Part 30

It was pitch dark and nothing was visible. Her hand was safely ensconced in that of the man she was following but had no clue where she was going. However, she trusted him with her life and knew that he would not let her fall or get hurt. Normal people would instinctively put out their other hand to feel around in the dark and walk extremely cautiously, but she simply followed him at his pace, which was not hurried but rather comfortable as if he could see around clearly and walked around here everyday countless times. She didn't put out her hand to feel or gauge her surroundings but reached out to hold the hand that was guiding her. Finally, he came to a standstill and he whispered softly, "hum pahuch gaye Naina!" just before the whole room illuminated and she gasped.

The dream was a very vivid one for random eye movements and she came awake with a startle. She opened her eyes but couldn't see anything. It was indeed pitch dark. She tried to feel her body but suddenly felt it sightly paralysed. The cold hard stone floor was now making her feel numb in the spine and the rest of the body stiff. That's when realized that was lying on the ground somewhere and in the distance she could hear tiny water droplets dripping from a high roof continuously but at regular intervals on the rocky floor. She gauged that the place must be quiet and empty for such a noise to echo or amplify and reach her. She tried to sit up and that instantly her head started hurting like someone pounding a hammer and drilling a hole in it at the same time. Instinctively, her hand went to rub her temples and scalp but felt the sluggishness in her limbs. It was really difficult and it triggered autophpbia, nyctophobia, and claustrophobia that she was sure she never had. The darkness leading to fear and the faint noise ascertaining probably an enclosed area and the speculation of it all was beyond her comprehension. She wanted to scream her lungs out for help but no voice came out. She tried several times but it felt like one of those dreams or rather nightmares where a fly sits on your hand or an insect is trying to bite you and it is hurting and you are trying to ward it off but you cant move a muscle. The dream seems so real that you feel a part of it and panic that you cannot move while your conscious is fighting to take over the subconscious to take charge and surface you back to the reality.

The irony of it was that it was real and no matter how much tried, she was finding it onerous to move or yell for help. After numerous futile attempts, when everything she tried was in vain, she heard footsteps echoing in the distance slowly and steadily approaching her. The echo reduced in intensity as the person moved closer and closer and then the footsteps stopped suddenly. She still couldn't see due to the void of darkness but was sure that the person was somewhere is proximity, enough to feel the breaths due to her unrealised heightened sense of hearing or may be just due to the quiet.

"Itni koshishein mat karo! Thakk jaaogi aur fayda kuch nahi hoga!" She was hearing intently for any signs when the footsteps stopped but the sudden icy tone closest to her ear had startled her. The cool breath felt so close to her ear that she feared if she turned her face in the direction of the voice, it would bump into his face. Whoever the person was, she didn't recognise the voice, but it gave her cold shudders and an icy scare tingled down her spine. Though she couldn't access her psyche and was too nervous to orchestrate her other senses, the tone was enough to give her alarming vibes. He hadn't chained, tied or blindfolded her. But whatever was happening to her was enough to indicate that she was in trouble.

"Itna mat ghabrao, main tumhe koi nuksaan nahi pahunchana chahta. Agar aisa karna hota toh kaafi samay tha mere paas jab tum behosh thi".

This scared her even further coz it dawned on her that she didn't realize where she was and how long had she been here like this.

"Tum soch rahi ho ki main kaun hoon aur tumse kya chahta hoon. Par puch nahi pa rahi ho! Chinta mat karo, mujhe buss tumse kuch baatein jaanni hai, itihaas ke kuch aise panne palatne hai jiski kunji tumhare dimaag mein hai. Buss mera kaam kar do aur main tumhe sahi salamat aaram se tumhe tumhare ghar pahuncha doonga".

Naina couldn't make head or tail of what he wanted and why from her. She was a simple student and a trainee at best with limited knowledge and meagre resources. What use she could be to anyone on their quest?

As if reading her thoughts, the man interjected, "na na...main tumhare kitaabi gyaan ki baat nahi kar raha...matlab actually woh bhi kaam ka hi hai kyonki tumhare paas toh woh bhi auron se jyaada hai. Apni padhayee aur archeologist banne ke sapne ko lekar itna serious jo ho. Par mujhe zaroorat hai tumhare dusre gyaan ki jiske baare mein zyaada koi nahi janta. Achcha kaam kiya hai tumne jo apni kabiliyat chipa ke rakhi warna har aira gaira nathu gaira tumhare peeche pad jaata". The man complemented her with the last statement trying to inflict some humor. But she didn't find anything funny about her current situation.

"Tum soch rahi hogi ki hil dul nahi pa rahi ho, bol bhi nahi pa rahi ho, toh meri madad kaise karogi? Chinta mat karo, yeh sab dawaai ka asar hai, waise toh 3-4 din lagte hai utarne mein par tum..." he got up and circled her and smirked, "tum alag ho...bahut alag....issliye asar jaldi utar jaayega. Tumhe nahi pataa tum kitni khaas ho. Tum jiske haath mein aa jaogi, woh puri kaaynat ka maalik ban jayega". The man sneered in exuberance as if he could feel the fortune of the universe under his feet.

"Saalon se sadiyon se dhoondh raha hoon tumhe...kitni thokarein khayi....kitni baar jhoothi ummeedein bani...par aaj meri koshish kamyaab hui aur finally maine tumhe dhoondh hi liya. Ab tum mil gayi ho toh woh bhi apne aap mil jayega....aur fir mera yugon purana sapna sach hoga....iss duniya pe, pure brahmand pe raaj karne ka!" He exclaimed in ecstasy as if his dream was just about to fulfill. After basking in his just about to achieve glory, he came back to present.

"Ab tum thodi der aaram karo aur apne dimaag ko bhi aaram do...baad mein hume bahut kaam karne hai". He sniggered suddenly close to her ear and though she couldn't see him, she formed an image of a vile face with demonic expression in her mind. And just like the surroundings that were filled with his venomous thoughts, suddenly an eerie quiet fell around her and somehow she was sure that he was gone even without the echo of the retreating footsteps.

She finally released the breath that she was holding and inhaled deeply to calm down her nerves. She had no clue of whatever eas happening or who he was or what exactly did he want and why was he holding her. Suddenly, she remembered her last thoughts, they were hiking through the forest, then they entered the most besutiful caves and while examining one such rock with ancient inscription, she was engulfed in a bright luminosity that blinded everything in the surroundings. Thereafter, she didn't remember anything, means she would have been cold out for a while.

But one thing she realized for sure was that even if her life was not in danger currently as he needed her for he alone knew what, her existence was definitely in peril. He might have promised her safe return to home after she helped him but no time limit was mentioned and her instinct told her to not trust him. She couldn't decipher anything of what he said but knew that she needed to get free of him to be safe. She tried struggling like any normal human or a panicky girl and though she wasn't tied, her whole body was sluggish. She panicked more and more that what if she would never be able to move and he would come back and God know what he might want of her; she couldn't even see anything.

After several futile attempts, she almost gave up and tears started rolling down her cheeks. She felt like she was going to be stuck here till eternity at the mercy of the stranger who might return anytime and decide the fate of her being. All these thoughts left her woebegone with a deep hole in heart. That's when it struck her that if she was stuck here for eternity she would never get to talk to Sameer. She hadn't admitted completely to herself but she had been harbouring this secret desperation of meeting him, seeing him, even touching him. She had gained access to certain parts of his brain but somehow still she hadn't seen his image. She knew a lot about him but not how he looked and now it was her loftiest wish to see him. Not that it mattered how he looked, she couldn't care less about his looks but that secret desire like every young girl who grew up reading romance novels was to one day find if she was destined to encounter a prince charming.

Her mouth curved in a smile and she blushed to herself and boom...what the hell was she thinking? She strongly reprimanded herself and was shocked at her own thoughts. Here her life, her very existence was in jeopardy and all she could think was Sameer. All she cared about if she never got out of this place was that she would never be able to talk to or meet Sameer. What the hell was wrong with her? If she was going to be a prisoner in some deep dark dungeon in an unknown corner of the world, she would never able to to see her sister and her Chachi too. Why weren't their thoughts uppermost in her mind, why did only not seeing Sameer ever bothered her so much. When did he become her priority? He was just a friend, a stranger friend whom she had never seen and hadn't even hoped till now to ever see. They were in different cities that much she knew, but the exact locations were never divulged. It hadn't mattered till now, then why now? She hadn't connected with him for she didn't know how long and it didn't sit well with her. Would it have mattered to him too? Would he concerned if she was so abruptly disconnected from him? Would he be worried? Would he bother to look for her? But why would he? She hadn't even given him her name. He had shared a lot about himself with her but she had always sequestered information and never allowed access to anything more than the thoughts she projected. Then why would he care if she disappeared? May be initially it would bother him but then over a period he would forget, wouldn't he? He didn't even know her real name, there was no place or way for him to check. The thought left her utterly desolate and heartbroken that eventually she would be erased from Sameer's memory just like those deep buried images she had accessed in his brain and he wasn't even aware about those or remembered any such happenings.

She wallowed in self-pity and shed silent tears and again questioned herself why did it matter to her so much. The only answer that came back to her was rapid heartbeats and realization widened her eyes and resulted in arythmic erratic pulse. She cared for the stranger....no who was she fooling...she had fallen for the faceless stranger. She had fallen in love with the faceless stranger. The feeling was as clear as day. She smiled widely. That's when she discerned that though her family was still most important to her, Sameer had slowly and steadily wormed his way to the priority. She had no qualms of placing him first and foremost in her heart. It was strange to feel so strongly for a stranger but it just felt right as if a missing piece of her jigsaw self was found that fulfilled her existence.

That reminded her that to get to him and tell him what was in her heart, she had to get out from this place as it blocked her psyche. She couldn't even try to connect or tap into it. She closed her eyes and focused and could only remember his words that some drug dampened her senses. She understood that he had done that to achieve some purpose. That means he might know about her abilities and that increased the danger she was in. What if he forced her to use her abilities for some vile purpose? It was for sure he didn't have any noble goal.

Trying to calm her nerves, she directed her focus, "shaant ho ja Naina. Darne ya panic karne se kuch nahi hoga. Chachi ne sikhaya hai na ki badi se badi mushkil mein bhi dimaag ko shant rakhna aur dheere dheere problem ko suljhana". She gave herself the pep talk in the brain. "Toh sabse pehle, dawai ke asar se bahar aana hoga". She smirked at her genius, "tum
jo koi bhi ho, tumne khud mujhse kaha ki main sabse bahut alag hoon...yani jo cheez kisi normal insaan ko rok sakti hai woh mujhe nahi rok payegi". With the newfound vigor, she concentrated and focused on moving her toes and feet with a complete determination to overcome to effects of the drug. With every pasing moment she was gaining and overcoming the paralysis. It wasn't going to be long before she would be on her feet and ready to run.

Meanwhile, in the other corner of the world, Sameer was heading back to Ahmedabad. His eyes were focused on the road but his brain was controlled in an unknown trance. He had all his thoughts and focus directed to Anamika, his entire energy was channelled in her direction and though he didn't realize, his supernatural powers pulled him towards her like a magnet. He was driving towards and through the city on the other side outskirts to an old abandoned excavation site of the ASI marked Lothal. It was another ancient Indus valley civilaztion on the banks of Sabarmati. The time period matched to that of Harappa about 4000 years old and excavations were ceased and restarted a few times. However, there were still some hidden sites that were marked as inaccessible or dated abandonment since 1960s. The reasons weren't clear but some myths of the place being cursed were circulated, and since some workers and scientists had gone missing, ASI had decided to leave it alone. It was farther away from the main site and covered in rocks and silt and dense foliage that otherwise did not grow in the deserted region.

His car screeched to a halt in a small clearing as his being told him to stop at the arrived destination. He stepped out of the car in a daze and shut the door loudly. The noise broke his trance and he looked around. He was standing in a clearing with foliage and rocky stone caves structures all around him. He was astounded and had no clue where exactly he was. A thousand thoughts cruised his brain but he was insentient. All he knew was his determination to find his Anamika at any cost.