Station Announcement:
"Passengers arriving at unfamiliar stations: proceed with humility. The land remembers more than maps do."
Nepal greeted them not with fanfare, but with a quiet that felt ancient.
Mahendranagar was a border town wrapped in dust and low-hanging mist.Motorbikes zipped across cracked roads, goats wandered between tea stalls, and children ran barefoot across courtyards where laundry flapped like flags of daily survival.
Nothing about the town looked threatening.
But everyone in the group felt it —the undercurrent, the whispered history, the roads where stories went missing.
Kannan held the umbrella and sketchbook like sacred objects.Arun walked beside him, watchful and steady.Sara guided Basil and remained an emotional compass for the group.Nish, Arjun, Rohit, Leena, Ananya, and Ravi moved with tense purpose.
They had crossed the physical border.
Now they had to cross the invisible one —the border of knowledge.
1. The Bus Depot
The old bus depot sat at the center of Mahendranagar — a faded concrete structure with rusted buses parked like tired elephants.
People lounged around, drinking tea, repairing engines, waiting for routes that took them deeper into the hills.
Ravi pointed.
"That is where the woman said we'd find him."
A man stood near a small chowk — tall, lean, wearing a dark jacket and a cap pulled low.He watched the depot with sharp, tired eyes.
Something about him radiated control, vigilance, fatigue…and something else — an old wound that had never healed.
As they approached, he spoke first.
"You are from India," he said in accented English.
Nish nodded.
"We're searching for a child. From many years ago."
The man studied them carefully.
"A lost child," he said."This land is full of them."
Arun stepped forward.
"We heard you help recover some."
The man's jaw tightened.
"Help?" he echoed softly."Help is a small word."
Kannan stepped forward, voice trembling.
"My son," he whispered. "His name is Akshay."
For the first time, the man's expression changed.
He stared at Kannan with a shock that almost looked like recognition.
Then he closed his eyes briefly and whispered:
"Akshay…"
Kannan's knees nearly buckled.
Arun caught him.
Jeevan Tamang opened his eyes again — darker now, filled with weight.
"You must come with me," he said."Not here."
2. Jeevan's House
He led them through a winding lane to a small clay-brick house with a tin roof.
Inside, Jeevan poured water for them, though he did not sit.
He stood near the window.
A man always ready to run.
A man who had seen too much to rest fully.
Jeevan finally spoke.
"I know the children who came through Route SR–17," he said."I've spent years trying to find where they were taken."
Kannan whispered:
"Did you… see my son?"
Jeevan looked down.
"When the group crossed the border… yes," he whispered."He was with them."
Kannan pressed both hands to his mouth, choking on hope and pain.
Sara touched his back gently.
Arun leaned forward.
"Can you tell us what happened?"
Jeevan nodded slowly.
3. The Truth About Joshi
"The man who brought the children," Jeevan said,"was not a simple trafficker."
Nish stiffened.
"He was more?"
Jeevan nodded.
"He was part of a network that moved children across remote borders. Some were taken for labour in the mountains. Some sold to monasteries needing novices. Some… far darker."
Arjun clenched his fists.
"And Joshi?"
Jeevan exhaled.
"He wasn't the leader.He was the courier."
Sara whispered:
"Then who led him?"
Jeevan turned to face them.
His eyes hardened.
"A man named Ghanshyam Rana. A ghost in these parts. Former border warden. He knew every trail. Every blind spot. Every patrol schedule."
Leena shuddered.
"And he took the children from Joshi?"
"Yes," Jeevan said."He collected them from the couriers. Always in the hills."
Kannan's voice cracked:
"And Akshay…?"
Jeevan nodded.
"He was among the group Rana collected."
Kannan's breath shattered.
Arun held him as tears streamed down his face.
Sara wiped her own tears silently.
Ravi whispered:
"Then… Akshay reached deeper into the mountains."
Jeevan nodded.
"Yes. But there is more."
He walked to a small wooden drawer, opened it, and pulled out a green notebook — battered, water-stained.
He placed it gently on the table.
Kannan stared at it.
"What is that?" he whispered.
Jeevan said softly:
"It belonged to a boy who escaped the camps in the mountains. He died before he could reach home."
Everyone fell silent.
"He told me," Jeevan continued,"that a boy named Akshay helped many children survive. That he protected younger ones. That he hid food. That he distracted guards."
Kannan wept openly.
Arun held him tighter.
Sara whispered,"He was… he was brave… so brave…"
Jeevan tapped the notebook.
"Before the boy died, he said something I never understood."
Nish leaned forward.
"What?"
Jeevan opened the notebook to a page where shaky handwriting spread across the lines.
He pointed.
Written in Nepali was:
"One boy saved me. The boy who always drew circles.His name: Akshay.He said he would find his Appa at the place where the mountains open into sky."
Arun whispered:
"What place…?"
Jeevan closed the notebook slowly.
"There is only one place the children called that," he said.
Everyone leaned forward.
"It is an abandoned monastery high in the mountains.A place traffickers used for shelter.A place some escaped from.A place some never left."
Kannan's breath froze.
Sara whispered:
"A monastery…?"
Jeevan nodded.
"It is called Ghyaru Monastery, though it is barely a monastery now.It is ruins.It is danger."
Arun clenched his fists.
"Is it reachable?"
Jeevan looked at each of them slowly.
"It is a deadly trail," he said."Landslides. Cliffs. Loose stones. Cold.Even shepherds avoid it."
Rohit whispered:
"But… Akshay reached there."
Jeevan nodded.
"Yes. Many children did."
Kannan's tears fell freely.
"My son… climbed mountains for me…"
Jeevan looked at him deeply.
"A child who survives that trail… does not give up easily."
He walked to the door, opened it, and pointed to the distant snow-peaked horizon.
"Your search," he said,"now leaves the towns."
He pointed higher.
"It goes there."
The mountains rose like ancient guardians.
Cold.Rugged.Silent.
And somewhere among them…
A boy had walked alone.
A boy who drew circles to stay brave.A boy who carried hope like a map.A boy who waited for a father who never came.
Until now.
Kannan whispered:
"I will climb every mountain…I will cross every border…until I find him."
Jeevan nodded.
"Then tomorrow," he said,"We begin the ascent."