PRESENT – ARJUN’S FLAT, LIVING ROOM
The flashback faded like dust swept from an old photo.
Indu and Chaitra sat glaring at each other across the coffee table. Arjun leaned forward, rubbing his temples in disbelief.
Arjun finally burst out: “Anthe na? This small misunderstanding for so long?”
Indu and Chaitra both snapped their eyes toward him.
Anirudh squinted at Chaitra, curiosity overtaking his calm. “Wait… who’s Varun?”
Chaitra threw her hands up, exasperated. “Just a classmate, ntg else. Indu herself told everyone that I like Varun when I never even told her that.”
Indu’s jaw dropped, eyes wide as saucers. “WTF? Woman, FYI I don’t even know any Varun. Who TF is Varun in the first place?”
Chaitra stared at her. “Don’t act. Rekha herself showed me those messages and voice notes. It was your voice saying those things.”
Indu shot back, voice rising, “And Rekha showed me messages supposedly from you bitching about me. You think I’d randomly pick some Varun guy out of thin air?”
Arjun raised a hand, trying to calm them both. “Okay… okay… so, basically, Rekha played you both?”
Indu huffed, crossing her arms. “Clearly. But that doesn’t explain why you believed all that crap, Chaitra.”
Chaitra glared. “Oh please. Like you didn’t believe it about me!”
Anirudh let out a small laugh despite himself. “So… this whole epic fallout… all because of one invisible guy named Varun and some forged texts?”
Indu turned to Arjun, poking his arm. “And what about you? Laughing like it’s a comedy show.”
Arjun held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, I’m just trying to keep track. So, lesson learned — don’t trust any Rekhas, any screenshots, or any random Varuns.”
Indu rolled her eyes but finally cracked a reluctant smile.
Chaitra sighed, slumping back into the sofa. “This is so stupid. We wasted years…”
Indu whispered, “Yeah… we did.”
A quiet moment stretched between them — the tension easing, though not entirely gone.
Anirudh nudged Arjun. “So… what do we do now?”
Arjun raised an eyebrow. “We finish our coffee.
SCENE — LIVING ROOM, ARJUN’S FLAT
Indu and Chaitra are sitting side by side on the couch, leaning into each other, laughing softly.
Indu says, “gurthundha appudu art competition appudu em jarigindho.”
Chaitra giggles and says, “ofc adhi ela marchipotha. Neeku interest lekapoina naa kosam pettav last ki boggu ayyav. Hamma ippudu kuda chaala navvu osthundhi thaluchukuntunte.
Indu waves her hand and says, “neeku bayyam ane ga thodu kosam ocha ippud nuvvuthav enti🙂😭.”
Both of them laugh, remembering old days, whispering more secrets and memories.
Across the room, Arjun and Anirudh are standing, watching them with faint smiles.
Arjun leans closer to Anirudh and says, “Why do I have a weird feeling about the Rekha mentioned in their story?”
Anirudh blinks, surprised, and says, “You felt it too? I was thinking the same thing. I think we should ask them once.”
Arjun folds his arms and says, “We better be sure before we drag them into this mess again. They’ve been through enough.”
Anirudh nods slowly and says, “Agreed. But if that Rekha is somehow the same woman we’re chasing… we’ll have to tell them.”
Arjun glances back at the girls, still laughing and nudging each other.
Arjun mutters, “I wish life could just stay this simple for them.”
Anirudh sighs and says, “Yeah… but I guess we don’t get simple lives.”
They both fall silent, the laughter of Indu and Chaitra echoing softly in the background — a fleeting, precious moment of normalcy in the chaos of their world.
Hope you like the chapter. Please feel free to let me know what you think about it...
YOU ARE READING
BETWEEN STRINGS AND SHADOWS
ActionArjun, a hot-headed cop, and Anirudh, a calm and methodical officer, are two strangers unknowingly investigating the same case. When a series of teenage girls start disappearing under mysterious circumstances, they follow separate leads, unaware of...
