Chasing a Familiar Shadow

by Aman Gupta

  ‘Hi Jay, its Josh. Do you miss me?’

  Jay looked at the camera on the pillar a few yards away and waved his hand. The bulb stopped flickering. Jay kept smiling as he entered the elevator. He knew there were no cameras in this elevator but was compelled to check.

  After he couldn’t spot one, he dropped his fake smile. At that moment, he realized that Josh had already started to take over his life, and it was only a matter of time that Josh would feel abandoned if Jay wasn’t giving him the time he thought he was owed.

  Jay rang the doorbell and put on his smile again, but no one answered. He rang it again, but couldn’t hear any movements either.

  “Sarah?” he said. “It’s me.”

  But he didn’t get any response.

  He took out his spare key from his bag and unlocked the door, and the alarm went off. Jay disabled the alarm by entering the code. The lights were off. He tried turning them on, but failed to do so. He walked slowly towards the couch as he saw a shadow sitting on the couch.

  “Sarah?” asked Jay.

  The shadow stood up and walked towards the balcony through the corridor after crossing the living room. Jay followed the shadow. He took out his phone and turned on its torch to see, but could only get a glimpse of the bare legs of the woman walking in front of him before she disappeared. He ran towards the balcony, but fell down due to Katie’s toys lying on the floor. He dropped his phone, which slid away into a dark corner underneath the dishwasher in the open kitchen. He got up and ran towards the balcony after the shadow. He tried to open the door to the balcony, but it was locked. He yelled Sarah’s name. Amid his cries, he heard someone sneak up behind him. He turned around to see but got punched across his left jaw. He went down on the floor and saw the person running towards the staircase in the main hall to the penthouse’s private terrace.

  Jay quickly got up and ran after the person. As soon as he got to the bottom of the staircase, he saw a woman and a kid standing at the main door.

  “Jay?” asked Sarah.

  “Sarah? Oh, thank god,” said Jay.

  Sarah took out her phone and flashed its light at Jay. Jay went towards the light and hugged Sarah. She handed her purse to Katie and hugged Jay.

  “Where were you?” asked Jay.

  “Katie and I went for dinner. I thought you were coming home tomorrow,” said Sarah.

  “Yeah, I wanted to surprise you,” said Jay.

  “Daddy,” hugged Katie.

  Jay got down on his knees and hugged Katie. Sarah tried turning on the lights.

  “What happened to the lights?” said Sarah.

  “They weren’t working when I got here,” said Jay.

  “The fuse had been acting up lately. Must have finally given in,” said Sarah.

  “Were you supposed to be meeting with someone who had a key?” asked Jay.

  “No, of course not. And no one has the key beside you and me,” said Sarah.

  “Are you sure?” asked Jay.

  “Why? Did something happen?” asked Sarah.

  “No, no reason,” said Jay as he hugged her.

  “I’ll get the fuse,” said Sarah.

  “No, let me. You stay here with Katie,” said Jay. “On second thought, come with me.”

  “Where?” asked Sarah.

  “Downstairs,” said Jay. “We’ll all fix the fuse together.”

  “Are you sure everything’s fine? You’re acting weird,” said Sarah.

  “So weird,” said Katie.

  Jay heard the elevator stop on their floor.

  “Get inside quick,” said Jay.

  He thought of closing the door but was worried if the person he saw was still inside the house. He left the door open but asked Sarah and Katie to hide behind the door. They all sat down on the floor.

  “You’re scaring me,” said Sarah.

  “I’m sorry. Please, just do it,” said Jay.

  They heard footsteps coming from the hallway outside the door. Sharp noises, as if someone wanted to make their presence known.

  “Ms. Daulton?” said the voice, flashing the light at the door.

  “It’s Henry. The building manager,” said Sarah.

  Jay closed the door partially and looked through the peephole. It was Henry indeed, and he was alone.

  “Yeah, it’s him,” said Jay.

  “He can’t see you,” said Sarah.

  “Okay, you go,” said Jay.

  Sarah got up and stepped outside.

  “Everything alright, Ms. Daulton?” asked Henry.

  “I think the fuse’s gone,” said Sarah, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

  “I’ll get it fixed right away,” said Henry.

  “Thank you,” said Sarah, and went inside.

  Jay saw Henry talking on his radio, telling the person on the other end to meet him immediately at the electrical switchboard. Sarah and Katie wanted to sit on the couch. Jay objected initially but later relented. He didn’t want Sarah to ask too many questions, as he didn’t know the answers. He accompanied them to the couch, looking around for the silhouette.

  A minute later, the lights turned back on.

  “I’ll be back,” said Jay.

  He went upstairs to check for that mysterious person, but couldn’t find anyone. The door to the terrace was open. He saw scuff marks on the boundary wall. He looked over but couldn’t see anyone.

  “Who was that?” he talked to himself.

  He came back and searched the entire house while Sarah prepared a special family dinner on Katie’s request.

  Jay would feel left out when Sarah and Katie talked about the events that had transpired in the last two weeks, including an award that Katie had won for the best rendition of the Christmas song in her school. Jay had accompanied Katie and Sarah to the performance three weeks ago and even insisted Sarah join Katie on stage for a mother-daughter performance. The entire school had loved their performance, while Jay had secretly recorded it via his phone.

  However, he was happy that Sarah and Katie were doing just fine without him, as he felt he couldn’t give his complete attention to Josh if his mind was thinking about his family. After a few minutes, he started enjoying the conversations with Sarah and Katie, unknowingly foiling Katie and Sarah’s plan to make him jealous.

  “Why didn’t you come?” asked Katie.

  “Where?” asked Jay.

  “To the award ceremony,” said Katie.

  “Daddy got busy at work,” said Sarah when Jay couldn’t say anything for a few seconds.

  “It was some important stuff,” said Jay.

  “So, I’m not important anymore?” said Katie.

  “What? Of course not. I’m sorry, I’ll be here more,” said Jay.

  “You’re not just saying it, are you?” asked Katie.

  “Of course, I am,” said Jay.

  “What?” said Sarah, slightly angry.

  “Relax, it’s our thing. Daddy’s and mine’s,” said Katie.

  Jay smiled. So did Katie.

  “When do I get to be a part of this?” asked Sarah.

  “When you become cool,” said Katie.

  “Hey, I’m pretty cool. Aren’t I, Jay?” said Sarah, giving him the eye.

  “No,” said Jay.

  “What? You don’t think I’m cool?” said Sarah. She wasn’t trying to mask the hint of anger in her tone.

  “No. I think you’re hot,” said Jay.

  “I..I..,” said Sarah.

  “Oh, well played,” said Katie, putting up her hand for a high-five. Jay reciprocated.

  Sarah laughed. “Since when did you get so perceptive?”

  Katie smiled and shrugged.

  Past midnight, Jay was working on his laptop in the study when Sarah came up to him.

  “You’re not coming to bed?” asked Sarah.

  “Just a little while,” said Jay, without looking at her.

  “What’re you working on?” asked Sarah, moving to catch a glimpse of the screen.

  Ja
y closed the laptop before Sarah could see anything.

  “Why don’t you want me to see it?” asked Sarah.

  “It’d be awkward, you seeing the photos of my mistress,” said Jay.

  “You’re deflecting,” said Sarah.

  “I don’t want you to get in trouble,” said Jay.

  “How’s seeing what’s on your laptop going to get me in trouble?” asked Sarah.

  “Please understand. It’s for your safety,” said Jay.

  “Remember when I said that I don’t care what you do at Verati as long as you don’t let it interfere with our lives?” said Sarah.

  “It was in the marriage vow, so yes,” said Jay.

  “It’s starting to interfere,” said Sarah.

  “I know. I’m sorry,” said Jay.

  “I don’t want you to apologize. I want you to make sure it doesn’t let it affect our relationship,” said Sarah.

  “How’s this affecting our relationship?” asked Jay.

  “Well, it’s starting to affect me. So yes, it is affecting our relationship,” said Sarah.

  “I’ll put a stop to it. I promise,” said Jay. “You go to bed. I will be there in five minutes.”

  “4 minutes 59 seconds,” said Sarah, walking away.

  She went to her room and waited for Jay. She hoped that he would come in less than a minute. He came when the countdown had less than thirty seconds left. He tried talking to her, but she turned away and mentioned she was tired.

  He apologized again. He couldn’t sleep that night. He tried remembering the face of the person he saw, but couldn’t get a clear picture in his head.

  In the morning, Sarah woke up and saw Jay wasn’t in bed.

  “Jay?” called Sarah.

  She got up and looked around for him. She saw him making breakfast in the kitchen.

  “Hey,” said Jay.

  “Hey. What are you doing? It’s 6 in the morning. Katie’s school is not for another four hours,” said Sarah.

  “I know. Mine used to be at 8. Time’s changed,” said Jay.

  “Mine used to be at 7,” said Sarah.

  “Well, forty years is a lot of time,” said Jay.

  “Are you saying I look 50?” said Sarah, picking up a knife.

  “No, no. 45,” smiled Jay.

  Sarah walked towards Jay showing off the knife in her right hand.

  Katie walked in.

  “Katie, quickly call for help. She’s about to kill me,” said Jay.

  Katie stepped inside the kitchen and stood in front of Jay.

  “You want to kill him, you got to go through me,” said Katie, firmly.

  “Well, alright then,” said Sarah.

  She went back and grabbed another knife.

  “Can’t believe that didn’t work,” said Katie, looking upwards at Jay.

  “Don’t worry. You see how she cooks, right? She can’t handle a knife,” said Jay.

  Katie laughed. Sarah laughed too.

  “You’re terrible,” said Sarah, after putting the knives back.

  “The right kind of terrible,” said Jay.

  “Only time will tell,” said Sarah, kissing Jay.

  “Let’s go, daddy,” said Katie.

  “You going somewhere?” asked Sarah.

  “No idea,” said Jay.

  “You forgot? We were supposed to go to the park today,” said Katie.

  “Oh yeah, I promised last night. Okay, let’s go,” said Jay.

  “I’ll change my clothes and be back in two minutes,” said Katie.

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” asked Sarah, after Katie left.

  “Yeah, I wasn’t thinking straight when she asked. But I couldn’t say no,” said Jay.

  Sarah was thinking about her dad. Jay wasn’t thinking just about him, but someone else who could be watching.

  “I’ll also come,” said Sarah. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  “59 seconds,” said Jay a second later.

  Sarah shook her head, smiling.

  “58,” said Jay.

  “Okay, okay,” said Sarah, running to the bedroom in her night robe.

  When she came back in her tracksuit, Jay and Katie were waiting for her at the door.

  “I came back as soon as I could,” said Sarah.

  “Let’s go,” said Katie.

  “How long was I gone? 30 seconds?” said Sarah.

  “Doesn’t matter,” said Jay.

  “No, tell me,” said Sarah as they were locking the door.

  “Minus 52 seconds,” said Jay. “Guess time flies by when you are trying to focus on something.”

  “Yeah,” said Sarah, shaking her head when Jay wasn’t looking.

  They got inside the elevator to get down on the ground floor. Jay remembered that the ground floor had surveillance cameras, just like the basement. He pressed the 30th floor button for his apartment.

  “I’ll just check and meet you outside the building,” said Jay.

  “Okay,” said Sarah.

  As soon as he got off the elevator, he realized the stupidity of his plan. He remembered Josh had eyes everywhere and would be able to make the connection between him and Sarah.

  Nevertheless, he checked the apartment door, which was locked. The thread that he had tied between the two sides of the door frame was still taut, assuring him that no one had entered the apartment.

  He went back to the elevator and got down on the ground floor.

  Sarah and Katie were waiting for him outside the building. He looked at Sarah through the glass door and gestured her to walk ahead with Katie.

  Sarah knew Jay’s intentions. She looked around but couldn’t see anyone, apart from occasional joggers running on the sidewalk. She grabbed Katie’s hand and walked to the park nearby. Jay followed them closely behind. He would look at the surveillance cameras nearby from the corner of his eye. He could spot at least 10 in the fifty meters between their building and the park.

  They spent an hour and a half in the park. Sarah pretended to invite Jay to join her and Katie, to keep up appearances. They played various games like badminton, hide ‘n’ seek and catch the Frisbee. Jay and Sarah didn’t hug or kiss each other the entire time, though that hadn’t stopped Katie. A woman also mentioned to Sarah that Jay looked like a wonderful father. Sarah denied it, which surprised the woman. You better put a ring on that guy, she commented to Sarah. Sarah just smiled.

  They returned to their home, and Jay left shortly after, without having breakfast.

  “See you tonight?” asked Sarah.

  “Yes,” said Jay and kissed her goodbye.

  He went to the basement. As he got off the elevator, he looked at the camera and said, “Hey Josh.”

  The bulb flickered.

  “See you in 20 minutes,” said Jay.

  He drove to the headquarters as fast as he could. He had earned a special parking spot in the building, though he seldom used it. As he was parking his car in the usual spot, he saw Olivia was waiting for him. She was looking at him with a straight face, which he knew meant that she was a bit angry at him. She was standing in the middle of the spot, not yielding the space.

  “Let me park the car,” said Jay.

  She didn’t move. He honked, as silently as he could. But to no effect. He got out of the car.

  “What’s gotten into you?” said Jay.

  She looked at him for a few seconds and walked away.

  “Olivia? Olivia?” called out Jay. But she didn’t turn back.

  He quickly got in the car and parked it in the spot. He grabbed his bag and ran towards the elevator, hoping to catch Olivia. He saw her getting into the elevator a few yards away. She turned after getting into the elevator and pressed the button to her floor, looking at Jay.

  “Wait for me,” yelled Jay.

  The elevator doors closed before he could reach there.

  A few seconds later, he received a call from an unknown number. He answered the call.

  “Want me to help?” said the cal
ler.

  “Josh?” said Jay.

  “Yeah, it’s me,” said Josh.

  “Sure, help me,” said Jay, after hesitating for a second.

  “Okay,” said Josh, and hung up.

  He saw on the digital panel that the elevator stopped on the 30th floor, and started coming down to the 5th floor parking lot at high speed.

  A few seconds later, the elevator opened in front of Jay. Olivia was holding onto the side railing. As soon as the door opened, she got out and hugged Jay. She was visibly scared, though Jay couldn’t help but smile.

  “Are you okay?” asked Jay.

  “What just happened?” said Olivia.

  “Let’s go,” said Jay.

  “I’m not getting into that elevator,” said Olivia.

  “Don’t worry. Josh won’t bother you again,” said Jay.

  “Who?” asked Olivia.

  “Come. Let’s go,” said Jay.

  She wouldn’t stop hugging. He picked her up and carried her inside the elevator.

  “Okay, you can stop hugging now,” said Jay.

  “Nice to see you too. Jerk,” said Olivia, pushing him away.

  “I’m sorry. I just got a lot busy,” said Jay.

  “Yeah, with your fancy promotion. You think you’re too good for me now, don’t you?” said Olivia, getting in his face.

  “What?” Jay blurted out.

  “If you didn’t want to be friends anymore, then you should’ve said it to my face. Instead of just disappearing,” said Olivia.

  Jay realized Olivia hadn’t seen him after they had been escorted by the guard to meet Victor Daulton.

  She continued, “I didn’t know where you were. Who you were with. If you were even alive or not. Just a couple of messages that I didn’t even know if you had sent them or someone else. How could you do that to me?”

  “I’m sorry. I should’ve called,” said Jay.

  “It’s too late now. I don’t think I want to be around you anymore,” said Olivia. “Go to hell.”

  “Don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit?” said Jay.

  “Overreacting?” said Olivia, overreacting.

  “I don’t mean overreacting. I mean, blowing things out of proportion,” said Jay.

  “That’s what it means, jerk. Get lost. I don’t care anymore,” said Olivia, after getting out on her floor.