?"In reality, his claim appears to be quite baseless—but seeing the ball-thrower's confidence, one also feels the apprehension of some mishap—yet, there doesn't seem to be a need to become overly nervous either." Kanchan gave a doubtful support and asked—"Mentioning Sagar Bhardwaj in the letter, it is written that he must have surely come to you—did he come?"

  ?"Yes, Sagar came just last night." Then Vijay explained the whole matter in detail.

  ?"Could it be that Sagar himself is running this whole scheme?" Renu expressed her suspicion.

  ?"Not at all—the first reason is that the letter mentions Sagar's murder, not mine—and the second reason is that there is no enmity between us—anyway, leave it, where is the ball?"

  ?{9}

  ?Kanchan gestured toward the floor.

  ?Vijay leaned down, picked up the ball, and looked at it closely. This ball, like the previous one, was broken.

  ?Vijay squeezed the ball. The ball opened its mouth.

  ?"There is another letter in this."

  ?Akash, Renu, and Kanchan, all three came close to Vijay and looked inside the ball's mouth together.

  ?Vijay took out the letter and opened it. It read:

  ?Tearing the paper will not weaken my claim. In our history, the deepest strategy of trapping and killing someone is considered to be the Chakravyuh (Circular Formation) of the Mahabharata. But remember, Arjun knew the way to exit the Chakravyuh. This means there was a way to get out of the Chakravyuh. But from the trap I have spread, there is no way out at all.

  ?The Eighth Wonder.

  ?"This person seems like some magician," Renu said as soon as she read the letter.

  ?"What magic did you see?"

  ?"This letter also came along with that first letter—then how did he know that you would tear the letter wrapped over the ball?"

  ?"This is no big deal—he has written such absurd things in the letter that they are not acceptable under any circumstances—think for yourself—what would a person do after reading such absurd, impossible, and baseless things? It is a natural reaction that he would tear the letter."

  ?"Vijay ji, a madman who considers himself mad cannot be a madman in reality."

  ?{10}

  ?"Kanchan, what do you mean?" This time Vijay was startled.

  ?"If he were a madman, how would he know that whatever he is writing is utterly absurd? You read the absurd letter and tore it—certainly, the natural reaction of any human would be the same—but how can we call someone a madman who has the power to understand human natural reactions according to circumstances?"

  ?Vijay assumed a thoughtful posture.

  ?"What did you start thinking?"

  ?"Akash, the only purpose of this letter of his was that we should not harbor the misunderstanding of considering him a madman—he has shaken the nerves of the brain—when I think with the mind, all this seems impossible—but from some corner of the heart, a voice is coming that perhaps it is possible."

  ?"Look, don't worry too much," Kanchan said, trying to give courage to Vijay—"We are all with you—at this moment, we cannot even say for sure whether any problem will arise in the future or not—and if any problem does arise, it will not be yours alone, it will be a problem for all of us."

  ?"What do you think—will that person prove to be dangerous for us—will he have some extra ability beyond an ordinary human?"

  ?Hearing Vijay's question, Kanchan took some time and then said—"Every object or person becomes extremely significant when they possess two mutually contradictory characteristics—by contradictory characteristics, I mean, for example, despite the immense beauty of a flower, fragrance remains within it; only then does a flower get the pride of being adorned as a garland around God's neck. A husband's heart can be won neither by just a beautiful woman nor by just a devoted wife—the woman who is a devoted wife despite being beautiful is the one who pleases her husband's heart. The husk of Isabgol cures both diarrhea and constipation—it is because of these two contradictory characteristics that it is counted among the prominent medicines of Ayurveda. The fruit named 'Meetha,' which looks like a sweet lime—despite being sweet to eat, it is a rich source of Quinine, through which Malaria is cured—because all these have two mutually contradictory characteristics—exactly in this way, he too is alerting those against whom he is making plans—these too are two mutually contradictory characteristics—and if his claim proves true, it will also confirm that he has two contradictory characteristics, which are the certificate of his extra ability."

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  ?{11}

  ?There was a delightful charm in the voice of this angel (Kanchan) that would compel even a cuckoo to close its beak, and that cuckoo would become ecstatic after listening to its sweetness.

  ?In the precision of her logic, there was such power that everyone would accept her as their leader.

  ?Vijay too was somewhat impressed by Kanchan, so he asked as a matter of advice—"So, in your opinion, what should I do?"

  ?"If an enemy and a disease are not diagnosed in time, both become incurable—in times of adversity, consider patience alone as your supreme friend—consider all tasks incomplete without effort—sometimes our perspective of looking at a crisis becomes so wrong that the crisis starts appearing much bigger than its actual stature. Even a jackal remained afraid of the loud noise of a drum—but when he realized that the drum is completely hollow from inside, he felt that trembling without reason is also not proper."

  ?"Your point is right—nothing will happen by just sitting idle—but the confidence and courage with which he is executing his plan—I don't think we will have that quality which can compete with him—his unique style alone is proving him talented."

  "If that is the case, then I'd suggest you assume that there is no such thing as 'merit' or 'flaw' in the world."

  ?

  "What a strange thing you have said, Bhabhi ji—a merit will after all be a merit, and a flaw will remain a flaw—that which is good will remain a merit—that which is bad will remain a flaw—you are advising us to deny their very existence."

  ?{12}

  ?"Are you capable of determining merit and flaw? Probably none of us can determine them—merit and flaw are determined neither by goodness nor by evil—merit and flaw are determined by results—to tell the truth, a situation of gain is a merit and a situation of loss is a flaw—later, merit is linked with goodness and flaw with evil—before the result, you cannot bind any sentence or action into merit or flaw—a merit is not a merit for everyone, and a flaw is not a flaw for everyone—somewhere a flaw becomes a merit, and a merit can also become a flaw. Being lustful and shameless is a merit for a prostitute's business but a flaw for an ideal wife. Ambition is to be renounced for a saint, but it is mandatory for a king. The sweet speech of a parrot becomes a flaw for it upon being caught. Being self-respecting is honorable for a soldier, but for a spy, self-respect is the biggest flaw—similarly, it is possible that the Eighth Wonder's over-confidence might also become a flaw for him—what you are calling a merit at present—just while revealing his plans and giving challenges, he too might commit some mistake and could be caught."

  ?"Fine, inspired by the courage you have given, I have decided that I will tell everything to the police."

  ?"No, Vijay," Akash spoke—"There is a very big risk in this."

  ?"What kind of risk?"

  ?