First jobs are always special. Getting that first paycheck, getting in the work environment. The experiences to learn from. For Pearl, things were no different. She may be a big-shot investigative journalist now but the experiences she had when she first entered the media business, she would never forget. Pearl had already made her mark during college. She was a big part of her college magazine and she had her blog. She had always been an opinionated person and she was not scared of being heard by the world. Add to that she had an innate curiosity about everything that was going on around her. It was just the perfect mix to make a journalist.

It didn’t come as a surprise to anyone when she landed a job with The Citizen News. Looking back, she still remembers her first day there. When she walked into her new office through the big, metallic gate, Pearl was quite nervous. She knew that this wasn’t her college magazine which revolved around a bunch of teenagers. This is the real world with real people and problems in it. As scared as she was she was also very excited. For as long as she could remember, Pearl always wanted to do something that mattered. But she knew what it meant to be the newbie for such a big-name daily newspaper. She wasn’t going to be the head of investigations in a day. She was ready to pay her dues and wait for her first big story to come around. She just hoped that the people she would have to work with would be agreeable. She had had her fill of seniors trying to bully her.

By lunchtime, Pearl had a completely different view of the world. She realised how foolish and inexperienced she was. The work environment was completely different from anything she had experienced so far. Her colleagues were really nice to her but at the same time, they were very detached. Over time she would make some very good friends but on that first day, she felt she was on her own. Diya, who occupied the cubicle next to her, took pity on her. She became Pearl’s tour guide. They had lunch together and she showed her around. It wasn’t a big campus, just a huge building. Diya took her to the printing room where she saw how their stories came to life on print. She introduced her to the different departments they had. Pearl couldn’t be more excited to meet the investigations department and hoped she would get to join them someday.

It took Pearl about a week to settle in. She was in charge of the book review section of the entertainment segment of the paper and she couldn’t be happier. She was an avid reader and reviews had always been her speciality. Overall, things were going well for her. However, Pearl still couldn’t come to terms with the formal environment around her. Everybody kept themselves busy. Sure they all had lunch together and they did their best to make Pearl feel included but she felt a little lonely sometimes. There was no real connection. Something else she noticed was how different they all were from her. Pearl knew that news is almost always rumours, especially in the entertainment department but she had avoided gossip her whole life as it bores her. She believed in stories that had facts attached to them. But she wasn’t ready for the endless gossip about other people in the office. So most times she wouldn’t even bother listening to them. She would bury her nose in her books and let her mind wander to imaginary lands. She was learning how to stay busy and detached fast.

It was about a month later, something happened which changed her life forever. By then she had fallen into a rhythm of her own at work. She would reach the office by 10 in the morning, get started on her books or if her report was due, she would work on that. She would wrap everything up by 7 in the evening and head home. One morning, she arrived at work at her usual time and found someone sitting in a cubicle just behind her. She didn’t know her so she assumed she must be new. Pearl immediately felt excited. She was no longer the newbie of the department. And who knows, maybe they would hand over the book review section to her and Pearl might start her way up to covering news. Pearl looked at the girl again. She had a lost look on her face which is very common for first-timers. She wondered if she looked like that herself on the first day. Then she thought of Diya and how kind she was to her. Pearl made up her mind to go over and introduce herself. But on second thought, she decided to check with Diya first before making a move. She went over to Diya and asked, “When did we get the new girl?”

“New girl?” Diya looked surprised.

“Yea the one sitting behind me”. Diya, who couldn’t look over her cubicle wall while sitting, stood up for a better look.

“I don’t see anyone,” she said.

“But she’s right there...” Pearl said while pointing out the cubicle behind her. To her surprise, the chair where the girl was sitting was now empty. Pearl scanned the entire room looking for her. “That’s odd. I swear I just saw someone sitting there. She has to be here somewhere” Pearl said again.

Diya shook her head and said “Spend some time outside your books. You’re starting to imagine things” and went back to work. Pearl wouldn’t give up that easily. She started searching the entire room. She asked around for her as well. When she was passing Diya a second time, she stood up and asked if she had found her.

“I’m telling you she was right there,” said a very frustrated Pearl.

“Alright, I believe you. But can you consider the possibility that she was here by mistake and was taken where she belonged?”

Pearl stopped for a second and realised that it was quite possible. “She must have been lost and someone could have come and gotten her,” Pearly said mostly to herself. Diya went back to work with a hint of a smile on her face. Pearl felt at peace with the explanation of this random incident and went back to her desk.

Pearl had almost forgotten the incident when a few days later, she saw the girl again. She was working late that night and had lost track of time. When she looked at the watch it was already past 8. She started packing up. There weren’t many people around in the room at that time so when she heard someone passing by her cubicle she immediately looked up to check who it was. To her surprise, it was the girl from the other day. Pearl was confident that she must be lost again. After all, these rooms are all so alike. She dropped her bag and went after her. But as she reached the end of the room, she found that the girl had disappeared. Pearl became a little worried this time. Twice now she had seen her and she has disappeared. Is she really imagining things? Or is there something else going on here? Suddenly Pearl had a very eerie feeling, like a chill to her bones. She had goosebumps. She decided not to stay there a minute longer. She quickly stuffed her bag and ran out of the building. On her way home in the cab, she kept thinking about the incident. The more she thought of it, the more stupid she felt. Why she felt so scared at the time, she couldn’t figure out. The next day she at lunch, Pearl didn’t read her book for a change. Instead, she told the others about the girl. Pearl couldn’t figure out if she was imagining things again but she felt that their expressions changed for a minute. Then suddenly someone changed the topic and everybody seemed to forget what they were talking about entirely. Pearl didn’t want to sound paranoid but she could feel that they were all hiding something from her. As scary as it felt, Pearl knew that she absolutely had to find the truth.

The next week, they had a series of events at the office. As always Diya was at the center of everything and as the newbie, Pearl became her assistant. They bonded pretty well over the course of the next few days. Pearl tried to broach the subject of the girl a number of times but every time Diya would dodge her questions. Then one day, she and Diya had to meet at the office early for an event. She had just reached the floor when Pearl saw the girl sitting at a desk behind Diya. This time she was determined to know the truth. She walked up to Diya and said “Ok you have to tell me what’s going on”. Diya was a little surprised by the question.

“Look I know that you know she is sitting right behind you. What is her story? Why do you all pretend like she doesn’t exist?” Pearl asked. Diya instinctively looked behind her and just as she saw the girl, blood drained from her face.

“Oh my God! I’ve been here alone and she had been there all this while!” Diya exclaimed. Pearl had a smug smile on her face. Diya knew she wouldn’t be able to dodge Pearl this time. She took Pearl’s arm and led her outside the room.

“What’s going on?” Pearl asked.

Diya started gesturing too much with her hands as she always did when she was nervous. “Ok, she’s not a new girl.” She said. “In fact, she’s not a girl. She’s a... An apparition”.

“A what?” Pearl asked with genuine surprise in her voice.

“An... Apparition... Spirit... A ghost if you will” Diya replied. Pearl was silent for some time. She let Diya’s words sink in. Then finally, she burst out laughing.

“So you mean to say, that girl who is sitting there right in front of us, she’s a ghost?”Pearl pointed at the girl. Diya nodded her head in reply.

“Is this a joke? Are you pulling my legs? This is a very sick practical joke if you ask me” Pearl just couldn’t stop laughing.

Diya frowned, which caused her glasses to shrink up to her nose and said, “Laugh all you want but it’s the truth. She has been here a couple of years now. But you won’t notice her most days as she keeps away from people and doesn’t bother them. If you don’t believe me, ask anybody in the team”. Diya thought of going back to her desk but couldn’t. “Let’s just wait at the cafeteria till more people show up,” she said. Pearl was rooted to the spot. She kept looking at the girl through the glass partition of the wall. She didn’t want to believe in something so silly but looking at her now she had an eerie feeling. One thing was for sure, there was something definitely off about her. She wasn’t working, instead staring ahead of her with a vacant expression on her face. And she wasn’t blinking at all. She was wearing what looked like a very light grey colour top as if it had been washed so many times it lacked lustre. It didn’t look like she belonged here. She felt a pull on her arm as Diya dragged her towards the elevator.

At lunch that day, Pearl didn’t have to take her book out. She just mentioned the apparition and everybody went silent for a while. Then Diya gave them the full account of the incident. After that, there was no shutting them up. “One night, I was working late and I didn’t realise at first but then I saw her” said the junior photo editor of the entertainment section. “She appears during the day also. I saw her last week when I came early from my hometown. I thought I would get some sleep but then suddenly she appeared out of nowhere and sat a couple of blocks away from me. I ran out of there and slept in the cafeteria” said another. Everybody wanted to tell Pearl their story about the girl. What Pearl finally gathered from all the stories was that the Diya was right. She roams about the room, never bothers anyone, never even makes eye contact with anyone. It’s almost as if she doesn’t even know that they are there.

Pearl was quite intrigued by all the stories she heard of the girl. She still couldn’t believe sometimes that all this could be true but she had seen her with her own eyes. She hated to admit to herself but she was also a little scared. She didn’t want to run into her all alone. So she always stayed with a group of people. But despite her best efforts, the event planning with Diya made her fall back on her work and she had a lot of ground to make up. So when she had a report deadline which she knew she wouldn’t be able to finish in a day, she decided to go to work early. She hoped against hope that she won’t run into the girl but when she reached her cubicle she saw that the apparition was sitting right at her desk. Pearl froze when she saw her. So much so that she couldn’t even turn back and run out of the room. She couldn’t figure out what to do. There was no one else around and she felt pretty helpless. The girl was just sitting at her desk. She wasn’t blinking or moving at all. Pearl summoned all the courage she had in her and slowly started to turn her back to her. All of a sudden she heard a shrill but sweet voice. Pearl froze again. She looked back at her. The girl was still sitting there exactly as she was. But this time she saw a slight movement of her lips. Pearl strained her ears to better hear her.

“You’re early today”, the girl said. Pearl was taken aback. She didn’t expect that the girl would be talking to her.

“Yes, I... I have a lot to do today. So I thought I’d get here early and put in some extra hours...” Pearl managed to reply. She realised that her throat was parched. The girl slowly turned her head and looked straight at Pearl. Pearl felt an icy chill run down her spine.

“This is your place and I’m in your way,” the girl said without any kind of expression on her face. Pearl gulped because she had no idea how to respond to her. Beads of sweat started forming on her forehead. But just as she blinked once, she saw that the chair was now empty. Pearl looked around the room. She was all alone. She breathed a huge sigh and collapsed at her desk.

When she told everyone about the experience at lunch that day, they were all very surprised. Apparently, Pearl is the first person the apparition has made contact with. Till then several people had seen her but they never felt that she ever saw any of them. She would just roam about minding her own business. She never made eye contact with anyone either. But she not only had acknowledged Pearl but had spoken to her as well. Nobody even knows what she sounds like. Pearl loved the attention she was getting but she was also concerned. Why of all people did she decide to communicate with her?

Pearl had a lot of late nights and early mornings at work after that but she didn’t have any encounters with the girl. Until one day when she was working late to submit her report for the next day's print. One by one everyone else left the office and she didn’t even realise that she was alone on the floor. Pearl was deeply immersed in her work when she heard someone ask her, “It’s late. Shouldn’t you be going home?” Pearl assumed it to be one of her colleagues and responded, “Yeah, just as soon as I finish this”. She didn’t even look up to check who she was talking to.

“What are you working on?”

“I have to send this review tonight for it to be published tomorrow”.

“Which book?”

Pearl wanted to concentrate so she could complete her work faster but clearly, that wasn’t going to happen. She sighed in frustration and stopped typing. She turned to look at the interruption with annoyance written all over her face. A small gasp escaped her lips when she saw the girl. But there was something different about her tonight. For once, she didn’t look lost. She was sitting on the desk with her hands on the divider and her chin resting on her arm. Her complete focus was on Pearl and a tinge of warmth had replaced the icy stare she usually had. Pearl was too shocked to speak. She wanted to scream for help but wasn’t sure if anyone was still there. She wanted to stand up and check if she really was all alone. “Well?” The girl asked. Pearl broke out of her thoughts and barely managed to pick up the book from her desk and show it to her.

“Oh, it's the one you had in your drawer. You have to excuse me; I took the liberty of taking it out and reading it” the girl replied.

Pearl was still thinking of a way to escape but her words stunned her for a bit. What did she want? She speaks to her, takes her books out of her drawer and reads them. But she couldn’t find the courage to ask her. She just kept staring at her. The girl went on “I really liked it. Didn’t you?”

“Yes” Pearl said cautiously as she didn’t want to upset her by any means.

“It felt really fresh” The girl sat up and gestured with her hands. There was a hint of excitement in her eyes. She went on describing everything she liked about the book and at the back of her mind, Pearl kept thinking, “That’s what I felt”. Pearl had been longing for these discussions for so long but her fear of the girl was still restricting her from speaking. When she finished she playfully looked back at Pearl expecting her to respond. Pearl was still a little apprehensive of her but she was overcoming her fear gradually. She turned her laptop screen towards her and showed her the review. It felt almost as if she was getting a peer review. The girl seemed very impressed with it. While talking to her, Pearl forgot to check if they were alone in the room. Somehow it didn’t matter anymore to her.

The girl went back to her earlier position on the desk and said, “You better finish up fast if you want to make the deadline. I won’t bug you anymore”.

“Oh no!” Pearl raised her hand. For reasons incomprehensible to her, she didn’t want the girl to leave.

The girl smiled and said, “Relax, I’m right here”.

Pearl returned the smile and went back to work.

“I think that was really good”, the girl said after she read the finished report.

“Really? You should read it after the edits. You won’t even recognise it as mine”.

“Look, you were honest in your opinions. I think they’ll love it”. Pearl smiled a little as she began packing her bag.

“Wow, it’s really late. Where do you stay? How will you get there?” the girl asked.

Pearl glanced at her watch and noticed that it was past 9. “I’ll take a cab. It’s not that far from here. There’ll be less traffic on the road now”. Pearl finished packing and was about to leave. When she turned around to say goodbye she noticed they really were the only ones in the room. Pearl had been in this room full of people every day and still felt alone. Whereas tonight it really was empty and she was with what anyone would call a ghost and she didn’t feel like leaving. “I’m losing my mind” she thought and said to her, “Actually, I was thinking of grabbing something to eat from the cafeteria before I leave”. The girl looked back at her apologetically and said, “I’m sort of confined to this room. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?” Pearl didn’t know what to make of it. If she understood correctly the girl must have no problems manifesting anywhere. But then again maybe it was for the best. People would think she’s crazy, talking to herself like that. She kept her thoughts to herself and instead, smiled at her and said, “Sure”. The girl’s spirits were immediately lifted. She waved Pearl goodbye as she left for home.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Pearl and Kiara became very good friends. Pearl would often go to work early or stay late to hang out with her. It seemed strange at first but she enjoyed her time at work so much that she finally got over it. They had similar tastes and hence connected very easily. Pearl would give her books to read and they would watch movies on her phone. Pearl loved bringing a piece of the living world to Kiara. Anything that interested her she made sure to acquaint Kiara with it. At first, Pearl tried to hide her friendship with Kiara from the people in the office. But they found out soon enough. Almost immediately the ridiculing started. Pearl ignored them from the very start. She knew that people often make fun of things they can’t comprehend. Some people like Diya were genuinely concerned about her and almost forbade her to be alone in the room altogether. She tried to explain to them that Kiara was harmless. She also realised that years of prejudice could not be shaken that easily.

One day, Pearl was having a Pizza dinner at her desk and chatting with Kiara. She took a big bite of her slice and asked, “Of all the people here, why did you decide to talk to me?”

“I don’t honestly know” Kiara said flipping through the new book Pearl had gotten for her, “But somehow, I felt a pull towards you. And you are the only person who has been able to hear me so far”.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not that I didn’t try to communicate with other people. But they couldn’t hear me. Most people can’t even see me. And so far you’re the only one who is able to hear me”.

“So you think this was meant to be?” Pearl said stifling a smile.

“No, I think you were missing something which pulled me to you” Pearl was silent for a moment as she realised Kiara was right. She needed Kiara just as much as she needed her. Pearl looked up at her and said, ”If you don’t mind can I ask you something?”

“Sure”, Kiara replied unmindfully.

“How... How did it happen?”

“How what happened?” She still wasn’t paying much attention. Pearl put her hand on the book to get her focus back and asked, “You know, how did you...End up like...”

“Oh you mean how I died. They said I had a car accident”.

Pearl was a little surprised at Kiara’s lack of emotions about her own death. She asked, “You don’t know how it happened?”

Kiara shrugged her shoulders and said, “When I woke up, I was at a hospital. I was sort of floating in the air. I looked around and saw my body on the bed of the OT with masks and needles on it. I couldn’t feel anything. It was like that movie we watched the other day, Dr. Strange. I tried to return to my body but I kept going through it. The doctors they took out the defibrillators and right after the first shot, I felt myself getting pulled to my body but I still couldn’t get in. A few minutes later, they gave up”.

They sat in silence for a while. Pearl still couldn’t grasp the fact that Kiara had just narrated her death so dispassionately without even a shred of emotion as if they were discussing some mundane office facts. Pearl had seen her being more emotional about some random book or movie. As for her, she realised she won’t be able to finish the Pizza anymore. She put it away and asked Kiara, “How did you get here?”

“Well I hung around the hospital for a couple of days” Kiara continued with the same bored and expressionless voice. “Then I got tired of watching people dying left and right. So I came out of the hospital. At first, I thought that I was floating aimlessly. Nobody on the streets was able to even see me. I felt quite lost, to be honest. But once I came to this building, I realised that I had meant to come here all along. I roamed about the corridors and rooms for some time. But once I came to this room, I haven’t been able to get out. Slowly some people started seeing me and finally, you heard me” Kiara finished with a smile on her face.

Pearl smiled back at her but couldn’t understand what made her so happy and even though she didn’t want to upset her, she still asked, “What’s it like?”

“What afterlife? It sucks!” They both broke out in laughter.

“I’ll be honest with you”, Kiara continued, “It doesn’t suck that bad anymore since you came around. I mean before I was just so bored you know, the eternity of loneliness”.

“But aren’t there others… Like you?” Pearl asked.

“I don’t know. There must be but I didn’t see anyone. Not even at the hospital”.

“So why do you think you are still here? I mean...”

“I don’t know”.

Pearl was surprised again, “How can you not know? I mean you’re here for a reason”.

“Yes I assume it must have something to do with my life but I don’t know anything about my life”.

“What! How can you not know?” Said Pearl with her surprise mounting.

“I just don’t”.

Pearl couldn’t figure out what was more shocking, her not knowing the reason for her existence or her attitude towards it. “And it doesn’t bother you?” She said “Not knowing who you were? Not knowing why you are stuck here?”

“When you were born did you care about any of your past lives if you had any?” Pearl was a bit taken aback by the question. “No. But this is different” she replied.

“For me, it’s the same. When I detached from my body, everything that had happened in my life till then stayed with my body”.

“But that’s not what is supposed to happen” Pearl said frowning.

“Says who?” Asked Kiara with a smirk on her face and a raised eyebrow. Pearl immediately realised that she was trapped. She wasn’t quite ready for that question. She fumbled with the answer “Well... All the horror stories that we read...”

“And who writes them?” Kiara didn’t let her finish “Were any of them dead while they wrote?”

“No, how would that be possible?”

“So it’s all living men’s imagination. No one actually knows anything about the afterlife”.

“No but how are you supposed to find out why you are stuck if you don’t have any memories?”

“Maybe I am free. Maybe this is an afterlife for everyone”.

“If that were so we would be seeing a ghost every day. That doesn’t happen”.

“Anyways, it doesn’t matter”.

Pearl was having a hard time coming to terms with Kiara’s attitude. She wasn’t ready to let go yet while Kiara looked like she was bored with this discussion. Pearl shook her head and said, “How can you say that? Do you want to spend the rest of eternity like this?”

Kiara frowned a little at that question and said, “Is my presence annoying you?”

Pearl sighed in frustration. “You’re taking this in a completely wrong way. I want to help you”.

“Well maybe I don’t need any help” an annoyed Kiara replied.

Pearl never imagined that things would get this heated between them. She waited a bit for Kiara to calm down before saying, “Listen, this can’t be right. You’re here for a reason and I’m gonna help you find out ok?”

“I can’t stop you from doing anything” Kiara said, “But I want you to understand something, when I left my body, I left everything associated with it. And I am at peace”.

“If that were really the case, you wouldn’t be here. There must have been something about your life that you are still holding onto”.

Pearl took out her notepad and said, “So, we know your name is Kiara and you died in a car accident”.

“I picked my name from the tag at the hospital”.

“Do you remember anything else on the tag?”

“Yeah, my age and a bunch of medical information”.

“Ok good, so we know you weren’t a doctor or nurse”, Pearl said laughing trying to lighten the mood. Kiara didn’t comply and so she went on “So after you died, who collected your body?”

“There were a lot of people. Couple crying the most must have been my parents. There were some people my age”.

Pearl shot a look at Kiara which she completely ignored. She tried her best to be a professional as well and asked, “Men or women?”

“Both. And some who were about my parent’s age”.

“Relatives most probably. Do you remember the hospital’s name?”

“Yeah, The South General Hospital”.

“The date?”

“5th August, 2017.”

“Ok so we’ll start with the hospital”, Pearl closed her notepad and started packing up.

“Why are you really doing this?” Kiara asked after being silent for some time.

“I already told you, I have to know. There has to be a reason behind all this”.

“Why? Why do you have to explain everything? Why can’t you just accept things as they are?”

Pearl stared hard at Kiara and opened her notepad again, “lack of curiosity, not a journalist, neither a scientist”.

“I understand you think you are doing this for me” Kiara continued” And a few weeks back maybe I would have wanted the same too. But it’s not so bad now and I don’t want things to change”.

Pearl’s expression changed and she moved closer to Kiara as she said, “I get it Kiara, you’re scared. But this can’t go on. Let me help you, please”.

Kiara nodded sheepishly.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, OK?” Pearl said.

“Yeah, ok” Kiara replied.

The next day, before work, Pearl visited the hospital. She went straight to the reception and flashed her press card to the very busy attendant behind the white shiny desk.

“Hi, I’m Pearl from The Citizen News. I’m covering a story on road accidents in the city. There was a case where a woman named Kiara was hit by a car on 5th Aug 2017. She was brought to this hospital. So can you tell me anything about her?” She asked with confidence oozing out of her.

“We are not allowed to give out information about patients to the press”, was the curt reply. The attendant dismissed her without even looking up at her and carried on with arranging reports. Pearl was a bit fazed. She was new to this job and had hoped that her press card could work miracles. She tried to get some of her confidence back and said, “I’m aware of that. She died here”.

“That’s unfortunate”. She still didn’t glance at Pearl. Pearl could feel her confidence slipping away fast. “Yes. I’m just looking for a way to contact her family,” she said. Finally, she stopped and looked up at Pearl only to say “I’m sorry I can’t help you”.

Pearl realised this wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought. She took out some money and showed it to the attendant. The attendant took the money with a smirk on her face and looked at Pearl and said, “Let me ask you something, how you came to know about this particular case?”

Pearl fumbled around her brain for an answer and said, “We had it in our archives”.

“Then maybe you should dig around your archives and see what you can find”. She returned to arranging the reports again.

Pearl knew that the conversation was finished. She kept looking at her money as the woman tucked it away. There was no point in sticking around anymore so she left the hospital.

When Pearl told Kiara what happened at the hospital, Kiara couldn’t stop laughing.

“Well did you expect her to hand over all the information and say we have been waiting for you for so long madam”, she said.

“No”, Pearl replied although that is exactly what she had hoped would happen, “I just thought... I mean I have to start somewhere... And it’s not like... Oh who am I kidding! I don’t have a network“.

Kiara took pity on her and said, “Listen, I‘ve hung around here long enough to know these things. There’s a guy, Akash. He sits on the floor above us. Whenever people need information from hospitals, Police stations, they go to him. He’s got a lot of connections”. Pearl looked puzzled. “How do you know that? You’ve never left this room” she asked.

“I had nothing to do alright. I was so bored. So I followed what people did in this place.” Kiara replied.

“I thought you were bored with the operations here.”

“Yes, now I am. But when I first got here, it was new for me. And no one could see me back then. So I could be standing right in the middle of a huddle and observe everything but no one knew. In fact, the first person to see me saw just a shadow standing beside them listening to what they were saying.”

“You must have scared them right off” Pearl said laughing.

“Yeah, people called him crazy till others were able to see me as well.”

“So tell me about this Akash guy” Pearl steered the conversation back.

“Yes, someone was having trouble getting information from the Police I believe. Diya suggested him to contact Akash. Said he works out of the room upstairs.”

Pearl’s face lit up and she didn’t waste any time and went in search of Akash.

It wasn’t easy to get a hold of Akash. He was an investigative journalist and was busy most of the time. Pearl had a hard time meeting him because he worked out of office on most days. He usually came to the office when he had a report due. But Pearl didn’t give up. She kept following up on him. Finally, a month later, he came to the office. Even then he was not to be disturbed as he was working on his reports. Pearl waited patiently for him to either finish or take a break from his work. After a few hours of waiting outside his room, he came out. Pearl immediately intercepted him and introduced herself.

“May I know why you are sitting here for so long?” he asked. Pearl flushed immediately. “I...I was wondering... If you could... If it’s not too much trouble...” Pearl fumbled with her words.

“You want a favour I get it.”

“Yes. I need information about a patient from a hospital.”

“Hmm... Is it a celebrity?”

“No no. Just. Regular patient. Deceased .”

“OK, should not be a problem. Give me the names of the hospital and the patient.” Pearl immediately scribbled the information on her notepad and tore off the page to give to Akash.

“Great! Come back in a couple of hours and I will have the details for you” Akash said as he went back to his room.

When Pearl went back to Akash, he already had the contact number for Kiara’s parents and their full address. Pearl was really impressed. It seemed she had impressed Akash as well.

“Come see me when you are ready to do some serious work he said to me”, Pearl said to Kiara.

“Really? That’s so cool”.

“Yeah. I wanted to tell him that I can’t wait for that day to come but instead I flashed him one of my silly smiles”.

“Hey you’ll get there. Just keep at it”.

“Yeah. So...”

“So?” Ever since she got the information from Akash, Pearl had been dreading this moment. “I’ll be visiting your parents tomorrow,” Pearl said apologetically. To her surprise Kiara just shrugged her shoulders and said “Yeah I know. But I honestly don’t feel anything. I don’t know them anymore you know”. Even though Kiara didn’t seem to care, it was a big deal for Pearl. “Yeah I know but I’m really scared about tomorrow. I mean, how do you go and talk to the people who have lost their daughter knowing you hang out with her every day” she said. For once Kiara did not have a snappy response.

“I really hope I don’t mess things up,” Pearl said.

“You won’t. I trust you” Kiara replied.

Pearl was standing outside Kiara’s apartment the next day. She had gone through the scenario a million times in her head. But now standing outside the door, her mind went blank. She felt like a little schoolgirl on her exam day. It doesn’t matter how much you prepare, when you sit down in the exam hall, your mind goes completely blank. Pearl gulped and rang the doorbell. The sound felt identical to the ringing of exam bells. Pearl waited with bated breath for someone to answer the door. When the door opened, a man who looked to be in his seventy’s was standing behind it. Pearl was speechless for a moment. Kiara was a spitting image of him.

“Yes?” The man asked. Pearl realised that she had been standing there gaping at him all this while.

“Hi! My name is Pearl” she introduced herself. “I’m here to see Kiara.” The man flinched a little at the mention of Kiara’s name. Pearl knew how this would affect him and at that moment standing there, she hated herself for doing this. She wanted to run away from the place. She didn’t want to cause him any more pain than he was in already. The man was quiet for some time as if he was looking for words. He asked Pearl to enter the home in the end.

“Please sit down”, he pointed to the sofa, “I’ll be back shortly”. He disappeared inside. Pearl felt like running away. What was she doing here anyway? What did she hope to find by putting these people through this ordeal? She knew that as a journalist, she needed to stay distant from such emotions. But this wasn’t just a news report, it was about helping a friend. Pearl looked around the room. It was a sweet little home with lots of pictures of the family. There were so many photos of Kiara around; Pearl immediately felt a lump in her throat. She quickly turned her attention to the far end of the room. There were two doors which led inside the house. The man wasn’t back yet and the front door wasn’t that far away. If she got up now she should be able to run away.

The man came back presently with a woman who could only be Kiara’s mother. Pearl was already standing when they came in. She smiled at them and said, “You have such a lovely home”. The woman thanked her and asked her to sit down. “Saved”, thought Pearl, “or am I?” As she saw tears forming in their eyes.

“How did you know Kiara?” The woman asked once they had all settled down.

“We went to the same school. I met her some years ago when she gave me this address. I was leaving the city at that time and told her I would catch up once I’m back”, this part was rehearsed and hence wasn’t a problem for Pearl.

“Oh! I’m sorry I didn’t remember you. It’s been such a long time”, she started crying. Although Pearl anticipated this but she became visibly uncomfortable.

“Kiara is... No longer with us”, Kiara’s father responded with his voice cracking.

Pearl could feel tears stinging her eyes. She lowered her head to try to control herself. She felt so helpless at that moment. She wanted to tell them the truth. But she knew in some situations hope destroys people even more. Even if she took them to her they might not be able to see Kiara or hear her. Even if they could, it’s true that Kiara isn’t their daughter anymore. Seeing her like that would crush them even more. When she was able to pull herself together, Pearl raised her head and said, “I’m so sorry”. Kiara’s parents had calmed a bit themselves.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?” Pearl asked. Kiara’s father replied, “She was in a car accident”.

“Oh! Was she alone in the car?” Pearl didn’t want this to be an interview but she did come here for information.

“No. She didn’t know how to drive.” Kiara’s mother replied. “We asked her so many times. Ravi used to drive so well. She didn’t even learn from him”.

“She was on the road by herself when a car...” Kiara’s father trailed off.

“I’m sorry, Ravi?” Pearl asked.

“Her husband”.

“What?” Pearl was not expecting Kiara to be married.

“Yes. She was married. But God knows what happened to him either”.

“I didn’t understand,” said Pearl as things kept getting more confusing.

“Well, they were married for a couple of years. He used to work in Pune. They left soon after the wedding. Ravi used to come here often for work, you know, for a day or two. One time he left for a couple of days of work and never returned”.

“What happened after that?” Pearl asked with surprise mounting.

“Well she waited for a month over there. All of us we called up everyone who knew him. But nobody could help. And then she came back here”.

“His family didn’t know where he was?”

“No. He was... How should I put it...Estranged from his family. They never really cared about him much”.

“But still, if he’s missing...”

“Exactly what we thought. But they didn’t even bother looking for him. We went to the Police and everything but they were of no use. On the day of the accident, Kiara was going to the media for help”.

Pearl was startled, “media as in?” she asked.

“Newspaper, The Citizen News”

“I work there now”, Pearl blurted out.

“Really?”

“Yeah! Anyways, what happened next?”

“Well, we assumed that she was returning from there when she got hit by the car”.

Pearl had so many thoughts racing inside her head; that she took a moment to silence them. When she looked back at them she found that they were anticipating something from her. She quickly asked if they had any pictures of Ravi. Kiara’s mother excused herself and went to get them. Pearl shared an awkward silence with Kiara’s father till she was back. When she came back, she asked, “Will you be able to find him?” Pearl took the picture from her hand. It was a photo from their wedding. “I will try. I’ll check if anybody has picked up her story”. Pearl was getting ready to leave when Kiara’s mom took her hands in hers and said, “Wouldn’t you stay for lunch?” Pearl replied politely that she had to go to work. She promised to be in touch and left. Once she was outside she couldn’t hold it any longer. She let the tears flow. After hearing everything, she was more determined than ever to find out what happened to Kiara.

That night, Pearl stayed back at the office late to talk to Kiara. When everybody had left, Kiara came up to Pearl. Pearl told her everything she had learnt that day about her life. After hearing everything, Kiara said, “Well I don’t remember any of it. But at least we got some connection to this place”. Pearl was still recovering from the day’s incidents and Kiara’s reaction annoyed her somewhat. She looked at Kiara and said, “Yeah I was hoping to get the rest of the story from you”.

“Sorry!” Kiara replied apologetically. “Hey, are you OK?”

“Yeah. So I think if I can find this Ravi, maybe that could help” Pearl replied.

“Maybe”.

“Can you not do that please!” Pearl snapped at Kiara.

“Do what?” Kiara asked in surprise

“Look I know you don’t care. You don’t care about your own life and you think that I should drop all of this. And you don’t care about your parents but the people I met today, the broken, hollow shell of human beings who can’t cope with your death, I owe this to them. If I can at least tell them what happened to their son-in-law. Losing you both in such a short span of time, they’re just... So please, if you can, just please pretend to care ok?”

Pearl’s outburst scared Kiara a bit. She immediately sat down in front of her and said, “OK... And I’m sorry! You’re right I shouldn’t be so insensitive. Even if I can’t remember them, they were my parents and... I’m really sorry! Please don’t be upset”

Pearl was mildly surprised. She expected Kiara to spit back at her but she was not expecting this. She smiled at her and just like that the tension evaporated.

“So, do you want to know what your husband looks like? Caution, you might want to come back alive after seeing this” Pearl said. Pearl took out the picture she got from Kiara’s mom as a very excited Kiara looked on. The moment she held the photograph in front of Kiara, her expression changed. Her eyes turned red and her face was crumpled in anger. Pearl gulped and asked, “Do you recognise him?” Kiara kept glaring at the photo. Pearl was cowering beneath her gaze. She somehow managed to croak out, “Kiara, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me”. Immediately her gaze fell upon Pearl and gradually she went back to normal.

“What happened?” Pearl asked still shaking a little.

“I don’t know. I’ve never felt this way before. I don’t like this. Please put it away. And travel safe. I’ll see you tomorrow”. And just like that Pearl was alone in the room. She didn’t understand what happened but she left the place quickly after that. For the first time since she had known Kiara, Pearl felt scared.

Pearl didn’t bring up Ravi in any conversations with Kiara for a while. She was really frightened that night and didn’t know how Kiara would react, so she avoided all topics related to Ravi. Strangely, Kiara never brought him up in any of their conversations either. Things went on normally between them as if they had never even discussed Kiara’s life before. At one point, Pearl thought that she would let go of the whole thing. But time and again she would remember the look on Kiara’s parents’ faces. She didn’t want to let them down. She also didn’t want to let the journalist inside her down. Her curiosity could not be easily subdued. So finally one day, she started digging the old archives for any information on Ravi. She spent days searching, looking through files, digging up old files but she found nothing. There was no news or stories. There wasn’t even any trail that anyone had even begun working on it. Pearl browsed through the missing person’s columns as well but still didn’t find anything. She went through numerous images, published and unpublished but nothing remotely matched with the photo she had of Ravi. Pearl was frustrated. She realised that she had very little to go on. All she had was a name and a photo. She didn’t have his last known address or her family’s address. It was impossible to search for a missing person like this. She doesn’t even know if he was here or in Pune or even if he was stuck in the afterlife somewhere like Kiara. Pearl thought about visiting Kiara’s parents numerous times to get some more information but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. But she would have to do it eventually if she even had a hope of finding him.

Eventually, Pearl did visit Kiara’s parents again. There was a kind of familiarity among them now. Pearl remembered the first time she visited. She was so nervous. This time around she had to give in to their request of having a meal together. The only thing that bothered her was that she did not have any good news for them. All her searches turned up empty and she had to share that with them. She could feel their disappointment but they appreciated her efforts. When she informed them about her decision to continue the investigation outside the paper, they were very encouraging. Pearl didn’t want to let them down. If she could find out anything about Ravi’s disappearance it would provide some kind of closure to them. This was not just about Kiara anymore. Pearl felt herself drawn to the family as a whole. They spent most of the time reminiscing about the past. Peal learnt a lot about Kiara’s childhood, her likes and dislikes. The more she learnt about her life when she was alive, the more she was able to understand the Kiara she knew. Although she might not agree with her but death hadn’t really changed her much. She still had the same personality, the same eagerness to learn and the same stubborn attitude. Pearl wanted to tell them so badly about how she met Kiara but she forced herself to keep it a secret. She wanted to find the answers they had been searching for for this long first. Pearl had a lot of questions for them about Ravi which they answered very patiently. She left them feeling hopeful while feeling an immense burden on her shoulders.

The next day, Pearl visited Ravi’s family and she left fuming. His family consisted of his parents and his elder brother’s family. They lived in a two-storey house which looked like it had seen better days. The people seemed amicable enough at first but the moment she mentioned Ravi, their attitude changed. The fact that she represented the press did not matter anymore. They just wanted her to leave. Pearl tried to make a stand and make them feel guilty about Ravi. He has been missing for more than two years now. But they didn’t care. They had broken ties with him long ago and weren’t at all interested to know anything about him. Pearl really wished to understand what had happened to this family.

After she stormed out of the house, Pearl went to a sweet shop nearby and asked for a bottle of water. She felt like running the water down her head to help calm herself but decided to just drink it. The vendor kept asking her if she wanted anything else and she snapped at him. Pearl immediately apologised to him and told him that she had just had a row with Ravi’s family. The vendor returned a strange smile and nodded. Pearl was curious. She asked him if he knew something about them. To which he answered, “Let’s just say that you aren’t the first woman who has been there looking for the younger son and you won’t be the last. They are a respectable family in this society but that younger son...” he trailed off. Pearl was losing patience. She wanted to know everything he knew about Ravi. However, the vendor would not divulge any more information. He waved her off saying, “Whatever mess he is in this time I don’t want to be a part of it. Good day!” And that was the end of the conversation. Pearl was as confused as ever. The impression she got from Kiara’s parents was that Ravi was a genuinely nice guy and his family were the villains. But over here people believe Ravi to be the black sheep of a respectable family. She knew that there were always two sides to a story. Maybe Ravi was just misunderstood by everyone?

One day, she opened the shared drive at the office where they kept photos of office parties. They had a birthday party recently and she wanted the pictures. Pearl was unmindfully checking the drive when she found a folder labelled, Diya’s engagement party. This took her by surprise as she didn’t know that Diya was married. She opened the folder and found photos of Diya and her fiancé meeting with people at the office. As she browsed through the photos, suddenly everything became clear to Pearl. Standing by Diya’s side and smiling was Ravi.

Pearl could not contain herself. She went to Diya immediately.

“Hey, would you mind if I asked you something personal?” Pearl asked Diya.

“Go ahead” Diya replied with her head buried in her laptop.

“Are you married?”

Diya looked up at her with a frown on her face, “No, whatever gave you that idea?”

Pearl was starting to get a little uncomfortable. “It’s just that, I found a folder in the shared drive that has your engagement photos” she said.

“Oh that, yeah” Diya replied with a smile on her face. “No it didn’t work out. I dodged a bullet if you ask me”.

“What?”

“I did a background check on him. Turned out he was married”.

“No way”, Pearl feigned surprise, “what did you do?”

“I had half a mind to turn him over to the police. But I didn’t”.

“You let him go?”

“No. I told him that I was going to keep an eye on him. If he puts one foot out of order, I’ll report him”.

“So you know where he is?” Pearl was starting to feel hopeful.

“Nah! I moved on” Diya replied with a casual wave of her hand.

“So he got away with it?”

“Why are you so bummed out? I sent him back to his wife”.

Pearl sighed in frustration and said, “His wife was Kiara, who saw you two together here the day she came to report her missing husband”.

Diya was silent for some time while she processed the information.

“Did he kill her?” Diya asked finally.

“No. She was hit by a car while returning from here”.

“I don’t believe this! He went free”. Pearl breathed a sigh in reply.

“Is this why she’s still hanging around here?” Diya asked.

“I don’t know but seems to be a pretty good reason”.

“Damn! We have to make him pay. Give me a couple of days. Actually, give me a week. I will find him, I promise you”.

That night, when Pearl was hanging out with Kiara, she told her about the progress she had made. Pearl was very scared about how Kiara would react. But it seemed she was fine this time around.

“So what do you think?” Pearl asked.

“I honestly don’t know” Kiara replied. “That night, when you showed me the picture, I don’t know what came over me. I’d never felt that way. I can’t explain it. Even now, when I think about it, I just feel so uneasy. It’s like, I’m getting stretched. I don’t know how that’s possible”.

“Maybe it’s a good thing you know. Maybe this is the reason why you are here”.

“Yes, I guess”.

A couple of days had passed and there wasn’t any news from Diya. Pearl couldn’t bear the suspense. She was hopeful that Diya would include her in her search for Ravi but so far she didn’t hear a peep from her. On the fourth day, an excited Diya came to Pearl.

“I found him,” she said. They were both beside themselves in joy.

“Can you believe he’s married again?” Diya said.

“Yes well, you didn’t marry him and Kiara died so yeah...”

“I can’t believe I let him go. He’s robbing his wife blind and she doesn’t even know it”.

“Well, you got him again”.

“Yeah, so how do you wanna do it?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s your story. You decide how you want this to go down”. Pearl couldn’t stop smiling. “Stop getting so giddy. You did most of the work and nobody can deny the entire spiritual connection. But the Police won’t believe in the words of an apparition. We need proof. So I’ll go dig up whatever I had on him and you go get her parents’ statement. We’re gonna get him in no time”.

“So we gathered all the evidence. We’re going to nab him tomorrow” Pearl said to Kiara that night.

“Great!” Kiara’s eyes lit up.

“Someone looks excited” said Pearl, smiling and sharing her excitement.

“Yeah I can’t wait to read your report”

“Yeah, I can’t believe how nice Diya is. I’m really scared though. This is my first serious report” said Pearl while she played with her pen.

Kiara knew that Pearl usually plays with her pen when she’s nervous. “I’m really proud of you. You showed real diligence” she said.

“Yeah! It’s because I really wanted to help you” Pearl finally put the pen down and looked at Kiara.

Kiara sighed and said, “I don’t honestly know how I feel about this entire thing. I mean what I heard from you, he deserves what he’s getting. But as for me, I just feel like I’ve made my peace with all this”.

“I know you don’t remember anything. And it’s probably the reason why you feel this way now. But that night, when I showed you the picture, your reaction said it all. I mean it was important enough for you to stick around”.

“Yeah, you’re right. Guess I won’t be bugging you anymore” Kiara said with a forced smile.

Pearl couldn’t look at her anymore. She picked up her pen again and started fiddling with it. “That is what I am most afraid of. We really hit it off since we met. When all this is over, maybe I’ll lose you forever” she said after a while.

“Hey, at least you got your first story. And I’m so happy that I had anything to do with it. And besides, you can always go back to my place and keep my parents company”.

Pearl finally looked up and said, “Thanks Kiara, but is that a goodbye?”

“No way. I’m not going anywhere till I read your report in print”. For the first time since she had known Kiara, Pearl wanted to touch her and hug her. She knew that wouldn’t be possible. The reality of not having her around anymore had just hit her and now she realised why Kiara never wanted things to change.

The next morning, Pearl reached Ravi’s house and waited at the bus stop opposite on the other side of the road as Diya had instructed her. A few anxious minutes later, Ajay, the cameraman came. His equipment was in his bag. Pearl and Ajay were just wondering where Diya was when they saw a Police van pull up in front of Ravi’s house. Diya dismounted along with a couple of officers. She looked over at the bus stop and frantically gestured them to come over. Pearl and Ajay ran down the road. Ajay had pulled his camera out of his bag. Within seconds, the officers came out of the house with Ravi tucked in between. His wife was crying and shouting at the back as she was very confused about what was happening to her husband. Ajay had already started taking pictures and Diya was making her way to the wife. But Pearl was rooted to her spot the moment she saw Ravi. She knew that he was finally getting what he deserved but it didn’t feel enough. Images of Kiara and her parents flashed before her eyes. She wanted to scream at him, beat him down, anything to let her anger out. When they were passing by her she stopped them, looked into Ravi’s eyes and said, “This was for Kiara”. Ravi’s face turned pale at the mention of Kiara’s name. Pearl felt satisfied with the effect she had on him. She let them go.

When they came back to the office, Pearl got a hero’s welcome. She barely had time to finish her report when all her colleagues insisted they celebrate her success at the restaurant nearby. Pearl wanted to celebrate definitely but she also wanted Kiara to be a part of it. In fact, she wanted to celebrate with her more than the people around her. But she owed all her success to Diya and there was no way she could refuse her.

The next morning, an excited Pearl ran to the office with a copy of the newspaper in her hand. She reached early to have a full discussion with Kiara about the report and the arrest. But once she reached her floor, it was empty. There was no sign of Kiara anywhere. Pearl stayed late at the office for the next week in the hope of seeing her again but she knew that Kiara was gone. Pearl kept her promise to Kiara. She kept in touch with her parents, checking up on them from time to time. Pearl's story helped her to get some serious work that she always wanted to do. And sometimes when she’s working late at night, she would feel her spirit nearby, keeping her company so she’s not alone.

.    .    .