Strangely Familiar

“Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.” - Rudyard Kipling

Naina loomed in through the doorway choosing the very moment Ayaan decided to make his way out, almost bumping into his retreating form. She looked at him in horror, wide-eyed.

“Wha-?”

She appeared like she had seen a ghost.

He narrowed his eyes at her and winced as his jaws ached even at the slightest flexing of muscle. Refusing to continue to be in her presence anymore, he stepped past her.

Unable to comprehend what just happened, she hurried inside the attic. Her hair flowed like wild waves after climbing up the stairs, breathing ragged as she spoke in a trembling voice. “I can’t find them anywhere.”

They looked at her crazily.

“Mom and Dad.” She said, blinking her eyes furiously. Her voice still latched with fright. “They are nowhere. I checked the entire wing.”

Tia stared in trepidation, speechless.

Panic gripped her senses as she continued to babble, feeling her hands shake in dread. She was hyperventilating. Her world suddenly blackened before her, and she felt herself falling. A strong set of arms wrapped around her to set her straight.

“Hey, we got this.” her brother said in a tight voice.

“What if something happened to them? What if he took them? What if -”

“Naina, calm down.” It was Mr. Kazmi. He squatted down to her level. It was then she realized she was sitting on the floor. “They are gonna be okay. We’ll find them.”

She heard him say, but couldn’t gather enough focus to be able to see him.

“But how?” Tia asked, bending down next to her. She took in the family’s current predicament, squeezing Naina’s palms in reassurance.

“When was the last time you saw them?” Mr. Kazmi asked, shaking her shoulder, trying to bring her back from her state of anxiety.

It was enough to snap her back to reality, as she looked at him unsure, tears welling up in her eyes again. “Yesterday before going to bed.” She hiccuped. “I told her to tell us about the history of this place.”

“Perhaps she was not willing to share?” Tia asked in a soft voice. It was a possibility.

“She was reluctant at first, but then after I told her about strange happenings, she agreed.” Naina jerked her head in response, hoping her words would make some sense.

“Where’s Dad?” Samraat, who still had his arms around her, whispered closer to her ear, frowning.

“Can’t find him either.” Naina ducked her head down further, wiping her tears off. She looked at her brother with slightly swelling eyes. “What do you think happened to them?”

He sighed, plopping down on the floor next to his sister, and resting his head on her shoulder.

“We need to find clues on our own.” Mr. Kazmi said logically. He believed he was the only one among them who could guide them, considering the present scenario, the younger ones around him were tearing their confidence in defeat.

Naina hoped she had misheard him. It was then she knew she could no longer make up her mind anymore. “We were about to do that and look what happened. What are the chances that if we delve any deeper, none of us would end up getting hurt or worse?” Her tone was incredible.

None of them uttered a word for a moment.

“But that’s exactly what he wants.” The former undercover officer countered her logic. There was a tinge of strain and tensity in his voice.

“He’s right.” Samraat lifted his head, his tone swinging between annoyance and exasperation. “We can’t always live in fear. Besides, it’s the only way to get them back.”

He wanted to say something else but stopped himself mid-way.

Tears continued to blur her vision as she understood his unspoken words, and her expression paled slightly. “It’s my fault, Sammy. It’s all my fault.”

“That’s not true.”

“I wanted to know the secrets of the Mansion,” her voice wavered, signaling her hand around, sight fixed on nothing in particular. “If only I hadn’t asked.”

Her words trailed off.

“It’s not your fault,” Samraat stressed in his words. His forehead was crowded with fine lines.

“Let’s get going. We need to act fast lest something else happens.” Tia murmured the last bit to herself. However, her words were not left unheard.

Naina was roaming around the Mansion with blind logic running inside her mind without brakes.

The four of them scattered themselves around in each direction hoping to find something. Anything. After recovering from her initial state of shock, the search hour started way too early for her gut reaction, her stomach twisting with nausea at the sheer scope of witnessing something cruel and unearthly.

Releasing her shaky breath, and without halting movement, she collected herself knowing none of her fear would serve her tonight, accepting the frozen and irrevocably numbing sensation of her erratically beating heart. Circling her arms closer to her chest, she shivered as she came face to face with the massive door in front of her. Curiously, she peeked inside, but darkness was all that caught her eyes.

She pushed the metal door open, revealing a long stairway. Against her better judgment, and instead of calling her newfound friends, she stepped down, swallowing the lump in her throat.

Regretting her decision almost instantly, Naina jumped when she felt a creeping sensation in the calves of her legs. It better not be a cockroach or spider. She frowned and jerked her legs in an attempt to sway them away. The path led to an underground corridor. Before she could move further, a voice demanded her immediate presence.

Cursing inwardly, she traced her steps, climbed back to the ground, and closed the door behind her.

Her brother rushed to the hall - what they now called their massive living room, holding a book up high in his hand.

“You are not gonna believe what I found.”

That makes two of us. Naina wanted to yell but waited for her turn.

They circled the fireplace. She was quick to present herself back under their gazes and waited for her brother to continue.

“Look at this.” Samraat presented a withered book that was torn from its edge, and soiled from several other sides, as he carefully kept it on the table. It was labeled, ‘The First Memoir.’ Peeking at its cover curiously, Naina saw extremely familiar concoctions of carving and design wrapped up in peculiar doodles.

Cautiously, he turned over several pages, minding its fragile bind, his palms rested on one particular page. “Read this.”

Tia curiously glanced over the page. “Why, it looks like some riddle.” She looked back at him in puzzlement, nonetheless reaching over to read it aloud.

A long time ago, in an unknown land,

Blessed with green, all rich and grand.

The kingdom lay amid dust and sand,

circulating like an oscillating band.

With years, it evolved, grew, and expand.

‘Power prevails’, was its fashioned command.

Two dynamic forces took their stand.

A tricky maneuver not many understand.

Magee and Tempus, and their joined hands,

Spawns uproar, the rage was planned.

Soon the land disrupts, their world disbands.

The union, unfortunately, gravely slammed.

The fallacy broke out, its progeny banned.

She stopped reading. Her frown grew deeper and deeper with every line. “The next page is completely withered and torn.”

“What do you reckon this is?” Mr. Kazmi’s voice broke the silence of the room.

“It’s something,” Tia answered with a lop-sided grin. “Half of something. The curious thing is the poem is written in a different ink, and it’s a different handwriting.”

“Someone else inked it in.” Naina reasoned.

“Does this mean anything to you guys?” Samraat and Naina both peered over at the voice source.

“We didn’t even know magic existed until a few days back,” Naina answered honestly.

“There must be something. Think, anything repetitive, any coincidences?” Mr. Kazmi stressed his words.

It’s not as easy as you make it. Naina wanted to say. She pursed her lips thinking hard. Her life was anything but normal back at home, but how does that fit in here? To recall everything back and view it from a completely different angle was incredibly exhausting. She nonetheless tried.

“Well, there is one story she often told us. Nans, do you remember- ”

“Yes,” his sister interjected, quick to catch up with her words. She nodded, her eyes growing wide, confirming that he was thinking the same thing.

“What story?” Mr. Kazmi asked almost immediately. He was seated cross-legged next to Naina as she tilted her head slightly in his direction, recalling a story in her head.

“This stupid story is extremely cheesy.” She took the lead, unsure, contemplating for a bit and its correlation with the gravity of the current situation.

Moistening her lips, she continued, “It’s about two people who loved each other unconditionally, and together they wanted to do something big but society never accepted them and their ideas, simply because they belonged to two different communities, and so their union was considered void. They never gave up. Their love was so strong that they fought against all odds but unfortunately did not win. It was just two against the world.”

“Three, actually. They also had a child. Imagine the scandal.” Samraat rolled his eyes before adding to the story, “Anyway, he vowed to get back for revenge from the same society and people who disowned and kicked out his family.”

“Or her,” Naina chimed in, introspective. “Could be her.”

“Or them,” Tia shrugged thoughtfully.

“Yeah. We didn’t pay much attention to the gender part. They were like a force to be reckoned with. It’s like a tragic love story if you ask me.” Her brother replied nonchalantly. “Never really thought much about it.”

“Frankly, I always thought it was the result of her habit of watching soap operas.” Naina countered, dismissing the conversation entirely.

“And yet, it weirdly coincides with the bit of mumble jumble right here, except this speaks about some kingdom,” Tia responded logically, her hands holding the book with caution, eyes scanning over to the words again. “I wonder what was on the next page.”

“I wonder who ripped it and why,” Naina said, leaning her back against the edge of the couch to sit more comfortably.

“You and me both.” Mr. Kazmi was in deep thought. His thoughts started to doodle over several improbable possibilities. He was busy forming equations inside his head, his eyes roaming from one end to another, he barely noticed that all eyes were on him some curious, some wary.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Samraat asked.

Mr. Kazmi snapped out of his state, and asked hurriedly, his voice sensing the urgency as if he had just solved a master puzzle. “Where is Ayaan?”

“Don’t ask me.” Naina saw her brother raise his hands in surrender.

“Dunno! Didn’t see him since this morning.” Tia voiced out her concern, her face growing anxious. “Why?”

Mr. Kazmi jumped up to his feet. Following his motion, the rest of them got up instantly as well. The atmosphere changed radically around them.

“We need to find him.” He whispered, his eyes scanning the rest of the living room, mostly vacant space. “NOW!”

“What’s wrong?” Naina couldn’t help but ask. The uneasiness around them grew with every passing second, but she stubbornly refused to entertain it.

“Your parents mysteriously disappeared. And now Ayaan is not at his usual camping place. It’s bad as it is that he doesn’t believe in the Mansion’s magic. It makes us all vulnerable.” His voice rushed as he spoke in between his breaths.

“I am gonna punch him real good this time the moment I get my hands on him.” Samraat pondered his thoughts out loud, fists clenching, his face twitching in annoyance.

“Sammy.”

“SAM!”

He looked at both the females, half-crazed, “Just so you know, he’s making things worse.”

Tia shook her head and left to search for her friend.

“Now may be a good time to talk,” Samraat said in a low voice, moving his head to take a quick look at his surroundings to make sure no one was within hearing reach. “Why didn’t you tell them the entire story?”

“Because it can be coincidental. Besides, I still don’t know if we can entirely trust them,” Naina responded.

“I know Tia’s nice and innocent.” He grumbled under his breath. “She’ll never hurt a fly.”

She exclaimed, trying to reason, “You have only known her for a week.”

When he only stared at her in half bewilderment and half annoyance, she spoke again. “I understand you like her but I just can’t ignore my gut feeling. Keep the rest of the part to yourself unless we know what is truly happening.”

Naina turned away leaving him rooted. She has a mission to fulfill.

If he gets him. There is no way he will make it out alive. She may not be fond of him but she certainly doesn’t wish him death.

Her initial plan to inform others about the hidden unused stairway suddenly slipped her mind, easily becoming the least of her concerns in her current list of priorities.