Chapter 1
It was just another boring day and Mitali had nothing particular planned on the day. She had always been this ordinary girl since childhood. The indifferent one, the one everyone thought they could walk over her and do as they please. She was different from others kind of the girl everyone didn't want to associate themselves with– her unpopular lifestyle. She was sitting on an armchair reading one of her books when she heard a doorbell rang.
"Who could that be?" She asked herself wondering because she hasn't had a visitor for the past few years. When she opened the door, there was no one. She took a step forward and move her head side to side but couldn't see a thing. She got inside and made a cup of coffee, which she didn't even drink. Then take a quick shower and put her jacket on and rang Madeline, her friend.
"Hey" Madeline said with calmest voice ever.
"Hi are you home?." She asked.
"No, but I can be."
"Okay. Meet you there."
"Is there something wrong?" Madeline asked with curiosity because Mitali was not the type of person who liked visits.
"No. Is it a crime for me to hang out with my friend?." She asked giving a genuine smile.
"I didn't mean it like that, anyway meet you at my house in 15 minutes."
"Make it 5." Mitali said ending the call before Madeline could say another word.
She reached Madeline's house and didn't bother to knock at the door, she just barge in as it was a habit.
"You look nice." Said Madeline looking at her from head to toe.
"Thank you. You too."
"So how are you?."
"Fine, actually just living my boring life."
"I'm tempted to say it wouldn't be boring if you let me take you out on nightclubs." She said jokingly.
"Funny, anyway something strange happend this morning." Mitali said as if she was thinking about something with one finger tapping the table.
"What happened?." Madeline asked
"So I heard a doorbell rang and when I go to check there was no one."
"Maybe are those nasty kids, always playing around."
"No, it wasn't."
"Why do you say that?." Madeline asked with curiosity and then said. "You sound like..."
Before she could even finish the sentence Mitali interrupted.
"I have a feeling that it's him." Mitali stated with a serious face like she's on some private investigation, listening to the
commander.
"Who is _him?_". Madeline asked questionigly.
"Dave."
"Not this again." Madeline said sounding irritated.
"He's alive."
"No, he's dead and I don't know why you keep on saying he's alive."
"I just know."
"He's dead, Mitali."
"He's not."
"I'm not going to argue with you about that. But you sound so accurate about this. Are you sure he isn't dead.?"
"I'm sure."
"Then what will you do if he's alive."
"Ask few questions."
There. Mitali was on her thoughts at her house, thinking about what she said to Madeline about Dave. She couldn't stop roaming around the house as if she was looking for something but she wasn't. Going up and down the stairs, several times and thought for a minute and took her phone out of her pocket.
She tried calling Gideon but couldn't reach through, her childhood friend, who was a well-known scientist.
After few minutes her phone rang.
"Thank you for calling me back."
"Fine, are you alright.?" He asked.
Mitali imagined his worried face while he asked her that.
"Yeah, I am.Why?"
"You sound different."
"It's part of growing up" Mitali said sarcastically.
"So?..." Gideon asked questionigly and wondering why Mitali has called.
"There's something I need to talk to you about. But not over the phone.?"
"Meet me at my house then."
"Coming." She ended the call without a warning.
Gideon and Mitali stared at each other for minutes as if there were deciding who would talk first. Both holding their cup of teas, offered by Gideon.
"So what is it?".
"Remember the case of the incident that happened in Ramathore family in 1996?."
"No one will ever forget that case, it was one of the biggest cases in Claremont."
"Yeah, it was terrifying."
"So what about it?."
"Did everybody died in that horrific burning fire?"
"Yeah, they did."
"Ohh." Mitali looked at him as if she was suspecting something and took a sip from her cup of tea but then she continued with the conversation.
"Police requested you to do the DNA tests right?".
"Yes, that's correct."
"And, you did identify everyone was dead?"
"Yeah, I did. Such a said part, nobody survived." Gideon said with a sad face and a calm voice.
"So are you sure?"
"Yes, I did some tests. And everybody was dead. I must say Dave's and Danielle's kept me all night. Their bodies turned to ashes but I did the test. Even thought it was difficult for me, then I informed the police."
"They're brothers after all. But if their bodies were ashes then how did you separate them?."
"I didn't, I just did the test because it was impossible to separate the mixed ashes of two bodies and adding to that. They were brothers so thier DNA were the same."
Gideon said then took a sip from his cup then asked.
"Why are you asking?".
"This morning I heard a doorbell rang and when I go to check, there was no one."
"And what's that has to do with the case?"
"I think Dave is alive."
After Mitali's statement, Gideon got up and looked at the window. He didn't ask nor make a comment. Mitali notices that and asked.
"Why ain't you debating it?"
"What?"
"I mean, Madeline doesn't partially believe that."
Gideon put down his cup while looking at the window. He could see the sunset and cloudy sky. Then confabulated.
"How do you know that he's alive?" Gideon turning and looking forward at Mitali's full face. While at it, Mitali notices a scar in his wrist but did bother to ask about it.
"I can feel it, he's alive. And I'll prove it to you."
"Okay if you say so."
"Anyway I've been here for long enough, it's time for me to leave now." She said putting the cup of tea down.
"Want a lift?."
"No I'll walk."
As Mitali was walking thoughts were floating into her mind. There were questions left unanswered. Was Dave really alive or dead? What was Mitali going to do about it?. Those were the same thoughts every minute. She passed through the park and sat on the bench for a little while and then walked away. It was getting darker and she took her phone out of the pocket and requested a cab online. Cab arrived, she got in and went home.
As she reached her house took the keys out, unlocked. She decided to take a quick shower before going to bed. It was almost 8 p.m, after made herself a sandwich and ate. While eating she heard doorbell rang, when she go to check, there was no one. Absolutely no one. It was dark and you could see the blinding stars in the sky. As she was about to lock the door, she saw a note placed in the doormat. She took it with curiosity and went inside.
It had no stamp but was written in capital letters and it was printed not handwritten.
It reads as: **YOURS**
There only thing Mitali could think of was what happened in the morning has happened again but this time with a note. She looked at the note dozen of times but couldn't figure out what it meant. She went to bed but didn't fell asleep, she was up staring at the ceiling. Then decided to read her favourite book as a distraction from her own mind. She read the book until she fell asleep.
In the morning, she woke up and could see the sunrise and the sunlight rays through her window. The first she thought about was Dave's existence. Whether her guts were right or wrong but honestly she wasn't thinking straight at the moment. Mitali got up and take a long bath. She closed her a eyes for a while and then she opened them, she saw Dave. Dave wasn't saying nor doing anything apart from staring at her. Turns out, she was day dreaming and imagining it. Dave wasn't there. Dave was known as dead even though she found it hard to believe it.
She got dressed and put her coat on. When she was done dressing. She went down stairs into the kitchen for a cup of coffee but she saw one, already made.
She looked the cup of coffee with the unamusing astonishment. She searched the whole house but she was alone. Then searched outside, there was no one except for her.
"A doorbell rang and no one there, a note, now an already made coffee on my table, something's not right." Mitali thought to herself and didn't drank the coffee instead she spilt it out. She took the cup of it and put in a plastic bag. Then she took her phone out of the pocket and made a call.
"Hello, Gideon?".
"Hey, so early." Gideon sounded as someone who's still asleep and didn't want to be disturbed from his sleeping trance.
"I'm coming." Mitali said taking up the note, rushing through the door, carrying the plastic bag with a cup in it.
"Okay fine, meanwhile I'll get ready." Gideon said while waking up.
As Mitali was at the doorstep of Gideon's house. She took her phone texted Madeline a message that says: °Meet me in a hour at our favourite spot°.
Then she put back her phone back in, Gideon opened the door and she went in.
"So what is so urgent that you needed to come this early?"
"Remember I told you about that morning where the doorbell rang and..."
Before she could finish, Gideon finished the sentence.
" And there was no one. I know I remember it very well."
"Today I found an already made coffee on the table. And the other day I found a note also. "
"A note?" Gideon asked suspectedly
"Yes, it was left in my doormat. Here. Look." She said tooking out the note from her pocket and giving it to Gideon.
Gideon took his glasses and put them on for a clear sight to read the note.
"_Yours._"He said looking at Mitali.
"That's what is says. Also I brought the cup, thought if you could check it."
"Check it?." Gideon said surprisingly.
"Yes, some finger prints maybe." Mitali stated.
"Yeah...." Gideon said disapproving but also thought of Mitali and how much he loved her even though he never had the courage to tell her.
" So are you going to do it?." Mitali said with a smile of satisfaction.
"Yes, of course." Gideon gave a smile as if she was her mother.
"Okay, I have to go now." She said handing the plastic bag to Gideon and see herself out. She called a cab and got in.
They met at the Cáfe and Mitali was already there. Drinking a glass of water. Mitali thought to herself that Madeline didn't want to order anything without her presence.
"Over here." said Madeline waving a hand up high.
Mitali took out her coat and hang it on the hook then came closer.
"Hey." Mitali said
"Hi." Madeline got up and they hugged each other then sat down.
" Anything to order?" Said the waitress with most beautiful smile. She had a long dark curly hair, brown eyes, pink lips, no makeup and a well built-up body. Mitali couldn't stop but glance at her with a word. She was like a teenager who was dreaming of her prince charming with a smile.
"Mitali, Mitali!." Madeline called out her name until she was awake from her daydream.
"What?." Mitali seemed confused as if she had a memory loss.
"Anything to order?." The waitress repeated with a smile.
"I would a coffee with chocolate biscuits." Madeline requested.
"And you Ma'am?." The waitress asked Mitali.
"Just Lemon juice." Mitali said as she examined the waitress's appearance. She noticed that the waitress had a bruises on neck under the scarf she was wearing.
"Is that all?." The lady asked
"For now." Madeline answered with a smile.
After the waitress has left Mitali was very curious about the bruises she saw. So she assumed that maybe the lady was abused by her boyfriend or someone closed to her.
"What's wrong with you? Why did you stare at that lady like that?." Madeline asked with irritation.
"She is beautiful, that's all."
"Okay then."
"Asunder from her beauty, I noticed bruises around her neck." Mitali said.
"That's not your business." Madeline nodded
Thier orders came and Madeline was staring at Mitali continuously.
"What?." Mitali asked
"Why did you want us to meet?." Madeline asked.
Mitali thought about what had happened in the morning and began to act nonplussed. She starting stuttering.
"I-I was thinking, you know, abou- about Dave."
"You should stop thinking about Dave. He Is Dead!!." Madeline yelled at Mitali.
"No need to tell " Mitali said in calm voice. The she received a text from Gideon it reads as; °Done the tests.°
Immediately after seeing the text, Mitali wanted to leave and she did. She went straight up to Gideon's house doubtfully.
"You came right on time." Gideon said with a nervous smile.
"So what did you find?." Mitali asked.
"Unfortunately I found a thumb fingerprint only. Nothing interesting." Gideon said with a serious look.
"Mmh Okay. Thank you by the way." Mitali said with a disappointed look. Gideon didn't like to see her like this. He have always dreamt of him and Mitali married. He kept his feelings for Mitali for more than 2 decades. Gideon, was always sure that Mitali was the one for him. Will the dream of his ever come true?
Mitali went to her house and lay on the bed. Then she stared at the ceiling talking to herself.
"Maybe he is really dead. But why do I feel his presence everytime I close my eyes?"
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