THE UNLISTED

Chapter Four

When Kal and Dru arrived home, the floor was decorated with beautiful circular rangoli, one the size of a large pizza, the other twice as big again. They were filled with lovely colours of celebration – orange, pink, purple and outlined in white.

Dadi appeared from the living room, her good mood restored. 'I have never been so happy to see ghee! Vidya, the lanterns have been strung up outside. Go and light them. But be careful. They get very hot.'

Vidya went to leave but then turned back to Dru. 'Your girlfriend left ... guess you'll have to save your flirt-a-thon for dinner tonight.'

The front door opened and Anousha stepped in, wearing activewear and looking a little messy post-workout.
Dadi frowned at her daughter-in-law's attire. 'Anousha, get changed! And shower. Goddess Lakshmi does not appreciate your sweat.'

Anousha laughed. 'Yes, Dadi!'

Rahul stepped in after her, carrying a tray of colourful Indian sweets, a lovely plate of bite-size special treats, little cakes and delicious sweet slices. 'Hi, Mum.' He handed her the plate.

Dadi gave him a big kiss on the cheek. 'Thank you, my beta. Now go. Get ready!'

•

In their bedroom, Kal was finishing up putting on his special Diwali sherwani, a long-sleeve smock style dress shirt, with loose-fitting pants and ornate slipper-like shoes. Dru was already wearing one, his a lovely matt gold silk, with gold cotton pants. Kal's was maroon in colour. Dru was sitting at his desk, trying to contact Tim via WhatsApp. Kal peered over his shoulder.

'Uh, a little space?' said Dru.

'Oh come on, you're the pro,' Kal chided.

'Tim's still not answering,' said Dru,
frustrated. 'Try his phone again.'

Kal pressed redial on his mobile but there was no answer.

Indian prayer music began to blare from stereo speakers downstairs. 'It's game time,' said Kal. 'We better go.'

But Dru wasn't ready to give up yet. 'You go. I'll try one more time.'

Kal hurried downstairs as Dru tried WhatsApp again. 'Come on, come on.' He pushed recall for one last try and suddenly Tim's mum appeared on the screen.

'Hello, hello. Dru? Do you know where Tim is?' asked Tim's mum, looking very worried, her eyes swollen from crying.

'No, we're looking for him too,' replied Dru.

Tim's dad's face turned up on screen. 'He never came home from school. We're really worried.' His face looked more worn and aged than Dru had ever seen it before.

Tim's mum continued. 'And we can't get any answers out of the school.' Dru could see someone creep up behind the Hale's.

'Look out!' he cried. Mr and Mrs Hale both looked over their shoulders and saw two men in their kitchen. A moment later they were dragged out of sight. The line dropped out.

Dru was horrified, staring at the blank screen, unable to think about what to do next as he felt his heartbeat thump fast and loud. He had no idea what was happening. He had never felt this level of fear before.