1 The Day it all started

We could hear the footsteps of someone running in a silent-filled night. The man ran in the street erratically, occasionally stopping to look back. Seeing a garbage bin on the corner of the street, he ran towards it while mumbling.

"This would be good for the time being"

He felt like puking as a sudden disgusting smell hit him. But he managed to hold it in and jumped into the bin.

Another set of footsteps followed, and someone shouted.

"Where the fuck is he?"

"Check around where he's hiding," the man instructed around his lackeys while glancing at the trash bin.

While the men scattered throughout the road, the one who looked like the leader started walking towards the bin with a frown on his face.

The man hiding in the bin heard footsteps coming towards him. He was crouching down while holding his nose with one hand while breathing through his mouth. Rotten food and garbage surrounded him. In trying to get some support, his other hand touched something soft; he felt disgusted by that feeling. He looked down to find that his hand was touching what looked like the rotting skin of a cat.

He laughed to himself as he held his puke.

"I would be the same in some time."

While he was reminiscing about the reason for what had happened today, he closed his eyes as if he had submitted to fate. It still haunts him the day when Police walked through his door and informed him of his parents' murder. That's when it all began.

On that day three weeks ago, a man just stepped into the elevator as if it were any other day.

"Wait!" A sudden voice stopped him in his tracks; turning around, he saw a man running towards him. A smile spread across his face as he spoke jokingly.

"What's so urgent Arun? Going to the pub? Should I tell Sakshi?"

Arun got in the elevator and pressed a G button. He leaned on the railing in the elevator and spoke loudly while panting.

"Don't Joke with me about that, pray that I didn't tell aunty about it; today is special, I am going for a candlelight dinner," He started smiling when he finished his sentence.

"Sakshi?"

Arun looked at him as if looking at a fool and said in a reminiscing tone.

"No, I met her in Gym, after so many days she agreed for dinner today" he finished with an accomplished look on his face and continues with a questioning tone

"Should I ask her about her friends, we can go on a double date?" Arun asked while patting his shoulders

"No, thank you, I will look by myself," he said while removing his hands from the shoulders.

'DING' sound of the elevator broke their conversation, and they started moving towards the parking.

"You should consider it, otherwise you are going to die a virgin," Arun said to him while entering his car.

"You enjoy your date and I will not die a virgin," he said to Arun while laughing, and entered his BMW. He started the car and drove towards his home.

It took him around one hour to reach home. From the looks of the location and surroundings, he seems to be quite rich. He stopped his car in front of one bungalow and stepped out of it. He glanced around to see a Police Van, which was standing a few meters away from his house. A Police officer stepped out of a van and started walking towards him.

With the frown on his face, he mumbled to himself

"Why is Police here?" He suddenly had a Bad Hunch about it.

That Police officer stopped in front of him and asked in a questioning tone.

"Are you Mr. Tarun Shekhawat?"

"Yes I am, is there any issue," He said while looking at the police officer for an answer.

That police officer took a deep breath and said in a guilty tone, "I am sorry to say, but we found dead bodies of your parents in a hotel in Delhi."

His heart sank; something rooted him to the spot. He wasn't able to believe what he heard. He was jolted out of his reverie by a voice, but the news he heard still shocked him.

"We would like you to come to the station"

Tarun nodded as he looked at the police officer, He then started walking towards his car.

...…..

A sudden shout broke through him from his reverie.

"What the fuck is this smell?" That man shouted with a look of disgust on his face. He blocked his nose with one hand and started walking away, while saying.

"He will not be here. Who can hide in this garbage?"

Tarun felt some relief, but recalling the experience he went through this time. He mumbled to himself, with his eyes closed.

"I wish, I have the power to change everything"

As if someone heard his wish, within the dead cat an object which looked like a ball started glowing brightly. The light made the street look like it was a day. However, it vanished in a flash.

The man who was looking for Tarun was shocked. As he ran toward the bin, ignoring the disgusting smell, he found rotten food inside, along with a dead cat. He puked as he pondered.

"What the fuck was that?"