Chapter 1: Myth Online(1)
Knock knock knock!
Knock knock knock!
Knock knock knock!
"MANISH, OPEN THE DOOR!" Aakesh yelled angrily, as his younger brother hadn't come out of his room all morning.
"IF YOU DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR, I WILL BREAK IT," Aakesh's rage knew no bounds, as he and his parents had been worried sick because of his younger brother.
Aakesh's mother was standing not far away as she looked at the door with great concern.
Aakesh was twenty-five years old this year. He lived with his parents and younger brother in a middle-class society.
Aakesh's father was a topper in his college, so he got a great-paying job right from the start. Aakesh's family never had to worry about money unless their demands were exaggerated.
Aakesh, after completing his education, got a well-paying job in an MNC while his younger brother Manish was in his last year of engineering college.
Manish had been a fun-loving guy since his childhood years. He was like a leader, as he always had a few people following him no matter where he went, while Aakesh was the entire opposite. He didn't talk unless needed, as if words were money.
Maybe it was also the reason behind both the brothers having a great relationship. Aakesh knew everything that was happening with Manish, as Manish couldn't hide a secret from his elder brother.
Things were good, but a month ago suddenly something happened.
No one in the family knew what had happened; from that day on, Manish's entire personality changed. He wouldn't talk with anyone, and if anyone would try to talk with him, he would just sit silent.
The family knew there was something wrong with Manish, so they tried the treatment. One month passed like that, but there seemed to be no improvement.
Aakesh knew they couldn't hurry, as Manish must have gone through some severe trauma, or his personality wouldn't change overnight.
Aakesh, who only spoke when necessary, became a chatterbox in front of Manish, as he couldn't see his younger brother like that.
Even yesterday, Aakesh spoke for around an hour with Manish before sending him to his room. Today morning when Manish didn't open his room, the family didn't think much since it had become a habit for him to sit silently in his room.
After breakfast, the father and son went their separate ways to the office, while the mother remained in the house since she was a housewife.
Aakesh was sitting on his office chair when he had suddenly gotten a call from his mother about how Manish still hadn't come out of the room.
Aakesh took his bag and rushed back to the house as Manish had never done anything like this.
***
"Break it, I have a bad feeling," The mother said as her voice broke while her eyes looked on the verge of tears.
Aakesh nodded since he had the same idea. He then turned around and went back to the store room, as with his weak body, it would take hours to break the door.
Ding!
At the same time, the house bell rang. The mother hurriedly went downstairs as if it must be the father.
"Has he opened the door?" The father asked right after the door opened. He looked to be gasping for breath as he had run upstairs since the lifts were getting repaired.
The mother shook her head and not long after, hammering sounds began ringing in the house.
The father and mother rushed upstairs as they saw Aakesh trying to break the door using a hammer.
After a few knocks, the handle came out, and a few more knocks later, the door clicked open.
The family rushed inside. As the mother saw the scene, she felt the world around her blanking while her chest was in pain.
Thud!
The mother lost her consciousness and crashed on the floor, but the father and Aakesh seemed to have no reaction as if they had frozen by watching the scene in front of them.
On the bed, Manish was sleeping peacefully, but beneath him, the bedsheet was drenched red with his blood, as blood was continuously gushing out from his throat.
***
'HOW?' Aakesh wanted to scream, but no voice seemed to come out of his throat as he saw his younger brother.
He suddenly remembered that his parents had also come inside. He turned around, only to see his father's bloodless face as those eyes stared at his son. His mother was unconscious on the ground.
Aakesh knew he needed to handle his parents so he rushed to his mother.
"Maa," Aakesh tried to wake the mother up, but she seemed to have no reaction.
***
"Is there anyone you have suspicions about?" The police officer asked Aakesh since both his parents had been admitted to the hospital. His mother had a heart attack, while the father seemed to have gone through trauma.
"No, he rarely had fights," Aakesh answered.
The police officer asked a few more questions and was about to leave when Aakesh suddenly stopped him and asked, "When can we get the body back?"
"If nothing is found, then 24 hours, if we find anything on the body, then indefinite," The police officer answered like a machine as if he had remembered the answer.
***
Due to the fact that neither the society cameras nor Manish's body showed any signs of struggle, the case was ruled a suicide.
The priest gave the torch to Aakesh while his father sat in a wheelchair with a blank face.
The ladies were comforting the mother, who was sobbing further away from the gate.
(A/N: Women are frowned upon inside the cremation ground in Vedic rituals as only they can give birth. Standing near death is considered a bad omen for someone who has the ability to birth a new life.)
Aakesh's eyes were moist as he lit the pyre using the torch.
***
It has been seven days since Manish killed himself. Due to the lack of evidence that could change their judgment, the police returned all of his stuff.
A discrete diary was among all of his belongings, and when the police had opened it, they discovered it to be empty.
***
As Aakesh was going through all of Manish's stuff, he also found the diary.
It was the first time, Aakesh saw a diary like this in his brother's room, so he opened it.
"Bhaiji, if you're reading this…," Aakesh stumbled, almost on the verge of crashing as he saw the content on the first page.
(A/N: Bhaiya is a term used for elder brother in eastern parts of India.)
***
A/N: Hello readers, this is Pinaka_.
This is my fourth attempt at writing.
It is going to be a game genre novel but with fantasy elements. We'll have quests, adventure, violence, and romance, all of it in this story. I hope, you like the story!