"You're getting on my nerves now." Anirudh sighed and spoke without any hesitation. "You better spill your part before I find my ways to not believe you."
Adhiraj scoffed and folded his hands together in a fist. "They have someone supervising them. There's a mastermind behind all this- we heard them talking about saying some truth to their leader. I deeply doubt that....it was their leader who murdered them. In a... clever, yet appreciative way."
Anirudh took in Adhiraj's words, which seemed to feel like truth. He nodded and closed his eyes, engulfed in deep thought. 'Shall i trust him? But, he's just a kid.'
He looked at Adhiraj who reached his pant's pocket to pull out his phone. He went through some application and brought the phone screen in front of Anirudh's eyes. "Proof."
Anirudh took the phone from his grip and stared at the photos. He swiped the screen and stopped at a video, kindly asking Adhiraj if he could watch it. Adhiraj nodded and said, "That's the actual hero of the case."
Anirudh turned on the video and listened to each and every word, the man spoke. The faces were not clear as it was night but the reflection of the dim street light against their clothes were strong enough to identify their clothes.
Anirudh shot a proud grin to Adhiraj and said, "Quite a mischievous yet brave person you are. But care to explain me about these?" He pointed towards the picture of the unusual box, then swiped to the picture of the pit. "We didn't see any pit there during investigation. Where is it?"
Adhiraj took the phone back to his hands and frowned, "What the heck!? You didn't see any pit? It was right under the Banyan tree. Vaishnav and I went inside and found this box. It was locked and some weird white powder was creeping out of it. How could you not see it? It was quite a wide pit."
"White powder? Was it some drug-"
"I still have the handkerchief, unwashed, inside my desk's drawer, with which I held the box. You can inspect it." Adhiraj stood up and said while looking at the wall clock, "I should leave. Maa, would be worried."
"But, you didn't finish your story!" Anirudh sprung up. "It's important, Adhiraj." He said while looking at Adhiraj with pleading eyes.
Adhiraj sighed and spoke, "I'm just a normal witness, until you suspect me. I told you these things because I can't share these with Baba. He would ground me and put me on a curfew. You like my sister so, I thought of telling you for the sake of your love. Don't you dare of saying anything to Di."
Anirudh scoffed and shoved his hands into his pocket, "You're warning me or what?"
Adhiraj smiled and shook his head, "No, no it's not like that. I'm threatening you. Good bye, Jiju. Keep everything confidential. I'll be there in case of any trouble." He winked and marched towards the exit.
"I'll have to confiscate your phone." Anirudh spoke as he held the door.
Adhiraj turned back with shooting glares, "What the fu- oops sorry. But, no way! Why would you? You can't be doing that! It's my only property."
Anirudh lifted his brows with a 'you serious?' expression and parted his lips, "By judging the way you threaten someone so easily, irrespective of their social status, I thought of you to be more smart. But, you're a total fool."
Adhiraj smirked and leaned against the door way with his hands inside his pockets, "I've already prepared a pendrive containing the pictures and the video. I just wanted to see how smart you are." Adhiraj pulled out a black pendrive and passed it to Anirudh while saying, "Pay me back, okay?"
Anirudh looked at him with disbelief and gave him an extraordinary irritated look. "Delete them from your phone. Otherwise you might get tracked if the mastermind has really mastered his name."
Adhiraj ignored Anirudh's words and rolled his eyes and straightened his posture, "Did you find any bicycle keys at the crime scene?"
Anirudh shook his head in denial and replied, "No. Everything was quite fine. The bodies started rotting but, the scene was quite clear and clean except the blood stains."
Adhiraj nodded while understanding and said, "Maybe they've taken it to remove clues. Wait! They would have filled the pit and my keys would've got buried under the soil. What a well planned murder!"
"Could be. But the soil wasn't moist. So, I cannot believe you this time. I'm sorry. But thanks for the information. It could be a great help in the future." Anirudh smiled and gave him a pat.
Adhiraj scoffed, "Mention not. But be careful. I don't wanna get grounded."
A wide grin pasted on Anirudh's lips, "You better be leaving. Your mother would be worried. And yeah, your secret's safe with me. Hum aapko bahar chhod ke aate hain."
They walked out of the bungalow to the garden as the weather made it's dark presence. Adhiraj, after a deep thought, spilled with an innocent smile, "I kept budging you but, you didn't even mention once that you like my sister."
Anirudh turned to him with a gentle smile and put his hand around him, over his shoulder, "Because, I don't like her." He paused and gazed at the brightly shining moon, "I love her. Very much."
♪
The clicking of the shoes echoed through the staircase as Aadhriti made her way upstairs to her apartment from an errand. She turned around the door knob after unlocking it when a soft voice called her name from behind.
"Aadhriti, you came?"
Aadhriti turned around, a soft smile pasted on her lips, "Yes, Shayla maasi." She stopped as she noticed her worried face, "Aaj bhi?"
Shayla nodded and released a sigh, "Aaj bhi." She brought a parcel out of her apartment and passed it to her, "It's getting creepier day by day. You should make a complain at the police station."
Aadhriti sighed and nodded while taking the parcel in her hands. She looked at the card pasted on it and asked Shayla, "Did you, by any chance, saw the person's face?"
Shayla shook her head slowly, and gradually said, "I always try to wake up as early as possible but he always made it before me."
Aadhriti sprung her eyes open, "How can you say it's a 'he'?" She objected with a worried face.
Shayla sighed and rolled her eyes, "Ladkiyon ko toh ladke hi stalk karenge naa?"
Aadhriti shook her head in a nod and made her way into her apartment. She locked the door carefully behind her and kept the parcel at a corner of her living room, which was filled with varieties of such unopened parcels.
The weather of the evening was gloomy and dark. It was pouring cats and dogs. Consequencing to the pressure of a heavy incessant storm, the window sills washed itself with the dripping cloudy sweat.
Aadhriti pulled out the card, which was attached to the parcel, and flipped it open. Her expression went disgusted as her eyes lingered over the words written on it.
'You looked blasphemous with those new pair of sweats. Can't wait to see you from near.
-yours, not-so-secret admirer ;)'
She rolled her eyes and threw it on the dinning table, where such cards were scattered all over. She sighed and clicked a quick pic of the view.
It almost has been a month now. Someone has been stalking her for like eternity. Every time she went out for an errand, out for daily jogs, someone made their presence behind her back and stalked her all over, as she was aware.
She didn't tell Anirudh about it. She wanted him to be focused on his work, his duty, his responsibilities. She made her way to her bathroom to get a quick change of freshness.
The shower turned open, and the warm vapour tinted the tempered shower glass. The drizzling sound of the water droplets against the tile floor and her smooth silky body, cleared her mind like a pure melody.
She leaned back on the tiled wall, and brushed her hair backwards, dozing off to the scent of her body wash. The dripping water from her hair confirmed her soothing morality as she thought who the person could be. 'Could it be him? No, he would never do such crazy things. He might be sticken to past but he has his conscience. Then, who was it? '
Thud! Something fell. She turned off the shower and pulled out the robe from the hanger. She came out of the bathroom, while tying the robe around her when she saw the balcony's door open.
The curtains were flapping as if it were an alive bird. The wind rushed inside and made the paper cards scatter all over the room including the nearest china vase. She pushed herself against the velocity of the fast drawing air and somehow closed the door.
'I remember, I didn't even open the door after coming. How did it open then?'
A worried look took over her already tensed brows as she gazed at the destruction created by the wind. Her first ever gift from Adhiraj, broke. Of course, he had asked her for money in the excuse of buying books but, he had bought her a vase instead, as a see-off gift.
She secured the robe tightly and was about to turn away to bring the dust-plate when her eye caught up at something. She scooted her eyes closer to the window pane where, a sticker was sticking at. She lifted the curtains to get a clearer view.
Goosebumps went down her spine as she stared at the cute rose sticker '🥀'. Her hands automatically went to her mouth, covering her face with a great horrific fear.
Her face grew blue with widening eyes as she stumbled back against the wall. Her gentle honey brown eyes almost welled up.
'Is someone inside the apartment?'
She, somehow managed to straighten her posture and get back on her foot and rushed inside her room. She locked herself inside and leaned against the door. Her eyes roamed around her room, searching for a cozy corner.
She searched for her phone as well as her clothes to cover her shivering body up. She was breathing heavily. Her fear and worry was evident in her heaving chest.
She put on a black tee along with warm and comfy bottle green sweat pants, to ease herself up. She knew she had to be strong and think rationally at that time. She couldn't come up to call her parents. As they would worry and rush immediately to her, in spite of Adhiraj's ongoing exams. Adhiraj, too, would get burdened with stress.
She walked pacelessly like a racing skateboard all across the room while holding her phone, thinking whom to call.
'Could it be the stalker? I don't even live too high so, it could be. Ugh! What shall I do? I can't sit here all night with a stalker inside my house.'
She was about to call her neighbours when the sound of doorbell reached her ears. She turned her gaze to the door, thinking deeply, if she should open the door and step ahead. Her shaking hands reached the door knob and turned it softly as the creaking sound was heard.
She looked out to the main door and made slow steps towards it. She got on her toes and peeked out through the peephole, only to notice a man shivering with cold. He was all wet and cold rain water dripped from his hair.
She recognized the person and opened the door swiftly. The man lifted his gaze to her as he spoke, "I heard, a pilot lives here, so-" His eyes widen as he noticed who she was. "First Officer, Aadhriti?"