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Date - 25 August 2020

"Those Buried Secrets"

Writer's pov

As the first rays of sunlight broke over the snow-capped peaks and reached the interiors of many three storied wooden houses of the village Malana, men and women began to stir and continue with their daily chores.

As the darkness was getting replaced by the shinning Suryadev, Shepherds and Farmers began to go towards their farms amidst the lush green and shimmering snow-capped mountains of the Parvati valley, 9500 ft above sea level.
And did I tell you all, this tiny village is also Famous for its world class Weed (Hashish).
But the villagers were never addicted to it and considered it only a source of their income but of course there were many notorious groups who would smoke on them in the dark nights.
But the local police and The Singhals together would always keep them in check.

Far Away from the upcoming havocs in her life, Roshni looked out from her room and smiled at the beautiful sun bathed lanes and paddy fields at the far away curves of the valley.
All her anxiousness from the night were washed away by the greenary and the quiteness of the valley.

And today was one of those days where she enjoyed the most. She was going to the nearby town Kasol, to her Brother's Book store and nothing could set her mood off. She loved to be surrounded by Books and she loved the roads that she passed by. But this time she was not sure if her brothers would take her along provided what happened yesterday.

None the less, Humming a soft tune she completed her morning routine and went down to meet her family.
Her grandma was already sitting on their small dinning table and Adikrit was serving her, his special the Pahaadi Chai.
Where as Aadarsh was making cheese sandwiches for breakfast as it was his turn to cook today.

Roshni stood on her legs uncomfortably as she didn't want to upset her brothers in the Early morning. Aadarsh who was coming towards the table with sandwiches saw her first and spoke -

What are you doing over there Rosh? Don't you wanna eat my world class sandwiches?
Come sit, I am serving you some and then we can all go together to Kasol. After all its only times like this when we get to spend some quality time together.

That was the thing with the Purohit brothers. No matter what Roshni did or what they had to go through, they couldn't stay angry at her for a long time.
They were too good to be angry.

I.... I am not hungry Bhaiya!
I will eat them on road.....i don't want to miss the early morning Sundays on the mountains! - roshni whined

Not Hungry?
I am not taking a no for an answer Rosh!
Go grab the juice from the kitchen counter and join us here.
Unless you have something, i am not taking you with me! - Aadarsh said in finality

Hearing this, roshni rushed to the kitchen and both the brothers chuckles at her eagerness.

Don't spoil her too much Aadarsh!
This is going to make her weak, she is supposed to be rough and tough.! - suddenly granny spoke

What are you talking about Daadi?
We have always been like this with Rosh!And what's with this rough and tough? Why do you always speak in riddles? - Adikrit asked curiously

You are Right! It's high time I spoke the words.! - said granny and continued

You two have been too ignorant of the Truth and have been living in your own world but I can not forget the words my children narrated that night. I know what the Purohit ji had said when Roshni had come here first with your parents.

We are here to look after her.... And give her good values. I agree she is the Apple of our eyes but she has to serve the purpose she has been assigned. Anyways,
Take her out, spend as much time as you can with her till the Holy Eclipse.....because you know what happens when the time comes.! - her grand maa spoke all serious

Aadarsh spoke clenching his jaw - Stop feeding non sense to us Daadi! Nothing of that sort is going to happen to our princess, so far we have been protecting her and I will protect her further too.

Granny rolled her eyes and left to her room not before saying -
It's not going to be any good to both of you if you keep running away from the Reality!

Both aadarsh and Adikrit gritted their teeth, they hated when their Granny mentioned anything about the Eclipse and Roshni being the special one.
It was an eclipse when Roshni had entered their lives just like a flower. Some of the pandits then had said that she will be claimed by holy powers to serve a special purpose as she is special.
Adikrit was small so he could not remember much from that day but Aadarsh was about 11 years old and he remembers everything that happened on that particular Eclipse till this day. Adikrit always wanted to ask his elder brother but mostly left it thinking his brother was sensitive to the topic.
But now a days, looking at the events happening around Roshni, he was concerned and wanted to know if those claims were real or not.

Roshni came with the juice And not seeing Granny, asked - Where is Daadi?
What did you both do this time to piss her off?

Both Aadrash and Adikrit did not meet her eyes but adikrit spoke anyway - Nothing Princess, She was tired Rosh, old bones you know.....so she went to rest.

Come, finish your breakfast quickly and then we will leave for Kasol.!
You don't wanna miss the morning Sunrays, do you?

And within a second she was on the table. Three of them ate their breakfast, Roshni was devouring the cheese sandwiches innocently, however Aadarsh and Adikrit were dwelling in the past and other possibilities.

Soon, they began their journey to Kasol. Both the Brothers sat in the front seats and with Roshni sitting at the back enjoying the natural view of the Parvati Valley and humming a beautiful local folk song.

A wonder to behold, with an air which not only mystifies your sense but makes you live in the impulses of life, Kasol is a village mothered by the Parvati valley. This tiny village of Himachal is best known for its thrilling treks, flavor some food, roaring river and the heartfelt humanity.

The entire region makes you feel and believe that this is the moment you can do the things you want and as your wings already exist, all you have to do is fly.
That's why Roshni loved to come to this place....she loved the exclusive freedom this place offered. She would capture all the beauty in her eyes and later she would paint them. However this time around, things seemed a little different to her. None of her paintings had the details of this time.
The whole Air was different this time. The decorations and the Local bazzar that was suddenly filled with items that were flashy and new to her.
However, a stall filled with Beautiful Bride Dolls caught her attention and Roshni felt so uneasy looking at those dolls. Those wired handcrafted dolls looked straight from an expert.

The numerous stalls on the narrow lanes caused Aadarsh to slow down the car and suddenly an old lady came to their car window and began to show the dolls.

Aadarsh frowned but said no to the lady but then she saw Roshni watching at her dolls with curious eyes and her eyes began to shine in happiness.

She began to hand her a Bride doll and said - Beti, take this doll!
You look just like one of them!
I am so honoured to see you with my own old eyes.!

Roshni shook her head frantically as she was almost scared of the decorated doll. It looked so lively.

Aadarsh yelled - Take that doll away from my sister you old woman!

But that old lady did not listen and began to shout happily -

Listen Everyone!
Our prayers are heard!
We have our Savior with us!
She is the Chosen One!

Come take a look and give her your blessings.!

Roshni cringed back to the other side scared of the crowd hovering over their car. She could not understand why all these people were after her and why would they think her as the Chosen one.
Aadarsh quickly rolled back the windows and locked all the doors from inside and began to pedal away from the crowd but it was almost impossible.

With the sudden change in the usual quite villagers began to create a chaos and both the Purohit brothers had not seen anything like this.

The villagers looked as if they were awed by Roshni and they had happiness spread over them as if they were waiting for her to come.

Roshni on the other hand was panicking with each passing second.
Suddenly they heard a trumpet.
A group of guys who looked all buffed up and exceptionally giant began to talk to the villagers, even though Aadarsh and Adikrit could not hear what they were talking but they could tell that those guys were asking the villagers to let them go.
One of the guy came to their car and knocked on the window. Aadarsh being on his toes, opened the window only a little so that he could hear him. The guy bowed down a little and spoke -
I am so sorry sir that you and the Queen had to face this.!
I apologize on the behalf of these villagers but they were just really happy to see her here at this time.....now you can continue, they won't cause you any trouble furthermore.
Take Care Sir!

With that he bowed once again and walked back a little giving Aadarsh a way to go.

Aadarsh pressed his eyebrows and exhaling a breath began to drive.
Adikrit spoke - What was that all about?
And who are these people?
I have never seen them here before!
And who was this Buff Dude?

It's all about the stupid Grand Eclipse pooja that this place is flooded.!
I should not have brought Rosh with me! - muttered Aadarsh

Hun? - Adikrit frowned

Nothing!
Rosh, baby are you ok bacche?
Don't worry about them, they were just some random villagers, ok!
Here drink this water and calm down, we will reach the shop in no time.

Roshni gulped some water and wiped her face and sighed. Although She could not understand why these people were behaving as of they knew her and the one word that caught her attention was The Queen!
And that certainly reminded her of Adhikshit....he called her the same!

But Why!?!
Anyways, she ignored her fast beating heart and closed her eyes to ease her mind....and before she knew she was deep in slumber for the very first time during her journey to Kasol.

Aadarsh saw sleeping gorm through the mirror and mentally cursed himself for being to his forgetful.
The entire valley was getting ready for the Upcoming Eclipse and if rumours were to be believed, this Eclipse was going to change the future of the Valley.

Shaking those nervous feelings away, he kept driven And soon, they reached their Book Store.
It was nothing big in its structure but their collection was famous in the entire valley. Students from all over the valley approached them for their books.

Adikrit woke up Roshni and let her reach the store, and her face beamed looking at the Book store. They quickly had their lunch, both Adikrit and Roshni wanted to ask many things to Aadarsh but looking at his serious face they dropped the idea, atleast Roshni did.

The new lot of Books had already been delivered so The Brothers sent Roshni to sort them in orders and enter their information on the computer...Roshni too got engrossed in the beauty and calm works of Books.

Attending to a few customers, Adikrit now faced Aadarsh and asked - Wanna tell me what is going on Bro!
I know you know what it is!
And I know that you are not comfortable sharing your mind but I need to know the truth bhai, so that I can help you and Roshni if this whole Eclipse thing concerns her!

Aadarsh knew Adikrit had the rights to know, and before he finds out the hard ways, it was his responsibility to tell him the truth.
So he double checked on Roshni and then began -

Adikrit, whatever I am going to tell you now is too much to take in....and can not go out of the family, just hear me out with patience and know that if I have hide all these secrets from you two I had reasons but now I think it's about time.
Adikrit gave him an encouraging look and Aadarsh began -
I am scared Adi, that our little happy family is going to fall apart.... again!

It all began the day when the Sun was covered by evil powers. Everybody in the valley was warned to stay inside, we all were hiding in a chest under our roof. Suddenly two-three mysterious men came to our house and they talked something to Baba. I could not understand what was going on but then after some time both Baba and Maa came to us. You were sleeping at that time, so maa held my hand and asked me to keep us safe in the chest and to not come out in any case unless they were back.

I asked them where they were going and who were those men but Baba only said that they are good men, our saviors and they were going to bring home a Blessing.
Baba had tied a chain around our necks and Patting our heads, then he went out along with maa and those other men. I didn't know why the entire skyline was black but I knew Baba was going to come back so I remained inside that chest with you. I don't remember the time we spend hiding in it but when I was awake, we both were in our bed.

And maa was standing with a small miracle baby in her arms and i could only see the light it was emitting.

She was shinning as if a thousand Sunrays had kissed her skin and then maa sat with the baby in her lap and had introduced me to the baby.
And that Miracle was none other than our Roshni.
Yes, that was our Roshni, a miracle baby.!
Maa and Baba had asked me to always look after my baby sister and give her the world's happiness even if they were not around.
I could not be anymore happier, I was ecstatic to see our baby sister that I didn't realise why Baba was saying like that....and when we introduced her to you, you were smiling like a clown, all toothless!
We four were now one Happy Family.
But the thing was, maa and Baba never allowed anyone to see Roshni as she used to glow unlike other kids of her age and so we were refrained from telling anybody about her too. Time passed and we all almost forgot those events, Roshni was also growing up and it was now really hard for us to hide her existence....suddenly one day daadi walked into our house and there was one Saint with her.

Maa and Baba placed Roshni in front of him and he places his hands over her head and her glow began to fade away.
And now she was one of us. The saint had said a few things about Roshni that she is the Chosen one and she has to serve her purpose....She has to bring the light back into the Valley and she belonged to Holy powers and would be claimed by them on an Eclipse when the time was right.
I had cried that night thinking that our baby sister would leave us, but that was nothing....it was one of those full Eclipse when our village was attacked by some evil creatures according to Maa and Baba and everything came to a crash down. Few villagers came to our house and we all flee away from there.

We were running through the jungle, our feets never stopped....little roshni was sleeping bundled into a warm blanket when an arrow hit Baba.
A painful shriek left his mouth but I could tell that he was still trying to hide his pain.

We still ran some more but then with injured baba it was difficult to carry on with the journey. So maa decided to hide us in one of the huge tree trunks but it was not in our favor, as a few dangerous giant men surround us all. The villagers who had accompanied us fought with them but they were not as powerful as those goons.
We all began to run once again and it was then we reached the River Parvati. Baba along with maa put us in a boat with a man. They had a little argument, I remember the man was pleading them to sit in the boat with us but they refused and they pushed our little boat into the river.

I saw tears in both maa and baby's eyes but I could not say much.
Baba had said -
Remember our Promise Aadarsh!
You have to Protect the Light!

The fast flow of the water sailed us afar but I would never forget those arrows that pierced through our parents.

Maa and Baba were dead and we were left on our own with little Roshni.
And I remember their promise.
So held both of you close to me and along with that man we reached to our Daadi in the valley as we reached the village Malana.

And this is how we got settled here.!

From that day, I have been keeping my promise to protect Roshni.
And this is the reason I never allowed her to go out and study like other kids of her age but guess, her secrets can be kept hidden anymore.
The recent incidents have been indicating that she indeed is the Chosen one and when the time comes, we have to let her go!

Remember, she keeps talking about the Legends.
I don't know how much true that is but it seems she is somehow associated to them.
And it kills me every day that she has to leave us.
I don't know what exactly her purpose is and the ones who are supposed to take her, whether they are good or like those evil creatures.!
And this is why I don't want her to go.!

Tell me Adikrit, how can I let her go with some stranger?
Daadi has always been reminding us that she has to leave but I still can't accept the fact that she is the Chose One and she has to go on a path, i am not sure about!

I have been researching on my on but it seems like a dead end but then Roshni meeting the Legend, scares me!
And all these Eclipse rumours are indicating that indeed the time is near.!
They have found her!
And I am feeling Helpless!

And today, those men who helped us when those villagers were ready to attack us, addressed Roshni as The Queen!
They somehow remind me of those men who helped us in the jungle back then....but none of this make sense.!

All I want is that our Roshni should be safe do that I can fulfill my promise of protecting her from anything Evil.!

By the time, Aadarsh stopped talking, adikrit's eyes we're moist. He was young so he did not remember all these incidences....but now when he knows, he didn't know how to react to that!

Roshni was not their biological sister, their whole life was a lie.
His parents sacrificed themselves for her Safety!
And she has no idea about this all!

He put his hand on Aadarsh's shoulder and spoke - Bhai, I didn't know you had so much piled up within you....but know that you are not alone anymore... I am with you!

You have done enough for us, now I will be your helping hand and I promise I will protect Roshni from every danger till my last breath.

And I will not let her leave us!
Come what May!

Oh, boy!

But how wrong he was!
Roshni was here to serve a purpose, she was the Light that would expel each and every evilness from the Valley!

They had waited for her since long and now when the time was here,

There is nothing that can stop her from being claimed by her Righteous Partner!

For she is his Light!

So how was it guys?
I hope a lot of things are made clear in the chapter.
Do share your thoughts by commenting and do not forget to vote.

See you all soon!