Unexpected Journey ✓

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏

   ꧁☆★ 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝑀𝓎𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 ★☆꧂

16th September 2022

It wasn't easy being a junior computer engineer at a reputable technology firm. Add to it, a terrible boss who had a knack for making the lives of the other workers miserable. Aisha's professional life was mirrored in this way exactly. Her personal life had been significantly impacted by her work life. She missed being able to sleep in until nine in the morning without worrying about her work or responsibilities. She sighed as she scanned the time on the table, which read 5:30. She became aware that she had been up for an hour and yet had not finished the assignment her demanding senior had set her.

She stood up from her seat to make another cup of coffee for herself. Let me tell you all, this was the fifth cup in the last hour. She scrolled through Instagram on the way to the kitchen when a particular post stopped her on the way. Her eyes bulged out reading the caption, which read "R.I.P. Kriya."

Kriya Sharma was her junior at IIT by two years. Aisha was able to recall the girl she had gone to the AI event in Kanpur with. She sent Shristi, the girl who had submitted the post, a message right away. She had a quick chat with Shristi and was shocked to hear the reason for her death. Overdose. How does someone who has never used drugs overdose?

Unless she was forced.

She quickly returned to her bedroom; coffee long forgotten. She rushed to her best friend's side of the bed and began waking her up.

"Divya, Divya, uth jaldi. Abey o kumbakaran ki aulad jaldi uth na." (Divya, Divya, wake up, fast. Oh, Kumbakaran's child, get up.)

Divya begrudgingly woke up with a scowl on her face. She angrily glared at Aisha.

"Why did you wake me up at 6, Aish? Kaun sa pahad tuth gaya jo itni subha uthai tuney? (Which hill has been broken that you have woken me up this early?)

Aisha's POV.

"I think there has been a murder."

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, Divya straightened up. She looked at me for a while before exhaling loudly and asked, "Kiska?" (Whose?)

"Kriya Sharma."

"How? Start from the beginning.", said Divya.

"I saw a post earlier on Instagram. When I asked Shristi, she told me that Kriya died of a drug overdose. And the doctor told her that Kriya was a regular drug addict, so it was bound to be. The case was closed just like that, with doctors and police blaming Kriya herself. Shristi told me she had complained to the police about Kriya's disappearance around 2 hours before she got the call from them informing her of Kriya's death. The police found her body in a ditch, 20 minutes' walk west of her workplace. There are a lot of unanswered concerns, such as why she was going west when she lived in a building 15 minutes' walk northeast of the cake shop. Why was her phone off at 6:30 when she typically gets home by that time? If she was going to be late, why hadn't she called Shristi? And most importantly, where did she get the drugs?"

"It's the case of possible kidnapping, isn't?" I nodded at Divya's question and said, "Maybe, sex trafficking?".
Divya looked alerted and said, "There is a possibility. Kriya belongs to a middle-class working family; heck, she herself was doing a part-time job. If she was kidnapped, then it's clear, seeing our country's law, that she would not have been rescued, as money and power work in these matters too.  So, what are we doing?"

Her question caused me to arch my brow. "Perhaps we can do some investigation." When I replied, she grinned.

After a while, when Divya went to freshen up, I realized I had forgotten about my work. The She-Devil would murder me if I did not finish it. I quickly went to my desk and started working. When I finished working, I realized it was already 8:45. I quickly had breakfast; Divya had already left as she had to report to her boss early today. I got ready and saw that it was already half past nine. I left for work and reached my office in 20 minutes.

Divya's POV

I sighed in frustration because I couldn't even create a single sketch. Kriya's passing was constantly on my mind after hearing the news. Over the previous year, we had a few encounters. She was not a drug user, based on what I understood about her. Drugs were beyond the picture because she didn't even smoke or drink.

I came out of my thoughts when someone knocked on my desk. I looked up with furrowed brows to see my boss. Abhiraj Singh Rathore was no less than a devil. An angry Abhiraj was honestly worse. "I don't pay for staring, Ms. Chauhan." I did not realize I was staring until he pointed it out. God, talk about embarrassment!

"Where is the sketch you were supposed to make for me?" My eyes became wider as I heard what he said. Shit! I was doomed. He became further enraged when I didn't respond to him. "Is this your purpose for being here? failing to finish the assigned task while fixating on the walls and ceilings. You can go, Ms. Chauhan, if you don't want to work. I don't like it when people are lazy at my office. You have 30 minutes. You can say goodbye to this position if I don't have those five sketches in these 30 minutes." He then stomped out of the room.

I immediately began working on the sketches. I swiftly hurried to his office floor after finishing. I tapped on his cabin door after giving the receptionist on his floor a timid smile. Come on in. I went in, my heart beating faster. I displayed the sketches to him. "You'd better not make the same mistakes again, Chauhan." "You may now depart." I quickly left. It was already four o'clock when I arrived in my cabin. Yay!! I'm ready to get out of here.

I immediately headed to Maya's Coffee and Cake Shop. Kriya worked in the exact same place. I entered and made a cappuccino request. "Hey, do you know when Kriya left the business the day before yesterday?" I asked the waitress who was serving me. She was a little younger than I was.

"Precisely six." She responded without any hesitation, uncertainty, or fear visible in her eyes. She went after I said, "Thank you." I finished my coffee and then departed as well.

With a cup of coffee in her hand and a glum expression, Aisha was in the living room. I sat down next to her and inquired, "Aish, what happened?" She said, "I almost got fired," while turning to face me and puffing out her cheeks. I laughed out loud. "Same here. I was so lost in my thoughts that I wasted almost 3 hours without making even a single sketch when I had to complete five. The boss almost kicked me out of the office."

"Yours, at least, had a good justification. I received a warning from her after accidentally spilling coffee on Mr. Rathore. I'm telling you, Divi, one day I'll kill that woman."

"Okay. I am coming from the cake shop. The waitress there, said Kriya left at six."

"I hacked Kriya's phone after coming from office. I did not find anything suspicious. This case is getting more complicated, Divi. How about we go for investigation tomorrow? It's Saturday, so we will be free." I hummed and left to freshen up.