Madhav looked at her and then at the album. He saw the picture from a distance and came closer, staring at Radhika, terrified for a second, before snatching the album from her hands and yelling at them, ‘What are you trying to do? What do you think will happen? Tell me! Tell me!’

His mother looked worried but Radhika was secretly pleased with this reaction since it indicated that his issues were, in fact, connected to his friend, Parth. Madhav ripped the photograph out of the album and yelled at his mother, accusing her of ruining his happiness. He began throwing the medals and trophies on the floor, screaming, ‘These are not mine! They were never mine!’

Radhika asked Mrs Mehra to stay calm as Madhav ran upstairs with the album. His mother, stunned by the sudden outburst, shakily sat down. Radhika brought her a glass of water.

‘I knew this would happen,’ Mrs Mehra said.

‘Who is Parth, Aunty? What happened between him and Madhav?’ Radhika asked, sensing that she was finally close to unravelling the mystery.

Mrs Mehra closed the door and sat next to Radhika. She looked out of the window, at the trees in the garden, and said, softly, ‘He died.’

Radhika was aghast. Her worst fear had come true.

Mrs Mehra continued, ‘Madhav joined Nainital Hilltop School when he was ten years old. He was very happy there. We would visit him often and he would come home for his winter holidays.

‘He met Parth on the very first day of school and soon, they became best friends. Parth was, unfortunately, a paraplegic. When Madhav came home for his holidays, he would tell us about Parth—how they were like brothers. We have met him a few times. He was such a nice boy. Despite his disability, he would top every exam. He was a genius. But one day, we received the news that Parth had fallen off a hilltop behind their school. It was reported as an accident; no one else was present when he fell. People said students would go there to smoke or drink and, because of that, there were many rumours surrounding the incident. We were so shocked to hear this and were worried about how Madhav would take this. The school authorities informed us that Madhav had been deeply traumatized by the incident and wasn’t eating or sleeping properly. They asked us to visit him and when we got there, we were shocked to see him. He spent hours sitting on Parth’s wheelchair with a glazed look in his eyes, not responding to anyone. We were scared and so we decided to bring him back to Delhi.

‘Even after he reluctantly returned, he would sit quietly in his room. He did not make friends in high school or even in college. His father was busy with his business and his sister was studying abroad, so they weren’t able to help him with what he was going through. He stopped writing poetry and began studying, relentlessly, day and night. He topped his senior secondary examinations and then his university.