I slowly opened my eyes when I felt someone caressing my hair. "Ezhil" a soft voice called out. I looked at Preeti with a blank face while she cried onto my chest. "Thank god you are awake...thank god" she kept muttering.

Why was I still alive?

Why couldn't I die?

I wanted to kill myself but I didn't have the guts to do so because I wanted to see her, be with her, embrace her. What is life if she wasn't here with me.

I slowly sat up with Preeti helping me drink some water. "How are you feeling?" she asked while she cupped my cheek. I looked down, my thoughts filled with just her. "How long was I out for?" I asked her after a few seconds of silence. "3 hours" she spoke causing me to sigh. I closed my eyes, leaning my head onto the headboard, my mind filled with her face, her voice, her laughter and then her screams, her cries, her pain, blood. I snapped my eyes open, my heart beat increasing dramatically as I placed my hand over my chest. The pain increasing as the sounds echoed in my ears once again.

"Ezhil...you are awake" a voice spoke making me clench my fists. "Aliya, where are the others?...why isn't Vicky and Sona back as well, Farhan and Sunny just stormed out for no reason" Preeti spoke in concern.

"I'm not sure Pre-"

RING RING RING RING!

A phone rang cutting Aliya off. "Hel-....WHAT???" Aliya yelled out in shock. I looked at her with confusion. The phone in her hand fell onto the ground while she slid down onto her knees in tears. Preeti rushed towards her and bent down. "What happened Aliya?....what did they say?" Preeti asked in concern. "P-preeti...S-sona...S-ona was raped" Aliya broke down in tears. Preeti gasped, her hand over her mouth as she cried while I looked on in utter shock. "W-what?" my voice shook.

Aliya narrated everything to us while crying and once she was done, I threw the covers off me and stood up only to lose my balance. "Ezhil...what are you doing?" Preeti said in concern. I lightly pushed her hand away and started to limp towards the door, my jaw clenching in anger. "W-where are there now?" I croaked still feeling weak as I have not been eating well.

"H-hospital" Aliya muttered. I walked towards the door only to be pulled back. "You can't go Ezhil, you are not in the right condition to leave" Preeti said with emotions swirling in her teary eyes. "Don't stop me Preeti" I whispered, tears running down my cheeks. "I need to do something Preeti, 10 years....10 years I have locked myself in my room just crying, now I want to do something. I want to repent for my sins and sitting down and crying about it won't help me" I turned to her and held her shoulders. "I will get justice for Sona....I will make sure her rapists are punished. They are all suffering because of me, I am the main reason behind all their pain, if only...if only I chose the right path. T-they...they are g-getting punished because of me and for that I will never forgive myself, so don't stop me today Preeti, just don't stop me. I need to find my Eyshana, I need to help my friends, let me leave" I spoke to her in a blank tone.

She sighed and wiped her tears. "Finally....finally you are back. Go....and get her back and punish those rapists" she cupped my cheeks and kissed my forehead. I nodded and grabbed the car keys before wearing my shoes on, leaving the house as I drove off to the hospital.

***

After reaching the hospital and asking the receptionist where Sona's room was, I literally ran there only to find Sunny and Farhan hugging Vicky. My heart dropped thinking how Vicky must have felt. Sona was raped right in front of him but me...what did I do?, I claimed to love Eyshana but I raped her, abused her with my own hands and didn't feel an ounce of regret when doing so. I felt so disgusted with myself.

"What are you doing here?" Farhan asked me with a cold tone when he saw me coming towards them. I flinched at his cold tone but I deserved it. "I...I know what happened" I said in a quiet tone looking away from them. "Are you happy now?" he said with sarcasm. I was taken aback as I snapped my head up at him with wide eyes. "W-what...why would I be happy Farhan?...Sona is like my sister" I said in shock and disbelief.

How could he ask me such a question like that?

Farhan scoffed, "because of you we are all getting punished for your sins" he spat at me. Farhan then stalked towards me while I moved back feeling shocked. "Because of you an innocent girl died along with her unborn baby, because of you an innocent girl was raped, because of you Aliya's respect was ruined-" he kept pushing onto my chest while throwing accusation on my face. "Because of you Sona was punished, because of you Sunny is suffering, Vicky is suffering...this... push...is.....push.....all ....push...because.... push...of ....push...you" he spat as he pushed me back.

My eyes moved left to right while I stared at him with utter shock. He then pointed his finger at me, "I wish....I wish I was never your friend" he hissed at me making me stumble a few steps back, his words stinging my heart, crushing it into pieces. "You-"

"ENOUGH" a voice boomed behind me but his words repeated in my ears. My fault...it was all my fault....it was all because of me. "How dare you accuse him huh?...don't you have any shame Farhan?...even after 10 years you are still the same. Why the hell are you blaming him for everything huh?. Yes...yes I agree that Ezhil was the cause of this but he isn't fully to blame. I was at fault as I spread her nudes, you, Vicky, Sunny and Sona are all to blame because you all watched him rape her yet you all did nothing...nothing at all. You insulted her, behaved rudely with her, no one forced you to do that, that was all your doing, it was all your choice. You could have stopped all this, you could have pulled Ezhil back and stop him from doing a sin yet you sat there and enjoyed him kill her slowly so don't you fucking put the blame on him because we are all at fault" Aliya spat at Farhan in anger, pointing her finger at his face while glaring at him.

Farhan's eyes went wide, taken aback from her response. "Be a man and stop hiding behind others, be a man and own up to your mistakes, be a man and stop blaming others when you were involved in this as well" she said in a cold tone. "She is right Farhan, because of our mistakes, our sins we are being punished. I...I just sat there hearing her screams when he...when he raped her, I didn't do anything and...and today even if I wanted to....I couldn't stop the s-same thing h-happening to m-my Sona" Vicky broke down.

Farhan looked at me with tears, "I'm s-sorry" he whispered in regret. "I...I just feel so tired...I do....I do b-blame myself. I haven't even s-slept properly for 10 years b-because a-all I hear is her screams and I'm sure you a-all have been g-going through the same thing. I'm sorry" he broke down as he hugged me. I just stood there like a statue while Farhan cried on my shoulder.

Tears ran down my cheeks as my arms started to lift up, wrapping themselves around his back. "We will find her Ezhil...we will help you...we will help you find her and we will get justice for Sona and Vicky....we are here with you...we are here for Sona and Vicky" Sunny joined into the hug. I nodded my head and cried.

"But first we need to go to India" Farhan said breaking the hug. I wiped my tears of my cheeks and frowned, "Why?" I asked. "There is a lawyer there who can help us get justice for Sona, she hasn't lost any case and is best for cases such as rape. She is even better than the lawyers here in London, in fact people from all over the world have been offering her cases, so we need to go back home, our homeland and talk to her, I have a good feeling she will help us get through this" Farhan said with a sad smile.

I looked at Vicky and walked towards him. "let's do this Vicky" I said with determination. He stood up in tears and gave me a brotherly hug. I hugged him back with tears.

"India, here we come"

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