Mumbai was everything they said it was - loud, crowded, and indifferent to a small-town girl's pain.
Aarya stepped out of Kharghar station with a small bag and her father's diary. The address was easy to find - a old building behind a petrol pump. Third floor.
She climbed the stairs. Her heart was beating fast. Finally, she would get answers.
Room number 304. She knocked.
An old woman opened the door. Seventy years old, white hair, tired eyes.
"Who?"
"I'm looking for Raghav Khanna sir."
The woman's face changed. Grief. Fresh grief.
"Beta, you're too late. Raghav passed away yesterday. Heart attack."
The world stopped.
No. No. No.
"Which hospital? I need to see him, I need to—"
"Beta, he's gone. Cremation happened this morning. His son came from Pune, took everything. I'm just the neighbor who used to make him tea."
Aarya leaned against the wall. Her legs were giving up.
Yesterday. Raghav Khanna died yesterday.
The same day she called him from Dehradun.
The same day.
"Did he get any phone call yesterday? From Dehradun?"
The old woman thought. "Yes. He was very upset after that call. Said he had to meet someone urgently. Then at night... heart attack."
Aarya's blood turned cold.
This was no heart attack.
She had killed Raghav Khanna by calling him. Someone was listening. Someone knew she was coming.
"Aunty, can I see his room? Please. It's very important."
The woman nodded. "Nothing left. Son took everything. But come."
The room was bare. Empty shelves, a mattress on the floor, some newspapers. Aarya searched desperately. Nothing.
Then she saw it.
Behind a old calendar on the wall - a photograph stuck with tape.
Three young men in army uniform. 1984 written at the bottom.
One was her father - young, smiling, innocent.
Second was Raghav Khanna.
The third man's face was scratched out with a black pen. Completely destroyed. Unrecognizable.
On the back, in faded ink:
"The three of us. The night we became criminals to save a murderer. God forgive us."
Aarya pocketed the photo and walked out.
She had a name now. Not the third man's name. But a place to go next.
The photo was taken in Dehradun Cantonment. Army area. Someone there would remember 1984.