“AIMÉE MONET ran away.”

The voice echoed in the room. A long silence and a faint smell of rosewood lingered in the air. I heard my light gasp and felt my lips parting open.

It's natural to feel surprised sometimes, after a certain revelation. Even if a part of you has already expected it to happen. I was in the same state. It wasn't like I hadn't thought before that Aimée could have run away. But, I used to brush it off.

I was about to stutter a ‘What?’ when I instantly changed my mind.

“Where?” My voice came out in a mere whisper.

“Jalpaiguri.”

“Why?”

“Have you read her journal?”

“I did– wait.”

Tribal rights activist. Runaway.

Yes, I remembered.

My confused eyes molded into those of apprehension. I was starting to understand what had happened. But it wasn't me who spoke up again. Aunt Vaidehi voiced out my understanding after remaining quiet for a while.

“As she wants to become a tribal rights activist, Aimée has gone to Jalpaiguri.”

The entry of January 20th, 2018.

I eyed Erica as she nodded quietly. There was more to what she was saying and that was perfectly clear. I just wanted to know what it was.

“Did you know everything from the start?” Vaidehi asked.

“If you mean the day of her disappearance as the start, then no. We didn't know anything in the beginning—”

“Who is this ‘we’?” I interrupted.

“Oh,” said Erica, looking slightly taken aback. “Why, her parents and me.”

Of fucking course her parents knew! If one looked at it properly, it was kind of obvious that the story the Monets told us was an absolute lie.

“You aren't kidding, are you?”

“Of course I'm not. Aimée never told her parents that she wanted to go somewhere else for activism.”

“But she told you.” Vaidehi stated.

Erica nodded, “Yes she did.”

“That means that you knew it.”

“Well, I knew about her wishes.” continued Erica. “When she told me that she was feeling like running away and all, I advised her to think patiently and not be restless. And it was right after that when she never mentioned the ‘running away’ thing to me. It had been so long that I didn't even quite remember about this. Honestly, I could not even make out the fact that she might have planned the whole thing. I was that dumb.”

She put an emphasis on the word ‘dumb’ and shook her head with a self-deprecating grin.

“How did you come to know the truth then?”

“After the investigation took a major turn, Aimée called us and told us everything.”

“Did you try to contact her before?”

“Oh yes, I did call her several times. So did her parents. But the number was invalid. To be honest, even the last number that she used to call us with was found out to be unavailable as well. ”

“She never called you afterwards?”

“Not me, no.”

I was a little perplexed when I posed my next question, “How did the investigation stop, then? Were the police informed later?”

“Yup, they were. As far as I know, a certain officer is an acquaintance of the Monets. I guess they just told him what had happened, that Aimée was safe and put an end to the investigation at last.”

We fell silent again. So many questions. Even after getting answers, so many questions were yet to be answered. And many more were being created right at the moment.

“Why did her parents lie to us?” I interrogated, breaking the quietness.

Erica stared at the ground for a couple of minutes before shrugging. I wondered why Aimée had to run away to do something good, why her parents had to lie to us and why—

“Why did you tell us the truth?”

“I was tired, Maryam. Ridiculously fed up with all the lies I had to make others believe. I wanted to tell someone everything. I never understood why Aimée wanted to hide it. It was not like she had committed a crime. I just– I might not have been a good girlfriend after all.”

Maybe I was supposed to assure her that she wasn't, but then again, giving assurance without knowing the circumstances or the person is not really my thing. It feels awkward.

Both of us stood up as soon as Vaidehi did and extended her hand towards Erica.

“Thank you for giving us your time and helping us, Miss Biswas.” Vaidehi said, as she gave Erica's hand a firm shake.

“It's my pleasure.” smiled Erica.

“Oh yes,” muttered Vaidehi thoughtfully. “I would highly appreciate it if you could give me Aimée's current address. At Jalpaiguri.”

“I'm afraid I don't know exactly where she lives…” she mumbled. “Wait–” she took out her phone and tapped at it. “Yup, here it is. Aimée said that she was living in a house in Mohitnagar. It's some sort of countryside. And...the name of the house is ‘Jamini Mahal’. But according to Aimée it is kind of like a mini mansion. Yeah, that's all I know.”

“How does she know the place?”

“Most likely, her late relatives owned the property. Now that they're gone, the house has been completely abandoned. I guess, that's how.”

“Okay.” Vaidehi looked at the staircase and considered for a moment before thanking Erica once again.

“You probably have a lot to ask.” Erica told me politely. “Aimée can give you answers. I know she can and she will.”

I stared at her and found that she was staring back with genuine care and a smile of appreciation. I returned her the smile, a brief nod and a light wave as we bade goodbye to the girl, rather the woman standing at her door, hopeful for something.

As soon as we were out on the street again, Vaidehi declared something that I had expected half-heartedly.

“We're going to Jalpaiguri.”

★

I had never been to Jalpaiguri, a district in the northern part of West Bengal. Triparna used to visit the small town as a child when her grandparents resided there. But, she did not recall going to Mohitnagar when I asked her after returning from Erica's.

“I did hear the name of Mohitnagar. Never been there. Ma might know, I think.”

Neither Tri nor Vrishank were surprised when Aunt Vaidehi came up with her Jalpaiguri plan. But indeed, they were beyond shocked after listening to Erica's version of the story from me.

“Why did she have to run away?” Vrishank questioned.

I shrugged, “Don't know, man. I guess Aimée has all the answers.”

“No offense, but she's sort of confusing.”

Triparna grinned. “Yeah. Yeah, she is. But the good-kind-of confusing.”

I glanced at her and then at Vrishank, whose face had softened and was staring at her fondly. It was a perfect time for them to be alone, I thought. I stood up, unnoticed by them, and came out to the balcony. The serene breeze blew my hair strands while I watched two birds flying the distance. They chirped and disappeared amongst the pinkish heart-shaped clouds of the dusk.

★

a/n

many questions have been finally answered!

how do you feel?