Six years. Six long years, and yet here I am, still trapped within these four walls, the same room that once felt like a sanctuary but now feels like a cage. The air is heavy with memories, and the silence screams louder than any noise ever could. I wonder how she has managed to get over the catastrophe of 2018. The month of February everyone was immersed in the thought of leaving school and starting a new journey at a new place with new people. I was no different. I remember the excitement bubbling inside me, a rare spark in the monotony of those mundane science lectures I dreaded so much. I had plans—big, bold, beautiful plans. Mumbai was calling, and I was ready to answer. It wasn’t just my dream; it was the dream of every small-town girl and boy with ambition burning in their veins.
It was 18th February, a normal day for most of the world, but for the batch of 2018 of Yashvantini Vidyalaya, it was a special day of farewell. I looked outside; there was a nip in the air, and it was still one hour to the farewell party. I asked Papa for his moped; the engine sputtered to life, and I sped through the quiet streets, the cold wind whipping against my face, sharp and invigorating. My destination? Sai’s place. Sai—my dearest Sai. The name alone brings a smile to my face, even now. She’s not just my friend; she’s the star of Yashvantini Vidyalaya, the girl who lights up every room she walks into. The principal’s pride, the teachers’ favourite, and the one who could make even our stern mathematics sir break into a grin like a kid meeting his idol, Virat Bhai. Oh, how he’d beam whenever she solved a problem on the board, his eyes sparkling with pride. Whenever she came across any difficulty, Sai was the school’s captain, the best in debate and sports, and she was good with art.
The entire school used to think, how can Sai be friends with Kanat? As I was always bad at all the things celebrated as also kind of a celebrity, but on social media. My only purpose of going to school was to attend theatre. Our school has great facilities, and among them the best was our drama teacher; he came from Uttar Pradesh to teach us the art of expression and showing emotions without words and gestures. His forte was voice modulation. Sai and I became friends because of him, as he had an interest in learning about new places and Sai’s father was an MLA at that time.
***
I reached her place; her home was more of a palace. I was about to enter her grand place when Mr. Daksh Rathod ambushed me. The guard got suspicious, but I screamed, ‘Theatre, you had completely brought life out of me. What brought you here, sir?’
He replied, ‘Could you please arrange a meeting with Miss Sai?’
I was dumbstruck as to why he is asking for it, as anyway, we all are going to meet in farewell.
Reading my gestures, as he was our drama teacher, he understood my hesitation and reframed his words, ‘It is regarding her valedictory speech.’
‘Oh, she must be inside; why don’t you join me? I am here to meet her anyway. Come here; her house is magnificent; you will get a lot of space to connect.’
‘No! I mean, I wish I could, but there are a lot of pending errands to do. Just hand this envelope to her.’
I thought he must be busy with schoolwork and it must be a creative speech that she is going to deliver; I nodded, and without any word he left the place. I was also in a hurry, though my haste was interrupted, and I was distracted by this drama teacher, but I went in helter-skelter; without greeting uncle and aunty, I directly swooped into her room.
.
‘Absolutely stunning.’ I tried to say… Supercalifrogelcexpalodubious!!
On which she burst into giggles and completed my words as always, ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.’
‘Gosh, you’re complete beauty. What will I do without you? I am unable to complete mere words.’
‘Oh, my sweet little Kanak, we are going to the same city, just different paths; we will enjoy it.’
‘Yaya, take this; Sir Rathod has left this for you. I asked him to come inside, but he didn’t.’
Her expression got timid when I was about to open her speech, but she was cunning; she took it from me and diverted my thoughts by saying, ‘Your eyeliner, Kanat.’
I got tense and rushed towards the mirror; now I know it was flawless, but that time I asked her to fix it for me. I was very particular about things.
She uttered, ‘See how beautiful you are.’
‘Nothing in front of you, your elegance is exquisite; look at your dress, embedded with the world’s best pearls and designed by the best craftsmen. My local beauty and third copy of some designer are nothing in front of it.’
She defended herself by saying, ‘Be vocal for local, and you are no less than Princess Noorjahan.’
We both burst into smiles; the voice came from downstairs: Here are your partners! I rushed towards the door with her; she said, ‘I need to use the loo; you go; I will join you in minutes.’
I was super excited to meet Kabir and Rahul; they both were Sai’s cousins and good friends of mine. When I saw them from the stairs, I was wonderstruck by seeing them in tuxedos. The boys who were looking super pretty in black dresses. Kabir was more of a shy person and got flushed by my super bold compliment.
Rahul asked about Sia; she herself answered, ‘Speak of the devil, and the devil’s here.’
Kabir and Rahul together: ‘Indeed, you are looking like a devil.’
She got annoyed as usual, brothers being brothers; she asked about her mom and dad.
Uncle Keshav replied, ‘Sir got stuck in urgent work in the office, and ma’am has to go to the farmhouse for the party’s arrangement.’
Her parents never appeared for any special moment; she was used to it, but she showed sincere grief today. I encouraged her, and her brother pulled her cheeks by saying, ‘Sai bai chala aata, Raje Vaat baghat aahe.’ (Sai, let's go; King is waiting.)
***
We all sat in a car; this was the very first time we four were together without a driver, as we somehow convinced the manager, who was my father. We promised him there will be no mischief. We played loud music, and Kabir was driving by, crossing all limits. I asked him to slow down, but with this loud music, he has ignored me like dust. Sai was not bothered; she was lost in her thoughts.
I asked her to hold Kabir, but she was not in her conscious; she was continuously looking at the envelope. I asked her, ‘Have you read the speech?’
She passed a blank statement. I completely forgot that Mr. Rathod had asked me to make an arrangement for their meet; I informed her about the same.
She got worried, maybe because I said it aloud, but those fools didn’t listen, which gave her complete relief. She said, ‘I will meet Daksh.’
I was startled by her words, but I ignored them as she might be saying this as this was the last day of school, and who cares? We reached the school; farewell was in the auditorium. We all were super excited, but Sai told me she will join them in a few minutes. I thought she was going to meet Sir Rathod. She didn’t go towards the staff room; she directly went outside or somewhere. I also didn’t notice as these brothers of hers pulled me towards the auditorium.
We all were discussing and enjoying and a little bit emotional; the time passed: I completely forgot about Sai. Then Kavya, a friend of mine, asked about her whereabouts. I said she is here only in her beautiful pearl dress.
Kavya said, ‘Kanat, there might be some problem in your eyesight; she is nowhere to be seen.’
‘She is here only preparing her speech; after all, she is the captain and going to be Miss YV today.’
The girls got laid as I slayed; we were enjoying welcoming guests, and I suddenly saw Mr. Rathod, which made me wonder about Sai. I didn’t wait and directly called Rahul, as he was a bit more mature compared to Kabir, and said, ‘Sai has not come back since the beginning.’
‘What? When did she go anywhere anyways?’
‘Oh, you are his brother, right. She didn’t join us.’
‘Don’t tell me you have no idea about her,’ and he ran.
I grabbed Kabir from his group of pals and asked him to search for Sai; he started panicking by saying, Appa is going to kill all of us.
I asked him to shut his mouth and search. Rahul, Kabir, and I searched all the places and discovered many couples but didn’t discover what we were looking for, our dearest Sai. We went to search for her in the parking lot, where we found her father as the guest of honour. We just turned around and ran towards the auditorium, without showing any hustle, and took our places.
It was cold, but my hands were wet. I was unable to look into the eyes of Sai’s father as I had no answer about her whereabouts. Kabir and Rahul were almost dead as Appa will definitely choke their throat.
I barely had an idea what happened next till the turn of the valedictorian speech, when the anchor announced, ‘It is the most awaited time, as we are going to witness the thoughts of 94 students through the melodious words of Rajnish Bhagwat.’
***
Wait, what just happened was completely out of syllabus, and next will be definitely out of this world as Sai’s father’s eyes got red and his guards came towards us and took us to the principal’s office. By this time everyone sensed the nip in the air.
The entire teacher staff was there; her father came and pulled Kabir’s collar and said, ‘You are the one who wanted the keys; tell me where she is?’
‘Appa, I barely had any interest in things, you know this. Swear to Aai Saheb, I don’t know.’
He never talked with me so, today, he called my father and asked him, ‘Ask your daughter, where is my Chimukli?’
My father, with all rage, urged me, ‘Tell the truth, as lies will lead you towards darkness.’
I understood he meant if Sai is not here, he is going to lose his job, but I had no answer to any question. Soon the police came, and interrogation of each individual present in the auditorium had taken place. The phone of each individual was checked, and everyone was under scrutiny.
During my interrogation I realized Daksh Rathod is the only person who asked me about her, and Sai also reacted absurdly to his name. I didn’t hesitate to inform them about it; soon Daksh Rathod was there beside me; he had answers to every question. For him the interrogation was much more feasible, as if he had prepared for every answer. He convinced everyone that he had no relation with her as well as me.
Everyone was going back to their places, and abruptly the school secretary announced to gather in the auditorium. After a few minutes, a video clip was played; it was none other than Sai. I was very happy, but my happiness shattered the moment I heard my name.
She said, ‘I am leaving the city, finding my own place and peace; the person who helped me in this is Kanat. Thank you, my dearest. She had assisted me with tickets, which she had given to me in the evening at my abode, and said goodbye to me at the school’s premises by arranging a vehicle for me in the theatre’s backside. Appa, don’t chastise anyone; I wanted it.’
It was not a joke; I was unable to hold back my tears, as what she had done was treachery. She had not broken my trust but my heart. Her father didn’t even look at me; he asked the police to search each part of the city in the hope she had not left the city.
I was dejected; my father had sent me home, which was not a long journey, as the thought of betrayal kept me occupied. At my place, no one was there, as my father and I are the only family of two. The door has made a hoarse noise, and dogs got scared; that voice has opened the windows of my heart, which was closed due to torrential rain.
I called Mr. Daksh, and I expected what happened next: his number was out of service. I understood he had eloped, Sai. I tried to call Papa; he didn’t answer. I didn’t waste time but tried to prepare a theory and flowchart to convince Appa and Papa regarding Daksh Rathod.
It was dawn, and Father came; he was exasperated, but I didn’t ask about his journey; instead, I started my own story, which will conclude my innocence.
He was at the threshold of his room when he said, ‘Throw those papers in the dustbin and take some rest; you have exams to appear for, or you are also planning to run.’

***

From that day we never discussed Sai, Daksh, or Appa Saheb. My father had sacrificed his reputation, job, and friendship for me. It’s been 6 years, 2 months, and 7 hours since he opened a grocery shop near our house.
My dream had crumbled that night when Sai left with all the blame, as I am unable to accept her deception, but Papa's words still reverberate in my mind. I became the journalist, but my heart is confined in walls of darkness; I try to expunge darkness from society and hide my own.
One day when I left for work, Papa informed me about the riots, which I already had an idea about, as I was going to cover the same story today, but I assured him that I was going to the office.
It was not a normal day for Kolhapur Kars; the brightness of the city was dimmed. I reached the place where riots had first taken place in the alley when I was going through buildings. I realized I saw Daksh Rathod, the man I had been searching for for more than 6 years. I even went to Uttar Pradesh, Deoria district, in his search during my internship. Where I found there was no such man ever lived here, after all this I can recognize the bastard by mere glimpse.
I followed him, with all precautions, as back in 2018 he left the place in complete chaos without any proof. This riot in this peaceful city, my instincts were forcing me to connect this with Rathod.
I got more suspicious when I saw him entering the place, which has been abandoned for years, as any man has to do in such a building. I followed him; the sun was not scorching, but I was unable to breathe, and my clothes clung to me as if I had been submerged in water.
He entered the building; I waited outside, and the moment he got out, I followed the steps. My eyes were unable to believe what I saw; it was Sai, my dear Sai. Her beauty, her charm, her aura—everything that she had was vanished. Her clothes were torn, and skin was peeling away, as if someone had physically tortured her for generations.
My eyes were unable to hold tears; despite being exhausted, I was shivering, but I didn’t have ample time for all this. I had to take her to the hospital, the temple, her place, my place—anywhere but away from this man.
I went to her and untied her. She was not conscious and murmured, ‘Let’s go to Barsana; you promised when you would untie me, we would go there.’
I was unable to understand her; she did not even have the capacity to sit on her own. This situation will not help me to elope with her, and if Daksh finds me here, he will not spare me. The predicament of Sai clearly indicates what she had gone through.
I encouraged her by saying, ‘You are my brave girl; you can just run; you will have fun.’
She realized it was not that evil that had trapped her in a web and tried to open her eyes and hugged me. But within a few breaths she showed resistance and pushed me, though she did not have the power to push me, but she kept trying.
‘What are you doing? I am here for you; let’s go. Everyone is waiting for you.’
‘No one is; you go; they will not spare you,’ she managed to say this in her trembling voice.
‘There is no one apart from Daksh; he will be punished for his doing; your father will make sure that Rathod will be beheaded.’
‘You barely know anything about this; please run; soon he will come back.’
‘You come with me, Sayu. I will take you to the police; they will help you, and don’t talk; just come.’
Gritting my teeth, I managed to place her on my shoulders and slowly dragged her in the direction of the stairs. She was continuously asking me to leave her and run; when I didn’t listen to her, she said, ‘My father will kill you.’
I was unable to digest her words; my ears might have accepted her words, but my heart found no place for them.
I tried to walk with a heavy heart and said, ‘This man has brainwashed you; your father loves you the most; when you had left the city, he had tried everything to find you; every nerve of his cried for you.’
‘Did he try or pretend to try?’
‘What are you saying!’
‘She is right, Miss Kanat,’ a manly voice.
It was Daksh Rathod, on which I said, ‘You are a professional liar; I had seen your tactics that day during interrogation.’
‘Indeed, I am, but today I am not lying, right, Miss Sai?’ he said this by fondling her hair.
I gathered all my courage and said, ‘You will be unable to count your scars; these many I will give you. Don’t dare to touch her.’
With his cunning smile, ‘Will you? I doubt it. Why don’t you, Sai, tell all the truth? Anyway, you are going to die; die with a truth.’
‘Which truth?’
‘That she is not a biological daughter of Mr. Shelke and he himself has planted the entire trap to end the sin of his wife.’
I lost my balance and Sai had fallen down; I tried to catch her but failed.
‘Just like this, you are going to fall from the building, he threatened me and further added, ‘Tell your dear friend about your fate, how your father had written it, executed it, and made her a victim.’
I ignored all his threats and asked Sai, ‘You are my joy; I believe you. Tell me who did this to you. You are brave; we will fight everyone; just stand.’
She still didn’t utter a word.
Rathod added, ‘How will she? Her life has become a prison no one wants to be a part of.’
I again stated, ‘We are sisters; no misters can break us. I believe you; will you do the same?’
‘She won’t; her courage, her faith, her charisma—in fact, Mr. Shelke had destroyed her, I guess. Your friend wants you to die without knowing the truth,’ he grabbed my hair and dragged me to the edge. I tried to call Sai, but he had clamped over my mouth. I felt a surge of panic as I struggled to breathe.
She collected all her courage and shouted, ‘Kanat.’ Her voice echoed in the barren building.
He stopped and said, ‘Oh, this soulless body still has a voice.’
Sai screamed and cried but gathered courage and said in a twitching voice, ‘On the day of farewell, I was about to go to Mumbai, where Daksh was supposed to meet me. We were moving to New York for the art competition. He told me he has contacts that will help me to pursue my dream.’
I interrupted by saying, ‘Why did you elope then? You could have asked your father.’
‘I did; the moment Daksh informed me about this competition and scope in art, I went to Father, and what he replied was heart-wrenching. I never got love from my mother, and now my father had also started to ignore me; my interest in art increased, Daksh has introduced me to all art forms, and the rest of the things that happened were planned by him.’
‘How did you come here?’, I asked in anticipation.
The day went outside and sat in the vehicle as planned. I was supposed to go to Mumbai by that; it was a long journey. I had fallen asleep, and when I woke up, I was here. This was under construction at that time. I screamed and cried, and then the man came. It was none other than my father. I asked him about Daksh, as I was scared for him; he told me to blame you for all the happenings; he will spare the life of Daksh. To save his life, I said what I said, as I was sure after all this, I would meet and mend the fences.’
She was unable to continue and asked for water as she was unable to breathe and her heart was racing in fear. Still, she continued,
‘After that I asked him to call Daksh, but he left the place, and the rest you know what happened. But after your father lost his job, my father showed his true colors. He has killed my mother and declared it as death due to depression. And tortured me, raped me, and starved me to death till today.’ She said this with heavy breath and a choked voice.
Before I say anything, Rathod added, ‘This girl finally accepted the truth.’
He was distracted for a bit; I grabbed the gun, which was clinging to his waist, and said, ‘Don’t you move.’
But he thought I was a little princess who would not shoot and came towards me, but after knowing their atrocities, I had no option but to shoot. I shot him in the leg, snatched Sai’s arm, and bolted towards the exit. She was unable to walk, but I constantly encouraged her as my journalist friend was already waiting for us.
Our home was not a safe place. I had already asked my friend to bring my father; Sai was in urgent need of treatment. We left Kolhapur and established a new life in Mumbai. The complaint has been registered against Mr. Shelke, Rathod, and all who supported this heinous crime. Sai and I live happily with Papa in Mumbai. She had started an art gallery here, and I am working as a prime journalist.
Sometimes I wish I should have trusted our friendship, not her words, but we humans are bound to fall for what seems to be true rather than discovering what is true. No amount of reassurance can ease her scare, but I assure her she grows only stronger and beats her fear.