Two Hours Earlier
A single cigarette burned between Rohan's fingers, its ember glowing faintly in the dim light of his apartment. He sat hunched beside the window, eyes tracing the night sky beyond the glass, mind elsewhere—lost in a storm of questions.
The table before him was a battlefield of files—case reports, printed articles, crime scene photos, and scribbled notes in his own hand. Victims. Accidents. Names without faces. Deaths without closure.
He exhaled smoke slowly.
"Why me?" he thought.
The question had been eating at him since the first encounter.
"Why did that white entity choose me? What's the point of this power… if I can't protect anyone without nearly dying myself?"
The thought gnawed at him. If he couldn't save people... if his presence only brought more danger... was this gift a curse in disguise?
Every case he had studied ended the same way—mystery, misdirection, and no justice. The whispers, the shadows, the screams in the night—they all led to dead ends. The souls that haunted Holkar Bridge had stories, but none had spoken clearly.
Rohan pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated.
"What do they want? Who are they? How do I stop something that doesn't leave a trace?"
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
He opened it cautiously.
A constable stood outside, holding a brown file folder.
"Sir… Suryavanshi sir asked me to give this to you personally."
Rohan took it silently.
The constable gave a polite nod and left.
Rohan stared at the file in his hands—unnamed, unlabelled, but somehow heavy with importance.
He stepped back inside, the door clicking shut behind him.
Then, he opened it.
As Rohan flipped open the file, his eyes immediately locked on the heading:
"Case No. 247: Mula River Homicide – December 2005"
His breath caught. Until now, he had focused solely on accidents. He hadn't considered murders.
His fingers gripped the file tighter as he read:
> Victim: Kadambari Galve
Age: Approximately 30
Cause of Death: Multiple stab wounds (4), body recovered from Mula River, downstream near Holkar Bridge
Date: December 2005
Status: Unsolved homicide
Spouse: Sakharam Galve (Status: Absconding)
Residence: Moshi Village
Next of Kin: Parents collected the body.
Case Status: Cold. No leads on husband. Presumed fugitive.
Rohan's eyes widened. The pieces clicked into place—not a random accident, not a coincidence. A murder. A buried crime. A soul abandoned by justice.
His thoughts raced.
"Kadambari Galve… she was murdered. Four stab wounds. Her body dumped like trash. And her husband—Sakharam—vanished. Never found. Never punished."
And now... someone, something, was searching for him.
The whispers. The voices. The rage. They weren't aimless. They were a cry for justice. A soul bound by betrayal, consumed by revenge.
Rohan stood up abruptly, heart pounding.
"She doesn't want to hurt the innocent... she wants Sakharam. She's not just haunting that bridge—she's searching for the man who killed her."
For the first time, the chaos had a name.
Now, it was time to find Sakharam Galve.
And end the curse.
As Rohan stood silently, a chill swept across the room. Lights flickered again—soft at first, then violently. He tensed, sensing something. This wasn't the evil spirit he had battled before. This presence felt… familiar.
From the corner of the room, a shadow began to take form—faceless, formless, yet distinctly there.
Rohan narrowed his eyes.
"You again?"
The shadow hovered, silent.
"Order me," it said in a low, echoing voice.
Rohan stepped back slightly, watching it carefully.
"Why now? How do you appear? What brings you?"
His inner thoughts raced: How do these spirits trigger? Is it emotion? Danger? Or something deeper?
The shadow began to shift—its shape transforming, slowly molding into a face. Rohan's eyes widened.
It was the old man.
The same one from the hospital. The one who had whispered, "Find her."
"How…?" Rohan whispered.
The spirit answered, voice softer now, yet weighted with purpose.
"Because you fought for me. Because you tried to help. That act forged a bond."
Rohan felt a knot tighten in his chest.
"A bond?"
"Yes," the spirit replied. "The pact of the white witch. It responds to need. You fulfilled the First Instance— Need. You chose to act when others didn't. That opened the door."
Rohan looked down, piecing it together.
He hadn't just been marked… he'd been initiated.
"So you're bound to me now?"
The spirit nodded.
"Until her truth is found… until justice is done… I walk with you."
Rohan clenched his fists, absorbing the weight of this invisible burden.
"Shruti," he murmured.
And in the silent flicker of the dying lights, he knew—this was only the beginning.
Present Time – Holkar Bridge, Midnight
Rohan's eyes gleamed with resolve as he raised his hand.
"Attack," he commanded.
In an instant, the two spirits—his bound shadow soul and the vengeful entity—clashed mid-air. The night trembled with their collision. Blurs of dark energy surged back and forth, the fight both ferocious and fast. Each strike shook the mist that blanketed the bridge.
But it became clear—the evil soul held the upper hand.
Rohan stood motionless, watching, calculating. Then, with a deep breath, he called out—
"Kadambari!"
The chaos halted.
The vengeful soul froze mid-assault, slowly turning her ghostly form toward him.
Rohan stepped forward.
"I know what you're seeking," he said firmly.
No reply. Only the sound of the wind brushing through the silence.
"This isn't what you truly want," he continued. "You're not after revenge on strangers… You want Sakharam—the man who murdered you."
Suddenly, Kadambari's spirit dissolved into smoke—and reformed right behind Rohan.
At the same time, his shadow soul materialized beside him, protective and alert.
Kadambari's voice, now softer but laced with sorrow, asked:
"Can you find him?"
Rohan turned slightly, meeting her spectral gaze.
"Can you stop doing this… if I do?"
A heavy silence followed. Neither spirit answered. The only response was the weight of unfinished justice hanging in the cold night air.
Next Morning – Hospital Room
The sunlight filtered gently through the blinds as Rohan stepped into the room. Suryavanshi was awake, propped up slightly on the hospital bed, his wife and daughter seated quietly nearby.
Rohan approached with a calm expression.
"How are you, sir?"
Suryavanshi looked at him, a faint smile breaking through the tiredness on his face.
"Better now... thanks to you." He paused, then looked Rohan in the eyes.
"But tell me this—how did you know I was in danger? That call you made… you told me to be careful, to avoid that route. Why?"
Rohan pulled a chair and sat beside the bed, his voice steady.
"There's something I came across during my research. A woman named Kadambari Galve—she was murdered in 2005 near Holkar Bridge. Her spirit is trapped, and... something about her death was never resolved. People who unknowingly pass through the area between midnight and 1 a.m. have met with... unusual accidents."
Suryavanshi furrowed his brows.
"You mean to say… she's causing this?"
Rohan nodded slightly.
"Not out of hatred alone. Out of justice denied. She's looking for her killer—her husband, Sakharam. He was never found."
Suryavanshi absorbed the information silently, trying to align the supernatural with his pragmatic, law-bound world.
Rohan chose his words carefully, hiding the truth about his powers.
"I can't explain everything, but I've seen enough to know it's real. I tried to reach her... reason with her. She's willing to listen—but only if she believes justice is possible."
There was a pause. Suryavanshi nodded slowly.
"Then let's help her. Officially."
Rohan stood, a sense of purpose solidifying in him.
"We'll find Sakharam. It's time she rests."
Hospital – Later That Day
From his hospital bed, Inspector Suryavanshi remained sharp and determined. He picked up his phone and called his station.
"Reopen the Kadambari Galve case immediately. We're looking for her husband—Sakharam Galve. Trace every detail, every forgotten report. I want him found."
Though confined to the hospital for at least five more days, with a prognosis of six months' bed rest due to multiple fractures, Suryavanshi resumed command the only way he knew how—through relentless pursuit of justice.
---
Field Work – Moshi Village & Beyond
Rohan, accompanied by Constable Raju, traveled to Moshi—the last recorded address of Sakharam Galve. They questioned locals, combed through old acquaintances, and followed every rumor they could gather.
"He ran years ago," one man said.
"Maybe towards Surat, but no one's sure."
They followed the trail to a nearby village outside Surat, but once again, found only dead ends. No one had seen or heard of Sakharam in years.
Disheartened, the two returned to Pune with no solid leads.
---
Rohan's Apartment – Late Night
The apartment door clicked shut. Rohan walked in, weary and contemplative. He moved straight to the bathroom for a hot shower, hoping to wash off the dust of failure.
Later, he grabbed an apple from the fridge and sat on the sofa. The city lights flickered faintly through the curtains as he stared outside, lost in thought.
Where is Sakharam hiding? And how long do I have before the souls strike again?
Loneliness pressed in. In that moment of silence, he summoned the only ally he had beyond the living.
Dark mist curled in the corner of the room—his shadow soul had arrived, silent and expectant.
"You called," it said.
Rohan leaned forward, holding out a photograph of Sakharam. He didn't extend it—just let the image rest in his palm for the soul to see.
The faceless entity stared at it, absorbing every detail.
"What can you do?" Rohan asked quietly.
"Whatever you order… if it lies within my power," the shadow soul replied.
Rohan's eyes narrowed.
"Can you find this man?"
The soul gazed at the photo a moment longer.
"I will try."
Rohan gave the order, firm and clear:
"Go. Find him."
Without another word, the shadow soul evaporated into darkness—leaving Rohan alone once again, with only the ticking clock and his thoughts echoing in the room.
"This ends when I find Sakharam…" he whispered to himself.