As I went out of the boarding house, I heard some students whispering worriedly, ‘Have you seen Parth? Where is he? Sister Stella has been looking for him.’ I readied myself to lie and that was, I think, when I completely lost myself. I felt so hollow, as though my mind and heart were encased in stone.

‘Madhav, have you seen Parth?’ asked Joffin.

I was quiet for a while. ‘Umm . . . I . . . I had asked you about him, remember? I don’t know where he is. I have not seen him,’ I said, fighting back tears.

‘He is not in his dormitory,’ said a student who came running from the boarding house.

‘Nor is he in the library,’ said another. News soon spread that Parth had been missing since noon. There was a strange bustle of activity all around the campus. Father George asked the security guards to search the campus premises thoroughly. Some said they had seen Parth walking towards the hilltop and I was afraid somebody had seen me going there too. For a moment, I thought about telling everyone the truth but then I stopped myself. I couldn’t face being called a murderer for the rest of my life.

We waited in the boarding house as the faculty and guards went looking for Parth.

The entire school was awake till midnight. The students were told to go to sleep, but everyone refused. I looked up as one of the guards came back and murmured something to Father George.

‘They have found his wheelchair near the small hill,’ a student said in horror and a whisper ran through the crowd.

I walked away and hid in a corner of the boarding house. I knew that the guards would eventually find Parth and I couldn’t bear talking to anyone. I sat in that dark corner of the building for hours, letting his memories wash over me. Perhaps that’s when he started taking root in me.

I closed my eyes and screamed silently, over and over again. I was the only one who knew how Parth had died. I felt like an escaped convict. The feeling latched on to my psyche. After a few hours, I saw students running towards the gate. My heart stopped. I stood up and walked that way. Before I could reach the gate, I heard strange howls. The guards and the faculty instructed the students to return to their dorms as an ambulance entered the school premises. The sirens hurt my head.

I saw the guards transfer a body into the van. It was Parth’s. The faculty took us all back to the boarding house.

That night, I sat in the bathroom, staring at the white walls. I heard a voice echoing in the bathroom.

‘Madhav . . . Madhav . . .’ It sounded like Parth. I heard his voice echoing the entire night. I tried to shut my ears, but the voice only grew louder. I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes.