It wasn't until quite a few of minutes after he had disconnected the call that it occurred to Mili that she had never mentioned where she worked to Shaan. He hadn't asked her that either, and yet somehow, he had used the word 'auditorium' when he had asked her if she could wait for ten minutes. Did he actually even know where he had to come to pick her up?

"Hey, what's up?" Farhan had walked up to her now, his bag packed and all set to leave, "Gautam mentioned you needed a ride?"

Mili fidgeted with the phone in her hand, considering asking Shaan if he knew where to come or ask him to not come, and just leave with Farhan. She knew the man; she had worked with him for almost a year and he had dropped her home a few times before.

"I didn't ride my scooty to work today." She explained absently.

"Oh, come along then!"

Mili started to say something for a reply, but Shantanu seemed to call her precisely then, "Which gate should I get to?"

She pulled the phone away from her ear to look at the time a second time that night. Hot damn, it had only been eleven minutes since their call and he was already here. Well, assuming he had the address right. Did he?

"Um, it just struck me a few minutes ago that I have never mentioned where I do my plays to you." She paused, and then awkwardly added, "I mean, you tell me wherever you are, I'll come to that gate."

"I don't see a gate number but College Street is to my left." Shaan seemed to choose to ignore the first part of her mumbling.

Oh well.

"Oh okay, that's gate number three. Give me two minutes." She replied, watching Farhan turn around in question.

"Sure." Shaan replied, before she hung up.

"Nice." Farhan was grinning at her now, a cheeky smile on his features, "Tell me you're finally seeing someone!"

Mili rolled her eyes at him, "Thank you for the offer for the ride. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Laughing, and raising his brows suggestively her way, Farhan nodded and started for the exit. Mili collected her belongings in record time, and waving at the old night guard, rushed towards the exit.

Shantanu's car was parked right outside the said gate, and he stood outside the SUV; waiting for her. She strained her eyes in the dark to see what car it was, but failed. It was a Honda, but she wasn't really good with cars to begin with, and decided she could postpone the overanalysing and overthinking for later.

"Hi." She smiled, when she had reached within hearing proximity.

Shantanu smiled too. His police uniform was still annoyingly crisp for someone who hadn't gone home till that time of the night. Wordlessly, he pulled open the car door for her, and Mili stood motionlessly on her spot for a few extra seconds in a mild state of shock.

Wasn't this stuff supposed to be redundant now? You know, chivalry and all that. She didn't remember the last time someone had pulled open the car door for her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, having clearly misread the look on her face.

She shook her head, and slid into the car quietly. It wasn't until they had hit the main road that he finally said something.

"Aritro had mentioned that you perform at the Rabindra Natya Auditorium once." He said this, without turning to face her, choosing to answer her question from before that instant.

But she did look at him when she quipped, "Oh."

He took a few minutes to speak again, "I uh...I've watched a few of your plays." A pause followed, "I actually realized that just now."

Mili was surprised, "You watch plays?"

This actually got him to look at her briefly, a small smile evident, "I love theatre."

Mili had to peel her eyes off of him that instant, for she knew the excitement she felt at having learnt this new aspect to his personality was probably a little too embarrassingly obvious for him to not catch. He didn't need to know what she was feeling.

"Wow, I didn't expect that." She paused, "Did you like any of them?"

"Your plays you mean?"

She nodded.

Shaan looked thoughtful, "I don't exactly remember all, not going to lie. There was a time when I used to watch at least one play every weekend, so I have some of the plots mixed up. But I remember this one particular play I'd watched about two years ago that sort of always stayed with me..."

Mili had turned to face him again, now absolutely curious and ridiculously psyched. She couldn't believe that they were discussing a play of hers.

"...It was about this little boy who wanted to sue his parents for being, well...unfit parents. The play was just the court case being enacted in the court room. Magnificent acting; I tell you. I've forgotten the name though."

Mili's heart sank, "Joytirmoy." She answered for him anyway.

"Yes." He grinned, "That was the one. It was really one of the best plays I have ever watched in my life. I remember-" and then, having caught the look on Mili's face he asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

"No no. Just that it wasn't my play."

Shantanu looked surprised, "But I think I saw an old poster at the farther end of the closed wing of the auditorium. That was you in the poster, wasn't it?"

Mili nodded, "I acted in it, but I mean, it wasn't my play. I didn't write or direct it like I normally do."

"Oh." He huffed, "I mean, that's kind of why I called it your play. You were the lawyer of the child, and I think that was some amazing acting there. I think aside from the child, it was you who pretty much pulled the entire play all by yourself. It was really something."

She had never really wanted to be an actor as much as she had wanted to write and direct plays, so she had never bothered to work too much on her acting and never considered taking it up full time. But this was flattering her to a whole different level.

Yes, she had received praise for her acting in that play, even from the harsher critics. But for some reason she had forgotten all about it and been more focussed on trying to become the best writer and director the theatre world of her time had seen.

This...this was making her want to maybe broaden her horizons just a tad bit.

"Thank you." She found herself blush.

Shantanu just smiled, and then, "What happened to your shirt?"

She pressed her eyes shut, suddenly remembering the fact that she was sitting in Shaan's car in a bloody tea-stained crop top. She could feel the heat rise to her cheeks as she explained, "Somebody spilled tea."

His eyes widened at that, and she found herself immediately add, "Not on me. On the top." And then when he looked confused, she further explained, "We had look tests today, so I was in various costumes the whole day."

That's when realization marred his features and he replied, "Oh, I see."

Mili looked away, sighing, "Well, is every Shoptomi this hectic for you?"

Shaan shrugged, "It's actually out of the busier times for us during Pujo. Why were you stuck there? And more importantly, how did you convince your crew to stick around for this long on Shoptomi?"

Mili chuckled, "Why? Are you looking for some tips to boost employee morale?"

That caused him to let out a hearty laugh. When he did, he looked so at ease and relaxed that it was a struggle to look away. Damn him, he really was handsome. The edges of his eyes crinkled with mirth that moment, and he looked boyish and young, in complete contrast with the serious look he always wore. Mili felt a tinge of pride within for having made him laugh like that.

"Maybe." He grinned, now swerving away from the main road and into the narrow lanes that lead to her house.

"Our performance is only seventeen days away; nobody really had a choice." She explained, now wondering why he hadn't brought up the case at all during the car ride. "Plus, my friends usually pull all-nighters getting high at the pandal, so I guess I can still catch up."

But then, was that something that she should have said to a cop?

Shantanu looked at her gravely for a moment, and she wanted nothing more than the ground to just cut open and swallow her into it. What the hell was wrong with her? She had probably landed her friends in deep, deep shit.

She had almost expected him to tumble out of the vehicle, walk over to her friends and arrest them in front of everybody in the pandal, when he finally sighed with a small, reassuring smile, "Relax, I'm off duty right now." He paused, "Though um, it would be in our mutual interest if I don't see them in the middle of the act. I will have to arrest them then."

"No, no." Mili said gratefully, "You won't. I'm so sorry for even blurting that out; and putting you in this spot."

Shaan looked away; feeling torn about saying the rest that was at the very tip of his tongue.

At this point; Mili found herself let out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding.

"Um..." Shaan started, unable to hold his tongue after all; and realizing that he was coming from a place of concern for her, "...as someone from the law enforcement, I still implore you to steer clear from weed. It's all roses and butterflies till you're actually caught, after that, literally everything is messy. We have extremely stringent laws around it, Mili. There's uh, there's a fine and jail time and things will just keep getting murkier."

Mili shook her head vehemently, "Oh no no, I don't smoke up, or smoke, or drink for that matter. I um, I'm a bit of a control freak, I need to be in my complete sense at all times. But uh, they're my friends, you know?"

Shantanu looked lowkey impressed suddenly, "Wow, you don't even drink."

Mili shrugged, "It's not like I've not tried. I just, never really liked it enough to want to do it again. Same with smoke, and weed."

Why the hell was she having this extremely weird conversation with this man? A freaking cop?

Shaan pulled up before her house, and let out a sigh, "Well, it's good to see a responsible citizen."

"I want to accept this as a compliment, but every fibre of my being seems to want to take your statement up as a challenge, Sir. Would that make me a rebel without a cause?" she joked.

But Shaan seemed to take it rather seriously, "I think the whole concept of a rebel without a cause is deeply flawed." He replied plainly. When she looked curious, he went onto explain, "I think everybody has a reason for acting the way they do, whether they admit it or not."

Mili thought about it, "I think you make a point. Is that how you're trying to go about this whole case with figuring out what's happening with Vandana?"

Shantanu shrugged, "It's how I go about any case, really. But yes, I think we've made just a little bit of a progress today. Shall I call Aritro?"

She nodded, "Want to come to the pandal?"

He seemed to agree immediately, and so, she guided him to a parking spot for his vehicle and went onto call Aritro. About twenty minutes later, the three of them were seated at the back porch of Aritro's house just as they were supposed to the previous day.

Aritro looked tired and weary today. Shaan tried not to probe too much, but ended up asking anyway, "You okay there?"

Aritro shrugged, "Yeah, I just...I was such a dick last night. She's just a child, and I was so callous."

Mili scooted over to him and gently nudged him with her elbow, "At least you realize now." And then, "Should we tell him?" she asked Aritro with a keen excitement. Her eyes had widened and her lips had pursed, she looked so adorable that instant, that Shaan felt a sudden pang of annoyance of her proximity with Aritro.

A small smile was playing at Aritro's lips by then, he was noticing the same thing that Shaan was and he too didn't have it in him to say no to that ridiculously cute face. "He already knows, Mili."

She looked at Shaan then, and he shrugged, not sure what they were talking about. But then he reasoned with himself that even if he did know whatever the hell they were talking about, he didn't want to take her fun out of wanting to share.

"I'm pretty sure I don't." He replied flatly.

"It's no big deal, really." Aritro rolled his eyes, looking a little uncomfortable.

Mili clapped her hands together, "Aritro named the child with my father yesterday." She said this, looking entirely too pleased with Aritro.

Oh, he did know this bit.

"Nice." He found himself smile with surprise anyway, "What did we name her?"

Aritro hesitated, looking at him testily. He knew, that Shaan remembered. But they were both relaying this conversation again... for her sake, was it? Aritro cleared his throat, explaining, "She really likes looking at the birds when I take her up to the terrace with me, so Uncle suggested we name her Paakhi."

Shaan blinked, allowing his brain to process the name of the child again. He'd heard it loud and clear the first time, and yet somehow it meant so much more that instant. It was beautiful. It was perfect.

"Paakhi." He said softly, "I love it."

Mili was looking at him with anticipation this whole time, and when he said what he did, she grinned at him. Despite himself, he felt very acknowledged and seen.

"Thanks." Said Aritro, a weird look on his face as his gaze alternated between Shantanu and Mili.

"You couldn't make it to during lunch hour today because you were working on a lead you'd said," Aritro spoke after a moment's pause.

Shaan cleared his throat, and began, "Yeah. I um, I remembered something today and did some digging. I'm quite certain that Vandana knew Mohit since they were kids. I have a feeling that they belong to the same town, maybe their parents knew each other too. I'm still confirming this, but I'm pretty sure I'm right about this."

"So, we have nothing concrete on the man?"

Shantanu had just started to respond, when his phone pinged with a text message from Jatin's personal phone number.

Good Evening Sir,

No Aadhar match, registered residential address is Mumbai.

Sending the transfer certificate.

"Give me a minute."

Shantanu downloaded the document and zoomed in for the detail. A few seconds later, he let out a sigh in relief.

"Well?" Mili asked curiously.

Sarvavidya School, Jahanagram, Bankura District, West Bengal

"Vandana had mentioned that she belonged to Jahanagram. Her father died under mysterious circumstances..." he paused, realizing he was sharing some of her very personal thoughts with virtual strangers. But he really didn't have much of a choice, did he?

For the next few minutes, he narrated Vandana's story to Mili and Aritro. It felt surreal to him, discussing Vandana this way with strangers. But he did it like he normally did at work, when he was addressing a team with case details. He tried his best not to leave any detail, except for his romantic inclination for the woman. This bit was especially difficult with Mili's ever-assessing gaze.

When he finished, he waited for either of them to say something.

"So...she married her friend who possibly shared a traumatic childhood with her, and he turned out to be abusive too?" Aritro thought out loud, looking like he was having a tough time assessing the information.

"I don't think he's the physically abusive kind, Mohit I mean." Shaan explained with a detachment he didn't feel, he had felt nothing but protective towards Vandana ever since even this thought had crossed his mind, "She had zero tolerance for that even then."

Mili hadn't said a word this whole time, a faraway look on her face. He wanted to ask her what was on her mind, but couldn't muster up the courage to.

"Okay. But Mohit seems like he really cared for her on the basis of your memory, why is he so keen on giving up their child then?" Aritro continued. Shantanu noticed that he was fidgeting with a card in his hand. "Wait a minute, you said that Vandana had told you that her mother escaped with her from their hometown after her father died."

Shaan nodded, not sure if he was able to follow his trail of thoughts.

"She'd said her mother had escaped with her to Kolkata. But you met Vandana in Mumbai, in school."

Realization hit him, and he blinked with surprise. How on earth had he missed such an important detail?

"So, there is a time gap between her leaving her hometown and her reaching Mumbai, during which she was in Kolkata." Aritro continued, "And her mother met this mysterious man who lived with them; at an old age home."

"Yes."

Aritro straightened in his seat and flipped over the card he had been fidgeting with, "Well, I found something tucked into her phone case today that I couldn't make head or tail of. But now, I think it can be useful." And in saying so, he handed over the card to Shantanu. Mili leaned in just as Shaan inched closer to her; for them to have a look together. It was a visitor's card to an old age home in the outskirts of Kolkata. And it was in the name of a certain Atreyi Bandhopadhyay, but with the picture of Vandana.

"Why does she have a visitor's pass to an old age home now? And that too with a fake name?" Mili queried, looking at him in question.

I am terrified of caring for anybody, Shaan. Caring is a weakness...

...Because when I will finally run away from all this, I will want to stop and stay back for them.

Vandana's words replayed in his head that instant.

Shantanu let out a breath of disbelief, as realization dawned on him, "I think I know why."

***