26
Her appearance had totally changed. Even though she looked the same age but she was not Maria anymore. She was in someone else's body.
'How can this be? Who is this girl? What is happening?'
Her mind was filled with too many questions. And suddenly a man opened the door and came in.
Maria never had seen this man. She was a bit frightened.
'Hello. Don't be scared. Do you remember me little girl?' he asked.
'No uncle. I don't know you.'
'Okay, don't worry. I am a good man. What is your name little girl?' he asked her.
'I am Maria.'
After hearing those words, there was a big smile on the man's face. Tears also started to flow from his eyes. It's me, Maria. Its Erwin. Your dad.
'Dad? Dad you are also alive?' she asked him.
'Yes my child. My spell worked.'
'What spell dad?'
'The spell of reincarnation. Just before we died I transferred both of our souls and we are now in these new bodies.'
Maria was confused. She was not able to pronounce reincarnation correctly, so knowing what it means was out of the picture. But being just a 5-year old who always considered her dad to be a superhero, she easily believed him. Both of them had come back to life.
Erwin was now Ivan, the owner of a small cotton textile nearby and was a multi-millionaire. His daughter Maria was now Irena who was also 5 years old. They were now in Rille, the city of the Rich. The spell of reincarnation was completely successful.
* * *
Both of them then lived comfortable lives surrounded by money and luxury.
Years passed by. Ivan (previously Erwin) now was able to recall his previous life's powers. He looked at every possible clue to find out who the traitor was. But it was all in vain.
There was nothing left. Zest had now become a relic of the past. Not a single body from the village was ever found. They all were assumed to be washed away in the flood.
During all this time he missed his brother-in-arms, Kelvin.
Irena (previously Maria) missed Adam dearly and cried a lot for him when she was a child. But as time passed, Adam just became a memory of her distant past.
As she grew up she met a few Adams.
After all, Adam was not that an uncommon name. Each time she met a boy named Adam, her hopes would skyrocket. She wished that he was the same Adam she had been looking for. But in the end, all of them were not the Adam she knew.
Their parents looked nothing like Kelvin and Ulva. They did not know a thing about Zest.
She eventually gave up on the thought that Adam was alive.
But then an incident occurred when Irena reached class 9th that affected their daily lives.
She had grown up to be quite beautiful and wherever she went, she attracted attention.
At the start of her school year as usual all the classes were jumbled. All her classmates were mostly new. There was a boy named Adam in her class who was a new transfer.
Normally there were 2 to 3 boys with the name Adam near her age in the school but she knew them well. They were not the Adam she was looking for. But this guy was new. He came from somewhere else and she knew nothing about him. She decided to try her luck the last time.
Irena went to the boy and asked about Zest. She received the same old reaction.
'What is Zest? Never heard of it,' he said.
She understood that he was also not the one.
The guy complimented that she looked great and was quite popular in the school.
She was unbothered and gave him a thanks in a plain voice and came back to her seat.
The next day, Adam himself came to her desk for a small talk.
She couldn't outrightly say no to him so she talked to him for some time.
The guy lived alone in the city and his parents were back in a town far away. His behavior and personality were nothing like her Adam and it was clear as day that this guy is not the one she is looking for. The teacher then came in and he returned back to his seat.
Irena was glad that the teacher arrived and thought the conversation was over. But she was totally wrong.
The conversations became a daily chore.
During the school whenever there was a break, Adam would come to her seat for a chat.
Irena on the other hand never made any friends. She still believed that this body did not belong to her and she didn't open up to the surrounding people.
It was the first time that she had had a conversation this long with anybody, especially someone of her age. But she was quite perceptive.
The regular compliments, the act of conversation initiation, making plans for both of them, etc. did not go unnoticed. She knew that he liked her. So she rejected all his advances. She would never hang out with him after school. She tried to also avoid him. She was trying her best not to mislead him. But it was all in vain. Adam just failed to understand any of her signs.
And then came the fated day.
The school went regularly but today Adam did not talk much. He did not come to her in between breaks and that was strange.
For the past month, he never missed such an opportunity.
The school ended. Adam then came to Irena and asked her to stay behind for some time. As a friend, she did as he asked but she had a hunch what it was about.
Adam asked Irena out. He liked her and told her the same.
For the past two years, this had become a norm for her. She rejected way too many boys and this Adam was no different.
She straightway told No to him.
His face fell. He was dejected. His expression told me that he never expected that.
'You were the one who first came to talk to me and now you are rejecting me. Till yesterday everything was perfect. We were talking in the same usual manner that we daily did. So Why? What's wrong with me? What's the problem? Do you like somebody else?' He bombarded her with a sea of questions.
'See Adam, I had a thing which I wanted to confirm that's why I talked to you. After confirming it I just went away. I was never interested in you. I was talking to you because you were talking to me and it would have been rude if I had blatantly ignored you. But during this time, I believe we have become friends and I want us to remain the same,' she told him.
He couldn't believe it. He was visibly angry.
'So you just wanted to ask about that stupid place. What was the name of that shithole, Zest right? Afterwards, I read about it. Isn't that trash of a place already deserted?' he said in an angry tone.
Irena was very angry. She shouted at him to be within his limits.
'Don't you dare cross your limits? Don't use bad words for my home. See I'll tell you clearly, it's over. I never liked you and now we are not even friends. Leave me alone.'
She then left. Adam was heartbroken. But his anger soared.
'It is not over yet my dear Irena,' he said to himself as he clenched his fist.
27
The next day Adam did not come to school.
Irena was now unbothered and did not pay much heed. After school, she straightaway went back to her home.
That day was a busy day in the season and Ivan was at the mill. There was nobody at home. Irena came in and opened the door. But to her shock, it was already open.
'Did dad forget to close the door? But that has never happened before,' she thought.
She came in and put her bag on the sofa. And suddenly the door closed.
She turned back quickly and Adam was standing in front of the door. He was behind the door the entire time.
She was scared.
With a trembling voice, she asked him, 'What are you doing here?'
He laughed. He laughed aloud. He began to verbally abuse her.
'I did so much for you. I cared for you. I never talked to any girl but you were the first Irena. You are my first true love. You are mine. Why did you have to say no? We were so happy till yesterday. If you can't be mine, then I will not let you live. I have come to end you, my dear Irena.'
He had lost his mind. 'This bastard is a psycho,' she thought.
Before she could even think of running away, he jumped on her.
She fell to the ground.
He came onto her and with both of his hands started to choke her neck. She struggled but it was all in vain. She was helpless.
Her strength started to fade away and she became unconscious. She blacked out.
* * *
After some time, she opened her eyes.
She thought she must be dead now but the reality was way too different.
Adam was lying on the floor. Dead. His face was disfigured as if it was hit multiple times by a heavy object. It was a cruelty only a wild animal was capable of.
She was shocked and instantly jumped away.
'Who killed him? Rather what killed him? What sort of animal brutally killed him to this extent that his face was in this state?'
She then looked at her hands. They were soaked in blood. Her knuckles had their skin ripped off. She understood immediately.
She killed him with her hands. Did she do this all with just her bare punches? She didn't know how can this be. It's impossible. She sank to the floor.
'How can this be possible?' she thought.
Ivan rushed back when he got her call.
He saw that a boy was lying on the floor with his skull crushed and beside his body was Irena who stood like a stone with blood soaked hands.
He reached out to her. Hugged her and brought her back to her senses. She started crying. He consoled her and told her not to worry. She was not at fault. She was just a victim of a brutal crime.
He quickly called his personnel and disposed of the body. He took care of other formalities and ensured that not a soul knew about Adam's disappearance.
Irena then took a week off from the school.
She was filled with guilt about Adam's death but Ivan was convinced that she was the victim here and not the perpetrator.
But Irena was traumatized. She now became more distant than ever. She just went to school and came back home. Didn't talk much with anybody. And she now didn't even try to make any friends. She had become a true loner.
At times when few boys came to confess to her she just avoided them without even listening to anything. She was seen as a cold person who didn't care about anybody. Gradually her presence in school began to fade and so did her opinion in the eyes of others.
From class 11th onwards she only went to school to give her exams and immersed herself in studies for the entrance exam of RIT.
* * *
Time went by quickly.
2 years disappeared in a flash and she had passed all her exams. She cleared RIT's exam but got electrical engineering.
At the same time, she was getting Computer Science at many contemporary colleges and she wanted to take admission in one of them.
But to her surprise, Ivan had different plans for her.
He wanted her to go to RIT for the college's tag even if she was not getting CSE there.
She argued.
She wanted to make a career in CSE and the other options suited her better. But Ivan was adamant. He was obsessed with RIT for no reason.
They argued for a few days and eventually, Irena gave in. She just couldn't argue any longer with her dad. So she made up her mind to go to RIT.
28
It's been more than 3 years since that awful incident.
Irena had moved on.
She had secluded herself for the past 3 years and now she was determined to live her college life fully. This was her new beginning.
But college was no different than school.
She was one of the few beauties in the whole campus and boys flocked around her.
But this time she had a solution to this problem. She chose a different approach.
She took the help of the image of Adam she loved in her childhood. She herself floated out the rumors that she already had someone she liked a lot and to all the boys she rejected she mentioned the same.
This was her defense to avoid a catastrophe like before. And it worked well.
To have an integral college life she decided to join an extracurricular club. She tried the college volleyball team and to her surprise, she was naturally quite good at it. She was a born athlete.
She then tried to make friends in the volleyball team and in her batch of electrical engineering but they all ended in the same old manner.
The girls who became friends with her eventually had their boyfriends or their crushes liking Irena who in turn turned them down. This led to the end of friendships with many of her girl friends.
Then the boys who became her friends just wanted to get into a relationship with her and even they left as soon as she turned them down and asked only to be friends.
She again became lonely. Volleyball was the only thing that kept her sane.
She was slowly giving up on people and thought that her life will remain the same. Alone and lonely with nobody she can call a friend. But then she met Iris.
The quiet girl whose roll number was next to hers.
They met in the first term of the 2nd year during a laboratory class when both of them were assigned to the same group.
She was quiet, shy and looked uninterested most of the time. She was very average looking. And the effort she put into her looks was close to none. Most of her face was covered by her big glasses and she was also a loner.
Both of them interacted and she was the first person in RIT with whom Irena felt comfortable.
There were no boys flocking around Iris and she never talked about any boys when they had their conversations.
As per Irena, she was the nicest girl she had ever met and eventually, they became friends.
***
Iris had a regular schedule of living.
She attended all the classes. Kept quiet all the time. Straight away went to her room after classes and only came out to eat during lunch and dinner.
In the start when Irena met her she used to get the food also delivered in front of her room but Irena had succeeded in at least bringing her to the girls hostel mess for lunch and dinner.
Her room also had minimal luggage.
Unlike Irena's room which was full of accessories and clothes, Iris's wardrobe only had 4-5 pairs of clothes and a few cosmetics.
But with the amount remaining in those cream boxes, anybody could have guessed that they were hardly used. Irena was impressed by her simplicity.
Slowly and steadily Iris became her best and her only true friend on the campus.
Things were going well. 2nd year was also over and 2 terms of the 3rd year had passed.
In the third term, everyone had to choose electives and Irena was missing one. She asked Iris and on her recommendation chose the humanities subject: Soft skills and Communications.
On the very first day of the class, Irena was a bit late than usual. By the time she came, most of the seats were already filled.
In the very last rows, she could see that Iris was sitting and had saved her a seat. She immediately went there.
On that day Irena met another boy whose name was Adam. But this time she did not mention Zest. She had accepted that she will never meet her Adam and didn't want to stand out as a weirdo asking about weird places.
After the class, she came back with Iris.
Before returning to the rooms Iris told Irena that seniors had made it compulsory for everyone to make a social media account to like and follow the college's fest page.
Irena hated interactions on social media so had deferred this but if a super introvert like Iris was making an account then there was no other choice for her.
She made the account and within a few hours, she was bombarded with friend requests from hundreds of folks from RIT. She accepted them all. In that, there was also the request of Adam.
She accepted his request as well and now she became curious.