The door opened with a massive creak. In the pitch dark, there were four spots of red light. Sylvia walked up and switched on the light.

My heart jumped to my mouth as I saw all and full of what I ever wanted.

'ANU! AKASH!' I ran towards them, tears flooding my face.

But of course, they couldn't hear me. There they sat, stolid, frozen, and red-eyed. Yes, Akash too. I kneeled down to the ground, feeling the pain of my heart break.

My friends got me to my feet.

'Yes, Maitreyi, they're here. But we gotta undo this spell first' Dhruv replied, holding my teetering body in place.

'Maitreyi, you are the one who inspired us to be patient and never give up! You were the one who went this far to save your friends. We are nothing without you and if you lose heart, then what will we do? Don't worry, we're only one step away from victory!' Devika told me.

I felt a surge of confidence ooze through my veins. Yes, we were not far away anymore. The battle was already won.

Anu and Akash's presence in that room reminded me of the little RUBY jingle.

"The end of a stop

The end of life

The beginning of reality

The beginning of strife

The beginning of an end game

The beginning of paradise

I mark the start of hail

The start of an oasis of my rise

I'm the beginning of every sin

And the beginning, of eternity all-wise"

"The end of a stop...."

"The end of a stop..."

"The end of...."

I nearly fainted. The papyrus code? Of course, I knew what it was!

'EUREKA!' I screamed. 'I found it! I FOUND IT!'

Everyone whipped around.

'My goodness girl, what is the matter with you?' asked Esperanza, still in shock.

'I found it! I FOUND IT! Oh my god, how ever could be such an ass? How could you, Maitreyi Mishra, how could you? It was so, so EASY!' I was delirious with joy.

'What've you found? What's the matter with you?' Devika prodded me.

'The RUBY papyrus code. I found it!'

'WHAT! How?' My surprise had finally infected them.

I pulled out the notebook which had the puzzle written on it.

'Look, the end of a stop. What does it mean?'

They all looked confused.

'It means the end of the word stop. And what does stop end with, me hearties?'

The confused looks didn't subside.

'The letter P!'

Their eyes grew as wide as the Amethyst as realization dawned upon them.

'Oh gosh, Maitreyi you're a GENIUS!' Dhruv whispered.

'Hurry, let's figure out the rest!' Samarth yelled with excitement.

We got down to work, all geared up with energy.

The end of a "STOP"- P

The end of "LIFE" - E

The beginning of "REALITY"- R

The beginning of "STRIFE" -S

The beginning of "END" games- E

The beginning of "PARADISE"- P

I mark the start of "HAIL"- H

The beginning of an "OASIS" of my rise- O

I'm the end of every "SIN"- N

And the beginning, of an "ETERNITY" all-wise - E

P-E-R-S-E-P-H-O-N-E

'PERSEPHONE!' we shouted.

'Wonderful job, children!' Esperanza congratulated us.

'The papyrus, quick!'

Dhruv handed it to me from my backpack. I looked at the little code screen. Yes, it was an eight-character combination. Perfect!

My hands were shivering hard as I started placing the letters.

P-E-R-S-E-P-H-O-N-E

Click.

With utmost caution, I twisted the vial around and a scroll of parchment dropped on to my hand.

'YES! YES! We got it' Devika jumped with excitement.

I opened up the parchment carefully. Everyone craned over to watch.

"Squeeze four drops of thyme juice into the victim's mouth"

'Thyme! Yes, there are thyme plantlets nearby. I saw before I walked down the slope' said Esperanza.

'Great! How does it look?' I asked her.

'Hold on, I'll Google' Dhruv proceeded to take out his phone. He did and came up with a picture of a beautiful herb with leaves spread out in the shape of stars.

'Very well then, I'll go get it' Samarth offered.

He ran out and came back with a bunch of "ghaas-phoos" (Grass and fodder, a Hindi collective used to describe all kinds of plant stuff, including vegetables!)

'Is this the one?'

'Good work, sonny!' Esperanza clapped him on the back. 'Now Sylvia honey, why don't you go get a small bowl, a fork, and a little water?'

'Right away' she scuttled to an inner room and came right back with the stuff. Esperanza tore the leaves to shreds and ground them in the water using a fork till a fine, runny paste was formed.

'Okay, here we go'

Our blood coursed hard as we kept our fingers crossed. Esperanza poured four drops of the juice into both of their mouths.

One minute went by. Nothing happened.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

Finally, their eyes began to turn green.

'What's happening?' we all yelled in horror. In a few seconds, their eyelids closed and the two of them collapsed to the ground.

I was horrified. 'NO! No way, this can't-

On looking closely, I saw their bodies heaving up and down. They were breathing!

'Get water, quick!'

We all sprinkled water on their faces.

They began to move. Slowly, their eyelids began to flutter.

In about five minutes, I heard the voices I was pining to hear forever.

'Wh-where am I?' they asked together.

'ANU! AKASH! It's me, Maitreyi!'

'Maitreyi?' she looked confused.

'Wait, hold on' I signaled the others to come to help me sit them up, which they did.

'It's me, Maitreyi!' my voice began to break. 'Don't you know me?'

'Maitreyi. MAITREYI! Oh my god, it's you. How in the world-

She started crying. I started too. We threw our arms around each other and wept, not willing to let each other go.

'How did you get here?'

'Long story'

'I missed you, I thought I was trapped here forever!'

'I missed you too!'

I pulled out after an eternity and grabbed her shoulders. 'Did she harm you?'

'I don't remember. But I do remember that I was locked up for three days, begging to go back to my brother. That's all I know'

'MAITREYI?' another shout was heard. 'However did you-

He pulled me in a tight embrace and I failed to mop the tears that came running back again. He was crying too.

'How did you find us?'

'It's a long, long story that I'll be glad to tell'

'I'm so happy, I-

He threw his arms around me again. I obliged willingly.

'Hey' I told him, pulling apart, 'Do you recognize your feminine alter ego here?' I pointed at Anu.

He was shocked to a standstill.

'Anu? Anu, is it really you?'

'You! How ever-

She gave him a hug and he finally found what he was missing for two whole months before he disappeared.

Peace.

I won't go all sappy and make a movie out of our reunion. But all I can say is that we now learned a huge lesson. That the word "love" isn't limited up to romance or sexual relationships. True love is the bond that can tell us to go to any length to keep the other person safe, even if it's at the expense of our own selves.

Emotions overflowed as new friendships were formed, with everyone becoming fast friends, including Esperanza. The only one who was left standing alone and lost was Sylvia, as everybody ignored her presence.

'You missed me' Akash teased his sister.

'It's called circumstance, you idiot'

'But still, you missed me' he sang.

'Don't worry, honey. I will never again'

After a long time, I saw those over-familiar squabbles which made me laugh.

'And what do we tell the police? We have to think of that now, right?' Samarth asked.

There was silence. Suddenly, Anu's eyes brightened.

'Comrades, we need not worry about the law'

'Why?' we were caught off guard.

'Because, we are taking the law in our hands'