Vaani was fumbling to reach out to her buzzing mobile on the bedside table, while her little one was clinging to her left hand in deep slumber. “Hello”, she managed to say as she was groggy and tired. The response from the other side shocked her. A shiver ran down her spine. “Not again,” she thought to herself as the long-forgotten voice whispered on the other side of the phone.
“I need your help,” he said, but Vaani was only half concentrating. Her mind was travelling down through the sands of time, dredging up blurry images of broken toys, a garden shed, running by the river, and of course, lots of blood. But there was one face amongst them all, a face so cruel and menacing, a face that she would never forget.
“Yes,” she finally managed to say faintly, “I understand. I’ll be there.”
