Milky brume seemed to travel south as it floated in moonlight. Nandini's thoughts were getting reflected by the Machiavellian night. South was calling her. Her purpose had summoned her the day she had found her father. She didn't intend to start an argument but she believed she was stuck in nowhere. Manik's lips kissed her sparged hair and she yet again came out of worry-land. 

It's been an hour or so since they were sitting under a cluster of pine trees. 

Manik's eyes gazed the far away mountain as he kept stroking her shoulder with his thumb. He had encircled her petite figure as they both sat in silence gazing nothing. Her warmth was the slumber he needed before the dawn. He sighed and kissed her hair yet again as if penning another promise. He knew a bloodshed awaited them. His eyes traveled to his own hand which was holding her shoulder. He firmed her grip and she looked up at him tilting her head. His lips instinctively met her temple and she dived more into his hard chest. 

"I had gone to meet wife of Minister Raichand," Nandini revealed and waited. 

"Minister Raichand is alive, Manik," She divulged feeling how he hadn't changed his demeanor. His hold was still warm and muscles still relaxed. 

Her hand raised to meet his knuckles as she caressed his hand over her shoulder. His lips touched her ear and lingered there. 

"I want you beside me when I go and avenge our land," She murmured kneading her fingers into his. He locked their fingers and brought it to his lips. 

"When we avenge our land," He uttered before kissing her sleek fingers. Her lips rushed to form a smile as his words sank in. 

"We can stop this civil war. If our people fought alone with that Autarch, he would crush us like dry leaves," She spoke fervently gazing the mountain in front of her eyes. 

"But if we fought him with an army beside us, We can take back what's ours," She said looking beyond the view. 

Her eyes had the vision her father had envisaged. 

"One lead and we will have neighbors' army at our service," She spoke and Manik tried to look through her bullish eyes. He could see how her eyes were set somewhere so far that she had forgotten to see how there were death valleys between her aim and she. 

His fingers traveled to her neck and then to her jawline as he gazed the same mountain range she did. 

Turning her head urgently, he looked into her eyes to see what she was dreaming of. Her eyes had traces of surprise as she gazed into his stoned ones. Her eyes held so much. So many dreams floated in those eyes as she looked at him.

She was dreaming of them, he could see. He could see her dreaming of them at the end of all this, the twinkle of her eye was enough to tell. He closed the gap and kissed her lips ever so gently. She shifted a bit so that she can relax her neck muscles. Her hand palmed his face while he kneaded her hair trying to reach her soul through that kiss. Her hands slipped and held hem of his collar as his unspoken words carved each her pore. 

Parting, he saw her flushed face, her eyes still showed the chimera he had seen floating in her eyes. Moist of her eyes couldn't veil it. He could die for that grail to come true. 

She believed what her naive eyes saw. She could see it. 

"Lead me, your highness," He uttered so devotedly that each her pore quivered. That title didn't enraged her this time but filled with a rush named adrenaline. She licked her lips and reached for his lips to seal the little deal he had proposed. She could never let go of the faith he just had instilled. 

_________________

Something moved in the dark of the wilderness and Mr Murthy opened his eyes. He looked around and found Jas sleeping peacefully near him. His eyes scanned the ruins and he gulped. There was something out there. He could sense it.His hand reached for Jas as he tried to wake him up. 

"There," He said as Jas opened his eyes unwillingly. Jas tried to look though the dark but before his eyes could name the shade of it, a darker blow hit him. A cloth had covered his face while he gasped to seek some air. He could feel he being swept off the ground while he worked his arms violently. He couldn't hear Mr Murthy, his arm tried to reach for him but all he could touch was futile air. He tried to scream but a rope tightened around his neck. He was choking while his world was going blacker. 

He could hear someone panting, it was like of a dog. He couldn't make the difference as he was losing his conscious. 

He could feel warm hands carrying him somewhere while rope around his neck had stopped to choke him. He was semi-conscious. 

"To the boneyard," Jas heard a man before he lost his consciousness. 

____________________

"What are you doing here?" Aashi asked Aryan while trying to sit up.

Aryan didn't answer but gulped the entire mug of water in one go.

"Jas would stay there. I can't breathe in that fog anymore," He replied tiredly and leaned on the grass bed.

Aashi gaped him in disbelief while trying to get herself onto her feet. She couldn't believe how her brother had returned leaving a kid with a sick man in the forest. Both of them were incapable to protect themselves. 

"He is just a kid," She said unbolting the door. Her body language spoke out of her displeasure. 

"Where are you going now?" He asked irate, "Why each one of you has to be stubborn? A man can't even sleep in peace. Now go out and never return so that we can add one more mission to our adventure. Jas isn't a kid for God damn sake. Nobody is going to eat those two in the forest. Those muggers out there would definitely eat you up if you go out there at this hour. I am tired, damn it. I am so damn tired of this bullshit," Aryan yelled and held his head between his hands.

Aashi gaped her brother in shock as she endured the sudden outburst. He was groaning in anger and pain. She looked out at haunting night and then at his retired brother. Bolting the door, she decided not to go out.

"What's wrong?" She asked putting her hand on his shoulder.

He didn't answer but kept hiding his face in his palms.

"Aryan..." She started to say but he hugged her tight as if seeking some urgent warmth.

"It's not easy, Aashi," He spoke while Aashi's hands instinctively raised to pat his back. She had never seen Aryan that feeble.

"I am tired running. I am tired doing the right thing when no one even appreciates," He spoke bitterly.

"My own family dislikes me while no one out there in world give a damn how hard I try," He hammered each word into Aashi's ears.

"Did someone say something to you?" She asked carefully trying to give him needed assurance. His coat smelt of alcohol and mist, "Are you drunk?" she asked. 

He parted away next moment and looked at her in disbelief. His eyes were red.

"Who am I?" He asked taking Aashi offhand.

"I am your brother. We are children of same mother and you don't even realize what I go through each time you doubt me," He said, abashed.

Aashi's face turned pale while blood flowed down her ears as she heard him. Her eyes became moist and she looked down.

"I no more ask you to choose between him and I. I have accepted he is a part of your family after fighting with it for so many years. But have you ever asked him why he still treats me like a piece of shit?" He asked fervently and Aashi clutched his hands in hers.

"Aryan..." She started to say but he got up and walked away.

"A bootlicker, a traitor...a weakass...coward and what not. Nobody ever thought what it takes for me to take all this while you too believe I deserve all this," He cried in frustration.

"It's not true," Aashi yelled back as if trying to get heard.

"Don't you love Manik more than you could ever love me? You loved him more the day he had chosen to pick you in his arms when you were just a little girl" He asserted reaching her.

"Our mother cried every night and I have foregone that...She died a slow death seeing him and I have let go of that too... Why?...because of you and what do you do?" He asked letting tears of ire out.

"You doubt me like he does...like Nandini does... like everyone out there does..." He yelled like a crazy man.

"Listen to me..."Aashi approached him and hugged him tight.

"I am so..." She couldn't even complete as Aryan jerked her away and stormed out of dorm.

Aashi stood there stunned bathing in pool of unknown guilt which had managed to creep in.

___________________

Manik opened his eyes listening to some faraway commotion. Nandini was peacefully sleeping into his arms. His heart warmed seeing her parted lips against his chest. Fracas somewhere nearby yet afar brought him out of his reverie and he tried to get up. Putting Nandini's head on grassy ground, he walked towards the edge just witness a holocaust. A part of camp was on fire. He couldn't make out if it was the colony or some subsidiary which had been chosen by the inferno. All he could see the smoke covering the valley in the dark-land. He ran back to Nandini and woke her up. 

"We need to leave," He said as she opened her dizzy eyes. 

"There's fire down there," He added urgently while getting her on feet. Nandini's face reflected the horror as she followed his lead. Her hand in his, they ran down the valley to see if their little family was alright. Nandini's eyes looked back for an instant to see her father's side. He was in the forest. The guilt hit her thinking how she hadn't gone to see him this evening. Her thoughts costed her and she tripped in a loop of wood. Her knee touched the slope and she yelped. Manik stopped and looked back at her. 

"I am fine," She said getting up. 

"Show me," He said raising folding her tight trouser. 

"It's no time, Manik. I am fine," She said stubbornly and rolled it back. 

They resumed their trek and reached the colony. Ghettos were all fine while people ran here and there seeing a part of commune burning in fire. 

"It's the restricted area" 

One of them shouted and in no time panic converted into cheers. 

Nandini looked around and found people celebrating hearing the news. 

"What's restricted area?" Nandini asked Manik. 

Manik's face showed some calculation before he commanded her to go to the dorm. He disappeared in crowd while she kept standing there uncertain. She didn't know what had been taken down. Happiness of those people told one story while Manik's face another. She took the first turn towards their dorm trying to connect the dots. 

_____________________

Masked men carried Mr Murthy through a wrecked bridge. Only his mouth was tapped while his eyes could see it all. He could see a dried river beneath that broken bridge. Bones were the pebbles in that stream of nothing. Mr Murthy's eyes narrowed in the dark to figure out if he was awake or dreaming. As those men walked past the bridge with him in their arms, a stench touched his nostrils and he wriggled under the hold of the masked men. He wanted to run away, he could smell death. That miasma was making him nauseated and he wanted to throw out. 

"Calm down, Minister," One of those men said reaching him.  

Mr Murthy's eyes widened at the call out. He had listened men of those dictator calling him same way for months. He wriggled more under their hold. Two men walked past him carrying Jas whose face was covered in a black cloth while he hung down their hold like a corpse. He shouted silently as his mouth remained tied. Was he again back in clutches of those savages named army?

_____________

Nandini entered the dorm just to find disheveled Aashi who was crying profusely sitting on the grass pile.  

"What happened?" Nandini asked terrified as he approached her. 

Aashi didn't take a second before she ran to her to seek some warmth. Her sobs got louder while Nandini tried to understand what was wrong. She hadn't seen Aashi that feeble before. She was way too strong for her age. 

"You are scaring me, Aashi. Tell me what happened?" Nandini asked trying to extract Aashi from her. 

"It's all my fault," Aashi cried out and held onto Nandini like a kid. 

"How could I never see what I was doing to him?" She yelped further and Nandini frowned not understanding a word. 

"Who?" She asked baffled. 

"Tell me what it is?" She exerted all her force to see face of Aashi. 

"He is my brother too. I always dissed him. He is hurt, Nandini," Aashi spoke out. 

"Aryan?" Nandini confirmed while Aashi nodded. 

"What happened to him?" She asked. 

"He is so hurt. He is so alone," Aashi replied feebly. 

Nandini tried to make sense of some abstract revelations. All she knew that Aryan was supposed to stay the night in forest with her father. He had volunteered. 

"Where is he?" She asked. 

"I don't know," Aashi replied. 

"There's a fire out there," Nandini divulged while Aashi seemed to register it. 

"Who is with Papa then?" She askd terrified. 

"Jas," Aashi replied guilty. 

Nandini's eyes showed the horror while Aashi too fretted about the situation. 

"Jas is just a kid," Nandini said and walked out of room. Swinging between two calls, she turned around to see a lost Aashi. 

"Just stay here. I will find Aryan too," She said shutting the door. 

__________________

Manik stood at mouth of restricted area. There was a great hustle as muggers tried to rescue their mates. Entire godown was burning in red of fire. He could see what that mafia was losing. Their ammunition was exploding in that blue of fire. 

"Find them," Someone yelled while a jeep rushed towards the jungle. 

"Who are you?" A hand grabbed Manik's collar from behind while Manik stared at a panicked face. 

"This bastard is not our quest," Another one answered as he stopped the jeep side by. 

 Manik recognized that man. He was one of those whose master had tasted the flavor of defeat from his hands other day.

"We'll deal with him later. We need to catch those ghosts first before they disappear in their boneyard," That man told his mate. The man hopped into the jeep and they left for the dense forest.

Manik tried to extract some clue out of that conversation when he heard another explosion in the restricted area.

"Aabid," He murmured and sneaked in.

_________

Nandini held her knees to catch some breath as she stopped and looked around. She was going to see her father and Jas. Night was aloof and haunting. She gained some breaths and resumed her quest.
Her heart forebode in a strange way as she took final turn towards the ruin where she had kept her father hiding. She looked down at wet clay and saw some fresh footprints of men. She rushed to reach the roofless chamber only to find it empty. 

"Papa," She called out looking here and there. 

"Jas," She shouted as reality sank in. 

"PAPA," She yelled at top of her voice knowing how she might invite ghosts of night but she was beyond sanity. She couldn't afford to lose her father once again. Rubbing her palm over her chest, she sent back that gush of emotions. 

It was pitch dark around and she didn't know where to find her father and Jas. 

Turning around, she found her way out of that ruin just to trace those fresh footprint. Her breaths came out as wheezing as she ran aimlessly assuming clay to be some sort of clues. Wet of her eyes remained in those almonds only as she stared into dark seeking. 

She couldn't lose him, again!

________________

"Where's Aabid?" Manik asked a dying man. 

"Run," That man murmured with difficulty and Manik left him there to find someone who could answer. 

Entire restricted area was on fire. It didn't look like an accident but a very well planned attack. Every factory and ordnance depot was burning in glory of night. Restricted area was under attack.

Someone hated those muggers more than him. 

"Where are dungeons?" He asked getting a hold of an escaping worker. 

"It's all burnt," That man replied terrified as his trembling finger pointed towards a direction. 

"No one is alive," He added horrified. 

"Run save yourself. This place is going to see the biggest explosion in no time. Chemical factory is just minutes away from catching fire," He informed and ran towards the exit. 

Manik stood there perplexed whether to buy the theory man had told or go see for himself. His feet worked in direction of dungeon. If he could bail Aabid out of that place, this was the time. 

______________

Someone knocked at the door and Aashi startled in her place. The human colony had turned into a loot ground in past few minutes. There was a maraud in colony and vandals were not leaving anyone. The place was going down and leftover muggers made sure they had the supplies when they leave this place. Door kept trembling under the massive bashing for a minute or so before it stopped. She sighed in relief only to get startled with a thud which had taken the door down. She could see fire outside. Ghetto in front of their dorm was on fire. The dark dorm was now bathing in yellow of fire while two huge contours walked in. 

Aashi wanted to cry out loud as they approached her but she yelled, she yelled so loud that her voice echoed in that raining fire. 

___________

Nandini's feet kept working as she ran in that one direction. She didn't know if she was on right path or not, she didn't fear the ghosts anymore. she didn't fear the alive. Fear had killed itself by coming alive every singe time. She knew how it looked now and she was ready to face it. She knew by now, she would get played by faces, fears and deception. She knew she couldn't retreat when dread had become her permanent guest. She got to take it in and lock in remotest chamber where it's dark and wet. 

"Papa," She yelled as she came out of cluster of bushes. 

"Ja..." Before she could call out, her feet slipped in slope of dale making her slide down the thorny ground. Her scream echoed in dark valley as she hit the harsh fern and rocks while that rampant fall. 

_____________

Manik could hear cries and yelps of burning lads, there wasn't anything left. That man wasn't lying. Dungeons were burning and he could see corpse everywhere. There was no guard left, no prisoners. His eyes blinked with sinking feeling as he thought about Aabid. He knew he had failed the only man he admired. He refused to rescue him for a long time and when he did, it was too late. 

He stood there numb for a minute of two before something erupted nearby shaking entire dale. He lost his balance and landed on ground only to witness the biggest fire of his life. His eyes reflected the glory of it as he gaped it in shock. He could see fire flowing down the dale as thick liquid left the tanks. His eyes showed the terror approaching him and beyond. 

"Damn it," He uttered before he got up and ran towards the colony. This chemical rage was going to burn it all. 

______________

Aashi cried in pain as those vandals dragged her across the colony. Her screams were of no use as there was no one to hear them. A slap punished her cheek as she tried to bite the hand of her abductor.  She winced as she tasted taste of her own blood. In no time, colony was left behind and a dark started to engulf her. She was thrown harshly on ground as those vandals decided to serve their purpose. 

Those men started to tower her as she confined her soul in remotest corner, she wasn't ready to die a thousand deaths. She was ready to die. She held her breaths trying to meet an end but it was impossible. 

As those hands grabbed her hair, she screamed as loud as she could till some force took away those men. She cried seeing those rascals being thrown away. A man beat them mercilessly and she cried more. She couldn't see who he was but he had to be her guardian. She could hear those rascals crying in pain as they got crushed under the big rocks. 

In no time, two hands extracted her from ground and engulfed in a warm clutch. 

"Manik," She murmured hiding herself in his chest. She sobbed as hard as she could till nothing remained inside. 

"I knew you would come," She said extracting herself from that soothing frame. 

Two familiar orbs gazed her worried and hurt, her bleeding lips parted in realization. 

It was Aryan.

___________________________

Manik ran across the burnt colony to find no one. Fire had already gulped it even before that chemical could smolder it. Their dorm was on fire and so did every house. He didn't know where everyone was. He could see corpses lying but none of them was identifiable. 

"Nandini," He called out as loud as he could. 

"Aashiiiii," He shouted his sister's name. His lungs ached as no reply came. 

He ran aimlessly from one lane to another to find more corpses and he knew none of his family could meet this fate. He cursed himself for leaving them alone in such a place and kept searching. He could see an end approaching as he reached the exit. 

He believed Nandini and Aashi were fine but the reality how that chemical rage was on its way to take that colony down was staring his face. He looked back at it and then at forest. What if they were still trapped inside that burning colony? His mind inquired his illogical heart. 

"Nandiniiiii," He shouted her name with all he had. 

Echo of it touched Aryan's ears and he looked back at burning site which was quarter a mile away. 

"Manik," he murmured and Aashi who had her eyes set on ground looked at him. 

"He is searching for you and Nandini," He said and started to run back towards colony. 

Aashi yelped as he dragged her along. Her ankle was hurt and she couldn't run anymore. 

"You go and bring him, I will wait here," She said. 

"There's no way I am leaving you alone here," He said and picked her up in arms. Aashi wrapped her arms around her brother's neck and rested her head on his shoulder blade. He had saved her life when she didn't believe that he could ever come back for her. She was beyond a culprit in her own eyes.

He too was her guardian and she couldn't not deny it from hereon. 

_________________

Dawn was shady. It brought clear sky for her and ashy azure for him. 

Nandini opened her eyes and yelped at first movement she made. Her face was tasting the pungent of soil while her leg pained as she tried to move them. She didn't know when she lost her conscious last night while sliding down that slope. 

She could see dull of early morning as her eyes gazed the trees. Her nostrils held the breaths back as she found it impossible to breathe in that melodour. She couldn't see where was she but she knew there was death nearby. She knew that stench, it was of rotting fleshes. She struggled to get up and yet again her knee hurt like a bummer. She slowly raised her upper body using her hands and looked around to find the scene which was enough to make her nauseated. She barfed as next thing and turned on her back to gaze the clear sky. There were countless rotting corpses around and she was lying all night amid that.  

She gathered all her courage to witness the reality she was in and slowly got up. Her knee was her first look out. It was bleeding badly and she suspected she had broken a bone or two as she couldn't move it. She held it from both her hands and tried to fold it. A yelp escaped her mouth as a sharp pain hit her. She looked around to see if her scream had alerted someone. But all she could see was rotting fleshes. Her nose furrowed as she finally faced the harsh picture. She assumed it to be dumping ground of those muggers where they dumped dead-bodies of innocent people. But to her dismay, those corpses didn't have children and ladies. They were men, men who once had to be stout fighters. Their cloths and rotting faces, screwworms creeping around; she closed her eyes as she reprimanded herself for assessing the anatomy of that situation and place. 

She sat in middle of death of a certain type unable to move, she looked up and gulped the sunlight which had started to peek in. 

____________

Manik cleared another bush as he searched for Nandini in the dense forest. He looked back and saw Aryan and Aashi slowly closing in. 

Last night, Aryan had come as a messenger of Gods Aashi believed in so much. Manik knew now how Nandini wasn't in clutches of fire but just missing in this endless dense forest. 

He hadn't lost her, he had just lost her address. It didn't take much time for them to know how that ruin in forest didn't hold Nandini or Mr Murthy. They were not there. 

"Nandini," He called out yet again thinking how she would revert. 

No answer came back. Ashes were still blocking the view as haze refused to cut the slack. Fire last night was still burning the forest in other side of dale. 

"Nandiniii," He heard Aryan calling out and looked back at that figure tagged as his brother. He had saved Aashi last night and he was the one responsible for Mr Murthy and Nandini gone missing. Hadn't he sent Jas in his place, there would not be such a situation where they had to search for Nandini. Manik's teeth tightened thinking about the felony Aryan had done but then the way he had rescued Aashi last night, Manik was left in place where he swayed in two emotions. 

"Jas," Aryan called out for that kid and Manik came out of his thoughts. Turning around, he resumed his search. He knew she was near, she was safe. 

A hard something struck the ground and Nandini closed her mouth with her palms. Something blooded was thrown right in front of her. She retreated herself and balled under the edgy rock which worked like a shelter. She assumed someone was standing on roof of that hollow rock and she was just a step away from being caught by those savages who had created that boneyard. 

She didn't sense any further movement for a minute or two and she relaxed. The man who had dumped that fresh corpse must have gone, she assumed. She opened her eyes to review the situation, a hand clutched her soft neck. 

"Who are you?" A man asked while Nandini's eyes gaped three men who jumped off the rock. 

"Not a corpse," Other one quipped and third one laughed. Their faces were covered in black cloths and they wore some sort of uniform. It wasn't of army, it was some poor dress code. 

"Kill her," Third one told the first one. Nandini's throat was paining under that choking grip. 

"Not yet," First one said and something pinched Nandini's neck. In no time, her eyes felt heavy and she knew she was sedated. 

___________________________

As Manik cleared the last cluster of dense bushes, his feet slipped and he slid down the slope for few meters before his hand gripped some wooden loop. Aashi's scream touched his ears and in no time he could see Aryan and Aashi peeking down. Their faces showed fear which in no time turned into relief as they saw Manik hanging down a tree. Aryan carefully descended the dale and got a hold of Manik's wrist. 

"I couldn't see this slope," Manik uttered as he got back on his feet. 

"It's fine. No one is judging your fall here," Aryan mocked bitterly dusting his cloths off. 

Manik glared him and then looked back at slope. 

"If I couldn't see it, she wouldn't have seen it too. In pitch dark, no way," He calculated and Aashi joined him. 

"It's too steep and dangerous, Manik," She feared. 

"If she had fallen from here..." She stated the obvious in trembling voice. 

"Don't," Manik stopped her from stating the obvious her mind had deduced. 

"We are going down," He announced and Aryan jumped off a rock to another. 

"This way," He stated looking at Manik. 

Aashi covered her mouth with her dress as she looked at devastating sight. Manik stood at edge of cliff which offered an endless view of bones and rotting corpses. 

"This is savagery," Aryan uttered as he endured the shock of what he was seeing. 

"This is the boneyard," Manik said as realization hit him. 

The people which attacked the restricted area last night, they were called the ghosts of boneyard. He remembered now and he was afraid those ghosts had Nandini now. 

___________

Nandini could feel something soft touching her cheek. She opened her eyes and saw a window in front of her eyes. Cloth of tent got slapped by the wind and Nandini came out of last traces of sleep. 

She tried to get up sharply but her knee told her off as next thing as it pained. Her eyes traveled to her knee which was finely plastered. She was right, her bone had cracked. 

She looked around and realized how she was sitting on a bed and tent was the room she was kept into. A medical kit was kept on side table and she thought it was a dream or she was in some nightmare before. 

The minor or major bruises across her flesh were covered under the dressing and she could tell the hand which had grabbed her neck few hours back couldn't be the hand which had put her there. 

She tried to get up but winced as her knee refused to cooperate. 

"I'll help," She saw a woman entering the tent as she approached to support Nandini. 

 She helped Nandini stand and the frilled dress touched Nandini's ankles. 

"My cloths?" She asked terrified. 

"I changed it. Your cloths were blooded and stinking," That timid girl clarified. 

"Where am I?" Nandini asked and she smiled. 

"Everyone is waiting for you," She told and helped Nandini walk outside. 

As that girl undid the curtain of that tent, an unbelievable view welcomed Nandini. Countless people stood outside as if waiting for her to come out. 

A stout man whose face was masked in black cloth walked towards her and Nandini's clutch around girl's waist tightened. 

That man stopped at a distance and undid his mask, he was a young man. He smiled at Nandini and said, "Welcome Ms Murthy."

The greeting sucked the colors away from Nandini's face. Nobody could know she was the daughter of minister Murthy. 

"You're safe here," He assured as he closed in. 

"We, the ghosts of boneyard, welcome the daughter of Minister Murthy," He said out loud and a cheer followed. Nandini was amused, she was sure how it was a dream. Those people held adoration in eyes and respect for her family name. 

She was unsure, perplexed and vulnerable. She didn't know what deceiving veil was this now. 

People started to make a way for someone Nandini couldn't see. She tried to peek but could only see people making a path. 

Soon enough, her eyes could see three contours closing in. As they came closer, her face turned blench. Her eyes filled with tears, she couldn't believe her eyes. 

"Nandini"

Someone called and she forgot her knee was fractured. She lost her balance as she made a sudden movement. A pair of arms encircled her waist. That tall man looked at her face while she was constantly gazing the view in front of her eyes. 

"Aabid Bhai"

She called out to affirm if she wasn't daydreaming. 

"You're home," He said before he reached her to engulf her in a warm embrace. 

Her teary eyes gazed her father and Jas over the shoulder of Aabid Bhai. 

"They are safe," Aabid Bhai assured as he followed her gaze. 

"You are safe," He said encircling her shoulder. 

People cheered for Minister Murthy who was least aware of what position he held in lives of those people. Some faces weren't stranger after all. She could see Mrs Raichand smiling at her, Nafisa standing in a far away corner simpering at her, some of men she had seen in the colony. It all made sense. She was part of it even when she didn't know about it. The fire last night was the rebellion by the Ghosts of boneyard and they had rescued the souls bonded over a cause. 

Nandini didn't exactly know what that place was and who were those people. But it did feel like home. All that missing was him, Manik, who was still searching for her in boneyard of which he could never find an end on his own. 

___________

___________________

Unedited*