Song for this chapter is
Visions of Gideon by Sufjan Stevens

-02-
-Kartik Malhotra-
-Present-

Malhotra Mansion
15 November, 2019
11:00 am

"I wish you die!"

I cringed as I watched the same scene unfold once again, as a representation of my ever present nightmare, something I could never escape from. The same nightmare repeated itself every single night, and there was nothing I or anyone else for that matter, could do to stop it.

God, how I just wanted to stop it-

" I hate you!"

A couple of weeks ago, Alishka was here. Alive and chirping. Her sweet laugh echoing through the rooms, her signature scent of jasmine engulfing the entire house. She was insolite.

And maybe that was what made her a target.

" Your secrets are gonna get you killed someday", I had told her once. And she had rolled her eyes at me and laughed.

I wish she hadn't.

I brought my cigarette to my lips.

It provided some weird sort of peace and content to the usually raging tempest of a mind. I exhaled deeply.

" What have you done to me, Alishka?"

I threw my cigarette into the ashtray on the nightstand and reached for my phone. I needed something to distract me and my phone had always been my savior. I scrolled through the hundreds of notifications that had arrived from my countless 'friends' from school. Of course. The news of the death of my twin sister was now spreading like a raging wildfire and I couldn't do shit to stop it. Anyways, I mostly ignored the fake concern messages and the pity 'I'm always here for you' crap. I knew none of them were cared. People at school despised Alishka. Well, she wasn't a very likeable character either so I couldn't really blame them. There were times when even I had lost my cool with her.

"Why don't you just die?!"

I hadn't meant it. I swear , I hadn't.

I threw my duvet over my head, laid my head on my pillow and shut my eyes closed, determined to sleep, even if for a mere couple of minutes.

But I couldn't . She wouldn't let me.

Her words and her face flashed through my mind as if she were alive, reminding me of everything I did. And didn't do. The guilt of failing to protect her would send my conscience haywire.

At every Raksha Bandhan, our parents would make us sit together and do the rituals. See this was a rare sight in the Malhotra household. Our parents would usually always be on business trips and we would be alone. But Raksha Bandhan and Ganesh puja were the only two occasions which we celebrated as a family.

The corner of lips tugged upwards recalling the faint memory of last year's raksha bandhan.

" Couldn't you have bought me a nicer gift?"

" I would have if you hadn't been such a bitch to me."

My father had scolded me for calling his princess the b-word and then asked her to tie the rakhi on my wrist. She had put on a fake grin and tied it on my wrist.

Simpler times.

I snapped opened my eyes. There was no way she was going to let me rest. But why? What exactly did she want from me? What was I feeling guilty for?

I shook my head and threw over my duvet. No, I wasn't going to let her decide my life. She had done so when she was alive and I wasn't letting her do it in her afterlife as well. I rose up from my bed and stretched my limbs. I walked into my closet and began sifting through my clothes in search of something more befitting for a fine Wednesday morning such as this.

Slipping on a dark turtle neck, I went to the bathroom and washed my face. Drying my face with a towel, I glanced at my reflection and then headed back towards my room.

Something didn't feel right.

It was as if the temperature had suddenly dropped to a chilling extent. I inhaled a sharp shaky breath as the numbing air pierced through my exposed skin.

The sound of two dings reverberated around the room indicating I had a notification. I sauntered towards the nightstand where I had previously kept my phone. I turned it on, my brows furrowing as I read the notification.

Message from an Unknown number, it read.

I tapped on the notification as my gaze flickered over the words , my eyes widened.

' Better watch your back. After all, you don't wanna end up like your sister, do you?'