"You don't hate me anymore Pekassador it seems" said Zar hanging upside down
Vikaya chuckled "Don't get ahead of yourself Hhital. I wouldn't wait a second to strangle you if I could"
Zar sighed "We still have a long way to go then"
He jumped down "Tell me, how good are you with relationships?"
"That is an odd question, why?" said Vikaya fearing what was coming next
"Not good I see" remarked Zar "Let's see how you deal with this"
"Wait, wait, what?" Vikaya stopped to demand an answer
"Aren't you going to pick it up?" asked Zar glancing at the chain
Vikaya groaned
The chain in her hand, feet firmly on the ground, Hhital in the back. Vikaya was ready to pull and be pulled into another dimension
"Get ready to get your heart fluttered Pekassador!" said the Hhital before swooshing her off
"Wow, this looks like a normal, modern world" said Vikaya looking around
The breeze was fresh and the sunlight soft it was the perfect day out. Vikaya walked ahead carefree, breathing in the air and enjoying the beautiful views of the sky
Walking like Johnny head in air has its consequences, it wasn't long until Vikaya bumped into someone
"Oww!" Vikaya exclaimed
"Ahh!" the man exclaimed too
"Oh I am so sorry" said Vikaya and bent down to pick up his papers
"It's alright" he said
They were quickly picking up the papers, squatting down. They stepped closer to each other and lifted their heads only to be bumped again
"Ohh!" they both exclaimed holding their heads
"It seems together we are accident prone" said Vikaya standing up rubbing her head
"Yeah" the man replied and lifted his gaze to look at her face. But he froze with surprise of course. If he actually froze Vikaya would have ended up as a modern-day Medusa
"Hello, I am Jay" he said and stretched out his arm
"Hi, I am.." Vikaya stopped
'A name should pop into my head, shouldn't it? Since I am in this body living this life…' she wondered
"Saarya" she blurted out as soon as it popped in her head
"Beautiful name, just like it's owner" he smile unwillingly letting go of her hand
Saarya smiled, gave a slight nod and walked ahead
Jay's face fell as he saw her walk away, he immediately ran towards her
"Wait!" he said and reached to hold her arm
"This cannot be our last meeting" he said deeply "I would like to see you again"
"Umm, okay" said Saarya "See you again man" she said and tried to walk away
"How about tomorrow? Desmond Park Restaurant at 7pm?" he asked
Saarya stopped, her face reflecting the inner spiral in her mind
"Alright" she said "I will kill you if you turn out to be a dangerous creep" she warned him before walking away
This sentence made him chuckled and turned his pupils to little hearts
Vikaya, now Saarya decided to walk straight home lest anymore "accidents" happen. Vikaya had managed with enough other worlds that she now knew to give a back seat to her logic mind so her higher mind can guide. Her higher mind did get her home
She entered her home and heard two people talking urgently
"We cannot let her go outside anymore! Didn't you hear what I just said?" yelled a man
"So you are telling me that just because she stays home the demon will go back and not abduct her? That makes so much sense" said a woman
"I am just saying, being cautious is better" said the man
"Alright alright" said the woman
Saarya was carefully listening to this conversation, she took off her shoes and tiptoed inside but a snitch had to give it away
"Woof!" said the dog delight
The couple heard her and immediately fell silent
"Ohh Saarya you are back. We didn't hear you" said the woman
"Oh yeah I just came in" she said
'Ugh I live with my parents' she thought while petting the sweet dog, who was suspicious of her but decided that getting love is not a bad thing
The next day much to the dismay of her parents Saarya went to Desmond Park Restaurant and found Jay waiting at the table
He smiled looking at her
"Every time I see you, you seem like a magical woman" said Jay
Saarya smiled "You are right, I am" she said
'I don't know whether he actually means it or its some advanced flirting tactics' she thought to herself
The evening was like a regular dinner date. Jay even dropped her to her house, well a little farther from her house
"I don't want your parents attention at the beginning" he said
Saarya nodded "I understand"
The night passed by
"I miss the touch of your hands. See you soon. Good night" texted Jay
Saarya couldn't help but smile like a little girl
"I am sorry if that was too forward but you mesmerize me Saarya Dey" he texted again
"Good night. See you soon" said Saarya with a heart which was enough for Jay
The days went by and Saarya and Jay spent more time together with Jay's words tingling Saarya's heart strings
It was a beautiful day and they were walking around in a beautiful area. Saarya reached out and held his hand. Saarya was always the one to hold hands first but she didn't mind
"Why don't you show your art to the world?" said Jay stopping in front of a gallery
Saarya was silent, staring at the gallery
"Am I good?" she said out loud
"Of course you are!" he said squeezing her hand
In a few days Saarya decided to visit the gallery
"We have a program for new artists, we select an artist based on the response from visitors on Fridays. On Fridays we display works from multiple artists. If the response is good we offer a longer position" said the lady
"Oh that's wonderful" said Saarya
Friday arrived and one of Saarya's selected artworks was displayed at the gallery. Her family came hopping, thrilled to see her work
"Wow honey! It's amazing" said her mother
"Jay suggested it" smiled Saarya
A smile was immediately stuck on her face as soon as Jay came to her mind. Her family knew she had been talking to someone named Jay but they didn't know whether it was serious or casual
One day, insecurity entered Saarya's happy mind
"I am not seeing any other people, I am not comfortable with that. Are you seeing anyone else?" she texted Jay
and for hours that guy did not reply adding fuel to Saarya's fire insecurity. This issue spiraled out of control almost turned into an argument
"Are you or are you not?" she asked him
"It's only you at the moment" said Jay
Saarya sighed "Do you flirt with other people like you flirt with me?" asked Saarya
"I love that you are so straightforward, it's one of the things that magnetized me to you" he said
"I don't flirt with other people but with some friends I have this special bond that makes it seem like I am flirting" he said
Saarya sighed "Ok" she said
It may seem like Saarya is overreacting from the point of view of a person who has never experienced insecurity and fear of betrayal in relationships. But Jay's sweet words did not prove nor reflect integrity
Even after driving through a rough patch things were going good for them. Saarya never hung up on issues like these. She always cherished the person
Hands holding each other by the waist, matching footsteps together they walked in the park as it rained. People were shut inside their homes it was a darker evening. Slowly moving her towards a large tree, Jay pinned her to the tree and kissed her. Saarya was having the sweetest time
Days were flying by and Saarya eagerly waited each night to talk to him and see his face, over a video call of course. As Jay's work breathed down his neck, they met less and less. But things seemed blissful on the surface
"I have to go on this trip" groaned Saarya over the phone "My parents say it's important"
"It's alright babe, I will be missing you here" he said sweetly "I already miss you"
The trip went by and Saarya only remembered eye-rolling throughout the whole thing. Dealing with stuck-up relatives was not her thing while her mother protected her fiercely from any conservative pond-water toads. She shooed them away if they even slightly hinted on Saarya being still single
"Marriage?!" she said "Let her live and enjoy her life first. She should focus on herself" sneered her mother at them
"Finally!" said Saarya as they finally left the place. She glanced at her brother who had skillfully avoided the drama by staring at his phone the whole time
"This was the last of these hooligan fests we went to" declared her mother
No one else dared to say another word after that
It was a pleasant journey back home until the other-worldly disaster
Saarya's dad slammed the brakes on time, the car almost spiraled out of control before stopping with a violent jerk
A large portal opened up in front of them, in the middle of the road with dark and purple rays creating a suction. A large, vile demon stepped out of it. Eyes suck into the hollows of his fleshless face, glowing an awful red. His flesh barely stuck to his body, his dirty nails reflected his large nasty horns
"I have been waiting for you Saarya Dey" he growled