Mission Daisy was going to be a wild adventure. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. sharp and got ready to head to the library. For the first time ever, the library of my college would be meeting its protagonist, that too on a lazy Sunday morning. Sammy, like the perfect side kick to every super hero, was on time and waiting for me inside. In her hand was an old bundle of sheets tied together by a ribbon. She also held a laptop in the other hand. The crack in the screen resembled the scar that life had created for me. Sammy came prepared with resources. We felt like Batman and Robin as we settled at the end tables to start our research.
"These are the entry forms and medical certificates of our class. The admin department were dumb enough to leave it out in plain sight. However, they weren't so organized with its arrangement. Since it is not in alphabetical order, we have to look through every single one to find our Daisy." When Sammy referred to Daisy as 'ours', it struck a nerve, because Daisy meant nothing to her and everything to me. Comparing my love for Daisy to hers was like comparing a bright emerald to a hard black rock. Disregarding the distractions in my mind, I started going through all the names provided to me. Meanwhile, Sammy switched on the laptop to find something on Google. It wasn't too difficult for me to find my Daisy as her handwriting shined bright like a star. There she was- 19-year-old girl, O negative blood group. Just like herself, her blood group was unique. She was a giver in life as well as in blood. Her file had too many blank spaces. The address section was left completely empty and the phone number had missing pieces, as if conjured up just to fill the space. Sammy had no luck finding an actual person as every time she typed the word Daisy, flowers filled up the page.
The disappointment we attained was not going to stop me. There had to be someone who knew her. It was time to set up an interrogation. The prime leads we had were her roommate Lila, the group she hanged out with- Chris, Raj, and Annie, and of course, the hostel warden.
Lead number 1- LILA
"Well, she mostly kept to herself. no phone calls to family were made in front of me. She was weirdly into reading and that's all she did all day. Do I miss her? Not really. I have the whole room to myself and no one can shut my loud music down, except her", she said, making a face at the warden. Lila creeped me out from the beginning. She had a dark vibe about her and when I found out she is Daisy's roommate, it made me want to run away too. In conclusion, she was of no help finding Daisy as she wasn't in her room when she ran.
Lead number 2-CHRIS
"Hey, am I in trouble? Look man, Daisy was just a random person in our group. I don't know her. All she did was laugh at my jokes. You can keep her; I want nothing to do with this." Chris' answer confused us all. Were we giving off mafia vibes with this mild form of interrogation? He was of no help either, especially with his insensitivity towards my Daisy's laugh.
Lead number 3-RAJ
"I think Daisy fell in love with me and couldn't face me anymore. She always sat next to me in class and had a weird vibe about her. What can I say? All girls love me. If Daisy was pretty, I would have considered- ", Sammy pushed him out of the room before his deliberate attempts to make me red turned this interrogation into an encounter. I knew he was bluffing. Daisy saw nothing in him. He was too self-obsessed and obnoxious to be liked. His blindness to Daisy's beauty was enough to suggest that he knew nothing about her.
Lead number 4-ANNIE
"Daisy was a sweet soul. One day, I fell down the stairs and she took me to the hospital to get me fixed up. That is when we became friends. The fact that she would run away without meeting me breaks my heart. I thought we had a real connection. We even shared our favorite clothes. It was probably Lila's loud music that drove her mad, or Raj's inappropriate comments. She never mentioned you to me Samantha, did you know her? Wait, are you her new best friend? Is this why she never told me she is leaving, because she had you to talk to? She did mention Neil once- ", my ears were eagerly waiting for the next words before Sammy interrupted, "look you can keep your Daisy to yourself. I only have one best friend, Neil. I don't befriend the rich elitist types. I am doing this for Neil. If you have nothing to share, please don't waste my time." I calmed Sammy down and requested Annie to continue. "As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted, Daisy once mentioned you, Neil. You weren't there in class and she had been asking about you constantly that day. I didn't know who you were so I avoided the question. She looked quite concerned. Now it hit me, you are the 'child' guy. This explains her worry towards you now. Other than that, I don't remember ever talking about you." Embarrassed yet again, I asked Annie to leave. We had gotten no information about Daisy, and we had spoken to almost all of our leads. There was no option but to speak to the warden.
Lead number 5- THE WARDEN
"Why am I talking to incessant teenagers? I was on leave when she ran away. I am in enough trouble already with the Dean and the Principal, please don't associate me into your stupid games. She ran through the window. The girl was probably super athletic if she made that jump. New barricades are now being added to the windows to prevent future mishaps. Her parents can't be contacted because the number she gave us was fake. The accounts department is at my throat as the girl didn't completely pay her dues. The admin team wants a replacement for the empty seat left by Daisy as soon as possible. The news of her disappearance is being covered up to avoid the ugly press. Too much is going wrong over a girl. Her matter is being veiled enough to wipe off her existence from this college. Anyway, you kids have to stop digging a hole for yourselves. Exams are coming up and this will be a topic long-forgotten by then. I have to leave too."
The warden left us in shock. They were covering up her escape rather than finding out what was wrong. The college only cared for its image. A girl's future was in the hanging. I was completely horrified wondering what she might be going through out there. All I knew was, it was being made to be as if she was not real. The leads gave us nothing except her mode of escape. It was almost dark now. Sammy insisted that we wait until tomorrow to check it out.