Chapter-6

Miranda turned over the pink card and placed it on the kitchen counter. The very appearance of the dumb paper managed to send a chill down her spine.

Dina was staring at her, tapping a manicured finger on the black granite.

“Who in the world would send this? Not Michael, because he is pretty much dead. Not me, because if I can, I would delete everything that has got anything to do with him. Not your parents, of course. This is a stupid prank, Miranda.” She said as she picked up the card, tossing it about.

“I don’t know.” Miranda stared down at her hands, worried.

“Anyone from your office maybe?”

Kim. She was the only person from work who knew about Miranda’s past relationship. Kim’s recent behavior had got Miranda thinking of this as a possibility. Liam was most probably Kim’s former flame and she could have been well infuriated by the pace at which Miranda and Liam were becoming friends. Obviously, she could do such sort of a thing. But Kim was a pretty sensible woman. It was so unlike her.

“There is this girl, Kim.” Miranda started then bit her lips, wondering if her direction of suspicion was even valid.

She told Dina about Kim’s behavior and what she thought about her relationship with Liam.

“Maybe she wants you to stay away from her lover boy. Who knows, she might still be in love with him.” Dina shrugged and popped a gum into her mouth.

It still felt very much unlike Kim.

Miranda stared down at the card once more. The piece of paper was the exact replica of the first gift Michael ever gave her. It was one of those rare occasions when Michael would think of her. Michael had invited her with him to the Country Club Fair which was usually the largest fair in the town every year. He was supposed to go there with his high school friends but for some time clashing reasons, the plans got canceled. Miranda had agreed to come along and they had a very perfect evening, hunting the crowded stalls and the food and game counters. Later that evening, when they had sat down relaxing beside the lake, which was as crowded as the rest of the fair, Michael had brought out the gift for her.

“Pretty heavy.” Miranda had giggled as she weighed the wrapped cube on her hand.

“Open it. And ignore the wrapping, okay? It isn’t easy hiding, buying and wrapping a gift in a place like this, that too when you are around.” Michael seemed exhausted and enthusiastic at the same time.

“Of course.”

The wrapping came off easily; Michael had done such a bad job at it, and it made Miranda laugh so hard. She had found it excessively cute of him.

A tiny crystal globe lay on her lap, which enclosed two tiny teddy bears, one pink and one blue, looking at each other. A small pile of fine white balls laid at their feet, immobile. 

A pink card lay beside it: “WITH LOVE, MICHAEL.”

Michael had been searching the box for quite some time. Finally he came up with a tiny key.

“Watch this.” He had inserted the key into a keyhole at the base of the globe.

Miranda watched on as the bears moved in a circle over the rotating base, with the tiny balls blown around, imitating snowfall. A very soothing tune played from the speaker of her little gift, and she was well aware of the other couples staring at them both.

“Like it?” Michael had smiled, his gray eyes full of life.

“Love it.” Miranda had laughed.

The card now lay worthless on the kitchen counter, posing more as a threat than a good memory.

“Maybe someone picked it up from the trash where you threw all your old junk?” Dina suggested.

“That is the thing. I never threw that stuff away.”

Suddenly it clicked to her. Of course, she never threw that gift away! She remembered keeping both the card and the gift safely in her old case of toys from her baby years. She had been so fond of this one gift; she never even gave a thought about discarding it.

“I need to check.”

“Wait a second. You never ditched it? You crazy or what?” Dina called out but Miranda quickly got up and left the kitchen.

Once in her room, she opened her cupboard and started pulling out her old stuff. Pretty soon, the wooden brown box appeared underneath a pile of worn-out blankets. Quickly holding her breath and dropping herself on her knees on the carpet, she clawed at the rusted latch that held the box together. It opened up easily, which was unusual. The last time she had pulled out this box was almost three years ago and she had to practically get her dad’s screw driver to get the box open because it wouldn’t have bulged otherwise.

Shaking off her initial fears, she dived into what seemed like an easier way of finding out. The globe came out quick enough, still in an almost similar condition as she had last left it. The golden paint of the base though, had been chipped off and instead revealed the rusted metal underneath. After a few more attempts, she finally came up with the rusted key. Winding the key into the keyhole didn’t help at all; in fact it got stuck. The battery was dead.

She pulled out all her toys- a rabbit, the talking monkey, the video game she had made her father get her at the local book fair-and a lot more, but no card.

She had been so sure it was exactly at the same place as the gift. There was no way it would have got out, unless someone was so desperate that they would deliberately break into the house just to pull out the card.

Dina appeared at the door of her room just then, making a face at the mess on the floor.

“Found your ‘precious’ yet?” Dina rolled her eyes, her voice coated with sarcasm.

“It’s not here.” Miranda said, covering her mouth with the back of her hand nervously.

“Come on, babe. Stop stressing over minor things. It is just a stupid prank. The person probably has got a camera installed somewhere around here, and he must be laughing his head off right now.” Dina laughed.

Miranda glared at her best friend even though her mind still replayed her last lines.

“Just kidding, Miranda.”

But to Miranda, nothing felt like a joke right now. If anything, the card felt like the first clue- the very first reminder that the shadows of her past were still lurking in her present.

Chapter-5

Miranda was sitting with Kim Houston at the office cafeteria, a pair of untouched sandwiches lying on the table. Kim was busy typing on her calculator and noting it down on a notepad placed on the table while Miranda sat leaning back, devoid of any sort of appetite. She wiped her eyes with her palm, trying to wipe away the sleep off her eyes. The two consecutive sleepless nights hadn’t been too helpful.

“You okay?” Kim had asked once, trying to appear concerned but unfortunately the poor girl was so full of work, she had hardly any time to look up from her calculations. Being the accountant, Kim Houston had hardly much time for her colleagues.

“I am okay.” Miranda had smiled and gestured her to continue with her work.

That was when he walked in. Liam Hunter. Miranda had heard about him a few weeks ago already, when the guy joined the company but this was the first time she was seeing him in person. He seemed like an easy guy; everyone seemed to like him. Dark hair and light brown eyes with casual stubble, he had a certain grace about him that captured Miranda’s eyes in the first place. He wasn’t laughing or too expressional but his dimpled smile was too perfect to go unnoticed.

“Don’t waste your time on him, Miranda. He is not worth it.” Kim’s sudden voice startled her and Miranda turned to see she had Kim’s full attention.

“Sorry. What?”

“Have known him since I was eight. I won’t say he is bad, but he isn’t really into girls like us.” She said gesturing with her fingers at Miranda and herself.

It occurred to Miranda that Kim was hiding something, like some sort of broken relationship between her and Liam. But the girl had a poker face and it was hard to read her expressions.

“I will be careful.” Miranda smiled and nodded.

Two days later, she was sharing the same table with Liam, Kim and Carlos, another of her not-so-familiar colleagues.

It occurred to Miranda that Liam and she had a lot of things in common. He was an artist, just like her. The guy had an amazing taste in music; he practically knew all about her favourite singers and more. Liam was from the same town as her cousin Julie, so the conversation turned very homely because it seemed like he knew almost every member from her family.

“Julie and I are the bestest of friends, among the whole lot of best friends.” Liam laughed as he described her parents and even went as far as describing their dog Roger, quoting him as the ‘naughtiest dog he has ever met.’ He knew everything.

“Julie adores Roger, so as you know. She would be mad if she hears this.” Miranda laughed, shaking her head.

“Oh, I tell her this all the time. She doesn’t seem to mind anymore.”

Kim, on the other hand, seemed way too distant. She constantly avoided Liam’s friendly questions and diverted her attention to Carlos who seemed to enjoy it. It kept coming to Miranda that even though Liam pretended to look okay with it, he was actually getting cheesed off every time Kim succeeded in ignoring him.

After her work hours, Liam had walked her to her car and somehow she was starting to get comfortable in his presence. He seemed like an easy talker, and he knew how to converse without making it awkward. Miranda like the way he managed to carry the talk without excluding either of them in the conversation, and he had a sense of homeliness about him.

“So I will see you tomorrow?” Liam said, as Miranda got seated inside her car.

“Sure.” She smiled, full of hope.

Driving back home, she had a sense of feeling that what she was doing might not end well. Every action of hers reminded her of Michael. She couldn’t quite figure out why. Hers and Michael’s relationship had been on rocks after the first three or four months. Nothing about them had been romantic or worth thinking about, but she felt like a cheater. Not only that she didn’t regret Michael’s death, she was glad that she was seeing Liam. Not exactly seeing, no. But it seemed to her that maybe they had a chance together. And it was killing her.

When Michael first asked her out, she never thought it would ever ‘click’. Mike was too sophisticated for her. Or so she thought. He was cute, yes, but he had something unexplainable about him. Something really attractive. The trait seemed pretty close to a predator, luring his victim before finally hunting it down. She had regretted being with him but still had loved it when it all started. She had known about his anger issues from the start, but she had felt so confident back then. She had been so sure it won’t affect her, and Mike won’t even think about hurting her. She had been wrong all along.

Michael, Michael, Michael! That was all she had been thinking for a year. Even her parents’ divorce couldn’t affect her this way because she had been too busy covering her own bruises. At times, it had made her wonder what had she done to herself. Was it just Mike’s fault? Should she be held guilty for forgiving Michael when he first got the real guts to hit her?

Reaching home didn’t feel any safe either. Cutting off the engine she turned to pick her hand bag when the pink card tucked in her windshield caught her eye. How come she didn’t notice it before? How absorbed has she been lately?

She climbed out of her car, puzzled. It looked like a kid decided to pull some sort of dumb joke on her. Reaching out, she quickly pulled out the card. The breath knocked out of her lungs, she shakily dropped the card, bewildered.

It read : “WITH LOVE , MICHAEL.”

Chapter-4

Miranda slammed the door of the Markings’ and hurried down the stairs, her mind numb with memories of her past.

She couldn’t believe her best friend could be so insensitive about her and Michael. Like it was no big deal that the guy hanged himself with the same items she has bought with him. Like it was no big deal that she felt no remorse afterwards. Like it was no big deal that she never moved on from him.

At one point of her escape, she wished Dina would follow her and stop her from leaving. But apparently, her best-friend was too preoccupied entertaining her boyfriend and Dan.

She wished Dina hadn’t brought up Michael during the last conversation. Doesn’t she understand how hard it had been for the last one year, trying to forget all of it? Dina had never been in a serious relationship, nor had she bothered to. It was safe, in one way.

“Hey, Miranda. This is Dan here. He works at the local NGO. The same as Ryan.” The introduction had been enough to make Miranda realize the Dina was genuinely drunk. Dan was the same guy Dina was trying to set her up with.

She hadn’t said anything. Instead she had just gotten herself seated and smiled.

“Miranda had a boyfriend, guys. His name was Michael. A male chauvinist and a complete jerk.” Dina had slurred into her drink.

“Go slow, sugar. You are drunk.” Kevin had been careful as he had taken her hand in his. It had made Miranda wonder how many times Dina must have gone over with the story with Kevin.

“You had a boyfriend?” Dan had seemed interested and offended at the same time.

“Yes.” Before Miranda could answer, Dina had jumped into the conversation again.

“That jerk didn’t even propose her properly. Good thing he died. Cheers to that!” Dina had clinked her almost empty wineglass to the one placed for Miranda on the table.

“Miranda, I am really sorry. I …” Kevin had started to say, but it had been of no use.

“Shut up, Kevin. You are not sorry that he died. No one in this room is.” Dina had laughed.

This had been enough for Miranda. After a long time, she had felt so protective about him. In spite of all the calls from Kevin and Dan to calm down, she had walked out of the house.

Walking to her car hadn’t been any easier. She was constantly being reminded of those nights when Mike had walked her to her car and his easy conversations that made her wish the walks lasted longer. He asked about her often, and sweet enough, remembered all the details.

“Do you want me to talk to him?” Michael had asked once, when she had told him about her parents’ complicated relationship.

“Are you crazy?” Miranda had laughed, even though the suggestion had stunned her.

“Man to man talks. It’s effective.” Mike had pursed his lips to avoid a laugh.

“Well, no thanks. If my dad hears about me dating a professional basketball player, he is going to flip.”

“What is wrong with that?” Michael had looked surprised.

“Well, Dad really wants to see me with someone more, you know, the geek types? He thinks it is risky when the guy is bigger because according to him, they get more aggressive and lose temper often.” Miranda had shrugged and turned to her side, avoiding eye-contact.

“You think I could be aggressive?” Those words had haunted her for the rest of her relationship and afterwards.

“My dad does. Not me. There is a difference.”

The kiss afterwards had been completely unexpected.

Shrugging those memories away were like plucking wool balls from an old wool sweater. No matter how hard she tried, she could never get all of them pulled out. And somehow, they managed to make their way back so finally the efforts proved useless.

“Get yourself together. Breathe. Concentrate on yourself.” Miranda chanted, trying to breathe as much as possible when she had gotten herself seated inside the automobile. Her parents had suggested a psychologist after the funeral, but she had declined, worried she might confess her heart out which might turn out as a major problem.

Driving down the road, she passed the town church and the burial grounds and a chill crept up her spine. Breathe. She wished she didn’t have to pass these grounds so often. But Dina was in town and if she wanted to meet her, she will have to take this route. Given, of course, she wanted to meet her after everything.

Chapter-3

“Mrs. Army! Mrs. Army, God bless you! You are still here.” Miranda rushed over to the middle-aged woman who was busy arranging a bunch of papers on her desk.

The older woman looked up with a stunned expression as Miranda jogged to her, out of breath.

“Breathe, girl, breathe.” Laughed Sheira Army, putting a kind hand on Miranda’s shoulder.

“I am so sorry. The boss had told me to inform you to stay back for the business meeting on fourth floor, but I dozed off at my desk. I was so worried that you might have left. The boss would probably have had my head for lunch if it would have happened.” Miranda was out of breath again, struggling with the words. She placed her hand over her heart, trying to calm down in the process.

“I wouldn’t have let him do that, would I now?” Sheira smiled. She put her bunch of papers on her work desk and looked up.

Walking back to the reception counter, Miranda heaved a sigh of relief, got seated and started to think of less stressful things like grocery. Which reminded her that she was supposed to do the grocery today. Damn! Mom would be so mad by now.

The phone ringing at her desk snapped her out of her momentary stance, bringing her back to present. Clearing her throat, she picked up the receiver.

“Houston and Joelle’s. How may I help you?” Miranda chanted mechanically.

“Oh, you can help me by joining me and Kevin for supper tonight. And do dress your best because I have got you a date.”

“Crap! Dina, are you nuts? I will get fired if my boss hears about this!” Miranda’s voice dropped into a hush as she frantically searched around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Apparently, no one was.

“I called you. I sent you voice messages and text messages. No reply.” Dina grumbled on the other side, offended.

Miranda looked around again, running her eyes over her co-workers. No one was watching.

“Call you later.”

Putting down the receiver, she breathed more easily. Seconds after her terminal shock, she quickly dug into her bag and flipped open her cell phone. Seventeen missed calls. Three voice messages. Eight text messages.

Miranda went for the text messages. She can keep the missed calls and voice messages for later.

First one was from her mother.

“Your dad did grocery. Bought me a pretty white blouse too. No need to stop at the mall. Love, Mom. J”

Miranda smiled and moved to the next one. This was from Dina, of course. So were the next four.

“Y wont u pick up d damn phone? L”

“Supper at 8. My residence. With Kevin n Dan. Wear dat pretty black dress. ;)”

“Babe, u r testing my patience. Yes or no?”

“M calling u. On ur work phone. Stop me if u can.”

“Dan is a rlly good guy. Trust me, u will find him a lot better than d other guy. And he has got good taste in music. I showed him ur pic n he has gone crazy.”

Miranda rolled her eyes. She was really tired of the way Dina had been trying to set her up since Michael left.

The last two messages were from an unknown number. Curious, Miranda opened them up.

“Hi. Dan here. Sorry, I cudnt stop myself from taking ur number. U have a rlly cute smile and I am rlly excited to meet u up at supper 2nite. Rlly want to knw u more.”

Too many ‘rlly’s in one text.

“Hope u aren’t mad at me 4 taking ur number. U r so beautiful. Maybe we can hang out someday. Get to know each other. Wat do u say? Savvy? XD”

One look at the texts and Miranda could tell they would never ‘click’. None of the ‘you are so pretty’ ever worked on her. Miranda was always into guys who knew how to maintain their self-respect while falling for a girl. Michael was like that. Intense and mysterious. He liked keeping things to himself. When she first started thinking about him, she was so unsure about how he felt about her. He was always so reserved. Never giving in to feelings. Even when he walked her to her house, he avoided the constant hand-holding that couples in love usually do. It was beautiful because it was uncertain. She was uncertain if he saw her the same way she saw him. It was that one crazy day, when while paying for the coffee, a piece of paper dropped from his wallet. She had picked that up, hoping he would make a grab for it. But he never did. He stood there, stunned, his teal eyes slightly worried. Curiosity played its part and there was this short note that cleared everything.

It read:

“I hope I can be everything you deserve, Miranda. I am so sorry, but I think I have fallen for you.”

Chapter-2

“Surprise, surprise!” Dina Marking grinned as she entered the door of the Sullies’, a purple fur coat dangling over her shoulder. Purple shades, purple earrings and purple high-boots marked her already all-purple outlook.

Miranda wished her best friend would someday grow out of her all-in-one-color look. Not like it was unfashionable-because it wasn’t- it just kept getting boring each day. Dina had been popular since Miranda could last remember, the basic reason being her fashion sense and her quirky attitude.

“You were supposed to come over yesterday, as far as I remember.” Miranda spoke as they both made their way to the kitchen, which had been their favourite hangout spot in the Sully Residence, starting from stealing brownies to doing their last minute Math’s assignments in high school.

“Unpacking took long enough.” Dina rolled her eyes, taking a seat at the counter.

Unpacking always takes long enough for Dina. She would pack all sorts of stuff during her visits, because she practically spent all her days in town clubbing and partying. She was the kind of girl who strongly believed in ‘living today’ and made sure she lived up to her mottos.

“I am assuming your parents are back together?” Dina shrugged when Miranda looked like she was out of words.

“Yes. They are.” Miranda sighed and smiled.

The biggest news of this year was that her parents had finally put their differences away and had decided to move in together. And not just move in, they had decided to drop the divorce case and give their relationship a try. Which shouldn’t be hard because they had lived for more than twenty-five years together. She hoped it lasted this time. Yes, they had been married, but above all, they had been best friends and the divorce was just putting a big hole in this relationship.

“Is that good?” Dina chewed on chewing gum, raising an eyebrow.

“What the heck, Dina? Of course, it is.”

“Don’t take it hard, honey. Wasn’t your mom seeing this Ryan guy from the local NGO?” Dina shrugged again, and rolled her eyes. She got up and opened the door of the fridge, pulling out a can of coke and returned to the counter.

“No, she wasn’t. Get lost.” Miranda got up disgusted. Most of the times, she wished she had never known Dina because her so-called best friend managed to get on her nerves every single time her parents were mentioned. The reason was because Dina’s own mother got married for the third time last summer and her dad had lost all beliefs on a strong marriage and had passed on his thinking to his only daughter.

“Miranda, calm down, babe. You know how I am. I just don’t think relationships work that way. People get bored.” Dina followed her to the living room, the can of coke tightly secured in her fingers.

This is how it has always been, from day one- each and every conversations about their parents had brought only fights. Both saw marriage in different ways. Dina was convinced that there was no such thing as permanent love or marriage. Miranda believed that a relationship could be made strong if both the individuals were ready to sacrifice for it. To her best friend though, this was just compromising with one’s happiness and she wasn’t willing to do that. She was dating a guy named Kevin Auckley for two months now, and this was probably her sixth relationship. Kevin was an okay guy, according to Miranda. But she knew it won’t last. It never lasts with Dina Marking.

“You know, when you start compromising, the relationship starts getting one-sided. Like how it was with Michael.” Dina would always say, after Michael had passed away and Miranda had confessed about how she feared he might never leave. How she was glad this had ended. How much she missed Michael but relieved that he might never come back.

“You let him run over you. You let him crush your self-esteem. You let him kill that once crazy side of you. You let him murder you while you were still breathing. Forget forgiving him. How could you forgive yourself for what you let him do to your soul?” Dina had been in one of her rarest moods back then. She was all about feelings and advises.

People had been so supporting back then. Even Mike’s parents, who were themselves in their worst state. Her high school friends, her college friends, her neighbors, her parents- everyone. People would come around, spend time with her and listen to her. Listen to her lies. Lies that she had trained herself to tell with a poker face. Lying had never seemed so easy until then.

“You should get your parents and your priorities out of your head for a while, you know? Go and get some life. Have fun. What say, babe? We can crash Janie’s party, get drunk and forget what life is about, if only for a night?” Dina’s light blue eyes lightened up at her own suggestion.

Miranda shook her head in dismay.

“I think you need to leave. Right about now.”

“Serious?”

“Damn serious.” Miranda walked up to the door and opened it for Dina.

“Fine. Call me when you change your mind, sweetie. I will always be around.” Her best-friend smiled as she picked up her purple hand-bag. She quickly turned around and flung her arms around Miranda.

“I love you so much, babe.” She said, cradling Miranda in her bear hug.

“I love you too,” Miranda spoke at her shoulder. In spite of all her rudeness and attitude, Dina has always been around. She was there when her parents separated. She was the one who assured that everything will be fine and that life moves on. She was the first one who warned her about Michael, but still tried to cheer her up when her relationship was on rocks. One time, she was even ready to go the police station to report about her boyfriend. Yes, she has always been around. Miranda owed her that.

“Last question, Miranda. Are you still thinking about Michael?”

A question Miranda had come to dread as of today. She should have known this was coming.

“I think I have moved on, Dina.” She smiled, breaking from the hug.

“Are you sure?” Her best-friend raised an eyebrow, struggling to look past her calm face.

“You would be able to tell if I was lying, won’t you?”

Thoughts of Michael streamed into her mind like tides of flashbacks, making her weak at her knees. Their first date, when he just kissed her hand like a gentleman, without all of those classic roses and kneeling down. To her wild amazement, it was exactly how she wanted it to be. His “Mind if I hold your hand?” always got her grinning like an idiot. She was head over heels for him in full swing. Those stomach butterflies would go crazy every time he was around. Her heart would do uncountable somersaults when his lips broke into an unpredictable smile. He had a good idea how he was affecting her, Miranda knew that very well. He would look surprised, though and laugh at her innocence. Yes, that was Michael. She always wondered how can a guy be so perfect? She had no idea back then about imperfection and humans- faithfully interwoven. Soulless marionettes to time and fate.

“Yeah. I would be able to do that.” Dina grinned and left.

A gust of wind pushed her locks away as she watched Dina walk down the stairs of her porch. Working up a smile when Dina turned back to wave her goodbyes, she waved back and seconds later, she closed the door.

“No, Dina. He is still in my mind. He still keeps calling me in my nightmares, telling me to stay away from guys other than him. He still digs into my cheeks with his fingers until it hurts. He still hits me with his shoulder, bruising mine in the process. He still wonders if I love him, Dina.”

A tear rolled down her cheek, as his calm face flashed in front of her eyes, clear as crystal. Only Miranda knew the man behind the calmness, a devil in disguise. People say that when you have got over someone, their face fades away from your mind, with only blurred memories to remind you that the person existed. Miranda wondered why that never applied on her memories with Michael. They had been as clear as they had been three years ago. Scary and dangerous yes, but clear. The darkness felt like her only hope, because the light of her memories kept blinding her.

Chapter-1

Miranda Sully wished her freaking nightmares would end, once and for all. The endless fights with Michael still haunted her dreams, coming back into her nightmares in pieces. She felt guilty, almost angry for heaving a sigh of relief when she saw Mike’s dead body being carried away by the police that night. That night. The night she finally realized she was free. No possessiveness, no domination, no more of the cheek-stinging slaps. No more of it. Michael was dead. Not just in her daydreams, but for real this time. She wished she could bring herself to cry more at his funeral, but the only tears that marked her eyes that day were because of all the abuse she had suffered for the past two years of her relationship.

Sitting in her bed in cold sweat, Miranda recalled her last conversation with Mike. He wasn’t himself that day. Walking past the laundry shop across the street, Mike had grabbed her hand forcefully and had pulled her closer. Miranda knew the reason why. Mike probably had spotted Cody Young staring at their direction. The guy had been friends with her since they both were in kindergarten. Who knew, even before that, maybe. Cody even asked her out once, but she had politely declined his proposal because she was dating Mike back then. At that very moment, under Mike’s crushing grip, Miranda had wished she had said ‘yes’ to Cody.

“I am tired,” Mike had whispered. This was his general comment when any guy stared at Miranda, so she had ignored him.

They had walked into the mall later, and Mike had commented on getting nylon rope and nails for the fence that bordered his backyard. They had gone to the counter with the items along with a photo-frame that Mike intentionally bought for her.

“You will have a picture of us framed and pinned to your wall.” He had said while handing her the blank frame. Miranda had hammered the frame down afterwards, returning from his funeral.

They took the cab after they left the mall, because Mike’s dad had taken his car keys and was not willing to give it back until he was rich enough to pay for his parking tickets. They had gone to the Lullaby Café, the very spot Mike had selected for their first date and then their later frequent ones. It didn’t strike her as odd though, that Mike was taking her to his favourite café because she was already tired of the restlessness and conflicts. They had got out of the cab and Mike seemed a bit preoccupied when they found themselves a seat near the window.

“Are you okay?” Miranda had asked when he sat opposite to her, his face devoid of any emotions.

“Are you still in love with me?” Mike had asked abruptly, as if the question had been waiting too long.

That had threw her off-guard obviously; Mike wasn’t the romantic type of guy. That was the first thing Miranda had noticed and fell in love with when they first talked-yes, that and his mysterious teal eyes. Those days were over now, of course, but his question made her question her own self at that very moment.

“Are you hungry?” Before she could answer, Mike had moved to the counter to place his order, ignoring her like usual, making her question her own sanity.

They had lunch and took a cab back to their street. Michael had been her neighbor for the past eight years, even though they actually got to know each other only for the last two years-the years she had come to regret as of now.

When they had walked together that evening, heading for their houses, Mike hadn’t asked her about what she had been doing all day. Who had she talked to, where has she been lately, why wasn’t she answering his phone calls, etc. And this was really strange because Mike couldn’t practically live without questions of her whereabouts. She remembered his distant look, as if a lot was going in his mind.

“Hey. We are here.” Miranda had tugged him to a stop when he had absent-mindedly been tagging her past her house. He had stopped abruptly, staring around as if he had been pulled out of a deep sleep.

“Oh. See you then.” And just like that, he had left. ‘Goodbyes’ weren’t his thing but a good warning lecture was. And he managed a whole day without a “I’ll be watching you if you are cheating on me. Mind it.” That or the sudden bump at the shoulder which somehow had always managed to push her on the brim of tears every time.

He had jogged back to his house, but his stance wasn’t the usual casual, ‘I don’t give a damn’ one. Instead it occurred to Miranda later that he was rather slow that evening, as if counting each of his steps with precision and calculation, like they were his last.

The news of his suicide had come after midnight. Apparently, he hadn’t come down for dinner at ten, which was usual for him. His mom had tried calling him down to the dining but when he didn’t answer and his father- a man of low understanding and high temper- went to his room to pull him out of there. The door was neither locked nor jammed. A little push at it and the scene was evident. Michael Waters had committed suicide by hanging himself by a nylon rope.

They never let anyone see his face, because it had been badly scratched and bruised by nails. Fencing nails. The same ones Mike had bought with her. The neighborhood had been awake that night, locking away the little kids while the parents peeked from the windows. Miranda had been awake that night. And strangely relieved.

The police had questioned her about Mike’s recent behavior and actions, and as much as she was tempted to tell them how he had pulled her hair and dragged her out of her house the last week when her mom wasn’t home, or how he hit her head with a thermos flask from her kitchen, and she had spent the next few days faking it as her carelessness- she decided against it. Instead she told the police of his unusual behavior the last time they met, and they had made notes. She knew her statements would be of no use. There was no murder involved. The suicide note in his handwriting made sure of that. The police didn’t bother her after that.

“He is gone.” Miranda dropped herself on her pillow and muttered. A swipe of uneasiness washed over her, but she ignored the feeling and slept peacefully, as if the world was done being unfair to her.

The Silhouette

A year after the death of her abusive boyfriend, Miranda Sully was sure everything had finally come back to normal. Her parents were back together, her life was running on smooth tracks, her best-friend was back in town and Miranda was seeing this really cute guy, Liam Hunter. Everything was just clicking into place. But a note tucked in the back of her car reveals a mystery. Someone was desperately tracking her down. Someone knew about her and her past relationship. And that someone wanted revenge. Will Miranda be able to solve the mystery that lurks around, thirsty for her blood? Could she figure out who is behind this, or is this just the beginning of the end?