Ghosts in The Glass

Tiānchēn Huì Mall. A palace of Prada and Gucci. Brands galore. Built like a hexagonal beehive of glass. Like a cage to keep the customers in. Buy more. Feel less. Retail therapy.

Nadia walked through the marble floors of the classy Shanghai Mall. The last time she frequented a mall was when she had that fight with Neera.

Neera, that beautiful Indian bombshell. Her eyes with flecks of green in the light brown. Shimmering.

Nadia was tired. As usual. Like a ghost amongst these happy families and young adults shopping for their latest trinkets. She wanted to get out of the heat and the mall was air conditioned.

A hand tapped on her shoulder.

“Nadia? What are you doing here?”

Nadia turned. It was Neera. It was like she had gone back in time to that day they argued. Neera looked just the same, beautiful, busty, and elegant. Her skin was so shiny, and those eyes cut through Nadia’s defenses. She held bags of shopping. Dior.

Nadia began to cry. Like really cry, Stupid tears.

“Nadia?” Neera blushed and looked around, “What’s wrong? You can’t just cry here… People will see…”

Neera tugged on Nadia’s wrist and took her away.

They got noodle soup. Pork. Hot steamy broth. The good stuff. It was a quiet place that Neera knew. She had been living in China for the past six months, learning inner peace techniques and erotic massage.

“Nadia, are you okay?” Neera said.

“I am going to die…” Nadia said, “The Volkov won’t stop until they get me…”

Neera’s eyes widened. Fists tightened.

“I had a couple of guys try to kill me last year… But I escaped and came here,” Neera said.

“What?” Nadia said, “You…. How?”

“It’s a long story…” Neera said.