"Keerthi, this is serious!" Raziya shifted her weight from one leg to the other but did not avert her gaze from the two motionless bodies. Her lips parted to say something but she closed it soon while a challenging wind tried to pat her hair that was carefully hid under her black scarf.

Raziya had to choose her words carefully. She knew the existence of the storm inside me. The storm that I chained with my silence.

She walked towards me , silent and careful steps. Placing her long fingers on my shoulder , she sighed.

It was hard to tear my gaze away from them. My eyes longed to see them because it still believed there would be a slight movement that would decategorize them the list of Kaalan's victims.

"You could be next," A chill ran up my spine but I decided to ignore it. I had to.For them, for me.

I might turn insane if such a notion were to linger in my mind, absolutely insane and I better be dead than live a lifeless life.

I glared at her until she could not meet my gaze anymore. She mumbled something and walked away. The wind decided to battle with her as she went against it. Her maroon skirt flapped against her legs and she had to hold on to her scarf. My eyes followed her as her physique set below the terrace' floor. Her eyes met mine before she nodded her head in disappointment and disappeared below the grey coloured dusty floor. I changed my line of vision and dug my palm deeper into my pockets.

Massaging my forehead, I looked at their motionless bodies again. A single tear rolled down my cheek and made it's way to the ground that was three floors below me. I could not see my tear but I was pretty sure that it must have been shattered to a lot of droplets.

It was true that 'Kaalan' was the most terrifying murderer among the criminals that Kerala had to witness in the previous fifteen years. It was him whom people feared more than the ripper Jayanandan and Motta Navas. How could they not when he was not still arrested by the police?

He was still looming around in the darkness,waiting eagerly for the next Onam. To claim another name in his victim list.

The government was already working on 'the Kaalan case' but he was not found even after ten years of investigation. The close relatives of the victims started assigning private detectives and spies with the task. My firm, The Magnifying glass agency, chose me, Indran and Arjun for the case. They wanted us to find him in one year. They were pretty confident that we could do it but we failed, miserably.

It was Kaalan who brought us together and it was he who took them away from me.

That day, two more names were added to the victim's list; Arjun and Indran.

I licked my lips and gulped. My hands shivered as I added their names to my pocket case book.

'16. Indran B'

Would I be there to write the seventeenth name or would I be the seventeenth name?

They weren't just another two faces that I saw everyday. They were among the few whom I could call as friends. They were among the few who made me feel special. They were among the few whom I could call as special.

My eyes burned as warm tears peeked at the world through them. I could sense heat flowing through my nose and ears. I bit the inside of my cheeks but the outer pain could not put a stop to the inner pain. It was hard for me, too hard.

Joyous moments with them kept playing in my mind and they were not but torments then. I wished I never met them, in that case, the dead bodies would simply have been 'a new case' for a detective like me. But that wasn't the case and I couldn't change it.

My short hair danced with the wind as I hugged and consoled myself. I had been staring at their bodies for about half an hour by then. I did not speak a word when Raziya called me to inform about their departure and my throat was still constricted due to the unfortunate event.

I knew that I was going to hear about one of Kalan's artwork on that day. It had been so for over a decade by that day. A name was added to the victim list every year on the day next to Onam. However, I never wanted it to be them.

Onam was a day of celebration in Kerala. It was a celebration that connected us beyond our beliefs, religions, regions, caste and gender. It was something that bonded the people of Kerala, every year but it wasn't a day that we waited for during those years, it was a day we dreaded.

The nimbus of fear casted it's shadow on our hearts without our permission and a day of celebration became a day of fear and anxiety.

Kaalan left no trails behind.

There were no connections among the victims, no blood bonds, no friendship...nothing. There were only two people in the list who shared a family relationship and they were Arjun and Indran.

"So Raziya told me that they called you numerous times the previous night. Why didn't you attend any of the calls?" The disturbingly familiar voice of Riddick Valliyavalappil made me blink twice before taking a deep breath to channel my thoughts back to the situation. His footsteps were not too loud but I could hear the growing sound of his soles against the ground due to the silence that surrounded us.

Riddick was the most famous Spy in our firm and he knew it. He had already solved hundreds of cases but I could never appreciate him. It was not just his skills that led to his fame. His Aunt was the best selling author of 2015 and his uncle was a famous doctor. His Grandfather was a lawyer for whom losing was simply a superstition. As a conclusion, I would like to say that he did not fight and win the game, he had the last name 'Valiyavalappil' to aid him.

He was jealous when he was not assigned for the 'Kaalan case'. Being assigned to the Kaalan case itself was an honour and he was not delighted to know that he was not adorned with it. It was true that he was skilled but it was also true that he was not trustworthy.

The firm received many complaints regarding his misbehaviour and misconduct. He was also accused of stealing data from fellow spies and I was one of the accusers.

"Beneath the glamorous smile and confident posture of Riddick Valiyavalappil lives a monster who would do anything to have a higher social status or recognition...it would be better if you stay away" Those were the exact words that Raziya used when she came to know of the special interest he had in me.

I did not listen to her and it was, indeed, a great mistake.

"You know if you had attended just one of them, this might not have happened," He shrugged, looking at the bodies of my friends. His eyes held no sign of misery neither did it showcase joy. However, I could see hope in it and I felt adrenaline rush through my veins.

Breath in ...
Breath out...
Breath in ...
Breath out...

The fury in me couldn't be chained anymore and I knew that it was what he aimed for too.

He wanted me to loose my stance , he always wanted me to, but I was not yet ready to give up.

He started hating Arjun and Indran with a passion when he came to know that I was grouped with them for the case. His detestation towards Arjun was particularly unbelievable.

I closed by eyes and tried to make my breathing rate normal. A few nanoseconds later, I found myself walking away from Riddick with furious eyes I. started descending the stairs hastily as he followed me, determined.

"I did not get an answer, you know"

That was it. I could not hold it longer and I didn't have to either.

"You do know the speciality of yesterday. Don't you?. It was Onam and we knew that someone was going to die yesterday. I was busy trying to ensure security forces for the people who Lilly Thomachan might murder."

"Lilly?"

"The prisoner who escaped this time."

Every year, exactly one week before Onam, one of the criminals escaped from the prison. None of the officials confirmed that this escape was related to 'Kaalan'. However, the first two victims of Kaalan were directly related to the escapees. The first victim, Rose, was the wife of a sex trafficker named George and Jalaluddeen, the second victim was the crime partner of Baladevan in a political conflict which led to bomb attacks.

We were certain that all the fifteen murders were done by Kaalan due to the identical handwriting that said ' kalan' on the arms of the bodies but we could not simply link their deaths to the escapees.

"Oh," He nodded as he directed his gaze to the floor.

"I just did not know about the calls okay?!" I took my phone from the pocket of my suit and unlocked it. I showed him my call log and it showed the 17 missed calls from Arjun and 12 missed calls from Indran.

I did not wait for him to reply as I continued descending the stairs as fast as I could. Riddick had to sprint to be in sync with my steps.

"Okay, don't be angry. Can we go for a coffee tonight?" I turned my gaze towards him. "Just like old times?

I held his collar and tugged him, making direct eye contact. I had my hands on his collar and I was pretty sure that it would leave creases on his perfectly ironed sky blue shirt. His eyes fell on my lips and he did not make any effort to redirect them. I slapped across his cheek and pushed him. His back hit the wall with a light thud sound and he smirked.

"Old times are never going to happen again," I did not look back and he did not make an effort to make me.

The atmosphere outside the building was thick with grieve. The sky was clear and the chirping of birds filled my ears. A sudden breeze made the leaves of the coconut palms and mango trees chitter chatter. A pungent smell burdened my nostrils and I turned my head to see a dead cat beside the staircase, I hadn't noticed it when I climbed up the stairs. I covered my nose and walked forth.

It was daytime yet I felt the darkness.

I had specifically said my assistants to not inform their family members about their departure until I gave them a sign but the news travelled like electricity. Media was acting like scavengers and they did not hesitate to tear the flesh of the prey.

I felt blinded by the simultaneous random flashes and the random questions terrified me. 'How do you feel about the situation?' 'do you think he knows you personally?' 'were you actually that close to solving the case' 'do you think he will be caught within the next Onam' 'Do you think you will be the next victim?'...

I could not believe that they could ask such fearsome questions. I ignored the crowd and resumed squeezing my way through the crowd. That was when I heard her crying loudly.

Mrs Indran was crying in front of her husband's dead body. They were separated with a yellow tap that said 'crime scene-do not enter'. Her eyes were tired but she did not stop crying. She hugged her three-year-old son, who was sitting on her lap, as she kept asking loudly who would look after them and why did he do it. Her pink saree was a lot of shades closer to brown due to the dusty area but she did not care as she continued rocking her child in her arms.

My eyes glanced over the word 'Kalan' on Indran's arm one last time before I got into my car.

Raziya's words kept ringing in my ears 'You could be next'.

I was exhausted.

Author's note :First-week prompt used