“At five years old?” Enzo asks.
Sensei nods his head. “Yes. She said this and I told her I don’t understand what she is talking about. She got on her knees, walked over to me where I was standing by the edge of the bed, and put her small hands on my chest. They are my friends. They wait for me. I am going to take food for them. Nothing and nobody can stop me. You could either take me there, or I could walk there. I am alive. I can walk and move. This is not being sick. I am not going to let them down.”
“And you had to take her then…”Ry says mesmerized by the story.
“I had to, yes. The fierceness of that five year old girl was enough to bring tears to my eyes. Fierceness for animals. Stray dogs who don’t belong to anyone. Because I wanted to see what the big deal was. So I took her and as we reached the beach, a group of twenty odd dogs came rushing to her, from all across the beach and sat down next to her. Some were healthy, some were not. Some were wounded, some were mangy. I had two minds to pull her back, but she went and sat down in their midst. She didn’t discriminate in any way, she was generous with her love, her time, and she cared for them equally. She had named each and every one.
“And as one by one the dogs came forward to lick her face and take the sandwich she was carrying, she talked to them about things. I am guessing those were their daily conversations. One brown dog was limping, so Ada took out an ointment from her bag. Then she told him you will be fine, Karthik. I am putting this cream on your leg, but you have to sit next to me and not lick the medicine or the wound, okay? ‘Karthik’ sat down next to her, giving her puppy eyes as she applied ointment on his front paw. Then she started talking about odd things like we would talk about with our neighbors. She was saying how is Rosie doing? Is the kulfi vendor still troubling her? Tell her she needs to stay off so much sugar. And so on it continued.”
“Wait. You are saying she sat there talking to all of them and they didn’t attack her or jump on her?”
“They did jump on her. But if someone jumped ahead of another dog, then Ada would tell him that he shouldn't do that, and that dog would look legitimately chastised. She took her time. When she was done feeding them and talking to them, I cleared my throat. At once, all those dogs turned to me and started growling. She said, it is okay guys. He is with me. One of the puppies growled, and Ada turned to look at me with a sigh. Then she turned to that dog and shrugged and said he is Ma and Dad’s teacher. He is as old as time itself. Show him some respect and thank him because he brought me here today, even though he didn’t have to.”
Sensei chokes back his next words and Pa rubs his back. While the rest of us sit there, dumbfounded, looking at Sensei lose his strict-teacher persona.
“That puppy then barked at her. She got up and came to me. She held my hand and turned to them. Guys. He is my Baba. You all will call him so. Understand? He is not a threat. He is a friend. He is Baba. With that she tugged me forward, saying come Baba, you have to meet them. These are my friends. Thank you for bringing me here today. As soon as we reached the dogs, all of them came to me gently, rubbing against me, letting me pet them, as if they were indeed following her command of respecting me and thanking me.”
“That’s why you love her so much….. She made you hers even before you knew it was possible.” Ash murmurs, stupefied as he stares at Sensei.
“Yes. In India, Baba is usually a term given dotingly to fathers or grandfathers. Something clicked in my heart that day. Only one other person had ever called me Baba before. She is no more, and her death made me alone in a way I could never explain. But when I heard Ada call me Baba, it was like being presented with a rare gift.”
“You thought you had found the one who used to call you baba before,” Ry mentions.
“No. Not at all. It didn’t make me miss her. But seeing Ada embrace me as one of her own, just made me aware how much my soul craved for her love too.” Sensei smiles at all of us. And it is the first fucking time that he is looking at us with something like indulgence. “I love each and every one of you boys. And Lexie. But Ada…. She’s literally my granddaughter. She is the only one who would, and is gutsy enough to call me out on something I’ve done, the only one who fills my heart with love so pure that I cannot handle it sometimes. And she is the only one who can talk with me for hours about philosophies, or beliefs, without getting defensive or offensive, looking at everything from different angles. So, never ever feel like you have to be envious or jealous, or question why I look at her like she could get away with murder with me. Just know that she is mine, my own shadow, my own essence, and she is raised in my profile.”
Silence hangs in the room for some time.
“Can she?” Enzo asks Sensei.
What? Can she what?
“What?” Ry asks Enzo
But Enzo is busy focusing on Sensei with all his intention.
Pa laughs as Sensei mimes his lips being zipped shut. It is such a millennial gesture that I cannot for the life of me see Sensei doing that.
“Of course she can, Enzo,” Pa replies heartily, while Sensei maintains his silence.
Sensei gets up and we all are on our feet too. He commands that kind of respect from us. He never once told us that we have to do that. It comes naturally.
“We are moving out. We will see you in a few hours. All of you stay put, do not stray outside. Do nothing until we get there. And protect each other.” Sensei tells us sternly, bows, a gesture we all return, then leaves the room.
“Needless to say, refrain from any talks or discussions that may cause you to lose control of your emotions or magic. Few more hours and we will be there with you all. Tell my baby girl that I will be bringing her favorite candies from here. Maybe we can see if Vee and Ada need not go to the campus tomorrow. Think about it. Bye kids. Take care.”
“Bye Pa.” We say in unison, folding our hands and bowing.
As soon as the call disconnects, Ryan asks Enzo, “Can she what?”
Enzo looks at us, lips tilting up in a smile that screams all kinds of trouble.
“Get away with murder with Sensei.” He grins at us and I cannot hold back mine.
Finally we have a trump card on Oogway!
Chapter 25
Ada
I have been reading and sponging everything for the last four and a half hours. Lexie is Godsend, helping me out whenever I get stuck or have a query.
It is extremely fascinating in my humble opinion. The way the world was created, the different sects, the Gods. I devoured the entire book in three hours, but kept on asking questions to better my understanding. One hundred or less pages are left to be read.
“Lex?” I need to have her hear me paraphrase everything once again.
She sighs and then grunts. “Girl, you paraphrasing it won’t help. You know what was in all these books,” she says pointing to the books towards my left, the ones I have read through. “Why don’t you let me quiz you?”
With a knowing smirk on her face, I know that my face is lit up.
“Okay! Let’s do it.”
“Okay. I will ask general questions. You need to let me know in your understanding what all of that means. Okay?”
I nod, excited at the prospect of testing my own knowledge.
This is different though. It is breaking whatever forms or structures I have had till now and accepting the new ones.
“Wait, I have a question first.” I raise my hands, stopping her. She nods and I continue, “why do you have only one book? How come you all get it? Since when have you had this book? Can it be trusted?”
“Sensei gave this book to us. I don’t know since when he has had it. He gave it to us when Vyhdir disappeared. He says this is one of the only three copies in the entire universe. How he got it, I have no clue.”
Vyhdir, the Time God’s disappearance would have done it.
“Well I always tell everyone that he is as old as time itself.” I shrug and smile as Lexie starts giggling. “I still cannot believe you called him O
ogway though.” I start laughing and she laughs harder at this. “Okay so ask me your questions now. We don’t have much time, girl,” I tell her. She looks at her watch and sobers up immediately.
“Okay, let’s start,” she says, tone and face serious, eyebrows furrowed, lips pinched. It is her ‘serious’ persona. “Who is Parmaiah?”
“The supreme creator. The one who created the universe, living beings, earth, etc.”
“Do we love him?”
“Hell yeah!”
“What was said to be Brahakta’s problem?”
“Even though he is a creator, he still cannot create living beings. He creates concepts, ideas, etc, and then depends on others to fulfill it for them. It seems to have made him bitter that even though he has been given a mantle of ‘creation’, he cannot create actual beings.”
“What is the problem that Arhanyth is facing right now?” she asks, smiling as if it is a trick question.
“Its residents,” I smile. At her frown I continue, “The residents of Arhanyth, all Gods, there is a war brewing, because of Betin’s fear mongering.”
She bends forward leaning her elbows on her shoulders looking intently at me. “Who was Shivati and Aarya’s daughter and what is her importance?”
“Shivati and Aarya are the rulers of the ‘destruction’ sect, or faction. Their daughter was born naturally, after they subverted Brahakta’s plan of inducing Gods with the inability to bear children. Because they are the destroyers - of greed, illusion, and fear - they didn’t fall prey to it, and their daughter - Ida-Samara - was born. Irrespective of what Vyhdir had said about a child of Gods changing creation, everybody fell in love with her. Even Brahakta. She was pampered, spoiled, and loved. But she had a mind of her own and a deeper connection to the land and land’s creations.” I stop because even I need to wrap my head around it. “But she died a tragic death when she was trapped by a volcano, while trying to save animals who were trapped in that hill.
“However, losing her shook the gods to their core. Paramaiah is said to be dedicated to finding her lost soul, and protecting her. At the same time, He is said to be busy creating an army of warriors. So that should he ever find her, and if her life is in danger, she will have an army at her beck and call.”
“Good,” she continues, “so how has her death, or her birth, caused an uproar?”
“Brahakta thought that the prophecy or fate that Vyhdir had told him was about the child born of the Gods being his downfall. To avoid this, he created a potion and tricked the other Gods into drinking it. Which resulted in the gods forfeiting any of their desires to have children,” I say, rolling my eyes. Gods can be dumb too, huh.
“What? Why are you rolling your eyes? You don't believe Vyhdir could have said it?” Lex asks.
“No. Not Vyhdir. But Brahakta? I mean, come on! You literally made every other God want to not have kids, because you were worried about a speculation?”
“Vyhdir was very clear babe…”
“His words were, sure. But the words could have meant anything, right?”
“Like what?” Vee’s voice comes from behind me and I turn around to find all of them huddled at the doorway.
“What?”
“You said Vyhdir’s words could have meant anything else too. I am asking like what? How else was Brahakta to interpret the words about his end?” he says. The curiosity burning in his eyes proves there is no mocking here. He genuinely wants to know another perspective.
The boys come in and settle themselves on the chairs around us. Everyone looking at me intently.
“Well, Vyhdir said a child born of the Gods will be the end of creation,” I say shrugging. “And what did Brahakta do? He committed a sin by taking away the Gods’ choices. Yes, he loved that child, as the records say. But because of this foolishness of his, he ensured that nobody else got the blessing of having kids to call their own. In my opinion, if war was to come, which it is brewing right now, it would be his actions that instigated that.”
“But, any child of the Gods would have threatened his existence,” Ryan counters.
“Yes, true. But that is not the only explanation. A child born of the Gods will be the end of creation. Creation could have been anything. It could have been the way the Creation sect had been functioning, or it could have been the end of the sect itself. It could have been the end of creation of greed, or impure thoughts. Creation, with a capital C, could have meant Paramaiah, because He is the ultimate Creator, right? He didn’t feel threatened. It could have also meant the end of the creation of wars, of religion, of poverty, or sins. It could literally have meant anything in the whole wide world,” I take in all of their faces as they give this some thought. “But he chose to think himself so important that it would mean his end. He chose to alter others’ choices, chose to kill any future any other children may have had. That is plain stupidity and cruelty. Come to think of it, if Paramaiah hadn't intervened, then Brahakta's act alone could have led to a war amongst Gods and led to his downfall.”
Clearly they have never thought of it this way, if the stunned expressions on their faces is something to go by. I leave them to it and pick up the book again to read further.
…..it was then that Paramaiah promised Shivati and Aarya that the next time Ida-Samara’s soul is found, He himself would bring her back to Arhanyth. And should a threat ever be made against her, he would unleash His own powers, unbridled.
Paramaiah vowed to Himself that He will create an army of warriors that will be in a position to help Him should that time ever come. Krimavi and Kshitara also pledged their honest and unlimited support and resources to Him. They had lost their daughter too when Ida-Samara died, and He knew that these four - Shivati, Aarya, Krimavi and Kshitara - would be with him throughout when it came to finding and protecting his beautiful little angel.
However, rumors of Betin getting unhinged grew day by day. He had had a taste of what fear can make others do, and he had gotten a healthy dose of power from this. As they all sat waiting for Vyhdir-
“Ada?” Lexie’s voice brings me out.
I blink and look up. “Yeah?”
“Do you want to continue with questions? Or you want to read more?”
I keep the book down and nod, “let’s do the questions. I have read the book, I was just re-reading one part.”
“Okay. Why don’t all of us ask you questions, and test your understanding?”
“Sure.”
Vince is the first one to ask, “Who are Vyhdir’s friends? It isn’t mentioned in the book, but we thought you may be able to ascertain it?”
“Yaridall and Thaldirr, Gods of Karma and Choice, respectively.”
His eyes light up with pride. “How can you say that?”
“Common sense dictates that time, choices and actions would go hand in hand. But there are a lot of things mentioned here that hint at those two being Vyhdir’s friends, or brotherhood of its sort. Speaking of, do you know if they have a sect as well and if they are working on rescuing or trying to find Vyhdir?”
“First, as you said, yes they are best comrades indeed. Next, they do have a sect based on the principles of Karma-Destiny-Will. They follow the philosophies of all three Gods. And,” he looks at me intently, then taking a deep breath he says, “Mathew is a part of that sect.”
The news is like cold water being thrown at me.
“What happened? Ada?” Ryan and Ash are on their knees in front of me, while Vince, Enzo and Lexie stand behind them looking at me with concern.
“I… I had to tell you all something but in the midst of everything that happened when we got here, I forgot. Shall I tell you all now or wait for Baba and Dad?”
“What is it? Are you okay? Safe? Something bothering you?” Enzo crouches as well, his hands going next to my hips on the cushion. I swear I feel the heat even without his hands touching me. And the worry in his eyes is enough to make stone melt. In fact, everybody is concerned and I don’t understand why.
“Wh
y are you all so worried?”
They snap out of their worried gazes like someone literally snatched them out of whatever realm they were in. As one, they open their mouths, then close it. Then open their mouths again and then close. Then they look at each other, take a deep breath and turn to look at me.
Just like watching a mime performance live.
Lexie comes forward and holds my hand. “Ada, when you first came to stay with us, did you ever feel a tug towards any of us?”
What? What is this random, Mills and Boons bullshit.
“As in a crush? Or something?” I say with furrowed brows.
“No, not a crush. But like, familiarity? Or like this inexplicable need to be friends with us? Or one of us?”
I think back to that time, and yes it is true. “Umm… Yeah. I wanted to get to know all of you, but it wasn't something strong or inexplicable… I guess that is normal though. Why?”
“The thing is, each and every one of us, we have wanted to know you, to protect you, to be with you, and to be close to you. Nothing to look so creeped out by Ada,” she says, noticing my face, I guess my expression is leaking what I am thinking. “We genuinely want you to be happy and want the best for you. That is the reason Ry used to go every morning to check on you. And why we all were so worried when you looked worried. It is like you are our own, you know what I mean?”
I take a moment to consider their faces and their expressions. There is nothing but honesty in their eyes.
“I won’t pretend to know what you mean, but I can understand. I guess I never thought much about anything. Ma, Dad, and Baba, all taught me that when something demands attention, pay attention then. Else go with the flow, enjoy life, but stay connected to your roots. So this feeling of wanting to be friends with you was there. But I guess it wasn’t as strong as you are talking about?”
Circle of Time: An urban fantasy (The Kazi Chronicles Book 1) Page 14
