With one address in hand, we believed Bhairav would be found quickly. That belief did not last long.
We returned home carrying that fragile sense of hope.
The address given by the police was about 20 kilometres away, but at least it was something concrete. We even tried searching online for a phone number linked to the address, but without success.
Vani then contacted her sister, who lived close to that location. Without hesitation, she agreed to visit the place along with her husband, as it was a Sunday.
In the meantime, news of Bhairav’s disappearance spread quickly. My brother came over, and his fifteen-year-old daughter, Bhavana, who often played with Bhairav, had been crying continuously since she heard the news.
Everyone believed Bhairav would be found.
That belief did not last long.
Vani’s sister called to say that no such person lived at the given address. Even the owner of the house confirmed that nobody by that name had ever stayed there — not even among relatives.
The words hit us hard.
The house fell into an unbearable silence.
Every sound outside made us rush to the gate. Every distant bark gave us hope for a brief moment, only to disappoint us again. We kept telling ourselves that Bhairav, with his natural instincts, would somehow escape and find his way back home.
By evening, one by one, relatives and friends left. The three of us sat together, lost in our own thoughts, hardly realising that we had neither eaten lunch nor dinner.
Siddu kept calling from his tour. He was anxious and unable to concentrate. He said he would return home only after Bhairav was found.
That was when we truly understood how deeply Bhairav had entered our lives — in less than a fortnight.
Later that evening, Yashu and I went back to the juice seller to reconfirm the vehicle number. He was firm that there was no mistake. He vaguely recalled the motorcycle as a Hero Honda, though he was not completely sure.
I realised then that this lead might not take us very far.
But it was all we had.
This is Part 2B of the Bhairav Stories series.
Next: Bhairav – Chasing Shadows