THE crows were an ominous sign!
And the stories of that strange occurrence spread like wildfire with different versions and views.
Pandits and priests conversed at Aryana’s home, and she sat there listening to them with no real interest, for she was a lifeless, cold being. They opined that her soul was restless because of the way she was killed, and the crows were the sign of a dark force that was present at her funeral.

“What does this all mean?” her tearful mother asked the religious leaders.
“It means her killers were present at her funeral.”
Her mother gasped in disbelief, “How can they be so shameless and heartless to come here?”
“Maybe because she knew them and had been close to them like friends are.”

The father looked up alert, “How can we identify them?”
“You may not be able to, but she will.”
“I don’t understand what’s happening!” her mother cried in deep distress.
The religious men looked at each other and then said quietly to the mother, “The dark force is your daughter.”
Mother and Father looked at them, shocked.

“How can she…?”
“She is in deep pain, and her fury is being unleashed through the crows. She will stop at nothing to make her killers suffer,” was the response from one of the men.
Both parents looked at each other, helpless in their grief, and the mother said tearfully, her voice quivering, “That isn’t our daughter. She’s kind and compassionate.”
“The best thing you can do for your daughter,” the other man advised, “is to pray for her soul to find peace.”

She was standing at the water’s edge early the next morning, in a world of her own, watching the rushing waves of the Atlantic, when she heard a soft voice call her name. She knew that voice so well and turning around she saw her mother and father standing near the spot where her body had been found. Deep worry was etched on their faces, and her father said, “If you’re here, dear, and you can hear us, please listen.”
“What happened to you, my sweet child,” her mother said, “was the worst thing that could happen to anyone, but you’re a good girl. You can’t become evil to fight evil.”

It deeply touched Aryana’s heart as she watched the two most loved and important people in her life so broken by grief. She wanted so much to hug them, but she had to stay strong against the dark force.
“It’s too late, Mom and Dad,” she said, “I’ve already pledged my soul to the dark force for the power within me.”
They couldn’t see her nor hear her words, but her mother stretched out her arms as a form of comfort to her child, “I will continue to pray for your soul.”
They left a little later, their heads bent and their steps slow, the vibrancy of life gone for they had lost something precious.

“It will be over soon, Mom and Dad,” Aryana said as she watched them leave, “and you’ll be satisfied that your daughter’s death had been avenged.”
People were still talking about her death and the crows on her funeral day, wondering who were the guilty ones and what would happen next. The rejection of the roses from Aruna and Preity were spoken about quietly in their circle of friends, who slowly distanced themselves from the two of them.

Aryana listened as they expressed their regrets of that night and how they could possibly make things right as they sat in the café they all frequented as friends.
“It is something you will forever live with,” was Aryana’s voiceless vow.
The distant sound of the crows sparked a fear in both girls, and they left the café hurriedly, tripping over chairs on their way out.

The many questions asked and the speculations that had grown since that day became so intense the killers decided to go separate ways, not wanting to be seen together. The police investigations continued with samples of the skin under her nails and hair found on her body being sent to the lab, awaiting to be sent overseas for testing. People questioned on the beach road shed no light on the case, and the mystery man she allegedly rode with could not be found. The test results were the only thing the police had so far to depend on to build a case. That would take some time, but her killers weren’t taking any chances, for the results would point to them, and they had to ensure that that wouldn’t happen. One of the young detectives on the case was their close friend, and he was offered a large sum of money to tamper with the evidence. He was shocked to know his friends knew of the crime and wanted to cover it up.

“I’m sorry,” he refused, “But that’s not my principle. It would go against the oath I took to serve and protect.”
“You owe me,” one of them reminded him in a harsh tone, “If it wasn’t for my assistance, your mother wouldn’t be alive today.”
The detective sighed deeply, troubled by the pressure he was being put under to return a favour that helped with his mother’s heart surgery. Aryana heard it all and empathized with the detective’s reluctance, but she had to stop him.

“I’ll see you tonight,” she said calmly.
She waited until midnight, and in the dead of the night, she called on the crows to continue her mission. The screams of terror from the detective’s family awoke the neighbourhood, and his mother gasped, close to a heart failure, “Oh my god, what is happening?”
The detective knew what was happening but couldn’t tell his mother. He could feel the presence of a dark force close and a quiet voice, so cold it chilled his bones as it whispered, “Return the money, it can’t pay for you and your family’s lives.”

The killers were at a hideout bar in the countryside, waiting on their detective friend with nervous expectation.
“Do you think she’ll come for us?” one of them asked.
“I don’t know,” another answered, “But I am having a bad feeling.”

Nerves were becoming frayed, and they began blaming each other for the crimes they had all committed.
“It was your idea!”
“I wish I never met you guys that night.”
“No one dragged you along.”

Things would have gotten ugly if the detective friend hadn’t arrived. He sat down, not saying a word for a long moment, as he took two tall shots of vodka on the rocks. The terror of last night’s scene was evident on his face, and his friends realised something was dreadfully wrong.
“What is it?” they asked.

He returned the money and said hoarsely in a low tone, “I can’t risk putting my family’s life and sanity on the line for the sake of money.”
“You are in my debt,” he was reminded by the most arrogant one who had put the drug in Aryana’s drink.
“I know,” the detective accepted, and he paused for a long moment, then said, “The crows came at midnight last night, and they created such terror…” his voice trailed, and getting up to leave, he added, “And she was with them.”
He left the four killers staring after him, stunned.
To be continued…