Undying Love |✔

Chapter 43- Shadows Don't Have Faces

"Why would you do that?"

I asked Aamir in an accusing tone when he recited the part where Avni had seen a brother kill his own sister; and Aamir, like a hero, was able to save the main character in time. But how could he not see what he had done to Amit earlier? His voice had been devoid of any emotion when he'd said, 'I didn't believe him.'

Aamir looked confused and glanced at me with an expression that asked me to elaborate. So I did.

"Who do you think you are? You say you're a friend, but what friend would abandon another friend when he was in need? Why did you so 'brutally' refused any possibility that Karma might have killed Amit's father?"

At my series of questions, an emotion passed across his eyes. I couldn't decipher whether it was remorse or melancholy before it faded and he shook his head slowly.

"Aditya, you need to understand that even though Karma did many things that I'd heard, I'd never thought he would stoop that low. It was shocking news for me, and it caught me off-guard. I was only trying to convince myself that Amit might have taken the whole hatred thing too far and that my brother would not, in any circumstance, commit a murder."

"And still you had one other person- your best friend, who wanted you to believe  him."

"I know. But, you have to understand I was just...scared. I was terrified at the thought of my brother doing such a thing. I became defensive and might have acted badly towards Amit. It was a reflex reaction and I couldn't control it."

I didn't know what to make of Aamir's explanation. It felt too plausible of a reason that Aamir might have been blinded by his brotherly love and ignored a friend who had nowhere to go and only had him. My mind screamed at me, Why sudden sympathy for Amit? Why now? But the fact that the story had taken a turn I hadn't expected, made me feel a little guilty for questioning Amit's motive.

"Okay. Understandable that you got carried away in your brotherly love, then why did you.... rather how were you able to reach the hill, and save Avni?"

I needed to know this even when my heart had been racing a hundred miles with each sentence Aamir had spoken about the incident of honor killing. At that point, I had glanced at Rohini and was glad that I was able to run before she landed in Karma's clutches. Again, an inner voice spoke, all because of Amit, and I mentally reminded myself to thank him later for saving us from, what could possibly have been, another level of hell.

He was quiet for a minute and then contemplating whether to spill the beans or no, opting for further explanation as if remembering his promise to me last night when he'd said he would tell me everything.

He took a deep breath and looked around. It had only been an hour since they all had come to me and we had sat on the small bump of the hill. There was no sign of Amit yet. Thinking he still had time, he spoke, his voice low as if it was hard for him to even remember what he was about to reveal.

"After my argument with Amit, I was... I wasn't myself. Always on edge, always looking for any sign that Karma might be doing something more than threatening lower caste people. Up until that point, I hadn't paid attention to his whereabouts even when I lived with my father..."

"One night, I was sitting on my back porch, thinking, when I heard loud noises some distance away. My father and Karma had a ritual of getting drunk at night, but I had never joined them, so I remained rooted to my spot and watched them from a distance. It was as if they were celebrating something. Then, Karma started talking..."

He shook his head again, as if not believing what he was about to say.

"He was talking about how he had made Amit helpless, and how he was the one behind his misery. He sounded angry because he couldn't get Avni out of the village, but regaining himself even in his drunken state, he said he soon will find a loose point, and then that Shehri will be out of here for good."