To Where It All Began ✔

9. The Dead End...

10:50 AM, 29th March, Pandharpur Police Station

"So Anna had a biological sister who was around four years younger than her... What was Anna's age?" She asked, looking at him with prying eyes.

"Twenty-Nine" He answered in a mumbled tone with a lot of questions reflecting on the back of his mind.

"That means her sister is around twenty-six or twenty-five years old", she conclusively muttered in a slow-pitched voice. Just a second later the cabin door clicked open and SI Rao came back to his seat.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting... Where was I? Ah... They were put for adoption", both of them nodded in agreement hinting him to continue his story.

"Vaani was sent to an orphanage in Bangalore within a month by Sister Geetha of our area. She was the one who made me the temporary guardian while the case was investigated. Around two or three months later, I found that the premature baby girl was taken by some woman from an NGO... That's all" He paused and drank a little water as his throat had become slightly scratchy from the long recital.

"Another thing while the case was still on, a piece of strange news circulated in some regional newspapers saying that a pregnant woman and a child died in a car accident on the Solapur-Pandharpur Highway. I found it strange because both the children were still alive. By the way, everything that I told you right now, the same thing I already told to Vaani when she came here to meet me..."

After hearing everything Amna and Shreekant took his leave, thanking him for answering their queries.

"Anna's biological sister was taken by some lady from an NGO... Neelam also worked with an NGO in Pandharpur, maybe both of them are the same person. She was searching for Neelam to find about her estranged biological sister... So where are we going now?"

Shreekant while still contemplating, replied, "To Pandharpur Government Hospital..." and both of them drove away to reach their new destination.

29th March, 11:45 AM, Pandharpur Government Hospital

Both of them reached the heavily crowded government hospital of Pandharpur lined up with patients and their relatives in long queues outside almost every room. They carefully paced through the dingy corridor of the place and ultimately reached the information desk in the lobby where a thin, short-statured man sat comfortably in his chair.

"Excuse me! Sir..." On hearing this, he glimpsed up with a sulked look waiting for them to speak.

"We needed some information regarding a child born here in 1995 in June or July who was taken by some NGO lady named Neelam" Shreekant's didn't sound confident at all seeing the vexed face of the man, but continued to ask expecting for the smallest detail that could help them.

"Sir, do you think this is a museum? Why do all of a sudden people want to see a 25-year-old record? Sometime back also someone came and now you too, " he smirked and his words made both Amna and Shreekant disheartened that this may be a futile attempt.

"Please... Can you at least try? Even a small detail can help us", she said in a low yet gentle tone, trying to convince him.

"Madam... I really can't help you, All the records before 2002 were misplaced when the building was under renovation. But... The Head Nurse there has been working for more than 30 years. Maybe she can tell you something. She was ill for the past one and half months and joined to work around last week." They were elated and asked him the way to Head Nurse's office without wasting a minute.

Leaving the place thanking him they entered the Head Nurse's office to find a lady in her sixties with her hair tied up neatly in a bun with a neatly draped light pink saree. "Yes... What do you want?" Her gleaming eyes glanced up at the two unknown people who had come to her office.