PART OF THE MEMORIES

"What about you?"

Somehow the words added more to my worries. I smiled weakly, "I wish I knew!"

Adi gave a confused look, "Why are you wearing this type of clothes? Why didn't you return to your home? It's been so long."

"Hmm. I'm trying to figure out a way. I just woke up yesterday, in a dumping ground. And today got to know that I'm being missing for 5 months."

'Shall I tell him about my changes? No. If I scare him with this, he may abandon me in fear. Moreover, he won't buy it.'

"What about my parents? Are they looking for me in secret?"

Adi remainded quiet. Normally, he's a little talkative. Still.. I could understand why he was this calm and quiet. Maybe he was exhausted. But what was he doing here?

"Adi?"

He looked up to meet my gaze.

"Why are you here?"

His weak and tired face turned to a taut one. Then he hesitantly said, "I... Umm. I was kidnapped with you."

I was confused to hear him, "What? We were kidnapped? When? How? By whom? And what about Rina? Where's she?"

His eyes narrowed, "Ana, you don't remember anything?"

I tilted my head, "Huh? What?"

"That.. how you ended up here?"

That's true. I really didn't know many things that happened during past months. And when I was remembering something my head ached severely and I lost my consciousness. Then I ended up here because of the two cowards.

I shook my head, "No."

I asked him politely, "So, they are the ones who kidnapped us?"

He shook his head, "No! They aren't."

I shook my head, "Then who?"

Then he told me the name of the kidnapper, startling me and making the world around me to shake, "Rina."

"What? How can you joke at this time, Adi?"

"It's not a joke but the truth!" His voice sounded serious, but still it appeared a joke to me.

I murmurred, "How can that be possible? We grew up together! We spend so much of time together! Why would she do that?"

"I know it's hard to believe but it's the truth. She was just waiting for an opportunity."

I couldn't help but cry like a fool, "But why she did this? I've done no wrong to her, neither I mistreated her." I really couldn't help.

Then, Adi gave me another shock, "You had never mistreated me too."

I looked towards the guilty and regretful voice.

"What did you say?"

His voice turned into surprise, "You can hear me?"

'Yeah! I can hear you. After waking up in that dumping ground, many things have changed inside me. But this is not the timeto discuss about IT yet.'

"What do you mean by I-never-mistreated-you-too?" Though I wanted to know what he meant by that, at the same time I wished it shouldn't be his disloyalty to me too.

There was a pin drop of silence for a while until he opened his mouth, while my thoughts were running wild.

He spoke with the same regretting tone but a bit louder, "Sorry, Ana. But, I was also a part of

kidnapping."

He finished and a gasp escaped from my lips. I didn't want to hear this. Why? Why was it happening to me? Why did my friends betray me one by one? Was I being a bad friend or a rude one? Now I couldn't stop my tears, nor the noises that were escaping from my mouth while breathing through it.

Adi spoke again, making me hate myself more for having such friends, "Ana, Ana? Look, I didn't know it would turn out to belike this. I wasn't a part of this plan. She told me that she was going to use a prank on you by kidnapping you. So, I just helped her to make you unconscious. But, I didn't know she had something else on her mind."

My tears didn't stop after hearing this. I should be the one responsible for my friends' betrayal. Or else an innocent and fragile girl like Rina would never do this. But where did I go wrong?

"Ana, look, calm down. I know you might be blaming yourself. But it wasn't your fault at all. She might have been set up for you for a long time. I could feel her changes for sometime. She was always distracted and busy wth her phone. There were numerous calls and messages in her ohone all the time. And she never kept her phone away from her even for a second. I think, she-she might be threatened or somewhat like that by....umm"

I managed to utter a word to know about the mastermind, "By?"

"I didn't hear about it properly. When I was tied up across you, a shadow of a man was telling her something like, 'Boss told me to tell you that your job is completed. Now you can leave.' and then pushed her away to a corner.'

I stopped crying, while listening him, "So, how did you end up here?"

"You really didn't remember anything?"

"Noooo!"

"How can you not remember? When you are the one....!" He stopped without finishing.

"Me what, Adi?"

His voice again turned regretful, "When you are the one was captured but still helped me to escape!"

It didn't match the situation. If I helped him to escape, what he's doing here in this condition? Did he become a beggar after escaping?

"Then why are you here now?"

"I don't know the exact reason either. One day, after escaping, I hid myself in Satadeep's house to recover from my wounds. Then, I headed towards my home. But there was no one inside. I waited but no one came back till midnight. My father works, but my mother is a housewife.

I tried calling their numbers but the call never connected. I could only think about the worst of the worsts at that moment. I panicked and went to the police station. Before I went there, I messaged your parents individually about your kidnapping. And since it was a midnight, no cars were esily available. So I had to walk.

While going to the police station something at the walls caught my attention. There were few posters stuck on them with my picture and in the down it's written WANTED in blocks."

"What?"

"Hm. That's true. So, I turned to my house, while calling Uncle. The only one who came to my mind who could help me at that time."

"You called Dad? Did he pick up?"

He answered with disappointment, "No. I called many times. I even called your mother. But there was no response. And when I reached near my house, I found few police officers and 2 police jeeps. I panicked so much at that time, that I threw my phone and left the place hastily." He stopped.

"Then what happened?"

He took a long breathe, "Then, from that day onwards I have been running away. But still I was caught."

"By them?" I hinted to the goons outside.

"Hmm. They are not fully aware but I think they're connected."

"How were you caught?"

"Even I don't know. After hiing and running for a whole day, I sat at a bench in the park to have some rest. Then something landed behind my head, making me feel dizzu all over. And when I opened my eyes, I heard you saying your name."

"So, you have been running for these months?"

"Hmm."

"Then what about Mr. Bimal. Why didn't you contact him? He could have helped you and perhaps me too."

"Who? Uncle's secretary?"

"Hm."

"Ana, Sorry. But I didn't have his number."

I gasped out a word, "Oh!" not knowing what to do.

Then something struck me.

"Adi?"

"Hmm?"

"If they are with the kidnappers," I hinted to the goons, "I think we need to escape from here as soon as possible."

"Hmm."

I tried to sit up by balancing my body weight. I could see by the Shadow that Adi waa also trying to sit up as well.

I whispered, "Let's sit by our backs and help to untie each other.

"Hmm."

We did as I said. But I could feel the knot was too complicated. It became more complicated when our fingers tangled with each other.

"Let me untie you first."

I nodded, "Hmm."

Just at that moment, a sound of the door lock came and the door opened. We looked at the door, a figure of a man was standing there. I felt my heart would stop beating at anytime.

And then, after a moment, he came running towards us making my heartbeat rapid. Meanwhile, Adi had opened the knot and drew the word 'DONE' on my hand. And I startes to untie his hands as fast as I could. The moment I opened the knot, the man came near and sat near us.

The moment he raised his hand, without a further thinking I landed a punch on his face. He fell on the ground, covering his moan.

I and Adi took the chance to stand up and flee, when a familiar voice called, "Oe!"

I stopped and turned back from where the sound came. Adi took my hand and tried to pull me.

The man tood up and came near, "I came to rescue you. Instead of saying thanks, how can you beat me?"

I took his hand, "It's not the time to quarrel. Let's settle it later. Let's get out of here, first."

Adi whispered, "Who is he? Can we trust him?"

That answer was also unknown to me. So I remained quiet while dragging both of them towards the exit.

All of us paused when we heard few footsteps. And I felt now I was being dragged towards the corner.

We hid behind the door and Rishi whispered, "Shh! Let me take the lead from here."

We did as we were told. To remain quiet and do nothing but follow.

Two men entered from the door and paused after taking few steps. Rishi took the chance and hit them from behind and injected something in their neck with his two hands. Then he signalled for us to come there. He took my hand and started to run. While I took Adi's hand.