Chapter 1: Prologue(1)
A razor-edged wind howled through the concrete canyons of Mumbai, slicing past flickering neon signs that bled garish light onto slicked streets.
It smelled of exhaust, metallic tang of decay. Inside the cramped, grimy changing room of ’Cafe Mirage’, two waiters are having a chat inside the lockers.
"Hey, you see that new girl who started yesterday? Damn, man, she is fire." Ravi spoke while he struggled out of his uniform.
His companion, Rishabh, snorted, pulling on faded denim. "Forget it, bro. She’s orbiting planets you can’t even see with that salary. She is out of your league, out of your world."
"I know, but..." Ravi trailed off, puffing his chest out uselessly.
’League. World. Meaningless words in a meaningless life.’
The thought crept into Aarav’s mind, it was chilling, strangely familiar, and hard to ignore.
He peeled off his stiff collared shirt, the cheap polyester clinging with sweat. He moved with the weary efficiency of someone long accustomed to being unseen.
Aarav Singh, twenty-eight, average build, forgettable face.
Eyes holding the dull sheen of the roadside polished stone.
For him, it doesn’t matter whether he is optimistic or pessimistic; both are luxurious for those lives held in consequences.