Hasan entered the room, overwhelmed with joy, and embraced his sister tightly. When he wanted to call his father right away, I stopped him. "Don't call him now. They mistakenly kidnapped Meem instead of your sister."
Hasan froze for a moment, then asked, "What do we do now?"
"We need to check Miss Henna's room thoroughly. Until we're done, we can't inform anyone because I suspect one of the kidnappers might be someone familiar and present at this party. So, we have to proceed carefully."
Miss Henna said, "Okay, I'll help you check my room."
Hasan turned to me and said, "Then let's check right now."
I stopped him, "Wait! We need to send everyone who came upstairs back downstairs first."
Hasan agreed, "Alright, I'll go and handle it, so no one suspects anything."
Smiling slightly, Hasan said, "Got it."
After Hasan left, Miss Henna and I went to her room. We started searching. Since the room contained her personal belongings, she also began helping me. The disarray in the room was a clear sign that a crime had taken place. There was minimal furniture: a bed, a table, a wardrobe, a bookshelf, and a dressing table.
After searching for a while, I found a piece of paper taped to a corner of the wardrobe. It appeared to be a routine chart, but considering Henna's height, it was stuck at an unusual spot. I asked her, "Is this yours?"
Looking at it, she replied, "No. Where did this come from?"
I stood on a chair to remove the paper. The folded paper was sealed with tape. When I opened it, it said: "Find a black box."
Miss Henna exclaimed, "A black box!"
"Yes," I replied.
"Where do we search for it?" she asked.
I inquired, "Do you have any black boxes?"
"I have one for makeup," she said.
Miss Heena brought the box, but upon checking, we found nothing. She said, "I don't have any other black boxes."
I told her, "We might need to search this floor again. I'll check the next room while you recheck this one."
"Okay," she agreed.
We started looking for the black box. My hands trembled as I opened the wardrobe, its creaking sound piercing the silence. My eyes scanned each corner, but my thoughts kept slipping away—back to Meem. Was she scared? Hurt? I clenched my fists to stop my mind from spiraling, but the weight of her absence was suffocating. The thought of her enduring anything unbearable made my stomach churn.
Finally, Miss Heena found the box in a corner of her balcony. The kidnapper had hidden it cleverly; finding a black box in the dark corner was nearly impossible.
There was a piece of paper taped to the box. I removed it while Henna examined the box and said, "It's locked with a password system."
She was right. The box indeed required a password. I opened the paper, which said: "Answer the questions below to form the name of a flower. If you fail to solve it in time, you won't find the girl."
Miss Henna asked, "What do they mean by in time?"
I turned the box over and noticed a countdown timer in a corner. Only thirty minutes were left.
Miss Henna exclaimed, "Oh no! How will you open the box in such a short time?"
Just then, Hasan entered the room and confidently said, "This is Sakib bro! He'll definitely bring our friend back to us."
But I couldn't pay attention to his words. My entire focus was on Meem's predicament. I asked Miss Heena for a pen. She handed me one and asked, "How's everything downstairs?"
Hasan reported, "Not good. Dad is crying, and Uncle has forbidden everyone from leaving the house."
"Good," I muttered. At least that part was under control.
I read the first question aloud: "This is a substage where the characteristics of living organisms change."
Hasan became excited and said, "I know this one! It's pachytene, a substage of prophase I in meiosis where crossing over occurs."
The answer seemed acceptable to me, so I wrote it down.
The next question said: "On December 5, 2017, at 1 PM, the owner of a house in Gulistan was found dead in his bedroom. A detective interviewed the family members. Their statements were as follows:
Rabeya Islam:"I am his wife. My last conversation with him was at 12:30 PM. He said he wasn't feeling well and went to rest in his room. I was watching TV in the dining room with my elder son, Simon. Later, we heard a scream from his room and rushed there along with Simon, Tani, and my brother Nirab. My youngest daughter, Lima, was shopping at New Market." Simon: "I was with Mom the whole time. When we heard the scream, we all ran to Dad's room." Tani: "I was working in the kitchen. After hearing the scream, I ran to his room with everyone else." Nirab: "I was in the bathroom. After showering and changing, I heard the scream and ran to his room with the others." Lima: "I was shopping at New Market, so I wasn't present during the incident." Driver Utshab: "I took the youngest madam to New Market."*
The question was, "Who is the culprit?"
Hasan and Henna both looked tense. Hasan said, "This riddle is so hard! How will we solve it?"
Miss Heena added, "Riddles like this are insane!"
Hasan muttered, "They should've just asked for money. We could've paid them!"
I shook my head. "Money isn't what they're after. There's a deeper motive here. Perhaps an enemy close to you is behind this."
Henna said, "We don't have time to panic! Let's solve this now.
After checking the calendar on my mobile, I deduced the culprits were Lima and Utshab.
They asked, "How?"
I explained, "The incident happened on a Tuesday, and New Market is closed on Tuesdays."
Miss Henna and Hasan were impressed and understood the logic. I jotted down the names and moved to the next question...
I read the next question aloud:
"March 8, 2015, Sunday. Sabbir was found dead in his locked room at 3 PM. A detective interviewed the rest of the household."
Hasan groaned, "What kind of weird death cases are these riddles based on? I can't figure out anything!"
Miss Henna scolded him, "Be quiet! Solve it first; then you can complain."
I looked at the box; 20 minutes were still left. If we didn't act quickly, we wouldn't be able to save Meem. I refocused and started reading carefully again:
Shawon: "I'm Sabbir's elder brother. That day, I went out to buy a jacket. I loved my brother very much; there's no way I could have killed him." Runa: "I'm his only wife. At that time, I was watching a Hindi drama. There's no way I could kill my husband." Purbi: "I'm his younger sister. I was watering the plants downstairs. Suddenly, when I looked up, I saw something unusual with my brother. I rushed to his room alone." Shapla: "I was hanging out with friends at the university." Onik: "I was in my room all day. In the afternoon, I heard Sabbir scream and rushed to the crime scene with everyone."
The question was: "Who is telling the truth?"
Hasan exclaimed, "This is even harder than the last one!"
Henna thought for a moment and said, "Everyone's statements seem reasonable."
Hasan and Henna took the paper and started checking it carefully. Suddenly, Hasan shouted, "Either Purbi or Onik is lying. One claims to have gone alone, while the other says they went with everyone. So, four people must be telling the truth."
I replied, "No. Purbi, Shawon, and Onik are all lying. In March, it's already hot, so no one would go out to buy a jacket. Purbi claims to have seen Sabbir from outside a locked room, which is impossible. Onik says he rushed to the crime scene with everyone, which contradicts Purbi's statement. Just as Hasan deduced, one claims to have gone alone, and the other with everyone. Both are lies."
Hasan smirked and said, "That leaves Shapla and Runa."
Henna added, "Runa is lying too. Hindi dramas don't air on Sunday afternoons; movies do."
I crossed out Runa's name and wrote down "Shapla." They were thrilled because they thought they had solved the riddle. However, I warned them, "Shapla might not be the final answer."
They asked, "Why not?"
I explained, "The question states that we need to derive the name of a flower from the answers. I think we have to find a flower's name from all the given words."
Hasan exclaimed, "Oh, so what's the deal? Okay, let's figure it out."
I wrote down four keywords: Pachytene, Utsob, Lima, and Shapla. Then I told Hasan and Henna, "We need to analyze these four words individually and try to find a flower's name. Once we have options, we'll choose one as the password."
They agreed and got to work. I didn't know many flower names, but from the given words, I identified Shapla and Tulip. Five minutes later, everyone submitted their findings. Hasan hadn't found any new flower names besides Tulip, but Miss Henna had listed a few more. I asked Hasan to look up the English names for them. Within two minutes, he had the results.
I walked up to the box. It showed six minutes remaining. The seconds ticked away, increasing the pressure. I entered the first password, LILLY. It didn't work. Then I tried TULIP. That failed too.
One thing caught my attention: the password required exactly five letters. Most of the flower names we had were longer. We still had five minutes left, but I felt like I was losing my focus. Shadows seemed to surround me, and my vision darkened.
At that moment, Hasan asked, "Could it be another flower entirely?"
I replied despondently, "I don't know."
Miss Henna encouraged me, "Don't lose hope now. Let's try to find another flower name."
They started brainstorming again, while I stared at the paper in frustration. Today, nothing seemed to align; everything felt chaotic. Suddenly, I noticed something unusual on the bottom of the paper. Taking it closer to the light, I read the hidden question:
"This flower comes in many colors. One of its colors is considered a symbol of love in Persia. You need to name the color which, when present in the flower, signifies heartbreak."
Miss Henna exclaimed, "It's black! Red tulips symbolize love, but a black mark on them represents love in danger or heartbreak, as the question implies."
Hasan remarked, "Wow, Sister, you're an expert!"
Henna proudly replied, "Of course! It's my field of expertise, so there's no need to be surprised."
Without delay, I entered the password BLACK. The box was unlocked with three minutes to spare. Inside was a photo. I picked it up. Hasan looked at it and said, "This guy is downstairs!"
On the back of the photo, there was a code. I turned to them and said, "We need to head downstairs now."
We went downstairs. Seeing Miss Hena made Hasan's family and her friends very happy.
I approached the man from the photo and asked, "Where's Meem?"
Mr. Islam interjected, "Could it be?"
Interrupting his question, I replied, "Yes. He and some of his men have kidnapped Meem."
Mr. Islam grabbed the man. He looked at me and said, "I don't know."
I gave him the password. He laughed loudly, his strange laugh instilling fear in everyone present. Then he said to me, "If you want the girl, you have to come with me."
Uncle shouted, "Tell us where she is, or else…"
I stopped him, saying, "Let's go. I'll go."
Mr. Islam said, "Are you sure? This could be dangerous for you."
I replied firmly, "I know what I'm doing. I'll go with him."
Mr. Islam said, "Alright, let's go. I'm coming with you."
I shook my head and said, "No. This might be a different case. Otherwise, they'd have called by now to demand a ransom."
Uncle protested, "But it's too risky for you."
I responded with a determined look, and he released the man.
Hasan, Rima, Tonni, and Saurav approached me. Saurav asked, "You're going alone?"
"Yes, I have to," I replied.
Tonni questioned, "Why?"
Smiling, I said, "When something truly matters, you don't let it slip away."
Everyone looked surprised. Hasan and Rima insisted on going too. When I refused, Rima said, "Meem is a dear friend of mine. She has helped me a lot. If I don't go when she's in danger, I'd feel awful."
Hasan started to mention his grandfather's case, but I interrupted, "Fine, you both can come."
Hasan didn't finish his point and looked gloomy.
Hasan's mother told us, "Be careful."
We said our goodbyes and left.
As we approached the car, the man blindfolded us before we got in.
From Meem's perspective
"Where am I? Ugh, I can't recall anything. I was supposed to be at Hasan's sister's birthday party now. My hands and feet are tied. Who has tied me up? I think someone has kidnapped me. Wait a minute. Now I remember. When I went upstairs with Miss Heena to change clothes, she went to the bathroom and told me to wait in her room as she would take out an outfit for me once she was out. I was in her room. Suddenly, I heard a noise on the balcony. As I went forward, someone held a cloth over my mouth from behind. After that, I remember nothing. My mouth is tied too. I can't say anything. I am so scared."
After some time, we got out of the car. They removed our blindfolds and said, "Enter this building."
In front of us stood an old four-story building in a desolate area. A vast river stretched out in front, with darkness making it hard to discern anything else. It seemed like it was around 9 PM.
Hasan asked the man, "Where's the washroom?"
The man replied, "Inside to the right, but it's closed. Only the third and fourth floors have functioning washrooms."
Without waiting, Hasan sat nearby. Rima exclaimed, "In such a tense moment, he needs a toilet? What a person!"
Once Hasan returned, we entered the building together. As soon as we stepped inside, a man in a suit and tie greeted us. I asked, "Where's Meem?"
The man said sternly, "Don't worry. If you meet our conditions, we'll release your friend."
Rima asked, "What conditions?"
The man replied, "Nothing much. You just need to participate in a few games and win." Then he let out a loud laugh, sounding completely deranged. I wondered what kind of dealings I had with such a lunatic.
Excitedly, Hasan asked, "What games? Vice City? FIFA? Or some online games?"
The man, irritated, replied, "Do you think I brought you here to play those games?"
His voice made Rima nervous. He then shouted, "Live games—the kind where it's do or die!"
Rima gulped in fear. "Do or die games?"
The man replied, "No need to rush. Let's introduce ourselves first. I'm Kabili."
Hasan said, "Kabili? I'm Hasan."
Rima added, "I'm Rima."
I said, "I'm Sakib."
Kabili said, "Very good. Now, let's proceed to the second floor for our first game."
We followed Kabili upstairs. The dim yellow lighting was annoying, and every corner had CCTV cameras as if someone was constantly watching us. This person was probably the leader here.
On reaching the second floor, we saw many rooms that resembled a terrifying, run-down hotel. Kabili walked to the far end and stopped at a door with a half-burned sign above it that read MEET... Opening the door, he gestured for us to enter.
Inside was a well-arranged room with a round table and four chairs. Kabili walked to the opposite side, turned to face us, and said, "Take a seat."