"Yes Ma. I will buy the new issue of this health magazine and I will read the article about women needing eight hours of sleep."

Kajal tucked the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she dug out the keys from her backpack. She absentmindedly mumbled a few more sounds of assent when everything went dark. A few seconds later, the lift that she was riding up to her apartment came to a standstill. She groaned and lied to her mother, "Okay ma. I have to go now. I am stepping into the lift and I tend to lose signal here. Alright? Talk to you later? Love you too. Bye!" She pressed end and looked around her. She flashed her phone light near the button panel and picked up the lift phone.

"Great! Why do I pay 5000 for maintenance if the crappy phone doesn't work when the light's out?" She grumbled at the lift mirror. She pulled up her contacts and scrolled down until she found the building manager's number and hit call. Ten seconds later, she was found herself talking to the lift mirror again, "This is the perfect time for the building manager to chill as well." She sank down to her knees and took a deep breath trying to gather her thoughts. She scrolled down her contact list and found "The Neighbour" as one of the names. She didn't think twice. She called the number and pressed the phone to her ears.

She said to the phone, "No answer! Really? You too!"

She cut the call and typed out a message and hit send. After ten minutes of thinking, her phone pinged.

"Who is this? - V"

She stared at the message in the darkness, the light reflecting back in the small confined space. She replied, "V? I thought you were P for Pluto."

The phone pinged back with a message that read, "Earthling! What is wrong with your alternative mode of communication today?"

She replied, "There is no electricity."

The phone blinked back, "And you now require electricity to power a smiley ball?"

She groaned in exasperation and responded, "No but the lift does. Why else do you think I called you? To chat about the weather?"

The returning message was "Wait you're stuck in the lift?"

Why did she think this person was smart? She responded, "No! My doctor ordered some rest and relaxation in a confined space suspended in mid-air by a metal rope with no light."

She waited for the phone to blink again. When it did, she snatched it up and read, "What floor are you on?"

She replied, "Currently the lift's."

Pat came the reply, "Um..."

She smirked and said, "I don't know. I think between the sixth and seventh."

She didn't get a message after that. After a few minutes, she heard a knock on the lift door. She scrambled up and said, "Hey! Are you out there?"

Her phone rang. "The Neighbour" was flashing on the screen. She hit answer and said, "Can you hear me? I heard the knock."

The range on her phone was really low so the line kept cracking. She heard the last snatch of what the neighbour said. It was "here." It sounded like a deep voice. Before she could say anything else, the phone got cut. She glanced at the phone and shook her head. She typed, "Can you get the building manager? He knows how to open the lift door."

The phone blinked back, "Already on it."

About fifteen minutes later, she heard a voice from the other side of the lift door.

"Madam! Are you alright?"

She recognized the manager's voice and said, "Yes Mr.Joshi. I am fine. Can you get this door to open?"

"Yeah yeah. Just give me a minute. We will get you out. Please don't be afraid."

She wanted to say she was not afraid and that she just wanted to get out of here and eat some food. She was really hungry. But she didn't bother.

She heard the door click and she got up to her feet again and dusted herself. Subconsciously, she brushed her hair with her fingers as the lift door opened. She saw Mr.Joshi eyeing her with great concern. She then turned her attention to her elusive neighbour. She noted that he was doing the same.

Hi guys! I took a break from the NANoWriMo story and came back to The Balcony as I missed Kajal and her people so much. I hope you guys did too! :) Here is Chapter 9. As you can see Chapter 10 will reveal great many details. I am hoping to write it by the end of this week. Until then, happy times! - S