I returned at the same time again, four in the evening. Esperanza was waiting there with her potions.

'Hello Jasmine'

'Hi. May I begin?'

'Sure'. She hands me an even bigger vial of red blood-like liquid. Disgusted, I down it in a gulp and touched the crystal ball.

Anu's attic, 8 pm

Me: Look at that!

Inside there was a heavy glass jar of water and something that looked like a cigar. Only it was made out of porcelain and was much heavier.

Anu: Is that.... a papyrus?

Akash: Yeah. I don't believe it!

Papyrus was an extraordinary key to protecting secrets that were invented by the artist Leonardo da Vinci. A purse-sized cylinder was divided into two halves by a glass wall. In one half, a scroll of parchment containing the secret message was kept. This half was locked by a combination code.

The other half contained strong vinegar. So only people who were authorized to know the combination could access the scroll, and if anybody tried to take it by force by hitting it against a wall or a floor, the glass wall separating the chambers would break and the vinegar would dissolve the parchment, destroying it forever. Pure genius.

Samarth: But it has a code. Without that, we're nowhere.

Anu: You couldn't try a hand at this?

Akash: Sorry Anu. The code is always based on real-time knowledge whereas safe combinations are made through permutations. It takes math to open a safe, but knowledge to open a papyrus. And I don't know how we're gonna do that.

*Anu's phone rings*

Anu (whispering): Mom. Keep shut. 

We quieten down as Anu talks to her mom on the phone

Anu: Mummy and daddy are coming back in fifteen minutes. Hurry! We've gotta wind this up and I have to lay the table.

Me: Ok you go then.

But it was here that I noticed something strange with Samarth.

He was shifting uncomfortably like he was hiding something, which skipped my notice that day since I got so worked up in winding up the attic.

Lights on

Today I couldn't talk much. I thanked her and slapped down a ten-rupee bill on her desk. I was confused, but I knew for sure I was on to something.

I walked back home, my head a myriad of thoughts. Why was Samarth fidgeting like that? What was he hiding? Did he have anything against his girlfriend or her brother? And as far as I know, like me, Samarth doesn't believe in the paranormal too. He simply plays up to Anu and never takes her seriously.

Plus he's one of the prime suspects in her disappearance. The police have interrogated him nonstop and they suspect he tried to get rid of her as he was "bored" of their relationship. The guy's parents gave him a hard time too when they found out he was dating a girl behind their backs. Also yes, they broke up a couple of days before she vanished, which makes him even more vulnerable to the police.

Confused, I got home. Strangely, our usually lively home was dead quiet.

I walked into the dining room and found mom and dad sitting quietly, a dead serious look on their faces.

I got really scared. 'What happened?'

'We don't know how to say this'

'Say what?'

'Well, you know Akash Singh, right?'

'Yeah, Antara's brother. So?'

My parents looked at each other with the "who's gonna tell her" look. Finally, my dad spoke.

'He's disappeared'

'WHAT!' 

******************************************************************************************************

A/N: I know guys. Such a short chapter. 

And of course, the dedications. My amazing fam. I love you guys. And now I can't even thank each one of you personally. So...

This chapter is dedicated to: *Curtain Rises*

1. aestheticsbitch
2. Siddhi1503
3. @xdarkgirl
4. Pixie_Dust_Fairy
5. Omega_to_Alpha
6. Eleanor_Ford
7. TellmeuLovemeeee
8. arty_enigma
9. cwthings
10.Amiserablewallflower
11.Dmonsoul593
12. SinnaMonnBun
13. SweetSimu
14. italiancigarettes
15. Rudramaa 
16. IvyMarieWrites
17. AriRih
18. lacivert_karakter
19. SkullKandieFoxe.
20. Smart_Ravenclaw

Thank you people. For being with me, and being so supportive. I hope I'll always live up to your expectations.