[Ladies and gentlemen, A2KB welcomes you to city M. The local time is 10: 30 PM. For your safety and the safety of those around you, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened and keep the aisle(s) clear until we are parked at the gate.]
Clara snapped out of her sleep when the final announcement was done. Looking around she heaved out a breath," I am finally here" she muttered waiting for the last procedure.
Once she stepped out of the airport, she hailed a cab, heading to the mentioned location.
[ I landed safely. Will text once reach the apartment] Pressing the send button she leaned back and closed her eyes.
Clara didn't want to see those familiar streets from where her cab passed through. To stop her mind from drifting to those bad memories, she plugged in the chords, turned on the loud music, and closed her eyes.
After some time the cab came to a halt and she slowly opened her eyes. Looking out of the window Clara creased.
"We reach the destination mam" she heard the driver and the next second she opened the passenger seat door and stepped out of the cab.
After paying the driver and removing her bags from the trunk, she entered a lofty building.
Clara swiftly got into the elevator while ignoring the onlookers by keeping her head up and made her way to the building's second-to-last floor by dragging her belongings with her and pausing in front of the door.
"Room number 1003," Clara said as she glanced at the keys she was holding and reached to open the door before walking inside.
Clara's gaze swept through the empty house. Thanks to Abby, who quickly set up her old residence, everything was tidy. But then something struck her memory, and her expression turned glum.
Clara moved over to the couch and slouched down, sneering at her companion, "I never thought I would be listening to you Abby."
Clara was about to retire for the night, closing her thoughts when her phone began to ring.
"Argh!!!...." Enraged, she answered the phone without paying at the name of the caller and sobbed, "Abby, can't you let me sleep?"
Clara was in no mood to entertain her friend because she was the reason why she had to come back to this city.
"Clara, did you reach safely? Why didn't you text back" Abby asked in concern.
Clara had already guessed that her careless friend had once again ignored her text, and rolled her eyes in distress.
"Did you check the message I sent you?" Clara asked keeping her cool even though she already knew the answer.
She was already having a headache due to lack of sleep and now when she finally got the time to relax her noisy friend called to disturb her.
The was a long pause from the other end finally she heard," Hehe... I forgot to check it.
Clara had also texted her about her arrival before she reached the apartment door. But just like she assumed, Abby forgot to check her messages and was directly bombarding her with questions on the call.
Taking a deep breath Clara calmed her frustration and said," Now that you got the answer can you just end the call and let me take a rest...." by the end of the sentence Clara's voice raised and the very next second the line went dead.
"...."
Heaving out a breath, Clara kept her cell phone aside and lay on the couch resuming back her precious sleep.
****
Clara woke up holding her throbbing head and found herself in different surroundings.
"How did I come here?" she asked herself trying to recall how she landed here all of a sudden.
"And...Why does this place seem familiar" she muttered and looked around when suddenly she remembered where she was.
Before she could emphasize her legs started to move on their own as she tried to find her way to this place. She tried reaching the exit but felt like she was moving to the same place and the door that would lead her out was moving far away from her.
Clara tried to understand what was happening to her when she heard a voice that stopped her from walking.
"You are a shame for us Clara" the voice that yelled at her sounded familiar.
How could she forget whom that voice belonged to, but instead of looking for the person who was cursing her she tried to ignore it and move ahead when again she heard the same words and this time she reacted.
"No... I didn't do anything..." she yelled out of her lungs and turned around to the sound but couldn't find anyone.
Her heart was pumping against her chest and her breath fastened when suddenly she heard the laughing voices echo in her ear.
She frantically roamed her eyes around the house but found no one. The laughter increased making it unbearable to stand and she covered her ears trying to reach her chords.
"Stop it !! Please...." she cried covering her ears but still, the laughing didn't stop."
"I. SAID. STOP. IT. PLEASE..." This time, she screamed her lungs out and suddenly the voice stopped.
Clara frowned when everything turned silent and she opened her eyes when everything around her started to dark slowly pulling her to an unknown abyss...
DING DONG
The sound of the doorbell woke Clara from her slumber and she opened her eyes to find herself in the same room she had slept in a while ago.
Registering her thoughts, she heaved out a sigh and muttered breathlessly," It was a dream" Wiping off the fatigue on her face, she stood up and walked to open the door.
"Miss Clara Mathew. Here's your parcel" the delivery man said passing her a bag and left before she could ask him anything.
"Huh!... Excuse me" Taking a step out of the house she watched the man step into the elevator.
Clara blinked her eyes in confusion staring at the closed door and then at the bag in her hand. Looking inside the bag, she saw some food and frowned.
Confused, she walked back inside before shutting the door. Keeping the bag on the table she was about to inquire about the watchman about this bag when her phone buzzed and she walked to pick it up.
[ Don't starve yourself and eat something before taking the medicine- Your dearest... friend Abby]
A smile crept on her lips when she read Abby's text. Shaking her head, she kept her phone aside and started digging in the food she received from Abby. Though she wasn't around, Abby still kept updated about her meals.
Once she finished eating the food Clara pulled her luggage inside the bedroom and started segregating it when he eyes fell on the envelope.
Taking it out from the bag, Clara looked at it with a blank expression.
"If not for this letter, I wouldn't have to step foot into this city" Her displeased tone was evidence of how much she hated coming here.