HAANI

Episode16

HAANI

EPISODE 16

London's morning was colder than usual.

After the rain during the night, the streets were still wet, and mist covered the windows of the old university building.

Haani sat beside the library window.

The same old photograph was lying in front of her.

It showed a woman, a child, and a young man.

On the back of the photograph were the words:

1888 — London.

And beneath them:

Michael Johnson.

Haani kept staring at the name.

But the most disturbing thing was the message Eric had received the previous night:

"He is alive."

Haani quietly asked herself,

"If he is alive, where is he now?"

At that moment, Sophie and Emma entered the library.

Sophie pulled out a chair and sat down.

"You didn't sleep all night, did you?"

Haani gave a faint smile.

"How did you know?"

"Your face tells me."

Emma picked up the photograph.

"We need to find out something about this man."

Haani said,

"Michael Johnson."

Maya arrived a few moments later.

She was carrying an old file.

"I found something."

Everyone looked at her.

Maya placed the file on the table.

"I went through my grandfather's records all night. Finally, I found a reference."

Haani immediately asked,

"To whom?"

"Michael Johnson."

Silence filled the room.

Maya opened an old page.

"But this isn't the Michael Johnson we know."

Emma asked,

"Then who is he?"

Maya explained,

"This name appears in a private research record from 1888. He was connected to the Johnson family, but his complete family history was never recorded."

Haani asked,

"And the child?"

Maya opened the next page.

There was only one sentence:

"The child was moved before the records were sealed."

Sophie quietly said,

"So the child was moved somewhere before the records were closed."

Maya nodded.

"Yes."

Haani asked,

"Where?"

Maya pointed toward a blank space.

"That's the problem. The location was deliberately erased."

Haani looked closely at the paper.

There was a small symbol along its edge.

The same symbol that had appeared on the 1887 key.

Haani said,

"The symbol is here again."

Maya nodded.

"And I don't think it was only a Johnson family symbol."

"Then what was it?"

Maya replied,

"A protection network."

Emma looked confused.

"A protection network?"

Maya explained,

"During the nineteenth century, in certain sensitive situations, families and social or religious communities sometimes worked together to move people to safer places. But we need evidence that something like that happened here."

Haani looked at the photograph again.

"So it's possible that the child was sent to another family."

Maya nodded.

"Possibly."

At that moment, Eric appeared at the library door.

He stood there for a few seconds before entering.

His eyes immediately went to the photograph.

"Where did you get that?"

Haani answered,

"From the archive."

Eric picked up the photograph.

He studied it carefully.

"I've seen this before."

Haani immediately asked,

"Where?"

Eric took a moment before answering.

"In my father's study."

Maya asked,

"Do you remember where he kept it?"

"In a locked drawer."

"And the key?"

Eric shook his head.

"My father always kept it with him."

Haani asked,

"Did you ever open the drawer?"

Eric slowly nodded.

"Once."

Everyone looked at him.

Eric continued quietly,

"I was about ten years old."

He placed the photograph back on the table.

"That day, my father was extremely angry."

Haani asked,

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Eric paused.

"I went into his study. The photograph was lying on the desk."

"And then?"

"I picked it up."

Eric's voice became quieter.

"My father saw me."

Haani asked,

"What did he say?"

Eric closed his eyes for a moment.

Then he said,

"He told me, 'Eric, some truths are not yours to carry.'"

Silence filled the room.

Haani asked softly,

"And then?"

"He took the photograph from me."

"Did he tell you anything about the child?"

Eric shook his head.

"He only told me never to search for that child."

Haani asked in surprise,

"Why?"

Eric didn't answer.

Maya took another paper from her file.

"Maybe the answer is here."

It was an old handwritten note.

It read:

"The child must remain unknown until the truth is safe."

Haani asked,

"Until the truth is safe?"

Maya said,

"It could mean that revealing the child's identity would have been dangerous at that time."

Eric suddenly spoke.

"Or maybe someone was afraid that the child would grow up and reveal everything."

Everyone became silent.

For the first time, Eric himself was looking at the mystery from a different perspective.

That evening, Eric returned home.

He opened an old chest containing his father's belongings.

There were old papers, books, and photographs inside.

He went through them one by one.

Finally, he found a small leather folder.

Only one word was written on it:

"1888."

Eric opened the folder.

Inside were three documents.

The first said:

"Transfer completed."

The second said:

"New identity confirmed."

And the third contained only a name.

Eric read the name.

His eyes widened.

"How is this possible?"

He stared at the paper for several moments.

Then he called Haani.

Haani answered.

"Hello?"

Eric immediately said,

"I found something."

Haani asked,

"What?"

"About the child."

Haani became silent.

"What did you find?"

"The child was given a new identity in 1888."

"The name?"

Eric looked at the paper again.

"The name is here."

"What is it?"

Eric remained silent for a moment.

Then he said,

"But there's something even stranger."

"What?"

"The name still exists today."

Haani immediately asked,

"Where?"

Eric replied,

"London."

Haani's eyes widened.

"Are you sure?"

"I saw the record myself."

"Then we have to find this person."

Eric said,

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Because there's another problem."

"What?"

Eric looked at the last page of the folder.

A sentence was written there:

"If the child is found, do not reveal his connection to the Johnson family."

Haani remained silent for a moment.

"That means the person may not even know that he is connected to the Johnson family."

Eric quietly said,

"Maybe that's why he was given a new identity."

The next day, Haani, Maya, Sophie, and Emma began searching London's old records for the new name.

Several hours passed.

Finally, Maya stopped.

"I found something."

Haani immediately went over to her.

Maya pointed toward the screen.

A person's name appeared.

The person had been living in London under the new identity for decades.

Haani stared at the screen.

"So he really exists."

Maya nodded.

"Yes."

Sophie asked,

"Can we meet him?"

Maya replied,

"First, we need to make sure this is actually the same person."

Haani quietly asked,

"And if it is?"

No one answered.

At that moment, Haani's phone received a new message.

This time, there was only one sentence:

"Do not search for him."

Haani immediately showed the screen to Maya.

A few seconds later, another message appeared:

"He has already found you."

Haani's heart began beating faster.

Sophie quietly asked,

"What does that mean?"

Haani stared at the screen.

"I don't know."

At that exact moment, an elderly man appeared outside the glass doors of the library.

He stood there for a few moments, looking inside.

Then his eyes settled directly on Haani.

Haani stared back at him.

The man was holding an old book.

He slowly raised the book.

The same symbol was visible on its cover.

1887.

Then the man turned and slowly disappeared down the corridor.

Haani stood up.

"Who was that?"

Maya looked toward the corridor.

"I don't know."

But there was one thing they all understood.

The mystery of 1887 was no longer just the story of an old family.

Someone was still protecting that secret.

And perhaps...

there was someone who knew exactly who the child was.