by Sourav Deka
“Thank you, ma’am for telling me this,” I said. “But why did dad ask you to give me this diary?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe he wants you to find the seeds, which he was trying to find his whole life. We are all searching for the seeds, but no one succeeded. Perhaps you can try.”
I peeked at the diary again and began to think what should I do? Should I take the diary or leave it? What if it helps to find things about my dad? Perhaps it can lead me to mom too. But it can also get me into trouble. For centuries people have been trying to find the seeds, but no one succeeded. I am just a seventeen year old teenager, if no one found it, how can I? Thoughts flooded my mind. I was confused but still I decided to take the diary. I should discuss it with Aaron.
“I am taking the diary,” I said. “I will talk to my brother and decide what to do about it.”
“Okay, as you wish,” she smiled. “But think about this, Ross. If you go looking for the seeds you might also find about your parents.”
I nodded and stood up to leave. “I know.”
Andrea escorted me outside the mansion.
“Think about this, Ross. This is a big chance for you,” Andrea said. “My mom will help if you decide to go after the seeds.”
I nodded. “I will let you know after I talk to my brother.”
I returned back to Sam’s place. Aaron was playing cards with him on his bed. I joined them and told everything I learned from Gloria.
“You should try to find those seeds man. It will be a great thing,” Sam said, blowing out his smoke. “Imagine immortality without any diseases, without any pain, what your life will be.”
“The lady said many people from generation after generation tried to find the seeds by breaking the codes but no one succeeded,” I said. “Many people got killed. Even my own father died.”
“I know, but who knows? You may succeed, you should at least try,” Sam patted my back.
“We are just teenagers, Sam. People from centuries didn’t succeed in finding it,” I shrugged. “What are we going to do?”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You should try. Maybe you are destined to do it.”
Aaron was in silence. I turned to him. “What do you think?”
Aaron took a deep breath. “We should at least try to break the codes, dad died for it,” he said. “Sam is right, we can at least try. Maybe we will find out more about our parents.”
I nodded.
We read the diary and tried to break the codes for an hour. There were only names of some places, persons, some numbers and some other words which we didn’t understand. First place that was mentioned in the diary was Atlanta. There was a man named Ludachris Kent who lived there.
“If we agree to solve all this, we will need to meet this man,” I said, pointing my finger at the name on the diary.
“We don’t have so much money to visit another state,” Aaron said.
I paused for some seconds and then said, “We will get the money. Gloria will help.”
“Who?” Sam lifted his eyebrows.
“The lady who told me about this secret diary is going to help. She can give us money. If I tell her I am going to go after the seeds, I am sure she will help.”
Aaron stared at me. “So you actually decided to find the seeds?”
“Yes, we should try. Dad gave his entire life to find the seeds. Maybe we will find out about mom,” I sighed. “I hope she is alive.”
“We are just teenagers, Ross,” Aaron said in a low voice.
“I know,” I said softly. “It may be a chance to find out about our parents. I don’t want to lose it.”
Aaron nodded. “Okay then, we will try,” he smiled.
“Awesome!” Sam patted both of our backs. “Don’t forget me if you find the seeds,” he took out the cigar from his mouth and glared at it. “This is going to kill me soon, I need a cure.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you dying?”
Sam laughed. “No, this isn’t going to kill me so soon. But it’s good to have a cure,” he inhaled deeply. “Just imagine, Ross, if you find it what’s going to happen? The whole world will change.”
“Yeah, people would never suffer from any kind of illness.”
Sam smiled. “Yeah, it will be the greatest discovery in the history of mankind.”
**********************************
It was a beautiful morning. The golden rays of sunshine touched my face and the gentle cool breeze blew the curtains of the window. I got off my bed, brushed my teeth and had some bread and jam. My brown jacket was hanging on the chair. I wore it and went to Gloria’s mansion. It was time. I made up my mind to go after the seeds. It can help me find my parents and the seeds can help the world. It will be worth it.
I rang the doorbell, Andrea opened the door.
“I knew you would come here again,” Andrea smiled. “It is not hard to guess you are curious about the seeds.”
I smiled back. “Let’s see what I can do.”
She invited me inside. Gloria was reading a book in her room. Andrea and I entered the room and her focus towards the book broke. She took off her glasses and put her book aside. It seemed like she was expecting me and was not surprised to see me. She knew I would come.
“Hello Ross, nice to see you again,” she placed her book on the table. “Take a seat, please.”
I sat on the sofa in front of her. “I decided to find the seeds,” I said. “I am assuming that you can help me.”
She smiled. “Yes of course. I will be glad to help you. I spent half of my life for the seeds, Ross. If you are willing to find it then I will help you at any cost.”
I took out the diary from my jacket’s pocket. “There are many codes and names of places and persons in this diary. The first name is Atlanta. A man named Ludachris Kent lives there. He may know something.”
“Ludachris has been dead for centuries, Ross.”
I raised my eyebrows. “What?”
“He was murdered by someone named Doris Wilson back in 1759.”
“Why?”
“No one knew why he did it. He was captured later and tortured, but he didn’t say a word about why he killed Ludachris. After a year, he fled jail and committed suicide by jumping off a cliff in South Africa.”
“Is there any family member of Ludachris alive?”
“Yes, his great granddaughter lives in Atlanta. Eight generations is the difference between her and her great grandfather.” She shrugged, “She doesn’t know anything about this stuff. It’s a dead end, we tried before.”
“Still I want to meet her,” I put the diary back in my pocket. “It’s something to start.”
“Okay then, I will make the arrangements. You can leave with your brother tomorrow. My daughter Andrea will go with you and provide everything you will need.”
I agreed and shook hands with Gloria. I went back and told Aaron that we will leave for Atlanta tomorrow. We packed our bags and slept early.
****************************
It was 6 am in the morning. Andrea knocked on our door. We got ready. I didn’t sleep the whole night as I was thinking about my decision. Am I making the right choice? I was confused and scared. I knew many people put their lives in danger because of the seeds and many died because of it. I am a bit frightened because of my brother. If something happens to him, I won’t be able to forgive myself. What if I am making the wrong decision?
Aaron was charging his cell phone. I looked at him. “Are you really sure you want to do this?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Aaron replied.
“Are you really sure? I know you are scared. If you don’t want any part in this, it's okay, I will go alone.”
“No, Ross. I want to do this. I believed my whole life that mom left dad because she hated him,” he scoffed. “But I was wrong all the time. I really want to find out what happened to mom and dad. I don’t care about the seeds. If doing this involves danger, then so be it.”
We s
hared soulful looks. He was trying to be brave and was desperate to find out about our parents like me. I put my hand over his shoulder. “We will find out about our parents, Aaron.” I said. “I promise you.”
Andrea was waiting for us outside in her black Mercedes. We thanked Sam for letting us stay and left for the airport. It was not different for us. We used to travel with our uncle all the time as he always moved from place to place. Sometimes I wonder what happened to him. We didn’t see him after we ran away. Did he ever try looking for us, or is he dead? I hope he isn’t. He just tried to protect us, but we didn’t want to live like that. Maybe dad asked him to do it. That’s why he kept on moving from one place to another. Was someone following us? Are we watched? We had to know everything and maybe this trip is going to help us find more about our parents. Our journey began. We had the diary, let’s see where it takes us.
CHAPTER 3
We reached Atlanta in the evening. The weather was cold, the icy wind made my body shiver. There were a few people at the airport waiting for their next flight. Some children were playing around with their moms to pass the time until their flight arrived, while some people were busy staring at their phones. I have never been to Atlanta before, it was my first time. Andrea called a cab and we got into a hotel. Gloria already booked our rooms a day before. We waited for some time in the lobby and Andrea gave our keys. We took the lift and went to our rooms. It was so luxurious, that I felt like a millionaire. I never thought I was ever going to stay in a luxurious hotel, it was so awesome. There were beautiful rooms with comfy beds and glowing lights, clean and hygienic which I never felt in my entire life. It made me remember Sam's place, how dirty it was. We lived there for so many days, the hotel rooms were completely opposite of that. It’s like we stepped inside a king’s palace. The food was so delicious. We didn’t even taste good food in years. Aaron kept ordering food as it was free for us. Gloria was going to pay.
“You two are eating like crazy,” Andrea said. “Stop or else you will be sick before we even visit Ludachris’s house.”
“We never had this,” I said, licking my fingers.
“I know, but we have to meet Ludachris’s great granddaughter tomorrow,” she said. “So get some sleep.”
She was right. We were not there to enjoy, we were there to follow a lead and had to control ourselves. Tomorrow was a big day, but still we ate a lot already. We didn’t want to miss this opportunity. God knows when we will get good food like that again.
*******************************
We left to meet Ludachris’s great granddaughter. Andrea took us to an old cottage five miles away. It was surrounded by many plants and trees which made it look like it was in the middle of some forest. Its front yard had some yellow flowers growing which were facing the sun. The cottage’s walls looked so old that it seemed like it would break just by a single touch. I even touched one wall to be sure, it wasn’t what it seemed. The wall was strong but looked weak from outside.
Andrea rang the doorbell. A black teenage girl wearing blue jeans and yellow top opened the door.
“Who are you?” the teenage girl asked.
“We are here to meet Mrs. Walter. Is she home?” Andrea asked.
“Yeah grandma is having Lunch now, please come inside,” the girl invited us.
We went inside the cottage, everything looked so old. It seemed like they never brought anything new for years. I glanced at the chairs and touched one. It seemed weak like it’s going to break if we sit on it.
Andrea looked at me. “Don’t worry, the chairs won’t break.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
She half smiled. “I know, my mom came here before. Just sit.”
I sat on one of the chairs. She was right. They just looked old, but actually they were strong. Is everything in this house is like this? I wondered.
We waited for a couple of minutes, and then a voice called, “Sweetie, send them inside”.
“Grandma is waiting for you all in her bedroom,” the girl said.
We followed the teenage girl. There was an old lady lying in her bed. Her face had many wrinkles and some small dark spots. She was sick covered in a blanket.
“Hello, I am Ross, this is my brother Aaron and our friend Andrea,” I said. “We are here to talk about your great grandfather Ludachris Kent. Can you tell us about him?”
“What do you want to know? Everyone, who comes finding him, dies,” the old woman said.
“How many people came to find him?” Aaron asked.
“Many, I lost count,” the old woman gulped. “I saw it from my childhood days. Many people of different ages come to us asking about him and later they die. But the truth is we don’t know anything about any seeds and how my great grandfather is related to it.”
“Don’t you know anything about him?”
She gasped. “Just a little bit. My father used to tell me he was a loner. He kept everything secret. Later he was murdered. Maybe one of his secrets took his life.”
“Is there anything important that we should know about your great grandfather?” I asked.
She shook her head lightly. “No, as I said he was a loner and kept many secrets, even from his own family. So we don’t know anything important,” she coughed. “But be careful, you all may be in danger as many people died asking about him,” she gulped. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
A boy entered the room with a basket full of potatoes and tomatoes in his hand. “I brought fresh potatoes and tomatoes ma’am,” he said. His hair was long and curly and he smelled like raw potatoes.
“Put them in the kitchen Kelvin,” the old woman said.
“Who is he?” I asked.
Kelvin forwarded his hand towards me for a handshake. “Hello, I am Kelvin Wilson,” he said. “I work here, pleasure meeting you.”
We shook hands and took a good look at him. He was flashing a wide grin at me, I tried to do the same.
“Okay, if you remember something important, then this is my number,” I handed a paper with my number to the old woman.
We came outside the cottage. I grabbed Andrea’s and Aaron’s elbow and dragged them to our car.
“What happened?” Andrea hissed.
“I have a suspicion on that boy,” I whispered. “Have you heard what his name is? Kelvin Wilson! His last name is Wilson. The man who killed Ludachris Kent was Doris Wilson.”
“So?”
“Maybe Doris and Kelvin are related.”
“Yeah, maybe he is spying on her,” Aaron said. “That’s why anybody who comes here looking for the seeds ends up dead.”
Andrea shook her head. “No, we are not sure. Just because his last name is Wilson that doesn’t mean he is a murderer.”
“Everyone who comes here asking about Ludachris dies, Andrea,” I said. “Kelvin looks suspicious to me.”
“Let’s kidnap him,” Aaron said.
“What?” Andrea’s eyes widened. “Are you out of your mind? We can’t do that, we shouldn’t. That’s dangerous and wrong. We will all end up in jail.”
“The lady said everyone who comes here for the seeds end up dead. If that is true we will be dead soon. It may be a solution, we need to do it. I will take out something from the car to hit him.”
Andrea grabbed his arm. “No, no, no, no it’s wrong, we shouldn’t.”
“Stop it Andrea!” I said and looked at Aaron. “Go, bring something to hit him. I will be waiting at the back of the cottage.”
Andrea’s face turned red. “You are supporting him?” she said. “You both got insane, I am calling mom now.”
“Okay, your choice,” I said. “Do whatever you want to do. We are going to kidnap Kelvin. He is a spy, I know it.”
“Wait,” she pressed her lips. “What proof do you have that he is a spy?”
Aaron chuckled. “His last name is Wilson, that’s enough,” he said.
“No, that isn't proof. You need to be hundred percent sure, or else we will be in great da
nger,” she raised her voice.
“What lead do we have now? Huh? Everyone who comes here looking for the seeds dies. Why?” I said, widening my hands. “It means someone is spying on this home. His last name is Wilson, Andrea. This isn’t some coincidence. He is the spy.”
“No, kidnapping is not the right thing,” she hissed. “What if you are wrong? You need to listen to me, you can’t do that,” she grabbed my arm. “Please try to understand, it’s dangerous.”
I stared into her eyes. “No, we will do it. That’s our only lead. If everyone who comes here dies, then we are next.”
Andrea walked away in anger, taking out her cell phone from her bag. I guess she was going to call her mom. Aaron took out a baseball bat from the car and came towards me.
“Let’s do this,” Aaron said.
“Where did you get that?” I said, eyeing at the bat.
“It was in the car, there is also a ball.”
“Yeah, okay. We need to sneak up to the back door near the kitchen. When he comes near the door you hit him in the head. Not very hard, we don’t want him dead.”
Aaron nodded. “Okay.”
We sneaked up to the back door near the kitchen and waited there until Kelvin showed up. After a couple of minutes he walked to the kitchen eating a sandwich. He picked up his bag and came near the door. We thought this was our chance, I signaled Aaron to hit him. He hit Kelvin on the head and I quickly grabbed his mouth so that he doesn’t scream. He was going to fall but I caught him. The guy had a really bad smell, his shirt stank. God! I should have covered my face.
“Ah, why does he stink so much?” I whispered. “Help me.”
Aaron grabbed his legs and I held his back. We slowly took him to our car where Andrea was waiting for us.
“Oh my god! You really did it!” Andrea slapped her forehead. “We are going to jail. Oh my god, we are finished!” It looked like she was going to faint.
