The sky over Kolkata was a pale grey — clouds heavy, unmoving, like the world was holding its breath.
Kaizen stood at the gate of a small yellow house, the nameplate rusted but familiar.
"Manna."
He hadn't been here in years.
The same bougainvillea vines still climbed the wall. The same cracked tiles still led to the door.
Only now, the windows were closed, curtains drawn.
No voices.
No laughter.
Lyra waited beside him, umbrella in hand.
"You sure about this?" she asked quietly.
Kaizen nodded. "I just… want to see her once. Maybe talk to her parents. Maybe they know something."
Lyra didn't reply. She could see the look in his eyes — not sadness, not longing, but something colder.
Determination.
They stepped through the half-open gate.
The house smelled faintly of old paint and dust.
A middle-aged woman — tired eyes, thin smile — opened the door.
"Yes?"
Kaizen hesitated. "Auntie… I'm Kaizen Nakamura. I used to study with Simi — in science tuition."
The woman's expression softened. "Oh… you. I remember. You're the boy who used to draw her pictures."
Kaizen smiled faintly. "Yes."
She invited them in. The living room was quiet, framed photos on every wall — one of Simi smiling in a white dress, another of her school award.
But one photo was cracked — the glass splintered across her face.
Kaizen's eyes lingered on it. "She looked… happy."
Her mother's voice trembled. "She was. Always full of dreams. She wanted to go abroad, learn animation… she admired you a lot, you know."
Kaizen's hand froze on his knee. "Admired?"
"She used to say — 'He'll make something big someday.' She even bought your first manga."
Kaizen looked down. "She was the first person who ever did."
For a moment, silence filled the room.
Lyra looked at him, quietly realizing Simi wasn't just a memory — she was part of his beginning.
After a few minutes, Kaizen asked gently, "Auntie… I heard what happened to her. I'm sorry. But did police find out anything? The news said—"
"They said it was a robbery," the woman interrupted softly. "But…"
Her voice cracked. "Her body was found near an abandoned warehouse. Nothing was stolen. Her phone… gone. Only one thing left near her — a red thread tied around her wrist."
Kaizen froze.
A red thread.
Something deep inside him shifted.
He remembered — in his dream.
The red thread glowed faintly on Simi's hand in one of his flashbacks, just before the world shattered.
Lyra noticed his reaction. "Kaizen?"
He blinked. "Nothing. Just… thinking."
Before leaving, Kaizen walked into the small study room at the back — the same room where he and Simi once used to solve equations and argue over doodles.
The table was still there.
A few sketch papers under glass.
One caught his eye —
A rough pencil sketch of a boy and girl standing under the rain, with a single line written beneath:
"Even if the future forgets us, our story will draw itself again."
Kaizen's chest tightened. He took a photo of it silently, then whispered,
"Thank you, Simi. For believing in me first."
Outside, as they left the house, rain began to fall — slow, heavy drops tapping against the umbrella.
Kaizen stopped midway on the road, looking up at the grey sky.
Lyra looked at him. "You're thinking about her again?"
He shook his head. "No. About the killer."
His voice grew lower. "A robbery wouldn't tie a red thread. That means it's something else… connected."
"Connected to what?" Lyra asked.
Kaizen turned to her, his expression calm but eyes glowing faintly red — a flicker that lasted only a second.
"I don't know yet. But I'll find out."