I was lay on my bed, phone pressed to my ear, as the call connected. A familiar voice answered, calm and casual.
"Hello," she said.
"Hey, Jee," I replied, stretching out the words. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing much. Just got home," she said with a hint of tiredness.
"From college?"
"Yeah."
"Isn't it a bit late?"
"I was out with friends," she explained. "Just got back now."
Her voice carried that usual matter-of-fact tone, but before I could dwell on it, she added, "It's rare to see you call me. You didn't just ring me up to check in, did you?"
I chuckled. "Not really, no. Actually… it's about Rena."
"Rena?" Her curiosity was piqued.
"Yeah, I've got a few ideas in mind, but I need to figure out a couple of things first."
"Alright. What do you need?"
"For now, just tell me everything you know about the pictures—or anything else that could help."
She paused for a moment. "Hmm... I remember the outfit she was wearing in the photo."
"Oh?" I said, my interest sharpening.
"Yeah, I think she wore it last week—Wednesday, maybe?"
"Wow, you even remember things like that?"
"Of course. Girls are pretty observant about these things," she replied matter-of-factly.
"Fair enough. Anything else?"
"I think I know the place in the photo too," she said thoughtfully.
"Where?" I leaned forward, eager for more.
"Looks like somewhere in Police Bazar, near the shopping district. There's a coffee place there—I've been a few times."
"That's great," I said, feeling a small spark of hope.
"So, what's the plan? What are you trying to do?"
I hesitated. "Honestly, I'm not sure yet. But I do know the photo's metadata will help a lot."
"Metadata?" she asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, every picture has metadata—information embedded in the file. It might have details like when and where it was taken."
"That sounds useful. So... you know how to find it?"
"Not exactly," I admitted. "I have no idea how to do it yet."
Her voice turned skeptical. "Then how are you going to figure it out?"
"I'll learn," I said simply.
"Learn? Just like that?"
"Yeah. I'll study how it works from scratch. It's going to take time, but if it helps, it's worth it."
"How long will it take?"
"No idea. But I'll do my best to figure it out as quickly as I can."
She sighed. "Alright. Anything else?"
"Actually, can you find out if there are any CCTVs in that area?"
"Oh, right! That's a good idea. We can check it out tomorrow," she offered.
"Sounds good," I said with a small smile.
After a few more exchanges, she hung up, leaving me with a head full of plans.
After ending the call, I set my phone down and lay back on the bed. My mind wouldn't stop racing, pieces of everything that had happened swirling together like a storm.
It wasn't like me to get so involved. Normally, I'd avoid anything that felt like extra effort, brushing it off as someone else's problem. But this... this wasn't something I could ignore.
Rena wasn't just another classmate. She wasn't someone I helped out of obligation or convenience. This time, it wasn't because she reminded me of Tsula.
She was just... Rena. Her own person.
And maybe it was the way she carried herself, or the way she tried so hard even when things seemed impossible. Or maybe it was the sheer number of times she'd stood by me when I didn't deserve it.
But the truth was, it all came down to that moment. Those tears.
I'd seen people cry before, but something about the way she broke in front of me... it struck a nerve I didn't even know I had. The anger I felt wasn't just frustration—it was personal.
I couldn't stand the thought of her crying because of someone else's cruelty. Whoever was behind this — I wanted to hurt that person. I wanted them to feel what she felt—what I felt.
And more than anything, I didn't want her to cry alone again.
Resolving myself, I sat up and opened my laptop. If there was even the slightest chance I could help, I wasn't going to waste time hesitating.
The next six hours passed quickly, filled with intense focus as I researched everything about metadata, interrupted only by quick bathroom breaks and dinner. I dove deep into everything about metadata—image steganography, forensic analysis, geospatial metadata, encryption methods, image processing techniques. If it even remotely related to the topic, I made sure to study it.
When morning came, I dragged myself to college, exhausted. The day started like any other. I met my friends, and Rena seemed better—noticeably calmer and more herself. Maybe confronting her in the lab helped, or maybe I was giving myself too much credit. She was strong, far stronger than I could ever be, so perhaps she handled it on her own.
We talked as usual, but during the break, one of my classmates approached me and casually brought up Rena.
I felt like hitting that guy, but I forced myself to stay calm. Losing it wouldn't help; resolving this as quickly as possible would.
After class, I caught up with Rena.
I told her I won't be able to help with the CR duties today because I was going out with jee for shopping.
She looked a bit disappointed, but I quickly added, "We'll catch up tomorrow, no worries. You should take a break too."
I didn't want to tell her the real reason—Jee and I had plans to investigate further. If she knew it was about her, she might just worry even more.
To be safe, I walked her halfway home, knowing she'd likely try to finish the work alone anyway. Once I was sure she'd head back, Jee and I went straight to the coffee shop near Police Bazar, the spot she'd mentioned.
We ordered coffee first—partly to not seem suspicious, partly to fuel up—and then casually asked the shop owner if there were any CCTV cameras nearby. To our disappointment, the one near the shop was broken, leaving us with no leads there.
Frustrated but undeterred, we scoped out the surrounding area.
"Ashan," Jee called out as we walked.
"Yeah?" I replied.
"What if there's no CCTV near the motel either?"
"Don't worry," I said confidently. "You mentioned it was near the parking lot of a motel. It'd be ridiculous for a place like that not to have cameras."
"Good point," she said with a nod.
When we reached the spot, we surveyed the area carefully. The good news? We found the exact location where the photo had been taken. Even better, there was a CCTV camera a short distance from there.
"Ashan! We found it!" Jee exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah, but here's the tricky part… How do we convince them to let us see the footage?"
Jee grinned. "Leave that to me."
And, just as she promised, she managed to persuade the authorities. I wasn't entirely sure how she did it, but I learned one thing: girls are scary when they're determined.
With access secured, we began going through the footage. Thankfully, we had narrowed down the timeframe. Jee had remembered Rena wearing that specific outfit last Wednesday, and since the rumors began spreading on Tuesday, the photo had to have been taken sometime in between. The parking lot's open layout also made it easier to pinpoint the evening hours as the most likely timeframe.
It took some time, but eventually, we found it—the exact moment the photo was taken.
On our way home, Jee kept glancing at the footage we'd just retrieved from the CCTV cameras, her eyes alight with excitement.
"I can't believe it," she said, grinning. "This should be enough to prove it's fake, right? I mean, we have the footage, the time stamp, everything. This is it. We can just tell everyone now."
I hesitated, my hand rubbing the back of my neck. "Not yet," I replied, my voice calm but firm. "It's still too early."
She looked at me, confusion flickering across her face. "But why? This is concrete proof. Why wait?"
I took a deep breath. "It's not just about proving her innocence, Jee. It's bigger than that. I'm working on something else right now, something that could give us stronger evidence before we go public."
Jee fell silent for a moment, considering my words. Her eyes softened, though there was still a hint of impatience in them. "So, you're saying we wait a little longer?"
"Yeah," I nodded, my tone resolute. "Just a little longer. Once I'm done with what I'm working on, I believe we'll have everything we need to reveal it to everyone, and we can do it right."
Jee let out a small sigh but eventually gave a reluctant nod. "Alright, I trust you... but not for too long, okay?"
"Thanks," I said quietly. "I promise we'll get this done, but we need to be careful."
We continued walking, both lost in our thoughts. With Jee's hesitant agreement, I knew we'd figure this out—just a little more time, and we'd have everything we needed to make it right.