“Really?”
“Yes. In Germany. I might even have a video of it. Let me search.”
“It is fine”, Rehann spoke without any expression on his face.
Shayna soon entered the hall and came near both of them. “My associates have spoken with the Sri Lankan authorities and the Indian Embassy. Flying there will not be a big deal. We’ll have to leave tomorrow morning though if we have to meet Harsha Jayaratne’s schedule”, she said while looking around.
“He has locked himself in the room”, Rehann felt an obligation to say it.
Shayna grew worried and surprised at the same time.
“Don’t worry. He is a drama queen. He’ll be fine”, Rehann continued.
Shayna nodded her head understandably and turned back to exit to her room, leaving a very confused Rehann and a shyly laughing Aanya behind.
Chapter 6: Lanka
They landed at Anuradhapura, the capital of Sri Lanka’s North Central province at around eleven in the morning. Anuradhapura, had the closest airport to the city of Mannar, where a delegation sent by Harsha Jayaratne was waiting to escort them. Rehann and Aanya had slept through their journey as they stayed up talking with each other the entire night. Shayna sat opposite to Aarav, yet they never spoke through the entirety of their journey. Shayna had her laptop out and was busy working the entire time, while Aarav had his hands joined and the fingertips of his index fingers placed on the tip of his nose. He paused a couple of times as he drew out some notes, searched something on his phone and resumed his posture to think again. Shayna, glanced at him a couple of times but he remained unbothered by her presence and ignored her entirely. Ignoring someone, that was something he was exceptionally good at. Aarav shook Rehann violently as he woke him up from his deep slumber when they landed while Aanya had managed to get up on her own.
They got out of Shayna’s jet and were immediately greeted by the pleasant Sri Lankan weather. The delegates from WHO escorted them out and the four of them sat in a black SUV as they took off with a fleet of five cars. Rehann was again feeling the urge to sleep as they went past the city. Aarav was busy in his own thoughts, Shayna was continuously busy on her mobile and Aanya was finding it awkward as no one was willing to speak.
“It is a beautiful city”, she finally utered to break the silence. “I have never been to Sri Lanka before. Look at the people outside. They all look so happy, so cheerful.”
“Probably because they all had a cozy full night’s sleep”, Rehann provided his input.
“You know what I realized last night Rehann?” Aanya continued. “You could be a good stand-up comic if treasure hunting doesn’t work out.”
Both Rehann and Shayna chuckled a bit in agreement.
“Wait! Is that a stupa?” Rehann asked, opening his eyes wide.
“Yes”, Aarav replied as they passed by a giant red dome. “That’s Abhayagiri Vihara, one of the most prominent Buddhist stupa in Sri Lanka. It was founded sometime in the second century BC, but had flourished ingeniously in the next hundred years and became a source of attraction for many scholars throughout the world. This city, Anuradhapura, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It was the ancient capital of Sri Lanka and is also declared a world heritage site. It is sacred to the Buddhists. There are many monasteries and ancient architectures from the Sri Lankan civilization here. Emperor Ashoka himself is believed to have propagated Buddhism to Sri Lanka, sending his son Mahinda Bhikku when this city was still the capital of the country. It is only fulfilling that we are passing through this ancient place on our own quest to find Ashoka’s secret treasure.”
“A complete circle indeed”, Rehann said, looking at the massive stupa for the last time as they passed by it.
“You are a walking talking encyclopedia, aren’t you?” Aanya asked him with a smile.
Shayna glanced at him once before continuing her work and Aarav laughed it off as they soon left the city of Anuradhapura and headed for Mannar.
They arrived at Mannar in about two hours. It was a quiet town located by the sea on Mannar Island, and the capital of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. The town was popular for its Baobao trees, an ancient Portuguese fort, and was dominated by various Hindu temples and churches. Dark clouds had started enveloping the sky over Mannar and the waves in the sea were increasing their ferocity. Rehann and Aanya had fallen asleep just after they had left Anuradhapura. Shayna, by then, had stopped working, opened the window towards her side, and gazed out of the car at the picturesque beauty of the beaches as a strong sea breeze played with her hair. Aarav was looking out from the other side, admiring a few kids jumping off a cliff into the sea playfully. Their entourage moved towards the direction of that cliff, as they parted from the main road and took a road less travelled, up, where a single, ancient structure greeted them. The cars stopped before it and an elderly woman came out to greet them, accompanied by a few men. Shayna recognized her at once and got out of the car to meet her. Aarav had to wake up Rehann and Aanya before getting out himself.
“Ms. Maheshwari, I hope I didn’t bother you with such a long ride”, she spoke as she greeted Shayna.
“Of course not Mrs. Jayaratne. After observing the beauty of this town, I am glad that you did”, she spoke with a genuine smile. “This is Mr. Aarav Kohrrathi. He has been tremendously resourceful on our quest so far.”
Aarav went ahead and shook Mrs. Jayaratne’s hand, observing her eyes cautiously.
“This is his companion, Mr. Rehann Vrathiah”, Shayna continued. “And this is Ms. Aanya Vashishtha, the daughter of Mr. Harish Vashishtha.”
“I am so sorry for your loss”, Mrs. Jayaratne spoke slowly in her old gravelly voice as she shook Aanya’s hands. “Come in. Please. All of you”, she invited them into her house and instructed her men to stand out. She was short in her stature, hardly five feet tall and had to carry herself with the help of a stick. Grey hair played with a few black ones on her head, and wrinkles marred her face, symbolizing her experience. She wore a thick set of glasses and had a hunchback. She let her guests observe her ancient house, its architecture and its colors, before she started speaking slowly. “You must be wondering why I stay in such a shabby house.”
“No. This house clearly was built around the time of the Dutch occupation here after the Portuguese were routed out. An architecture like this on a cliff overlooking the sea, surrounded by beaches and palm trees, what else could anybody ask?” Aarav replied admiring the history behind her house.
“I really like this one”, she spoke to Shayna and pulled Aarav’s cheek as she erupted in a fit of laughter. “This is my ancestral home. It belonged to my father before it was illegally taken up by a lawyer from Jaffna. Overnight, my family came to living on the road. My parents had to work as laborers in a small mill and I had to wash dishes in many houses in the town. My mother soon got sick and I started stealing money from the houses I worked in to meet her medical expenses. But one day, I was caught. Mr. Jayaratne, a local doctor, found me stealing money from his wallet and scolded me like anything. But once I told him why I was doing that horrible crime, he decided to treat my mother for free and bore her expenses while he sent me away to Chennai, it was Madras back then, to study medicine and then law. Once I became a lawyer, I fought the man who took our house and won the case against him. I brought my parents back to this place and watched them live happily till they passed away. I also married Mr. Jayaratne’s son, the love of my life”, she said with a smile as she led them to a room where a man was lying on a bed.
“What happened to him?” Aanya asked her, concerned.
“He contracted ALS some time back”, she continued speaking as she slowly moved her hands over his head and looked at him with love. “I think I love him even more than I used to do thirty-seven years ago when we got married.”
Her guests were moved.
�
�� She again let them out into the hall where juices and fruits were placed for them. “I had to ask the attendants to leave considering the matter we are supposed to discuss”, Mrs. Jayaratne continued. “Although I should ask you, are you assured that the other three masters have been murdered?”
“We are positively sure about this fact”, Aanya spoke.
“This is bad”, she continued. “I was informed about this secret the day I took the office. To be honest, I have to tell you that it took me a more than a month to digest the fact that there actually could be a secret that has survived this long. And now, someone could kill me just because I know it.”
“Don’t worry. The Bulls don’t know it yet that you are a master. They never laid hands on Ms. Maheshwari’s book so they cannot possibly know about you”, Aarav replied. Shayna looked at him as he started reciprocating the same cold formality which she was adopting herself towards him.
“Very well then. I think you will need my book too.”
“Yes. That would be very helpful”, Aarav replied curtly.
Mrs. Jayaratne slowly went to her room and took her time to come back out carrying an emerald color book with ‘Book of Medicine’ written on its face. This book was comparatively shorter than the other two that they already had.
“But if you say that the three of the masters were murdered, and Ms. Vashishtha and Ms. Maheshwari are here, that just leaves the master I am supposed to watch over as the suspect?” she muttered in her soft voice.
“We think that whoever this seventh master is, is the one behind this conspiracy”, Aarav replied.
“But that is the case”, Mrs. Jayaratne continued. “He cannot be the killer.”
“What?” the four of them uttered in unison.
“Mrs. Jayaratne, look. Three masters have been murdered and Mr. Vashishtha took his own life, leaving his heir Aanya as the master. Now Aanya herself came to me with the hunt, so we can rule out that she is the evil master. Ms. Maheshwari is here too and she herself was attacked by the Bulls, so we can say that she isn’t the evil master either. And since the murders started happening even before you took the office of WHO, we can assume that you are not the evil one. So whoever, the seventh master is, has to be the man who is conspiring to claim the treasure and betray the cause of The Ring of the Seven”, Aarav replied.
“I think you are mistaken”, she argued as she opened the last page of the Book of Medicine. “He cannot be.”
The Healer, who is the bearer of the Book of Medicine, shall fulfill all of his duties as stated above to the best of his abilities. The last of which is to keep a watch over The Administrator, who bears the Book of Strategy.
The Prime Minister of India.
None of them were able to move. They found it hard to find their breaths. Aarav and Shayna finally looked at each other, understanding the graveness of the situation. Rehann had his mouth wide open as he read the text again to make sure that his vision wasn’t playing with him. Aanya sat down on her chair and held her head.
“The Book of Strategy, just like the Book of Medicine, is passed on to the head of the institution then?” Shayna spoke.
“Yours isn’t?” Mrs. Jayaratne countered, surprised.
“This is impossible”, Aarav spoke to himself, getting furious and stepping a little back. “This cannot be. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I cannot believe this. The Prime Minister himself?” Aanya uttered, looking at Aarav, horrified.
“Something doesn’t add up”, Aarav continued in denial. “He cannot be the one who is ordering the hits. He cannot be the one who is murdering masters. He cannot be the one who is conspiring to get to the treasure.”
“But the men who attacked us; they were all ex-army men, right?” Shayna spoke.
“I cannot believe this”, Aarav denied again. “If a man of his stature was doing this. Something would have transpired. Something could have given him away. He is the Prime Minister of our country. He is always in the public eye. He cannot be the one.”
“He has the Book of Strategy. He could have planned this all out”, Shayna argued. “The men were hired from navy and the Border Security Forces. He clearly has the power to create a special team of assassins which moonlights as the Broods of the Bulls.”
Aarav wasn’t willing to accept this. Maybe because he truly believed that the Prime Minister of India wasn’t the secret evil master; or maybe because he didn’t want to imagine the efforts it would take to bring down a man who was that powerful. “I need to think. I have to clear my mind”, Aarav said as he turned back and left the house.
Rehann settled on the chair opposite to Aanya and held his head too. “But I voted for him”, he cried.
Shayna started speaking with Mrs. Jayaratne to gain a little more insight about the matter.
Aarav had walked down the cliff and reached a quiet, deserted beach which was hardly a ten minutes’ walk away. He settled down in the clear beige sand and watched the sea growing more and more restless from far, only a single fishing boat floating in the distance. The weather by that time had changed drastically. Dark clouds welled up over his head, making the afternoon look like the sky right after sunset. The pleasant sea breeze had grown stronger making the waves rise much more than they normally would.
A storm was coming.
Aarav darted his eyes as far as he could. His mind was in turmoil, a thousand thoughts, a thousand possibilities rippling through it; and he found them hard to control. He soon started taking in deep breaths and closed his eyes, trying to shift his focus to clear his cluttered brain. He felt the sea breeze against his skin, he heard the cracking of the tall palm trees swaying with it. He also breathed the pleasant fragrance of the sea and the sand, calming him down and helping him meditate. He stood like that for some time. How long? He didn’t know, but it was long enough that when he opened his eyes again, he found Shayna settled right next to him.
“I never took you for a man who meditates”, she spoke while glancing at the dancing waves.
“I am not the man you think I am”, he replied carelessly.
She glanced at him and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She stared at his dark, silky hair, flowing back effortlessly with the wind. She also admired his unwavering focus, as he stared at the sea, his mind asking him a thousand questions. “You know, it has been so long that I have sat at a beach and just looked at the sea without a care in the world. When I was young, I enjoyed this. I relished and admired the nature in its finest form. In fact, I cannot remember the last time when I saw a sight this beautiful.”
“Some people admire nature much better when others are not speaking”, Aarav uttered coldly.
“What have I done to you?” she asked him, unable to believe his arrogance.
“That is the question I have been asking myself. What have you done to me indeed?”
“I was courteous to you. I welcomed you in my home. I treated you in the best way that I could… perhaps even more. Then why are you so irritable? Why are you so mad all the time?”
Aarav took in a deep breath and then turned back towards her. “You know that in my previous hunts, I had faced danger and I had faced bullets. Yet I was never scared of continuing on my journey. Because I was always at the top of my game. I was always a step ahead of everyone else. I could predict the next hurdle coming and I was prepared for it. But I hardly know what has happened to me now. I’m scared for the first time. I’m afraid of the uncertainty at every step. I don’t know what will happen next. My brain is not helping me.”
“It is alright Aarav. It only makes you a human if you fear something evil.”
“But that is the thing. I don’t want to”, he spoke furiously. “I have always appreciated this mind of mine. It automatically identifies the facts which pertains to my field and saves it subconsciously. The facts that I might have heard in a movie
or read in a newspaper article. And then it all comes back like an instinct, like a hunch, as to what I should do next. My mind automatically links the patterns, it connects the dots and serves me with the end result, so I don’t have to waste hours thinking about the same task. I have always been able to trust my intuition. But it has abandoned me now.”
“It will be fine Aarav. Everything will get better. We will find a way out of this misery”, she said placing her hand over his arms.
“The most powerful man of the country is chasing us. How could it possibly get better? How will we get the Book of Strategy when the strategist himself has been playing with us all this while?”
“We can think of something. It will work out. Trust me”, she said moving closer to him.
By that time, the tension that was building up in the sky finally unleashed as the dark clouds grunted heavily and released the downpour.
Aarav looked up irritably as he started getting up. “We should reach back to the house.”
“What is the rush?” Shayna held his hand and stopped him from getting up. “I haven’t drowned myself in heavy rains for so long. I want to cherish this moment”, she spoke as she closed her blue eyes and turned her face up to enjoy the rainwater showering on her face. Aarav sat back annoyingly, but gazed at Shayna’s serene expressions which soothed him a little. He turned his gaze back towards the sea, the storm making it rage with all its might.
“You know, according to Ramayana, Lord Ram would have landed somewhere around here with the stone bridge he had constructed over the sea to move his army from India to Lanka”, Aarav spoke. “If you sail in that direction, you’ll come across Palk Strait. And if you continue further, you’ll reach Rameshwaram.”
She had a genuine smile on her face as she darted her blue eyes into his brown ones. “You’re so different from any man I have met before. You’re so different in perceiving things. You see the history and the myth behind the minutest of moments which someone like me would find normal. I’m glad that I met a person like you Aarav Kohrrathi.”
Secret of the Himalayan Treasure Page 10
