People are more what they hide
than what they show.
  -Unknown

____________________________________

Feeble sunlight wrestles with the dust motes floating around the dusty window pane. I take a minute to recollect the unfamiliar surroundings.

My stomach sinks as the truth of today dawns on me. Maaz is still asleep, his arms are thrown above his ahead making his shirt ride up. His face is a picture of calm while all I feel is queasy.

Today we find out about Anna.

I know it is me who came looking for answers. But now that I stand at the precipice of this moment reluctance washes over me. I wonder what if I don't like the answers to my questions? Would there be a way to undo it?

'Morning, love.' I freeze mid thought. His voice is hoarse and scratchy. My heart somersaults.

I sit frozen with my back to him. Had I really said that to him last night? Used that exact word. I wince. Of course, I had.

Another thought floats in unbidden, he did not say it back.

My frozen body is flooded with warmth as he sits up beside me, arms brushing and kisses the top of my head.

'Morning.' I manage to mumble, hiding behind my hair.

Henleys' is a decrepit old farm five miles outside town. We leave immediately after breakfast.

'How far have you decoded?' Arhaan asks from the backseat.

'Only the first file until now. It contains list upon list of orphan homes around the globe. All carefully categorized with details about each.'

'We haven't figured out what it means. Perhaps the other files will answer.' I add.

I trample upon white wildflowers, the soft mud sticks to my sneakers. The sky is hung with low, black clouds, promising a storm tonight. I wrap my thin jacket closer to me, glancing at the tall shut windows of the ranch. Thick green curtains are tightly drawn barring the paltry sun.

I delicately sniff the air, 'That smells suspiciously like...'

'Horse dung.' Maaz quips, his eyes rake over the property, standing a little longer on the stables.

Arhaan is strangely quiet. I glance back at him. He is gazing at the upper floors of the ranch, each window has been shut close. Desolation hangs in the air and creeps around my legs erupting into tiny goosebumps. I inch close to Maaz.

The front porch has been blown off leaving behind a withered framework with no canopy over it. Nature has gained control, slimy green vines envelop the framework, interlinking, crossing over and reaching the other end.

Maaz takes a step into the green shade. The rotting wood creaks under his legs. Shadows dance across his face. I step beside him. He silently slips his little finger into mine before ringing the bell.

We wait and wait. And wait some more.

Arhaan begins to tap his feet. I count each tap of his.

Ten minutes later Maaz rings the bell again.

The waiting, the tapping and the counting continues.

I stiffen, 'Footsteps.' I murmur. Maaz straightens.

The door creaks open. An eye peeks from the sliver of space.

'Good morning, Ma'am. We are looking for somebody.' Maaz reaches into his pocket to pull out Anna's picture.

'Sorry, somebody doesn't live here.' The voice is rough, annoyed.

'Anna. Her name was Anna Grace.' Maaz adds hastily.

The door opens another inch. I stifle a gasp as I see that the voice behind the door has a beautiful face. A sweet, sharp, proportionate face.

'Was?' Her thick eyebrows arch.

'Yes, she is no more. The newspapers said she committed suicide.' I step forward.

The door opens a little more, revealing her lanky frame reflective of her obvious youth.

'I am so sorry to hear that.'

'Was Anna here? She had been adopted from an orphanage. This the address they gave.' I add.

'Anna? Here?' She laughs.

Maaz looks at me puzzled. Arhaan stays unusually quiet.

'There wasn't any Anna here. My parents never bothered looking after me! They adopting another child?' She lets out another shaky laugh.

'Are you sure...' Maaz asks.

'I said no.' The door is slammed shut on our face. A small frog is startled into action. It hops off the porch and disappears into the grass.

'They never said that towns had pretty girls.' Arhaan breaks the silence.

By nightfall we have covered almost the whole town, knocking on every door in the vicinity and showing Anna's picture. To no avail. Not a person has seen Anna before. And I know that she isn't someone that can be forgotten that easily.

With every door that slams shut on our face, my hope dies a little more.

'A whole town can't be lying.' Arhaan grumbles, digging into his mashed potatoes.

'They aren't.' Maaz says, 'It is the records that are lying, the records we took from Smile.'

'Why would they do that?' The pasta on my plate has long gone cold. I pick up a lone piece and shove it into my mouth.

'That is the question of the hour.'

Dark clouds of fear and uncertainty hang over us. Instead of digging up answers we have dug up more questions.

'Let us check out tomorrow morning. No point in wasting another day here.' Arhaan says.

The drawer rattles shut as I close it. Even though we had not removed anything from our bags I check our room out of habit. I sink onto the bed.

I close my eyes, focusing on the sound of flowing water emerging from the bathroom where Maaz is taking a shower. My hands fist into the thick blanket below me.

'Where did you go Anna.' I mumble.

Perhaps to some the morning would seem beautiful. But the warm sunlight reminds me of how cold I am.

A breeze plays with flaps of Maaz's coat as he places our lone suitcase into the boot.

'I'll drive.' Arhaan pipes up.

We leave the small town behind, the car jostles along the unpaved road. I look across the empty expanse at Henley's. It stands eerily forlorn. Even in the bright sun the place looks lost.

We leave Henley's behind. Suddenly I notice a small dot moving across the vast expanse.  Wild hair, tanned arms, bright eyes materialize as the cyclist comes closer.

'Arhaan, slow down.' Maaz urges.

As the cyclist comes closer I realize it is a boy, perhaps seventeen or eighteen. Years of toiling in the farm has resulted in a well built, strong body making him look older.

'You are looking for a girl.' He bursts, breathlessly at our window.

Arhaan stops the car. The boy cautiously looks around the empty expanse as if he expected someone to be watching.

'Do you know her?' I ask hopefully.

A shadow passes over his face but disappears just as quickly.

'May I see a photograph?' He asks.

Maaz quickly flips out the picture from his pocket. I watch the boy closely as he catches hold it, almost delicately. His eyes soften, 'She was the most beautiful girl I'd seen.' He whispers in a trance.

I wait with bated breath, his grief all too familiar to me.

'She was never at Henley's or in this town.' His voice is steadier as he looks at us. 'Neaut is a slightly bigger town, two hours away from here. It was there I saw her.'

'Which route do we take from here?' Arhaan revs the engine.

The boy is startled, 'Neaut is not an ordinary town. It is known for... uh... it's night life.'

'What do you mean?'  I ask. Maaz and Arhaan exchange a look.

'It is better if you leave the lady behind.' He ignores me and speaks to Maaz.

'Thank you, ?' Maaz replies.

'Aspen.'

'Here is my card, call me if you remember anything else.' Maaz leans out the window.

The boy nods but doesn't leave, he suddenly bursts, 'I am sorry... I should have stopped her.'

'It is not your fault.' Arhaan reassures.

Words tumble from Aspen as if he wants to rid himself of a burden, 'I tried to take her for as many nights as I could. But I did not always have the money. I am only a farmhand.'

$.0.$.0.

Sacrifice.