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Nisha woke up to the continous ringing of her father's phone. She sit up straight on the bed and saw that her parents were sleeping peacefully cuddling together. An automatic smile formed in her lips. The scene was good enough to start a brand new day with smile.

She looked at her father's phone and it was inspector Rohan, the newbie. She knows him well cause he had been visiting their house a lot because of the murder case. She didn't liked him cause he talked a lot. Most of the time he talks illogical things that everyone founds annoying. She is a person who liked calm and cool person who do not talk garbage. But even though they fight they have a brother-sister relationship between them.

She irritatingly picked up the call and went outside the room.

"If someone is not picking up the call means they are doing something. What are you calling for early in the morning?" She roared not giving a chance for Rohan to speak up.

"I'm sorry sister. I was just calling to ask if he is sleeping or not. He is not sleeping properly for the past one week."

"Yes he is sleeping. He came home late last night. I don't remember when but it was very late."

"Thank God." Rohan sighed on the other side of the call.

"And please bro, don't call continously. It's annoying. You're annoying too." She said sternly.

"I got it sister. I will not do that again." Rohan chuckled.

"By the way bro, what happened with the case? Any lead?" She asked enthusiastically.

"No, absolutely nothing. That's why Sandeep sir is spending his time in the station just to read the reports over and over to find a clue or something. This case is very confusing to be honest. The killer is very skillful. Once I found them, they will be dead for sure."

"It's looking like a big problem."

"Yes truly big. And nobody knows how to solve it. Anyways let's hope for the best"

"Yep."

After she hung up the call she was thinking about the case when suddenly, "Who called?"

Nisha got startled badly. She turned around and it was her father, rubbing his eyes with messy hair.

"Dad, please don't do that. I got startled." Nisha whined.

"Oh! Did I scare you. Sorry." Her father was awake by now.

"Brother Rohan called."

"What did he said?"

"He was asking if you're sleeping or not. Also the case has no lead till now."

'Hah' Her father sighed.

"Dad, don't take stress too much. It'll be fine."

"Mn." He just nodded.

He was really trying his best to find a clue reagarding the case. Because only he knows how it is hard to watch the victim's parents to go into a state of shock. He just wanted to quickly find an ending to this case. There could be another victim in the meantime and he does not want another murder to happen. Not under his watch.

Nisha watched her father silently. His face clearly showed stress. She remained silent cause she knew nothing could be of much help if she said anything.

—

Aryan's father went home early cause he had to go to the office and retrieve the car he left at the restaurant. By the time he woke up his mother made his breakfast ready on the table.

"Oh you're up. Go brush your teeth and eat breakfast." His mother said lovingly.

"Yes ma. Good morning." He said in a little groggy voice.

"Hm, good morning."

While eating breakfast he remembered about the story he wanted to listen from his mother.

"Ma, tell me about your friend Phurmit. You said you will tell me the story." He said.

"Okay, okay I'll tell you. But first finish your breakfast quickly and let me finish my chores too, so that we can sit on the cozy sofa and enjoy the story. I took three days off dor you too."

"Wow, ma. You're great. Thank you so much." He beamed with joy.

Rita just looked at his happy son fondly.

Finally after all of the work done they sat together on the sofa and Rita began.

...(Story)

When Rita was nine years old her whole family shifted to Darjeeling. They were living in a remote village in the North Bengal before shifting there. Her father worked as a manager in a tea factory. He got transferred from the village to Darjeeling. She and her mother were traveling with her father because her father had a big joint family in South Bengal. Her father had three more brothers and her father is the middle child. As a result he was often ignored. So, as soon as he got married, no matter what difficulties he had to face, he took his wife with him. It was after three years he got transferred to North Bengal and that is when Rita was born.

Rita was too excited cause mountains were her all time favorite. She was surrounded by mountains from the time she was born, that is how she thinks as if she belongs with them.

They shifted in the company quarters. Eager eyed Rita looked around, but there were not so many residents in the quarters because most of the workers were local. There were only seven family who were from outside. Rita's mother was an extrovert and was very talkative. It did not took much time for her to mix up with the groups of ladies out there.

While on the other hand Rita was an introvert. She had a hard time getting herself involved in the new environment. She would always be in her own little world.

But very soon her little world was interrupted by a su shine ball named Phurmit.

When she enrolled in a local school, she sat alone near the window where the mountain view was beautiful. The peak of Kangchenjunga made her feel at peace. Always.

That day too she was minding her own business when a little girl with bright eyes, hair tied into two pigtails and a smile never fading approached her.

"Hi there! Are you new here?" She asked.

Even though Rita was always alone she knew all the faces of her classmates. But her face was new to her so, she looked a little flabbergasted. The other one seemed to notice what is going in her mind so she said patting her shoulder, "I'm not new here. I'm a regular. I went to a three day vacation with my family that's why you didn't see me, I guess."

"Oh." Rita muttered.

'I joined two days ago right? That's why I didn't saw her.' Rita thought.

"Anyway my name is Phurmit Lepcha. You can call me Phurmit. What is your name?"

"Rita Chakraborty."

"Oh! You're Bengali. I'm Nepali. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

"You want to know what my name means?" She beamed.

Rita did not said anything. The amount of energy the girl was radiating was too much for her to handle. But, before she could say that she don't know Phurmit answered, "I don't know too."

And she started laughing hysterically.

Rita watched her and realized the effect Phurmit had on her. She could feel that wherever Phurmit goes she brings that kind of energy with her which can make a depressed kid happy. She is a little ball of sunshine that everyone wants in their life. Rita was lucky to have her as her friend.

Slowly Rita started to open up with everyone with the help of Phurmit. Ultimately they became best friends. Rita spends most of her time with Phurmit rather than with her parents. The reason was because her father was always at work and her mother were busy with her kitty parties with the other ladies out there. But she understands her mother cause she is young too and wants to enjoy her life too.

"How old was she then?" Aryan asked his mother.

"Um, maybe she was thirty plus then. I don't know. That must be it." She said while thinking hard.

"I feel like Phurmit was a turning point for you in your life."

"Yes, she was. She was a turning point in my life. She didn't lack in anything. Be it studies or looks. She was so beautiful that it made me want to fall in love with her."

"What? Ma, don't tell me you actually loved her?" Aryan asked shocked.

"No, I didn't loved her. She was like a very close person to me whom I loved as a family. What are you talking about? If I loved her then I would never fell in love with your father."

"Okay, that's true though. But it would be great if you two were a couple. I don't know how Phurmit looked like but when I see you talk about her I could see your eyes shining. I couldn't help but believe that she was a down to earth person. If you two were a couple you would have been called the most gorgeous couple alive on earth."

"Stop exaggerating. She is my lifelong friend and my comrade. I never saw her as a love interest. Also at that time everybody saw homosexuality as a curse. And she was a Christian."

"Wow. I wish I could see her. Or it would be great if I had a friend like her in my life who would be with me unconditionally."

"If only one of you is loving the other unconditionally and the other doesn't care much about it. That relationship is bound to fall apart. Wish something like you want to fulfill it, not because you want it, as if someone would grant it for you. Who does not want a friend like that, but before that you have to be that kind of person yourself."

"Wow." Aryan just listened to his mother wide eyed.

It is true though. His respect for his mother and Phurmit went high up to the moon.

They spent the rest of their day talking about Phurmit and her personality.

—

Sunil cursed his fate for his forgetfulness when he is around with his wife. The car which he left at the parking lot at the restaurant got stolen. He went to the police station to file a complain about it. But what he saw at the station baffled him. The whole police station was dead silent. Though the people were there but the silence was much louder tah the people itself.

Not understanding the situation he went in, "Excuse me sir."

He got no answer from the police officer sitting. He was just blankly looking at somewhere without a acre for the world.

"Excuse me sir. I'm here to report for a missing car." Again no reply.

"Sir come with me." Suddenly a young officer patted his shoulder.

"Yes." He followed him ro his table.

"Please sir tell me your problem." The young officer asked while opening the khata.

"Actually I left my car at the parking lot of a restaurant. It's name is La Cucina. I took the car keys with me thinking I would pick it up in the morning. But when I went there the car was not there."

"Can you please describe the car?"

"It was white Maruti Suzuki Alto and the plate no is WB7001N."

"What is you name sir?"

"Sunil Bhattacharya."...

The interrogation continues for a minute or two. Sunil could not able to content his curiosity, so he finally asked, "If you dont mind can I ask you a question? Did something happened here? Why are they looking so depressed?"

"Actually it's about a murder case. One month ago we found two victims who were murdered and their skin were removed. We haven't found a single pinch of clue yet. So everyone here is stressed. They are afraid that again a murder could happen at any time. You don't know about this?"

"No actually. Nobody in my family likes to watch crime news actually."

"Ah...I see."

"May I know what is your name sir?"

"Oh! I'm Rohan Roy. A newcomer here."

"Wow, that's great. Congratulations."

"Thank you sir." They shook hands.

"OK sir. I should leave now. Thank you so much for your assistance."

"Ah yeah, we will try to find your car as soon as possible. Have a good day sir."

"You too have a good day."

After that he went out feeling a little relieved. He did not informed his wife and son. He was sure that they would nag at him.

But halfway through he remembered something, vaguely. When he got up on the auto he finally remembered fully. He quickly got down from the auto and hurried back to the police station again.

"Oh! You're here again sir? Any problem?" Rohan was baffled to see Sunil again.

Sunil huffed as he was running.

"Sir...I think...I think I can give you a clue...about the murder case."

"SANDEEP SIR."

He did not think of anything else and shouted his senior's name when the word 'clue' reached his ear.