# Chapter 10 — After the Searchlight
Hostel corridor mein subah ka light aisa tha jaise kisi ne dhund ko bhi tired kar diya ho. Ceiling fan ki awaaz, door ke peeche se aati kettle ki seeti, aur neeche mess ki taraf se uthti chai ki smell—sab normal lag raha tha, phir bhi Room 69 ke bahar khade log normal nahi the.
Kunal zinda tha.
Ye sentence ab tak corridor mein alag-alag versions mein ghoom chuka tha—whisper, shout, disbelief, aur phir ek ajeeb sa silence. Warden ek haath mein register aur doosre mein authority leke khada tha, do seniors ko saath liye. Woh baar-baar bol raha tha, “Bheed mat lagao. Apne rooms mein jao. Koi drama nahi.” Lekin hostel corridor mein drama ko kaun rok paya hai.
Rohan ne apne glasses theek kiye, face pe woh look jo tab aata hai jab brain ko answer mil jaata hai aur heart abhi bhi buffering mein ho. “Matlab,” usne dheere se kaha, “wo missing nahi tha. He was here. Somewhere.”
Kabir ne wall se shoulder seedha kiya. “Somewhere” pe uski awaaz mein gussa zyada tha, relief kam. “Aur koi humein bata bhi nahi raha tha. Great.”
Imran ne kuch nahi bola. Bas stairwell ki taraf dekhta raha, jaise usi chhote se concrete frame se koi aur bhi nikal sakta ho. Uski nazar mein fatigue thi, par usse zyada ek uneasy calculation.
Arjun sabse alag khada tha. Na zyada shocked, na zyada relieved. Bas chup. Uski aankhen corridor ke end pe atki hui thin—wahan jahan lift nahi thi, sirf stairs aur ek locked store room ka darwaza. Woh har face ko dekh raha tha: kaun saans roke khada hai, kaun over-relieved lag raha hai, aur kaun kaan lagake har detail sun raha hai. Naina door ke paas aayi thi, ek hand mein notebook, doosre mein half-finished tea. Usne bas itna kaha, “You okay?” Arjun ne ek short nod diya. Casual. Safe. Par uski nazar phir stairwell pe chali gayi.
Kunal khud abhi courtyard side se laaya gaya tha, warden ke office mein baithaya hua, aur uske aane ki khabar ke saath campus ka poora nervous system jaag gaya tha. Jo log kal tak uska naam bolne se darte the, aaj corridor mein expert ban rahe the.
“Main bol raha hoon, koi bahar ka banda nahi tha,” ek senior ne low voice mein kaha. “Ye campus ke andar ka hi system hai.”
“System?” Rohan ne murmur kiya. “Like timetable system?”
Kabir ne usko dekha. “Tu har cheez ko exam ki tarah kyun sunta hai?”
“Because clues matter,”
Lecture hall mein aaj subah kaafi ajeeb normalcy thi. Bench pe notebooks khul chuki thi, pens ready the, aur attendance sheet ka rustle kuch zyada hi loud lag raha tha. Jaise sab log ek hi script follow kar rahe hon: class hai, notes hain, bas. Koi missing nahi hua. Koi missing hai hi nahi.
Arjun third row mein baitha tha, pen ghumaate hue. Uski aankhen baar-baar door ke paas tik jaati, phir blackboard par, phir classmates ke beech se nikalti whispers par. Kabir last bench ke paas lean karke baitha tha, Rohan apni file ko seedha kar raha tha, aur Imran chupchaap window side mein. Room 69 wali aadat thi—har ek cheez ko notice karna, phir bhi kuch na bolna.
“Good morning,” Dr. Meera Kapoor ki awaaz aayi, calm aur sharp, dono ek saath. “Aaj attendance se pehle ek simple question. Yesterday ke event ko kisi ne rumor bola, kisi ne misunderstanding. Toh batao, campus mein information kaise survive karti hai?”
Class ek second ke liye freeze ho gayi.
Ek do logon ne awkward smile diya. Kisi ne page palat diya. Dr. Meera ne chalk board par ek line likhi, phir bina mudhe bola, “Jo cheezein officially missing hoti hain, woh sirf files mein missing nahi hoti. Woh conversations mein bhi missing hoti hain.”
Arjun ko laga jaise usne seedha uski taraf dekha ho, lekin jab woh upar utha, Dr. Meera ka face bilkul composed tha. Sirf pen ke tip se board par ek word circle kiya gaya: route.
Lecture ke baad corridor mein gossip zyada tez tha, notes kam. Naina ne Arjun ko passing mein bas itna kaha, “Sab pretend kar rahe hain ki kuch hua hi nahi.”
Arjun ne half-smile kiya. “Campus ki sabse famous skill hai yeh.”
Naina ne uski taraf ek quick look daali. “Tum bhi pretend kar rahe ho?”
“Main? Main toh bas dekh raha hoon.”
Canteen mein chai ki smell, samose ka oil, aur metal tables ka noise mixed tha. Rohan already ek corner table par tha, uske saamne open notebook aur ek crumpled bus receipt. Kabir ne tray rakhi aur seedha poocha, “Kya mila?”
Rohan ne aankh upar ki. “Mila? Campus ne jo normally diya hota hai—chaos. Par ek cheez interesting hai.”
Imran silently baith gaya. Arjun bhi aa gaya. Rohan ne receipt ko ungli se tap kiya. “Ye bus depot ka stamp hai. Old city side ka. Aur backside pe ek partial number likha hua tha—‘69’ nahi, vehicle ka last two digits. But uske saath ek word repeat ho raha hai.”
Kabir frowned. “Kya word
Library ke steps par shaam ki roshni dheere-dheere peeli ho rahi thi, aur shaded quad mein neem ke patton ki sarsarahat campus ki baaki awaazon ko halka sa dhakel rahi thi. Arjun ne apne backpack ka strap ek haath se thoda aur tight pakda. Uske saamne Naina khadi thi, bilkul waise hi jaise woh hamesha hoti thi—seedhi, calm, aur aisi aankhon ke saath jo aadmi se uska sach pehle hi nikalwa leti thi.
“Tum late ho,” Naina ne kaha.
“Main? Ya campus?” Arjun ne half-smile di, lekin uski aankhon mein woh halka sa panic chup nahi saka.
Naina ne uske face ko ek second ke liye dekha, phir library ki taraf nazar ghuma di. “Tum joke kar rahe ho, matlab situation serious hai.”
Arjun ne saans andar kheench li. “Tumhe kisne bataya?”
“Campus mein sab kuch kisi na kisi tarah se sunai de hi jaata hai,” Naina boli. “Bas farq itna hai ki kuch log noise sunte hain, aur kuch log pattern.”
Woh sentence Arjun ko seedha lag gaya. Pattern. Kunal. Room 69. Missing notices. Aur woh aadmi jo ek hafte pehle tak corridor mein hansi-mazak karta phirta tha, ab jaise campus ke map se hi delete ho chuka tha.
“Tumne kis-kis se suna?” Arjun ne poocha.
Naina ne ek chhota sa shrug diya, par uske tone mein carefulness thi. “Itna bhi nahi ki main repeat karu. Aur itna kam bhi nahi ki main ignore kar du.”
Arjun ne usse dekha. “Tum unusually cautious lag rahi ho.”
“Tum unusually scared lag rahe ho.”
Woh chup ho gaya. Shaam ke shadows unke beech lambi ho rahi thi. Neeche quad mein do juniors haste hue guzre, ek cycle ka bell baja, aur door canteen ki taraf se chai ke glasson ki khanak aayi. Campus normal dikh raha tha. Bas normal nahi tha.
“Main bas…” Arjun ne shabd dhoonde. “Mujhe lagta hai koi cheez galat direction mein ja rahi hai.”
Naina ne dheere se sar hilaya. “Kunal ka naam tumne pehli baar nahi liya. Aur jab tum uska naam lete ho, tumhari voice change ho jaati hai.”