Station Announcement:
"Passengers arriving at major junctions: keep your memories labeled. Unclaimed ones may be archived."
Kalyan Junction wasn't a station.
It was a pulse.
A giant mechanical heart pumping thousands of lives through its arteries every hour — vendors shouting, trains roaring, children weaving between crowds, porters balancing impossible weights, announcements echoing endlessly, the metallic scent of tracks rising like heat from an open wound.
Kannan stood on Platform 4, gripping the railings for balance.His breath came unevenly.
"This," he whispered, "is where he came… looking for me…"
Arun steadied him gently.
"Kannan-ettan, don't rush. We're here now. We follow step by step."
Nish scanned the surroundings with focused intensity.
Sara, naturally attuned to quiet emotions even in chaos, watched Kannan's trembling shoulders.
"He walked here alone," she murmured, almost to herself."Twelve years old. Fever just healed. Following rumours."
Arjun's face darkened — the kind of sadness meant only for children betrayed by circumstances.
Leena unfolded a printed map of the station.
Ananya lifted her camera, then lowered it again.
"This doesn't need recording," she said softly.
1. The Railway Volunteer
Arun approached a stall selling water and asked, "Chettan, do you know where railway volunteers used to work around here?"
The stall owner pointed toward the old footbridge.
"Look there," he said. "They had a small office room. Closed now."
They climbed the bridge.
At the far end was a dusty, locked room with a faded sign:
"Railway Child Help Desk — Kalyan Division"
Nish peered through the dusty glass.
"Devika said a woman in uniform took him," he murmured."This must be her base."
Arun tried the door. Locked.
But a young constable standing nearby noticed them.
"Sir, need help?"
Nish explained briefly, showing Akshay's note.
The constable frowned.
"That's long ago. But wait…"He pointed to an old man sweeping the corridor.
"Ask him. He used to work with volunteers."
The old man looked up as they approached — thin frame, gentle eyes, broom dragging behind him like a tired companion.
"Sir," Nish asked softly, "did you know a woman volunteer here? Blue sari, hair tied up, short in height?"
The old man's eyes lit with recognition.
"You mean Meenakshi madam?" he asked."She was the best we had."
Kannan's heartbeat stuttered.
"Did she… bring a boy here?" he whispered."Thin boy. Twelve. Name Akshay."
The old man nodded slowly.
"Yes," he said. "I remember him."
Kannan grabbed Arun's arm for balance.
"He was sick," the old man continued."Madam took him to the office, gave him food. He kept holding a paper with a drawing. He said his Appa would come."
Kannan broke into silent tears.
"What did she do with him?" Nish asked gently.
"She took him to the train," the old man said.
Arun's voice cracked."Which train?"
"Not a long-distance one," he replied."A local to Titwala."
Nish froze.
"Titwala?" he repeated."Why Titwala? There's nothing there except temples and small settlements."
The old man nodded.
"Exactly. Madam wanted him away from the crowds. Away from people who might harm him."
Arun whispered:
"So… she was saving him."
Sara exhaled slowly.
"Thank God," she whispered.
But the old man's expression changed — softened by sorrow.
"There is more," he said quietly."I'm sorry… the boy didn't stay with madam."
Kannan's chest tightened painfully.
"He left?" he whispered.
The old man nodded.
"He left in the night."
"Why?" Nish asked.
The man shrugged.
"He said he dreamed that his Appa might pass through another station. He couldn't stay still. He wanted to keep searching."
Arun closed his eyes.
"He kept chasing hope…"
2. A Name Surfaces
"Do you know where he went from Titwala?" Sara asked.
The old man shook his head.
"No. But madam might know something."
Nish leaned forward.
"Where is she now?"
The old man hesitated.
"Meenakshi madam… had an accident three years ago."
Kannan flinched.
"She's not—?"
"Alive," the man said quickly."But she doesn't work here anymore. She moved to her sister's home near Ambarnath."
Nish wrote it down immediately.
The man added:
"She used to keep notes of every child she helped. Every single one. If anyone knows more about the boy… it is her."
Arun nodded firmly.
"Then we go to her."
3. The Lady With the Umbrella
But just as they turned to leave, the old man called out:
"Wait!"
They turned.
He pointed toward a bench.
"That boy… he had something else. A small… umbrella. Folded. Purple. With stars on it. You know those cheap street ones."
Kannan blinked in shock.
"Yes!" he whispered."We bought one just before I left for Tamil Nadu… he said it looked like the sky…"
"And I saw it again," the man added.
Everyone froze.
"Where?" Nish asked.
The old man pointed toward the far end of the platform.
"By the old lockers. Someone placed it there years ago. People think it's rubbish nobody claims."
Kannan didn't wait.
He ran.
Arun followed him.
The others hurried behind.
When they reached the lockers, dust thick on the metal, cobwebs trembling in the station air—
Arun found it.
A small, folded purple umbrella with peeling star decals.
He lifted it slowly.
Kannan pressed both hands to his mouth.
"My God," he whispered."That's his… that's… Akshay's…"
He collapsed to his knees again, weeping into his palms.
Sara embraced him, her own tears glistening.
Arun whispered:
"He really was here. He left it for someone to find."
Nish examined the umbrella.
"Wait," he murmured.
He checked the handle.
Inside, taped carefully, was a tiny rolled slip of paper.
Arun inhaled sharply.
Nish pulled it out and unfolded it.
A message.
In small handwriting.
Faded but readable.
"Appa, if you find this, don't look for me in Mumbai.I'm going to a big city where everyone goes.They say dreams live there.Maybe you will too."
Arun whispered:
"What city…?"
Nish read the next line.
One word.
One destination.
"Delhi."
The station seemed to tremble with the weight of it.
Arjun closed his eyes.
Sara bowed her head.
Ananya exhaled shakily.
And Kannan whispered, voice hollow with hope and terror:
"Delhi…He went all the way…to Delhi…"
Arun placed the umbrella in Kannan's hands.
"We follow him," Arun whispered.
Kannan sobbed into the umbrella.
"Yes," he whispered."Wherever he went… we go."
4. The Next Direction
Nish folded the note and kept it safe.
"This changes everything," he said."The search moves north now."
Leena murmured:
"A child… traveling alone across half the country…"
Arjun whispered:
"And still believing his father might be waiting at the next station…"
Sara touched Kannan's shoulder.
"You weren't there then," she said gently."But you are here now."
Kannan inhaled slowly, painfully.
"Delhi," he said again.
Arun nodded.
"We'll find him."
Kannan looked at the purple umbrella, holding it like a piece of the sky he had once given his son.
And for the first time in weeks—
He whispered not in anguish, but in fragile belief:
"Akshay…I'm coming, my child…I'm coming."