Prologue
Vivian could cope with everyone else leaving. She could cope with everyone else disappearing.
But Navya's vanishing act sent her over the edge. “I'll be back.” Vivian told me firmly, tying her curly hair into a low bun. “I'll find out what happened to them. I'll bring them back, and everything will be okay.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself of this as much as she was trying to convince me.
I waited for a month. It was longer than anyone else had waited for the others before they set out to find them. The police searched, but they found nothing but a gaping hole. They deemed it highly unlikely that six different people would fall down there unless it was deliberate. Although they couldn't declare it legally, they thought it was likely consecutive suicide.
I didn't want to believe that. I couldn't believe that. They were distraught, and none of them were mentally perfect regardless. But there were no indicators that they would jump into a chasm to end their lives. And the thought of them giving up… I couldn't cope with it. Maybe normally, I would. But Sajit went there as well, and I...
I snuck into the kitchen, stole a frying pan, and set off to the dreaded mountain. I tried to keep myself calm as I entered the inside. I slowly walked over to the hole. I could feel myself shaking. I was desperately breathing deeply, calming myself down. Suddenly, an intensely strong gust of wind started blowing behind me. It took me by surprise, my feet lost my grip on the floor, and I found myself plummeting down into the abyss. I saw a bed of golden flowers below me.
Then I hit the floor.
