LYCAN'S HIDDEN LOVE

Shortlisted

Chapter8 -

Aranya hired a taxi, and shared the location with the taxi driver. The taxi wheels friction to drop her in the destined location. She enquired about the fare for her destined location, the taxi driver replied, “It charges ten nanyamz (currency used in Daxino Uvet)”

Aranya was shocked, “What? Ten nanyamz? Is the place that far?”

The taxi driver replied, “It's two hours of solid travel in heavy traffic road.”

“Traffics... That sucks!” she exclamatedly the word, “Can you please use the shortest route to the place?” she added.

“I try my best to reach there as quickly as possible. Get in, Missy,” the taxi driver told her.

Aranya grabbed in and looked at her mobile, “Where this Mr Amber Eyes is? (She zoomed in the map and the red locator icon says Jarnsaxa Residence.)”

She articulated the name JARNSAXA RESIDENCE and dive into a flashback of how her day started in Inno Swap Corporation.

Aranya!

A notification beeped in the bottom right corner of the desktop screen of her laptop informing the new mail notification. The notification sounds were audible in the earring-filled ears and gained the attraction of the pair of eyes with the thick-framed spectacle which was partly hidden under the two-toned hair colour of blue and white.

The coffee mug was placed on the side table only to grab the mouse and keenly look into the notification on the desktop. With a single click, the small notification enlarged to fill the entire desktop and it flashed with a life-saving message.

The pair of spectacled brown eyes were enlarged to see the message. My eyes were rolled here and there carefully reading and were fixed at the words YOU ARE SHORTLISTED.

“Oh my God! Finally, you heard my prayers” a euphonious feminine voice talked to the ceiling of her room and that joy made the coffee mug to fence on the laptop. The entire circuit of her laptop tasted the coffee she made and flashed for the last time. So Bitter!

“God damn it! What have I done…” the joy in the voice was faded to reflect her inner irritation. To add fuel to her irritation, her smartphone alarmed with an incoming call labelled ‘Mrs Devil’

The teeth smashing sound can be heard from her mouth and with much irritation and hesitation, she attended the call.

The person named Mrs Devil leashed her devilish voice, “Hello Miss princess! What stops you from picking up my call, huh? You do dare to unpick my call. What were you doing?”

“No… don’t mistake me. A-Actually I-I was… in the restroom, I couldn’t hear it” –she replied with stammering words.

“Aranya! Why didn’t you pick up my call yesterday?” the devilish voice asked her.

“Yesterday… I didn’t receive your call. Then how do you expect me to pick up your call?” – Aranya replied.

“You even learn to lie once you have gone there, Ara?” –Mrs Devil asked in a sly tone.

Aranya facepalmed her and the words were fighting in her mind to reply, “I… I won't lie. I swear I don’t receive any calls. I was working late yesterday”

Mrs Devil slew Aranya with the words, “Working…! Huh, I don’t believe you, Ara. Whom you were with at night, answer me?”

Aranya cried by the sharp and hurting words, “Please stop. Don’t talk like that to me. I was indeed working in my office. Believe me?”

Mrs Devil smirked in her tone, “Oh I see. Miss Aranya, for your kind information, I was informed that you got fired for stealing their information and they decided to sue you for selling it to their rival.”

Aranya felt as the ceiling was fallen on her head to fill her eyes with tears and waves of anger. Silent occupied her entire dishevelled messed room.

Mrs Devil added to her conversation, “Ara, you are a curse to my family. I pleaded with my friend to employ you in his company. But you shamed me for your behaviour. You are a shameless witch. You can lead your life as you want but this will affect my children’s future. Your father is not worthy of this family. Get employed and send your money for your siblings’ education. Otherwise, don’t blame me for removing your name from the family tree.”

The call was ended and so do the nasty talk. Aranya lost her gravity under her feet and fell with awakening eyes. She scrolled her mobile screen to look at her emails stating - You are shortlisted.

Aranya's mind voiced, “I have gone through many shortlists in these few days, I hardly live to spend my every day for food. There were many times I slept with hunger just by finishing my dinner with plain water.

I don’t know why, all I receive is rejection. I am rejected not out of talent, but the word from the brat. That creepy brat! (Grinned her teeth) He doesn’t allow me to live or even die. Die! Why should I die? As a jerk who lives by his life happily just by ruining others lives, why can I live?

Why is this happening to me? Am I cursed to be born with that? Why would I ever want to steal the information to be sold to others? What benefit is in it? I never expected he would ruin my career. He even cut off every rope given to me for climbing my hardness. Heaven curses you. I wanted you to be burned in hellfire.”

Aranya was disturbed and got a call from her friend Cassata, “Hello, Ara. Did you receive the mail?”

Aranya answered her by wiping her tears, “Cass… Cassata. Is it true I got short-listed?”

Cassata replied, “Yes honey, pack up your guts and wits to swap in Inno Swap”

Aranya smiled a little and replied, “I… I don’t know how to thank you. It's God who sends you to me.”

Cassata replied, “Hmm hmm. Hold your thanks. I didn’t do anything. You got shortlisted for your talents. As a project manager, I was informed to take a look at the candidates. I was happy to see your name on the shortlist.”

Aranya was speechless and tears of joy rolled on her cheeks, “Cassata… I am glad to have a friend like you. If I not saw you on the train, I won’t even get a chance…”

Cassata replied, “Ara… I am too much for your words. You only have 10 hours to enjoy your life. After that, your entire life will be spent in Inno Swap.”

Before the call ended, Cassata informed Aranya to remove her weird appearance and asked her to get in formals. Aranya got onto her feet to look at herself in the mirror. All she saw was two-toned hair, thick-framed spectacles, and an ear full of earrings. She started to remove her weird appearance one by one,

“I am going to find a new face after that night. I want to prove to this world what I am worthy of. I, Aranya, declare this world, to be ready to witness my talent, bow in front of me to apologize for rejecting me.”

A sudden constraint in the taxi got Aranya to the real world. She asked, “Drive carefully!”

The taxi driver replied, “Sorry, Miss. There was a biker who interrupted the path. I will be more careful.”

She asked, “Aren’t we there yet?”

The taxi driver assured me, “I will drop you in ninety minutes at your destined location.”

Aranya rested her back on the seat. The sound of horns of vehicles in the traffic caused her a headache. She closed her eyes and again immersed herself in another flashback which happened similar to her current situation.