Memories Of Dawn

Chapter 6- The Old Picture

It was a huge restaurant filled with people. But something was odd.
They were headless. They moved around, following orders and delivering them. Men were in suits and women wore beautiful gowns. It was a grand occasion. Just then I looked towards my right. A man came walking towards me. He wore a lavender suit and had a bouquet in his hand. He was young and had a weird haircut. It made me smile. He had a tattoo near his lips, it was more like initials.  He came near and gave the bouquet.
"Happy birthday My Babe."said the man handing another gift wrapped box. I opened it to find a necklace with two initials on it- AR. I took it and found myself smiling. I kept looking at the man's smile which grew bigger and bigger.

Priya opened her eyes only to be hit by the bright sunlight coming through the window. She had a blinding headache and it was really  annoying her right now.
She got up and thought about the dream she just had. "Who was the man and what was 'AR'?"

Priya came out of the bathroom and wore a purple T-shirt and black Jeans. Today was going to be a long day and she had to be comfortable. She was going to go and take matters to her own hands. She needed to find The Killer before he found her.

Soon she found herself in front of  Maryam's desk. She was scared to find out what she might discover. Honestly, Priya didn't know why she had come there in the first place. "How would have Maryam known anything?"she muttered. Nevertheless, she started searching all over the place and found every draw to be filled with files, notebooks and post-it cards. Except for one draw. It was locked and the key wasn't in the regular key bunch she was holding. Priya knew this had to be a clue to The Killer. "Or else why so secretive?" There must have been something in that draw that Maryam had to hide.
She took out one of the pins on the table and tried opening it. She felt a sense of pleasure in doing that job. It felt regular to her and her hands immediately took over the task before her mind could.
It clicked and Priya opened the draw. It had a brown envelope and was addressed to someone named RVS. The date was of the one before yesterday." The day Maryam went to my apartment."

Holding the envelope,she sat down on the chair. "Who was Maryam addressing to on the day of her murder? Should I look into the envelope?" Her mind was racing with thoughts. And without her knowledge she found herself opening it and scattering the contents on the desk.  They were odd objects. A brand new notebook and a picture. It was a picture of Maryam with two boys, standing in front of a shop called The Four Drums. She stared at it and it raced into her mind.

The faces, the shop,the area everything looked familiar. She felt a connection to those two men. It was like they spoke to her through the picture. They told her to go back to them and how much they loved her.
It was odd. It resembled the picture on her desk. Only there was no Taj Mahal but instead a shop. She had never seen these people in my life. Atleast that is what she remembers!

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Veer watched everything Priya was doing through the window. Her actions weren't expected by Veer. It was almost like she was back. She had found it. Maryam had forgotten to post it and now Priya had seen it. Veer could see the beautiful face of Maryam and the boys. How much they loved her-her brothers and how much she had missed them. But Priya's face had a completely different story. She had a shocking look on her face. "She remembers them?"said Veer out loud. He immediately turned around went to the corner and called up the number once again.
"She found the picture and something tells me she knows about it. It is time to act now. We can still get her back if we do it on time"said Veer.
"Okay. We'll do it today. Meet me at sharp 7  near the shop!"said the man on the phone.
It was finally the right time.

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Sana sat next to Pandey on the couch. They were in Priya's house talking to her parents. Pandey had insisted that Priya should not be informed.
"So Mr.Raj, how well did you know Karan Singhania?"asked Arjun.
"My daughter first met him in here while doing her post graduation. They became good friends. Since he was an orphan he used to hang out with us al the time."said Mr.Raj,a man in his early 60s. He wore a tucked white shirt and black pants. He had just arrived from his business meeting. He looked energetic but his eyes inflicted pain and something lost.
"And why did you insist on both of them marrying?"
" Karan told me how much he loved Priya. He was a great guy,got along with our family and everyone seemed to like him. And once they started dating we fixed up their engagement to get them married whenever they got settled. We always wanted the best for our daughter!"said Mrs.Raj speaking for the first time. She was in her late 50s and wore a teal saree. Her tired face was pale and full of wrinkles. It had ages 10 years more than her physique. She was instinctively shocked by the police at their doorstep but even if she was scared, she hid it pretty well.
"Did he ever mention about his education?"asked Sana.
"Yes he told us he studied in Bengaluru till his graduation and then moved to Mumbai."
"Well he lied to you. He has never been to Bengaluru and did all his education in Delhi and also studied with Priya's boss for two years."said Arjun.
"But why did he do so?"asked the old couple shocked. It was seen that they hadn't expected this news.
"Well let's just say he wasn't who he seemed to be. We are digging up the matter and we'll let you know about it."saying this Pandey walked out the house. Another dead end.

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"Sir I got a call from the college Karan studied in Delhi. And they have found something."said Arjun cutting the call.
"What is it Arjun? Tell me you have a lead this time."
"Sir they didn't find a Karan Singhania but found another profile with the same photo."
"Whoaaa what?? A fake certificate and a fake profile. So there isn't any Karan Singhania at all?"
" No sir. The profile they found has the same photo of Karan and his name is Navjot Khanna.

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"Ma, Pa where are you guys?"shouted Priya as she barged into the house. She found her parents drinking coffee on the dining table discussing something important in hushed voices.
"What is it Priya? Why are you shouting?"asked her mom looking up from the newspaper.
"I want to know why have you guys have photoshopped this picture."
"What are you talking about Priya?"
" I checked with a photo studio and the guy confirmed that this picture here is fake. Moreover there is no garden here in this picture."
The old couple sat down. They looked pale and aged. They looked at each other and realised it was their last time. They were beaten and they had no choice.
"Okay. I'll tell you everything."said Mr.Raj
"You fell from the horse while taking a horse ride to Taj Mahal. It was your dream to stand in front of the monument and click a picture. But since that accident occurred, it couldn't be fulfilled. You lost your memories and we thought we owed you this much at least. So we took a photo and got it edited. We are sorry Priya. We really are!!"said her mom and burst into tears.
Priya came closer and held her sobbing mom tightly. Her parents only wanted her happiness and to have thought they cheated her was making her sick.
"It's all over mom. I am not angry and I'm sorry for judging you guys so fast.
I love you both a lot!!"said Priya giving both her parents a hug.