Strangers & Secrets
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Acknowledgment
They called her “The daughter of nation”
Why? She asked
They were praising, my dear, came the reply
Then tell me how do I earn it?
Chapter 1
WHO ARE YOU?
The time welcomed the rendition of darkness. The dark purple clouds were racing toward the city of Bangalore - The cosmopolitan capital of India. The shadow spreading at the top of glassed buildings made it look like dusk in the middle of the day.
In a not-so-remote corner of the city, a lone diner stood unwelcome at the point where crossing roads met to spell ‘T’ at the sky. The streets looked glum without any passers. All the stores were already shut. The first official day of winter and the very first day of November did not agree with the city dwellers.
The trees on the sidewalks were showering leaves by the blow of the winds. The sounds of swinging branches welcomed the birds returning their home.
A man was running along the street in silver tucked in and black formal. He raised his hand to block the leaves flying toward him. The tie in his neck flew backward like a tiny cape as he gained his speed and ran toward the diner.
The billboard outside the store couldn’t stand tall on this vigorous blow, slammed the road as he ran past it. The force in nature increased, made it harder for him to run. He tried to maintain the thin line between balance and momentum. His legs were growing tired. He’s almost there. It was just a matter of seconds before he loses to the monster.
The first shot fell on his temple from the snipers hidden between the dark skies.
The shock went to his spine. He twitched his eyes and gained the speed even further. The distance between him and his target was narrowing. The second bullet hit the back of his blocking hand. He cannot lose today. He must finish the race. He said to himself as he struggled his way forward.
Few more drops began to hit him on his shoulder, arms, and head. It was him vs IT. He almost tripped over the fallen barricade in front of the diner. He got the balance of his leg and plunged toward the closed doors of the diner, pushed with both hand and entered inside like a winner of a marathon.
The imaginary audience in his mind cheered and clapped for his victory. He escaped with just a few wet drops sprinkled over him. He tried to catch his breath. The beating of his heart covered his ears as the rain began its initial strike outside.
He looked around the empty diner. It looked more lonely and dead. The vastness of the diner made it look gloomier. The sound of heavy rain filled the hall with echos of chorus. The chillness in the weather and the smell of sand began to invade the emptiness.
He made his way toward the counter to his left. He took a deep breath with a relaxing mood and solitary feel amidst the vigorous hammering of water drops on the wide glass window.
As he moved toward the counter, he realized he wasn’t alone. The blurry shadow to his right, two tables away from counter caught his attention.
The picture became clearer as he walked toward it. The shadow was a Woman reading a book, wearing the traditional symbol of woman in the Islamic world – Burka.
The veil in her burka fell forward, made it difficult for him to see her face. He ignored her and continued forward to place his orders.
She lifted her face from the book and pushed the veil behind. He froze for a second when he noticed her face yet forced himself to walk in silence. That haunting face in the cream-colored skin brought him a strange feeling. A sense of familiarity and a mild sign of danger.
I know her. Where have I seen her?
He scanned through the memory lane of his brain to locate the coordinates of her origin in his life, but he was led to the dead end.
The waitress sitting behind the counter lifted her face from the cellphone. She stood up from the chair, putting her phone in the back pocket of her denim. “Yes?”
The typical welcome in the great city never failed to bore him. He looked into the menu and picked a few items. “Let me just check in the kitchen about the starters”, she said leaving the bay and entered the kitchen through the door behind her.
He turned back and looked at that dark shade of familiarity. I knew her very well. I knew her story. But still, I don’t remember. Who are you?
He approached her slowly, thinking over and again, skimming through each page of his hippocampus for a trace of hints. The result he got was the same as the woman sitting in front of him. It’s just dark and nothing.
“Excuse me”, he said with a trace of guilt.
She turned her face toward him like an early sunrise in the darkest night. So slow but more powerful.
He tried to get one last chance to recall his past by studying the only visible feature – her face. The perfect rectangle face with a flawless straight nose was pointing at him. Her eyes caught him off guard. The muscles under her eyes were swollen but with no sign of tears in that moonless eyes. She must have been crying for a while.
She looked at him with absolute zero expressions. Her eyes were impenetrable and lips drew a straight line.
“Have we met before?” He asked eventually. “I mean, I couldn’t help But you look very familiar to me and I couldn’t remember where I have met you before”
She shook her head slightly. Her mouth began to part but stood in the midair without any words to flow out.
“You don’t... know me?” He asked hiding his disappointments. “No, I distinctly remember you from somewhere. I’m - I just couldn’t find it where exactly”
His enthusiasm began to communicate through his arm movements. His body language spoke louder than his word. The bandage which stayed hidden behind his sleeve peeked at her when he raised his arm.
She glanced at his wrist as he spoke with his hand. Multiple long scars in his wrist smiled at her in different shapes and sizes similar to suicide cuts. She turned her look once again to his face.
“Are you sure?” he asked with a pleasing smile.
She kept the pen in her left hand down and showed him the back of her hand. “I’m sorry, I’m engaged” She said pointing her ring using the thumb finger.
“No, no. I’m not trying to – ” he tried to defend and then stopped when she returned her face to her book.
It was embarrassing for him. He didn’t even try to hit on her nor had an idea of flirting yet the four words shut his mind. He looked at the book she buried her face except it wasn’t a book. It’s a journal. Few papers were scattered around the table what looked like some kind of documents or portfolios.
He didn’t know what gave him the strange eerie feeling. The steamy Soup in the color of blood in front of her or the darkness in her soulless eyes or the highlighted words ‘homicide & accident’ circled on her journal as well as on the papers around her.
He saw a movement from the corner of his eye. The waitress returned from the kitchen, made a beeline to the billing machine. His senses started to shut down one after another. He walked toward the counter while multiple
thoughts and questions poured into his mind.
The whole world became quiet. He saw the waitress’s lips moving. The buttons in the keyboards being pressed, the printing machine spitting the bill, the raindrops knocking the glass windows in absolute stillness. The silence grew louder.
“DEVIN!!” someone called from behind. He almost jumped at the impulsive sound. The echos of the word brought him back to this world. He turned around and waved at the man standing near the front door folding his umbrella.
“Please, make it fast” He said to the waitress as he handed over the cash.
“I’m sorry, sir. We are very busy and this is a peak hour” She replied pointing at the empty tables.
He couldn’t even try to fake a smile. He took the change and went to the table near the window.
This was the first time he was meeting him outside. No one in his office liked his boss except him. After he came to this company, his boss got a double promotion. He became the heir to his boss in the office. His manager was wiping the water off his almost bald hair as he placed his umbrella to the side and came toward the table he was standing.
“You ordered anything?” His manager asked.
“Even I’m hungry. I told them to give ASAP” He sat opposite to him, facing the counter. The decorative pillar at the middle of the hall blocked his view from that woman in black.
“So, how have you been doing? It’s been a while since we spoke one on one” His boss asked.
“Hmm, not great” He said with a tinge of boredom.
“You are completing your three years in this company next week, right?” His boss asked with curious.
“Yes” He said shifting uncomfortably on his seat.
“You have been doing really well in the office” His boss said in his deep BOSS voice. “They spoke about your new project in the last week board meeting. Our new CTO was really impressed by your idea”.
Devin nodded half hearing his boss’s appraisal.
He understood the small talk wasn’t helping. “Let’s just cut to the chase. The reason I wanted to meet you here is, we are offering you a raise and you are being promoted to a senior specialist to Wiskinson’s” His boss said as a matter of fact.
He kept his poker face and waited for a ‘but’.
“Formalities are going on. You will hear it officially on Monday” His manager finished waiting for his response.
Devin surmised over each word he heard. It was a very big move that any loyal employee could ask for. He looked at the fog forming over the window, hiding the road he just came across. He couldn’t think clearly. It might be because of the earlier encounter of the prey admiring predator incidence or the fact he is leaving the city or it could be something else. One thing was sure, and he prepared himself for this very moment.
He turned to his boss and said “I quit”
“WHAT?” His manager appalled.
“I don’t think this is my way” Devin said. “I’m getting bored. All the money and rewards that you give just makes me vanish”
His boss looked at his words with a shock in his eyes.
“I don’t feel like I exist. Have you ever felt like that?” he asked.
“How many jobs have you changed?” His boss asked in bossy voice once again.
“Three”
“Within how many years?”
“Seven”
“And you are going to repeat the same now? What are you going to do? You found another job already?”
“There is an opening in the central psychotic asylum. I thought of trying that” He said dryly.
“Asylum? Are you going mad or you want me to admit there?” His boss’s voice grew louder. “You have masters’ degree and excellent skill sets that will bring you so far. Have you at least considered entrepreneurship?”
Devin kept his mouth shut. The rain outside began to fill the silence.
“I don’t usually give advice to people” His manager said.
“I know” Devin tried to cut him off.
“And I’m not going to make an exception either” He said in friendly boss tone. “What do you have in your mind? You are almost 29, I guess. Do you have at least plan for your life? When are you going to marry?”
More personal questions from his boss made him more uncomfortable and the latter question became merely a greeting in this country.
The awkward conversation paused when the waitress brought their starters and soup. The smell of corns with sliced onions and some unknown ingredients distracted his manager from the non sequitur questions.
He took the first sip of soup and it felt like a hot shower in his tongue. His manager grabbed the ketchup bottle, pressed hard as he can then shook vigorously – nothing came out of it.
“I’ll get it” Devin said rising.
The concealed memory around the corner table came into view as he crossed the pillar. The same dark shadow. He kept the empty bottle and took the fresh one from the tray near the billing machine. He returned to his table on her side of the hall. He crossed her without even glancing through the corner of his eyes.
Maybe it was my mistake.
Telling someone that you look familiar is the classic pickup line in India. He has heard them multiple times in his office. It’s still a functional line despite being old and cheesy
He turned and went back to her.
She hurriedly began to close the journals and grabbed all the sheets around the table as he approached. She dropped everything into a Ziploc back before putting it into her handbag.
“I’m- I’m sorry for before” He said “if I have misled you. I wasn’t trying to hit on you. You just looked like someone I knew, I guess I was wrong” He spoke without a pause.
She scrutinized him without blinking her eyes for a couple of seconds before she nodded at him.
Now everything went to square one but still, he couldn’t let go of the thought. It was killing him from inside. “Are you sure you don’t remember me?” He asked with a bit of hope this time.
She slammed the table abruptly as she pushed herself up from her seat. For a moment, she looked a lot bigger to him. He took a step back, dropping the ketchup bottle, bringing the thought of getting slapped.
She crossed him with a slight frustrated expression and out of his sight behind the pillar. He watched her leave through the front door. Out of sight, out of the possibility to know where she has been hiding in my mind.
He looked at her table. It was empty except the big bowl near where she was sitting. The steam coming out of her barely touched red soup looked abandoned.
He shook his head and picked up the bottle. When he returned to his table with the ketchup, his manager almost finished his starters.
“Here you go” He said handing over the bottle.
“I still haven’t got what I was expecting” His manager said as Devin took his seat near the window.
He wiped the fogs off the window with the side of his hand and looked at his own reflection. His eyes were still sharp. He admired his strong jawline that brought him some illegal affair which he turned down. The messy thick hair and caramel skin made him look younger. It’s not too late to start fresh.
The reflection faded as his eyes changed its focal length. The image of that strange woman in black umbrella appeared, walking in the middle of the street like a black smoke from a burned-out candle.
“I’m going to do a rehearsal -” He said turning toward his manager. “of my life”
chapter 2
FAREWELL
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!” the whole crew around Devin’s cabin cheered at him. Everyone circled him, wished him before stuffing their mouth with chocolates, sweets and as usual cakes.
“And one more thing, you all are going to barbequee this afternoon and can have anything you want. It’s on me” He said with a best fake smile he could pull.
All the known and unknowns hoisted their hands on the air, cheered once again for the free booze. The whole office filled with festivit
y. Everyone started painting each other's cheeks with cakes and exchanging pleasantries.
Devin noticed his manager coming toward his bay at the corner. He strode to greet him when two college interns came to him asking for a selfie.
“I’m sorry. I do not like to be photographed. Now, Excuse me” He said picking up the wrapped gift, leaving them befuddled.
Devin came out of the flock and met his manager around the corner.
“Hello sir” Devin said avidly. “This is for you” He handed over the gift to his manager.
“Is this how birthdays are celebrated these days?” His manager asked raising his eyebrows.
“This is just something I wanted to give you” Devin said. “As a thank-you for being a good mentor and for everything”