The Forgotten Cry | Chapter Three

Chapter Three – Ones no one will go to war for

“Who?” asked Shashank. The shift in his tone was subtle but unmistakable.

“Siya!” Apurva began with a long, drawn-out sigh, settling deeper into her chair as she propped her elbow on the armrest. “I bumped into her mother at the supermarket last month. She happened to be talking to Siya that time.”

Nothing unusual there. Shashank gave her a small nod but didn’t interrupt her. 

“I heard she got married last year. We haven’t really been in touch though! but when I talked to her that day on Aunty’s phone–” She suddenly halted, her fingers drumming against the armrest. “Something felt unusual.”

She paused again as if replaying the memory in her head. 

“Long time no see. You got married, huh?” Apurva teased Siya who just gave her a small smile in return. 

“I’ve to go now. When I come back, I’ll make you your favorite strawberry cake!”

She met his gaze with a faint crease forming between her brows. She could see confusion flickering in his eyes. 

“Anything problematic there?” asked Shashank, clearly failing to figure it out on his own. 

“Not too much but-” She hummed. “It’s just one of our memories. Siya would bring me cakes often because I loved her homemade cakes. She was such a pro but–”

A long silence followed. “Very few people know that I am allergic to strawberries,” she added, sucking in a sharp breath, “Siya happens to be one of them so when she–”

“Wait…. Hold on,” he cut her off, rising to his feet as he advanced toward her, “you are allergic to what?” He stopped near her, his eyes narrowing in suspicion for a brief moment before disbelief flickered into them. “How long have we been married? Over two years? Why don’t I know about this?”

Having anticipated his reactions, she just shook her head. “Is that what sounds important right now?”

“To me, it is the most important thing, Apurva! Haven’t I made my priorities clear enough to you by now?” he asked.

She opened her arms but he didn’t move. She had to pull him in a short hug despite his rigid stance while making a quick apology. “I’m sorry?” she said in a half whisper, coaxing him, “I’ll make it up to you later, okay?”

For a second, he stayed stiff in her arms. He barely let her hold him. As soon as she loosened her grip, he pulled back. “Just so that we’re clear–we’re only postponing this conversation. This is not over yet. You still owe me a real explanation.”. 

“Yes, Sir!” she mocked a salute before nudging him toward the bed with a grin. 

He resisted at first but sank down beside her with a resigned huff.

“The point is…” she said, turning her chair toward the bed to face him. “I don’t think Siya would forget this.”

He leaned back on his hands crossed behind his head. “Could she really have? I mean life happens, Apurva. Priorities change. Didn’t you just say that you two haven’t been in touch for long? It is totally possible that it slipped out of her mind,” he said. 

She hummed. “It could be but…”

“You can’t be acting on only this.” He pressed, his eyes narrowing with sheer confidence. “You clearly know more. Why don’t you just say it out aloud instead of dancing around it?” 

Her eyes lit up as she stared at him, seeing how well he had come to know her in the past two years but the light in them dimmed as she edged closer to name the things she hadn’t brought over her lips yet. “I think–either she is coerced into something or she is being controlled or worse…” she paused as she faltered for a second, her throat tightening, “…her husband has sold her. Either way–she is being held hostage no matter which of these possibilities is the case here. She is trapped somewhere she can’t escape from.”

She drew in a slow, shaky breath, her hands knotting in her lap. The words she uttered echoed, sharp and ugly in her mind. She couldn’t get that conversation with Siya out of her mind. “I think she was trying to tell me something from that strawberry cake thing. What if  I am her last option? I cannot not do something, Khadoos. Especially when I can feel it so strongly that something is really off about this.”

He was quiet for several long seconds. The confessions were far too specific and serious than he had expected. “Sold? Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?” he asked but a look at her and he knew she definitely had reasons for even considering those possibilities. His wife could be impulsive at times–or all times for that matter but she was never unreasonable. “Wait–let me guess. You tried to reach her after that call but haven’t been able to get through… yet?”

She nodded. “I did get her new number from aunty but aunty told me that Siya is always busy with her work and husband. Moreover, she stays in an area with network issues so it’s always Siya who calls aunty which is like once in a month. I called her four times only to get a message that she’d call me back and I can tell that… she didn’t type that message.”

She hurriedly grabbed her phone and jumped on the bed. He shifted aside, making space for her. “Look at this,” she said as she opened the chat with Siya, “you see this… wll cll u bck”

He looked at her for yet another time with confusion in his eyes. 

“KHADOOS, SIYA HATED THIS TYPE OF TEXTING. SHE HATED USING THESE SHORT FORMS,” Apurva informed, shaking him by his shoulders, “I was always lazy and would use short forms. The number of times she had scolded me for that… it’s insane.” 

Shashank almost opened his mouth to say people change/she could have been busy and stuff of that sort but suppressed the urge almost instantly when he caught her eyes filling with tears. 

“I can feel it, Khadoos. I can… feel Siya being in hell,” she whispered, her voice cracking. 

“What exactly were you looking for in that club?” he asked. 

“Two things. First–any suspicious men! Who weren’t there to party? The ones lurking in corners, watching the crowd instead of joining it! Men who scanned faces like they were shopping–not flirting. I was watching for predators… not players.” 

“Places like clubs are full of shady people, Apurva. What do you think you can get there?” He pointed out before grabbing her arm. “Unless you know more.” 

“I heard Siya would go to that club often. I asked around and came to know that Siya got into a relationship around 3 months before she married him. What’s interesting is that after the arrival of her then-boyfriend and now husband–Siya barely had any contact with any of her friends. I heard she used to be with him all the time.” 

Her theory really makes sense with these facts. Shashank hummed. 

Apurva shifted closer, leaning back against his chest. She guided his hands to wrap around herself. “Do you still remember Isha?” she asked. “She came to our wedding. Her sister is a journalist. She gave me some insider info.”

“Which is?” He asked.

“Forced prostitution networks,” she began, a storm brewing behind her eyes, “this is how they work now. They don’t just snatch girls off the street anymore–not always. Sometimes, they charm their way in–clean suits, charming smiles, promises of love–and then they trap them, isolate them. Break them down until escape feels impossible.”

A long moment of silence stretched between them until in a quieter, more broken voice, she added, “And they still choose the same kind of girls, Khadoos. Ones no one will go to war for. The girls who won’t make the headlines if they vanish. The ones who are forgotten like they never existed.”

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears but her voice remained unshaken. “Siya was always sweet. Quiet. Trusting, The perfect target!”

To be continued…