I could see a permanent frown on Rahul's gloomy face early in the morning. He was sitting on one of the green benches in the park surrounded by few elders who were laughing out loud doing some Yoga exercises. Being a night owl, it was certainly difficult for Rahul to reach the park at eight in the morning.

The soothing, cool breeze of early morning was serene enough to wipe out horrors of night. The chirping of birds was a soothing music that rang in my ears. The yellowish-orange hues in the early morning sky were just adding to the spellbinding ambience of the community park. I wondered how could someone be dejected in this beautiful morning while I walked up to Rahul.

“Good morning, sir”, Rahul greeted me while I sat beside him. Exchanging pleasantries, I explained him the course of action, “Rahul, I think we should search this area properly. I want to know the passage Ansh used to go back home.”

“Sir, I will ask my team to report you with the results soon”, Rahul spoke giving me a puzzled look as I had been someone who give orders instead of getting worked up in the field.

I wished I could explain him the reason of desperation. I wished I could tell him that if I was not able to find the whereabouts of the dead body of Ansh Awasthy in a fortnight, his spirit would kill me to have adventure in his afterlife.

“No, I would take the things in my hand”, I responded curtly only to get a curt nod in return. Along with Rahul, I walked in the posh lanes to find out a lonely lane which was perhaps, less used by the joggers. We were quite unsuccessful in our venture, but much to my horror, I saw a ray of hope.

The headless spirit of Ansh Awasthy which seemed to be as deadly as it was in the night, started walking beside us. I was astonished when I nudged Rahul to look beside me but the expressions on his face told me that he could see nothing. I heard a sardonic chuckle of the headless spirit who clarified my doubt, “It is only you who could see me, Mr. Ved”.

I wanted scream at him to leave me alone but I decided against it. I did not want Rahul to consider me an insane fellow. I dreadfully took each and every step forward while the headless ghost escorted us towards a lonely lane.

“Where would this lane take us, Sir?” Rahul asked me inquisitively.
With confusions written on face, I murmured, “Let’s see”, while following the headless spirit of Ansh Awasthy.

In the broad daylight, my heart pained looking at the frantic ghost who was perhaps beheaded in real life. I was lost in a trance with a dozen of emotions overwhelming me while I walked around a broad yet, lonely passage that had tall trees on one side while the backside of a hotel on the other.
My trance of thoughts was broken when Rahul exclaimed joyously, “Wow! Sir, you are genius”.

“This place is just perfect for crime. Since it connects to the house of Awasthy family, what if Ansh used this passage and got kidnapped by someone here.” Rahul speculated while I nodded.

“Check the CCTV footage of the nearby roads and shops. Trying spotting some strange vehicle and follow its path.” I instructed Rahul while we walked towards the park.

Leaving Rahul to do the rest of the work, I rushed towards my workplace at Connaught Place. As soon as I entered my office, I was greeted by exuberant Radhika who chortled, “Sir, I have something important to tell”.

“Good morning, Radhika”, I greeted her subtly telling her to be calm. I knew she had something important to tell pertaining to the case of Ansh Awasthy.

“Morning, sir”, she replied sheepishly while she followed me inside my cabin.

Even before I could sit, Radhika revealed, “Sir, I checked the CCTV footage of the society where Priya lived earlier and I found that something happened on her birthday which has much more to do than her phone.”

Getting pissed at my subordinate who was still stuck with the report of a missing cellphone, I barked, “Radhika, stop it for God’s sake. We are searching for Ansh Awasthy not a phone.”

“Sir, I have a strong intuition that Priya has something to do with this fiasco”, Radhika spoke as she plopped on the chair in front of my table.

“Why?” I asked dreadfully. The sudden fear of Ansh’s spirit inflicting pain on young and cheerful Radhika crossed my mind shattering me into several pieces.

Radhika commented, “Sir, that night Ansh was at Priya’s place. They perhaps, had some conflict inside the house because around ten at night Ansh is seen running away from the house after jumping from the main gate. Priya is seen following him on the roadside. After a while, she came back home crying, I guess. At around twelve, Ansh returned again. In the CCTV, I found them arguing outside the house till three in the night.”

“Was she a tenant?” I asked to clarify once again. I was quite surprised at the thought of people not intervening between an unmarried couple who were fighting on the road. Having born and brought up in a male chauvinist society, I could not help but think about the embarrassment that young woman had undergone on the next morning.

“Yes, sir. She was a tenant in a separate single storeyed house which she vacated two days after the fiasco.” Radhika revealed while I could not help but feel pity over Priya Vashisht.

“Sir, the worst part is Ansh Awasthy followed Priya everyday to her work and new home since then”, Radhika told me. After a while, she uttered, “Priya is also benefited from disappearance of Ansh, sir”, and fear started seeping inside me.

“We will have to find out”, I murmured and Radhika nodded before leaving my cabin.

Instructing the office boy to bring a strong coffee for me, I tried to concentrate on my work but the flashes of previous night were enough to scare and disturb me. Along with my coffee came the headless spirit of Ansh Awasthy who sat on the couch as if it owned my office while my subordinate informed me about the arrival of Priya Vashisht.

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Hi everyone

I am excited to meet Priya 😉

I will be back soon till then hit the 🌟 button and share your views ❣

With immense love
♥️