Storeys: The Stranger In The Mirror

By Sanjivini Naidu

The book revolves around the lives of simple individuals; whose life turns around within hours.. Surprisingly all the events are related to a gated community. As you turn the pages to know what happens next you will be in utter shock and surprise once all the events reveal themselves....  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Rose Publishers
• Release date: Dec 8, 2022

Book preview

STOREYS……..

Chapter 1: Newbie— Coolbee!

Hey girl, what plans? … Sanjana smiled and said, Nothing for today; but tomorrow is going to be fun… I am having dinner plans with some very close friends of mine; it is their anniversary; so it will be a surprise to them as she walked back to her desk.

Sanjana was a very talented girl in her 20’s .. She was about 5 feet 7 inches tall; and she liked to walk with her heels… She had a sleek figure and looked fab in her outfits; may it be traditional or western wear …She walked with an erect posture and every time she passed by; heads did turn around… Her friends at times called her beauty in heels… She had always scored very well in school. She was good in her academics and extra-curricular activities. Her personality was such that people used to get drawn towards her… With a very genuine smile on her face; she drew an aura around her.

She was a very down to earth person, who had a very small circle of friends whom she trusted… And if someone dares to break that; they can forget her forever… Born in a small family Sanjana got a lot of love from her parents, relatives and friends…. She was street smart even as a child… She knew just the right words and at the right time… A very charming personality for someone still in college.

After her college days, Sanjana had started working in a Call Centre; it was just about 6 months on the job and she was already getting work recognition… When at college she had made plans on where she wanted to be 10 years from now…. She wanted to pursue higher studies so once her graduation was complete; she wanted to fund herself for an MBA… Although she aspired to be a model… coming from a very simple family and knowing her background she knew this would never work…Suppressing her dreams she decided to just finish her studies and landed a nice job in a reputed company.

She moved out of her home once she started to work; she wanted to gain some independence and space… After jumping from one apartment to another she finally got a place which was sublet by one of her bosses at work… So she decided to start living in Apt C 1101 @ Storeys. Her view overlooked the swimming pool and badminton court. She loved to take her early morning coffee overlooking this view…

Sanjana got ready quickly on 14th March to go to work… it was her best friend Pooja’s first wedding anniversary… She decided to book a cab and reach office early to finish up some important pressing tasks and wanted to head right out during a breakfast break to get something for Pooja….

Pooja had known Sanjana since she was 13 years of age… Due to some unfortunate circumstances at this young age Pooja had shifted places several times… She was almost fed up with making friends every single time. It was a lot of pressure on her every time she shifted to a new school; a new society… But luckily for Pooja she found Sanjana and since 10 years they have been together… Although Pooja shifted again it was still in the same area… A day wouldn’t pass by with these close buddies not meeting each other… Pooja’s parents both went to work… so when she came back from school; she had to do everything by herself… Help herself freshen up; heat the food cooked in the morning and do the dishes…Once that was done, she had to do other household chores like folding the clothes that were out on the balcony. Once all of this was done, she used to call Sanjana home so they could either study or play together…. They had a very strong bond, and both their parents were happy that they found such a profound friendship…

14th March:

Slurrp…. Slurrp….! Sanjana gulped her coffee at work while she was typing out replies to the emails received the previous night… There were several follow ups to be done… And she was thinking Oh my; why today? It was around 10.30 am at work… It had already been 2 hours in the office. As Sanjana looked back at her smart watch; she decided to continue her work after a short break…

So, she picked her handbag and was about to leave…

When Akshay asked her; Hey; I noticed you came in early to work…What’s the matter? Are you already leaving? She smiled awkwardly and said…

Oh, it's nothing, I just need to run some errands and I will be right back…

She hated people interrupting her plans; she had lost 5 mins of her time just talking to this guy… There was an antique store about 15 mins away from work… She planned to go walking to this store; just in case she finds some better shops or some more options on her way to the antique shop. Most of the shops had opened and she could see the staff were getting things set up in their shop; some were cleaning their windowpanes; some were dusting the mannequins; at some shops housekeeping staff were cleaning the floors.

She kept looking to her left and right side of the road; but nothing came even close to something that she could purchase. She finally reached her destination; "Nirvana, the antique store…"

As the name of the store goes; the floor of the store was tiled with blue chips… Big and small mirrors on either side of the walls… Then there were big round jute shaped lights hanging from the ceiling…Some of the walls were made of chipped bricks which gave a unique feel. She started looking out for something nice; there were so many options there…. Nirvana had a beautiful ambience; there were potpourri jars at almost every stack giving the place an amazing fragrance… She slowly started looking at the display items on each rack; then she saw the wall hangings and some more artefacts… Sanjana, all engrossed in this search of hers; didn’t realize she was being followed by some random guy for days together…. This guy was in the shop as well… he pretended to be a guy working in the shop and asked her; Maam, can I help you?

Sanjana assumed he was from the store and started explaining what she wanted… I am looking for an antique piece not too small, not too big… maybe a wall hanging or a showpiece…. I don’t know … I need to give it to my friend; it is an anniversary gift… Do you think you can help me?

The young lad smiled and said, Sure Ma’am; let me show you around…

The lad kept walking around showing her a few items in the store that she may be interested in… He showed her some Warli artwork, some Buddha idols; then he walked her upstairs and showed her some very amazing illusionary art… These were some artefacts which had a dim light within itself…. At one angle it looked different and at the other angle it looked different. …Some of the Buddha idols and Shiva idols were made in such a way… This was something very new to her; she did not know that there was some concept like this…Sanjana; at once knew what she wanted; she decided to go for the illusionary art of Buddha…

How much for this? she asked…

The guy went close to the idol; looked at the price tag and said, This would be 16k in rupees…but the store is running a discount; if you are interested, we can check at the counter how much discount is applied on this one

The guy took a notepad from his pocket and said.

Maam, why don’t you fill in your details here; your address, contact information and best time to call. he went on; We will notify you on offers, discounts and any new schemes running in the store.

Sanjana took the notepad from his hand, filled up the details and then started to go downstairs… The guy said she can pick her illusionary art directly from the counter… She loved art stores and spent another 10 minutes window shopping the display items on the racks… the smell of pot pourri made her feel very happy. As she started walking downstairs, she noticed the decor on the walls leading to the floor below…She looked around for the staff; but he was nowhere in sight anymore… She picked up some keychains that were handmade; some organic soaps as well…She loved to pamper herself…. A good bubble bath this weekend is the need of the hour… she thought.

Then she went to the counter to make her purchase. She found her illusion art lying at the counter. She pulled out a card from her wallet and she asked how much does this idol cost? And what is the discount on it? The lady at the counter picked up her barcode scanner and scanned the idol’s barcode… It showed the price as Rs. 15k with a 15% discount that brought the cost to Rs. 12750/- .

Sanjana looked in again into the monitor and said.

I think your staff was not sure of the amount he told me it was 16k with some discount which I had to check at the counter.

Then she looked around for the guy who had helped her but then she could not locate him.

She made the payment with her one tap click card and said, Thank you. to the lady at the counter and as she was stepping out, she said, By the way that helper of yours he's doing a great job! The lady looked up at her with an eyebrow up I am sorry Ma’am I did not get you?

Sanjana said, The help who is upstairs was really helpful in finding me what I wanted. The lady at the counter did not want to alarm Sanjana and she just nodded her head. Only she knew that there was no helper in her store. She just had all these CCTVs all around in the store. Her helper had gone out for a break; so, she started to wonder who this other helper was. Sanjana stepped out of the store and got into an auto rickshaw, and she went back to her office.

The lady at the counter became curious to know who this unknown guy was. She wanted to look at the footage from the previous 10 minutes as she went to the recording of the previous 20 minutes and the recording started; she saw Sanjana entering the store and then after a minute or two another guy with a cap entered the store behind her and while she was just trying to watch who was this; another customer entered her store. So, the lady at the counter stopped the video and started to