Papers were cluttered everywhere on the table, ink spilling on some of them. Ramya quickly wrote her literary assignment. A story of two lost stars who are destined to meet in the lost abyss of myth. 

It was past midnight Ramya had been asleep at her desk for more than an hour. The rustling leaves had her startled on a full moon night. She sat up groggily and rubbed her throbbing head. 

She rose to her feet and reached for the desk drawer. Rummaging through sheaves of paper she found her torchlight. A distant howling of a dog alerted her senses. An ominous sigh I suppose perhaps plain old superstition working on my nerves.

She grabbed the torchlight and looked around. The moonlit room casts a soft silvery glow on her couch and bookshelves. Her eyes lingered on the grills of the window long enough to notice flickering flashes of light within a gap of a few seconds. From the house across the street and her mind numb with fear she took a long deep breath. Don't panic you can handle this. Maybe my neighbour needs my help.

Intrigued and frowning with suspicion Ramya hastily switches on her torchlight. Slowly, hesitantly she walked towards the window sill. She stood still peering closely at the panes of the single largest closed window. The entire street was shrouded in darkness except for this particular house. With bated breath, she waited for a few minutes. The muted silence was killing her. Without warning a moment of flickering flashes followed by a pair of menacing eyes of a masked stranger. Hair raising at the back of her neck sent shivers down her spine. 

Her torchlight slipped out of her jittery hands and fell out of the window. She immediately drew the curtains together and turned around to stifle a scream. With her nerves rattling she huddled under the blanket and tightly shut her eyes. Sleep eluded her till the wee hours of dawn before taking over her weary hapless mind. 

Saturday mid-afternoon the sunlight flooded the room. She tossed and turned on the bed before squinting her eyes open. Panic took over her as last night's reverie held her anxious. Would he come looking for me? Do I need to call the police? Is my life in danger?  Morbid thoughts plagued her mind and with clammy palms, she picked up her mobile. She decided to call her parents residing in her native town. 

She had received two missed calls from an unknown number and a message. That read "You will pay a heavy price." At that exact moment, her phone beeped with another message that read " Check the news." Her heart racing she found the news article that reported last night's burglary.  Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the photos of her torchlight. Apparently, the torchlight at the crime scene forms a key part of the investigation. 

She murmured in a hoarse whisper "I'm being framed by someone."