LOST AND FOUND SERIES

PART 1

Lost and Found went to the same school. They were from a small town near Kottayam, Kerala. Lost found love in Found. Found found her presence in his life very enriching. Lost kept wondering as to why she fell in love with Found as they walked every day to school. It was a good 10km walk every morning and evening. They never lost track of time and found themselves being punctual children amidst their other friends. They sipped tea on their way back home and found Thomas Chaettan’s chaaya to be the best throat quencher even in the sweltering summer of Kerala. Their childhood love had a strong foothold in their lives. They had their paths and dreams sketched out very clearly. All of 10 and they found themselves not amidst the school toppers but as highly articulative and bold individuals.

Image Source: https://m.fellowes.com/us/en/resources/creativity/ideacenter/printables/school/organization/signs/lost-and-found-poster

Lost wanted to pursue forensics as her major subject when she grew up. She found the subject so empowering that she sneaked into the school’s library to catch hold of a copy of a book that was mentioned in the radio when Inspector Mandaakini addressed the state about a recent mishap at the Trivandrum railway station. The case was solved because of how forensics had its nail fixed intact. She asked found if he found the book he was looking for. Yes, he had sneaked in with her! He said he was lost in her thoughts and forgot the book’s name. She read from the book to found every evening on their way back home. Lost and Found’s parents knew about their love and let them be, as they believed in them. Sounds beautiful right? That’s a real-world anyway. Lost and Found were very routine driven and had their daily schedules sorted. Like I said earlier, they weren’t school toppers but absolutely unabashed in their quest in knowing everything they involved themselves in.

Found wanted to go study in Delhi and got through IIT’s entrance exam. Lost found her way to Delhi too eventually to be studying at LNF National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Sciences. They met during the weekends and made love. They were hopeless romantics who were waiting to make love in a place far away from home. Delhi made them look at life in a wholesome manner. They found themselves lost in the city’s beauty but Kottayam always had a part of them, however far they intended to move.

Lost and Found sent a letter to their parents who were both single right now. Lost lost her father and found, his mother. They wrote about their wish to have a registered marriage in Delhi and didn’t want their parents to spend a fortune on it which they would have if they had gotten married back home. 

Lost and Found took a bus to Manali for their honeymoon. They didn’t look at this as their first trip together. But it had its special place in their lives. The bus stopped for lunch at a Dhabha and Lost went a few steps away to find a place to answer nature’s call. She didn’t return for long. Found was lost and went in search of her. The bus wanted to leave. He didn’t pay heed. He ran to find Lost. He tripped over a gadget in a hurry and it didn’t stop beeping. He picked it in his hand and ran. He finally spotted Lost in between some trees in a forest. The gadget didn’t stop beeping. Lost held a similar gadget in her hand. They looked at each other and had no clue about what was in their hands that just wouldn’t stop beeping. They were frustrated and put the gadgets on the ground to ask them to shut up and it said its last words. “GPS POWERING OFF”. Lost and Found found what was lost in the case they were handling as interns under Inspector Mandaakini. They finally saw something that they had only heard of. They picked up the gadgets and tried switching them on. To their good fortune, they did. Their honeymoon was after all an official one!

They realised the power of being LOST and FOUND. 

'You don’t find the need to be FOUND unless LOST'

Illustration: Rohit Bhasi