Madhav Kaka, with the calm wisdom that comes from years of watching life unfold, leaned forward and gave Suyash a thoughtful suggestion. "Let us place an advertisement in the newspaper under the name 'Rani'.
Who knows? It might bring us a clue, or perhaps Rani herself will contact us."
The idea was rooted in a simple truth. In her childhood, only a few close relatives and trusted people had ever called her by that name. As time passed, the name had faded from her daily life. It no longer matched the identity she carried in the present. Even her adoptive parents had never known her real name. To the world, she lived under a different name and a different story.
That was why an advertisement with the word 'Rani' would look ordinary to most readers. But for the one person to whom it truly belonged, it could awaken old memories and shake her heart like a sudden storm.This was not a random plan. It came from deep experience and a sharp understanding of the human mind. Madhav Kaka believed that if she was still alive, and if any thread of her childhood remained alive inside her, the name would stir her deeply. She might not step forward at once, but her uneasiness, a small mistake, or a restless move could point toward the truth. The advertisement was more than words in print. It was a bridge between past and present, a gentle yet powerful attempt to touch hidden memories.
While they were still thinking about this idea, Suyash's loyal friend and police officer Anirudh arrived with surprising news. About a month earlier, he had stopped at a simple dhaba on the outskirts of Barasat, near Kolkata. While eating there, his eyes fell on a couple whose faces looked exactly like Shreya and Naman.The same features, the same eyes, and the same manner of walking made it seem as if the two people declared dead had returned to life.
Anirudh had witnessed a fierce argument between them. Their voices grew loud, drawing everyone's attention. The quarrel became so intense that the dhaba owner had to step in to stop it from turning into a physical fight. Later inquiries revealed more.
During the heated exchange, the couple had thrown serious accusations at each other. The argument ended with them deciding they could no longer stay together. News of their separation soon spread, adding fresh mystery to the case.
It was shocking to know they were alive, because official records said both Shreya and Naman had been murdered and their bodies burned. If they were dead, then who were these two people who looked exactly like them?
As soon as the police received this information, they began a quick search. They questioned locals around the dhaba and set up roadblocks. But just as officers drew near, the mysterious couple slipped away quietly. No one could trace their next destination. Still, one fact now stood clear: the people thought to be dead were very much alive.
The question was no longer about their survival. It had become about where they had hidden all this time and what truth they were hiding from the world. It felt as if a long-forgotten memory had suddenly stepped out of a locked box.The investigation now spread wider.
It raised serious questions for the entire system. Whose bodies had actually been cremated in the names of Naman and Shreya?
Who had taken their place on the funeral pyre?
Arjun and Suyash decided they would not depend only on files this time. They would quietly go out and speak to people themselves. They started with government hospitals and police mortuaries. After visiting three or four places without success, they reached an old watchman (chowkidar) who had worked for years at one of the mortuaries.
He lived nearby and had seen countless bodies come and go.The old man had not forgotten that night. "There were two of them, sir," he said in a shaky voice. "A young couple, a boy and a girl. They were found hanging from a tree. Whether they hanged themselves or someone killed them and hung their bodies, I cannot say for sure. But they were hanging from the branches."Their age, height, and build closely matched Naman and Shreya. They were inter-caste lovers whose families had refused to accept their relationship. Tired and hopeless, they had apparently chosen death."
No one came to claim their bodies," the watchman continued. "We cannot keep unclaimed bodies beyond three days. So the officer handed them over to the families of Naman and Shreya for the last rites."
"Names?" Arjun asked.The old man shook his head. "No one asked for their names, sir. Not a single person."This silence became powerful evidence. There was no suicide note. No identity papers were found. No family member ever came looking for them. Only now had Arjun and Suyash arrived to inquire about their identity.
Suyash asked gently, "Do you have any photographs of them?"
The old man paused, thinking. The air in the small room felt heavy with the weight of old secrets.
Outside, Kolkata's evening traffic moved on, but inside, the past had come alive.This discovery turned the entire case upside down. The bodies given a dignified cremation under Naman and Shreya's names actually belonged to two heartbroken lovers, whose tragic end had been quietly repurposed. Someone had deliberately used their deaths to stage the murder of Naman and Shreya.
The big questions now burned brighter: Why had they done it?
What danger had forced Naman and Shreya to disappear?
And what secret were they carrying?
Madhav Kaka's idea of the 'Rani' advertisement gained even more strength. If Shreya was alive and hiding, that childhood name could act like a key. It could make her restless enough to reach out or make a mistake.
Anirudh's sighting at the dhaba showed that their new life was not peaceful. The public fight revealed cracks in their carefully built world. Accusations, separation, and constant fear of recognition were signs of people living under pressure.
As Arjun and Suyash left the mortuary that evening, the sky glowed with the last light of day. The city, full of noise and hidden stories, seemed to whisper that answers were near, yet still veiled. They had lifted one layer of the mystery, but many more remained.
Whose plan was this? Why were Naman and Shreya hiding?
And what role did the name 'Rani' play in the larger story?
They would keep walking this path, meeting people, listening to old voices, and following small clues. The search had become a journey into the human heart, where love, fear, betrayal, and the will to survive lived side by side.
Suyash looked at the darkening sky and said softly, "We are getting closer. Whoever you are now, Rani, the past is calling. One day you will have to answer."
The quiet storm was gathering. What started as a search for a missing person had become a deeper hunt for truth, justice, and lost identities. In the shadows of Kolkata, old secrets were slowly beginning to stir.
© Copyright Pushpa Chaturvedi.
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