Day five. Boy, I was really doing this. I must be crazy.

I reached Esperanza's and sat down again. Today, the Amethyst didn't look so pretty to me and I shivered upon thinking of Anu's red eyes. But that wasn't an excuse for right now, I'm the only one who could bring the twins back. I don't think I can count on Samarth for anything. Not after how I saw him fidgeting in the attic simulation that day.

Anyway, she handed me a full glass of orange liquid that bore a close resemblance to squash. Not murky brown water or blood equivalents, thankfully.

Lights Out

'NO! NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOO.........'. I felt the same blood-curdling chill of her eyes.

And then everything went black

Suddenly the perspective of view changed. I saw my own limp, unconscious body sprawled across the ground, and Anu standing over it.

She walked up to it and bent down. Then she shot out her arms, grabbed my forehead, and put her lips close to my ear. She whispered a single word.

'AMNESIA'

And slowly started sinking through the ground. She went lower and lower until the last of her head and hair disappeared.

Lights On

'So what did you see child? Was zis no help today?' she asked me.

I was growing stronger and stronger with each day. Now it didn't take me time to get back to my senses.

'What is AMNESIA?'

Silence. I don't think I ever saw the steely Esperanza go round-eyed.

'What? What did you say child?'

'Amnesia. What is it?'

'First tell me, what did you see today dear?'

I described it to her in compact sentences.

'Good gracious', she said, her voice a faint whisper. 'I do not believe zis!'

'Believe what Esperanza?'

'Well then, you believe what I say and not laugh at me? You promise you won't laugh and giggle at me?'

'I promise. I won't laugh at you. I respect your work'. And I meant it. The psychic made me look at matters in a whole new light.

'Very well then. The beautiful Doon Valley you see today wasn't so since forever. This valley was an homage to thousands of spirits, magicians, witches, sorcerers, wizards, and everything and everybody magical, ruled by an ancient brotherhood of witchcraft who held the deepest secrets.....to every magic spell in the world'

'Wow'. I was enchanted

'No ruler ever in the history of magic was more respected and loved than Tylon and his subjects who did everything to maintain peace and harmony in the valley. But with great power comes great responsibility, and so do great enemies.'

'Enemies?'

'Yes. The evil witches and wizards in the adjacent valley were always trying to capture and overthrow Beagle Fire. But they were so invincible that no matter how many evil spirits they faced, they were no match for their powers of attack. Magicians, sorcerers, sorceresses, everyone would train hard at magic school to enter the Fire. And only a few could make it.'

'What happened next?'

'BETRAYAL! TREACHERY!'

'How?' I asked, cringing at her overexcitement.

'A Fire magician was telling the secret spells of black magic to the evil witch of the poison ivy because he had fallen madly in love with her. She wanted to use him as a weapon to overthrow Beagle Fire and rule over the valley'

'Oh my gosh'

'And then his brethren decided they could keep him no longer, he had let them down'

'So they killed him?'

'Killed him? Ha! The members of the Fire were betrothed to immortality. The only way they could protect themselves was to make the traitor forget his skills'

'Forget'

'Yes, my dear child! Forget. So the Fire put heads together to create the deadliest spell a million times more lethal than black magic. And so was born AMNESIA'

So this was AMNESIA.

'But I don't understand something. Why is forgetting lethal? I mean, you know-'

'My sweet child, it takes years of hard work and patience to be a spell caster. And even more to enter the Fire. And he lost it all. Through one word'

'And how does it work?'

'All you have to do is drink the secret potion of Magnolia and hold somebody's forehead. Whisper the word "AMNESIA" into the victim's ear and voila! He forgets the day, or time or whatever you wish for in your mind. And that's where lies its greatest power'

I got a shock. Yes, there was a jar of liquid in the safe that day! And so that is why I didn't remember this one day. But how in the world did Ali get hold of that? And why was this in her attic?

I started to have a hunch. There was definitely a catch.

'This isn't all, isn't it? There's more to it I feel'

'Yes. The spell can be used only by the true descendants of Beagle Fire. Nobody else.'

'So is Anu one such descendant?'

'Yes, definitely. That's why when she whispered the word in your ear, you forgot everything about her ghastly sight. But there could be a thousand more alive. Maybe you could be one of them too.'

'But only if the descendants of the Fire brethren can use it, surely then there's no way the spell can be used to create havoc'

'Wrong. It can'

'How?'

'The descendants of Octavius The Traitor can misuse it. For one thing, AMNESIA only made him forget his skills, not destroy them. And just like a father's living is passed on to his sons, so is his powers'

'But why would anybody want to do that today?'

'To avenge Octavius. And mind you, some people do have very strong feelings about those things'

'Hmm'. I was toying with the idea of telling her about our forage in Anu's attic but I decided it was best kept with me. For now, I had to know more'

'The last and most important question'

'Yes?'

'All this while you've told me about how I lost my memory. Now can you tell me why Anu's become such a monster? And where has she disappeared to?'

'Oh, dear. That is horrible'

'What?'

'When Octavius realized that he was caught and his brotherhood was out to destroy him, he panicked. But first, they had to save a bunch of baby elves who were trapped underneath a fallen tree which failed to withstand a hailstorm, which bought him some time. He'd lost his mind completely. He knew only of his love for the pretty witch girl.'

'So what did he do?'

'He set out to singlehandedly take over Beagle Fire. He created a spell that would make the victim get trapped under the captivity of the castor. And you know what's the worst part?'

'What?'

'That this spell wasn't only limited to the Fire. It could be used on anybody, whether a witch or common man', replied Esperanza.

'What happened after that?' I asked, enchanted by the story.

'Alas for Octavius, his brothers were no match for him. They overthrew him and tied him to the ground. Finally, Tylon used AMNESIA on him and wiped out his memory. He was sent down to the gallows to work as a shiner where other evil people were imprisoned too.'

'But how could anybody avenge Octavius then? Nobody will ever know'

'That's exactly what the confusion is about'

'Sorry, I didn't understand?'

'Do you see that waterfall over there?' she asked pointing to the beautiful fall opposite her window view. 'In the era of magic, this used to be a sacred waterfall'

'I see'

'At the end of the waterfall, there would be a group of elves and pixies known as the "Treasurers". If a person sent down a spell, a letter, or any of his packaged belongings down the waterfall, the Treasurers would save it up for his future generations. That goes by saying, that only the magic spells which were sent down the waterfall were protected for the future. Else they were automatically destroyed with the person's death along with his soul'

'I get it. But what's the confusion about?'

'The confusion is that the spell under which Antara is a victim now was created by Octavius. And there is no record which guarantees that he ever had a child. Octavius forgot his knowledge of the world and Ruby was executed to die for her wicked plot'

Now it was my turn to go round-eyed.

'You mean that he did send the spell down the waterfall. That's why it's been used on her. But at the same time, he didn't have a child, so how come it got saved up for his descendants? He wasn't supposed to have any! And even if he did after he got sent away, he wouldn't remember any of his spells which he could send for safekeeping. Am I right?'

'Full marks. Excellent thinking'

'Any antidote to these spells?'

'Yes. They are locked in special devices known as papyri. A papyrus is unlocked through a combination code to which knowledge is the sole key'

Papyrus. Yes, I'd seen one in the safe. I remembered Akash saying that knowledge is the only key to a papyrus!

'Last question. What was the name of Octavius's black spell?'

'RUBY. The name has two origins. One, it was named after that hussy. Octavius's witch girlfriend', she snorted.

'And?'

'Two, it was named after an undesirable effect. The victim's eyes would turn bright red and Octavius didn't want other magicians to realize that his compatriots were put under a spell. Well, not at first glance at least. He wanted to create mass havoc. But unfortunately, the fallen tree didn't buy him that much time. He was banished before he knew it', she finished, satisfied.

Red eyes. Anu's! So is this what happened to her? She was a victim of black magic?

'So what can I do to get her back?'

'I am shocked myself, dear. I didn't even know till now that this spell exists! And if it genuinely does, you'll have to find out who cast the spell on her. Then only can you proceed at all. There's no other way'

'No easy way?' My heart sank to my knees.

'No dear. You will'-

I jumped at a loud thumping sound. It sounded as if somebody was pelting stones at the door and I heard a man's voice.

'ESPERANZA! ESPERANZA! What the devil is the matter with you? I've been waiting for five minutes here. Open the confounded door woman!'

Five minutes of his goddamned life. Wow.

She signaled me to open the door and get out. I took the cue and ran out. I met the fellow at the foot of the stepping stones. Forty-something. His breath reeked of cigarette smoke.

'What took you so much time huh young missy? Cooking up there or what?', he spat at me.

'Gustavo, it's not you who owns this place, it's me. The next time you speak to the girl like that I'll whoop your arse good' spoke Esperanza dangerously.

I ignored him like he didn't even exist. God bless Esperanza. I was too preoccupied to care anyway.

Preoccupied. But happy. For the first time in three months, I felt that things would be better soon.