Preity lay on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. A water cooler had been installed in the room, and it was now much...cooler. She also now had the whole room to herself. Perhaps another roommate would come soon, but hey, learn to enjoy what you have?
Preity held a rudraksh in her hands, counting the beads in her mind as she stared at the ceiling. It had been given to her by the room’s former occupant. She was not a big believer in any religion. She had been born in a Hindu family, tried to find strength in some other religions, and when all failed adopted a militant atheistic stance. She had grown less ardent in those beliefs but she was still not a typical Hindu girl as most would believe.
She pulled up her phone and looked at the wallpaper. There was a photo of a Japanese actor Niyumoto. He was so fucking handsome! She purred his name and kissed the screen twice. It had become her ritual in recent weeks. With Niyumoto by her side nothing was impossible. All her problems would be solved, and she will be happy again.
Niyumoto’s white shirt and perfect teeth gleamed at her from the screen, dimmed and then died out. She wanted to remain there on the bed with Niyumoto and not have to leave the room. How wonderful would that be!
A knock on the door stirred her out of her slumber. She got up, adjusted her clothes and stood near the door. An eerie sense of foreboding came over her. Something was not right. The knock came again, this time a little bit less patient.
Preity hesitated. Then, with a devil-may-care attitude, she opened the door. It was Farida. She was smiling. But her face was gaunt. As if she was hungry for something, and that something was not food.
Come, she said. Preity walked in front of Farida and wanted to look back at her. But she feared something unpleasant would happen.
Go, my child.
Preity came to the end of the corridor. There was a wooden door but it had an iron ring on it. Something was not right.
Somebody pushed Preity and the door opened as she fell through into the living room. Except it was not the living room. Bubbles of goo emerged from the pit surrounding the thin strip she was on. Terror began to creep in and her chest began to heave. She raised her hands to complain and tries to go back. But the wooden door has disappeared. She is now in a new portal.
“Preity san…” a voice calls from behind her.

Could it really be him?
“Preity san...Wo ai ni!” She knew from her very rudimentary Chinese that wo ai ni was Mandarin for “I love you”. But why would there be a Chinese speaker?
She crosses her hands across her chest and turns around. What she sees makes her scream.
Niyumoto has a look she has never seen on his face. He has always been vulnerable but never fearful. There is a noose around his neck and a pair of huge iron scissors on either side of his jaw. He is kneeling on the floor, his chest bare. He needs protection. She has to save him. But who is holding the noose?
It was the man she had seen at night. A bald man with a groomed beard. He smiles at her with malice. Seeing the desperation in her eyes only makes those dark wicked eyes gleam with pleasure. The man doesn’t say anything. But she understands. He wants her to dance.
Preity thinks of the future. She and Niyumoto could retreat to the countryside where nobody would ever find them. They can live together as a couple madly in love with each other.
Preity begins to move her body. Her dance and hand movements are synchronized into a breathtaking spectacle. She moves with grace and sensuality. She doesn’t worry about the toxic pool beneath her. She has transcended it all. The sound of claps sync with the drum beats. She is winning. Niyumoto is hers and hers only. Soon she will be with him.
The pitch darkness of her surroundings have changed. She wonders if it is a recognition of her talent and of her being a worthy lover. The claps grow louder but it has metastasized into something else. There is fire. A fire is in the air and it is spreading, the flame threatening to ignite everything. A cloud of smoke obscures her vision. It clears soon and the island the love of her life was on becomes visible again.
The man has left. Niyumoto is on the floor. Dead.
No!!
The island Niyumoto was on breaks away and is consumed by the orange inferno.
Preity falls to the ground, her wails heeded by no one. The man is flying in the air, coming closer and closer to her. His cruel hands flex as it prepares to grab her like the prey she is. Anger surges through her body as she crouches. He would pay for this. The eagle will not win.
He gets closer and closer. At what she thought was the right moment, she leaps forward with a punch. The man’s placid eyes never stop mocking her. She tries again to strike but fails.
She fell off her bed and onto the floor. With her eyes open she looks at the clock. It is December 13^th, 2021 and the time is 8:39.
“Not again!” she groans.
She is late!