Ever since his time in jail, Arjun had developed the habit of waking up during the Brahma Muhurta — the sacred pre-dawn hours — for meditation. He had learned this discipline in the company of Madhav Kaka.
These days, he slept early so he could rise before dawn. During his meditation that morning, a strange vision unfolded before his closed eyes.
He saw an unfamiliar funeral pyre burning in the darkness. A young man stood silently before it, while thick, impenetrable gloom spread all around. Suddenly, a figure with an unusually long and crooked nose turned toward him, staring with a gaze that felt like a challenge to battle. The eerie scene lingered in his mind's eye for nearly two minutes before fading away. Arjun was left disturbed, unable to decipher its meaning. What warning or message was this vision trying to convey?
The crackling flames rising from the pyre and the man in dark, forbidding clothes — what challenge were they issuing? He could not understand.
The sight of burning wood in a cremation ground often stirs a wave of detachment in the heart. Those leaping flames awaken a kind of inner awakening that reveals the stark truth of life. That morning, the glowing embers left him unsettled. The image of his father's burning pyre flashed vividly before his eyes. Then came the memory of those two bodies he had seen consumed by flames in the dim light of dawn — their smoke and the unmistakable smell of burning flesh still seemed to sting his nostrils. His heart shattered once again as everything rushed back to him.
He finished his meditation somehow and checked his phone. Only then did he realize that Kavya had messaged him late at night. Because he had gone to sleep early, he had missed it. Reading her words in the morning left him troubled. To escape the spiral of overthinking, he tried to lose himself in work.
He began the day by cleaning his cupboard. Though his dream of wearing the uniform for his country had remained unfulfilled, he had served his duty with complete honesty. Yet now, the same uniform he had once loved more than life itself felt like a punishment, stinging his eyes every time he looked at it.
He gently dusted the months-old uniform, folded it carefully, and packed it into an empty bag that he then placed back on the top shelf. Even after all this time, it still carried the faint scent of his past, as if he had just touched the ashes of his former life. He thought to himself: the dust could be wiped off the uniform, but how does one brush away the heavy burden weighing on the heart?
Despite himself, he read Kavya's message once more and began typing a reply, his mind lost in a fog of emotions. Kavya,We were together once, but it seems destiny had something else in store. You should marry some other boy. I am completely broken, and I have only returned on bail. How can I even think of sharing a life with anyone in this state?
The court has given me only a temporary relief. What can I possibly give you?
I am living a borrowed life — I don't know when everything might be snatched away again. Please try to understand. My fate has been running far ahead of me these days.
— Your Arjun
He sent the message, but moments later it struck him — today was Kavya's birthday. Instead of sending her warm wishes on the most beautiful day of her life, he had only caused her pain. Overcome with guilt, he quickly typed another message to make amends.
Dear Kavya,
I can't believe that on the day that should be the most wonderful day of your life — the day I should have showered you with countless blessings — I have only made you sad. I keep trying to be strong, but I fail. When you love someone, you should see them happy and moving forward in life. I don't want to become an obstacle in your path. If you include me in your life, you will unknowingly lose so many joys. I genuinely wish you every happiness and a beautiful, fulfilling life. The only thing left in my power is to pray for your happiness. Even after everything that has happened, the fact that you still hold affection and faith in me shows your beautiful humanity. Otherwise, people change like the weather in the blink of an eye.
Forget me, Kavya, and fill your life with new colors. Just keep faith in yourself. You are not alone — you have so many good qualities walking beside you. I myself don't know what I truly want or what my heart desires anymore. Please try to understand my confusion.
— Your Arjun
After sending the second message, he sat lost in thought. He wondered whether he would ever be able to return to his old life. Why should he give false hope and ruin the life of such a good, sincere girl?
Kavya was pure-hearted and kind. He was not worthy of her. Even if he won the case, he would still have to wander from door to door in search of a job. The scandal had spread so far that finding respectable employment seemed almost impossible now.
Arjun was in the middle of replying to Kavya's message when Suyash called. In a firm voice, he told Arjun that they needed to file an RTI to uncover information about Shreya's family.
"In this country, truth is decided by the courts, and the courts take their own sweet time."
Arjun's lawyer, Mr. Sinha, was a sharp, upright, and highly competent man. He was known for his efficiency and had earned a formidable reputation in legal circles precisely because he did not believe in dragging cases endlessly.
Mr. Sinha had advised Suyash to visit Arjun at his home and speak to him directly. That is why, without any prior notice, Suyash arrived at Arjun's house during breakfast the next morning.
At first, Arjun was taken aback to see Suyash standing at his door so early and unannounced. But he quickly composed himself and said warmly, "Brother, you should have called me. I would have come to you. Why did you take so much trouble?"
It had been quite some time since Suyash had been released from jail, and this was the first time he had come to Arjun's house.
"The matter is urgent and cannot wait," Suyash replied. "That's why I decided to come here myself."
Mr. Sinha had said, "If the witnesses have disappeared, we will have to use RTI to find out what has happened to them. We need to know what steps the police have taken so far to trace them. Was any missing persons report ever filed?
And where exactly have they gone?
"Arjun was hearing the term 'RTI' for the first time."Will it really change anything, brother?" he asked.
Suyash smiled and replied, "If the truth is buried in some file, then RTI is the hammer that can pry it out."
Without wasting any time, Suyash drafted and sent an RTI application addressed to the Station House Officer.
Subject: Request for information under the Right to Information Act, 2005 Kindly provide the following information:
Has any report regarding the disappearance of the Das family been registered?
If yes, please provide the diary entry number, the name of the investigating officer, and the current status of the investigation.
If no report has been registered, please state the reasons and inform what steps, if any, the department has taken so far.
"In this country, truth is decided by the courts, and the courts take their own sweet time."
Suyash knew that nearly seventy percent of the prisoners in India's jails were not hardened criminals but victims of circumstances.
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