..."People don't suddenly become monsters. They become experts at hiding the monster inside them."...
...---...
...The city looked completely different in daylight....
...The same streets that had been drowning in police sirens only a few hours ago were now filled with impatient traffic, vendors calling out to customers, and students rushing toward the university gates with half-finished breakfasts in their hands....
...Somewhere among them......
...Walked a girl who noticed things no one else did....
...Not because she was gifted....
...Because she paid attention....
...Kanishka Mehra adjusted the strap of her canvas bag as she crossed the crowded campus of St. Aurora University. Earphones rested around her neck instead of in her ears....
...She liked hearing people....
...People revealed more than they realized....
...A boy walking ahead laughed loudly with his friends, but his fingers kept scratching the skin around his thumb....
...Anxiety....
...A professor smiled while greeting everyone, yet his shoulders were stiff and his smile disappeared the second he looked away....
...Exhaustion....
...Near the library steps, two girls hugged each other tightly....
...One meant it....
...The other kept checking her phone over her friend's shoulder....
...Distraction....
...Kanishka smiled faintly....
..."Human beings are terrible liars," she whispered to herself....
..."They're just lucky most people never look closely."...
..."Talking to yourself again?"...
...She turned....
...Rhea Kapoor stood behind her with two cups of coffee balanced in one hand....
..."You know," Rhea said dramatically, "one day people are going to think you're solving murders before breakfast."...
...Kanishka accepted the coffee with a grin....
..."I'd rather solve why you keep buying expensive coffee when you complain about being broke."...
..."That's called priorities."...
..."It's called financial self-destruction."...
...Rhea rolled her eyes....
..."Same thing."...
...The two burst into laughter as they walked toward the Psychology Department....
...Their friendship confused almost everyone....
...Rhea was loud, impulsive and emotional....
...Kanishka was observant, calm and impossible to read....
...Somehow......
...They balanced each other....
..."So," Rhea asked, "did you finish Professor Ishaan's assignment?"...
..."The behavioral analysis?"...
..."Mhm."...
..."Last night."...
..."You actually enjoy writing thirty pages about criminal behavior."...
..."I do."...
..."You scare me."...
..."I know."...
..."And you're smiling."...
..."I know."...
..."You really are scary."...
...Another laugh escaped between them....
...The university felt alive....
...Students argued over assignments....
...Someone played guitar beneath a tree....
...Fresh rainwater still glistened on the pathways after last night's storm....
...Nobody would have guessed that only a few kilometers away......
...A man had been murdered....
...---...
...Room 302....
...Department of Psychology....
...Professor Ishaan Verma wrote one sentence across the whiteboard before turning toward the class....
...PEOPLE DON'T ALWAYS SAY WHAT THEY BELIEVE....
...He capped the marker....
..."Can anyone tell me why eyewitness testimonies fail?"...
...Hands slowly rose around the room....
..."Memory loss."...
..."Fear."...
..."Pressure."...
..."Suggestive questioning."...
...Professor Ishaan nodded....
..."Correct."...
...He looked around once more....
..."Kanishka?"...
...She looked up from her notebook....
..."Sometimes," she began, "people don't remember what happened."...
...The classroom became quiet....
..."They remember what makes sense to them."...
..."If someone expects danger, they'll notice threatening details."...
..."If they trust someone, they'll ignore suspicious behavior."...
..."Our brains don't record reality."...
..."They create stories."...
...Professor Ishaan smiled....
..."And what does that mean?"...
...Kanishka answered without hesitation....
..."A witness can believe every word they're saying..."...
..."...and still be wrong."...
...Silence followed....
...Not awkward silence....
...Interested silence....
...The professor nodded slowly....
..."Exactly."...
...He looked around the classroom....
..."Never confuse confidence with accuracy."...
...Those words lingered in Kanishka's mind long after the lecture moved on....
...Because they reminded her of something....
...Something she couldn't explain....
...As if......
...Somewhere......
...Someone had already proven that theory....
...She just didn't know who....
...---...
...The lecture ended forty minutes later....
...Students flooded into the hallway, filling it with chatter....
...Rhea stretched dramatically....
..."If I hear the words 'cognitive bias' one more time, I'm transferring to literature."...
..."You'd survive two days."...
..."You're rude."...
..."I'm realistic."...
...Their banter was interrupted by the large television mounted above the reception desk....
...The usual campus announcements disappeared....
...Breaking News flashed across the screen....
...A news reporter stood outside a house surrounded by police tape....
...Behind her......
...Crime scene investigators moved in and out of the building....
..."...the victim was found shortly after midnight..."...
..."...police have released very little information..."...
..."...sources suggest investigators are calling it one of the most unusual homicide cases in recent years..."...
...Students gathered around the television....
...Some watched with curiosity....
...Others with excitement....
...Kanishka didn't know why......
...But she couldn't look away....
...The camera briefly showed the front entrance of the house....
...Something about it......
...Felt familiar....
...Then the screen changed....
...A police officer quickly covered the camera lens, ending the live footage....
...The hallway buzzed with speculation....
..."Serial killer?"...
..."Maybe robbery?"...
..."I heard there wasn't any weapon."...
..."That's creepy."...
...Rhea nudged Kanishka....
..."You're thinking."...
..."I always think."...
..."No..."...
...Rhea studied her face....
..."You're analyzing."...
...Kanishka didn't answer....
...She was staring at the frozen image still lingering in her mind....
...The front door....
...The clock inside....
...The strange feeling she couldn't explain....
...Almost......
...As if the house itself was asking to be remembered....
...And for the first time in a very long while......
...Kanishka felt something she rarely experienced....
...Unease....
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