Friendship Tales ✔

1. THE TRIBAL DUO (Prologue)

1. the Tribal Duo (PROLOGUE)

Amidst the rugged terrain, where cliffs embraced the roaring sea below, a gripping scene unfolded, painting a poignant tale of friendship, loyalty, and heart-wrenching loss.

"No, let me go and release my hand," pleaded a desperate voice, resonating with the weight of an impending tragedy.

"How can I? How can I let you go?" countered another, the anguish perceptible in every syllable.

Time seemed to stand still as the two figures, Abhijit and Daya, stood locked in a struggle against fate itself. But fate, relentless in its course, cared little for their pleas.

"The time has come to bid farewell, Daya," whispered Abhijit, his voice a solemn resignation as he made the ultimate sacrifice, freeing himself from Daya's grasp and plummeting into the abyss below.

"A-b-h-i-j-i-t....." Daya's cry pierced the air, reverberating off the unforgiving cliff, a testament to the bond that now lay shattered at his feet.

Upon hearing Daya's anguished cry, their fellow officers, Purvi, Pankaj, and Freddie, rushed to the scene, their faces etched with fear and disbelief.

"What was that noise? Where is Abhijit Sir?" gasped Purvi, her voice trembling with dread as she surveyed the scene before her, a silent prayer on her lips for it all to be a cruel illusion.

Their hearts heavy with foreboding, they approached Daya, only to be met with the sickening sound of impact as his body crashed onto the unforgiving ground below. Daya lay there, his gaze fixated on the hand that had failed to hold on, tortured by the relentless question echoing in his mind.

"How can I? How can I release Abhijit's hand?" he murmured, his voice a haunting lament to the tragedy that had unfolded before their eyes.

Despite their desperate attempts to console Daya, Purvi and Pankaj found themselves powerless against the weight of his grief, as Freddie solemnly dialed ACP Pradyuman's number to deliver the devastating news.

"ACP Sir, Abhijit Sir is no more," Freddie whispered, his voice heavy with sorrow, each word a solemn tribute to a friendship lost in the unforgiving embrace of destiny.

After a while, ACP Pradyuman reached the spot with his momentous squad, while Daya continued to weep over his own guilt—the one that he considered to have been committed by him. ACP walked over to Daya, gently patting his shoulder. "What are you doing, Daya? This is not the time to behave like a kid. You need to be strong enough to search for Abhijit."

Daya came out of his reverie, and seeing ACP Pradyuman in front of him, he almost whispered, his lips quivering, "Sir, do you think a person falling from a few hundred feet and above, will survive anyhow?"

"Since when have you become like this, Daya? You have been my toughest cop, the one who never gave up unless he was stuck to the brim. But what happened to you today? How can you affirm that Abhijit is not alive when we have not traced his body yet?" ACP tried to explain it to him.

Daya's anguish overflowed, his frustration bubbling to the surface as he confronted ACP Pradyuman with raw emotion. "Sir, see, deep down, you're also believing that Abhijit is dead. You just called him a body!" His accusation hung heavy in the air, a stark reminder of the grim reality they faced.

Pradyuman's response was swift, his words a balm to Daya's wounded spirit. "No, Daya, I didn't mean that. I meant to say that he may be alive somewhere else. We need to find him," he clarified, his voice tinged with urgency and resolve.

Just then, a breakthrough emerged as a local policeman interrupted their conversation with a discovery. "ACP Sir, have a look. We found this jacket hanging on a tree near the cliff."