A Few Moments Earlier
“I feel like I’ve come across Kiran Kania’s name lately, but it’s slipping my mind,” Jevan whispered from the back seat of his car, leaning towards Paskal in the front.
“We’ve got a bunch of folks from your old high school at the office, like Selia and Aldi. Maybe you overheard it from them?” Paskal suggested. “Why not check with Selia and Aldi? Since you all went to school together, they might know something about Kiran.”
“I haven’t had a chance yet,” Jevan replied. “Selia was busy with her guests earlier and then jumped into a meeting. And as for Aldi… No, I won’t bother asking him!”
Paskal burst into laughter. “Fair enough, Jevan. But hey, speaking of which… how long are we gonna just chill here in front of her place? It’s dark already. Maybe it’s time we paid her a visit, huh? You used to live around here, so maybe they’ll remember you and give us a warm welcome.”
Jevan glanced at a simple house with a decent yard beside his car. After a moment, he turned back to Paskal.
“Are you coming down?” the man asked his assistant.
“I’ll join you, but I need a smoke first,” Paskal replied as he swung open the car door on his left side. “Traffic was a nightmare on the way here. Been itching for a cigarette since then. You go ahead, Jevan, I’ll catch up once I’m done.”
Jevan didn’t say anything. He simply stepped out of the car and made his way toward Kiran’s house. He stole a quick glance at Selia’s old place next door and the road leading to his former orphanage. But as he turned back to Kiran’s gate to ring the doorbell, the raspy cough of an elderly woman echoed from inside.
Jevan glanced up instinctively. Being tall, he could see over the gate, where an old, pale woman with a traditional air was gazing in his direction from the front porch of Kiran’s house. She smiled warmly as she noticed Jevan’s presence.
“Just come in, dear,” the old woman beckoned.
Feeling taken aback by the invitation before he could even introduce himself, Jevan found himself complying almost automatically. His hands moved to push open the gate, which was apparently unlocked.
Yet, as he stepped inside, the old lady on the porch seemed to vanish into thin air. Instead, a girl suddenly appeared from the yard. Her eyes widening in surprise at the sight of Jevan. Startled, she stumbled backward.
Jevan moved forward, intending to assist her, but as their eyes met, he was hit with a sudden sensation, as if the clang of a gamelan orchestra resounded loudly in his mind. In an instant, the atmosphere around him shifted drastically.
The man found himself transfixed, watching a girl clad in nothing but air, dancing and singing amidst a flickering blaze. What had been a vague image in his mind before was now vivid, clearer than even the last time he’d encountered it in the Baven Technology restroom.
The woman he’d envisioned singing incessantly in his thoughts was now the very girl before him.
Jevan was immobilized, holding his breath as he gazed at the surreal sight unfolding. Yet, the moment he so much as shifted, the gamelan’s melody and the girl’s song abruptly ceased, plunging him into eerie silence.
The girl fell silent too, then slowly turned to face Jevan with her eyes gleaming like diamonds, piercing into his soul. Just seconds after their eyes locked, she began murmuring strange whispers, carried by the gentle breeze to Jevan’s ears.
Confusion washed over him as he broke into a cold sweat. The whispers sending shivers down his spine. His heart raced as the murmurs intensified, echoing inside his head with an unsettling resonance.
One of Jevan’s hands flew to his head, gripping it tightly as a sudden, excruciating pain shot through him. His other hand reached out, grasping for anything to steady himself.
But rather than finding relief, the whispers only intensified, growing louder and more insistent until they penetrated his consciousness unmistakably.
“Chakshusha tvam avocham. Chakshusha tvam alingya. Chakshusha tvam manasi pravishya. Chakshusha tvam hridayam gruhnami. Kevalam yasya drishyo’sti, sa eva tvam aham anubhave. Etat tvaya padau shirasi atmanam arpayaami.”
As soon as the girl’s words reached his ears, Jevan’s heart seemed to seize in his chest. He stumbled, falling to his knees.
Before he could make sense of the overwhelming sensation, his vision started to blur. Within moments, the world around him faded, the unfortunate man collapsed, and his body hitting the ground as consciousness slipped away.
7th September 2023 (one day later)
“Jevan? Jevan, are you awake?”
Paskal’s voice cut through the haze as Jevan opened his eyes. Confusion clouding his expression as he took in his surroundings—a strange bed in an unfamiliar room.
“Thank goodness you’re awake,” Paskal said with relief. “You’ve been out for a whole day. The doctor said it was from sheer exhaustion and sleep deprivation. They’ve got you on an IV now.”
Paskal settled back into the chair beside Jevan’s bed. “Turns out, you’ve been pushing yourself too hard, avoiding sleep because of your fear of sleepwalking. That’s taken a toll on your immune system, and your blood pressure spiked dangerously yesterday.”
“What? I’ve been out for a whole day?” Jevan’s eyes widened in disbelief as he tried to sit up. “What about the preparations for the Baven Group’s anniversary tomorrow?”
“Other folks at the office are taking care of that!” Paskal’s tone was sharp. “Are you seriously thinking about work right now? The doctor’s orders are crystal clear: you need to rest properly. No more late nights, and you’ve got to take those sleeping pills as prescribed. Should I call Selia to babysit you so you’ll actually listen?”
Ignoring Paskal’s words about his health, Jevan’s thoughts veered elsewhere. “Paskal, the girl from yesterday… she…”
“Kiran Kania, Aldi’s receptionist, the one we talked about at the Baven Energy meeting,” Paskal cut in swiftly. “I don’t know what went down between you two, but when I found you at her place yesterday, both of you were out cold on the porch.”
Jevan’s surprise deepened. “She passed out too?”
Paskal nodded. “Yeah. Her mom and I got you both to this hospital last night. You were out from exhaustion, and she seemed to have gastritis from not eating all day after hearing about her firing from Baven Technology. Stress can do a number on your stomach, it seems.”
“You brought her here too?”
“What else could I do? She collapsed when she saw you,” Paskal explained. “But she’s been awake since this morning. Hopefully, she’ll be good to go by tomorrow.”
“I swung by her room earlier and bumped into Aldi there,” Paskal continued. “Turns out, she’s reeling from getting axed by Selia. That’s why I didn’t dare let Selia know there’s a recently fired receptionist right next door.”
“She’s in the room next to mine?” Jevan’s expression shifted, now more intrigued than surprised.
“Yeah. After her mom found out she’s in distress over losing her job here, I had to upgrade their accommodations,” Paskal said. “I even put her in the same VVIP room as you, seeing as she passed out after your visit.”
“But by the way,” Paskal continued, “Jevan, what actually happened to you last night? Did you say something to upset her before you both keeled over?”
Jevan suddenly remembered the strange things he saw and felt when he met Kiran at the girl’s house. However, convinced that he might have just been hallucinating induced by exhaustion, he opted to keep mum.
Admitting to Paskal that he’d been seeing things—like a woman singing or even worse, dancing naked and murmuring strange words—was out of the question.
Paskal would probably think I’m some kind of lunatic pervert if I spilled the beans about what I experienced, Jevan thought to himself.
“I haven’t said a word to her,” Jevan finally replied. “Maybe I’m just burnout from those never-ending Baven Group anniversary meetings and dealing with Dudi’s mess yesterday. And I gotta say, hearing she passed out too surprised me.”
“I can’t stop thinking about her mom though,” Paskal muttered, a frown creasing his brow. “Must have been rough for her, seeing her daughter lose her job barely three days in, especially with the anniversary coming up. I was at a loss for words when she asked why Kiran got the boot.”
“Looks like Aldi’s stepping up for Kiran,” Paskal continued. “He’s meeting with Selia tonight, hoping to sway her decision.”
Jevan’s eyebrows knit together. “Why’s Aldi so invested in this? Do they have history or something?”
“Jevan, Aldi’s the one who hired Kiran in the first place,” Paskal explained. “Now he’s feeling guilty about her getting the ax so fast. Plus, they go way back, back to high school. So, yeah, he’s taking it pretty hard.”
“Why’s he feeling the need to shoulder Kiran’s fate?” Jevan’s irritation flared. “He knows I’m right here, next to Kiran’s room. He could’ve just come to me and asked to reverse her dismissal.”
Paskal’s gaze sharpened. “Remember him talking to you about this yesterday? According to Aldi, you brushed him off, saying receptionist stuff wasn’t your concern.”
“I never said that,” Jevan evaded. “Yesterday was a mess for me, with the police grilling me about Dudi’s death. I wasn’t really processing everything Aldi said.”
“But,” he continued, “I did realize Selia went too far. She shouldn’t have canned a receptionist who barely got her feet wet at Baven Technology… someone clearly still finding their footing in our company.”
“Jevan, let’s not forget, you canned Baven Property’s vice director on his first day just ’cause he parked in your spot and didn’t instantly move after the security guards asked,” Paskal countered.
“I did that?” Jevan asked back.
“You probably don’t even remember ’cause he wasn’t a big deal to you,” Paskal said in a lowered voice.
“Whatever, it was… it might just be a different case,” Jevan deflected, suddenly stood up from his bed. “But that girl, she might hold some key to Selia’s parents’ case. Selia was out of line firing her.”
“Woah, woah, Jevan, hold up!” Paskal exclaimed. His eyes widened as he watched Jevan yank out the IV tube and stride toward the door. “You’re supposed to be on that IV, resting until you’re fully recovered.”
“I’m heading to the next room. That girl shouldn’t have to rely on Aldi. And who’s Aldi anyway? Right next to her room is me, the owner of Baven Group.”
“Why does it feel like you’re trying to one-up Aldi?” Paskal muttered with hushed voice. But as Jevan pressed on, he reluctantly trailed after him.
“Aldi might’ve split to catch Selia at home,” Paskal informed Jevan. “What’s your plan with him? If it’s just about Kiran, I can draft an email to Baven Technology’s HR to sort it out and and let Aldi know about it.”
“I’m not meeting Aldi. I’m seeing that girl.”
“What?” Paskal’s surprise was evident. “What—what do you intend to do, Jevan?”
“Instead of just rehiring her like Aldi wants, I’m offering her something she can’t refuse,” Jevan continued, striding toward the neighboring room and swinging the door open without hesitation.
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