Shalni is your typical 30-year-old who has just moved into a new city. And while there have been several daunting and lonely days, her life finally seems to be getting back on track.
A week back, she met a boy through a dating app. She had gone with no expectations but returned with a few. He was polite, charming, enjoyed reading, and most importantly, owned a cat! This attraction was also mutual; they had been texting each other back and forth ever since they met. And now, she was eagerly waiting for another date with him.
To her surprise, she woke up the next morning to two texts — one that made her smile sheepishly and the other confused.
“Good morning, I have been learning how to cook for the past few days. Do you want to be my guinea pig and test it out? Haha. I promise it’ll be good. Can we meet this evening?” texted Devraj, her date from last week.
“Dinner at 8:30 p.m. Please be on time,” was a text from her neighbor.
“What a weird invite. It sounds more like a demand than an invitation,” Shalni thought about her neighbor’s text.
She quickly sent a “Yes, I’ll be there :)” to Devraj and a “Sorry, I have prior commitments” to her neighbor and went about her day.
She returned a bit early from work, had even bought dessert on her way back, and put on the perfect dress for the occasion. With everything done, she was just about to lock her house door when her neighbor appeared out of nowhere.
“You’re early,” she spoke.
“Oh my god, you scared me! Umm… early? For what? Ahh yes, the dinner. I’m sorry, as I had texted you, I have a prior commitment,” she replied, a bit startled.
“What commitments, beta? You did say you’ll have dinner with me,” the neighbor responded with a concerned face.
Shalni quickly checked her phone, and to her disappointment, she had interchanged her texts. Devraj had replied, saying, “No problem, maybe next time.”
“Umm… there’s been a mistake. I’m sorry, but I’ve to be somewhere else,” Shalni responded.
She said this not just because she wished to be with Devraj instead, but also because her neighbor, who was an old woman, probably in her early 70s, now seemed hostile and creepy.
“Shalni! Come back! Come eat dinner,” was the last thing Shalni heard. She wanted to be away from the old woman as soon as possible and ditched the lift and rushed down the stairs.
However, midway, she tripped and sprained her foot. “AAH,” she exclaimed in pain.
“Why are you running away?” her neighbor shouted, who was also moving downstairs, trying to get close to Shalni.
“Stop following me!” Shalni shouted.
And once she saw her neighbor's silhouette approaching closer, she got up and limped as fast as she could and finally managed to get a taxi. As soon as she got inside, she texted Devraj, “Are you still available? I’m on my way to come to your place.”
She waited for several minutes but got no reply. Disappointed, she thought Devraj had made other plans and asked the taxi to take her back.
As she made her way upwards, she was extremely cautious of her scary neighbor, but fortunately, there was no sign of her.
Shalni unlocked her house and took a sigh of relief. But it was short-lived; her neighbor was standing before her.
“AAA! Help me! Help! How did you get inside? I’m calling the police,” Shalni screamed in fear.
“Beta, what are you saying? I was so scared. Where had you gone? Beta, I’m your mumma, don’t scream at me,” her neighbor responded with tear-filled eyes.
“No, you’re not! I’m calling the police and I’m calling Devraj!” Shalni shouted.
“Beta, papa’s gone,” her neighbor responded.
“Stop lying to me!” Shalni screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Please don’t shout, beta. I’m your mummy. And your papa, Devraj, passed away a year back. Now come sit for dinner,” her mother tried explaining again.
Shalni checked her phone, and horror unfolded before her eyes; she had been texting a WhatsApp number for days… a WhatsApp number saved as Papa. She looked across her living room and saw a photo frame of her father smiling and holding a grey cat in his hand. The frame had a garland over it, and below that, it said: Devraj, 1952–2024.
Shalni stood in silence for what felt like forever and eventually said, "Look, it's 8:30, Maa. Let's have dinner."
Her mother nodded with a teary smile. “Get changed, and yes, we'll have dinner together.”
Shalni hugged her mother, went to her room, and opened her phone. She decided she’d be a better daughter, and all of this had to stop. She deleted all the texts she had sent her father, changed her mother's contact from “Neighbor” to “Mumma,” and checked around if there was anything else that needed clearing up.
And then she saw something strange, a dating app! Did she actually meet someone named Devraj? At that exact moment, she heard her mother call her name, "Beta Shalni, come!"
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