Hates Me, Hates Me Not

PART 3

SHREEJA

Aaradhya Upadrashta, Dhruv Upadrashta, Shalini Seth, Aarush Kulkarni, Raghav Malhotra and I, Shreeja Aradhyula, make up the Sigma Six. It does not only help the victims of cybercrime but also creates apps and devices that make it hard to hack into.

Aaradhya and Dhruv are the innovators, they sketch the basic functioning of apps/devices with extraordinary features that make it impossible to hack into.

Raghav and I are the strategists, we go a step forward and shape the app/device to the level of perfection by analysing the different situations it can be used in.

Shalini and Aarush are the executors, they study the pros and cons and effects the app would have on the device before finally working on its execution. Obviously, there are a lot more people involved but we are the main ones.

The scent of coffee hits me as soon as I'm inside her cabin.

"Vijay's parents are not his actual parents, they are Vijay's aunt and uncle, his parents died in an accidental fire, the media somehow turned a blind eye to all of this" she says as she shows me a few pictures, probably captured by a few CCTV cameras nearby at the time of the accident, two pictures are of the burning house and four other pictures were grotesque, they were the pictures of the burnt bodies of his parents and his sister. My heart clenches at the sight.

"I'm guessing Vijay wasn't with his parents when the accident took place"

"Why and who would do something so horrible?" I say as tears sting my eyes, I feel uneasy, I can't breath, I am taken back to the darkest moment in my life, but before the worst day of my life flashes before me, Aaradhya grips me by the shoulders and shakes me hard.

"Hey hey hey, look at me and follow me" she says her hands still gripping my shoulders

She inhales and I inhale too.
She exhales I exhale too. We do this till I'm completely relaxed.

"Better?" She asks cautiously, to which I nod. Then she hugs me, Aaradhya is one year older than me but she dotes on me like she is a decade older than me. She is the only one who knows about my nightmares and how traumatized I really still am.

The rest of the day at work goes in a blur as I try but fail to get past the pictures of burnt house and bodies.

***

Once I'm home, I head to the shower, I need it, long, warm shower to get over the miserable feeling that's coating me inside out. This has been my coping mechanism ever since mum's death, if I stayed in the shower long enough, it would rid me of some of my demons if not all.

As soon as I'm out of the shower, I grab whatever nightgown that comes my way and head down, towards the kitchen, Yamuna is nowhere to be found, she probably has retreated to her room in the first floor. The dinner is cooked and everything is arranged on the dinner table, the smell of kadai paneer makes me lose my senses, it's then I realise I've survived on coffee all day long.

Without giving it a second thought I sit on one of the chairs and serve myself, I eat like a begger who has been starving to death.

"Are you that hungry or do you really lack etiquettes?" I shiver at the deep voice, my head automatically shoots up to see the owner of the voice. The instant I see him, I'm taken aback by his dark beauty, tan skin, long, curly, thick hair, slight stubble as if he has been overworking himself, which might be true considering his urge to get away from me, but even with tiny imperfections he looks so perfect.

"Listen, I know I'm handsome and that you can't get your eyes off me but I would really appreciate it if you don't make me repeat myself" he says haughtily and I can almost imagine how pink I am.