Afternoon was setting in. It was almost four in the afternoon. The sun still shined brightly in the sky. It was quite a hot and humid day. Diya was sitting on the edge of her bed tapping her foot restlessly on the floor. A sweat bead trickled down her temples. She was quite nervous. The results of the interview were supposed to be out by now. She stood up and started pacing restlessly in her room. Suddenly, her brother Ravi entered the room. He was gasping and hitting himself. He was getting another fit resulting into a meltdown. Diya quickly dropped her phone and ran to aid her brother. She made him sit on the bed and tried to pacify him. In his fit, Ravi had hit himself and now blood was gushing out of his nose. Diya quickly got up to get her First Aid kit and dressed her brother's wound. Seeing her brother in such a vulnerable situation she could not help but cry. Fresh tears started forming in her eyes. After half n hour Ravi finally calmed down. Diya quickly hugged her brother. Ravi would often have these meltdowns but these days the frequency had just increased. All Diya needed was some money to get Ravi's therapy and treatment done. Diya held Ravi by his shoulder and left him to his room. She tucked him in bed and left for her own room. As soon as she sat down, she led a gasp. She was too tired. All she needed was some peace. An hour had already passed in calming things down. Diya indeed was a good daughter and sister. The way she managed Ravi, it seemed as if she was his mother. Diya was so tired that she was about to pass out.

Her eyes had almost close when her eyes fell on the clock kept beside her table. Oh no! It was quarter past six in the evening already and she had totally forgot about her interview. She quickly sprinted out of her bed and ran towards her phone. THREE MISSED CALLS. That too from an unknown number. It was obvious that the call was from 'Tata Telecom' She quickly dialed back on that number. After a few rings, the person on the other side picked up. In a trembling voice Diya said, "Hello...". The conversation went for some time and by the time Diya kept the phone, she was literally jumping with joy. She ran about the entire room. She had got the job. It was all hers. She ran and hugged her first and shared the good news with her. Anu was so happy to hear the news. Indeed it was a lucky day for their family. Finally all their misery and worry were going to fade away... Far, far away...

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A very tall and lean man was walking down a dark, old alley. He clearly was intoxicated. He had a bottle of Vodka in his hands which was almost half empty. It was obvious that he had been drinking all day. "D. I. Y. A" this name was stuck up his head all the time. He needed to get his revenge. " Miss Diya you have no idea whom you have defied and challenged. I can stoop to any level" the man thought in himself. His eyes though intoxicated, were extremely magical and powerful. He walked clumsily bumping into telephone poles and trash bins. He had to come up with some plan to teach her a lesson. He could not tolerate Diya any more.

But who was he? And what did he have to do with Diya?

Then man thought to himself for a while and took out his phone. After that he dialed a number. Trying to keep a straight face and posture, he said. "Hello? Hii, I actually wanted the cell phone number of ... Diya Solankhi. Actually I have something, which is hers and I personally have to return it. Could you... Could you give me her phone number?" The conversation went on for a while. The person on the other line was not very convinced and contemplated in his head as to believe the man or not. Their conversation went on for ten minutes. Even after being drunk and intoxicated, the man was a fluent speaker. The person on the other side was probably convinced by now and texted Diya's number to the man. He kept the call down and glanced at those ten golden digits. His eyes darkened up and an evil smirk spread on his face. There was something dark and evil about it, he was emitting negative vibes. But what was he going to do?

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It was around eight in the night when Diya, got out of her house to buy some grocery and other essentials. The shop was pretty close to her home so she decided to walk instead of taking her motor bike. She was walking through an alley. It seemed darker and quieter than usual. Few people were sitting along the road and playing cards. The street lights were fluctuating. There was something so eerily strange about tonight. Diya had grown up in these alleys. Why was she getting a strange feeling about this? It was like somebody was watching her from afar. She stopped in her tracks and turned her head to see if somebody was around, But nobody was there.

Diya resumed walking, she did not give her assumptions much thought. She just hung her head and kept walking. She had walked for barely two minutes, when she saw a big , dark shadow of someone coming from behind her. At that instant Diya became cautious and turned to find no one. Was she hallucinating? How is that even possible? It was probably because she was very tired from the events of the day.

Without giving much thought Diya turned back and walked towards the grocery store. She presented her list to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper then went inside the shop to collect all the goodies. Diya tapped her feet on the floor as she waited in anticipation for the shopkeeper to return. Diya was extremely nervous. There was something so unusual about today. She was feeling uneasy and she felt someone's distinct gaze on her. She ignored it thinking to be her mind playing games with her. Her brain was totally messed up due to the day's events.

Finally after a long time, the shopkeeper came back with a bag full of goods mentioned in the list. He handed over the bag to Diya. After paying him and getting back the change, Diya lifted the heavy bag in her arms and turned around. Her breath hitched as she clearly saw the movement of a silhouette merge into darkness. "Who's there?" Diya called out, but there was no reply. The shopkeeper was shocked to see Diya's unusual behavior. He reassured Diya and asked her to go to her home safely. Diya was getting cold feet. All of these could not be a co-incidence. There definitely was some one. Some one who was watching her, following her... STALKING HER. As soon as the scare of stalking settled into Diya she quickened her pace. She literally ran towards her house without thinking of anything else. Who could it be who was stalking her. She had a very simple and honest life devoid of any enemies. Then why would someone follow her. Tears started forming in her eyes, blurring her vision. Without thinking much about it Diya rushed towards her home . As soon as she entered, she locked up all the doors and windows and drew all the curtains. Setting the grocery bag on the table, she rushed to her room and shut the door loudly. She sat down on the floor sobbing. She had never been this scared before. She was panting for breath.

She tried her best to calm herself down, but there was no point. The more she thought about the creepy stalker, the more her heart filled in dread. She quickly ran into the bathroom and washed her face plentiful times with water. She then wiped her face, changed into her regular pajamas and climbed into bed. She had no intention of having a hearty dinner anymore. She had lost her entire appetite. She just laid down on the bed, fresh, hot tears trickling down her wheatish brown cheeks. She had almost dozed off crying when her phone rang loudly, breaking her sleep. She got up with a jerk and looked at the time. It was half past twelve already. With trembling hands she picked up her phone and looked at the dialer. It was an unknown number again. It could not possibly be from her office. However gathering up her courage, she picked up the phone and put the receiver near her ears. Even before she could say something, a husky, guttural and deep toned creepy voice said, "Hellloooooo..., How you doin Diya?" Diya's throat dried up. Her blood went cold. She was feeling numb. In fact she could not feel a thing. "Who.. who is this? If this is a prank then beware.." Diya could not even finish her sentence when the person from the other side replied "Oh you naive little bitch of mine. I am not pranking you. Baby doll. You have no idea who I am. But don't worry I will not hurt you. Not yet..." and then giving a huge creepy laugh the man on the other side hung up. Before even Diya could process a thing, the man put the call. Diya's eyes were bulging as if they would pop out of their sockets. Her intuitions were true. Indeed there was someone who was stalking her. But who? And primarily why?

All the unknown answers to these questions were making Diya go crazy. Diya was trembling. She folded her legs and hugged her knees. Fresh pair of tears started forming in her eyes. She wanted to cry and scream out loud. She wanted to share to some one about this new found problem of hers. But who? She did not want to trouble her parents. She had to deal with this problem all alone now. But was she strong enough to do so?

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That same man was standing under the dim light of a telephone pole. He had his cell phone in his hand, He was staring at the flashy screen displaying the golden ten digits he had just dialed. He just had an evil smirk on his face as if he was very satisfied with his work. He quietly tucked his phone away into his pocket. He was clearly intoxicated and was stumbling, trying hard to maintain his balance. "No can dosville baby doll. You will be terrified and scared, but never know the truth" saying so he broke out into an evil laughter. The man seemed slightly unsure and was almost in a dichotomy regarding his next step, but all he knew was that he had to destroy that girl's life for she had absolutely ruined his life. He wanted to snatch away everything from her just like she did to him. But why and how?

A few on goers had stopped in their paths, hearing that man's abominable laughter. They could definitely sense a vibe. A very dark and negative one indeed. But lest did any one know what his future had in store...

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