The Secrets of the Elements

Another Mystery

Advika shut the door of her bedroom and sat on the bed. "Try to talk to Grantha. Wow," she said. "How?"

She glanced at her vision board on the wall and closed her eyes. Grantha, she thought. Please talk to me. How do we go ahead with this? Grantha, please, help.

Her body flinched involuntarily as the bag, which had been resting on the floor, suddenly shifted and caught her attention. Curiosity piqued, she opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on the bag. After a brief moment of hesitation, she approached it, lowered herself to the ground, and opened it. To her surprise, the book titled "Queen Bhilangana" sprang out from its confines.

Advika's heart skipped a beat, a mixture of awe and trepidation flooding her senses. With trembling lips, she whispered, "Grantha, is it you?"

Leaning closer, she delicately picked up the book, her heart still racing, and her breath unsteady. As she opened its pages, she immersed herself in the words, meticulously absorbing the information they held within. 

~~~~

"What do you mean you saw Dai Ma?" asked Rishi. Daksh took a few deep breaths and shook his head.

"I was in the library upstairs. Then she, actually it was her soul who-"

"Maybe you were just hallucinating," said Daksh. Rutuja looked cross. She folded her arms and raised her eyebrow. "I do know the difference between a hallucination and reality."

She turned to face Rishi and smiled. "Dai Ma showed me a bookshelf. I almost read all the books but, none were anything special."

"Show that shelf to us," he said. Rutuja held his hand and dragged him upstairs to the library. Daksh followed.

~~~~

"This is the shelf," Rutuja stated, positioning herself in front of a peculiar wooden structure. The books resting on it appeared as if they had been carelessly tossed, with many lacking covers.

Rishi observed Rutuja before casually making his way towards the shelf. As he perused the books, he sat down and directed his attention to the lower section. Puzzled, he inquired, "Why are these books in such disarray? Did you remove them and forget to put them back? Although, I don't believe you would do that."

Rutuja shook her head, her expression earnest. "No, Rishi. I assure you; I did not disturb their arrangement. The thing is..." She selected a handful of books, meticulously arranged them, and gingerly returned them to their original spots. To their astonishment, the books, as if imbued with life, repositioned themselves autonomously, effortlessly aligning in an unorderly manner.

Daksh blinked several times and stared at the sky outside. The stars and the moon were shining bright. It reminded him of his mom and his childhood. He closed his eyes and pictured them together. He, his brothers, mom, and dad.

"Weird," said Rishi and got to his feet. He held Rutuja's hand and took her away from the shelf. "Books, Ru, can be dangerous as well."

"What do you mean?" she asked and glanced at Daksh, who was lost in his own thoughts.

"I mean, Ru, we have heard about King Himaqat, haven't we? The black book, white book, Shaktigrantha and all. It is enough to know that books hold immense power, and they can be dangerous too."

She opened her mouth to argue, but Rishi stopped her. "We will come here in the morning."

~~~~

Advika's eyes snapped open as her phone vibrated, jolting her out of her slumber. "Hello?" she mumbled groggily. "Are you still asleep?" Maya's voice practically pierced through the phone. "Have you seen my message? We're leaving soon."

"What-"

Maya had already hung up before Advika could gather her thoughts. She hurriedly grabbed her phone and unlocked it.

We're planning to visit the temple, the forest, and a few other places as mentioned in these books. We'll pick you up at 11.

Advika leaped out of bed, her heart pounding, realizing that it was already 10:30 am. She dashed into the bathroom, to get ready in record time.

~~~~

"What happened?" asked Zarna as she paced across Maya's bedroom. "She was sleeping!" yelled Maya and threw the phone on her bed.

"Relax," said Zarna. "You know Advika. And it's a weekend."

"We are on a goddamn mission!" emphasized Maya and stood in front of one of the mirrors kept in her room. "Why are the other mirrors covered with white cloth?" asked Zarna and stretched her hand to touch it. "No!" Maya almost screamed.

Zarna withdrew her hands at once. "Okay, okay, I won't remove it," she said and sat on the bed. "Oh," she said and reached for her phone in her sling bag.

Maya looked at her and raised her brows. "Ray had asked if we could meet today," she said and unlocked her phone.

"Why?" asked Maya and sat next to her. "Did he want some help? God! Zarna, you didn't tell him about our plan, did you?"

"I'm just saying I have other plans," she said as she typed the message. "Yeah, right. We will tell them, but not now," said Maya and looked at her wristwatch. "I think we should leave."

~~~~

To be continued. . .