Ram gulped. He had squeezed his eyes shut causing his lashes to tremble and his eyelids to crease. His fingers bore into his palm as he forced his eyes to open. His mind could see what his eyes couldn't at the moment: Red. Perhaps it was better to keep them closed he thought. And in that moment when he was lost in thought he missed the most important thing, the background noise. The anklets that made a feeble noise were closing in, yet Ram was not in the state to alert himself let alone anyone else.

"Aji.. Latina's water broke, she wanted...." the voice stopped as the woman noticed the slightly ajar door and peeked inside. Her feet moved back involuntarily as her eyes widened and her eyebrows raised. The woman fell on the ground with her jaw hanging. Her chest was visibly moving up and down and even as they heard the wind whistle past them, a drop of her sweat landed on the floor.

The scene before her was yet to sink in as she looked into the eyes of the killer and his accomplices. Her eyes stopped as they looked at one of the boys. The hair was different, the clothes loose but the eyes were still the same. Dark and deep, those were the eyes of her son, the one she had adorned and kissed on the forehead. He shared her look. The moment he heard that sweet sound he was paralysed. As his eyes focused on the butterfly earrings twinkling in the moonlight tears started flowing from his eyes. Seven years.. it had been seven years and this was the way he was meeting her. His mother searched his eyes before she whispered, "..Ram?"

These words however were not missed by Atul. All he saw before him was a potential threat, a threat that could land him in jail. If they took Ram in, they would break him and he would end up with the boy. So, he did what he thought he had to do. His left arm swiftly moved into his bag. The gloves arm made contact with the scathe and swung. Her head lay there, separate from her body, the fear filled eyes were now lifeless, her blue saree was now turning brown as it sank in her blood. The golden butterfly was red.

Ram could no longer feel his legs. He wanted to hold her, tell her he was sorry. Perhaps her hands were still warm, he thought. But, before his knees could meet with the bloody clothes and he could shamble towards her, hold her one last time, Atul scooped him up and made for the door. The plastic covered slippers splashed blood as they moved towards the bushes. Once they were far enough, he let go of the boy.

Ram felt himself drop but that was not something he cared about at the moment. His back rested against a tree trunk, the one Shyam used to count against when they played. Even in this dim light he knew that tree trunk. His hands ran across them as he remembered those days. What had he done? He couldn't save her. He had done this to her and now Shyam would have to live his life without her, without her smile or her warmth. His father would cry for days on the end, they would never recover from this, he would never recover from it either. But right then and there he did not think about any of this. Right at that moment all he could think about was the angel he had just lost. He brought his knees close to himself. He wanted to scream but that was all that came out was air. His hand latched on to his face as his fingers scratched against his face. Was is anger, disgust or sadness that consumed him? He never knew.

Atul kicked a nearby tree as he loomed over Ram. "You can't be this much of a mess damn it! I know we didn't plan to kill her but I did what I had to to protect our safety. I am supposing you knew her, felt bad for her but that would have landed us in jail! We are in a risky business, we have to think and act on our feet. Now get up! We have to get going."

Ram's hands touched the tree trunk as he made himself stand. His legs were wiggling yet his bloodshot eyes bore into Atul's face. His breathing could be heard loud and clear against crackling of the leaves. He wanted to grab his collar and smash him against the tree trunk yet his arms wouldn't comply, they just hung by his side.

Atul spit at the ground before he turned to Piyush. "Grab him. Make him change into a clean pair of clothes and bring him to the bus stop via the woods. Drag him, huddle him, I don't care. I will be there in time for the bus according to our plan. Just because one of us messed up doesn't mean that I can let our plan go to waste or our asses end up in jail. I have to let the cameras get a good shot of Amir."

The trio could see his figure becoming smaller and smaller as he finally disappeared into the woods. Meghna lowered herself down and took hold of Ram's shoulders. Her hands gently lifted his face up and her brown eyes searched his. "Who was she?.. Can you .. tell me?".

The boy's olive skin was once again covered in tears. His eyes were glistening, his eyebrows were drooped. He buried his head in her shoulder and wept. In between the muffles he said, "M..ma"

Meghna's eyes let a lone tear slip by as she wrapped her bony arms around him. Her palm drew circles on his back as her other hand rested on his head. She lifted her neck up and kissed his forehead. Months later he would come across torn pages of her diary were she she confessed that seeing him in that state made her heart clench not just because he was such an important part of her life but also because of the fact that she sometimes wondered if the whole situation was her fault, did he lose his mother to her desire for revenge? So at that moment when she felt like she had lost her voice, he just held him and changed him into a clean pair of clothes and disguised him yet again.

Ram's arm was wrapped across Piyush's shoulder as they walked on that mud clad road again. The sun was beginning to rise. It showered it's gentle rays on the trio making their skin's glisten. Ram couldn't help but gaze into Meghna's brown eyes. They too had turned into puddles of honey just like his mother. Yet, he couldn't see her within her there was no smile, that smile that cheered him up in any situation just wasn't there. As the thought of that beautiful image that would no longer exist entered his mind, his eyes got blurry again. The mud roads, the green leaves that turned golden as they danced with the wind, the rising sun was beautiful yet the three teenagers that walked along it were anything but. That was their life.

Ram doesn't recall his journey back to Dharavi. There was nothing out of order. It was just another work day, people didn't spare them another glance. To the numerous strangers they were just people in the background. And thus they were back in that narrow lane, moving back to that room where they had hatched this plan.

Ram bent himself down. He brought his knees close to him and wrapped his hands around them. His head rested on his arms and yet he couldn't tune out the noises surrounding him. He could hear Meghna's feet stomping.

"Atul! That woman was his mother. He is never going to get her back and he's never going to be able to forget what happened," she said.

Atul's hands were wrapped around a bottle of rum. He tilted his head back and rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. He lifted himself up and Meghna's feet moved back a few inches as her eyes focused on his swaying body.

"So what do you want me to do huh? Apologise? There was no way I could tell who she was I mean that boy never uttered a word," Atul's bony fingers pointed at Ram's body that was willing the room to sink it up.

"Yes! That is exactly what I want you to do! Apologise to him."

Atul's neck twisted. With his eyebrows raised he looked into Meghna's brown eyes. They were searching his eyes, boring into them. "You piece of shit! Out! Get out of here! Now."

Meghna stood her ground. Her feet wouldn't move back. She just stared at him, her nostrils flared. Atul swing his arm making the glass bottle shatter against the wall. Shards of glass flew towards her yet her feet did not budge. Her eyes were clenched when she felt Piyush's arm on her wrist. He had a arm wrapped around hers and another on Ram. She let him drag her away but her eyes never let Atul as he screamed.

"Get out you little.. You should be glad he is dragging you out now.." they were not able to hear more as they moved further and further away from him.

One would think this was the time where the three of them came clean or to the very least left the life of crime. Don't get me wrong, this was a new beginning, a beginning that lead one to hell. September seven, the day their mother was killed was the day I became involved in all of this mess.

**My dear reader, I love writing stories because they have the power to bring out emotions from people I miles and miles away from me. These words are my happiness and to know that it brought out the slightest emotion out of you would mean the world to me. Maybe it just lifted you lip a tiny bit or made lines appear on your forehead, please let me know for that is the sole purpose of these words. Leave a comment, your thoughts, anything. A vote would mean that you enjoyed reading it. It takes seconds and yet means the world to me, the teenager behind the keyboard