*Read part 1 and 2 before reading this*

***

He stood still for a full minute before knocking on the door. It had been over eight years since he last spoke to his father face to face. He didn't know what to expect behind that door. But he eventually knocked on the door.
The door opened and his father stood there. He was neither surprised nor excited to see his son. He just stood there speechless. The two looked at each other without a word or movement for a while. Then eventually, he asked his son to get in.

Bijoy sat on the chair with a cup of chai on the table before him. Were the tea leaves stolen too? Does this cup at least belong to him? And more such shameful thoughts appeared in his mind.

"Where were you the day before yesterday?" Bijoy asked.

"I was at the garage. I got a job there. Trust me, I've stopped –"

"I want to ask you about the Pearl", Bijoy interrupted.

Bijoy's father was shocked to hear that sentence.

"How do you know about the pearl?" His father asked.

"Why did you steal it?"

"I didn't. It was just a dream. Trust me–"

"No ba...", Bijoy abruptly stopped. He was ashamed to even call him dad. But he didn't want to waste his time. He wanted to get the information he needed to find out about the pearl. "No, baba. It was no dream. I have seen it too. After you stole it and disappeared, I took it with me and then… then everyone seemed to have forgotten it"

"What do you mean? I disappeared?"

"That's what me and dada thought. But seems like dada doesn't remember anything about what happened"

"Where is the pearl? If it's with you, you better throw that away. I don't have a good feeling about it", his father said.

"It has disappeared"

His father wasn't surprised. It had disappeared after he had stolen it too.

"I want you to be honest," Bijoy said, "where did you find that pearl?"

"Why don't we just forget about –"

"Baba, this is serious. That pearl is no ordinary thing. I need you to help me find where it came from and where it is right now"

"My son comes to visit me after years and all we are talking about is some stupid pearl?"

"Listen baba, I will walk away and you'll never meet your son again if you don't support me"

"Come with me"

***
"Hello, is anyone home?" Bijoy yelled as he knocked on the door of the unknown house. His father stood behind him, feeling ashamed to be showing his son which house he was stealing from the day before.
The door opened and they found an old woman standing before them.

"Who?" She asked and adjusted her glasses to see clearly.

"Ahmm… We wanted to talk about the pearl", Bijoy said.

"About the what?"

"The pearl. The cursed pearl. Do you know anything about it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you should talk to Jeet. He might know something", the woman said.

"Yeah sure, is he at home?" Bijoy replied without having a clue about who Jeet was.

"Jeet, beta Jeet!! Someone is here to see you", she screamed from the door.

A middle-aged man came outside.

"Yes?"

"Do you know anything about the… the pearl?" Bijoy asked him.

Jeet looked at him and his father standing behind him.

"Let's go talk outside", he said. "Ma, he's an old friend. I'll talk to him and come back soon"

Then he walked away with Bijoy and his father until they were away from the house.

"The old palace near Belda. Be there tonight at nine", Jeet told the two.

"What does it have...