name in front of the statue was a surefire way to get rid of them.
Then he found an article written by his former boss Shiraz. The article was about the garden where Amara’s statue was and the building. The entire land was bought by Kedar.
“Fuck,” Veer muttered when he read the article.
According to it, the mayor of the city had died in the fire. The new appointed mayor didn’t care much for the pact with the tribe in the woods and told them to leave. They did leave the woods, but the tribe leader, Kedar Natson was rich enough to purchase the land on which the garden and building stood. He even donated enough for the city to be rebuilt.
The building was renamed as Kiara Garden Tower. The garden was accessible but there was an iron fence built around the statue like a prison. People could see the statue, but not touch it.
Veer found photos of the statue in the article where each bar of the fence had a light blue ribbon tied around it.
In an interview, Kedar admitted losing his granddaughter in the fire and naming his land after her as a tribute.
The tribe who were rendered homeless after the appointment of the new mayor, were given free apartments to live in.
“We have always watched over this city, our home,” Kedar said in the interview. “And we will continue to do so.”
In the article, there were photos of Kedar and he was no longer dressed in robes and had long hair and beard.
He was wearing an expensive suit and was clean shaven and had a haircut. He looked like a businessman and still every bit as intimidating as when Veer first met him.
Veer went back to the search results and saw the blogs dedicated to the so-called hero of the city Amara. He couldn’t understand why people chose to revere her when she was the one who destroyed her city. Did they not know what happened that night? Were they all brainwashed somehow?
He went to a girl’s blog who had put up a picture of herself dressed in a dark robe and posing as Amara’s statue on Halloween. She had her dog nearby to represent the wolf that Amara supposedly rid the town of.
“What is wrong with these people?” Veer muttered to himself and looked up to make sure no one had heard him talking to himself.
He returned to his phone and saw a chant the girl made up to call Amara.
“Little Amara, Little Amara.
I beckon you, oh girl from Yamara.
I thank you for your deed,
But I call you for a need.
Let all my wishes come true,
Let my enemies turn blue.
Use your powers of the coven,
And forever we will be inter-woven.”
Veer massaged his neck, unable to believe what this teenage girl was up to. Her name was Alina Vishwas, and she had thousands of followers on her blog.
He wondered if the girl had done more than write poems about Amara. Perhaps she had done something for Amara to escape. But he couldn’t find any articles that reported the statue had been damaged in any way. Then again, not everything needed to be reported.
Karan, the store manager, popped his head in and gestured with his thumb. “Break time is over. We have customers coming in. Have you finished your paperwork?”
Veer pocketed his phone and got up quickly. “I’ll get on it right away.”
*****
It was around eight when he left work. He had struggled through his shift with a throbbing headache that refused to go away.
“You need to drink more water,” Ravina told him when she noticed him massaging his head. “You’re dehydrating yourself drinking only coffee the whole day.”
Veer took her advice and the first thing he did after he left the store was head to the mall’s supermarket and buy two large bottles of water. He used the express lane and picked up a granola bar from the shelf near the cashier.
Heading to the food court, he found an empty table at the corner and drank his water. He knew he was doing terrible service to his body by not having a healthy dinner, but he didn’t care. He opened up the search site on his phone again, unable to resist the urge to find out more of what happened in HarbourOne City that was once called Yamara.
He couldn’t find anything more but set up news alerts for the town. He knew he could easily just call his Aunt Rekha and ask her about what was really happening in the city. But then he would have to talk about Shanaya and he couldn’t bring himself to do that.
Veer put down his phone and drank more water. He looked at the granola bar and found no appetite for it.
His phone beeped and his first instinct was that it was a news alert. Something had happened in HarbourOne City that would explain why he was so restless.
He saw his notifications and groaned. It was a pop up message from the dating site, reminding him there were users that matched his profile.
It was the holiday season and the site was promoting an offer that guaranteed him a date by New Years Eve. The desperation made him disgusted, and he wanted to delete his profile, but knew his mother would know somehow and reprimand him.
He wished he was into it. He wished his only troubles consisted of anything related to his job and relationship drama like in the movies. Instead, he was entangled in something that would seem implausible to common people. They would think he was insane.
His phone beeped again. Another notification from Just Date, reminding him he hadn’t seen his matched profiles for today.
He opened up the app, and went to the settings bar where he could turn off notifications. He contemplated deleting the app again.
You don’t want to do that, he warned himself. Your mother WILL find out and make a fuss.
He saw the thumbnails of girls and their profiles and stopped scrolling. He narrowed his eyes, then tapped on a profile so he could see the photo.
Siyara Dholand.
It was her. She was on the dating app, too.
What are the odds of that happening?
There was a picture of her in a garden, smiling. She was wearing a red tank top and a long skirt and sandals. The sun shone on her, making her skin look golden.
Possibly a filter, Veer thought. Plenty of those around.
Although he had seen her up close, and noticed she didn’t really need the filters.
Her bio claimed she was twenty-six years old. Veer blinked and looked at her birth date again. It couldn’t be. Kiara was eighteen when he first met her. She couldn’t be more than twenty or twenty-one now.
Her hobbies included gardening and taking long walks on the beach. She didn’t smoke or drink. She loved adventure sports. She was doing her MBA and had plans to open her own business. She loved her family.
She was looking for someone who shared varied interests like her. He shouldn’t mind a quiet evening reading books, then be up for bungee jumping the next minute.
He looked at the buttons below her profile. One had a smiling face, the other a frowning one. His thumb hovered over the buttons.
Don’t! The rational voice in him woke up with a start. You came here to get a fresh start, remember? Remember? She isn’t Kiara. Let it go. Forget you ever knew anyone named Kiara.
He remembered when a girl in the tribe, Nari, had told him Kiara was his destiny. There was a reason she was the first person he met when coming into the city. There was a reason they were connected, why Kiara could read his mind.
Whatever it was, he had to understand he didn’t have a choice any more. If this was Kiara, she had made her way to him again. Amara as well.
You’re hopeless, the rational voice said, resignedly.
He sent her a smiling face and was informed his interest was sent.
He pocketed his phone and tore off the granola bar wrapper. He ate it slowly, wrinkling his nose. He suddenly wanted to eat something else, something better. His phone beeped again and he felt a jolt. His heart beat quickened when he saw it was a notification from Just Date. His interest had been accepted. He could now chat with Siyara.
“That was quick,” he said aloud. It is my destiny, he thought. He didn’t know why he was supposed to be connected to her or why Kiara was his destiny, but he would find that out later. For now, he wanted to know who this girl really was.
He opened up the chat box and hesitated again. He wanted to ask her if she was Kiara. If she was, then why was she hiding herself and who were those people with her.
He took a deep breath and typed ‘Hi’. She wasn’t online and he put his phone on the table, waiting for her to respond. She had to be online before to accept his interest.
Veer gobbled his bar, not hungry but he was nervous for some reason. Ten minutes later, when she didn’t respond and Veer gave up, his phone beeped and he saw it was a text from his mother asking when she could call him. He texted back that he was still at work and asked if there was anything wrong.
Nothing urgent, his mother replied. She would call him tomorrow because it was late and she was tired.
Veer received a message from Just Date and saw Siyara was finally online. She responded with a Hi of her own and followed it up with a ‘how are you?’.
Formal. Polite. No indication yet that she knew him even though his picture was on his profile. He wasn’t fine, but he typed that he was. The conversation moved to their respective careers, and he told her what he did. He knew the answer to what she was doing at the moment based on her social media profile, but still hoped she would give a different answer. She didn’t.
He asked her if she wanted to meet up. She agreed but after her exam. It was the last exam before the university closed for the holidays.
She wanted to meet at a cafe that wouldn’t be overcrowded, so they could talk. But Veer knew it was also a cafe frequented by many and in a part of a city where there were many offices. It nettled him a bit that she wanted to meet in a an overcrowded public place, as though she was afraid he may be an online predator.
He agreed to meet her at five, and made plans to let his supervisor know he would be leaving early tomorrow. He would make up some excuse if Karan didn’t allow him.
Siyara apologized for having little time to chat as she was studying for her exam. He understood and said good night.
She didn’t reply and he didn’t mind. It was enough she was meeting him and he could finally put his curiosity to rest. Tomorrow he would find out if she was really Kiara.
*****
He slept surprisingly well, even had a good enough appetite for breakfast that he ordered from a nearby restaurant because his fridge still hadn’t been stocked up. He ate his omelet, finished his fruit bowl and drank some tea.
He shaved and showered, even put on some cologne. He headed to work, feeling cheerful despite the throng of demanding customers. Some of them came in to return the new phone that had a defect and was recalled. He was immersed in paperwork until afternoon, with some customers demanding to see the manager because their electronics didn’t work according to how they wanted them to.
Most of them had no idea how to use the smartphones or the smart watches. He explained to them politely, even though they claimed the product was advertised as user-friendly and clearly wasn’t.
When he was finally allowed to go to lunch, he found he had received a text message from Siyara. Something had come up and she couldn’t make it in the evening. He felt his heart sink as he scrolled down his messages.
But her exams were over and she could meet him at two if he was free. Veer checked the time; it was one-forty p.m.
With the traffic at this time, he wouldn’t be able to reach where she wanted to meet.
He told her he was still working but if they could change the venue. She asked him where while at the same time informing him she had to return a dress at New Bridge City Mall.
Veer felt a string of excitement. There it was again. Somehow, she kept coming to him. He pushed away his thoughts that reminded him she was his destiny. It wasn’t. It was a coincidence. She was here at the mall that day and had done some shopping. Like many customers during the holiday season, she too must have regretted making an impulsive purchase. Heaven knew he had enough customers at the store today wanting a refund or an exchange.
He informed her that he worked at the store in the mall. There was some hesitance on her part. She must think he was lying like most people online. Seconds later she told him she would be there in half an hour.
Veer smiled to himself and returned to work. He would take his lunch break later.
****
Twenty five minutes later, Veer paced restlessly in front of Planet E Electronics. He kept glancing at the escalators and then walked over to the railing to peer down at the lower floors.
There were customers coming in, mostly kids from school who were let out for the midterm break. They still had their backpacks on as they wandered the mall with ice cream cones or coffee cups in hand.
His phone beeped and he saw it was a message from Siyara asking him to come to the food court. Veer headed over there immediately, obvious to the fact that his stomach was fluttering and his palms were sweating.
He had to be prepared for the girl to turn out to be Amara, being the deceitful, evil witch she always was. But she wanted to meet him in the most crowded area in the mall, so at least there was a slim chance she wouldn’t attack him in front of everyone. If she was pretending to be someone else, that meant she wanted to keep hiding.
He paused just before he entered the food court area where it was just as noisy as it would be during the weekends. Now with the holidays approaching, everyone seemed to always want to be at the mall, especially since every store had put up tempting discounts on their merchandise.
She could just be Kiara, he told himself. She was back, probably angry with him for not protecting her or simply wanting nothing to do with her past.
He took a deep breath and headed inside, realizing there was no way he could find her in this crowd. He found an empty table near a doughnut and ice cream shop and sat down before anyone else did. The food court was filling up fast.
The minute he sat down, his phone beeped again and he saw it was a message from his mother, asking him if he was going to come back home for New Year’s. There was another message from his colleague who wanted to know if a customer could use a mall gift card at their store.
Veer replied “I don’t know yet” for the first message, and “Yes” to the next. It annoyed him that he couldn’t leave the store for two minutes without being bombarded with questions from the new recruits.
“Veer Rathod?”
He looked up to see a girl wearing a rose pink full sleeves top, brown shorts and boots. Her long hair was tied in a high ponytail to reveal long dangling earrings. She had mascara on that made her green eyes looked bigger, and she wore pink lipstick.
It was Kiara. Her perfume was the same. Yet, her eyes didn’t register any recognition.
“Yes.”
She put out her hand, charm bracelets dangled on her wrists. “I’m Siyara.”
He took her hand distractedly, while gazing at her as she sat down. There was no mark, no facial feature that was even slightly different.
He looked down at her hand and saw one of the bracelets dangling from her wrist that had the letters S-I-S-I dangling from it. She smiled widely and Veer swallowed. Her hand was soft and warm, and when she touched him, he felt cheerful somehow: As if the grey clouds that hovered around him for months, finally lifted and he could feel normal again.
He let go of her hand when her smile dropped just a bit and he realized he had been holding her for a bit longer than in a usual handshake.
“Just how did you find a table here?” She asked while putting away her brown handbag with tassels.
“How did you find me?” Veer swallowed. He had to gather himself.
“You were the only guy here sitting alone.” She smiled. Then took a deep breath. “Look, I want to make one thing clear. I know Just Date is kind of used more like a hooking-up app, but I’m not...you know...in that category. In fact my parents said I should give it a go because they think I’m still not over my ex.”
“Your ex?” Veer put his phone on silent mode as more messages popped up from work. He would deal with it all later. Right now he wanted to figure out who the girl before him was.
She smiled. “Yeah, I was in a relationship with a guy since high school, but he left for the army and, long distance relationships kind of don’t work. He thought it best we break up but remain friends because he doesn’t want me to keep waiting for him.”
As far as Veer knew, Kiara hadn’t been in a relationship with anyone in high school. She didn’t even have friends.
She clasped her hands before her. “And you?”
He looked at her nails painted a shimmering pink, and the bracelet dangling from her wrist.
“Oh this?” She touched her bracelet. “My sister gave this to me on my last birthday. It’s supposed to bring me luck if I wear it when taking my exams.” She smiled. “She calls me Sisi. That’s my nickname.”
Veer nodded. She was speaking with a lot of conviction, and all of it seemed true. But how was it possible? How could someone who looked so much like Kiara, not actually be her?
“You don’t really talk a lot, do you?”
Veer snapped himself back and straightened. “Yes, sorry, I was distracted by something going on at work.”
“Oh, if you’re busy, maybe we could do this another time.” Siyara shrugged. “I kind of forgot to bring the dress I wanted to return so I’ll be coming here again tomorrow. Left it in the car when my dad dropped me off.”
“No, I’m fine now. Do you want something to eat?”
She shrugged. “Just coffee is good. Espresso.”
Veer nodded and headed to the nearby cafe. He waited in line to order, trying to remember if Kiara liked coffee. If she even did, he didn’t remember her ever drinking an espresso. Still, it wasn’t concrete proof that she was who she said she was. How was he going to find out for sure?”
“Hey,” Siyara said, coming behind him.
“You didn’t have to come, I was just going to get the coffees.”
“Oh, an elderly couple came along and I gave them the table. If you don’t mind I could use a walk. I’ve been sitting two hours for the exam, then almost an hour in traffic.”
“Sure.” Veer ordered the coffees while Siyara leaned against the counter looking at the display.
“Do you want anything else? Something to eat?” He asked again.
She shook her head and smiled. “Nope. My dad’s birthday is in three days. We are planing a major party and there’s going to be like three different cakes, and pizzas and baked everything basically. So I’m saving myself for that. Keeping it light so I have enough space in my stomach on that day. My mom is an amazing cook.”
Siyara stopped herself and grinned. “I tend to babble a lot sometimes.”
Veer smiled back as he handed her a cup.
“So where do you work?” She asked as they walked out of the cafe.
“Planet E. Assistant manager.”
“That’s nice. So...do you offer customers extra discounts if they know you?”
Veer looked at her curiously.
Siyara gave a sheepish smile. “Like I said, dad’s birthday is coming up and I wanted to get him a new phone.”
“There is a price reduction offer on selected models,” he told her.
“Yeah, but now that I know you, do I get an additional discount?” She pressed down on a smile.
“So, the reason you accepted the interests was because you saw that I work at the mall and you thought you could get a discount?”
Siyara laughed then. “Yeah, that was a big reason. I saw you worked at the largest mall in the country, although I didn’t know which store, and I thought it would be great to date someone who could get me an amazing deal.” She ticked the air with one finger.
Veer stopped. “Well, if you want to check out something now...”
“No. I have to come with my little sister. She will kill me if I buy something without telling her.” Siyara winced. “This is really strong.” She gestured at the coffee.
Veer continued walking. “Were you born here?” He had to admit he was enjoying her affability, but he hadn’t come to this date just to spend time with her. He wanted answers.
“Yeah. You?”
Veer tightened his hold on his cup. “I’m from HarbourOne City.” The lie slid off his tongue easily.
Siyara looked puzzled. “I don’t think I’ve heard of it. Where is it?”
“It was known as Yamara, maybe you know it by its former name.”
“Hmm. Maybe I did come across it in some history book.” Siyara shrugged. “Something we learned in school. But that was such a long time ago now.” She stopped. “Actually, I think I did hear of it. That little city that had the forest fire incident.”
Veer swallowed as he saw no evidence still that Siyara knew about HarbourOne City. She seemed genuinely puzzled.
HarbourOne City was a very small city in a state that was on one corner of the country. Even he couldn’t name every city and town in the country.
“What’s it known for? The city? Do they have good food?”
Veer let out a breath. “It’s known for its legend. The Legend Of Amara.”
“Amara?” She looked deep in thought. “I think I saw something about her on the internet. I think there’s a cult or something. Some creepy legend about her awakening from the dead. I’m not sure what it was.”
“Amara was a terrible witch who terrorized the townsfolk. I’m saying she was terrible, because she failed at mission to hurt people and fell off a cliff and died.” He spoke derisively, tauntingly. If the girl before him was Amara, she would be irked and lash out.
Siyara giggled. “Oh really? She fell off a cliff like in the cartoons? Yeah she kind of deserved it if she actually hurt all those people.”
She was mocking Amara. Kiara knew better than to do that. Making fun of Amara meant giving the evil witch power through her own rage.
Maybe he should stop talking about Amara.
“So, you’ve never left the city?” Veer asked. “Never visited other places?”
“Of course I have. We’ve gone on plenty of family vacations. Just not HarbourOne. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ve even heard of it until today.” Siyara tossed her empty cup in the trash can and turned around, her ponytail swaying.
“Look, I’m sorry, but I kind of have to leave,” she said. “My friends and I are having an ‘Exams are finally over!’ party.”
“We didn’t have to meet today,” Veer said politely.
“Yes, but I made a commitment and I don’t like to back out from promises.” Siyara smiled and clasped her hands. “So, see you tomorrow? At the store? I’ll bring my sister along.”
Veer nodded in understanding. “Okay, so this is all about store discounts.”
Siyara bit down on her grin. “Yes, totally.” Then she laughed. “It’s all a coincidence. I was looking for a present online, you sent me an interest at the exact moment and it turned out you were working here. I think it’s in my destiny to find you so I can get an incredible discount.”
She was teasing him, but he couldn’t muster a smile. Her choice of words: Destiny, coincidence; it made him feel uncomfortable.
He hoped what she said wasn’t exactly true. He didn’t want to think some external, supernatural force was pulling them closer.
She must have read his expression because she stopped smiling. “I’m completely kidding,” she said. “I know my sense of humour is kind of crazy. I’m not a miser or anything. I could tell you that I can afford the top range of basically anything but then you would think I’m snooty and flaunting my wealth.” She stopped and squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again. “I did it again. Like I said, I babble a lot.”
Veer removed his phone from his pocket on the pretense of reading a text. He had received several messages from his co-workers, but they could wait.
“No. I was distracted by something else. I know you were teasing.”
Siyara eased immediately. “Phew! I didn’t want you to think I was weird. Or opportunistic. Or whatever. You know, first impressions...”
“Yeah.” He still couldn’t bring himself to smile.
She watched him carefully. “Okay, so I’ll be coming to the store tomorrow. If you don’t want to see me, just pass me on to your best salesman.”
“I’ll be there,” Veer said.
Siyara smiled, her cheeks turning a slight pink. “Okay, then. See you tomorrow.”
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