"Amrita had no reason to be such a bitch at 8 in the morning. My mascara's smeared too! Tuesday blues," Tanisha complains as she re-applies her mascara.
Meeting at 8 a.m. truly is a crime. What's worse is our HR, Amrita, being a bitch.
"You're so right," I reply, fixing my lipstick.
We're currently standing in our office's washroom. It's not a break-we're supposed to be working. I love breaking rules with Tanisha by my side. Amrita has never caught us slacking.
Tanisha passes me her cigarette, and I return it after taking a drag. We always share two cigs a day. Mumbai is expensive enough; we barely have money to eat and stay afloat. Thanks to Karan, I only pay 35% of the rent-it's his cousin's apartment we live in.
After the cigarette and washroom break, we move back to our seats. I try my best to work, but my phone rings, drawing my attention. It's my mom. I pick up, feeling my anxiety evaporate. I really needed her today.
"Hello, how are you, meri bacchi?"
"I'm good, Mumma. How are you? And how's Papa? Is he taking his medications daily?"
"Yes, yes, we're both good and healthy. I know how to take care of him. Are you at the office?"
"Yeah, Ma. Work never spares me."
A moment of silence stretches between us, broken only by the sound of my mother's heavy breathing. I stop typing. Anxiety kicks in again.
"How is your therapy going? Do you still think about Him?" my mom asks after the dreadful pause.
I turn around to look at Tanisha. Her face gives me hope.
Except...
her face isn't there.
I watch in horror as her face fades, slowly and eerily. Her arms vanish. Then her hair. Her entire body fades.
Tanisha fades. Completely and wholly.
My eyes bulge out of their sockets, as though begging for freedom to roam on their own.
I scream as I watch my best friend fade away.
"HELLO?! HELLO?! ARE YOU THERE?! IRA?! Ira, my child!" I hear my mother's panicked voice, but she doesn't know I just saw my best friend disappear into nothingness.
I turn toward the sound of a vase crashing to the floor, shattering into a hundred pieces.
Tanisha screams.
She just faded away. How is she screaming from the other side of the office?!
I see a shadow sneak out of my cabin. My heart races as I stand to chase it. The shadow doesn't match anyone from the office-I know everyone here. I've worked here for years.
But before I can move, I'm yanked into an unnerving silence, broken only by chaosswirling in my mind.
"Ira?" Tanisha's voice whispers in my ear.
My mom's frantic voice is gone. My phone isn't in my hand.
It's where I left it-charging. Untouched for the past half-hour.
"IRA?!" Tanisha whisper-screams in my ear. I turn to her, terrified she'll disappear again. But she doesn't.
"Are you okay? Breathe, Ira. Please."
I realize I've stopped breathing.
"You-" I touch her face. "You're here. My mom-she called me."
Tanisha looks at me, confused. My call log shows no recent calls from my mom. The vase stands perfectly intact. Around us, everyone is working as if nothing happened.
But then I hear it:
unrecognizable footsteps.