Station Announcement:
"Passengers entering restricted zones: humanity may appear in unexpected forms. Keep judgment suspended."
Delhi's red-light district was unlike any place they had visited on their search.
The air was thick with smoke and neon reflections, the smell of frying food mixing uneasily with scent oils and damp concrete.Narrow lanes pulsed with music, arguments, laughter, negotiations, threats — a rhythm both alive and exhausted.
Red bulbs glowed from window frames above.
Women leaned against doorways, some painted brightly, some simply tired.Men loitered in corners, smoking with the caution of those who didn't want to be seen.Children darted between shadows — too fast to notice, too slow to escape the reality around them.
But this was where Akshay had come.
As written on the wall at Platform Eleven:
"I will wait where children sleep under the red light."
Arun tightened his grip on Kannan's hand.
"You're not walking this alone," he said softly.
Kannan nodded, though his knees felt hollow.
Sara walked close, eyes alert but kind.Arjun shielded Basil from the crowds.Rohit and Leena scanned every face.Nish kept his notebook closed — some places do not need ink; they need presence.
Ananya walked silently, camera down, expression heavy.
1. The Woman in the Blue Dupatta
They entered a narrow alley lit by a single flickering bulb.
A woman with bright red lipstick and tired eyes leaned against the rail, her blue dupatta slipping from her shoulder.Her gaze sharpened as she noticed them — a group far too clean, too anxious, too unified to belong here.
"You're searching for someone," she said softly.
It wasn't a question.
Kannan stepped forward, voice trembling.
"My son," he whispered. "His name is Akshay."
Her expression changed instantly.
Something pained.Something protective.
"He was here," she whispered.
Kannan staggered.
Sara grabbed his arm to steady him.
Arun breathed out sharply — part relief, part fear.
The woman stepped closer.
"I remember him. A small boy. Too quiet. Too innocent for these lanes."
Kannan whispered, "What did he do here?"
The woman looked away, voice soft.
"Trying to survive," she said."The same thing everyone here does."
Nish asked gently:
"Did anyone harm him?"
"No," she said quickly."I would never have allowed that."
Her words were sharp, defensive, like claws drawn around a memory.
She continued:
"He used to sit near my doorway. Wouldn't speak unless spoken to. Said he was waiting for someone."
Kannan pressed a hand to his forehead, breath shaking violently.
"He was waiting for… me."
The woman nodded.
"Yes. 'Appa', he used to whisper. Over and over."
A silence fell heavy.
Then she added:
"One night… he got sick. Fever, again. I brought him water, food. He drew pictures on the wall outside my room."
Arun stepped forward.
"What pictures?"
She turned and pointed to a small patch of wall half-hidden behind a poster.
They approached.
Faded drawings.
A train.A father's silhouette.A small umbrella.And a circle — always the circle.
Ravi whispered:
"He never stopped drawing."
Kannan placed a trembling hand on the wall.
"My son," he whispered."Oh God… my boy…"
2. The Collector of Children
An older man approached suddenly — lean, severe, carrying a cane he did not need but used for authority.
People around him went silent.
The woman in the blue dupatta stiffened.
"That's him," she whispered to Arun."That's the man who takes children away when the area gets dangerous."
Kannan felt the world tilt.
"Who is he?"
"His name is Ramanlal," she said quietly."He works with… organizations. Shelters. Sometimes good ones. Sometimes not."
Arun frowned."Does he sell children?"
"No," she replied. "Not what you think. He claims to save them. But where he sends them… that's uncertain."
Nish stepped forward.
"Sir," he called out. "We're looking for a boy—"
Ramanlal paused, studying them with piercing eyes.
"A boy?" he asked."Or a ghost you are chasing?"
Kannan swallowed hard.
"His name was Akshay," he said."Thirteen, maybe fourteen. He was here. We know he was."
Ramanlal's expression remained unreadable.
He tapped his cane, thinking.
Then said:
"Yes. I remember him."
Kannan's heart slammed.
"Where did he go?" he pleaded.
Ramanlal looked directly into his eyes.
"To safety," he said."To a shelter."
"Which one?" Nish asked quickly.
Ramanlal didn't answer immediately.
Instead he asked:
"Why now? Why search now?"
The question cut sharply.
Kannan whispered:
"Because I thought he hated me. Because I thought I had no right to find him. Because I was a coward."
Ramanlal's eyes softened unexpectedly.
"Fathers who regret," he murmured. "We don't see many of those here."
Then—
He pointed north.
"Your son was taken to a children's protection center. Near Kashmere Gate. It used to be called House of Threads."
Arun frowned.
"Used to be?"
Ramanlal nodded.
"It was shut down years ago. The children were moved."
"Where?" Sara asked.
"To various homes," Ramanlal replied."Some near the border of Delhi, some across states. It was chaos."
Kannan felt faint.
Ananya whispered:
"But do records still exist?"
Ramanlal nodded.
"Yes. But not here."
Nish stepped forward.
"Where are they?"
The man tapped his cane again, then looked at them slowly.
"You must go to the archive."
"Which archive?" Arjun asked.
Ramanlal said one word.
A word that made Nish inhale sharply.
A place known for keeping the names of the lost, the found, and the forgotten.
"Nirmala Records Office," he said."Civil Lines."
Leena whispered:
"That's… one of the biggest missing-persons archives in northern India."
Sara's eyes widened.
"That means…"
"Yes," Ramanlal finished.
"There will be a file. A case. A number. A tracing attempt."
Kannan gripped the umbrella like a lifeline.
"Does it say… if he's alive?"
Ramanlal looked at him gently.
"You will have to read it to know."
3. Before They Leave
The woman in the blue dupatta touched Kannan's arm softly.
"Your son…" she whispered,"He was kind. He helped a blind man cross the lane. He gave half his bread to a younger child. He never complained."
Her voice broke slightly.
"He deserved a better world than this."
Kannan's tears spilled freely.
"Thank you," he said. "For caring when I didn't."
She shook her head.
"Hope is a kind of hunger," she said."He fed it by waiting."
Arun took Kannan's hand again.
"We're close," he whispered."We're almost there."
Ravi added quietly:
"He left signs everywhere. Because he wanted to be found."
4. The Road Ahead
They stepped out of the quarter.
The red bulbs flickered behind them.
The air cooled.The noise dimmed.Delhi's night pressed close like a held breath.
And Kannan whispered to the sky:
"Akshay…I am following every step you took.Forgive me for being so late."
Sara placed a hand over his.
"We go to the archive," she said.
Nish nodded.
"Tomorrow morning," he said."At Nirmala Records Office…we may finally learn the truth."
Arun whispered:
"And if we don't like the answer?"
Sara replied gently:
"Then we keep searching."
The road shimmered in the dark.
Ahead of them —light.Direction.Possibility.
The next chapter.