Chapter 5

20th December 2019

Victor's POV:

I sat in my car halted at a safe distance behind Lisa's hostel building. The service road behind the hostel didn't seem to have much access but in order to use it, I should make sure that it's completely safe. Though it's been three days since I had taken Lisa the intensity of police movement around the hostel didn't seem to decline. Waiting for three days already made me go crazy and want to smash everyone's head. How long will I keep Lisa down there?

I sat there tapping on the steering wheel and staring at the window that's located on the backside of Lisa's hostel room, climbing up to that height didn't seem like a hard job since I had had many experiences before. I live in the middle of the woods after all.

Suddenly a cop noticed my car and started walking towards me. I became anxious and started the engine before smoothly pulling away from the place I had been standing for an hour now. As I moved away the police didn't seem much suspicious, he just walked back to where he was sitting previously.

This can't wait more than it already had. I have to do something to clear off things from my way. Think Victor! Think think think!

Renita's POV:

Its been three days. The cops didn't get any lead yet. Sometimes I felt like I won't see her again at all and it costs me an immense amount of energy to drown that thought and console myself that she will be alright. I had made a silent promise to her after all. I am going to find her safe and sound very soon, aren't I?

Four whole cartons with all the new things that we had bought and collected to decorate our room sat like a rock in front of me. If only she was here she wouldn't have settled even a second without giving them all the right places in our room.

The room was empty, silent, and lifeless. The newly painted walls stared at me which was supposed to not have even five centimeters continuously empty. It was all mostly her idea. She always liked being clumsy, messy, funky yet lovely, and sweet.

Thousands and thousands of photos of our's to be stuck in all the four walls around us, the fairy lights in pink, blue and yellow colors, her plenty of framed paintings and many more sat unattended on the floor. I once even bet her that there won't be space on the wall for all of that and many of it will be wasted.

She was an amazing artist. Her works could compete with real pictures. My favorite among them is a five feet tall Chandramukhi painting. If the character had really existed, it itself wouldn't have had so much grace and life in it like how Cathy's painting did.

The expensive dreamcatchers that we bought to be crowded against the upper part of the windows though! How stupid was I to fight with her for that silly stuff at the last moment with her? Oh stop calling it last, I slapped my head. She is going to come back again with good health.

Suddenly three knocks on the door pulled me out of my train of thoughts.

"Ren? Its Neha", she called from behind the door.

I wiped my damp cheeks and asked her to come in.

She slowly opened the door and peeped in. "The police are here. They want to talk to you"

A small glint of hope shined in me. Did they find anything about Cathy? "I will be there in a minute"

She nodded and left before closing the door. I stepped out of our bed and pulled my wet hair up into a ponytail which was sticking all over my face. Without wasting even a second I hurried to the washroom to wash my face.

Minutes later, I was walking down the corridor of the girls' hostel as small groups of girls stood here and there watching me pass by and whispering into each other's ears. I ignored them like they didn't exist and scampered down the corridor.

I didn't use the elevator. It would remind me of her and her silly activities in it each time we had used it. Damn! Not even the staircase was of any help. Whenever the elevators are under repair she would slide down the railing when we use the staircase. She had left sprinkles of her memories in every possible atom around me.

Wishing that the police would tell me something good that I didn't hear all these four days, I took quick steps towards them once my eyes found them at the dormitory reception.

"Hello Renita, hope you are better", Officer Paulson who spoke to me the other day stood up followed by two other cops.

"Not until you find her. Got a lead finally sir?", I asked expectantly.

My heart dropped into my stomach once he shook his head. My shoulders eased down as the regular uneasiness crept back up my nerves.

"I need your help", he said. "When I inquired about her to a few of your classmates I learned that she liked someone"

I looked up at him from the floor, "But he didn't like her. So why does it matter?"

"Yes but we don't have any solid leads now so we have to make use of every possible thing that gets into our hands", he said biting his lower lip.

I nodded, "His name is Noel"

"Noel what?"

"I don't know. He works in the IT department of our hospital. He takes care of the hardware and software needs of the management", I bleated.

"How did Catherine get to know him?"

"Once during a big network problem in our classroom projector system, no one but him could repair it. And he kept visiting to set it right daily for one whole week. Not only Cathy but all the girls in our class fell for him but Cathy did more than all"

"She dated him?"

"No! She started searching for reasons to meet him. She joined the IT club and forced me too to join along with her. She used to purposely create faults in the system and make him visit frequently. The whole IT club knows this but of course, she was everyone's sweetheart so no one minded"

"Did she approach him?"

"No, but he soon found out that someone was purposely damaging the system and it didn't take him long to find that it's Cathy. One day he called her alone and warned her that he would complain her to the staff if she repeated.

He also told her that she was too young for him and asked her to stop having any feelings for him. She had never liked a guy before or had approached anyone. So she felt offended and shameful by his warning. Hence she stopped. That's it, no more damages and no more visits"

The cop glanced behind to make sure that the other cop was noting down all of this.

"But I heard that her family is very orthodox. So how did she fall for him?"

"I have asked her that so many times. She used to shrug and tell me she just crushed over Noel and did not really love him"

The cop nodded. "I want to meet Noel. Where can I find him?"

"The professors or college receptionist might have his number"

He thanked me before leaving me to succumb to the same disappointment and loneliness.

HAPPY READING!