SRUTHIMy head is whirling as we reach the house. I still canât forget the look of rage and fury on Madhavâs face as he stabbed the man. He looked like a very different man from the one I came to know after our marriage. His eyes were filled with cold fury. What scared me the most was the justification he gave for his killing. I agree to some extent that society is better off without some people but that doesnât give him any right to kill people. The only person responsible for Madhav becoming like this is my brother. He was the one who turned Madhav into his weapon. A weapon is not supposed to feel anything. It doesnât know what is good or bad. It only knows how to carry out his masterâs order. If you pull the trigger of a gun, it shoots irrespective of the person in front of it. I am afraid Madhav would turn into a person who wouldnât know how to stop his killings. The human mind is complex and there is no guarantee what it would make him do.âGo inside and lock the house,â Madhav says as he stops before the house. âDonât open the door for anyone except me.ââWhere are you going to?â I ask despite myself.âTo find more clues about the person and clear the place of any evidence,â Madhav says with a shrug. Seeing him talk about these things with no regret or remorse breaks my heart. Doesnât he even feel a little remorse for what he is doing?âPromise me that you wonât take another life,â the words escape me even before I can think them through.Madhavâs brow raises in surprise and so does mine. I have no obligation towards him. I am not sure why my heart aches to see him like this. I hate that he is living his life in darkness. I hate that there is no warmth in his heart. I want him to come into the light and feel the warmth of love and life. I donât want to witness that look of coldness and ruthlessness on his face again. Maybe before this marriage, I wouldnât have believed that there was a softer side to Madhav but after marrying him, I realised how lonely and lifeless his life is. There is no one with him to guide him. Gajendran, his adopted father died soon after Madhav was adopted. For most of the time I knew him, he was alone. I know what loneliness and emptiness can do to you.A feeling of protectiveness for him flares up in my heart. I donât care how he lived his life until he married me. Yes, our marriage was not planned. It happened in the nick of a moment but that doesnât mean that I donât respect the rituals we did on the marriage day. I meant each and every vow I said when I went around the fire with him. No matter what happens, I will stand by his side. Not everyone is a born killer. There has to be some incident in his life that actually made him into a killer. I want to know what turned him into a killer in the first place. I want to know everything that is there to know about him. I want to bring him out of the darkness he has fallen into. I want him to feel remorse for his actions and make him realize that death is not the only solution to every problem.âI canât promise you that,â Madhav says with a cold smile. I can see the walls he is putting up with me. Something changed between us during the car ride. I was afraid and scared of him when he stabbed that man but I am not afraid of him anymore. I already knew he was a monster. Just because, he was gentle with me wouldnât change the fact that he is a killer. But, I am glad that he accepted the fact that he is a ruthless killer. The first step towards any change is acceptance. âWhy not?â I ask.âBecause I want to keep up every promise that I make to you,â he answers. Before I could further argue with him, he reverses the car and goes on his way. For a few seconds, I stand still watching the outline of the car with a heavy heart. Red-hot anger spreads through my veins at my brother for making Madhav into this kind of man. Why did Madhav agree to become my brotherâs weapon in the first place? There is more to life than killing. Why canât Madhav see that? What made him take this path of destruction? I walk into the house with stiff shoulders. I lock the door of the house. I go around the whole house once to fasten all windows and doors. I draw the curtains of the windows and only when I am sure that no intruder can break into the house, I make my way to my room. All the walking around the house should have calmed me down but I am not calm. I sink into the wooden chair, my thoughts swirling like a tsunami within me. I donât understand this feeling of responsibility I feel towards Madhav. I made vows before the holy fire to stand by his side, to support him through thick and thin. But how can I fulfil those promises when he's enveloped in a world of shadows and bloodshed?A glimmer of determination flickers within me. I refuse to let Madhav fall completely into the darkness. There must be a way to reach him, to break through the walls he's built around himself. If he won't promise to stop taking lives, then I'll have to find another way to steer him towards redemption. With a renewed sense of purpose, I rise from the chair and make my way to my handbag. I may not have all the answers yet, but one thing is certain â I won't give up on Madhav. Not now, not ever. He may have another woman in his heart but I am his wife now and I wonât allow my husband to live an empty life filled with darkness.I take my phone from my bag and dial my brotherâs number. I need to know what happened to Madhav when he was fifteen years old. Why he was sent to the juvenile? I can ask Madhav about it but I donât think we have formed a bond where he will willingly tell me details about his past. I canât wait for that bond to form. It will take time but I am impatient. So, I am going to ask my brother to tell me about it. It isnât an easy task to get information from Vikram. But, it is not an impossible task either. â¤ï¸âð¥â¤ï¸âð¥â¤ï¸âð¥â¤ï¸âð¥â¤ï¸âð¥A/N:Hey all people. Hope everyone are doing good. It is been a long time since I wrote to you. Nope! This note is not a bad news. Don't worry! I am not going to go on a break or stop the series in mid and disappear.This note is more a request note from me. I just want to know how this story is coming along. How far do you like it? Since, this is my first time, writing a story filled with romance and mystery and action, I am not so sure of myself. Lots of doubts plague me. Kindly tell me if there is any improvements I need to make. Any and all reviews are welcome. Just drop a review to let me know how the plot is. Is it engaging or boring or over dramatic or okay? Your one honest review would be helpful for me to write further chapters.(For those of you who aren't comfortable with posting a public review but want to tell me how the story is coming along, DM me. I will read it) Also, any guesses as to who is the person who is trying to harm Sruthi?Comment your theories!With Regards-H S Ragavi
Chapter 39: chapter 39
Unseen Embers Of Love•Words: 7015