Siddharth's POV

Avi sir woke me up at 5. Seeing that the Sun was himself in his slumber, I ignored his alarm and cuddled back into my warm sheet. The night was super cold and I hasn't got a wink of sleep! Slowly, I opened my eyes to see the clock showing 6. Now this was called morning. Avi sir as usual was indulged in a book. On his preference, I ordered three cups of tea. I called Anjali to wake her up.

Anjali's POV

My sharp ringtone shattered my beauty sleep. Tom. Why the hell was he disturbing me so early.!!??? I freshened up as I wore my jacket. The weather was bathing in shivers.

Snuggling closer, I dug myself into his blanket. We both sat adjacent, like two monkeys covered in blanket from head to toe. Avi sir was sweet enough to serve us the boiling tea. He must be too used to weather changes...

Suddenly, yesterday's wierd dream...or nightmare made my heart skip a beat. I immediately turned, closely observing him, specially, his stubble.... Where had all that moustache come from? He looked at me, making a funny face. Indeed, he was confused.

"The south of Ujjayini, and north of Pratishthana, on the route connecting the two cities, we are here" said Avi sir, and continued saying about Ujjayini and other archeological sites in MP.

After filling my brain with all that history Avi Sir recited, we both stared at the totally clear water. In this era of pollution, it was indeed a surprise that the water of this lake was crystal clear. The place was isolated, probably this was the secret behind the water. As far as my eyes could detect, there was a dry waterfall beyond. No greenery, only brown rocks and stones.

Siddharth's POV

Avi sir instructed us to cross the lake. In a jiffy, he himself stepped in the freezing water. Anjali was very reluctant but I pulled her with me. She never released her hug from my hand till we reached the opposite shore. The water was too shallow.

I rubbed my palms, watching her trying to analyse the view.

All we could find was the huge dry rock. Avi sir approached, smiling. "Begin" he commanded.

I used all my energy to at least shake the huge boulders. No use though. I placed my ears here and there, trying to hear any slight movements beneath.

"Amare............mahish.......rajmath.................." A sudden energy stimulated me. Shouts and cheers.... A bold voice..... What was I even hearing!!?? I had pinned my ears to a huge boulder in the corner.

Anjali's POV

I ran as I heard him call out to me. Avi sir joined us. Pointing at a huge boulder, he said he heard voices. I pinned my ears to hear nothing but an eerie silence. But he seemed very confident about himself. Remembering my strange Vision last night, I did nothing but nod.

Avi sir glanced at it from top to bottom. "It is not formed..." he decided. "There must be something behind..." Sid immediately sensed and with all his might, he tried to push it.

When all his efforts drowned, I joined, not that I could handle it, he might not feel he's alone.

Sweat dripped as we dropped on the hard matrix. This was too heavy for two humans. I felt something near my palm when I slid my hand. Curious, I turned about, stimulating him. There was a stick, made of stone, stuck beneath the same boulder. We got up and I slightly applied pressure to remove it. To my extreme surprise, it slid into my hands.

Now came the avalanche. The rock began vibrating and in no time, it lost its balance. In the nick of time, Sid and Avi sir managed to change its direction.

How foolish of us! We had the solution in our hands and we went on searching.

As I expected, there was a dark hollow space. Probably a cave it was. Before I stepped in, Avi sir held my shoulder. He seemed to be very worrier of this new discovery.

He led the way in. The light from our phones was more than enough. I slithered my hands against a wall when I felt something come out of the wall. I shrieked, bringing the two near me.

It was a carving on stone. An art which probably was more than thousands of years old. Even the three flashlights did not help the carving clear up. All I could figure out was a figure of two humans, with some parallel lines, perpendicular to their body.

Thank you so much for 3k readers! As promised, an early update. As usual, 15 votes and comments anticipated...🙏 Pls do vote and comment. Love always😘