A Tragic Loss and a Haunting Question

"The mirror showed a reflection that wasn't mine."

A terrified girl jumped out of bed, claiming that the mirror had revealed a reflection that wasn't her own.

God, behold! What a nightmare! She expressed her hope that this was not her.

Karthik works for one of Chennai's well-known IT firms. He commutes from Coimbatore to Chennai and is well recognised for his capacity to function in a hectic setting while remaining composed. He frequently refers to the office girls as "handsome" because of their attractiveness, height, slim frame, and sense of humour. Everyone in the organisation admires Meera since, she is a clever and self-assured woman, Karthik’s close friend, completed her schooling with karthik.

They persisted in their tight friendship in spite of this, and today she is the reason for his success. Right now, she is also in charge of his contentment.

At the manager's room, Meera emerged and said, ‘I am on holiday. I'm going to my hometown, Karthik; I'm telling you that. Absolutely, I'm overjoyed.’

‘What? travelling back home? When will you be there for?’ Karthik answered.

‘Three days,’ Meera said.

‘(3) days? Then I have no chance. Are you in contact with the manager? The team leader needs to be replaced since he is too obnoxious. Without you, it's hard to do it anymore,’ Karthik remarked.

Meera retorted, ‘I'll be back soon; it's only been three days; cheer up, dude.’

Karthik shook his head in frustration and mumbled, ‘Alright.’

After finishing his evening shift, Karthik left for his house. He was on the road when the bike he was riding broke down. The bike wouldn't start despite his repeated attempts to start it, so he gave up and departed. He spotted a sizable gathering in the vicinity at that same moment. He noticed something with a yellowish hue in the distance as he continued to go away. Various folks were pointing in various directions while chatting about something. He had the impression that "something was off and he needed to be vigilant."

A woman in a yellow dress approached him at that same time, and as he glanced at her, he felt relieved. She exudes elegance and beauty. She drew nearer, and he inquired, ‘I'm sorry. What took place there? Too many people "?" &

‘There was an accident that occurred before two hours,’ she retorted.

Oh god, Karthik feels sorry and asks, ‘Who got into trouble? Why did they end up there?’

'I don't know who it is, but it appears to be a young aged female,' she replied.

When he is disturbed, Karthik asks, 'OK, is there a mechanic shop here?'and he told her, "My bike is really troublesome."

While he knew there was no mechanic shop nearby and that this was part of his daily ritual, he nonetheless spoke to her out of curiosity.

"Nothing exists in this area, sir. She spoke.

With a mournful expression on his face, he responded, ‘uhmm... ok.’

'OK, I'll drop you off if you want to come with me.’ She spoke while grinning at him.

‘Oh! I'm grateful. Where is your bike? Should we go? How come you walked?’ inquired Karthik.

‘Which one of my bikes? This time, I didn't tell you I would pick you up on my bike; instead, I just walked,’ she laughed as she said.

‘So, how did you drop me off without a bike?’ Karthik questioned her in a perplexed manner.

‘We'll get there if we just keep talking like this. Additionally, it resembles a drop:’ The woman teased.

While they were moving, they both engaged in conversation and mentioned their names. She further disclosed that her name is Keerthu, that she had travelled to Chennai from Madurai, and that she was residing in the dorm to study.

He returned home as well, and he pondered Keerthu all night. He began to like her. He called Meera at that time, since he felt the need to speak with her. When he heard her voice saying, "The network is unreachable," he immediately ended the connection and threw himself out in wrath. He then went to sleep fuming.

On that night, Karthik stayed up until two in the morning. He felt a strange uneasiness in his heart but couldn't figure out why. He looked out the window and went for a walk. He came back and lit a cigarette on the sidewalk. Suddenly, he felt like someone was watching him from behind. He turned around, but no one was there. At that time, Meera's memories came flooding back to him. In the meantime, Keerthu’s memories also came rushing back to him. So he decided to go back to bed.

He turned and walked towards the bedroom. While crossing the mirror placed there, a figure was seen in the mirror. He didn't pay much attention to it in his haste. After a minute, he looked at the figure again, but there was nothing there. However, that glint had already lodged itself in his mind. A woman in a yellow dress was swaying back and forth with blood streaming down her legs. At that moment, the face of Keerthu appeared before him. The thought of what might have happened to her is troubling him. He wonders why he should be thinking so much about some random girl he saw on the roadside. He consoles himself and tries to calm down.

The following morning, he feels stressed and perplexed, and in the office, he senses a loss without Meera. He kept attempting to get in touch with her. Yet he was unable to get to her. The same woman in the blue outfit was passing by the same location on the second day in a row while a problematic car was once more parked there. He was relieved when she drew near to him.

‘Hello, Karthik,’ she said. What took place?

He responded, 'Same issue as yesterday.'

She laughed and questioned whether I should drop you today as well.

He laughed as he retorted, 'Definitely.'

They both exchanged their phone numbers and decided to text each other. Karthik was very fond of her and spent time texting with her.

Karthik got a call from Meera two days later. Karthik informed Meera about Keerthu and expressed his excitement. When Meera learned this, she made fun of him and laughed. When the conversation came to a conclusion, he asked her to return soon, and she agreed.

On Tuesday morning, Karthik called Keerthu and asked, ‘I need to talk to you about something crucial that concerns us. Let's meet at the nearby temple. Is it ok for you?’

‘Temple? Can't we meet at the beach in the evening?' She kindly inquired.

‘No.. no.. You must see the temple, he said.

The next day, Karthik was waiting for Keerthu in the temple. She did not come even after a long time. When he decided that she would not come again and was about to leave, he got a call from Keerthu on his phone.

'Sorry Karthik, could not come due to important work. Shall we meet at the beach in the evening?' she asked. Karthik also nodded his head in no other way.

In the evening, they both met at the beach.

She asked, 'What's the matter, Karthik? Tell me.'

'I love you deeply,' he said without hesitation.

She asked, 'What do you mean? Don't you understand that it's not possible to fall in love within a week? Is it love?’

He said with desire, 'I like you; why do I have to wait now? That's all. What are you thinking?'

She replied, 'I have to think. Nothing can be said now.'

He nodded his head longingly but said nothing else.

Without saying anything, she left the area. She stepped on a piece of glass as she was walking. She yelled out, "Ah!". He ran over and picked up the glass pieces that had hit her feet. She left without even looking back at him.

He took hold of the glass fragments. He found a carved figure that he had seen in his mirror the night before among the shattered glass. He threw the broken shards of glass into the water right away. A woman's figure appeared out of the water as the waves raged. He was frightened and bewildered as she came near to him.

On his mobile phone, Karthik got a call. He was now laying on the bed, and Meera was on the other end of the line, listening to the phone ring. Karthik had been contemplating how he arrived here and worried about what had occurred the previous evening. He answered the phone and greeted the caller.

'I've landed in Chennai, Karthik.' How are you doing? Meera enquired.

'You've only been gone three days?' She was surprised by his query.

‘That's accurate. I've returned now, naah! 'Let's talk when you get home,' she suggested.

He narrated everything to Meera that occurred when Keerthu was present.

'I believe she is confused; no worries, As I said, try to carry on your conversation with her without any interruptions.' He felt reassured and at ease with Meera.

Karthik couldn't reach her despite his best efforts, and her phone was turned off. Therefore, he sent her a message on WhatsApp. He thought she would be in the hostel where she was staying when he went to meet her, but she wasn't. He inquired about Keerthi, but nobody seemed to know anything about anyone with that name. He then went to the place where he first met her but couldn't find any information about her. Then he went up to the people who were waiting in the streets and inquired about her.

They stated that the poor girl had an accident and died here one week ago at such a young age. When he inquired further, they suggested that he speak with the auto driver. Karthik enquired about the auto driver.

‘Sir, that girl who was wearing a yellow dress, The truck driver hit her, and she fell down. Her yellow garment turned red since she had lost a lot of blood. The auto driver said it was a vacant lot.

Incredulous, Karthik inquired, "Which hospital did you take her to?"

He said, 'There's a hospital nearby.'

He went straight to the hospital and asked about her.

‘Oh! The collision is on the corner, sir. A young girl dressed in a yellow dress. Even her face is warped since there was no vitality when she arrived. And because no one came to inquire about the girl's body, we had to bury it ourselves,' explained the nurse.

When the indications she mentioned coincided with Keerthu, he froze in disbelief.

He took a moment to gather himself before dialing Meera's number: ‘I have to see you right away, Meera. How are you doing? 'We need to talk about something important,' Karthik said.

‘I'm only at home, come on over, Karthik.’ Meera answered.

When Karthik arrived at Meera's home, he found nobody there. Meera wasn't responding when he called out, so he went inside instead. Keerthu was standing in front of the mirror in her room on the hostel's other side while she observed herself. Her reflection in the mirror appeared hideous. She was gazing at the sight without blinking while sobbing in disbelief.

Rejina, Keerthi's lifelong friend, entered the room, saw her, and came near the mirror without looking at anything else. Keerthu appeared uneasy and terrified.

‘Keerthu, I'm here now,’ she said. What's wrong with the thing that's been holding your attention for the past ten days? Are you scared?

Keerthu doesn't answer the question.

At Meera’s home, he saw that all the doors of the house were closed. 'I don't understand what's going on, all the lights are turned off,' Karthik thought jumbledly.

Regina made an effort to reconcile with Keerthi. ‘There's nothing wrong. I don't see anything about any object. You are disturbed because you witnessed that incident. That's why you're feeling like this. Don't worry about it.’

She tried to change the conversation with, ‘Alright, forget all that. Someone who is well-looking came looking for you. However, why did you want me to tell him a lie? Who is he? What is happening?' Regina enquired.

'As you know, Uncle and Auntie arrived from the village yesterday. I told you to say that because they would let my house know if they knew someone was coming to seek me right now, Keerthi answered.

‘All right, who is he? Tell me.’ Regina went on.

‘It's Karthik. I spent two days studying at Swetha's place, where I also ran into Karthik. I had a conversation with him and followed him on my journey. I noticed an accident on the path I was traveling at the moment, so I was afraid to travel alone. I then approached Karthik after spotting him. We then started spending time together and getting to know each other,' she said.

Regina questioned, 'Are you in love with him?'

'I may be thinking like that,' she said.

'Okay, then, where are you coming from?' Regina asked.

‘Yesterday as I was returning home, my phone fell and cracked as I was viewing Kartik's picture on it. I fixed it, therefore I'm bringing it now, she answered.

She checked her phone and saw several WhatsApp messages from Kartik that she had missed on the first day. She felt a little anxious about it.

Unusually, she continued, ‘Regi, Regi, I'll show you Kartik's profile photo.’

Karthik and Meera were both grinning in the photo.

‘This girl was involved in an accident on that day. I am unsure about her state of life.’ Keerthu replied with trepidation but concern.

Karthik was perplexed by what was happening at Meera's home. When he finally understood that something was wrong, his body was already perspiring with fear. Even his reflection in the mirror in front of him was staring back at him. The moment he saw this, he became unstable.

‘Hey! Please, Meera, don't play! I'm terrified, come here!’ he yelled.

All the lights went off and a light appeared in the mirror in front of him, illuminating everything. He approached and took a look. Yet with worry, some scenes appeared before him.

A woman in a yellow outfit was smiling and lost in contemplation as she strolled along the street. She was abruptly struck by a moving truck and knocked to the ground. She was gushing blood, and her yellow clothing had totally turned scarlet. She suddenly felt something penetrate her heart and bring her down. Her lips muttered something, her mind wandered, but she couldn't bring herself to act. Speech failed her, and she couldn't control her body in the face of death. She counted her last moments. Two witnesses to the accident who were carrying mirrors ran to her and stood in shock when they saw the catastrophe. The woman gave her life after taking a last, heartbreaking glance at herself in the mirror.

The images of the scenes vanished, and the mirror revealed Meera. She was seen bleeding, with bruises and a smashed head. Karthik sobbed when he saw her. Her spirit emerged through the mirror. Karthik retreated a step in terror. She arrived and approached him from behind.

Karthik stood quaking in terror, his voice breaking.

Meera asked Karthik, ‘Did my love for you also vanish along with me?’

The END.