The sound of water hitting the tiles echoed inside the narrow, dimly-lit bathroom. Steam rose and wrapped itself around Akhil's body, but he didn't feel warmth. The icy stream from the shower numbed his skin, yet his mind boiled with memories.
Blood had long been washed off. Dirt had slipped down the drain. But guilt, grief, and memories? They clung like parasites.
He leaned his head against the wall, eyes shut. Drops of water trailed from his hair to his lips like tears he couldn't shed.
"Three holes... One for each soul," he whispered.
His mind took him back. Just two hours ago, he had dug the graves. A secluded spot near the twisted roots behind his house. The silence of the night had been broken only by the sound of the shovel hitting the earth. Over and over. Until his hands bled.
"I buried more than just bodies," he muttered, "I buried the last pieces of innocence."
A sharp sting crossed his back as the cold water kissed an old wound. That pain triggered more than just physical memory.
Flashback.
"Wake up, idiot!" Nikhil's voice echoed in his ears.
Akhil's younger self flinched as his elder brother slapped the blanket off him.
"I said get up!"
"I-I'm up," Akhil stammered, eyes still heavy from sleep.
"Don't backtalk! Or I'll give you something to cry about."
Every morning began this way.
Another memory pierced through.
His mother yelling, her slipper landing across his arm.
"60 marks?! You're dragging this family's name into the mud!"
He tried to explain, "I was sick. I—"
"Shut up! Always with your excuses!"
Then came his father's chilling voice later that evening.
"In my house, there is no sadness. No weakness. Only discipline."
"But... Dad, I'm not okay."
A heavy slap.
"Then fake it. Smile. Always smile. You hear me?"
The water from the shower turned hotter, but Akhil didn't move. It burned his skin, but his heart was frozen.
"I've been smiling for sixteen years," he whispered, voice cracking. "My soul forgot how to cry."
"They never loved me, I was just a servant in school uniform... Even fate loved to play with me."
Again a flashback -
Akhil wakes up but fall just after he takes his first step , he didn't considered it and again started to move . He went to Washroom to take bath but water was too hot . He packed his lunch and went to school but after reaching at school he didn't get his lunch box in his bag . When he was coming back a car step on Akhil's foot "
His lips trembled.
"I'm tired..."
The scene faded.
---
Mumbai International Airport.
John stepped out of Gate 4, dressed in black with a bag slung across his shoulder. His eyes carried the weight of months without sleep. But fire still burned behind them.
He pulled out a photo of Akira and stared at it.
"You can't be dead. Not you."
A nearby officer noticed him. "Sir, are you lost?"
John slid the photo back into his pocket. "No. Just... chasing a ghost."
Hours passed. John questioned staff. Showed photos. Tracked every CCTV entry of the last week.
Nothing.
"Dammit," he muttered.
He checked into a nearby hotel and collapsed on the bed.
"I'll find you, Akira. Whether in hell or here."
---
Mall Road. Manali.
Akhil sat on the bench. Cold wind tugged at his hoodie, but he didn't react. His eyes stared at the empty road ahead.
This place.
He remembered the last time he came here, tailing Akira. But today, it was just him. Alone.
A memory returned. A high school classroom. The whispering of boys. The pounding of a nervous heart.
He saw it in slow motion.
A boy from his class had knelt down in front of a girl near the gates, holding a bouquet.
"Will you go out with me?" the boy had said.
Gasps from the students. Murmurs spread like fire.
But the girl stood still. Awkward. Afraid. And then softly, "I'm sorry. I can't."
The crowd 'aww'd and jeered.
The boy walked off, embarrassed.
Only Akhil knew what no one else did. That girl—was his girlfriend.
They had kept it hidden. For safety. For peace.
He clenched his fists.
"She never told anyone... just to protect me."
His voice cracked.
"They made her uncomfortable. They made her cry. Their were many and it's my duty to decrease that number to zero"
He stood up, voice low, but heavy with rage.
"I will find every bastard who ever hurt you, my princess. And they will regret breathing."
He walked slowly into the fog.
---
Akhil's room -
A mobile phone turn on and showed a notification from Wifeee
Babe?Are you coming Tommorow?
Answer me please it's been 2 days since we talk
Have I done something wrong ?
---