A Detective who afraid for Dark Short Love story
You’d think Detective Arjun Mehta — “Police ka sher” — was scared of nothing. Tall, sharp eyes, crisp kurta under his blazer, people whispering “human lie detector” behind his back. He’d faced gangsters, scamsters, even a crazy stalker case once.
But ask him to walk into a dark room? Arjun turned into a nervous, chai-spilling mess. Not just scared. Full-on, three-tube-light, emergency-lamp, phone-torch kind of scared.
He’d never told anyone. He’d rather people think he was “extra” than “scaredy cat.”
Even his small flat in Karol Bagh had more light than a jewellery showroom. His landlady once asked, “Beta, shaadi karoge ya solar plant lagaaoge?” He just laughed awkwardly and changed the bulb again.
A Case from Hell
One sticky July morning, horns blaring outside, chaiwalas shouting “cutting chai cutting chai,” Arjun was at his desk sipping his third kulhad chai, pretending to look at files but actually daydreaming about vada pav. The Crime Branch office smelled of old paper, samosas and ink.
Suddenly, THUD. A thick file landed in front of him. His boss, in his no-nonsense voice: “Arjun, missing person. Big shot tech guy, Ishan Verma. Last seen at abandoned research centre near Delhi–Jaipur highway. Locals call it ‘Blackout Kendra.’ Handle it.”
Arjun’s heart sank. Blackout Kendra? Perfect. Just his luck.
“Ready to solve a thriller?” a female voice teased from behind.
He turned and almost choked on his chai. It was Dr. Leena Rao, the new forensic analyst. She wore a soft cotton kurti, hair in a messy bun, a tiny silver nose pin glinting. She had a steel tiffin of idlis in one hand and a forensic kit in the other. Her eyes sparkled like she knew a secret.
Arjun cleared his throat. “Uh… hope you brought your own torch. That place is… dim.”
Inside, his brain screamed: “Dim? Black hole, bro!”
Leena smirked. “Dim? Detective saab, I grew up in Chennai with daily power cuts. Dark is nothing.”
Arjun fumbled with his pen. “Good… good. Great. Welcome to Delhi,” he muttered, trying to sound cool.
On the Road
They rattled down the highway in an old police Gypsy, dust blowing through the open windows. Dhabas flashed past — “Special Paneer Butter Masala” painted in bright red. A cow lazily crossed the road. Pre-monsoon clouds gathered overhead.
Leena opened her tiffin and offered him an idli. “Want one?”
He took it, trying not to get sambar on his shirt. “Thanks,” he said, but it came out like “Thaanks” because a fly flew into his face at that moment. She laughed, covering her mouth. He felt his ears go hot.
Entering Blackout Kendra
The research centre stood like a dead monster: broken walls, rusted gates, weeds everywhere. A faded board read “Central Energy Research Facility” but half the letters had fallen off.
Inside, it was cool, damp and smelled of moss and rat droppings. Pigeons fluttered up from the rafters. Somewhere, water dripped: plink-plink-plink.
Arjun came prepared like Diwali lights: big tactical torch, headlamp, phone’s flash, plus an extra power bank swinging from his belt. Even a tiny LED clipped to his shirt.
Leena looked at him, eyebrows up. “Arre waah, walking Christmas tree,” she giggled.
“Just… prepared,” he mumbled, voice tight.
A rat darted out of a pipe. Arjun squeaked — actually squeaked — and almost dropped his chai flask.
Leena bent double laughing. “Detective saab, rat scared you more than gangsters?”
Arjun rubbed his neck. “It came out of nowhere yaar.” His face burned.
She shook her head, still smiling. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”
He blinked. Cute? No one had called him cute since his chachi at Rakhi.
Clues in the Dark
They found a note stuck to a rusty locker:
“The deepest secrets are kept where no light dares to shine.”
Arjun groaned. “Universe is trolling me.”
The rooms got darker as they moved in. Old computers sat like ghosts. A single torn lab coat swung gently in the draft. The smell of damp cement grew stronger.
Suddenly, a metal pipe clanged down somewhere. Arjun yelped and stumbled backwards, bumping straight into Leena. His three torches swung around wildly like a disco. His headlamp hit her shoulder with a soft thud.
“Ow,” she said, then saw his face and her expression softened. She steadied him with a hand on his arm.
“You’re scared of the dark, aren’t you?” she asked softly.
He wanted to lie but something in her voice stopped him. “Yeah… no cap. It’s… a thing,” he muttered, looking at his shoes.
She didn’t laugh. She simply adjusted her glasses. “It’s okay, Arjun. We all have our shadows. Mine are just my Monday morning reports.”
He looked up, surprised. A warm, genuine smile touched her lips. Something shifted inside him — like a window opening.
The Hidden Room
Leena crouched near a corridor blocked by old lab equipment. “Wait. Pressure plate here. Step only on the tiles with blue marks,” she said.
Arjun’s detective brain clicked on. He remembered Ishan Verma’s childhood story from the file — locked alone in a dark room as punishment. A clue.
They pushed through a hidden door behind a broken panel. Inside was a tiny, windowless chamber lit only by the faint glow of a laptop screen.
Ishan Verma sat there, unshaven, eyes bloodshot.
He wasn’t a victim. He was hiding. “I’m exposing a corporate scam,” he whispered. “Too big to fail. If I go public, they’ll kill me.”
He had staged his own disappearance, hoping to lure the conspirators out.
Arjun and Leena quickly called HQ. By evening, a team had arrived. The conspirators were caught, and Ishan was safe.
Back in the Light
As the Gypsy rattled back toward Delhi, the sun dipped low, painting the sky orange. The smell of rain and wet earth mixed with diesel fumes. Arjun sat quietly, staring out at the fields.
Leena nudged him. “Coffee sometime? Maybe in a well-lit cafe?” she asked with a teasing smile.
Arjun laughed, a real laugh this time. “Bet. I might even skip the headlamp.”
Leena grinned. “Don’t worry, detective saab. I’ll bring a candle.”
They both laughed. The world, even its darkest corners, suddenly felt a little less scary. He had faced his fear — and found a connection brighter than any spotlight.