The night was dark, moonless and silent sans a few whispers or the sound of the dawdling footsteps of pedestrians or the crass shrieking of few vehicles. These noises made Vatsala uneasy. The day had been extremely demanding and laborious for her. She wanted to retire for the day and craved for a much desired sleep but the constant web of unearthly dreams had long before dodged her making her feel insomniac. Impatient and restless, she turned her side. Vidula, her fifteen year old daughter lay snugly beside her. She gazed fondly at her. Slumber had enhanced the sheen of innocence on her pretty face giving her an angelic look. She looked like the sleeping beauty of the fairy tale. Vatsala s long gaze was soon disturbed by the sudden, screeching sound of a car down the road whose driver might have suddenly applied brakes to avoid a casualty. The ugly sound brought her back to her ugly worries. Viplav, her son, had still not returned home. She had always been worried about Viplav s late night wantonness.......