The night was cool and as usual, the officers’ village was devoid of noise. As conducive as the night was for a sound sleep, Linda barely slept for one hour before she woke up and sat on the bedstead. For as many days as she couldn’t remember, she had been suffering insomnia. She glanced at the wall clock; it was 2:45 a.m. ‘How miserable could life be!’ she thought. She looked over her shoulder to see Tony snoring in bed and was full of pity for him. He was her only reason to live. If not for him she would have committed suicide long before then. After his mother had gone to hawk bread in the morning, he decided to see what was left of his father's properties, which was contained in the box under the bed. He had been seeing the box for as long as he could not remember, but had never been inquisitive enough to open it until his mother mentioned it. He pulled the box out and opened it. To his consternation, it contained guns, bullets and magazines. Something whispered into his heart; 'if you once killed, you must be ready to kill again and again to stay alive.' Then, he pulled the trigger. 'I hope you can see. If I hear a word from you again, I would kill the two of you,' he said. And till he was completely out of the vicinity, the house was dead silent.