"Keerthy" Arjun said weakly. His head was bleeding and he was lying on the floor.

"No, no, no..."

Arjun closed his eyes forever.

"Arjun, I am so sorry, Arjun..." I kneeled beside his body and covered my face with my palms. I cried loudly but there was no one to help me.

"Karthutty..." His voice echoed throughout the area.

My eyes fluttered open. I was covered in beads of sweat and I was breathing heavily.it was raining heavily outside. Raindrops pattered against the window as my eyes roamed around the room to find him. The lightning gave me a momentary view of my room but I could not find him.

  I laid back on my bed and covered my head with the blanket.

"It's okay Keerthy, It's okay... he will not come again," I said to myself and shut my eyes forcefully. I hugged myself and massaged my fore arms.

The next day we met at the Indian Coffee house as we planned. Chandni was in her signature attire and she spread an aura of authority as she walked in wearing a black top with black jeans and a choker adorning her neck. A lot of heads turned as she entered and I smiled at the reactions.

We had a set of Masala Dosa as I said to her about the fingerprint and the hair strand. She was cheery when I said to her about the fingerprint on the rod and she said that she always knew there was a link but she too raised her doubt about the identical handwriting

The fingerprint could not establish that it was the escapees who acted as 'Kaalan' every year because the handwriting with which the word 'Kaalan' was written on the arm of the victim was always the same. Either Kaalan was there with Lilly or Kaalan distributed her a Mehandi sticker for the purpose or every year the escapees made identical stickers to confuse us.

 I just knew that Kaalan existed but I had no evidence to prove and all facts until proven, were simple hypothesises.

Lilly's reaction to the second piece of information was a little unexpected.

The piece of Dosa in her hand fell off her hand as she heard it. For the first time since I met her, I could sense a fear in her eyes. She quickly averted the gaze and looked at her plate. She kept playing with the Dosa but I noticed that she ate nothing after hearing it. She pinched and tore a lot of pieces but ate none. All of them were piled in a corner of the plate.

"None of the escapees, except Lilly ever showed a reappearance after their escape. right?"

"Yes," I said.

"What happened to the others and does this mean that she will come again?"

I did not know how to answer the question because I knew that I could never answer it accurately. I was saved by the ringing of her phone.

Chandni received the call and she suddenly straightened her posture. Her eyes filled with ghosts of tears as they bore into mine. She hanged the phone and immediately kept a 2000 rupees note on the table. She left the Cafe with a confused me following her. I sprinted to match her pace.

"What happened?"

"Fathima..." She got inside her Red Maruthi Alto and revved it up. I did not wait for an invitation as I got into it. I could feel the rush in her blood. It was urgent.

"What happened to Fathima?"

 Chandni had already started the car and we were slicing the air apart as we swooshed through the streets. I held on tight to the door handle as she kept accelerating.

"Someone is there...a woman" She took an extreme U-turn and my body collapsed against the door even if I wore the seat belt.

"Call the police,"

"I wonder if someone of them has a role in it!, I trust none. I am surrounded by enemies, now Fathima is too" The tires of our car screeched as it stopped behind a car in a signal. Chandni did not wait for a green light as she overtook the stopped car and violated a traffic rule.

"Call your neighbours."

"I trust none" Her Lips trembled as she said it in a weak voice.

"Calm down," I said in a hushed voice.

"If it is Lilly..." The tears that Chandni tried to hold started flowing down.

My eyes widened as she said it. My hands started to shiver as I thought of a man Lilly killed during her dealings. It was not in the records even if everyone knew that it was true.

She hit him with a rod until he died. Fathima's bleeding head showed up in my mind and I closed my eyes. I do not know for how long, I kept my eyes closed. I opened it when I heard a click sound. Chandni wasn't there beside me. I looked outside the window to see Chandni rushing towards her flat. I wasted no time and followed her actions.

She cursed under her breath as she looked at the empty cabinet of the watchman and the closed gate.  

"Karthutty..." I heard his voice again and turned on my heals to see none. I shook my head and resumed my running.

The chitter chatter of a lot of people could be heard as we approached the flat. I looked at the group of people who were talking with each other. Chandni's pace quickened as her gaze fell upon the crowd.

We ran to her apartment. The door of her apartment was ajar. Chandni did not waste time on peeking into the room as she barged into the room. I too ran into the room to see a shocked Chandni. She was standing still as confusion washed over her face.

"Riddick?" I gasped.

Riddick was standing there with a rod which was covered in blood and an unconscious Fathima on the floor His white shirt too had blood stains all over them. He had a black eye and his lip was bleeding. He looked at the rod in his hand once our eyes met.

Chandni did not mind the messed up room, the shattered television, the broken vases, the fallen curtain rod, the broken wooden chair, the torn sofa or the stains of blood all over the place as she ran to her daughter. She hugged her daughter and glared at Riddick.

The rod in his hand dropped on the floor with a clanging sound.