21 Small Girl

Visha had rested for a day and night. She had never thought it could be this painful to be a witch. But after recuperating for whole twenty four hours, she felt better. Dhira had later explained to her that this was a ceremony people close to the coven leader had to go through. She will be one of Dhira's personal people, like the Queen's Guard. This made her feel of high significance. Dhira was a good person who had helped her a lot including the fashion walk. Visha was grateful for her help on such short notice. So a meal to thank her was a must. Just then her phone rang and Vikram flashed on screen.

"Hey,Visha. Wanna watch the new movie? I heard you saying you were waiting for its release." he asked excitedly as soon as Visha picked up.

"Sorry, Vikram. I'm having lunch with a friend today, so lets do it some other day."

"Really?Where?"

"You know that place near college, the one that gives special student discounts."

"Oh,Okay then. You enjoy your lunch."

"Okay bye."

"Goodbye, Visha"

Visha would have seen the sly smile that appeared on his face if it wasn't a phone call. She got ready immediately after the call ended and went downstairs.

"Mom, I'm having lunch with a friend. I'll be back by 7."

"What friend? Priya?"

"No my senior, Dhira. She helped me a lot with the fashionwalk, day before yesterday. So I'm treating her to a lunch as thanks."

"My good girl." Payal patted on her head with a proud smile. "Just take care of your hand. I don't know why you are so careless with knives." Visha smiled back awkwardly as she blew her a kiss and left the house. She couldn't tell Payal since she didn't know how to. Payal had never told her about her past with the coven, why she had left and why she kept it a secret. So confronting her about anything witch related was not an option. Visha felt bad that she couldn't discuss these things with her mother. She would have been the prefect role model, as a teacher, as a mother, as a witch elder. She sighed and continued to walk down the road. Her phone started to ring and she looked for her phone in the bag. Suddenly, a van with tinted windows stopped beside her and two pairs of strong, hefty hands tried to pull her in. She tried to fight but the hold seemed unbreakable. She struggled as her phone fell out and 'Big Sis' flashed on it continuously. She stretched out her hand to grab the phone when another pair of hands held a gag in her mouth and pulled her in. Her muffled screams were faded away as the van dove off.

***

Dhira parked her car near the decided place and stepped out. The cafe had a whole wall made of glass facing the road. She peeped in and couldn't see Visha. She was late. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and called her. It kept on ringing and Dhira let out a grunt in frustration. She always picks up in just a few rings. She was about to dial again when she felt a sharp pain in her back and she fell down. A painful grunt escaped her throat as she tried to withstand the pain. She looked back enraged and saw a large man standing behind her.

Dhira was confused she doesn't know him. Why did he hit her? Before she could react he held her from her throat and pulled her up. Dhira could see the smile on his face as she struggled for air in his grip.

"Too much payment for just a small girl. I was a little worried before." he laughed and tightened his grip. Dhira pulled out her dagger from her back and slashed a cut on his forearm. The man cried in pain and let her lose. Dhira saw her chance to escape and fled as fast as she could. The man followed close behind into an alleyway. When Dhira hit a dead end at the back of some trashy bar,the man laughed.

"Nowhere to run, b*tch."

To his surprise, Dhira turned back with a smile holding up her dagger with blood on its tip. Her fingers ran over the blade as she wiped of the blood and started murmuring. She was too far to hear anything, so he moved closer. But suddenly his head started to feel heavy and he felt something dripping from his nose. As reflex, he reached for it and saw a gush red stain on his hand as the liquid continued to drip. It was getting faster every second. His vision started to blur, he could see Dhira's silhouette come closer.

"Sorry, big guy. You are of no use to this 'Small Girl'." He could sense a wicked smile on her face. So she was doing this. But how? Was she a monster? Demon? Witch?

Dhira let out a scream as she felt a sudden pain in her palm as if it had been cut. She didn't find a wound but she could feel the pain as she kicked in the air to distract herself form it. Her eyes widened as a thought struck her mind. Did something happen to Visha?

***