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Episode 4: The Truth Room
It was past midnight .
The orphanage was still , except for the ticking clock above the prayer hall . Maya stood in the shadows , clutching a stolen key she had swiped from the matron’s desk . Her hands were trembling—but not from fear.
From hope .
And from fire .
The records room hadn’t been opened in over a decade . Dust blanketed every file like silence pressed into paper . Each box was labeled with names .
She didn’t know what hers would be .
Because she never had one .
📂 Scene : Box 109
She pulled out an unlabeled brown file marked simply “ Infant – July 12 ”
Her birthdate.
Her breath stopped .
Inside :
A hospital discharge form
A blood group slip
A printed “ Father’s Name ” field , typed clearly :
A form titled :
“ Live Birth Record – Guardian Entry ”
Typed cleanly in capital letters :
Mother’s Name : Aarthi R. Iyer
Father’s Name : Arjun R. Iyer
Baby Name : _________ (left blank)
Maya stared at the line where her name should have been.
Left empty. Intentionally.
💔 Emotional Hit
Her throat tightened .
She whispered the name she once found in the torn letter :
“ Aru… ”
So close. So incomplete.
She was Aru. She was Maya. She was no one. And now… she had a name that meant something. A name that someone had tried to erase.
But it wasn’t over.
There was more.
Stapled at the back of the folder, was a sealed envelope marked:
To be opened only upon legal guardianship.
She didn’t hesitate. She ripped it open.
Inside was a handwritten note—not from a parent. From a doctor:
“The child was born healthy.
The mother, Aarthi, passed at 11:04 am post-delivery.
The father, Mr. Arjun R. Iyer, requested no record of the child's name be kept.
He cited reputational risk and asked for immediate orphan placement.
A donation of ₹5,00,000 was made for silence.”
Maya’s heart cracked.
She wasn’t lost.
She wasn’t orphaned by accident.
She was sold off to protect his name.
She felt her stomach twist.
Her body swayed.
The file slipped from her hands and scattered across the floor like the pieces of herself she never knew she had.
🚪 Interruption: The Matron Arrives
Suddenly, the door creaked. A flashlight beam hit her eyes.
Matron (shocked, then furious):
“Maya? What did you do?!”
Maya (calmly):
“I found him.”
The matron marched over, grabbing the file from the ground.
Matron (voice breaking):
“You shouldn’t have read this. You don’t understand.”
Maya (cold):
“I understand perfectly. He paid to delete me.”
The matron’s eyes filled. Her anger dropped.
Matron (softly):
“I didn’t burn it. He told me to, but… I couldn’t. I couldn’t destroy what little you had left.”
🧍 Scene: Adil Waiting
Outside, rain dripped from the gutters.
Adil stood near the swing, arms crossed, soaked. He had followed her. Waited for her.
Maya stepped out, soaked not from rain, but from grief.
She held the file like it was a heart—beating, bleeding, finally speaking.
Adil:
“What did you find?”
Maya (without flinching):
“My name. My father. My truth.”
Adil (quiet):
“What now?”
She looked out into the road beyond the gate. Beyond the world that erased her.
Maya:
“Now I return the favor.
Not with hate.
With truth.”
He tore out my name.
Left only silence and shame.
But truth never forgets.
And tonight—
Neither will I.
