The boy disappeared during a field trip to school in 2000… And the truth was found out twenty-six years later…

On March 27, 2000, students of Class VIII from Saraswati Vidya Niketan School in New Delhi planned a field trip to the Aravalli mountains. It was a Science and Nature Study Trip, which also included field trips and Life Skills Training.

Upon arrival, the atmosphere was normal, there was no sign that the day would affect the school or the lives of the students.

Among the students was Aarav Sharma, a quiet, responsible and smart 15-year-old boy. He always had a habit of keeping a record of all his lessons in a red-dot diary and never forgot to bring it home.

The trip started without incident. The teachers divided the students into two groups so that they could explore the hills from different routes, and then meet at the main location. Aarav was in the group led by a young teacher, Miss Reena, who had been working at the school for just over a year.

On the way, near a small lake and some slippery rocks, Miss Reena asked the students to stop and gather. That’s when they realized that a student was missing.

“Has anyone seen Aarav?” she asked, trying to stay calm.

There was no answer. Some people thought he might have wandered somewhere nearby, others thought he was writing about a plant or a wildflower in his diary. It all happened in less than fifteen minutes, but Rina’s heart was beating hard.

Soon after, Miss Reena called the school administration and contacted the rescue team and the police, hoping for help.

About an hour later, the search began. Voices echoed from the hills. The teacher, rescue team, police, sniffer dogs and volunteers spread out in different directions, while classmates panicked, upset and cried. The search went on for hours but no clue was found—no bags, no red-dotted diary, no fresh footprints by the lake. It was as if the earth had swallowed Aarav.

Over the next few days, helicopters hovered over the Aravalli Range, and search teams climbed the mountains, probing every avenue and crack. Aarav Sharma’s parents appeared on TV pleading with anyone to give information about their son. The media pressure mounted, and the police began investigating every possibility: accident, escape from home, kidnapping. But none of the theories seemed to be true. There was no reason for Aarav to escape, no sign of mental distress. The terrain was dangerous, yet not close enough to cause an immediate accident. And there was no evidence of kidnapping.

A week later, Aarav Sharma’s name became the talk of the town in New Delhi. Rumours spread—some absurd, some sensational. But over time, the case faded into oblivion. New news, other social upheavals, pushed this disappearance into darkness. The case was placed in the “unsolved” category.

But twenty-six years later, in 2026, a sudden phone call brought everything back to life.

The truth is finally about to come out…

On that morning in 2026, when the phone rang, no one thought that a name that had been suppressed twenty-six years ago would echo through the air again. Inspector Kabir Malhotra, who was on duty in the New Delhi Police Control Room, picked up the receiver. The voice trembled from there—”I… I know Aarav Sharma. And… And I think it’s time to tell the truth. ”
Who are you talking about?” asked Kabir immediately.
“The name doesn’t matter,” the voice said, “What matters is that Aarav is alive… And he never left that red-dotted diary. ”

Kabir’s chair crumbled. He started recording. “You know what you’re saying?”
“Yes,” the voice took a deep breath, “and I know that telling the truth will turn many lives upside down. ”

Three hours later, an old man—white-bearded, stooping back—was standing outside the police station. Name: Shivnath Rawat. Profession: Ever a one-guide in the Aravalli Range. He said as soon as he came in, “I’m not afraid of jail. I’m afraid the truth might die with me. ”
Kabir gave him water. “Elaborate everything you know. Shivnath’s
eyes filled with tears. “That day… March 27, 2000… I was there too. Near the lake. ”

Flashbacks descended into the room. That afternoon, Shivnath said, he saw a boy alone — the same red-dot diary in his hand. “He was writing,” she said, “very carefully.” That’s when I saw two adults. He looked like a teacher, but his words… It was weird. ”
Who?” interrupted Kabir.
“One woman—Miss Reena—and the other… There was no school driver, no outsider. They called the boy closer. ”

Kabir scanned the file. Miss Reena’s name—Reena Chowdhury—was still alive today, but twenty years ago she abruptly quit her job and changed cities.
“Then what happened?”
Shivnath’s voice broke. “The boy said, ‘Madam, why are you calling me apart from the rest of the group?’ and the man said, ‘Show us what’s in your diary.’ The boy stepped back. At that very moment… There was a push. The rock near the lake was slippery. ”

“Did he fall?”
“No,” Shivnath nodded, “didn’t fall. He was forcibly taken to the forest. ”

Sweat came on Kabir’s forehead. “Why didn’t you tell the police then?”
“If you had told me, I would have found my body,” said Shivnath. “That guy saw me. He came out of my hut at night and said, ‘If you want to live, forget it.’ ’”

The investigation reopened. The media went crazy. Kabir’s team traced Reena Chaudhary—she was now living in an ashram near Dehradun. When he was detained, he denied at first.
“I didn’t do anything,” she said flatly.
“What was the colour of Aarav’s diary?” asked Kabir suddenly.
Rina’s lips trembled. “Red… On that… One point. ”
There was silence in the room.

The interrogation went on for a long time. Eventually, breaking down, she admitted—”I made a mistake. Too big. ”
She told me that there was a big scandal going on in the school at the time—misappropriation of funds. Aarav’s diary wasn’t just plant notes; He had accidentally written down some receipts and fragments of conversations that he had overheard on the bus. “That kid used to write everything,” Rina said with a sob.
“And you kidnapped him?”
“I didn’t want to,” he said, “but the man—Vikram—said it was all over if the diary came out. ”

“Who is Vikram?”
“A relative of the school trust,” Rina whispered. “Very powerful.” ”

The biggest shock came when the police came to know that Aarav was not dead. He was hid in an old ashram in the forest, where a monk—Mahendra—took care of him. Vikram’s plan was to leave the child in a distant city after some time, so that the evidence would be erased. But the monk intervened.
“There was fear in the eyes of that child,” Mahendra said later. “I didn’t let him go. ”

Aarav’s name was changed. He lived with the monk for years, was educated, grew up. He was told that the outside world was dangerous to him. But the diary… He kept it safe.
“I couldn’t forget,” Aarav said in his first meeting with Kabir. His voice was quiet, but his eyes were stormy. “I used to write every night—really. ”

When the DNA test was done and it was confirmed that he was Aarav Sharma, his parents—now an old man—rushed to the police station crying. The mother touched his face, as if afraid that it might not be a dream.
“My baby,”
Aarav said softly, “Mother… I’ve come home. ”

The case went to court. Vikram was arrested. The fund scam was exposed. The school trust was dissolved. Reena was sentenced, but the court also accepted that she returned the life of a child by telling the truth.
The most emotional moment came when Aarav presented his diary in court.
“It’s not just my story,” she said, “it’s proof that the truth is coming, albeit belatedly.” ”

Finally, Aarav completed his studies and started working in environmental science—for the same nature he had lost. She donated the same red-dotted diary to a museum, so that people would remember.
His mother asked him, “Have you forgiven us?”
She smiled and said, “No apologies, Mom. Understanding. ”

Twenty-six years later, a child returned. And the world learned—the truth can be suppressed, not erased. Silence out of fear prolongs guilt, and even a small diary can knock down big lies.