As Daria found her watch to be missing, she started wailing and on hearing it, her mother quickly rushed to her room and held her in her arms tightly. She patted her head and asked Daria what was wrong and why was she crying so much all of a sudden. "Ma, mamaaaa, I lost your heirloom, i lost the Verbitzkaya family treasure, the pocket watch is gone, I'm sure it was in my apron's pocket, oh mama I'm so sorry, I'm thirteen yet I'm the most irresponsible teenager ever, Mama I promise to look for it, should I be going out to look for it after supper?"
Mrs Aysha Reynaldy sighed and patted Daria's head gently, "Daria dearest, my dear girl there's no need to cry so much over something material, it's only an old watch, if you want to look for it then I won't stop you from doing so, do take a friend with you and a lamp. However I do not really mind it, We can buy a new one, why cry over this world's materials?" Daria shook her head vigorously and said "Mama, a new one will never be the same as the old one you gave me, you had it befire you even married Papa. A new one cannot replace the one you used and wore for so long, I am determined to go look for it after supper, I'll take an oil lamp and take a friend indeed. My heart will feel at ease only if I went out and made the effort to look for it."
"Very well, I see you are determined, then I shan't stop you, but be careful and don't stay outside too long do come back before lights out time. Come down now, let's have supper shall we?" Was her mother's reply. Daria nodded and held onto her mother's arm as they went downstairs to have supper. It was a most scrumptious meal, the warm and creamy pumpkin soup accompanied by the piping hot pumpkin bread and a slice of cheese and black jelly juice for dessert. "Summer, spring, autumn or winter, black agar jelly will remain refreshing..." Said Mr Reynaldy gaily.
After supper, Cameron went to do his calculus homework while Daria got ready to go out to look for her watch. "I'll ask Fatimah to come with me mama, she lives close by."
"Okay, be careful dear girl!" Exclaimed her mother from the kitchen. Daria took her lamp, wore her brown leather boots and set out, she ran as fast as she coul and knocked on Fatimah's family home door. Her mother opened it and asked her to come in, she refused and insisted to see Fatimah.
"What is it sister? Why the sudden visit? Are you here to do calculus together?" Asked Fatimah. Out of breath Daria shook her head and said "No, I would like to request you to come out with me right now. You see, I lost my mum's old watch and I won't know rest till I make sure to thoroughly look for it and find it, but mum says I shouldn't be going alone and should take a friend with me so I thought maybe you could come with me. What do you say?" Fatimah went in to ask permission from her mother and the latter agreed on condition that they do not go too far and do not come back home too late.
They looked around the streets of the forest village and ventured to the birch path looked everywhere and sat on a fallen tree trunk to rest a little, they even shoveled the snow with their little hands to see if the snow had piled on the lost watch wherever it may be.
"It's like trying to find a newdle in a hay stack!" Sighed Fatimah "I know but you may go back home if you want to, I shall look for it more..." Said the tired Daria. Fatimah shook her head and said "No can do, if you keep looking then so shall I, we shall never leave our comrades in distress, it is the oath of knights!" They both giggled and suddenly heard a loud rustling noise from behind them. They looked at each other with horrified looks on their faces and jumped off the tree trunk, then suddenly something sprung out from behind the trunk and the girls both closed their eyes hugged each other and screamed "oh no it's the dryad! Please don't eat us!" They waited for a second, nothing, another second, still nothing and heard a faint giggling sound, then they opened their eyes to see two boys about their age standing there in front of them trying hard not to laugh. "Girls be weird brother! They are so easily scared! Hi there my name is Faris, and this is my twin Raees." The twins who didn't look very much alike introduced themselves. "That was not very funny, what if we died of a cardiac arrest? I'm Daria, and this is Fatimah my friend."
"Ha, you look roo young to die of cardiac arrest. Are you two from the forest village up ahead?" Queries the curious Raees.
"We are as a matter of fact." Said Daria sternly.
"So are we. Anyway what are you two girls doing here at this hour?" Asked Faris
"We are looking for an old watch golden in colour, with carved leaves and flowers on oh and the Verbitzkaya family's crest" replied Fatimah.
"The Verbitzkaya crest?You jest, how is that possible, that's a noble family you're talking about, how will their watch get lost here in these woods?" Asked the bewildered Raees.
"As a matter of fact, Daria here is from the Earl Reynaldy's family, her father is the Earl's younger brother and her mother is the daughter of the Verbitzkaya family." Said Fatimah.
"Wow, so we have royalty in our town..." Said Faris.
"Aren't you the Miryakev twins? I know for one the Miryakev family is also a noble family so whatever are you doing in these woods yourselves?" Asked Daria.
"Well, we're here cause me dad wanted to be a farmer as the youngest son of Viscount Miryakev. We own this huge apple orchard you see in the forest village." Answered Faris.
"Well then we'll help you girls out, the more hands, the faster we'll be. Tell us exactly how you lost it." Said the practical Raees.
And as such Daria recounted her day to the twins and they were nodding constantly as if figuring something out.
"Tut tut, elementary my dear Daria, instead of looking for it here in these desolate woods, we better go to the school compound to begin our search. Wjen do you last remember it being on you and you've seen it as well?" Queried the little detective Faris.
"At noon I checked the time you see, oh and right before art class." Replied Daria.
"Then the art class and the yard are where we should be looking for it. No more time to waste, let us depart towards the school. We still have an hour before Esha prayer so we can make it back in time." Suggested Raees.
To school they went and looked for it for a good 20 mins. "It's nowhere! Maybe it's lost forever!" Exclaimed Fatimah.
Just as Daria's eyes started to tear up, Faris patted her head and said with a smirk on his face "not so fast. We cannot give up so fast. We forgot an important thing. We ought to recite surah Quraish before looking for something we lost. Let's all revite together with full conviction that we shall find it."
And thus they recited the surah together and kept looking for a while longer. "Aha! Found it! Is this it?" Exclaimed Raees who got back up from a side table in the corner of the room where all painting tools were kept. "Yes, oh yes, this is it! Thank you, Thanks to God's mercy we found it! At last, I shan't carry it around. I should keep it in my room and carry it when I'm a grown up." Exclaimed Daria who was now grinning from ear to ear.
"Alhamdulillah, yes, that's a very good idea, make sure you're not so clumsy when you become a grown up." Murmured Faris.Raees giggling tapped Faris's back. And with their mission accomplished they started to walk their way back home. By then it was rather dark and already time for Esha prayer so they were quickening their pace.
"You know I find today's adventure rather interesting." Said Raees. The others nodded in agreement. "By the way, I heard you were on vacation with your family visiting the great Ottoman Empire, how come you're here?" Asked Fatimah.
"Well we hot back this morning in the bullet train. You know the newly built one. The station is in the main town of Izhevsk where my grandma lives. I have decided I shall be a train engineer one day!" Said ghe dreamy Faris.
"Wow I never saw the train though I have heard rumours about it. We only ever travelled in groups on horse back and carriages." Said Daria.
"Well it's rather nice. It's fast too and there are nice compartments where you can sleep comfortably. Food is also served in your private cabin. They burn charcoal to let the train run. Surely designing and building a train sounds fascinating." Said Faris
"And I want to be an automobile engineer and designer or a flying mobile engineer one day" said Raees.
"Auto what? Flying... brother what are you trying to say there?"
"Automobile it's like a carriage you can drive without a horse and a flying one so you can arrive in different countries faster." Said Raees.
"Brother you sure have great ideas, then we shall be engineers and designers together."
"Sounds nice, to imagine becoming something." Said Daria
"I want to become a governess, then marry well." Said Fatimah
"Well isn't that what most women do? They become governesses, some never marry and become old maids running orphanages and schools, some do marry well and take care of their abodes and children happily. Well I want to be an artist, travel the world, see different things and paint them." Said Faris.
"Did you not just say you wanted to be a train engineer?" Asked Daria.
"Well yes I did, but maybe I can be both? Though I hate to flatter myself but I am rather good at art you see. Well you shall see in art class." Said Faris.
By the time they reached their homes it was after Esha prayer and they were grounded severely by their parents who were very worried about them. They each told the adventure they just lived to their parents but they were still grounded and when you get grounded it meant no pancakes for you in breakfast for a week. Daria and Fatima went to do their calculua homeworks after having bathed and Raees and Faris were preparing themselves to get back to school the next day.