The Misfortune Cycle: River Desert

Chapter 4

Torun woke up feeling like a decomposed rug. He had fallen asleep with the PlayStation running. It was now high noon. The heat was cranked up to eleven and there was large wet spot on the floor from where Torun had lain sweating.

After the bath, Torun felt a malevolent, maddening presence in the pit of his stomach. It took him a moment to recognize it as hunger. There was nothing to eat at home.

Torun put on a T-shirt and Pants to hit the nearest restaurant, fifty steps from his apartment. It was cheap and it tasted cheap. The rice was cooked to a sludge and the fish had next to no salt in it, but it went down effortlessly.

An hour later, he saw himself walking down to the bank of Jamuna river, where Lanka's boat bobbed slightly with the waves. There never really was a question of whether or not he'll come back. Be there demons or ghouls or Djinns, he was a private detective. And this was a mystery he's hired to solve.

And ten thousand taka is a lot of money to make in a day.

Lanka stood on the dock, talking to an elderly bearded man. She saw him coming down and signalled him with her hand to wait. The two talked for a few more minutes before the old man walked away, seemingly satisfied with the conclusion.

"Your friend went home around nine this morning," Lanka said as she approached him, "Am I still employed?"

"I can't say about Ashraful yet but I'm still on this case so you are," Torun took out his phone, intending to contact Ashraful, "If you're okay with that."

Lanka shrugged, "Not the first time. If it happens again, we'll run again. And I won't take you there during dusk anymore."

"That's fine," They needed to see the site in better light anyway. That was exactly why Torun had been carrying his enormous sixteen battery flashlight. Though, now that he was carrying it in his backpack, he was beginning to regret it.

"What about Jamal?" He asked.

"I didn't find them in my tent this morning," Lanka shrugged, "he left some money."

"Oh," Jamal being there would've been better, but Torun could understand, "Can I get on the boat?"

"Sure, Mohona is sitting in the shed."

As Torun boarded the boat, he sent a small message to Ashraful, asking if he'd continue with the investigation. No immediate response.

Mohona sat in a corner, wearing a discolored green Saree today. She looked up as Torun came from the scorching sunlight into the cool shade, and maybe Torun was imagining it, but her eyes appeared to light up a little. She moved over a little, giving a bit of space for Torun. Torun hesitated, but ended up sitting there, a few inches from Mohona.

"Hey," She said as he sat, "You got home well last night?"

"Yeah, it was fine," The seat was a little too small, but Torun had a small behind too so it wasn't a problem.

"Nothing weird happened?" Mohona tilted her head.

"No, not really. Did something happen here?"

"No. Nothing here either," Mohona shifted her legs a little, brushing against Torun in the process, "But I don't think she slept very well."

When Torun didn't answer her, Mohona asked, "Did you sleep well? I know I did."

"I —" Torun considered if he should answer her honestly, "I didn't sleep that well. I played videogames all night."

"Oh? What game?"

"Zero Hour," Torun gestured with his hand, "it's about shooting people."

"You shot people for game?"