The vital signs monitor indicated that the man was alive. Dr. Janki asked for an update on his condition in the chat. Sophie's mother texted her about his usual condition, and Dr. Janki asked her to let Shringar know everything without involving the police. Sophie's mother seemed anxious, but she knew how important it was. Shringar picked up her phone, which had been continuously buzzing. She noticed a ton of messages in her 'Secret Mission' group chat, which had been created by Lalit and Gaurav after their meeting regarding the case. Shringar started reading the messages.
Dorothy's message: {I was asked to be present at the police station after my college classes. When I went there, I found out that Officer Rani had not handed over the recording to the higher-ups the previous day because she had forgotten. So, they asked me to listen to the entire recording to confirm whether it was the original one. I confirmed that it was the correct recording and then went back.}
Lalit answered, "That's strange. Why would an officer like Rani forget such crucial evidence? I think something is wrong. I suggest that everyone avoid submitting any evidence to her, especially outside the station. If possible, give it to another officer, someone who seems reliable."
Sanskar suggested, "I believe Officer Prakash is the key. He is helping Shringar anyway, so we should rely on him."
Everyone agreed. Even Shringar agreed with them.
Later, Shringar received a phone call from Prakash. She picked up and heard his voice on the other end of the line.
"Shringar, a lot of things happened today. Perhaps you already know about Dorothy's part, so I will tell you the rest."
Shringar sat intently beside the window and listened to him. Prakash continued, "There is another reason why I came to help you. I believe Officer Rani is connected to someone outside the station to whom she keeps giving information. Raghuvendra Sinha was in a special cell, yet he died within just two days without any trouble. It is really strange. But I cannot completely go against her just because of that."
Shringar asked, "What happened to Officer Rani this morning regarding the recording?"
"She was warned by the Deputy Superintendent because he could not get anything significant out of the interrogation, apart from the fact that she had forgotten to hand over the recording. She kept insisting on that excuse and got away with it. The Chief approved my request. She asked us to investigate 'Swara'. She even said that she had a feeling it was somehow connected to the case."
Shringar said, "That is really good news."
Prakash continued, "Well, we are currently trying to decipher the words Raghuvendra Sinha mentioned: 'VeilTus', 'Blessed Children' and 'Synthesized Demons'. We found out about the 'Blessed Children', though we are still searching for information about the other two."
Shringar listened eagerly as Prakash continued, "We consulted a specialist brought in by Dr. Vanessa, Dr. Ravi Raj Roy from Devki Science Lab. He told us about the concept of Blessed Children. Blessed Children are believed to be part of a series of phenomena predicted by many scientists around the time when 'Swara' was discovered. This is also known as 'Swara's Effect'.
"Swara was discovered in the cold mountains of Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir, by six mysterious travellers. It was taken out from deep inside a ditch."
Shringar interjected, "I have read that part about the mysterious Indian travellers finding Swara in the northernmost region of India. But whenever I read the part about the ditch, I always get chills down my spine. How could something as warm as Swara have been discovered in such a cold place?"
Prakash agreed and continued, "Now comes the new information. Swara is an extremely powerful energy, which is why it is now kept in such a strong container. When the energy was exposed to the outside atmosphere, strange rays were reflected from it across the world. Scientists realised that it must have some effect on the world.
"Several tests conducted by doctors and scientists revealed that children aged from zero to ten at the time Swara was discovered, as well as babies who were in the womb at that time, had a strange energy inside their bodies. That energy was as magical as Swara, which is why the term 'Blessed Children' came into being. Some scientists suggested that Blessed Children might be able to open certain chakras within themselves, allowing them to produce magic or develop extrasensory perception. Shringar, do you know what extrasensory perception is?"
Shringar answered, "Yes, I have heard of it before. It means perception that involves awareness of and information about events external to oneself, which is not gained through the senses or deduced from previous experience."
Prakash said, "Absolutely correct, Shringar. Your father was one of the scientists from the Department of Science that led the tests. Dr. Ravi Raj, who was one of the doctors involved, provided us with all the information and the lists of doctors and scientists who had participated in the research eight years ago, when Swara was discovered."
Shringar was shocked to hear that. She remained silent for a brief moment, and Prakash waited for her to speak.
She finally said, "Officer Prakash, I am thankful to you. If you had not been here, I would never have learnt about these things."
Prakash replied, "Do not worry, Shringar. I am just fulfilling my oath. Also, for some reason, I have come to trust you a lot myself. I guess it is a police officer's instinct.
"Since Swara was discovered eight years ago, I believe you were eight years old at the time. So, you are one of the Blessed Children, Shringar. Everyone in your generation is as well. You are all unique beings. I wonder what powers you will discover in the future."
Shringar smiled and said, "Yes, I figured that out. But there is a chance that I might not be able to develop any strength because, even though we have an advantage due to Swara's Effect, we are still human beings."
Prakash agreed, but he seemed convinced that Shringar would discover her inner powers sooner or later.
He continued, "Well, the real issue is that Raghuvendra Sinha did talk about brainwashing and mentioned his own child once during his session with Dr. Vanessa. He used the phrase 'Also his child'. We are safely assuming that VeilTus is brainwashing Blessed Children and that Raghuvendra Sinha's son is being brainwashed as well.
"We found a photograph of his family at his place, which helped us establish that his son belongs to the Blessed Children generation. After discussing the situation with Dr. Vanessa, she concluded that Raghuvendra Sinha had lost his sanity because VeilTus had betrayed him. It had promised him something but failed to fulfil that promise. Instead, it brainwashed his son and used him for something. We all agreed with her.
"Our focus now is to find VeilTus, which we, along with you, have assumed to be an organisation. Sub-Inspector Chanakya did say that a small group or an individual could not pull so many strings. It must be a full-fledged secret organisation operating right under our noses.
"We also agreed that Raghuvendra Sinha was a member of VeilTus and that all those people wearing ultraviolet-coloured clothes were its members. We are worried about the other children, so we will work quickly now.
"But what is even more concerning is the phrase 'Synthesized Demons' that Raghuvendra Sinha mentioned. Who knows what devious plans VeilTus will carry out?"
Shringar said, "Let's hope for the best."
They ended the call, and Shringar lay down on her bed to sleep. It was 1:08 am. She needed to sleep; otherwise, Dr. Nitish would get angry.
The next afternoon, Shringar proceeded towards the counselling session. On the way, she found Elina and Sanskar talking to each other. Shringar approached them.
Sanskar said, "Look at Elina's sketchbook, Shringar."
It contained a drawing of an accident taking place in front of Devki's Psychiatric Institute. While Shringar was trying to make sense of the drawing, Sanskar said, "Elina claims that she drew it in her sleep. She remembers watching the entire thing in her sleep. When she woke up, she noticed that she was holding a pencil and this sketchbook."
Shringar asked, "How is that even possible?"
Elina said, "It did happen, though. It is not a false claim."
Sanskar agreed. "The scene is so vivid, as if it were real. But nothing like that actually happened in reality. Dreams can be so complicated, can't they?"
Elina smiled at Sanskar, and Shringar noticed the street clock in the drawing, which showed 14:53. The date written below the clock was today's date. Strangely, it was around 14:34 on Shringar's watch.
Shringar pointed out this detail to Elina, and Sanskar asked, "Shringar, do you think it is a vision? Because we will reach our destination around that time if we walk there."
Shringar was confused and suddenly remembered the 'Blessed Children' that Officer Prakash had talked about over the phone. She had shared the information from their last phone call in the 'Secret Mission' group chat, but perhaps this situation had not rung any bells in their minds.
Elina laughed and said, "Stop saying such nonsense, Sanskar. The supernatural is not real."
Sanskar replied, "Why not? If Swara can exist in our world, then why can't the supernatural?"
The police telephone rang, and Sub-Inspector Puja picked it up.
"Hello, this is the task force. Is there anything I can do for you?"
The voice on the other end slowly replied, "Inspector… I have my suspicions about Dr. Nitish."
Puja was a little confused and asked, "Who is this? Where are you calling from? Why do you suspect Dr. Nitish?"
Officer Prakash, who was reading through all the reports containing the information they had gathered so far, overheard Puja's questions.
The caller said, "I… I am calling you from a telephone booth, ma'am. I want to keep my identity anonymous… Please beware of Dr. Nitish. He tried to threaten me."
Puja was surprised. "You may keep your identity anonymous. But what kind of threat are you talking about?"
Prakash approached Sub-Inspector Chanakya and whispered to him, "Trace the call."
Chanakya began tracing the call.
The caller continued, "Ma'am, it is just an instinct… but that person has eyes as cold as those of the VeilTus members. It is as if they all have the same eerie look in their eyes. Please investigate him before he harms Shringar in any way."
The call was disconnected, and the police traced it.
It was 14:50, and Shringar, along with Sanskar and Elina, reached their destination. They were about to cross the road.
Elina said, "I like magic and fantasy. Reality feels boring sometimes. I wish magic were real. To be honest, when I heard about Swara, I felt as though magic existed."
Sanskar nodded with a smile.
Suddenly, a car lost control, and a motorcyclist panicked and failed to move out of the way, causing the car to collide with the motorcycle. The crash was severe, and everyone was frightened.
Elina exclaimed in shock, "This… This is exactly like my dream…"
Shrangar looked at the street clock and noticed that it was 14:53.
Sanskar called an ambulance, while Shringar called the police.
Meanwhile, Officer Prakash, Sub-Inspector Puja and Officer Rani went to look for the person who had called from the telephone booth. They reached the spot but found no one there. They searched the surrounding area but found nothing.
Officer Rani kept lecturing Puja, telling her what to do and what not to do. Recently, Puja had been feeling rather down because of everyone's behaviour towards her in the task force. She no longer smiled as she used to.
Prakash approached them and calmly asked Rani not to yell at Puja.
It seems evident that Officer Prakash and Officer Rani hate each other, Puja thought.
Prakash then calmly said, "Sub-Inspector, please check which of the suspects in this case lives nearby or has a workplace in this area."
"Yes, sir!" Puja replied energetically.
Elina ran towards the staff room, and Shringar and Sanskar followed her. She approached Dr Ravi Raj Roy, the psychiatrist who conducted their free counselling sessions. Elina showed him her sketchbook, as he was the one who had disclosed the concept of "Blessed Children".
Elina said, "Doc, look at my sketchbook. I drew this event in my sleep last night, and today it actually occurred. Do you think I have some sort of powers within me?"
Dr Raj looked at her sketch and felt uneasy. He said, "Sometimes people do see visions, but that does not mean they all have powers."
Sanskar interjected, "But, Dr Raj, we saw the accident, and it was exactly the same as in the picture. Look at the details. It is not just a simple vision. Seeing visions can happen sometimes, but drawing one while sleeping is absurd."
Dr Raj explained, "Look here, kids. Every human being has powers within their mind. Through immense willpower, they can activate their power chakras. But there are some people whose chakras are easier to open. Due to 'Swara', some people really did gain powers. Possibly, Elina is one of them.
"Miss Devki is an NGO worker. She is the richest person in Asia and has funded many institutions. She has also founded many institutes herself, as well as an orphanage recently. Thanks to her help, we have learnt a lot about 'Swara' and its effects. There is a term called 'Blessed Children', which we discovered through numerous tests. Elina is one of them."
Shringar received a message from Sophie. Sanskar noticed and asked her about it.
Shringar said, "Well, I got into an art institute, and I met Sophie there."
Sanskar asked, "When did you get into an art institute?"
Shringar answered, "Gaurav is in it, and he asked me to join."
Sanskar glared at Shringar and asked, "Does he talk to you a lot?"
Shringar looked a bit confused and said, "Not really. Why did you ask?"
Sanskar answered, "Nothing. It is just that I do not like him. During the discussion, he was looking at you, and I did not like that. I guess I am a boy, so I have that instinct."
Shringar smiled and said, "Do not worry, Sanskar. He may dress like a bad boy, but he is a kind guy."
Sanskar smiled.
Shringar read the message. Sophie eagerly wanted Shringar to visit her house someday. It had been a few days since Shringar had started attending the art institute. She had learnt that Sophie lived in the same locality as her. Not only that, they were immediate neighbours as well. Shringar lived in house no. 38, and Sophie lived in house no. 39.
Although Shringar did not want to take their relationship forward so quickly as to visit Sophie's house, she also did not want to worry Dr Nitish, who was very protective of her. So, she politely declined Sophie's offer.
Meanwhile, Officer Prakash learnt that Dorothy's college was somewhere in the area around the telephone booth. Sub-Inspector Puja added that the caller's voice belonged to a young girl and that she had sounded anxious.
Officer Prakash thought, If it was really Dorothy, then why did she call us anonymously? What made her believe that Dr Nitish was a threat who could hurt Shringar? We have not told the suspects anything about our prime suspect. So, why did she do this all of a sudden?
Officer Rani said, "We should go and ask her."
Everyone agreed, but Officer Prakash said, "Wait. We should not hurry right now. Miss Dorothy wants to keep her identity anonymous, so there must be a reason behind it."
Officer Rani asked, "Then how will we find out?"
Sub-Inspector Chanakya said, "Maybe we should follow her and then approach her."
Officer Prakash felt a sense of unease about Shringar.
The next morning, Shringar had just woken up and started watching the news on TV to see if there was anything new in the news. She was waiting for Dr Nitish to return.
He bought some new furniture. But the delivery men were confused about our address, so he went out to check. Honestly, I do not like it at all. I am a bit of an introvert. Because of all this, I could not check my mobile today. What if Officer Prakash sent me an important message or something? I never miss his messages.
Dr Nitish returned, and the furniture was brought inside the house properly. The only thing left was to place everything in the right spots. Shringar lent him a hand. Dr Nitish was happy to see her helping him.
He said, "Shringar, I am really sorry that I have not been able to keep you company recently because of work. Thanks for helping, though."
Shringar smiled and said, "Please do not apologise. I completely understand your situation, Dr Nitish. There should be no compromise when it comes to work, and that is a good thing."
It was Sunday, and both Shringar and Dr Nitish were free.
"Let's make some plans and go to a restaurant today," Dr Nitish offered.
Shringar blinked twice in a row and asked, "Won't it be expensive?"
Dr Nitish said, "Do not worry about it, dear. I can at least do this for you."
He is saying that, but he has been doing a lot for me since day one, Shringar thought to herself.
Ultimately, after a bit of insistence, she agreed to go out with him. Dr Nitish had almost started a pillow fight with Shringar to make her accept his offer. She could not refuse him, and she found his behaviour a bit cute as well.
Officer Prakash came to Dr Nitish's house to check on Shringar. He was worried about her because of the phone call.
Yesterday, Officer Rani asked Miss Dorothy about the phone call, and she hesitantly denied making it. Her hesitation only made us more suspicious that she was the one who had called us. However, since we do not have much evidence, we could not do much about it. Shringar has not checked any of my messages since yesterday either, Officer Prakash thought to himself.
There were still many questions lingering in his mind. He pressed the doorbell of Dr Nitish's house.
Both Dr Nitish and Shringar were holding a heavy piece of furniture, so they decided to open the door after putting it down. However, the doorbell kept ringing every five seconds.
Officer Prakash tried to peer through the window, but the blurry glass obscured his view. He could make out only two figures, one tall and one short, struggling with a large piece of furniture. The taller figure seemed to be overpowering the shorter one, whose movements appeared almost defensive. To Prakash, it looked as though the taller figure was trying to harm the shorter one.
Suddenly, the shorter figure stumbled and fell. Officer Prakash could only watch as the figure appeared to get hurt. Unable to bear it any longer, he began banging on the door.
Dr Nitish was helping Shringar get up, and she got scared when she heard the loud banging. Dr Nitish became furious.
Suddenly, the banging stopped, and the window glass shattered. Both Dr Nitish and Shringar were shocked to see what had happened. A moderately large stone had been used to break the window.
Dr Nitish and Shringar went outside to see what had happened. Many neighbours came out of their houses to see what was going on at house no. 38. Sophie and her mother also came out to look from the other side of Shringar's house, which was house no. 39.
Seeing Officer Prakash shocked both Shringar and Dr Nitish. For a brief moment, Sophie and her mother exchanged glances before turning their attention back to the scene.
Dr Nitish approached Officer Prakash and asked angrily and loudly, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU UP TO, OFFICER PRAKASH? ARE YOU PLANNING TO KILL US OR SOMETHING?"
Officer Prakash coldly asked in return, "Were you trying to kill Shringar?"
Shringar answered, "What are you talking about, Officer Prakash? We were arranging the furniture. I just stumbled and fell by accident."
Officer Prakash came to his senses and realised what had happened.
Dr Nitish stepped closer to Officer Prakash with an intimidating stare and said, "I killed Shringar in your dreams, I guess."
Officer Prakash did not flinch or show any fear. Instead, he realised what the caller had meant by "cold eyes".
Shringar could not hear Dr Nitish's last statement.
Officer Prakash immediately apologised to them, but Dr Nitish screamed loudly enough for the neighbours to hear him clearly.
"THE HELL WITH YOUR APOLOGY, OFFICER! ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU NEED A PSYCHIATRIST! WHAT KIND OF A POLICE OFFICER ARE YOU, HUH? YOU ARE BEING PARANOID. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH YOU SCARED US? OR HAVE ANY CLUE HOW COSTLY THE WINDOW REPAIRS WILL BE?"
The neighbours started whispering among themselves.
"Look how bad the police are nowadays. This man is so bad."
Shringar did not like the situation one bit, especially the neighbours' gossip about Officer Prakash. She also could not understand why he had thought that Dr Nitish was trying to harm her.
Officer Prakash said, "I am really sorry, Doctor. I will pay for the repairs. Please forgive my intrusion. I know what I did was absolutely rash. I am sorry."
Dr Nitish smirked, wearing the same cold expression in his eyes, as though he enjoyed watching Officer Prakash being humiliated and forced to apologise.
For some reason, Officer Prakash wanted Shringar to see her beloved Dr Nitish behaving this way. However, she was standing behind Dr Nitish, so she had no idea what his facial expression looked like at that moment.
The neighbours became even more suspicious of Officer Prakash. Some of them asked, "Nitish, why don't you call an asylum? This man does not seem well to us."
Officer Prakash knew that Dr Nitish had a good reputation as a doctor and that this was why the neighbours were much more supportive of him. Therefore, he did not feel angry.
Dr Nitish smiled and said, "Do not worry. We will manage."
He looked back at Officer Prakash and smiled faintly. "Honestly, Officer Prakash, your constant serious expression might frighten some people, but I cannot take it seriously. And, if you ask me, you do not exactly have the face of a man who can intimidate others."
Officer Prakash was surprised to hear him speak like that. Some of the neighbours laughed at his comment, and Shringar stepped into the argument to stop Dr Nitish from going any further.
"Please stop it. Officer Prakash, please do not mind him. He is just angry. We need to focus on the window repairs. That is all. Officer Prakash, we need your assistance with this."
The neighbours were about to leave, and Dr Nitish turned around to go inside and call someone to repair the window.
Suddenly, Officer Prakash spoke calmly.
"Dr Nitish, your reputation precedes you. No wonder everyone has taken your side despite your harsh words. Let me tell you why you became so angry. It is because you know the reason behind my suspicion."
Shringar was confused.
Officer Prakash continued, "Someone is revealing all the information related to our case to you. You know very well that you are our prime suspect in Shringar's father's death."
Shringar asked angrily, "Officer Prakash, are you serious?"
Cold sweat began to bead on Dr Nitish's forehead.
Officer Prakash nodded. "I know you trust Dr Nitish the most out of everyone you have met so far because he was the first person you met and you spend most of your time with him. He shows kindness towards you and is amiable. However, he has been our prime suspect for a while because of his dubious actions."
"What dubious actions?" Shringar asked seriously.
Officer Prakash looked at Dr Nitish and said, "He rarely visits the nursing home where he works. Our intelligence team has informed us that he often realises when he is being followed and finds ways to mislead our officers and lose them. As a result, we usually have no idea where he goes on most days."
Shringar became a little frightened.
Officer Prakash continued, "The biggest reason he became our prime suspect is that he asked us, under orders from senior doctors, to keep you with him until you completely recover. We were also instructed not to trigger too many of your memories and to keep our mouths shut about certain information."
Dr Nitish turned towards Officer Prakash and warned him, "Do not dare to disobey those orders, or you will lose your job."
Shringar's anger shifted towards Dr Nitish. She said angrily and authoritatively, "Do not worry, Officer Prakash. Do tell me everything I need to know. Dr Nitish has no right to stop you. I will be the judge of whether it triggers my memories or not. And Dr Nitish, I have immense respect for Officer Prakash, so if you try to do anything bad to him, I will go and stay at the orphanage instead of your house.
"Also, if you ask me, Officer Prakash, you should know that I am quite unbiased because I trust myself the most. However, I do not have access to my memories, so I will simply observe."
Dr Nitish became furious. Even Shringar could see the cold look in his eyes, which felt far too familiar to the look of the culprit who had killed her family.
Sophie and her mother smiled, and the neighbours stopped gossiping and left.
Officer Prakash said, "This is vital information, but you need to know it. On the night of your family's murder, an autopsy was conducted. It was found that the DNA of the dead women and the girl, except for your father, did not match yours or your father's."
Shringar's eyes widened.
He continued, "Not only that, but the girl who was supposed to be your older sister had died 24 hours before the incident. The murderer might have thought that the girl was sleeping and continued hitting her with the hammer, unaware that she was already dead."
Shringar asked, "So, does that mean my mother and my sister did not die that night?"
Officer Prakash sighed and said, "Yes. They are missing, and we do not know whether they are actually alive or not. But at the very least, they did not die that night.
"The dead girl was Priya Sanayal, and the woman who died alongside your father that night was Ritu Sanayal, Priya's mother, who used to work as a cleaner at your father's lab.
"Both Ritu and Priya were grateful to your father because he had helped them financially. Ritu had a heart disease and was nearing death, so she wanted to leave the city and return to the village she came from. She came with her daughter to say farewell to your father.
"She stayed at the cottage behind the guest house where you and your family were staying for three days. On the last day, she brought her daughter's body to the guest house. Her daughter had died from slow poisoning.
"Your father knew that he was supposed to die that night, which was why he hid you, your mother and your sister somewhere. But for some reason, you still managed to return, probably because you wanted to take your father with you.
"However, Ritu stopped you both, and then the incident took place. We learnt this information through surveillance cameras around the guest house and from Ritu's neighbours."
Shringar began thinking about everything he had said and put pressure on herself to remember. Suddenly, a scene came back to her.
[Ritu smirked and said, "I am a member of VeilTus. VeilTus promised that they would restore my health and bring my daughter back to life if I worked for them. They told me that if my daughter was one of those 'Blessed Children', I just had to kill her. They promised to bring my daughter back to life, awaken her powers as a 'Blessed Child', and make those powers even stronger once they got their hands on 'Swara'. Our mission is to activate their powers and make them part of our army. 'Synthesized Demons' are not enough."
Mr Abhigyan Das said, "Ritu, try to understand. You are being brainwashed, just like those other VeilTus members and the 'Blessed Children'. These terrorists prey on your sorrows. They always do that. My friend died because of them. You killed your own daughter."
Ritu laughed and said, "Sir, you will not understand. This is the only hope I am living for."
Suddenly, Mr Abhigyan Das noticed Shringar standing at the entrance. He screamed, "SHRINGAR!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? You are supposed to be with your mother and sister."
Shringar entered, held her father's hand and smiled as though she knew what was about to happen. She said, "I will not leave without you."]
As Shringar recalled all these events, she suddenly lost her balance and almost fell. Despite being closer to her, Dr Nitish did not move an inch. His eyes remained empty as he watched. Officer Prakash, however, rushed forward and caught her before she hit the ground, holding her firmly to ensure she was safe.
Her eyes remained numb, and her hands trembled slightly.
Dr Nitish's lips curled into a cold smile as he said, "I told you not to trigger her memories."
"Nothing happened, Doctor. I do not remember anything in particular. I am just shocked to hear all those things." Shringar replied.
Dr Nitish held her and said, "It is time for your medicine, dear. Do not overthink things. Get some rest. And Officer Prakash, do not ever come back here to disturb us."
After taking her medicine, Shringar tried to sleep. Suddenly, a message popped up on her phone. She picked it up and saw that Sophie had messaged her. She first read Officer Prakash's messages from the previous day about the anonymous phone call, then opened Sophie's message.
{Shringar, I want you to come to my house tonight. There is something important that you need to know.}
A photo appeared below the message. It showed a man lying on a bed, connected to a saline drip and a vital signs monitor. His face was covered, but he appeared to be a young adult.
Shringar decided to meet Sophie. She remembered how Sophie and her mother had silently observed the scene earlier without passing any judgement, as though they knew something.
Dr Nitish said, "Shringar, I am sorry, but we cannot go to the restaurant today. I have some work to do."
Shringar smiled and asked if she could visit her neighbour, whom she had met at the art institute. He hesitantly agreed but asked her to return home if she felt tired or unwell.
She reached Sophie's house, where Sophie warmly welcomed her inside. Sophie's mother had prepared delicious food for her, but Shringar wanted to meet the person in the photograph.
Sophie and her mother led her to the basement. It was dimly lit, with an eerie atmosphere and a pleasant lilac scent that seemed to promote sleep.
Shringar approached the man, who lay motionless on the bed, connected to a vital signs monitor that showed he was still alive. He appeared to have been in a vegetative state for quite some time.
As she drew closer, she was shocked by what she saw. The man was none other than Dr Nitish.
Shringar stared at him in disbelief, fear creeping over her.
"Impossible," she whispered.