INTRICATE

CHAPTER 01

S A M A I R A   Y A D A V

Life in the city was always hectic. Decades could go by and everything would change for the better except for the god-forsaken traffic that Samaira had to put up with every single day. She punched the steering wheel of her car out of frustration, not knowing if she should laugh or cry when her palm throbbed in pain. Sighing, she rested her head.

Samaira had started practising general surgery about a month back in one of the most renowned hospitals in the country. Claiming that it was draining would be an understatement because her attending physician was a sadist. There was no other word for it. 

Dr. Chowdhury taught her why the world was a better place before stumbling upon people like him. If she could, she would stumble right back and keep stumbling until she forgot that she had ever run into him in the first place, let alone report to someone as ruthless and unforgiving as Satan. The man gave her nightmares! Not only was he haunting her during the day, but he was haunting her at night as well.

The car behind her honked loudly, disrupting her line of thought. She looked up excitedly, only for her hopes to go crashing down when she noticed that the traffic hadn't moved by an inch. She eyed the guy through her rear-view mirror. Why the fuck did he honk then? 

Almost as if the universe had heard her rather colourful prayers, the cars in front of her started moving slowly. Letting out a victorious cry, she weaved her way through, nearly crying from relief when she turned into an empty road. Thank the heavens. Another minute and she would have murdered someone. Morally, she would have to be the one to resuscitate them as well, so it wouldn't have been fun. 

"Sam!" a familiar voice yelled as soon as she entered the cafeteria, lightening her mood at once. Samaira looked around in the hopes of finding Neha, her childhood friend. When she spotted her at the corner booth, she made her way over, wrapping her in an enormous hug. Neha had been her friend since eighth grade. The girl had seen her through everything and vice versa, so they were closer than ever. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Neha smiled as she returned to her seat. "It has been so long since we last caught up. If I remember right, you were studying for your final exams the last time we met. You looked dreadful then, and weirdly enough, you look the same now."

Samaira gave her a deadpanned look. "I have the right to, alright? I just started practising and for the sheer amount of work that I do, I can look homeless and people shouldn't even question it!"

Her friend chuckled, using her surplus energy from her fashion designer job to mock her. "Relax, babe. I was messing with you. You look gorgeous as always, despite the obvious exhaustion. I'm not throwing it in your face, but you've wanted to do this your whole life, haven't you?"

"I have, but that doesn't negate my need to vent out my frustration." she said, taking an eager sip of her coffee when the waiter placed it down. It flowed down her throat like warm nectar. "I swear, one of these days, Dr. Chowdhury is going to go missing and I'm going to end up in jail."

Neha laughed like it was the funniest thing she had heard in a while, stopping short when she noticed that Samaira wasn't. She winced like it physically hurt her to even imagine her situation. "Damn, that bad?"

She downed her coffee before unintentionally slamming the cup down on the table. Muttering an apology to the onlookers, she turned back to Neha. "You have no idea. If we were allowed to, all the residents would come together and create a book of five hundred different ways in which we could murder him and get away with it."

"Not the best start for your noble job." she chuckled, taking a sip of her tea. Samaira could never understand how people chose tea over something as delicious and comforting as coffee. They were aliens or a species that was weirder than humans. She was convinced of it. "How have you been apart from work?"