"If love is being written in the definition of pain for you, then that is not love, it is a compromise. Love needs only adjustment, not compromise."

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There's a reason solitary imprisonment is a punishment and when that captivity is in the deepest pits of hell, it's a hundred times more hellish.

I didn't realise how much time had passed. All I knew was that I was soaking wet and cold, drenched in blood, the blood of someone I had killed. I couldn't see my hands, but I was positive that they were caked in dried blood. The metallic tang of blood was in the air, and my stomach heaved with each breath that I took. I felt sick to my core.

I wrapped my arms around myself in a semblance of warmth, but it was only cold- cold and numb. My body and my mind, was frozen in a state I couldn't get myself out of. My wide-open eyes saw nothing but the darkness. It was a void, an unfulfilled eternal void of madness and I was pretty sure it'll take only a few hours for this place to drive me insane.

I curled myself into a ball on the cold stone floor, tears running silently down my cheeks.

Why did I come here? Why couldn't I have left Nikhit dead? Why had revenge and equal pain for all the hurt been so necessary?

The more I thought about it, the less I liked it. I was trapped - well and truly trapped.

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I didn't perceive how many hours had passed, but a rustle of feet alerted me to the presence of someone in the darkness.

My eyes had by then adjusted to the dark. I spotted a tall figure shining in soft light. A light silvery and bluish hue emanated from the person on the other side of my cage.

I raised myself up from my fallen posture and crawled forward, but my head hit the bars of the cell.

"Tora." A gentle voice whispered to me.

"Mani?"

I didn't know if the expression on my face was a surprise, shock, guilt or regret, but somehow the fact that it was Mani and not Mrithun made me feel a bit better. Maybe I didn't want Mrithun to meet me at my lowest or most vulnerable yet. I knew I looked pathetic.

"Tora?" I heard him whisper again, this time closer to me, as he had bent down at my level. I thrust my hands through the bars of the cage and felt my fingers being clasped gently by a pair of rough hands.

"You're cold," he gasped, rubbing my palms for warmth.

"I'm soaking," I whispered, my voice breaking.

"Inhuman people," he seethed. I couldn't see him, but the presence of someone familiar actually made me feel a bit relieved.

"Technically, they aren't humans," I replied dryly, wondering how the sense of humour was still preserved in me, in spite of all the torture.

There was a silence. Perhaps Mani was debating what to say next, but again I filled the gap.

"Why would you come?" I asked him.

"Because you're my friend and you are innocent." Surprise laced his voice.

"I might not be that innocent after all," I sighed, drawing back my arms from his.

"What do you mean?" The concern in his statement was palpable.

"I mean..." I paused. How much did I want Mani to know?

"What did you hear about the incident?" I asked instead.

"I heard some human trespassed, and you chased him and slew him to protect yourself. He had stolen Death's blade. Am I right?" he asked slowly.

I sighed. I could as well be giving up all chances of freedom with this revelation.

"Would you believe me if I say that I resurrected him and then killed him?" I mumbled.

"What?" Mani's tone rose a pitch. "But how..."

"I had my reasons." I gave a dry laugh.

"But then that means you are guilty of murder and..."

"And I should be dead, yes." My voice rose an angle.

"Immortals can't die, Tora. Even you know that. We're punished with eternal chores for our crimes," he whispered.

"Well, turns out that I'm not an immortal either." I laughed, despite the dire situation.

The silence at the other end deepened.

"Now you can go tell them everything," I sighed. "That would be the right thing to do?"

"Who gets to decide what is right, and what is wrong, Tora?" His voice was shaking.

"But I just admitted I had been lying to you all the while. What kind of friend have I been?"

"Well, I am pretty sure you had your reasons on why you did what you did. And if the reasons are genuine enough, then you aren't exactly guilty," he paused, "Sometimes circumstances make us do things we would have never done if we were in a saner frame of mind."

My heart skipped a beat. Mani was not only unfazed by the revelation, but he was too quick to believe in me, despite not knowing anything. The feeling of gratitude washed over me.

"I had my reasons," I breathed.

"And I want to hear them." His hands reached inside the bars and found mine again.

There was a certain touch of strength, channelling from his skin to mine. At that moment I felt safe, I felt understood. Maybe that's how eternal friendships are. They transcend beyond all the adversities. Maybe Mrithun and Lachesis had the same dynamics.

And I told him everything.

The tales of how I had met Nikhit and fallen in love. And we married and promised each other a lifetime. But I had never realised how I had trapped myself in a toxic relationship because of love. He would come home drunk and hit me. The next morning he wouldn't remember a thing and then he would kiss the scars and make everything good. And day after day after day, the same things kept on happening. It became a cycle, and I ended up forgiving him every time until reality struck me hard one day, in the form of a mirror.

That day, as I stood in front of the mirror after he had tried to strangle me in a fit of rage, I had traced the scars on my neck and realised how low I had stooped to accept everything, just for the sake of love. Love for me was being written in the words of pain and suddenly I didn't want that anymore.

"I tried to reason with Nikhit," I said. "Then he got mad and hit me again. He had locked me up and starved me for three days. He wanted me to admit my mistake."

"Bastard," Mani hissed.

"And so I came out of that room, a hardened criminal. I've had enough opportunities to chalk out my plan, as I had cried in hunger each night," I admitted, turning quiet.

"So, you killed him?"

"I laced his drink with poison," I said proudly. "And he was so drunk, he didn't even notice the taste or the funny feeling as his head reeled. The bastard was tipsy."

"Then?"

"I took him to the hospital where they tried to save him and then they blamed the entire thing on spurious liquor," I laughed.

"How did they give up so easily?" Mani asked.

"People can buy justice with money in our world. I used cash there to silence mouths."

"You seriously are something. Who would've imagined..."

"But I wasn't satisfied," I hissed, "he deserved a more painful death."

"Whoa! Hold on. So that's why you came here?"

"That was number one, but also I had to add my name to Death's list from where I am missing," I admitted. "I guess after killing him, I felt regret and guilt. All the love I had for him had welled up inside my heart and I tried to give up my life."

"Mrithun saved you then?" he inquired. Smart as ever.

"Yes," I breathed, narrating the rest of the tale, ignoring the bits about my feelings. I wasn't really ready to think about them and acknowledge them yet.

Mani listened calmly, his hands gently massaging mine, lending strength, and I wasn't shaking anymore. It felt needed, and it seemed right at that moment. I cried and whispered and laughed and confessed every single thing.

When I paused finally, Mani's thumbs stopped tracing circles on my hands. We sat still for some time.

"So?" I broke the silence.

"You did what you had to do, and you did right," he affirmed.

"You think so?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, but your methods were rash, and now you got yourself into trouble," he sighed.

"Do you think I would win this case?" I whispered.

"I'd say it's a fifty-fifty," Mani mused, stroking his chin. He seemed to be deeply lost in thought.

"So, there's no choice but to wait for the hearing I guess." I groaned and sank further into the floor.

"Tora." Mani's voice was suddenly low and raspy, and I had to strain my ears to listen to the rest of the sentence. "It isn't that easy to get justice here — if at all there is a concept called justice. Justice is just a compromise. A crime once done can never be taken back. Adjustments are made to appease both parties. You are just another petty Yakshini for them. Your case won't come up that easily to court. There is no one to push in your favour. It could take decades."

"Decades?" I gasped.

I didn't have decades. I'd die here in two weeks without food and water. But then my name doesn't exist in the records. Everything was so damn confusing. I hid my face in my hands and sighed deeper.

Mani had been silent the whole time.

"What do I do, Mani?" I cried again.

"You are not in a position to do anything..." he began but stopped midway. His eyes darted to his left quickly before he raised his voice and said, "I'll see you soon."

And then, without a single glance back at me, he flipped around and melted into the dark, leaving me alone—yet again.

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