Unveiled

By Aabha Ghuli

Clara adjusted her emerald, green headscarf, loud applause following her as she walked on the stage. Setting the green plastic crystal ball on the table, she started the drama.

“Now, to experience the magic of a fortune teller, would anyone like to come on the stage?” Clara announced, as the performance drew closer to an end. A tall thin man walked towards the stage, a beaming smile on his face. The man sat down, as Clara stared at the crystal ball mysteriously, when she froze.

Another force surged in her, something more powerful than a 7- year- old at a Halloween fancy dress contest. She felt her limbs tingling with a new energy, something her body could hold no more. Inside herself she was screaming for help, to take her away from its clutches

Instead, her eyelids slid out of focus as she began seeing things. a man, the window of house, screaming kids. Words floated out of her mouth as soon as they formed in the very depth of her.

“You, Jhon Browne, a trusted face in daytime and the hunter of helpless at night” her back straightened, as she continued. “And the mastermind behind the disappearance of the city's children”

Clara shot out words like bullets, with Jhon growing whiter with every passing second. “No…” he said frantically nodding his head as his eyes grew wider

Clara continued as if she did not hear him. She was completely shut off from the world unknown to the happenings, trying to win the battle inside herself.

“So….” her cold lips moved on her expressionless face. Jhon shook his head aghast, as Clara went on revealing the happenings. It fitted perfectly in the incomplete part of the puzzle that the police had.

“And, you have the kids in your garage Jhon Browne” Clara added, her green eyes piercing his. Only those eyes weren’t hers.  it was someone else's, because her eyes were rich shade of blue.

Suddenly she broke out of her trance. “Who.… are you??” She stammered looking at the tall, thin, once good-looking man slick with sweat.

By Aabha Ghuli