Where Shadows Reach

The Gift

Her second day at the Haveli and Meerab had finally completed the puzzle.

It had the following words in colourful fonts against a black background.

"I'M A WANNABE LAWYER

THAT MEANS

I'M CREATIVE,

COOL,

PASSIONATE

&

A LITTLE BIT

CRAZY"

She loved it! She thought of ways to get it framed.
"Was it even possible to frame a jigsaw puzzle?" Meerab wondered out loud

Suddenly remembering the instructions given on the box, she quickly took a photo of the puzzle and sent it to the number given. An instant reply came back with.

'Congratulations! You will receive your gift tomorrow."

That got Meerab even more excited, another gift.

Turning twenty one does mean she is growing older , being more mature but it did not mean her childlike excitement for surprises and gifts had to diminish.

The satisfaction of finishing the puzzle was only marred by the fact that she still had to figure out who had sent this special gift.

It was taking her longer to guess the giver than it took for her to finish the puzzle.

The next day, it was almost evening when another box arrived.
A similar nonedescript brown gift box with no return address.

It had in it an empty rectangular frame made of clear plastic and a small tray of the same material.

The stand for the frame was made of wood but it was similar to a menu stand used in some restaurents.
A stand with a slot on top to insert the empty frame.

The frame too had a slot at the top along its width so that the tray could be removed and inserted back into the frame.
Meerab guessed the tray was where she could stick her photos. Since it was clear plastic she will have photos visible on both sides of the frame.
It was a very unique practical gift.

Unlike most photo frames the wooden base had an electric chord and a long light was fixed inside the base.

By the time she figured it out it was already night time. Only a few more hours were left until her birthday.
As Meerab's excitement rose so did the shadows in her peripheral.

She had noticed that the moment she had returned to the Haveli the usual shadows were harder to ignore but as she had become used to not letting it affect she did not mention it to anyone.

Who would want to discuss shadow people when she had a birthday to celebrate. Focus on the positive, she kept reminding herself.

She was in Mariyam's room testing the gift, tinkering with the light when Mariyam barged in excitedly.

"Got your gift! I can't wait anymore. Here!"
A palm sized black gift box with an elaborate purple bow on it was shoved into Meerab's hands.