Nitish seemed concerned about Shringar's mental health, and she noticed it. But she could not help herself and kept thinking about Sanskar's connection with "Enigma" as she suddenly remembered her father's conversation about "Enigma" with a mysterious person, something Sanskar had mentioned earlier.
Suddenly, Shringar received a message from an unknown number. The message read:
"I apologize for disturbing you like this, but I know your father, Abhigyan Das, and I know your family as well. I need to talk to you personally about your father, which is why I texted you. I cannot tell you this over the phone. Please meet me at Tingle Coffee Shop at 5:00 PM, and do not share this information with anybody.
—Officer Prakash"
"I see…." Shringar murmured to herself.
Her thoughts began to race.
Officer Rani asked most of the questions when she came with Officer Prakash. She hardly gave him any time to speak, even though they were of the same rank, or at least that is what it seemed from the number of stars on their shoulders. But if Officer Prakash wanted to talk about my family privately like this, then it must be something he could not discuss in front of everyone. The only question is… will this be okay? I do not have any memories. How can I analyze the situation properly? Still, this could be a good opportunity to learn about my past. Nitish does not like this idea because it might harm my mind, but I want to take the risk.
Cars rushed past her as she walked.
"I think Tingle Coffee Shop is good."
"Yes, even though it's new," two random customers said as they passed by.
Shringar sat on one of the outdoor benches, watching the traffic while drinking the free water given by the waiter.
"I came fifteen minutes earlier than the designated time," she thought.
After some time, she noticed a blue car entering the parking lot.
Tingle Coffee is new and doesn't get many customers yet. Cars are rare—and it's exactly 5:00 PM. That must be Officer Prakash, she thought.
Officer Prakash stepped out of the car and walked toward her. He was wearing a gray shirt and brown pants, as he was off duty at the moment.
Shringar observed him carefully.
If someone were to judge a person only by appearance, I would say Officer Prakash has the face of a water lily, beautiful like a soft flower. He looks more beautiful than handsome. But he always carries a frustrated, serious expression, which makes him intimidating. Still, I never judge someone's personality by their looks. I will listen carefully to what he has to say. Life's hardships can make anyone serious.
Officer Prakash sat across from her and spoke in his usual calm tone.
"Shringar, thank you for coming. I really appreciate it. Since you have read my message, you know the summary of why I am here. I know you might not believe me, since you do not remember your family, but I will try my best to explain."
"Do not worry, Officer Prakash," Shringar replied. "For now I would like to listen to what you have to say to me."
"Okay," Officer Prakash sighed. "Mr. Abhigyan Das was a good man. He once saved me, and that is how we became acquainted. I also heard about this 'Enigma' from him, but I did not really pay much attention at the time because it was their personal matter. Still I suspected it was a code name that they were using."
"They?" Shringar interjected.
"Yes," he nodded. "Your father, mother, and three of their friends who traveled together. They only started using the term 'Enigma' after returning from that journey. I wanted to inquire further, but I let it go. Now, I suspect 'Enigma' might be 'Swara.'"
"Swara?!" Shringar exclaimed.
"Yes," Officer Prakash said. "Swara was discovered eight to ten years ago by six Indian travelers who never revealed their identities. The timeline matches. Swara is also known as Enigmatic Energy, which strengthens my suspicion. If Enigma is connected to the recent murders, we must investigate. Unfortunately, Officer Rani disagreed, so I sent a request to Chief Varnika."
"Will she accept?" Shringar asked.
"I believe so," he replied. "She lost her husband, he was murdered by one of those ultraviolet-costumed men."
"I see," Shringar said quietly.
"I am here to tell you that I'll help you whenever you need information about this case. This morning, I visited Miss Dorothy's house with Officer Rani. There I met Miss Elina, who told me about you and your determination to find the culprit."
Shringar paused and asked, "Why do you want to help me? I figured most of the information is confidential."
"That is why you must not tell anyone that I am sharing this with you," Officer Prakash replied. "And I want to help because your father saved my life. I owe him that, even though he's gone."
"But Nitish warned me not to trigger my memories," Shringar said cautiously.
"Oh, Dr. Nitish?" Officer Prakash said after a brief pause. "Honestly, he could have been an athlete or a model instead of a doctor, given his physique. Do not worry, I will be careful. But if we consult him, he will tell Officer Rani. They are close, and she always tries to track my actions."
"No," Shringar said firmly. "I'll take the risk. For starters, I want to meet Miss Dorothy. Elina told me a lot about her, and she even messaged me this morning about how you spoke about me to Dorothy's mother."
"This is at your own risk," Officer Prakash warned. "Be careful. Before that, where did you meet Elina? She isn't from your school, as far as I remember."
"At a free counseling session at Devki Psychiatry Institution."
"I'll take you to Miss Dorothy," he said. "Her house is not far from here."
They began walking.
"The first victim was Professor Laksh Adhikari, a history professor," Officer Prakash explained. "He was killed eight years ago, but the case was abandoned. Then last year, the Chief's husband was murdered. We do not know why the killings resumed after such a long gap."
"Adhikari…" Shringar murmured. "A friend from counseling told me his father used to talk about 'Enigma.' I think you are referring to his father."
"Sanskar Adhikari?" Officer Prakash asked.
"Bingo! Yes. I should have told you earlier, but I didn't know how to start," Shringar said with excitement.
Officer Prakash said, "We will open Mr. Adhikari's case as well. Since it is in a different police station, it will take a bit of time."
While walking, Officer Prakash noticed Dorothy coming towards them.
Dorothy said, "Hello, Officer Prakash. Are you off duty at this moment?"
Shringar noticed that Dorothy looked exactly like a foreigner, with brown hair and brown eyes. But she knew that Dorothy was Indian. She was wearing a full-sleeved long frock, and she always had a worried look on her face.
"Yes. Miss Dorothy, this is Miss Shringar Das, whom I mentioned during your testimony this morning," Officer Prakash said.
Dorothy held Shringar's hands and said, "I really needed to meet you and wanted to discuss the case with you and Sanskar. Can I come to your house tomorrow with Elina and Sanskar? This is really important. I cannot discuss it here."
Shringar nodded and said, "I also wanted to discuss it with you, Dorothy."
Suddenly, two boys approached them.
"Shringar?"
The three of them looked in the direction of the voice.
Dorothy said, "Lalit?"
Lalit asked, "Both of you know each other?"
Shringar replied, "Sorry, Lalit. I do not know you."
Lalit said, "I am Lalit Roy. We all know that you lost your memories."
The other boy said, "I am Gaurav Das. We are both your classmates."
Dorothy said, "I did not have the pleasure of meeting Gaurav, but Lalit took me to the hospital that night of nightmares."
Shringar said, "Fine. I will be joining school this week. We will meet then. I should go back home now."
They agreed, but Officer Prakash warned, "Be careful not to trigger Shringar's memories with your discussion. It might cause mental health issues."
Shringar noticed his concern and exchanged her phone number with Dorothy, then left.
Officer Prakash said, "Let me give you a lift."
Shringar nodded.
While silently walking back toward Tingle Coffee, they noticed a small pandal.
"I do not think there is any festival around," Shringar said.
"Yes, it seems like something else is going on inside," Officer Prakash replied.
"Interested to know?" Shringar asked.
"Yes…. I guess perks of being a police officer," Officer Prakash said.
Both of them started walking towards it.
Shringar noticed a lot of people around. When they entered the pandal, they noticed a small chandelier hanging above. Shringar saw Officer Prakash going to ask about the event, while she started looking around.
She tended to push herself to remember her past, and at that moment she was doing the same. That definitely made her tired. It felt as if she had been reborn with the continuation of her previous life.
Suddenly, she saw a man wearing an ultraviolet-colored dress. She felt a little scared but noticed that he was not wearing any mask, as per the testimonies. Still, the man did not look normal to her, so she planned to inform Officer Prakash.
Then Officer Prakash came back and told her that the pandal was for distributing sweets to the public due to the inauguration of an orphanage called Devki's Bright Children. He even bought two boxes of sweets and gave one to Shringar.
When Shringar tried to inform him about the strange man, screams erupted through the crowd. They saw a man injured by the ultraviolet-dressed man attacking him with a knife.
"VeilTus betrayed me… betrayed…" the man kept murmuring.
Everyone panicked, and Officer Prakash realised that the man had lost his grip on reality. He needed to be admitted to an asylum immediately.
Suddenly, a voice called out from behind, "HEY YOU! WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING THE WEAK? COME AT ME!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice.
They saw a woman in her late twenties wearing black heels, blue jeans, a pink top with a white shirt over it left open, pink glasses, and her hair tied in a bun with two thick locks falling on both sides.
"That is Assistant Inspector Puja…" Officer Prakash said, taking a few seconds to recognise her.
"You know her?" Shringar asked.
"Yes. She recently joined our force. She is a very clumsy woman with an unreasonable amount of enthusiasm, but evidently strong. She even proved to be the strongest in our force. This is the first time I have seen her in casual clothes, which is why it took me a while to recognise her. But no wonder, such a reckless action, asking for a fight when she could have just drawn her gun and forced him to stop. For God's sake, he has a knife," Officer Prakash said with irritation.
The mysterious man charged at her without hesitation and swung the knife. She swiftly dodged the blow and landed a powerful punch under his chin. He almost fell and screamed in pain. As he tried to regain balance, she kicked him in the abdomen and knocked him down.
However, he suddenly ran toward the crowd and grabbed a child as a hostage.
That was when Assistant Inspector Puja drew her revolver and pointed it at him. "This is the police! Lower your knife and surrender!"
Officer Prakash said angrily, "I was stupid enough to leave it to her, expecting her to do something better."
Shringar murmured, "Perfect."
Officer Prakash looked at her in disbelief,
"What are you talking about?"
"Officer, do you have your revolver right now?" Shringar asked.
Officer Prakash nodded, realising she was up to something.
"And do you have a silencer?" she asked.
"Yes, what about it?"
"I have an idea. I have been carefully observing their positions and was waiting for this moment," Shringar said.
Officer Prakash looked back. All he could see was the child crying uncontrollably while the man screamed, "YOU ALL ARE TRAITORS!"
"Look above, Officer," Shringar said.
Officer Prakash understood and slowly moved aside.
Assistant Inspector Puja seemed to realise the man was completely unstable, yet she continued threatening him. "I will shoot you if you do not stop this nonsense!"
The man laughed while looking up, and suddenly the chandelier fell on him. Since it was small, it did not injure him severely, but it distracted him long enough for the child to escape and run to his mother unharmed.
Taking advantage of the moment, Puja shot him in the leg, making him collapse. Both Assistant Inspector Puja and Officer Prakash aimed their revolvers at him and arrested him.
He thanked Shringar.
Assistant Inspector Puja asked, "You could have shot him in the leg if you were hidden in the crowd."
"No. If I had done that, there was a possibility he would have tightened his grip and killed the child," Officer Prakash said.
Assistant Inspector Puja smiled cheerfully. "How lucky that the chandelier fell on its own."
"No," Officer Prakash interjected, "It was not pure luck. It was a mixture of luck and intelligence, the intelligence of Shringar."
"WHAT!?" Assistant Inspector Puja shrieked.
Officer Prakash nodded. "Yes. She asked me to shoot the rope holding the chandelier when the timing was right."
He turned to Shringar and said, "I am sorry, Shringar, but I cannot give you a lift today. We have to take care of this man."
She smiled. "It is alright. I should go now."
She walked home alone.
While walking, only one thought echoed in her mind:
What is VeilTus…?