The Lost Souls Dating Agency Read Online Free

except for the furniture and the annoying clock which refused to budge from the wall. I left it exactly like that. I felt a twinge of excitement in the pit of my stomach when I locked the door to leave.
    The next morning, my hands shook as I let myself in. I rushed into the back room. And there it was, another newspaper, waiting for me in the same spot the previous newspaper had been. I began to read through it. It was in the same style it had been last week, only with different news items, editorials, breaking news about unruly Yakshas who had travelled across the border and were causing trouble in the forests of a place called Ayutthaya. There were more advertisements sprinkled throughout the paper. It was hard to believe anyone would carry out a second elaborate hoax.
    I spent the rest of the day looking over the newspaper. I took extra interest in the advertisements. My fledgling plan hinged on those little printed grids of marketing material.
    I picked up my mobile phone and dialled. I called Megan first, and asked her to call Neha. They agreed to meet me.
    ***
    I was somewhat nervous when my friends arrived the next day. They peered suspiciously around the warehouse office. Neha sniffed the air and declared that at least it smelled better than the last time she had been there. I made them sit on the sofa I had placed in the large room and passed them each a copy of The Mythical Weekly. I let them silently flip through the papers for a while. Neha was the first to speak.
    â€˜Are you starting a comic newspaper business?’ she asked.
    â€˜I didn’t publish these newspapers. They just appeared in this room.’
    â€˜What do you mean appeared?’ Megan asked sharply.
    â€˜Well one day I walked into the room, locks untouched, no window broken or sign of forced entry, and found it sitting there on the sofa. Then this Saturday, another one appeared.’
    â€˜Should we call the police?’ Neha said anxiously.
    â€˜No, I don’t want to call the police.’ I decided to plunge into the deep end. ‘I want to tell you about an idea I’ve been working on.’ I hesitated and my friends looked at each other.
    â€˜Right.’ I collected myself. ‘It started when Neha told me about her matchmaking troubles.’ I saw Neha bristle. ‘I thought to myself, why not start a matchmaking agency like they have in India…?’
    Neha interrupted and looked at me pointedly as she said, ‘And I said it’s not a very good idea for obvious reasons.’
    Megan looked silently at the two of us.
    â€˜Yes, I know, but then these newspapers started to appear in the office and it was just,’ I paused to search for the right word, ‘just like someone was sending me a sign.’
    â€˜A sign about what?’ Megan asked abruptly.
    I spoke slowly and hesitantly. ‘A sign that maybe I should look into the possibility of starting a matchmaking agency for the supernatural world.’
    There, I had said it.
    My friends both listened in stunned silence.
    Finally Neha spoke. ‘Is this because I had mentioned zombie lovers when you told me about your matchmaking agency plan? You know I was kidding right?’
    â€˜Well maybe that got me thinking. You know, vampires, werewolves, or zombies might also have problems in the love department, just like your own matchmaking troubles.’ I looked at Neha who stared at me mouth agape.
    I continued, ‘I’m serious about this. I am becoming more and more convinced that there is a whole other world out there. These newspapers are further proof.’
    Megan interjected. ‘Okay, even if this world existed, and I’m not convinced by these newspapers it does,’ she was studying journalism at uni and had a healthy mistrust for newspapers of any kind, ‘how are you going to let them know you have an agency ready to make matches? Actually, how the hell do you know they need matchmaking at all?’
    â€˜I