PRESENT
21st September 2019
11:00pm.
There was no other text or ransom for that matter. Just that video.
I almost fainted watching Ayat's head in the water. My poor little girl. She can’t even sleep alone in the darkness. She always needs me by her side. I was always there with her, even from the start. Maithreyi had a lot of work in those days, so the bulk of looking after Ayat fell onto me. Not like I minded it. I loved looking after her. We would always play on the terrace and on the balcony in the master bedroom. I used to take her to the park too and sometimes I brought the park to her. I loved those times. Ayat almost always giggled. Light shined from her eyes and it was so bright it could burn an entire galaxy.
Nowadays, Ayat barely smiled. When she smiled it felt like a mask. I could no longer see the light. Maybe it got like that with today's teenage generation. All of them mostly angry and never smiling.
Maithreyi had barely moved from her seat. Again she looked frail, unhappy. Her gaze never looked up. It was like her soul was stolen from her. Her most priced possession just disappeared and all her hard work had drowned. She was a rock in a river. Where everything buzzed and she just stilled.
Madhav didn’t look great either. He became a Meer cat. Always peeped at the door. As if he knew that Ayat would walk in any minute . He was scared and jumpy. It reminded me of something. I don’t remember what.
The police investigation had increased significantly as they were no longer dealing with a dramatic teenager who just upped and ran away. It was a kidnapping case. The situation sounded so much so better before. Their every moment was crucial.
“ma’am, I wanted to ask you something. Your daughter doesn’t seem in a pretty good shape"
“yes, go ahead"
I smiled warmly. She looked like a newbie. I wanted to make her feel comfortable so that she could do her work efficiently.
She instantly lit up.
“Does Ayat usually travel to her friends houses alone?”
“Sometimes. Why?”
“Did she travel by bus or did she know how to drive a bike?”
“We already answered these questions”
This time I frowned hard
“What happened to her?”
“ma’am, your granddaughter never went to school"
YOU ARE READING
The Answer Is Within these Walls
Mystery / ThrillerThe Anand Joshi family always known to be quite the feminists and most open-minded their society has never known. A regular family with a senior doctor and an average engineer. Not rich enough to pay any ransom, not poor enough to have mixed with an...
