Raghav realized three things as he fell down the hatch of his four-story apartment – Niya was sleeping with Aamir, the corridor was narrow, and Aamir was heavy-duty. After a few moments, his head hit the ground with a devastating thud, and the last thing he saw was blood splattering on a pair of paint-smeared feet.
***
"Had the painters not been there, he wouldn’t be breathing," Aamir muttered. The doctor turned to Aamir and Niya. "The bottom line is DSP Raghav is in a coma. He may never wake up."
Aamir hung his head. "Then we are safe, no?" Niya asked, holding Aamir’s hand. "The truth that I pushed him down the hatch will die with him. I’ll monitor him closely," Aamir reassured her.
***
Raghav stubbed his half-burnt cigarette on the nameplate reading 'Niya and Raghav' and quietly used the key hidden under the doormat. The familiar rose scent filled the air as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Why, Niya? My boss? Wasn’t I enough?" He caressed their wedding photo.
Something changed in Raghav. Though he had heard from the doctor that he shouldn’t have woken up, he had. Choosing a large knife from the kitchen, he muttered deliriously to himself. The knife spoke to him, "You must do this." Raghav's reflection in the blade was unrecognizable, one eye visible through his tight bandage. "Look what they did to you. Now I must act."
Raghav entered the master bedroom, gripping the knife tightly, just as Aamir’s hand was wrapped around Niya. Raghav steadied his hand above Aamir’s spine. A tear fell on Aamir's tattoo, and Raghav drove the knife deep into Aamir’s neck, pulling it out to see the blood pool on the pillow. He struck again, ensuring the tattoo and the betrayal it symbolized were gone forever.
He then turned to Niya, still sleeping peacefully. Memories of her sleep disorder flooded back, but tonight there was no empathy left. Grabbing her hair, he plunged the knife into her mouth. She woke briefly, but his relentless, furious stabs ensured she couldn’t cry out. The once-familiar face was now a gory mess of lacerations and blood. Raghav kept stabbing until he couldn't recognize her anymore. And then he wept.
***
"My deepest condolences," the doctor said the next day. "Two horrific incidents in two days! I can’t imagine what the family must be going through."
"There’s no family left," the Commissioner responded. "But who could’ve done this?" the doctor asked. "It was a crime of passion," the Commissioner replied. "But it must have taken a monster to do something like this."
The Commissioner looked at Raghav, lying limp in his hospital bed. "Is there any way Raghav could’ve woken up?" he asked hesitantly. The doctor paused. "From a medical standpoint, Raghav is in a deep coma. His body is all but dead."
At that moment, Raghav realized there was nothing left for him. No one to mourn him, nothing to hold on to. He opened his eyes. And then, when he looked back, he saw himself lying on the hospital bed, just as the doctor had described.