Yugan with a plastic cover on his face, breathing in the stale air :
The door breaks open, and I see something rush in. An animal? No—it's Scooby, my Labrador. He leaps onto me, licking my face cover. I can feel the wetness. Oh God, I'm not going to die? But the guilt—the guilt will kill me. I'm the reason for the accident. My stupid adrenaline rush while driving. The poor kid, the family. Ugh. I try not to think about it, but the memories force their way in.Suddenly, I see my mom. She's getting closer.she calls me yugan yugan repeatedly.. But as she inhales, something shifts. Her expression changes. Panic flickers across her face. Then, without warning, she begins to disappear. Lights flash—an eerie, unnatural glow. I've never seen anything like it. Her body contorts, growing small, then large, as holes tear through her. The human form I knew disintegrates, vanishing before my eyes.
"What the hell?
The man who was with her—he's gone too. Just like that.am shouting mother inside the cover even am not able to hear it whats happening to my Scooby it starts barking wildly, his cries filled with terror. But before I can react, he freezes. A flicker of light. His body trembles, then—gone. Disappeared. Just like Mom. Just like the stranger.
But the wetness on my face is still there. Am I dead? Or were they? Something unnatural, something impossible has happened. Something magical.
I push away the cover, gasping. My breath returns in ragged bursts. The air is... different. There's a strange freshness, crisp but unsettling. Through the window, chaos unfolds. Cars crash into each other, spinning out of control like they have no brakes. Metal screeches. Glass shatters. I can see the vehicles without the drivers or humans..The streets are a twisted mess of wreckage.
I stand frozen. My heartbeat pounds, erratic. I need water. My throat is dry, but another worry gnaws at me—Mom. Scooby. I search the room, but they're gone. No one is here. My apartment, once filled with the hum of life, now feels empty. Unnaturally so..Where is everyone?
The silence is deafening. The usual stench of city life is gone. No shouting neighbors, no gossiping aunties. Not even the people who always grumbles near the gate. What the fuck happened? The accidents stretch as far as I can see. Twisted metal. Abandoned cars. No movement. No people..And the overwhelming sense that something has gone terribly, horribly wrong.
I stepped onto the balcony, gripping the cold railing as my eyes swept over the gated community below. Silence. A suffocating, unnatural silence. Where was everyone? The streets, usually alive with honking cars and chattering neighbors, were eerily still. Why did the air feel different the moment I removed the cover from my face? It was crisp, almost too clean—like the world had been reset.
A chill ran down my spine. Did everyone just... disappear?
My mind raced for answers. Was this a virus? Like that China guy? Did some bat-like creature cause this? The absurdity of my own thoughts made me shake my head, but deep down, I couldn't shake the fear crawling up my chest.
I needed to see for myself.
Stepping outside, I walked cautiously down the street. Nothing. No movement. No voices. Just rows of abandoned vehicles, their doors flung open as if people had fled in a hurry. Some had crashed into poles, walls, or each other, the wreckage frozen in time. My gaze locked onto a BMW in the middle of the road, its sleek body dented but still tempting. My fingers twitched at the thought. Like some GTA game, I could just take it. No rules, no consequences.But not now. Not yet.
A lump formed in my throat as the emptiness pressed down on me. Mom. My family. I clutched my head, a deep ache settling in my chest. For the first time, I truly understood what they would have felt if I had gone through with it—if I had ended my life and left them behind.
But now, there was no one left. No human race in Chennai.
I exhaled sharply. I need answers.
Turning on my heel, I sprinted back inside. The TV. Maybe the news has something. Maybe someone—somewhere—knows what the hell just happened.
Behind the Glass: Mermaid Story :
I can see the show is going well. Tomorrow, the news channels will report: "Natasha, a Russian woman, drowned in a glass cage during a performance." Just another ten-in-one news headline. No one will care. I'll be replaced, just like that. Another girl from some other country will take my place, wear the same sequined tail, and face the same fate as I am now. Raman locked the top layer of the glass cage. Not by accident. He did it on purpose. Because I refused to sleep with him. Not that it mattered. Even if he hadn't locked it, I was going to die anyway. I was going to drown—breathless, weightless, forgotten. The audience watches, unaware. Parents, children, onlookers—clapping, cheering, pointing at the "magical mermaid" inside the glass. But something changes. The laughter dies down. The cheers fade. The hands waving excitedly suddenly stop. They must have breathed something. A flash of light. A laser show in the morning? No. Something's happening. The children—gone. The adults too. One by one, they disappear. What the fuck? Panic claws at my throat. I need to get out, but the glass cage is locked. Stupid Raman. I hope he disappeared too. I pound against the walls, my lungs screaming. My vision darkens. I'm slipping under. No. I won't die like this. There's a rock at the bottom, part of the fake underwater decorations. My fingers grasp it, muscles weak but desperate. I lift it, using the last of my strength, and slam it against the glass. Hard. Again. Harder. A crack. Then another. The water bursts out, dragging me with it. I crash onto the floor, coughing, gasping, sucking in air as though I've been reborn. The breath feels… fresh. Different. Like something I've never inhaled before. But where is everyone? I push myself up, water dripping from my tangled hair. The mermaid tail is useless now, heavy against my legs. I rip at the zippers, struggling, until my bare feet finally touch solid ground. The exhibition—empty. The giant Ferris wheel stands still. The merry-go-round, frozen mid-spin. There's no Raman. No audience. No security guards. Nothing. The cash counter is untouched, stacks of bills left behind as if the world had no time to take them. I step outside, my heart pounding. The roads—silent. This is OMR, a road that's always clogged with traffic, honking, shouting. But now? Only wrecked cars, dented and crashed into each other like they lost control. No drivers. No bodies. What the hell happened? Some magic? A Marvel Thanos snap kind of shit? And why am I the only one left? My stomach growls. It feels almost absurd to be hungry at a time like this, but survival instincts don't care about logic. I spot a Subway across the street. No staff. No cashier. Just trays of food left untouched behind the glass counter. I hesitate. What if someone suddenly appears and asks me to pay? I have no money. I'm standing here in half a costume, looking like a deranged sea creature. But no one comes. I grab some chicken, fish, and veggies, shoving them into my mouth. The taste floods my senses—spicy, salty, rich. It's good. But nothing like Russian horse meat. Still, I eat. And I wait. Minutes pass. No one appears. I take more. I gulp down a Coke. A burger. More chicken. The dizziness fades. My body stops shaking. Am I dreaming? Some kind of lucid dream? Even if it is, I don't want to wake up. At least here, in this strange, empty world, no one can tell me I'm worthless. No one can force me into a glass prison. No one can make me drown. I step back into the exhibition grounds, my eyes on the giant Ferris wheel—the tallest one in Chennai. If I get to the top, maybe I can see what's happening. The controls are remote-operated. I press the button, and the wheel lurches into motion. As it lifts me higher, I see more of the city. Crashed cars. Silent streets. And then—the ocean. Ships moving toward the shore, out of control, no captains to guide them. Planes falling into the sea like dead birds. Is the world ending? I reach for my phone. I need to call my mother. I need to check Instagram. Is this happening only in Chennai, or everywhere? I don't know. But I need to find out.