MAYA (EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE ON GOODNOVEL)

Chapter 1.

   The pitter patter of the rain was one of her favourite sounds, people normally hated getting wet and cold but, she was counted as the odd one in the herd. You'd never see her behaving as a stereotypical Indian girl, just a strange and weird oddball who rolled on its own music, it didn't know how to go with the flow.

   She usually used a variety of fake names, like Seeta, Geeta, Mansi, etc. Maya Singh was her existing name. Jay suggested her to use this name this time because her profession needed it and also because he said it suited her and it literally described her, Maya: that's what she was, an illusion. One would wonder why fake names? Then it was because Maya lived two lives, one, a life of a college student and second, a life of a cleaner.

   Maya was a girl in her early twenties and instead of wearing short dresses and flirt around with boys or gossip about other's lives, what she did was wear loose hoodies, oversized T-shirts and baggy trousers with simple shoes or sometimes combat boots. She was pretty much malnourished looking, her skinny form didn't make an appearance from her loose clothing, but her small narrow face and slim bony hands did give it away. At least people couldn't see her face clearly or they would've mistook her for a zombie.

Despite her skinny appearance, her muscles were the result of her intense training. She had deep black colored eyes with thick eyelashes and also dark bags under them as if she had not got any sleep for several nights. Her jet black shoulder length hair stayed down covering her face, her long skater bangs always rested over the left side of her face reaching past her eyelashes, she was never bothered with them being long because they nearly covered half of her ghostly face and besides that, she liked them long.

   For the present, Maya was passing down the road with a chill in her bones because of the cold. Her body would seem weak and fragile if one saw her but beware looks could be deceiving and only judging a book by its cover never gave you any idea of what lied inside, just like herself.

   It was night time of 8, the Mumbai street, in the midst of the scampering crowd who weren't silent mind you, the traffic, the heavy roaring wind and rain, many footsteps. Maya felt unusual. Her skin tingled and hair over her neck stood at the ends, making her highly aware of her surroundings. The feeling you have when you're being watched. She had been having this feeling, it could be a paranoia but in her case it never turned out to be harm less, it was always something which was after her. The gaze of a predator on the skin of the prey as how he could feel it but the case could change immediately and the hunter could be hunted.

   It was certainly not new to her but as she was getting away from the crowd she could clearly hear it now, their footsteps resonated around her as if proclaiming their presence. Breaths came out rugged and as heavy puffs of smoke as she further walked away from the lights of the traffic and the huddled crowd. The rain poured onto her, making her drenched and vulnerable to cold.

   Maya walked towards the silent road and focused her hearing, trying to catch her follower's footsteps. Tok, tok, tok, the sound of their hard soled shoes tapping against the concrete was clear. But soon she was certain it wasn't only one follower, there were three. She smirked as she started moving towards the dark alley where she could have a small and last conversation with them. Familiar feeling of excitement and thrill rushed through her veins and her blood pumped with anticipation of fresh hunt.

   Entering into the mouth of the alley she walked ahead to lead the three deeper enough for them to not get out of there, ever. The stench of the walls and the damp grimy puddles would be the last of what they'd have for their drifting souls to watch. Maya stopped as she reached the dead end, the place reeked of urine and rotting away rat or cat's corpse, a perfect place for them. To describe in simpler words, Maya was an epitome of death and these three were going to witness it.