Chapter -2 The Man Who Never Came Home
376 Words
Arjun had never known his father.
His mother had always told him that his father died when Arjun was three.
A road accident.
That was all she ever said.
There were no photographs.
No stories.
No relatives who talked about him.
Whenever Arjun asked questions, his mother changed the subject.
After her death, he found almost nothing.
A few clothes.
An old watch.
Some documents.
And a wooden box she had kept locked.
Arjun had never opened it.
Not until that night.
He walked to the cupboard.
The rain continued outside.
He removed the wooden box.
It was covered in dust.
There was no key.
Arjun found a screwdriver and forced the lock.
The lid opened.
Inside was an old notebook.
A silver pendant.
A cassette tape.
And a photograph.
Arjun picked up the photograph.
His hands began shaking.
It was the same six people from the newspaper.
But this photograph was different.
The six students were standing outside Rudra Giri Fort.
And beside them...
was a woman.
Arjun recognized her.
His mother.
He dropped the photograph.
"No."
He picked it up again.
His mother was unmistakable.
Young.
Maybe twenty-four.
Standing beside Arjun's father.
Behind them was the fort.
And carved above the entrance was a symbol.
A circle surrounding an eye.
Arjun stared at it.
Something inside his memory moved.
A sound.
A smell.
A voice.
A distant bell.
Then suddenly—
he remembered a hand.
His father's hand.
Holding his own tiny hand.
They were walking through darkness.
His father was saying something.
Arjun couldn't hear the words.
Then his mother screamed.
The memory disappeared.
Arjun fell backward.
His breathing became rapid.
He opened the notebook.
The first pages contained handwritten notes about the fort.
Historical dates.
Maps.
Ancient symbols.
Measurements.
Names.
Then, halfway through the notebook, the handwriting changed.
The letters became uneven.
Jagged.
Almost frantic.
One sentence had been written repeatedly:
THE KING WAS NOT BURIED.
Again.
THE KING WAS NOT BURIED.
Again.
THE KING WAS NOT BURIED.
And again.
Until the entire page was covered.
Arjun turned the page.
There was only one sentence.
If I disappear, never let Arjun enter the fort.
Arjun froze.
He looked at the date written beneath it.
Thirty years earlier.
The night Arjun was born.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD