ME & YOU

Fake

"You do realize that you put our whole family in danger just for the sake of this chain?" Kevin said pacing around. Sally was sitting on the bed holding her head.

"Kevin, I had to do this. Amrit told me to keep it safe."

"It wasn't safe, Sally. It was just in a box on top of the cupboard. That's not safe." Kevin vented out on her. "MOM DIED BECAUSE OF THIS!!!."

He grabs a handful of his hair and pulls it in anger. Sally sits quietly on the edge of her bed, waiting for Kevin to digest the whole thing. She embraced the guilt of causing all of this long back. She knew she couldn't do much about it. He was taking short brisk walks around the room.

"Wait, so how is Natasha stuck on the island again?" Kevin asks her in a perplexed tone.

"This chain is handled by an AI virtual assistant which takes your voice as a request. This virtual assistant is related only to choosing a soul from the Afterlife to transport to the island, whom you can visit while sleeping. It's kind of like a love genie."

"No but how did it know which Natasha? It isn't like she had the same wish or I gave her the chain?"

"Do you have any clue about telepathy?"

"Yes, it's when you read someone's mind."

"Exactly. This is somewhat like that. You could say long-distance telepathy. This chain is sending and receiving signals from her brain to the chain. So, you are watching a physically created picture by the AI in your mind and listening to her mind speaking to you."

"Wait. Does this happen on the island or in my mind? So, Her touch is fake?."

Natasha sighed. "I don't know. Maybe? It must be the things happening to you in the natural surroundings. For example, If you feel she is touching you, It must be the breeze or the cold touch of the pendant. It's tough to explain. If Amrit had been there, He would have explained better."

Kevin turns his back against Sally, trying to hide the tears from his eyes.

"All this time, I have waited to hold her hand and say 'I LOVE YOU'. I want to feel her soft hand. I want to touch her beautiful face. I want to kiss her. Now, all of it is fake. Her slap, her touch, Her...... Everything." He thought to himself.

He slowly wipes the tears off his face, trying to regain strength.

"Who made this device?"

"It was the Head scientist from the National Laboratory. He made this to communicate with his wife, who could die after cancer."

"Why would he make this device?"

"Kevin, Death is not something you can escape from. He made this device so that he could live with her. For him, His wife's voice and her soul itself was the one in which he loved. His deep connection with her, could not make him accept her loss. So, he did this to live in his illusion."

"Why can't he just bring her back alive?"

"The device isn't that powerful. If it ends up doing that, It might break. There's no guarantee he is going to have her. I am sure he is sane enough not to risk doing that."

"Then, how is it Dangerous or affecting people?"

"The problem is that there are some glitches in the AI. It isn't following the code anymore. It's using its own mind patterns and logic to take actions which we cannot predict. We must stop using this device before it gets more unpredictable and scarier. One more reason is if ... if it is interacting with souls. It might get powerful enough to send all the souls to earth."

"What about Natasha? We are going to get her back alive, right?"

Sally turned her head down to Kevin's question. There was a silent pause between both of them. A sweat drop trickled off Kevin's forehead seeing Natasha's reaction.

"We can get her out, right?"

"I don't think so. Once it shuts down, the soul would just be lost. Trapped on the island or returned to the Afterlife. It can't return without the chain. You must put your feelings aside and do this to ensure no one gets hurt."

"NO....NO...that's not happening, Sally. I can't lose her like this."

"Ke.."

THUD!!!

The sound of the table falling on the floor interrupted their conversation. Both ran to the main hall.

"WHO GAVE YOU THE BLOODY RIGHT TO PUBLISH ON MY DAUGHTER?" Jeevan shouted over the phone.

Kevin saw him throw the newspaper on the floor. He went forward and picked it up. His eyes widened slowly as they went from left to right.

"WHAT?"

***

"Please finish the job at least this time," Gurpreet said over the phone.

It was midnight. The police cars were doing their regular patrolling across the neighbourhood. Everyone fell asleep this Christmas night. The black-coated figure was standing ahead of Natasha's rich 2-floored mansion.

"Consider it, done."

He walks towards the automatic lock door, which opens with a PIN. In one hand, he held an Iron hammer and in the other a screwdriver. He places the edge of the screwdriver on the lock's edges and tries to ply it out by smashing it with the hammer. In 5 massive smashes, The door's whole lock broke. He knew the noise was loud to wake them up. So, he had to be cautious with his moves. 

He kicks the door open with a hammer and screwdriver in his hand. He slowly tiptoes across the hall. 

"I think you entered the wrong house."

As he turned, He found Sally holding a Kitchen Knife in her hand.

"Nope, It's the right one." He answered with a smirk.