"Do you love me, Mommy?" asked Suraj.
Madhu opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling fan. Suraj's face was at the center of the fan, which rotated slowly along with the fan. Suraj's face had no expression; he stared back at her blankly. Madhu tried to sit up from the bed, but she couldn't move; she couldn't even move her head away. It was as if her entire body was tied to the bed, not allowing her to move an inch.
Tears began to fall from Suraj's eyes as his blank face asked, "Mommy, I am bored."
Madhu tried to scream to end the nightmare but had no voice. The tears went down and entered her mouth, which was slightly open, and she could taste her son's salty tears. She felt as though she couldn't even breathe, and a wave of terror began to creep all over her as her son opened his mouth wide; a tennis ball came out of it and hit her on the mouth.
She sat up in a hurry and rushed out of the bed. Looked at the ceiling fan to confirm that her son's head was not rotating at the center. It was a terrible sleep paralysis incident, and it had increased along with her hallucinations about her son.
He is not part of this world; forget him!!
She drank the cold water from the refrigerator and calmed herself down. One more day, she would be out of this apartment, and then every old woman in it would be game. Before she left, though, she felt like she had to take a souvenir.
What better souvenir than Malathi's head!
***
"Are you going to visit us after you move to your new place?" asked Malathi as she poured the juice into the glass.
"Of course I will!" replied Madhu with a fake enthusiasm.
Malathi had invited Madhu into her home before she moved out. Madhu had decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to kill her. Unlike the previous murders, she wanted to take extra time to kill Malathi. She had brought the gun and had placed it in her coat, but she preferred to use a knife this time. Something about Malathi made Madhu hate her more than she hated other old women anyway.
Malathi brought over the juice tray, placed it on the table, and sat across Madhu. As the two began to sip the orange juice, Malathi asked, "That story you told about the serial killer being a time traveler, were you serious?"
"Well, that's what I heard from some people," replied Madhu.
"You know Munratnamma and Rudramma; they are almost illiterate and too old. If they gossip nonsense, I can understand. Still, a young woman like you who works in the corporate world believes in this gossip, and it is a bit surprising to me," said Malathi with an almost smug look.
You are old too, you cunt!
"Time travel is real, you know."
"Explain"
"I was once told that time is a thread with no beginning and end. When a time traveler goes back in time or to the future, she splits the thread into two threads. One thread is the same as the old thread she was in. Still, the second thread is new, which is different from the first one, as she has the power to change events," explained Madhu, wondering why she was taking her time to explain this to Malathi.
"But won't there be two versions of the time traveler if she goes back in time? The version of her from that time, and the version that traveled through time," asked Malathi.
"When I say time travel, it's the movement of the traveler's conscience, not the physical body. If a time traveler travels back ten years, then she is ten years younger, but she has the knowledge of all the ten years that passed after that, so she has the power to change things. There will be no two versions of her."
"I see. You seem to have a lot of knowledge of this," said Malathi with a weird curl on her face, which Madhu thought was an expression of disbelief.
"Do you stay alone? Or do you live with your kids?" asked Madhu, eager to change the subject so she can ensure that this is a good time to kill her.
"I never married, so I have no kids; I am all alone. Actually, no, I also have my intellect with me," said Malathi.
Can this woman say anything without trying to act like she is better than the rest!
"What do you do to pass the time?" asked Madhu. Before Malathi could answer, Madhu threw the glass, which still had some juice, right in her face. Malathi was too shocked to shout; she stared in disbelief at Madhu. The glass had not pierced her face; instead, the pieces had fallen over her lap and on the ground.
Madhu placed her hand into her inner coat pocket to get her gun out so she could prevent Malathi from shouting and alarming the neighbors. Still, unexpectedly, Malathi threw her glass on Madhu's face with greater force. As the glass smashed on Madhu's face, the shock and impact made the gun slip out of her hand and fall on the floor.
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Madhu was shocked at the unexpected outcome and bent down to pick the gun back, but a fist closed in on her face and smacked right on her nose. The impact was so hard Madhu tumbled backward along with the chair and hit the ground with a loud thud.
Malathi picked up the gun and aimed it at the fallen Madhu and said with a firm voice, "Why do you have a gun, and why do you want to kill me?"
Madhu lay on the floor, her right hand in immense pain from hitting the floor. Her nose was bleeding and bent due to the smack on the face. She looked at Malathi with fuming anger as the tears brought by tears blurred her vision.
"Because you are a bitch!" said Madhu and threw spit at Malathi.
"That doesn't make any sense!"
Madhu tried to swing her legs and sweep Malathi off her feet, but either Malathi was too strong, or Madhu's position didn't give enough torque to her legs; Malathi still stood with the gun aimed at Madhu.
"I will kill you, all of you!" shouted Madhu as the pain in her arm almost blinded her.
"You are the serial killer who kills old women, aren't you?" asked Malathi as she remembered all her interactions with Madhu and Madhu's interactions with other old women. She had a hunch that the serial killer would be someone who acts extremely kind towards old women to get their trust and use that trust to gain access to their houses, and once inside, she would kill them.
"Finally, I have caught you," said Malathi as she removed the wig and the prosthetic face. Madhu struggled on the floor with pain, but she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw that Malathi was a much younger woman, maybe in her early thirties. Her dark hair was neatly tied into a bun at the back of her head. She had a fair complexion, and her face was a bit oily, probably due to the prosthetic face she was wearing.
"You are not an old woman! Who are you?" Madhu asked, not understanding what was happening. She began to think all of this was part of her hallucination.
Malathi didn't respond to Madhu; with one hand still clutching the gun aimed at Madhu, she took out her mobile from the waist bag on her saree and called someone.
"We have the killer; our suspicion was right; she would be living in a place surrounded by old women so she can prey on them. Come into my room immediately," said Malathi.
Madhu's confusion changed into realization as she understood Malathi was an undercover cop.
***
Madhu was in handcuffs and was dragged out of the apartment complex into a police jeep on a hot afternoon. She couldn't believe her bad luck; the one person she wanted to kill out of spite turned out to be an undercover cop. All the residents looked at her and murmured among themselves. She caught a glimpse of Munratnamma and Rudramma, whose eyes were wide with surprise and disbelief. She kept her head low, walked briskly, and entered the back of the jeep.
It was a regular blue-painted police jeep with a siren over it. On the back of the jeep were two vertical benches; Madhu sat on one of them with two female cops on either side, preventing her from jumping out of the jeep. Malathi, or whatever her real name was, sat before Madhu with a satisfied look. Madhu kept her head low, putting all her attention on the black shoes of the woman she knew as Malathi.
The jeep drove out of the apartment and towards the closest police station.
"I am dying to know, what made you kill all those innocent old women?" asked the woman whom she knew as Malathi.
"Old women are innocent. They just fake innocence. They are the worst; they stab you behind your back even after you help them," replied Madhu.
"What makes you say that all old women are like that?"
"Maybe not all, but the one old woman I really wanted to kill is not part of this timeline, so I have to work with what I have. Every time I kill an old woman, I get the satisfaction of killing her. You know what the best part of the gig is? There is an unlimited supply of old women in the city, so I feel satisfied every time I snuff out one of their miserable lives," sniggered Madhu.
"What are you talking about? Timelines? Are you still talking about that time travel theory of yours?"
Madhu smiled wickedly at the woman she knew as Malathi.
"Oh no, you are not going to get away with these murders by claiming insanity. I will ensure you end up in prison for as long as you are alive."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Madhu mockingly.
She couldn't escape easily; her right arm was still in pain, and her broken nose had made her dizzy, but she was not going to just surrender without any resistance. Also, she still had to get back at this woman who had caused her pain, so without thinking for another moment, she lunged at her, aiming for her ears, and caught her by surprise.
The woman tried to push her away, and the other two cops on either side of Madhu wanted to pull her back into her seat. Still, Madhu had caught hold of the woman's right ear in her mouth, bit it as hard as she could, and yanked it with all the force she had. The jeep driver pulled over to the side of the road, seeing things getting out of control in the back. One of the women cops who was next to Madhu took out her taser to subdue her before she could cause more damage. Still, she lost her grasp on the taser as Madhu and the woman who was Malathi pushed around.
The woman screamed in pain as Madhu tore her ear out. She began to fight and smack Madhu in the face, but Madhu felt no pain as her nose had already been broken, so she lunged at her again; this time, she raised her hands above her and brought them down with full force on the woman's head. Madhu pulled around and kicked wildly at the other two women who tried to hold her in the position.
Madhu's smack on the undercover cop's head had knocked her out. The other woman cop who had lost hold of her taser had also been kicked hard in the groin area by Madhu, and she had crouched on the floorboard. The third woman had been smacked on the jaws by Madhu's elbow, had her tongue cut, and was bleeding profusely. The driver rushed back to help out the women, but he was caught by surprise as Madhu jumped at him with her hands cuffed in the front.
The driver fell backward, and Madhu, who was on top of him, quickly pulled out the gun from his belt, removed the safety, aimed it at his chin, and pulled the trigger. The people around had all got vigilant after noticing the scuffle in the back of the police jeep. They now began to run away from it as they saw a cop's brain smeared on the road. Madhu stood up with her face and black coat sprinkled with the driver's blood. She turned around and, in an instant, shot the two women cops who were still conscious on their faces.
She looked at the woman she knew as Malathi, who was lying unconscious with her face down. Madhu wanted to shoot her too, but she felt like she wouldn't have the satisfaction of looking at the horror on her face as she was shot in the forehead, and that would take away all the fun. Madhu pocketed the gun and ran away from the jeep as fast as possible.
She entered many alleys, went into every twist, and turned on the road. She avoided the main streets as much as possible and entered the smaller lanes. After what felt like an hour of running, she finally stopped in a lonely place that seemed to be a dumpyard. She found a water tap nearby; she bent over and drank some water from it, then washed her face and cleaned her coat from the blood stains. She found a toothpick-shaped wooden splinter in the dump yard and, removed the handcuffs from her after many tries.
She adjusted her hair and coat to make herself look less messy and walked out of that lane confidently as if she wasn't running away after killing a few cops. She went back into the main street and walked as if she knew where she was going, all the while thinking about where she should stay for the night and how she could continue to make a living now that her identity as a murderer had been disclosed. More importantly, how can she get the satisfaction of killing? They are going to get more vigilant from now on.
That's when she heard laughter that she couldn't forget even if she wanted to. She turned towards that sound and saw him. His beautiful flowing hair, perfect tapered jawline, and a light beard. He looked just like in the photos she had in her house in that previous life. His eyes sparkled the way they used to sparkle when they were in love and used to go out on dates during their college time. He had worn a navy blue shirt and brown pants and looked very handsome. He was the man she had fallen in love with during college, married immediately after college ended after they found their jobs. He was the same guy who broke her heart later and lied to her.
He was the same guy she had waited for when she returned to this timeline. Still, he never appeared. She had assumed that he was not part of this world, but he was, so Suraj could still be born in this reality.
She rushed towards him, but she stopped right after taking two steps. Another woman was sitting in front of him in the open restaurant across the street. She was smiling at him and seemed very interested in whatever he said. She was a beautiful young woman in her early twenties with shining dark hair that cascaded down, looking almost wave-like and a fair complexion; she wore a stunning maroon dress that draped her from shoulders to the knee.
This was not his lover from the previous timelines; this was someone different, and she had not met her before. How he spoke to that woman made Madhu realize he loved her because he used to talk to Madhu the same way when they were in love and on their date nights.
Madhu had finally seen Manoj in this new world, but he was no longer hers. If he was not hers, then there wouldn't be Suraj in this world, and that's not something Madhu could accept, especially now that she knows Manoj exists. She will do whatever it takes to make Manoj hers again and whatever it takes to get Suraj into this reality.