(Book 3) Hayden Mackay and The Shaatrumani Stone

12. In Times Past

Pruthvi dropped his sister's clothes back into the trunk and slammed the lid shut. His face was turning red as a brick and eyes looked like they might pop out if his sockets. He adjusted his glasses and contorted his face, trying his best to hide his feelings from me. He wasn't in his best state of mind and I was nervous unable to understand why he was so annoyed. Was this about something I said earlier? May be I shouldn't have blabbed my skepticism to him.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

His lips slightly trembled before he said, "Okay, I don't get it. What possibly can be a reason for Doctor to hide such important things from us?"

"Pruthvi, I am not sure. I was just making a point."

"I know," he said quickly, "But Doctor somehow knew Nazira is living here. And it took seven months for him to tell us?"

"May be Doctor has something else in his mind."

"Don't take his side," he whimpered, "And what the hell is Shourya up to? Why does he always involve so much in our lives? Why is he even hiding Nazira here?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "May be Shashi asked Shourya to hide her here."

He snapped me a death stare that I had the power to explode me. "You are really making me mad."

"Okay, I am sorry. I know I am confusing you," I said, "But don't you think we are really wasting time discussing this unnecessary matter when your sister is right out there? Pruthvi we should be on our way to find Shourya."

"Find where?" he demanded, now in a lower voice, "Do you have any idea where he might have gone? I don't know if you noticed it or not, but the alley across this room is again divided into three smaller alleys."

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes! And it's still middle of the night. Now do you have any other option?"

I looked away, desperately trying to think of an alternative. May be we can get separated and start searching for him individually. But then what if we failed to find each other back? It seemed to be a really simple job-find Nazira and get the hell out of here. I so didn't want to complicate it. I mentally hit my head. I was angry at myself on taking a lot of time in following Shourya when I had the chance.

"We have to have that map," I said.

"Exactly. Atleast one of us should carry it if you are thinking of separation."

I nodded in what I hoped was an assuring manner. "Let's just hope Nazira will be safe with Shourya until we track him down. Okay?"

"I so wish so," he mumbled beneath his breath and stood up to leave the room.

I wasn't being a good friend. I just put him under a lot of pressure, which wasn't my intention at all. Our bags were still down in that secret room and Hardik was the only precious thing I thought we had left behind. I, alongside Pruthvi, was walking hurriedly towards the door and on the way I kept looking at the comforters, bedspread and the torn velvet pillow.

I creased my brows to draw maximum attention to a circular wooden thing beneath the pillow. I gasped aloud unable to contain my hyperactive intuition. I hoped over the comforters and pushed the pillow aside.

There it was-a mahogany circular, arm sized wooden rollers.

"This is it!" Pruthvi exclaimed, standing beside me peeking down over my shoulder. 

My stomach knotted. Without waiting for my growing nerves to calm down, I rolled it open, trying to keep my hands off shivering. I kept rolling it, but the glued light brown colored papers never ceased to end. I suddenly realized that I was gazing down at the detailed life history of a man who lived for about fifty years, and thankfully it was written in the only language I knew. Most parts of the scroll were written in black, and only certain parts of it were written in red with slightly big letters.