20th May, 1892
It was a wonderful day.
The sky above the railway lines was clear and bright, the kind of sky that made the entire world feel new.
Bahadur sat near the train window with a small diary in his hand while the wind pushed softly through the half-open frame.
He finished writing the final line slowly.
“I wonder if my new job will be good and respected.
Perhaps it will be.
Well, I will find out soon…
although I am nervous.”
Bahadur closed the diary and smiled faintly.
Beside him, Kabi was asleep with his arms folded and his head tilted against the wooden wall of the train compartment.
Around them passengers talked quietly, merchants counted coins, children stared outside the windows, and somewhere farther down the compartment somebody argued loudly about tea prices.
Bahadur watched all of it with excitement burning inside him.
A new city.
A new life.
A new beginning.
He looked toward Kabi again.
“Kabi,” he whispered.
“Wake up and enjoy the view.”
Kabi didn’t even open his eyes.
“Let me sleep.”
Bahadur laughed quietly.
“You can’t sleep through everything.”
“Yes I can.”
“We’re finally becoming Nirkhas.”
Kabi shifted slightly.
“Then start acting like one and let your partner rest.”
Bahadur grinned and leaned against the window again.
Outside, fields rolled past beneath the morning light.
For a moment the future felt endless.
The train reached Miraan Station near ten in the morning.
The city smelled different from Bahhag cleaner somehow, mixed with smoke, iron and fresh rain from the previous night.
Bahadur stepped off the train almost bouncing with excitement while Kabi followed behind carrying both bags because Bahadur had forgotten his in the compartment twice already.
“You look like a child,” Kabi muttered.
“I am happy.”
“You are loud.”
“And you are old.”
They walked toward the station headquarters.
An old officer sat near the entrance in a wooden chair tilted dangerously against the wall.
His cap covered half his face.
Without opening his eyes he said, “New?”
Bahadur and Kabi stopped.
“Yes sir,” Bahadur answered quickly.
The man opened one eye lazily.
“I’m Maro.”
Bahadur blinked.
This man was a senior officer?
Maro looked at them for another second before speaking again.
“If you need something, ask.”
They nodded.
Bahadur tilted his head.
“Why are you so lazy?”
Kabi closed his eyes slowly like a man preparing for disaster.
Maro stared at Bahadur for three full seconds.
Then he smiled faintly.
“Interesting boy,” he muttered.
“Be careful around Rai.”
“Who is Rai?”
“The reason most officers stop smiling after two weeks.”
Bahadur laughed immediately.
Kabi did not.
Inside the station the walls smelled of fresh paint.
Officers moved between desks carrying files and reports while clerks copied paperwork beneath hanging lamps.
Bahadur looked around with visible excitement.
Then a middle-aged man approached them while lighting a cigarette.
“Who are you?”
Bahadur straightened immediately.
“I am Bahadur, sir.
And he is Kabi.”
The man exhaled smoke slowly.
“I am Rai.
Your Daan.”
Both saluted instantly.
Kabi’s salute was slower.
Rai noticed.
“You save your energy for cases,” Rai said flatly.
“Not greetings.”
“Yes sir.”
Rai glanced at Bahadur.
“Especially you.”
Bahadur lowered his hand awkwardly.
Rai pointed toward another desk.
“Go to San.
He’ll handle the rest.”
At the far side of the station a man with calm eyes looked up from paperwork and smiled.
“New officers?”
They nodded.
San motioned them closer and checked their documents carefully.
“Hm.
High examination scores.” He looked at both of them.
“We will,” Bahadur answered instantly.
San smiled faintly.
“Be careful anyway.”
A short while later Bahadur and Kabi stood inside Rai’s office.
Rai sat behind his desk smoking while reviewing documents.
“You two are from Bahhag?”
“Yes sir,” Kabi answered.
“Why request transfer here?”
Bahadur and Kabi exchanged a quick glance.
“Confidential,” Bahadur replied carefully.
“Our hometown is nearby.
We wished to return after a long time.”
Rai studied them for a moment.
Then:
“You start tomorrow or today?”
Kabi subtly motioned tomorrow behind Rai’s back.
Bahadur immediately said:
“Today, sir.”
Kabi stared at him with betrayal so deep it almost became art.
Rai bent down to retrieve a file from his desk.
At the exact same moment Kabi stomped directly onto Bahadur’s foot.
Bahadur nearly shouted.
Rai looked upward slowly from beneath the desk.
“…Problems?”
“No sir,” Bahadur gasped painfully.
Rai handed them a report.
“Miraan South.
Suspicious theft activity.
Observe only.”
They saluted and quickly left the office.
The second the door closed Kabi lunged toward Bahadur.
“You traitor.”
Bahadur ran instantly.
Not from danger.
From Kabi.
They sprinted through the streets while officers nearby pretended not to notice.
For the first time in weeks both of them laughed without restraint.
By evening they had reached Miraan South.
The suspect named Mainsh lived in a crowded neighborhood where houses stood close enough that neighbors could hear each other’s arguments through the walls.
Kabi crouched on a rooftop watching the target house carefully.
Bahadur rubbed the back of his head.
“You hit too hard.”
“You deserved worse.”
Bahadur sighed dramatically.
“Violence is not the answer.”
Kabi stared at him.
“Neither are you.”
They continued surveillance quietly for a while.
Then Kabi pointed toward another angle.
“We split.
Watch the back window.”
Bahadur nodded and moved carefully across connected rooftops before slipping toward a nearby open window.
He stepped backward slightly to gain balance.
And accidentally fell directly inside someone’s room.
Bahadur froze.
A young woman stood near the center of the room holding folded clothes.
Long dark hair.
Sharp black eyes.
Both stared at each other.
Bahadur smiled awkwardly.
The woman inhaled.
Then screamed with enough force to shake the walls.
“THIEF!”
Bahadur jumped in terror.
“No wait I—”
Before he finished speaking she slapped him across the face with horrifying speed.
The sound echoed.
Bahadur held his cheek in shock.
The door burst open.
Her father, grandfather, uncles and half the neighborhood stormed inside immediately.
“What happened?!”
“He was in my room!” the girl shouted.
Bahadur tried desperately to explain.
“I am not a thief—”
Nobody listened.
Someone grabbed his arm.
Another grabbed his collar.
Within seconds Bahadur was dragged outside into the street while the girl pointed at him furiously.
“He was spying on me!”
“I was NOT!”
“When I came back from bathing he was standing there!”
Every man present slowly turned toward Bahadur.
Bahadur realized his situation had become catastrophic.
Then he saw Kabi nearby.
Relief flooded through him.
“Kabi!”
Everyone turned toward Kabi.
Kabi looked directly at Bahadur.
Then calmly stepped backward.
“I don’t know him.”
Bahadur stared at him in absolute betrayal.
The girl crossed her arms angrily.
“Take him to the Nirkhas.
Let him rot in jail.”
Bahadur’s soul nearly left his body.
Near the station entrance Maro slowly opened one eye.
Too much noise.
Too many footsteps.
He sat up slightly and watched a crowd dragging somebody toward the station.
At first he looked bored.
Then he recognized the face.
“…Bahadur?”
San stepped outside beside him.
“What did you do now?”
The crowd stopped.
The girl pointed angrily.
“He tried to steal from us!”
Maro blinked once.
Then sighed deeply.
“Oh no,” he said.
“You misunderstood.
He’s one of ours.”
The entire crowd went silent.
San nodded casually.
“He’s a Nirkha.”
The girl’s expression changed instantly.
Bahadur straightened proudly despite the red handprint still visible on his cheek.
The girl suddenly noticed the officer identification hanging partly from Bahadur’s pocket.
Her eyes widened in horror.
“Oh.”
Very quickly everyone released him.
“I am so sorry,” the girl said immediately.
“I thought you were—”
“A thief?” Bahadur rubbed his cheek painfully.
“Understandable.”
She looked deeply embarrassed now.
The others apologized repeatedly too.
Then she pointed toward Kabi standing nearby.
“Is he your friend?”
Bahadur slowly turned toward Kabi.
Kabi began backing away.
Bahadur smiled.
“Yes.”
Then he grabbed Maro’s wooden stick and charged forward.
“KABI!”
Kabi ran instantly.
Bahadur chased him through the street while the crowd watched in confusion.
“I DO NOT KNOW YOU!” Kabi shouted.
“LET ME REINTRODUCE MYSELF THEN!”
Maro watched them disappear around the corner.
Then he looked at San.
“The new generation has no loyalty.”
San nodded seriously.
“Terrible officers.”
But both were smiling.
Scene 5
Present Day.
Night covered the city quietly.
Bahadur slept peacefully for the first time in many days.
A faint smile rested on his face.
Inside the dream he heard his mother’s voice softly.
“I cannot see your smile anymore, Bahadur…
but I always know when you are happy.”
Warm fingers touched his forehead gently.
Moonlight filled the memory.
Elsewhere Kabi sat beside a window watching the night sky.
He smiled faintly while old memories returned one after another.
Bahadur laughing.
Bahadur running.
Bahadur getting slapped by Rani.
Kabi shook his head quietly.
“You were always the loud one.”
For a moment he almost laughed aloud.
Outside, the moon hung high above Miraan.
Vael paused while passing Kabi’s room.
He noticed the rare smile on Kabi’s face.
He had originally come to ask something.
Instead he silently turned away and left.
Some moments deserved to remain undisturbed.
Kabi kept watching the moon.
“Do you feel it too, Bahadur?”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“It has been ten years since we last saw him.”
A pause.
“I still miss you, Rusi.”
The wind moved softly through the room.
Kabi lowered his eyes.
“Stay strong wherever you are.”
Then after another long silence:
“And Bahadur…”
A faint smile appeared again.
“Please be happy like the old days.”