***

My eyelids wrestled to open. I was lying on a bed. I could feel the soft mattress caressing my back, maybe all that I had witnessed was just an insane dream.

My eyelids fluttered open as I saw an olive green ceiling. My eyes darted around and fell onto a Mona Lisa painting staring right back at my face, probably questioning my stupidity for believing this was all a dream.

The place was vaguely familiar. I knew this place, the black and white walls, towards the right there were fairy lights hung across the ceiling, clipped with pictures of Me, Tanya and...

"Hey, Nats how are you feeling now?" Her pitch-black raven eyes, the shoulder-length hair, hardly visible eyebrows and scent of strawberry lip-gloss reminded me of Tanya.

"Nats? Can you hear me?" She carried a tray in her hands. I could see a few pieces of bread and a glass of orange juice on it. She sat beside me on the bed and placed her hand on my shoulders.

"Answer me Nats." I rested my elbows onto the mattress and pushed myself upwards to sit straight, a searing pain ran through my veins as my right elbow hit the back of the bed.
Like salt added on a wound, the abrupt hit sent electrocution throughout my arms and I winced in pain. She placed a pillow behind me, I leaned my back on it.

Words fell short as I panicked on seeing her bright googly eyes; she placed the tray on my lap and indicated me to eat.

I looked back at the food and then her, my eyes couldn't cover the anxiety from within. I kept gazing back at her like a reflection in the pond. As her hand went up to her neck, she touched the pendant inscribed Aanya on it.

Aanya, Tanya's twin sister. Memories of her rushed into my drain - sorry, my brain. She was a lecturer at Cathedral college, both Tanya and her twin moved into Bangalore after their graduation, Aanya rented a place nearby Cathedral to avoid the morning madness, and Tanya moved into my flat, as it was closer to her court.

They would meet up during weekends sometimes I would tag along with Tanya and somehow I ended up sharing a sisterly bond with them.

"Nats? Who was the guy near the dumpster? Do you want me to call the cops on him?" Her words pulled me back to the present, my lips felt parched and dry, I feared my breath would stink if I spoke. Should I be worried about the cops or my stinking breath? Cops, my counterpart told me.

"Aanya, that wouldn't be necessary." I stammered. My voice sounded hoarse. How long have I been sleeping? I took up the glass of orange juice and gulped it down.

The stink would be replaced by orange scent, adding to that I was starving. You can be in a life or death situation but your stomach doesn't know that. All it craves for is some food, and that orange juice with a cute little yellow umbrella placed on it looked tempting.

"Good, why have you come here? Who was that guy? What did you do to him? I had been trying to reach out to Tanya since morning, her number was switched off. Is something wrong that I need to be worried about?"

I guess I forgot to breathe while she was talking. Like a typical lecturer, she shot questions at seconds speed at me. It would take my turtle mind another lifetime to process and speak back.

"It's a long story, and time is killing me right now. I can't stay here any longer. Thanks for the help. How long was I out?"

She gestured me to sit beside her, I bent over and noticed my wounds, blood was dry and hitched with the torn layer of skin, I could see flesh around the clotted areas; the bleeding hadn't stopped it had just slowed down.

I tried to shift towards her, and even the tiny subtle moments burned my body. I managed to sit beside her and dangled my legs facing the floor. She placed her arms around my shoulder. "What's wrong?" I hung my head low. I couldn't meet her eyes. My heart grew heavier by the minute; I could feel it drowning in an ocean of pure anguish.

"I hate when I get silence for an answer." Her voice was no longer an E - string note, I had to respond or else she might sink an arrow deep into my soul and laugh at the glory of it. "No... Nothing's wrong." I whispered.

She stood up and paced swiftly, clearly, she hadn't bought what I told. I kept gazing at the floor. My tears were trying to peek out and I wiped them off with the back of my hand.

I uncrossed my legs and was contemplating ways to escape. I cooked up a satisfying story in my head, and though it didn't quite make sense it might just work. I tried to hide away all my fears behind a bright smile and turned to face her.

She glommed my cheeks with her icy cold hands and glared straight into my eyes. My heart must have jumped right through my chest, sprinted out and hid inside a closet, because I could no longer feel it.

"Don't lie to me Natasha." I know its trouble when people call me by my full name. It had always been that way.

"Tell me, what's happening? Tanya didn't respond to any of my calls, since the first signs of sunrise. Which has never happened before, and the cash from her cards is withdrawn.

Every single rupee is gone, and I find these in your bag." She pointed towards the right-hand corner of her room my hoodie lay wide open, revealing all the cash I had stacked within it.

I was such an idiot, how did I forget? Aanya would also receive cash withdrawal messages, she kept track of Tanya's spending's. My fingers twitched, my entire body vibrated like an old modelled Nokia phone with fright, anxiety, fear and most crucially stupidity.

I swallowed the lump formed in my throat and landed my hands over hers a tear glided down my cheeks and, she withdrew her hands from my clasp. "Tell me, what's wrong?" She questioned.

"Tanya is dead." As soon as those words escaped my lips I regretted not phrasing my sentence rightfully, I wished I was born dumb, would have saved me from a lot of trouble.

Her hands hastily reached out to my neck her hold grew tighter and, I started to choke, she forced her nails beneath my skin multiplying my pain, I tried to speak, but my voice gave away, I couldn't cry, I couldn't think, like a fish out of water I started to gasp for air.

My quaking hands tried to push her away. My failed attempts resulted in her gaining access to kill me mercilessly.

That's when my brain woke up after having a majestic slumber party and my hands reached out to her and got a secure grip around her neck if I'm going to die I might as well enjoy some company along the way.