Sudhanshu continued speaking with firm conviction. "I am absolutely certain that she has gone somewhere far away. The description of her clothes that you are giving is nothing but a clever disguise, meant to throw people off her trail. It is all smoke and mirrors so that no one can recognise her."
Arjun looked puzzled and asked, "But she was alone. I did not see any companion with her."
Sudhanshu replied in a calm, measured voice, "That is exactly how they planned it. If both of them appear together, they will easily get caught. These people know every trick in the book to stay hidden. They are physiotherapists by profession, after all. They must have used face masks, changed their appearances, and stayed low for so many days.
It would have been impossible otherwise to remain invisible for this long."He paused for a moment, then added thoughtfully, "And another thing, Arjun – I do not see much hope in getting help from the police now. We will have to continue the search ourselves. But let me ask you this honestly: you have already been proven innocent in this case. Those people are missing.
Why do we need to get involved in all this mess anymore?"
Sudhanshu's tone grew gentler, almost brotherly. "We cannot file a defamation case against them now. Let it go, my friend. Stop chasing the ghosts of the past. Scratching old wounds will only make them bleed again. Nothing good will come of it."He continued, echoing the wisdom he had heard at home.
"Mother is right. This advice is only for your own good. We do not need to fall into these complications. Thank God that you were cleared so quickly. Otherwise, many innocent people spend their entire lives behind bars. It is the result of all our prayers that you returned home safe and without any stain on your name. We have no other desires left. Your safe and honourable return is the greatest blessing God could have given us."
Sudhanshu looked straight into Arjun's eyes. "Whether Shreya is alive or dead should not matter to us anymore. Every time she entered your life, she only brought pain and loss. Be practical, Arjun. Life does not run on emotions alone. If your feelings are becoming a burden on your family and weakening you, then you must distance yourself from this one-sided attachment.
"He placed a hand on Arjun's shoulder. "There is no point in pouring all your energy into this place. Separate yourself from it. If needed, be a little ruthless. What is the use of knowing the path to a place you should never visit?"
Sudhanshu then spoke with the warmth of true friendship. "Come, let us get a tetanus injection. At least there will be no chance of infection." His words were not mere sarcasm. They carried a deeper meaning – a quiet symbol. Some wounds, if not cleaned in time, begin to rot and spread poison. The injection was a reminder that hidden pains must be treated before they destroy everything.
"Come on, let's go," Sudhanshu said. "There is no time left for overthinking. The wound is deep, that is why I am speaking like this. I am not taunting you, my brother."He quoted gently, "Not every pain needs to be endured heroically, and not every relationship must be carried forward, especially when that relationship is slowly erasing you from inside."
Just as Sudhanshu and Arjun were about to step out for the injection, Arjun's phone rang. It was Suyash on the other end.
His voice sounded urgent."Arjun, I had asked someone to gather information for me. I just received news that a girl who looks exactly like Shreya was seen boarding a train at Vardhman station. She might have gone to Kolkata, or perhaps somewhere else. We are still trying to confirm the final destination."
Suyash went on, "Wasn't that the same place from where Rani had sent you that letter?"
His voice carried a strange restlessness, as if he stood on the edge of an unfinished truth. "If Rani is actually Shreya, then I have been searching for her for many years."There was complete silence on the phone for a few moments.
Then Suyash spoke again, his tone heavy with emotion. "I cannot explain the reason right now. There are some deeply personal matters that I can only share when we meet face to face. Even I am trying to understand why the wheel of time is pulling me back towards my past."
He let out a long, regretful sigh, as though he had been carrying a heavy decision for many days. "Please help me, Arjun. Any information you or your family have about Rani's childhood – her real name, places she mentioned, relationships, any special incidents she often talked about– share everything with me. Give me whatever memories or things you have connected to her."
His voice had turned into pure pleading. "Perhaps in these scattered pieces of information lies the thread of some hidden truth. If we can catch it in time, maybe a lot can change. Maybe one life can be brought back to the right path."
Sudhanshu took the phone from Arjun's hand and spoke directly. "Brother, we have already won the case. Why get tangled in unnecessary matters now?"
But Suyash's voice trembled with deep longing. "Sudhanshu, finding out everything about Rani is extremely important to me. Did she ever mention anything about her family to you people?
Please try to remember. Any small incident, any story from the past that might connect these broken links and strengthen my belief that she is indeed my Rani."
Arjun thought for a while, searching his memory. Suddenly, something surfaced. "She often remembered her Raja Dada very fondly. That is why she could never accept me as her brother."
The moment those words left Arjun's mouth, Suyash exploded with emotion on the other side of the phone. "I am that Raja Dada! She is my own younger sister. I could never do anything for her."
His voice cracked. "I searched for her everywhere. I even put advertisements in newspapers, but I never received a single clue about her whereabouts."
It sounded as if Suyash was on the verge of breaking down into tears. The sorrow in his voice was deeper than anything he had felt as a child when he had been separated from his little sister. The pain of years of unanswered questions, of silent guilt, and of endless longing poured out in that moment.
Sudhanshu and Arjun exchanged glances, stunned by the unexpected revelation. What had begun as a search for truth about a mysterious woman had suddenly turned into a reunion of blood ties lost in the mist of time. The threads of destiny were slowly weaving themselves together, pulling the past into the present with irresistible force.
Arjun stood motionless, processing the weight of Suyash's words. The woman who had once entered his life like a storm, bringing both love and destruction, was now revealing layers no one had imagined.
Sudhanshu, ever the practical one, remained quiet, but even he could sense that the story was far from over. Outside the window, the evening light was fading. Somewhere in the distance, a train whistle echoed faintly, as if reminding them that journeys – whether physical or emotional – never truly end. They only transform, carrying secrets from one station of life to another.
Suyash's broken voice still lingered on the phone. The search that had once seemed like chasing shadows had now found a living heartbeat. A brother's long-lost hope had ignited again, fragile yet burning with determination. And these men stood at the crossroads of truth, each carrying his own wounds, each hoping that the coming days would finally bring answers to questions that had haunted them for far too long.
The tetanus injection was forgotten for the moment. Some wounds of the heart needed more than medicine – they needed truth, courage, and the willingness to walk into the unknown once more. As the call continued, they realised that the real journey was only beginning. The past had returned, wearing the face of a missing woman, and it demanded to be confronted.
Whether it would bring healing or fresh pain, only time would tell. But for now, in that single phone call, a new chapter had quietly opened – one filled with hope, sorrow, and the unbreakable bond of blood.
© Copyright Pushpa Chaturvedi
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