Jayant's POV:

My room cocooned me in momentary peace as I slept, the tranquility shattered by a hushed conversation in the adjacent room. The words buzzed into my consciousness, jolting me awake.

"Look at this mail that came in now," my mom's voice, still tinged with sleep, reached my ears.

"Why would there be a mail at 4 in the morning?" My dad's voice, groggy and perplexed, responded. "Unless it was marked highly important," his tone shifted, and I could envision him scratching the back of his head in contemplation.

"Can't be too sure until we open it."

"What?!" My dad's sudden exclamation sliced through the otherwise silent halls.

Curiosity gnawed at me, urging me to join the unfolding commotion, but I resisted the impulse, choosing instead to eavesdrop on the revelation.

"What happened?" Mom voiced her profound concern.

"I can't believe what I am reading." Dad's voice quivered, as if rattled by an earth-shattering discovery.

"Read it out, please." Mom said in a steady voice despite the urgency, conveying a deep-seated worry.

❛Dear Mr. and Mrs. Joshi,

We trust this message reaches you safely. We find ourselves compelled to share a matter of great concern, one that weighs heavy on our hearts.

...❜

I couldn't hear half of the letter or who it was written by. But as I heard the names Arav and Maya through faint whispers, I instinctively clenched my hands at the shock of the realization.

Chaos swirled in my head as I attempted to comprehend the ramifications of Arav's choices.

This burden I decided I had to bear alone.

We sat there clueless as our parents seemed tensed about something. Kan looked as confused as me. I didn't know how to frame the revelation of last night. I couldn't remember half the details either.

"So, we understand that you guys have been worried about your friend Arav," my dad started with his hands crossed.

We just nodded in response, trying to understand what was about to come.

"And rightfully so," Mihir, Kan's dad, chimed in.

"Well, then in that case, we have some news." My dad continued, "Arav and his family have temporarily chosen to leave the city and stay somewhere else. The reasons are unknown, but as much as we care about them, they don't want any of us to contact them."

He paused, looking around the room with contemplation, his eyes scrutinizing our reactions of worry, concern, confusion, and grief.

"But, why?" I tried to ask, hoping to catch some news. Anything to ease the raving storm that grappled my mind.

"Something about not being able to pay their rent and their finances being tight," my mom answered on their behalf, her teeth clenched through the smile.

I knew she was lying, but I knew better than to question it.

There was some connection between this Arav and Maya, but I couldn't understand what happened between them, and more importantly, why did their family have to move?

"And for the best of all of us," Mihir stated, "it's best we consider the matter closed. We don't want you guys, both young and dumb, to suffer at the hands or crude realities of the world."

Kan's jaw opened and then closed again. He was too scared to ask why.

I gave him a slight reassuring smile as I squeezed his hands.

We weren't going to let our friend be forgotten in the clutches of silence.

For our friendship. For Arav. We resolved to do whatever it took to seek justice.

Timeline of Events: 2007

Jayant's POV:

The banyan tree, its roots entwined like silent conspirators, harbored a peculiar bump beneath its earthy surface. Kan and I exchanged knowing glances, an unspoken understanding that this concealed anomaly held the key to something mysterious.

As whispers of theories and conjectures floated between us, curiosity seized our resolve.

One quiet afternoon, when the world seemed oblivious to our clandestine endeavor, we decided to unearth the secret beneath the banyan tree.

The shovels moved with rhythmic determination, the soil yielding to our persistent efforts. The concealed bump revealed its secrets, unveiling a buried shelf that cradled the peculiar artifacts of a clandestine world.

We unearthed the buried secrets, revealing a concealed shelf adorned with a peculiar assortment of items.

Chains dangled like ghostly echoes of forgotten crimes, their metallic whispers entwined with the soft rustle of decaying leaves. Weapons, worn and stained, hinted at a darker underbelly concealed beneath the veneer of our seemingly ordinary lives.

A box, seemingly innocuous, housed books that sent shivers down our spines. The Art of Concealing a Murder and similar ominous titles taunted us with the sinister knowledge they contained. Each page seemed to whisper the macabre secrets of those who had treaded the path of darkness before us.

A jar, filled with chits of paper bearing names, dates, and cryptic symbols, stood as a testament to a hidden world fueled by secrets and obscured truths.

As we delved deeper into the chilling discoveries, the surreal nature of our journey became palpable, a descent into a realm where the boundaries between reality and nightmare blurred into an indistinct tapestry of mystery.

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows that mirrored the enigma we sought to unravel. I broke the silence.

The words lingered in the air, a hesitant whisper that carried the weight of unspoken curiosity.

"Kan, what if we had a place, somewhere hidden, just ours?"

The idea hung in the air, tantalizing and unexplored.

The old factory, a stoic relic of industry, loomed on the outskirts of town. Its decaying walls, adorned with the graffiti of time, stood as silent witnesses to the passage of secrets.

The factory, a haven for our shared secrets, beckoned with newfound intrigue. Kan, Arav, and I had ventured here before.

'Before all of this happened.' my mind reminded.

I suppressed those thoughts away before they caught on to me.

'Don't think you can be a hero, Jay. You'll always be the dark shadow in people's lives. First Karan and then Arav.' The inner critic continued.

I took a long stride before moving forward.

We discovered a half-demolished wall, a visual testament to concealed spaces and echoes of a forgotten era.

The air within its cavernous walls was thick with the scent of rust and decay as we stepped into the unknown. Shadows danced along the edges of forgotten machinery, and the echoes of our footsteps mingled with the distant hum of the world outside.

"What if there's something hidden here, something nobody else knows?" Arav's distant imaginary voice echoed, and I could picture his eyes glinting with the thrill of the unknown.

Cryptic inscriptions adorned the remaining walls, foreign names, and enigmatic symbols that resonated with an uncanny familiarity. It was as if the factory held an uncanny connection to the hidden compartment beneath the banyan tree at our school grounds.

As we navigated the shadows of the factory's abandoned corridors, the distinct aura of a place withholding secrets grew more palpable.

Our families, suspicious yet unknowing, remained oblivious to the covert dance between revelation and concealment.

The mysteries we unraveled became a clandestine tapestry, woven in the shadows where the past met the present.

❛each night i dreamt of you,
thinking you're in arms of another,
but how do i tell you,
like you, i can't find no other. ❜

A/N:

reader: Author, I have lost all faith in you. I don't think you're ever going to reveal the truth.

me: Lemme-

reader: no, first there's this Maya that Arav was involved in, then it links to the factory and the shelf beneath the banyan tree, god knows how you pull up those things, and then you just go on to say like it is leading to something even more cryptic, what's next? supernatural magic stuff?

me: I can't reveal much, but there's definitely not going to be supernatural or magical stuff in this book.

This is as much real as the stakes get. A lot of the progress in the chapter also brings themes of society's gossip, ignorance, apathy and concealment in times of danger.

I am trying to make things here as much real as possible, so, you, as a reader understand how much one action could create further ripples, leading to a deeper, darker twisted mystery that seemingly never ends.

But, there can be a way out if we're a little careful, and we're a little nice to people. This world can change.

Also, the next chapter is going to be current timeline (2007), This was a gist of events to how were they finding the clues and how were they solving the mystery. We're going to see more of Jay's side, while Karan also is present. The palpable tension that was renewed because of Arav's return also must be seen ;)

reader: i hate you!

me: why, you're still reading the story. you've not revealed the mystery yet ;))

reader: i hate that you know me so well *sighs*

Feel free to leave suggestion feedback or constructive critics!