Kit's eyes opened earlier than usual. He got up slowly; the atmosphere coming to focus. The mellow light of the dawn was peeking through the blinds. The kyanite blue sky was fading into a starched pink at the horizon. Twittering of the songbirds floated from somewhere.

Kit could have easily afforded a beautiful apartment in the heart of the city, but city life was something he never wanted. He loved the air of the suburbs and the calmness of the atmosphere where he was staying. At least there was a horizon to stare at without buildings hindering the view. Clouds like blue cotton candy were floating silently, and Kit's hands unconsciously searched for his phone.

Click!

And one more picture was added to his unending gallery of sunrises and sunsets. On any other day, Kit would have stayed at the window for a while longer and then proceeded with his morning routine. But today his fingers automatically moved to the Instagram icon. His heart sank. No DM yet. She must be sleeping he thought.

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The day started as usual for him. Light workout and breakfast. The calls started pouring in before he could get ready for work. And before long, he was so immersed in his day that the earlier night was forgotten.

When he finally grabbed his phone at lunch, a message from an unknown number was lying on his WhatsApp. He frowned as he opened it.

Hey, it's Tessa.

Hi once again.

Mom insisted that I keep in contact with you.

Sorry for the random text

A brr type chilled blue emoji was sitting there shaking. What was it with girls and emojis? They seem to find the exact emoji for all their moods somehow.

I'll save your number Kit replied crisply. Tessa had reminded her of mystery girl once gain and he automatically opened Instagram. Still no message. Kit quickly types in her username, determined to send a friend request.

A big grey ACCOUNT NOT AVAILABLE! A sign greeted him. Was he going crazy? He had literally talked to the girl. He opened his DMs, and it still sat there as proof that the conversation happened, but clicking on the profile picture showed that the account wasn't available. Why would anyone delete an account over the span of one night?

A call came just then, and between munching his cold sandwich and typing on his laptop, the afternoon receded into a cloudy evening. Kit was, however, finding it hard to concentrate. His mind was elsewhere, on the mystery girl who had made him feel things for the first time, things he never knew he could feel. There wasn't a single stranger he wanted to talk with twice until he had some work-related relationship with them. But he wanted to talk with @thegirlinglassslippers. 

What if something had happened to her? What if her stepbrother had done something? What if she had an accident? What if she was hurt? The more he tried to push her to the back of his mind, the more frustrated he felt. Finally, he slammed his fingers on the keyboard and got up.

His colleagues gave him blank stares. Nobody had seen kit angry or frustrated. He always kept a cool demeanour. Kit grabbed his phone and stormed out, taking the elevator to the terrace.

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His anger had dissipated by the time the elevator pinged the 30th floor. He shuffled to the railing, lost in his thoughts. The orange evening sky with splashes of crimson almost looked as angry as him.

He dialled a number.

"How did busy man remember me suddenly?" The amused voice at the other end chuckled.

"I know I haven't texted in a while but..."

"One year is not a while, buddy," the voice cackled.

"Jason, I really need your help."

"Stalking somebody?"

"That's a strong word." Kit stiffened suddenly.

"Come on, man, don't be an uncle. Tell me, what's up."

Kit narrated the events of the night in brief, leaving out the part where he felt something.

"I'm afraid something might have happened to her..."

"So you want me to trace her address?"

"Yeah..."

"I run a cyber cell man. You'll land me in trouble for carrying out personal errands," Jason sighed at the other end.

"This might be a matter of someone's safety. Can you trace her address?"

"You don't even know her name..." His friend's voice trailed off. There was a distinctive sound of tapping on the keyboard from the other end.

"Got the IP address," Jason mumbled, "now for the location."

Kit tapped his hands on the glass railings, impatient and nervous.

"Got it," he breathed.

"Tell me," Kit almost jumped in excitement.

"She might just be busy you know. She might come back later..."

"She deleted her account," Kit spluttered. A guy taking a drag nearby almost jumped and dropped his cigarette.

"I just want to know the address, please," he said more softly.

"I'm texting it to you." Jason hung up the call, obviously irritated.

It was an address in West Yorkshire. Kit had expected her to be someone from a small town, but Yorkshire with its idyllic green hills and staycation houses was the furthest thing from what Kit imagined.

He wanted to set out for Yorkshire right at that moment, but he wasn't a fool. He knew people sometimes kept their accounts deactivated when they weren't using it. So he decided to give it twenty-four hours.

That night Kit slept little.

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Morning came with still no news from the mystery girl.

A message from Tessa was lying on his WhatsApp

So, did you find a girl that night?

Kit didn't know whether to lie or tell the truth, so he slid off the message from the notifications. It was rude to leave people on read so he avoided reading them altogether.

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