Nina's boss took a precursory glance through the report and said, "This will not do. I think the formatting needs a change but more urgently, you need to recheck the figures." She had been at it since the moment she had stepped into office. But then in a world that only sought results, the journey leading up-to them is hardly of any concern. She wearily reached her cubicle and set down for another long overtime. It was out of her mind how she had managed to pile up so much of work all of a sudden. She was not a procrastinator by nature and this task was important enough for her to finish in advance. Then it struck her today was Saturday the 13th.

The macabre fascination the world had with 13 being really unlucky is really strong. But it was not the date that made her uneasy. It was a Saturday... A day of the week that had persistently gifted her with all sorts of painful outcomes. A life threatening accident, a devastating break up with her steady boyfriend and several professional disasters almost big enough to lose her job. It was almost like Saturday held a personal vendetta against her and maybe even against her very existence.

With these rather happy thoughts, Nina cranked up the coffee machine nearby to give her a deserved shot of the caffeine fix up. She sat down to work and soon was well lost in its monotony. It was half-past twelve when she finally was done with the report. She got up rather stiff and sore, all the stress she bore before taking its toll. She was about to swipe her employee card to indicate her departure when all of a sudden the machine malfunctioned. “D---”, she thought. Now she  would have to go without the overtime shift being registered in the log.

With the sour thoughts of her efforts not being recognized, she walked towards the elevator. Don't you feel the let-me-curl-in-the-corner-and-mourn-about-it bad when your efforts don’t get recognized ? The doors slowly opened with a hiss, her salvation of escape from the corporate slavery. Just as the doors closed with a metallic clang, the power went out. She was stuck in a bloody elevator for god knows how long. She was mighty p----d but that was one emotion that dint last long. Within a few minutes, she felt another mindful presence in the lift. A startling thought that let the cold fingers of fear grip her heart.

She dialed the company security helpdesk number only to get no reply. Just as she was about to call  the SEZ helpdesk for assistance, the power was back on. The lift smoothly made its way down to the parking lot. For a moment, Nina felt really silly for being so irrational back in the elevator. She pulled out the keys to her battered Alto. That was when she noticed the d--- car had a freaking flat tire. Then again without any notice, the same icy fear kicked in. She shakily looked around and couldn't spot a single soul in the vast SEZ parking lot. Without wasting a second she walked out of that creepy place towards the main exit gate.

She looked around for the security guard who was supposed to be on duty. He was slumped in his chair at a distance. She called out to him once and then decided not to wake him up. Little did she know, he wouldn't have woken up even had she tried harder. Every second that passed by did nothing to sooth her frayed nerves. She couldn't hold herself above the fear that was permeating the very air she inhaled.

As she was wondering how to get home, a lone auto rickshaw appeared in her field of view. She hailed it with all the strength she had left. The driver thankfully took her on. He was a pretty jovial soul and kept entertaining her with his wise cracks about sundry and all. It was while they were crossing the run down bit of the city when she started feeling anxious again. The fear that had sprung up in her mind earlier had now turned into a raging forest fire. And the situations contributed to it as does tinder to a fire.

After a few moments, she reached her apartment complex. As she was about to pay the driver she noticed his demeanor changing. For the jovial person he was all this while, he started looking very agitated. Instead of taking the fare money she held out. He did the unimaginable. He gave her a flesh crawling creepy grin and said that it was already taken care of. And as she tried to argue about it, he drove away leaving her coughing in cloud of dust and smoke.

This was the final straw; the creepy turn of events had totally scared her out of her mind. All she wanted to do was rush into her apartment and close the door on all the shivers she had been through. She consciously made an effort to think about mundane things like which vegetables to pick up for tomorrow and by what time she would have to reach office. With these calming thoughts she made it home.

She longed for her husband's loving words and his special way of making her feel wanted. She was also nostalgic about her in laws who used to live with them over the past year. But she took refuge in the fact that they were happy in their dusty little town and not this cold and uncaring city. She turned the lock and stepped into the house. She felt a hand on her shoulder and a comforting question about how her day was and that he had been waiting for her all this time. Her eyes widened and her heart skipped few beats when it dawned upon her that her husband was out of station tonight.