HIS VOW

It'd be night soon, so, Tatia had to decide fast if going all the way back to town to report to the authorities was a better choice or try rescue the children herself ~ which could be dangerous as well; but, she had to choose fast as every second made the situation trickier and just then, as she decided to report the situation ( i.e take option one ), a man entered the shed, weilding a gun in his hand - he seemed to be mumbling something at first, and then, his voice gradually grew louder and louder until he made a sudden shrilling 'vow' to finish them all and offer them to his ancient diety to get blessings for his community; and, it'd happen tonight at midnight, he vowed - it'd all be done ~ afterwhich, he gave a nasty glare to each of the trembling kids and left the shed, promising again, to see them later.

Tatia watched in horror at what unfolded, and, as he left she tried following him outside, but he seemed to have vanished into the thick woods totally unware of her presence; and she knew here was her only chance to save the kids, she just couldnot leave them behind, not after the sinister 'vow' she had just heard so she went back to the shed and decided to enter it this time...much to the children's surprise as their tired eyes widened at the new visitor - oh, she had to save them, and she'll do it fast come what may, Tatia thought.

'Dear kids,' she said softly, 'I'm here to rescue you, do as I ask and donot make any noise,' Tatia took the pocket knife the only tool she had and cut at the ropes that tied the children's wrists, each's - one by one; then, as the children pulled the tapes off their mouths frantically, she said, 'follow me, we have to move out of here fast, before that monster returns,' the children understood and the relief was clearly visible in their tear strained eyes...they were all very grateful and although exhausted after the ordeal they had gone through, they followed her instructions obediently.

After freeing them, Tatia guided them back the way she had come, and, they followed, Tatia's only hope now was to reach the town safely...it was already dark and they all had managed to get quite far away from the tower; but, with some sudden fireshots exploding in the air, they knew instantly that the abductor had come back and had found them missing - 'run', Tatia told the children, and they ran as fast they could down the hill, few fell but got up again, scratching against the wild bushes - but, none stopped - they ran and ran.

Tatia looked back to check if all were coming and no one was left behind, they were in real danger - for now... there were more fireshots, but these came from the opposite side as well along with sirens going off - police, Tatia couldnot believe it, but, yes, they were police sirens, someone had alerted the police it seems and they were patrolling the deserted area after all...and, with fire being shot they had leapt into action - but, Tatia and the children were all still in danger atleast till the police spotted them so she ushered the children behind some trees and decided to wait...all their hearts pounding in unison.

The gun battle lasted couple of hours into the night, until, to their horror and also relief the body of the abductor finally fell lifeless not far from where they were hiding - his body stuffed with bullets; and only then did Tatia and the children could come out of their hiding spot and run towards the police - finally safe ~ and days later, Tatia ultimately did get an award for her bravery in rescuing the kids from the town committee and became a youth icon too of sorts with all the children from the locality and beyond being her biggest fans.



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WITH FORCE

Tatia hit the accelerator, the slope was vertical at almost sixty plus degrees and her scooty stubbornly refused to go any further, with its engine growling in agony every time she hit the accelerator until frustrated, she jumped off her seat and tried pushing the scooty herself up the hill with force, while the engine was still running - 'oh, come on, don't do this, we have to reach the top, don't fail me, not now', she pleaded as she wanted to get to the top anyhow, and, she dared not go walking the four miles to reach the tower, where she hoped to get some clues atleast of the missing children's puzzle somehow - the entire town was gripped with fear as more and more kids were disappearing every few days.

There had been extensive search but all seemed futile as the police and authorities still couldnot solve why the kids went missing...nobody left any clue or demands - so, the mystery only deepened, which somehow triggered the detective in Tatia to take matters into her own hands and try solve the mystery herself; she knew of the old abandoned tower in the hill at the outskirts of the town and thought it'd be a good place to search as she remembered a story her granny often told her while she was still a child.

Tatia's granny always used to tell her many night-time stories, but one particular always ended with a warning for it was of the abandoned tower at the hill on the outskirts of the town which she said was once ~ centuries ago ~ used by the native pagans as a sacrificial ground for young children which by doing so made them acquire mystical powers to achieve anything and defeat the enemies - nobody had searched that area yet, so, Tatia thought to herself to be the first one to get there and solve the mystery, and perhaps, get a reward or recognition later as the town's newest official detective - oh, how she'd love that.

But only if her scooty didn't act funny and decided to play games, she thought quite irritated; her scooty ~ usually her best companion, never failed as she zoomed around with it in the plains, but here on the hill, it had become unexpectedly cranky and unreliable, she switched it off and started again few times, and finally, it seemed to move a bit until it went dead altogether much to Tatia's disappointment leaving her with only two options ~ to give up accept defeat and head home or walk to the tower herself on foot - a scary thought but, she decided to go anyways...so, leaving the scooty under a tree, she set on foot, clutching a small pocket knife, her only defence.

Was she being stupid to be going up there all alone, her mind questioned many times, but Tatia shrugged the thoughts away - if she wanted to become a detective for real, she had to be brave and she'd complete the mission - to reach the abandoned tower and check for clues, her granny's stories still playing in her mind; and with every step she took, she felt that maybe the kids were indeed held there somewhere and the ancient practices was still going on - well, she had to find out, and so Tatia continued walking up the hill, not discouraged by its steepiness or how exhausted it made her feel until she could finally heave a sigh of relief when she could spot the tower appearing slowly before her eyes.

It was late noon but the thick foliage barely let any sun-light in so it was quite dark and Tatia decided to climb the tower's boundary wall that she saw ~ which was full of weeds and algae growth thus being quite slippery as well, but thankfully, broken at many places too - and so without much struggle she got to the other side slowly creeping around the tower until she saw a makeshift tarpaulin shed hidden right at its base which was quite surprising and that hinted someone lived there along with some faint muffled sounds coming from inside it too... hoping noone saw her, Tatia then tried peeking in through the material that was torn at places ... and, she saw the childen confirming all her doubts, almost twenty of them tied in a circle with their mouths gagged with tape - Tatia, knew at once, she had to report to the authorities asap...but, would she get out of there?



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NOT AN ECHO

We were in such a place that I knew better than to struggle, for the woods behind our house were thick where not an echo or a sound could escape; and the hill ~ massive with no one around for miles, and the temple on other side of the hill was approachable from the other side only which was quite far and no one ventured this hill as it was rumoured to belong to ancient tribals who had protected and sealed it with chants; and hence, forbidden for new settlers like us, and we strictly adhered to the warning 'not to go into the woods or the hill ever' as it would unleash a bad omen, but, now as I watched my captor who brought me here, I wondered how this will all end...I just decided to play along and not risk my life for he did say he wanted to 'sacrifice' me ~ why, how...only he knew and I didn't want to prod.

He sat across me mumbling something to himself and I could only watch helplessly with my hands still tied behind my back and with me no longer struggling, he had loosened his grip allowing me to sit at some distance from him...what did he want and why was he acting this way I kept wondering, he was always strange and I was even warned when we had started going out for he was new in town and seemed reclusive which did attract me as I liked quiet characters and his reserved demeanour had attracted me and I found myself falling head long for him which he seemed to resist at first but slowly gave in and we ended up making out behind that very temple - my eyes widened at the memory, we had cycled through the other side of the hill...but, weirdly after that one incident he had grown more stranger and ultimately vanished from my life altogether leaving me more shocked than heart-broken, but eventually I came around, met other people and had kind of forgotten.

'Yes, it was easy for you to forget me, ' he seemed to be saying more to himself now as I looked at his sharp features that almost gleamed at the moon light, 'I was never accepted back and became impure forever, and you are responsible for it - only if I sacrifice you now, my sins will be washed off,' he finished angrily.

I watched in horror at what I was hearing my mind flying back to the time when he had shyly told me little about the cult he was following - which was an ancient cult belonging to the tribals and he had asked me to join him too, but I had refused as I didn't believe in such things...he never tried convincing after that as he was always guarded about it, 'I'll sacrifice you at the same place you made me impure, come you bitch,' he was saying and before I could react he had gotten on his feet and came forward grabbing at my arm and pulled me before pushing me through the woods again, 'at the witching hour,' he growled behind.

I walked in front, not sure if this night would have any favourable ending - he wanted to kill me so that he could become pure again and accepted back into his cult - what mess had I landed in, I thought to myself, and with what kind of psycho; I prayed in my mind fervently for help from the heavens because only God could save me now... and just then, a thought did strike me, if he intended killing me he'd take me to that very spot behind the temple, and there would hopefully be people there - atleast a couple even though it was late at night and maybe, I could struggle to escape then, so, for now I complied with his command and walked silently with him pushing me every now and then, and, poking at me roughly with his weapon - a knife, that he had slowly taken out.

The trees were a lot less dense near the temple and I knew we were getting closer as a small trail appeared ( in a somewhat clearer patch ) that would take us to the temple and join the bigger road further down and spotting the trail was like my hopes reviving I had a chance now, and with faint sounds of sirens and footsteps approaching was almost heaven sent, I could hear my mother's faint voice too calling out my name - and I was like... 'here...here...come here' and as though straight out of a movie scene I saw sleauths grabbing at my kidnapper from behind and knocking him down and I was free, running towards my mother whom I saw trying to climb the hill - she had heard my muffled pleas after all which she later confirmed, how she had seen me being dragged out of the house that had her alerting the cops who eventually surrounded the entire hill and set trap.



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THAT ACCENT

After a tiring day, I had barely crashed for the night when I suddenly woke up to the feeling of being pulled out, and before I could scream a hand gagged across my mouth; thus, with me struggling helplessly, something or someone much stronger than I, yanked me off my bed and dragged me outside my room through the corridor with me barely managing a muffled plea to my mother to call the police as we passed her room...which I wasn't sure she even heard and I found myself being dragged to the backyard of our house, the identity of my kidnapper a mystery with me barely able to see him in the dark even though moon-lit night.

With his hands almost biting into my sensitive skin, the kidnapper shut me up with a gruffy yet somewhat familiar accented 'shut up you bitch and stay still' when I tried struggling, and tied both my wrists together behind my back and started pulling me...where had I heard that voice before, I wondered to myself not able to pin-point exactly, but, he seemed familiar ~ at least that voice; he had several layers on, and masked, concealing his identity.

I noticed, he was taking me towards the back of our house where there was a low boundary wall that stood at foot of a hill, and once we reached the spot, he started shoving me up the wall until we were out of our compound and stood on the other side on that hill; he kept dragging me ignoring my 'where are you taking me, why are you doing this,' cries.

I knew that hill was quite isolated, full of foliage...but at the far end of it was a temple and if he took me further near that temple perhaps someone would hear me, I thought; but he stopped suddenly...right in middle of his tracks, with me nearly colliding with his body - it was so familiar...was it him, I thought, no, it couldn't be, he had left long ago... forever.

But my wildest fears came true, no wonder that accent sounded so familiar as I watched him remove his mask - it was him after all... after so many years, I couldnot believe my eyes...even in the dark his features were prominent; he had changed though, gotten more bulkier somehow - 'remember me', he asked, and I could only nod - he was my ex, who had left me all of a sudden years ago, to join some mysterious cult never to return.

So, why was he back...and why did he abduct me from my own house... and, as though reading my thoughts, he slowly drawled in that accent - 'to sacrifice you, you bitch!'
...( to be continued )





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STOP, HE SAID

"Tumi..." his voice, a mere whisper, as he questioned and I could only gaze at his so irresistibly familiar brandy coloured eyes that were locked into mine for what seemed like an eternity, neither of us able to tear away, time seemed to have stopped, and I knew instinctively that this was a mistake so I had to get away...as fast as I could; but, I was held captive, by his eyes - he was still so attractive and his evening stubble made him look ever so more endearing, I never felt this way in a long long time.

A cough, I was so grateful, someone had coughed; and finally, he looked away towards where the sound was coming from...did someone notice us and had coughed intentionally... I didn't know nor I wanted to find out, because, all I knew was I simply had to leave - run infact, far away from there ~ so I turned on my heels and started walking fast ~ blindly almost to wherever my feet would take me - I didn't care, I just kept walking not wanting to hear the 'stop' he said, from behind that I was sure, I heard.

I could not stop, not now...with all kinds of feelings pouring out from within; feelings I had thought were long dead...I had to get away fast and as though my feet had suddenly grown wings I fled towards the bus I could see at a distance through my now blurry-visioned eyes, where did the tears come from all of a sudden, I was angry at myself, as streams of it seemed to have been unleashed and started pouring down my cheeks.

I got up the first bus I saw, not fully sure where it was headed - I'd figure it out later, I thought to myself ~ for getting out of there was most important now and I was glad the bus was slowly starting to move while I was totally unware what had happened behind; that he had hurriedly ushered his folks into a cab and was instructing the driver to follow the bus.

I took the tissues out and wiped the tears off my cheeks ~ oh what an embarrasement, these, I thought, sniffing into the white tissues that I then crumpled into my hands and looked out the bus window where I sat... grateful it had moved out quite a distance now, only to see a cab slowly approaching it and driving parallel by its side; and he, he looked out of his passenger side window trying to get hold of my attention with his lips mouthing a 'stop' - no, my mind screamed, I couldnot stop, not now, not ever.

I shut the window and tried not to look out anymore; not at him...he had asked to stop, and I would never do it - stopping meant disaster ~ for my heart, for him...for his family ...so many lives were involved; stopping meant unlocking something that was long dead - or perhaps, not so dead after all - considering all the emotions I was going through... I prayed for the bus to speed up, and thankfully, once it crossed the channel and got to the highway it did indeed, leaving the cab far behind, and him, slowly instructing the driver ~ a new address.



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THE NEW RAKHI SAWANT THAT I MET

I generally avoid watching Rakhi Sawant videos that keep flooding the internet, because, well...they are just crap...with her forever yapping nonsense just for publicity sake ( nothing sane or serious ever )...but...as they say ~ 'love her, hate her, you just cannot ignore her'. 'Cannot escape her' would be the correct term as she'd somehow slither into our social media feeds one way or the other doing crazy antics in front of the paparazzi as that seems to be her sole motive. If watching crap is your ideal way to do time pass, watching her on youtube videos can serve that purpose fully. A recent video podcast of hers on Rahul Mahajan's channel chanced upon my feeds and I ended up watching till the end. There was so much 'bakchodi' that I kept laughing throughout uncontrollably. It was late night almost at 11.30pm; everyone was asleep and I was laughing like crazy. I never heard so much crazy stuff at one go, continuous. So many crass, adult, non-veg stuff too that Rakhi Sawant blabbered via her crappy jokes shamelessly. Ufff...that video...interview or whatever it was - was insane. So, much so...that I actually ended up dreaming about Rakhi Sawant that night. Of course, it felt real...until I woke and realised it was a dream. Phew @madness!

So, I was walking the lanes of Bombay's famous bollywood and the who's who and passed by Rakhi Sawant's palatial house. As I stood near the huge impenetrable gates, I saw the diva herself approaching. She told me she'd take me to her home. I followed her. Instead of guiding me inside that humongous flashy house, she instead stepped on the narrow dirt lane that went behind. After walking for some time, we reached what could be described as a 'modest' looking much-smaller house made of low cost materials. This was her real home, she declared. The other one though she owned it was just a facade, 'for showoff', for the outside world. But, this was where her heart lied. She took me inside and told me to sit. I saw an old man instructing something to two children of perhaps seven and ten years old. He was her uncle, she said. She then excused herself, telling she needed to change and went inside. The man took over and told me that she'll be back after she freshened up. I asked if these children were his. He said no, that they were Rakhi's. Her own children. I was surprised because Rakhi Sawant didn't have any children as per her own interviews.

I saw a lady enter the room. The man said, Rakhi is back, talk to her now. He proceeded to take the children to another room to keep away their toys and prepare them to study. I looked at this new woman with surprise. She looked nothing like Rakhi Sawant I had accompanied earlier. She had no make up and was very pretty. And most of all, there was not an iota of artificiality in her appearance or in what she spoke. Her voice was sweet, soft and so pleasing almost like music so unlike the regular voice that we often heard on TV. She told me, this was her real life, her happiness was with her children and living a simple, peaceful life behind that curtain of glitz and glamour. The children...I asked, who/where was their father. Her face suddenly turned sad. She said it was the saddest chapter of her life.

The uncle re-entered the room and joined in our conversation. He said, Rakhi should move on now, start truly living. He then proceeded to add that there was this neighbourhood man who was very good at heart and caring, and, would be a very good choice for her. Rakhi interrupted, that he was just a good man who was fond of her kids and brought them gifts everyday without fail, even during bad weathers. But the uncle replied, he loved their mother too, and he kept coming because it was also his excuse to see her. Rakhi blushed at this piece of information. Maybe, she said, maybe if he says something then she'd consider. A smile lit in her uncle's face, 'so dono side se ladoo phut rahe hai', he exclaimed happily. Rakhi nodded shyly. This was such a different Rakhi Sawant coy and simple, and, I was glad to see things working out for her atlast.

And then...I woke up. Sometimes what you see and hear when awake does impact your brain, and, affect your dreams, I realised. Lol :o


the podcast that triggered my dream...




❤❀❤

SHED MEMORIES!

I saw her, laughing and chatting with her co-passengers, looking radiant exactly as I had seen in her pictures, and, I instantly knew, if she was here, he'd not be far - he was somewhere in the train coach too although I hadn't spotted him yet; but, with every second as my emotions got suddenly stirred by the very thought of him I knew I had to see him, just once - no, I no longer felt anything for him, not after knowing he had married ( and also had children ), but the yearn was still there just to see him once.

We had parted ways almost three dacades back, but, I was always his first choice his high school love - and I was unknowingly possessive of that fact; I was the one whom he had madly chased for months on end, I was the one whom he had first proclaimed his feelings for and made his vows to - no, we were not married, but, he had still vowed to be by my side always yet, it was me who had thrown it all away; and, it was because I left that she had entered his life - so, I'd always be someone special for him, and he, for me.

But, don't get me wrong, I no longer want him in my life - not in that way anyway; it was just a fleeting feeling creeping up inside something I could not describe... I just wanted to see him close, once - see how he looked or had become after so many years; also, the fact that I knew he was present in the train, the yearn only grew so I started looking for him, went to where his wife was sitting, in their compartment - but, he wasn't there.

I decided to wait till we got to our destination and it was when I finally saw him from a distance as he unloaded their luggage with his wife still chatting excitedly by his side she was lovely ~ no wonder they were still married...I could have been in her place if I hadn't let him go... was it a little 'envy' that I felt...maybe, but I knew it was just a passing feeling...not something I really wanted cos' I was in a happy space of life too; but still, I had to see him...and perhaps, just say a hello...after all we did have so many memories together...those that can never be erased, those that made us into what we had become.

I looked through the bushes, as I observed them sitting on few benches near the platform perhaps waiting for their cab, an unusual string tugging at my heart as I saw him look into his mobile, patiently hearing his wife's chatter too simultaneously, while also occasionally nodding at his other co-passengers who were travelling with him... and, merely looking at him stirred so many feelings in me... he had gained weight and looked quite different, no longer the boy I knew, he was a grown man now, with responsibilites; I knew this was my only chance, to walk up to him for we may never meet again.

I saw him briefly walking away from the others talking to someone on phone, and, I rushed... this was it, I thought..I had to go up to him now and so I went hurriedly to the trees where he was standing against, close..closer...something caught his attention as I approached and he looked towards his group; I was standing nearly in front of him now, with just a tree-branch separating us, the rustle of the leaves though made him look back in a startle...and then, he saw me ~ he froze as our eyes met...'tumi' he barely whispered... questioned... thousands of memories shed eons ago, came flooding back.





❤❀❤Read second part - Here | This post is for SixSentence ( Image Copyright – Google )

CALL ME SONAM!

It was quite late, and I was exhausted and very hungry too; so, I wondered about looking for a place to sit and eat the tiffin I carried, something I should have done at noon itself... anyhow, I finally found myself a corner in a small shack and sat on its bench beginning to munch on my food, mindful to buy something from the shack owner as I was using her space...in the end, I paid some extra tip too for the bananas she sold, but, she didn't give any extra piece except the ones I purchased, phew, I thought as I then started to walk towards the nearby railway station in a hurry - I had a train to catch.

It was so late, that my train would come any minute; but to go to the platform meant I had to take the foot-over-bridge - I just didn't have the time for it, so, I decided to cross the tracks on foot ~ a risky feat but often done by some daredevils in order to save time; I sprinted through the tracks hoping no guard caught sight of me during my err-illegal stunt and praying no train ran me down; I did manage to hop on the platform just in the nick of time before the train came, I didn't try to see its name or number ~ simply jumped right in.

The train was packed as it was the last train, and boy was I glad I could catch it after all; but, when it bypassed my station only then did I reaize that I had caught the wrong train ( not the one to Vijaypath, my town ) oh - no, I thought, how would I get back now, it'd take me till morning to get any train back home or even office, my whole day will be wasted traveling; I cursed myself for not looking out for the train's name before getting in and so so regretted taking the short-cut method which had only landed me in a newer mess.

I sat helpless, as the train passed through various stations without stopping barring a few, and curved up the twisted mountains in a zig-zag manner to its final destination; oh well...I thought, might as well resign to what fate had in store for me that night, and try board the first train back, if there was any, from my new destination now; and finally, after enduring a long journey for hours, the train slowly crawled to a halt at its final stop - and I rushed to the booking counter...which to my dismay was unusually crowded even at this late hour.

My turn came after a long wait as the lady in the counter with a pen stuck behind her ear, seemed quite disinterested in dealing with so many customers and kept doing her own personal work ignoring everyone, only to be called again and again with a 'ma'am ma'am' which seemed to infuriate her further as she would turn her head insisting with a "call me Sonam"; she barely listened to anyone and only announched to catch train in the morning when it'd arrive, giving a time...but no guarantee ~ that it'd leave exactly then!

To my relief, the train did start leaving the station in the early hours of dawn when it was still dark and I was the first to hop in followed by the huge crowd of waiting passengers; but, as fate would have it, that train would take an even longer route and would leave me in some other station altogether and I'd have to catch yet another train again ( as there was no direct train and it was the only one that operated in those mountains ) to reach my office or even home if I was lucky...shrugging to myself, I just decided to surrender to fate.





❤❀❤ This post is for SixSentence ( Image Copyright – Google )

THE RING

''Thou shalt enter into holy matrimony only with the noble man we decide and approve; and one who can afford all the gold and silver in this planet, not one who made this useless ring of some cheap metal,'' the heiress's father thundered when he discovered her fondness for the blacksmith's young son, who had hammered a piece of scrap metal and shaped it into a ring and had slipped it on her finger ~ one she was flaunting around the castle happily.

''But father, I'm so in love with him and I see and wish only him to be my future suitor and husband; please donot be so harsh on us, he has been working hard and loves me so..., he'll do anything to keep me happy, please father...'' the heiress pleaded, wishing with all her heart her father would understand her emotions and relent.

''You are a princess my darling, imagine the shame you'll bring to this family when all the royalties miles around finds out of your poor choice; you'll leave us with no respect in the society...come here, let me remove that damned thing...it has been an eyesore and doesn't suit your dainty fingers,'' and with that, the heiress's father snatched the ring off her finger and flung it out of the castle window...till it fell several feet deep down below in the rocky cliffs...a place no one would dare to go.

Once a loving father who obliged to all her wishes, the heiress could no longer recognise the monster he had suddenly become especially when she defied his disapproval of her love and kept meeting her lover against her father's wishes and finally one day, no longer able to take it anymore she eloped with the love of her life...only to be hunted down with her lover's throat ruthlessly slit and the lifeless body thrown into the very cliffs to meet up with the ring he had so lovingly carved for her.

Shocked for life, the heiress shut herself in her room forever, wept for her lost love for years on end...till one day, at midnight, when it was all dark and quiet, she stealthily crept to the same castle window and jumped to meet her deceased lover, her frail body crashing against the unforgiving hard rocks far below....few years later the father too died, a sad old man with many regrets and no heir to the riches; the castle slowly crumbled into ruins.


''How much further, we've already come so far and that castle above was a disaster, nothing's left of it except the overgrowth, and these rocks are sure to break our necks any moment,'' Harry was fed up with himself for following his stubborn lady love in this trip who had just by simply seeing a picture online, on a whim, demanded to visit it asap, as though, she went into some trance as soon as she saw it with an urgent ''We have to go here Harry, we must...'' and here they were ~ in this ancient godforsaken place with him following her cluelessly...till he saw her stop and pick up something from the rocks - an old rusty metal ring.... ''Remember Harry, remember?'' she asked....and slowly, he did.





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THE EXCURSION - 3 - THE SACRIFICE

We all huddled together in a circle and did a quick head-count as it seemed one of us was missing, and re-counted with each one of us looking at each other aghast and in shock, confirming one was surely missing so we decided to stick together and hunt for our friend going from room to room, thinking, if we stuck together we'd be safe and we still had some of the sacks ( of scorpions ) with us incase we encountered any black mass or shadows.

Racing from room to room we called out our friend's name but there was no answer, with only our voices echoing the castle grounds and the cold wind blasting at our faces; we had to find him fast, as soon it'd be dark and we wanted to leave the place at any cost - this excursion we've had more adventures than we could handle and had enough to last a lifetime - we just had to get back to civilization, but we had to find our friend - oh where was he, what happened to him, did that black cloud take him - something surely happened.

Someone suggested to find the watchman as maybe, he could help us he certainly had to know the answers; so, we went to the cabin where the watchman was previously, but to our dismay his room was locked from outside - where did he go, we panicked, what would we do now; we couldn't leave without our friend - this trip was turning to be a nigthmare now.

The sky went slowly dark and the mood was omnious with the tall trees seeming to have grown even taller and denser than we had seen before almost as if the entire forest was getting ready to squeeze our lives out - we were scared and didn't know whom to call for help as our phones barely had any signal and the batteries too at almost zero; on top of that the watchman who was our only hope seemed to have vanished altogether.

We saw a small trail behind the watchman's cabin and decided to follow it quite nervous not knowing where it'd lead, it was dark and narrow with tall bushes on both side scratching at our skin, we went on nevertheless hoping to find the watchman ( or anyone for that matter, we didn't care ) - we just had to find someone somehow so kept walking till we finally saw a small shed and something glowing on the other side - we crept near till we heard voices coming from that side - chants, hymns, low humming music...and then, as we went round we saw him the watchman and to our horror our friend too stood in front, tied to a pole.

We stood transfixed in horror, barely breathing as the watchman as though in some trance danced around our friend with a sword in his hand and we knew at once our friend's life was in grave danger ( he was being sacrificed ), and, we had to save him so giving knowing glances at each other we got to work; we approached slowly and one of us took the sack we carried, we had to be quick else we wouldn't succeed, as the sack also had scorpions in it but we had to do it - stealthily one taking all the risks flung the opening of the sack around the watchman's head ( from back ) and quickly tied it, with some of the crawlies spilling out, but the ones still inside did the job, as the watchman yelled and struggled in pain...we quickly untied our friend all dazed by what was happening ( but certainly happy to be back in the fold ) and ran out of the ghastly place as far and away as we could.



❤❀❤Read first part - Here and second part - Here! This post is for SixSentence ( Image Copyright – Google )

THE EXCURSION - 2 - FINDING SCORPIONS

We had split in two groups, one had to get to those scorpions and the other would continue to explore the castle rooms in depth and both would be an adventure in themselves as finding those scorpions was no mean feat either ~ no one knew where they'd be as they kept shifting their hideout in groups - yes, they didn't remain in the same place for long and could be anywhere which made it a challenge to find them in such a huge castle; but, find them we must as they were the only antidote to an entity-attack we were told - the entities could only be repelled with a special scorpio fart mix which was possible only if we found the entire colony, thus, we got our gear and headed our different ways and very soon the screams and squeals echoing from the other group from some corner of the castle indicated that they might be in danger and heightened our urgency in reaching those scorpions fast.

We had hardly slept the night before, and although, it was day time now, with sun light barely reaching the castle grounds, it was quite dark and gloomy that we had to use flash lights as we went from room to room with not much success, till we reached the dungeon sections led by a long hidden tunnel with overgrowth and vines, and, we decided to go in as it could be the only hope we had ( for we were told scorpions loved to dwell in dark areas ), thus, pepping ourselves with encouraging words so as not to get creeped out by what we were about to embark upon and not too sure if those tunnels held more than just mere scorpions - the very thought enough to frighten the hell out of anyone, we took step after step cautiously inside the tunnel that led to a labyrinth of more tunnels ~ darker and deeper.

After several feet deep inside one of the tunnels, when one us winced out loud in pain, we got alarmed that maybe we had finally reached the spot and pointed our flashlights frantically especially when we saw the first scorpion near one of our legs - we were scared. we were excited a mixed emotion really and hoped that we'd soon get to what we were searching for, when suddenly a wild cry 'look' made us all focus our flashlights instantly into one direction at a wall, where to our astonishment not just a few, but maybe, a couple thousands ( if not more ) of these creepy crawlies crawled all over each other - there were so many of them that we were frightened but had to do what we had to do and soon got our sacks out and sticks hoping to collect as many as we could inside, again hoping and praying all the while not to get bitten in return till our sacks were full and we could head back to sanity out of these tunnels - we had enough to exorcise the hell out of the entities, so, we were mighty satisfied too on our accomplishment.

In another far end of the castle, the other group was having a tumultous time no less and they hopped from room to room attracting a horde of these entities in turn that were drawn to them like magnets for each room they went in triggered a dark response and something latched on to them that they were unable to shake off, and the numbers only grew adding to their discomfort as these entities were not just frightening but were a mischievous lot, tugging at their clothes and hair, pulling their cheeks...pinching and slapping them at will - disturbed they were so much they had to somehow repel these invisible monsters else they'd be held hostage by these and be haunted forever; they prayed the others had reached to the scorpions and would soon bring them the only antidote; the fearsome entities could only be expelled with the fart mix of the scorpions, a weird but effective remedy they were told.

Our sacks were heavy and we rushed out of the dark tunnel area running towards where the screams were coming from - our friends were in danger and frantically calling out for help from the castle so we ran blindly towards the sounds till we could see them running in the corridors with huge black masses of strange clouds following them; and, it seemed they'd be swallowed by these black mass any moment so we had to do something fast for it looked quite menacing too but we had yet to cross the huge courtyard to reach where they were inside though we were confident enough that we could handle it as we had armed ourselves already with these huge sacks of scorpions inside ( that we were carrying ), and that we must've accumulated enough of the fart mix by now which we required

Finally, we reached the spot where we were standing just opposite to where our other group of friends also now stood, the black mass still enveloping them, my friend's eyes filled with terror hoping we'd help them somehow and get rid of it ( i.e the black mass ) when they saw we had managed to collect the scorpions, but the tricky thing would be how to release the fart mix towards the black mass ( that held the entites within ) without the scorpions attacking our friends so we had to think of something fast until my friend ( from my group ) thought of punching tiny holes into the bags and hurling those towards the black mass that'd release the gas ( but not the scorpions ) out in the open - it was the only way to do it and we hoped it worked with all of us pricking holes into the bags with our safety pins till we could smell a strange odour coming from inside - it was the scorpion's fart mix - and, as the odour grew strong and pungent as all bags were punched with hundreds of tiny holes - we finally saw the black mass getting a whiff of it and slowly dissapearing into thin air after ferocious grunts and growls, and slowing releasing our friends from its grip.



❤❀❤Read first part - Here and third part Here! This post is for SixSentence ( Image Copyright – Google )

THE EXCURSION!

Clear blue skies, the air was crisp when we had left home; the weather just perfect, we were an excited lot - a bunch of bubbly and 'very curious' teens, really looking forward to what was coming - and, it was going to be thrilling for sure as we were assured of a trip with lifetime worth of unexpected and marvellous memories...that we had long awaited for and one that'd be unforgetable for ever.

We had raced past the city a long while ago; and had sprinted past endless expanses of vast open fields lined with green-yellow paddy ( promising what looked like a great harvest soon )...afterwhich we started entering the 'famed' desert patch where rich fertile soil gave away to a sandy terrain with sparse vegetation and which we were told was going to be quite long until the sand would finally disappear and bring us closer to our final destination....it was remote and the desert hinted us that we were going somewhere far far away from the civilization or any living soul for that matter.

After we crossed the desert, we entered a place full of tall shrubs - a shrub forest of sorts...maybe, we were nearing our destination now, we thought, as we watched the long wide gravel road slowly convert into a narrow offbeat trail - it became narrower by the second and the shrubs slowly replaced by tall trees...that only grew taller and taller....until we were driving through what seemed like a thick dense forest where the sun barely penetrated and it waa dark and gloomy, we could barely see anything with the atmosphere suddenly having changed too - lot cooler; it seemed we were in middke of a movie set.

Was it a trick of the eye, because, where we had reached looked surreal - the dense forest had cleared and a huge stone castle revealed itself that was huge, tall and very big, the stones several feet wide blocks in themselves; and as we entered, the fortified castle only grew massive and surrounded us from all the sides engulfing - it looked quite deserted too for a tourist spot, until, we entered the third of the huge gates when we saw the watchman walking briskly towards us, carrying a lamp that flickered and lit his eyes up as he smiled ( he didn't seemed to have seen humans often around in that place ) welcoming and greeting each one of us and telling we'd have a memorable time in the castle.

It was already dark and we followed the watchman as he led us to our quarters for the night and before leaving when we asked him if all the rumours and stories we heard about the place were true or not in the internet, the glint in his eyes went quite mischievous before turning mysterious, replying with a brief 'you'll all soon find out,' leaving us more excited than we already were - this was going to be one hell of an excursion it seemed and we changed quickly and re-grouped again for dinner not wanting to waste a single minute ~ we wanted to explore it all that night itself; although, we were told to relax and that the mysteries would unfold themselves - as each room in the castle had a story to tell.

As we went about in the night, we approached another set of rooms and heard someone crying... we tried to spot the exact room and pushed open the door where the noise was loudest when we saw that a couple was already occupying it ( they were tourists too )... they hadn't noticed us but were looking straight instead at a mosquito net in far end corner of the room, where, the net moved along with the cries as though someone was inside ( there was no one and we had heard tales about it that it cried more if someone tried to lift the net and even sang on request if it was in a good mood - it was unbelievable that we were already starting to experience the stories we heard so much and requested it to sing; and, the 'being' sang much to our surprise and delight; it was such fun ( scary too as the 'being' could get violent too till it got calmed by some scorpion fart mix ) - we had to hunt for those scorpions now lest we angered the entities!



❤❀❤Read second part - Here and third part Here This post is for SixSentence ( Image Copyright – Google )

HOLDING BACK THE TEARS!

The corridor was long, but, that was not what intrigued me...I was awestruck instead by the carvings that adorned its ceilings; almost 3D as though reaching down to me, life-sized and life-like too ~ mesmerizing me and almost transporting me back to the era it belonged, somewhere far deep in history - I was excited and fascinated just like a young child.

So engrossed was I in capturing the beauty of it all that I was unawares of the time that flew past and didn't notice where the corridor ended and when the open skies took over, the carvings kept on appearing though; as though carved into the huge white mountains that stood vast right in front and that disappeared into the skies - the carvings here were much bigger, more vivid inviting me into their enchanting world...it wasn't a mere tourist spot; I was in someplace else altogether, not aware that it was already getting quite late.

When it was announced closure time, only then did it hit home that I was yet to book a place for the night; a thing I never forgot except this one time especially when I was in foreign locations like this...so, I immediately tried contacting the hotels around...there were none, all booked...I was advised to try the ones further away from where I stood.

It was already dark now, and after enquiring some locals I got to know of a motel, but, they informed that they had no electricity currently ( because of a storm )...so it'd take some time to fix everything...I was advised to wait where I was and that I'd be informed when they were ready; thus. I strolled about, in the dark evening...watching everyone go home except I had nowhere to go; a wonderful day was fast turning into a frighful night; I tried not to loose hope and kicked at the stones...somehow tried passing my time while I waited.

After a while, I stood inside what looked like a large police compound, and thought to myself that I'd be safe here atleast till my motel called for me; but, to my utter surprise after sometime I found myself being dragged by one of the officials who pulled at me by my collar, dragged me through the grounds and shoved me outside the far end of the premises into what seemed like a creepy dark deserted alley surrounded by tall trees; my 'crime'...I knew not what; I was now in the dark lane all by myself, scared and lonely, trying my best to hold back my tears - I couldnot afford to be weak or afraid, not now atleast.

I tried to sneak back into the compound, but, the gate was locked and the walls tall untill I walked around and reached a spot where some bricks had fallen off leaving a small gap; however, I was not quite sure I should enter...so, with an unsure mind, gingerly and trying not to make any noise under my feet and controlling my breath, I crept till the building where from outside I could hear the officials laugh - they seemed all drunk and sinister...I was not confident anymore which was more scary - the place that was supposed to protect or the dark empty lane outside...meekly, I retreat.



❤❀❤This post is for SixSentence ( Image Copyright – Google )