The weekend had approached. And yet Sikha felt uneasy. A churning effect inside her stomach made her feel sick. She wanted to cook something delicious for herself. Food was her savior though her work topped the list. However today she could not decide how to cook. Her one BHK apartment felt as if she was inside a cage and all she wanted was to escape from it. She looked at the watch and realized that time had paused. With a sense of panic, she picked up her phone and speed-dialed a saved number.
“I do not feel well, Deepali. Let us go out for lunch. I am starving and I feel creepy. I do not know how I will face this Monday! You know it right? Please save me !”
“You drama queen! Stop it already. I was about to call you. I understand . Prakash has gone out to meet some of his friends and I too wanted some fresh air. Let’s meet soon!”. Deepali too wanted the same thing. A temporary escape from reality. She sometimes felt that having Sikha in her life was probably a blessing.
Both of them met at the nearby mall and little Ayush could not stop jumping with joy as soon as he noticed the kid’s arena. Deepali and Sikha too turned into kids and laughed their hearts out while playing with Ayush. Sometimes humor is a great way to release the underlying stress within.
After their game sessions and window-shopping experiences, they sat down to eat. The noise around felt soothing to both of them, for a change. Time seemed to fly when both of them shared their pain points. As they say, it hurts less when you know others, just like you are also facing trouble in the journey called life.
It was almost evening when they decided to leave. As they entered the jam-packed lift to go to the ground floor, it signaled that one person was in excess. Sikha stepped out and let Deepali and little Ayush go. The other lift too was full and that is when Sikha decided to take the stairs to come down. The thought of being able to burn the calorie intake of the rich food at the mall inspired Sikha to take the steps too.
There was hardly anyone on the stairway. Sikha hummed one of her favorite songs and hopped from one step to another. Suddenly after a few steps, she felt someone follow her. She paused, as a sudden sense of creepiness engulfed her. She turned around. She felt as if someone suddenly managed to hide. Her heart skipped a beat. She knew she had to act fast. She ran down the steps as fear ran down her spine. As soon as she reached the ground floor, she called out loud,“ Deepali!! I am here. Come over soon”, without even knowing where Deepali was!
‘No, Not Again. Who can it be? I have to find it out. This must stop .’ She thought to herself as she tried to pacify her racing heartbeat.
PS: To be continued.
This blog post is written for #BlogchatterA2Z2023
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Love,
Chinmayee
Chinmayee's Creations 
Who is this mysterious stalker!!
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Who is the stalker even I wana know, and what is this story behind Sikha and Manav? And what an amazing move to leave the job.
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I think I’ll wait for the book. I missed a few chapters in between.
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