" It was a test right? "
" What do you think? Raghav asked for her assistance.
" Keep thinking . " She replied planly.
" You are right. " He said with that same smile.
" She is too young. "
" What jealousy ? I'm twenty eight. It can work. And how long do you think I'm gonna keep being single. I need to settle down somewhere. And she is cute. Imagine me handsome and rich and cute and dangerous. What a couple. And I always like the queen type of girl."said Raghav looking at her.
" She is gonna go far. " Said Raghav, and then his inner voice called him.
6666666
And he excused himself from the office , and went for the lift. Dizzy standing there looking nowhere in particular, she moved to clear some folders and documents, when the ring of lunch break rang, and mostly everyone went for their lunch box.
Dizzy, after collecting some files, went to grab her lunch box, and then went to the rooftop. And while she was going there, a second figure was looking at her every move. Dizzy, reached at the top, and sat on the edge of the roof, and unpacked her lunch. She was taking some bites, when the pair of eyes who were following her, asked a question.
" Can I sit here? " And dizzy looked at the person, and turned around.
" Hay jiya, " Said dizzy looking at jiya, who was holding a lunch box. Jiya asked if she could join her in eating, which Dizzy replied in a yes, and told her that the roof isn't much clear, which jiya replied that that isn't a problem, and she cleaned a portion and sat beside her.
Seeing down at the floor jiya asked dizzy a question?
" Aren't you afraid of heights? "
" Not exactly, I just like the peace here. " And jiya noded.
" So you came here to eat daily? "
" No! When Mr Raghav isn't around to eat. "
" How so? " Asked jiya in interest.
" We normally eat with each other, not like each other, each other more like we just accompany each other . " Said dizzy.
" And breakfast as well? " Asked jiya.
" Not exactly. Whenever he didn't do breakfast for me. "
" You? Did he ask you daily? " Asked jiya seeing a Question.
" No! No! Not like that, he asked me once in a while, and I don't usually do the breakfast so, you know. " She replied.
" Hmm. " She hummed and continued eating.
" When did you start wearing fishnets ? It's quite western? "Asked dizzy looking at her fishnet leggings.
" These, well just say my friend advised me to wear that, she said I'll look awesome and it'll give me confidence. " And dizzy looked at it and murmured to herself.
" To wear that I need confidence. " And chewed her food.
" Anyways, I want to apologise for earlier, my sister and I should not have done that, we shouldn't have believed the rumours, I'm deeply sorry. " And she acted like crying.
" No, no it's nothing, there is nothing to worry about, that was just a false rumour and nothing, I'm not angry or anything. '' Said dizzy dismissively, telling her it's ok.
" Thank you, I was feeling really bad for it, I thought I might have made you sad ." And she looked a little sad.
" No need to be sad about it, it's ok . " Said dizzy reassuringly. And then Jiya looked a little happy and asked.
" Hay daisy, do you think Mr Raghav will like me? " And a visible question mark appears on his head.
" Why? "
" Huh? "
" I mean why not. He'll definitely gonna like you, he will be a fool, if he doesn't. "
" Will you help me? " And question marks multiply. And she doesn't know what to do .
" Of course I'll help you. "
" Really? " She asked with hope in her eyes.
" Really. " Dizzy said asuringly.
" Will you help getting me a date with him? " Question marks again multiplied.
And after they finished their meals, they both went down, dizzy, first and then Jiya. And when dizzy went out, jiya wiped her tears.
" Idiot. " She said, and packed her lunch box.
And down there, Raghav reached the ashram. His clothes changed automatically in lighter blue kurta and those wooden sandals.
" What happened old man? " Asked Raghav when he entered the white walls. And when no reply came from another side, he looked around and went into the doors of yugas.after passing the hall of fame area, and a corridor, he reached the gaits. He looked all four of them one by one. And went toward the gaits of treta-yuga.
He opened the door, and just felt the calmness and peace he felt, and that faint enchantment of OM .
" It felt like heaven. " He was feeling the joy of his life. And after a moment, he heard a door closing. He turned back, and saw the old man, coming from a door that he didn't wanna go in. The dwapar-yuga.
And one question rain on his mind,
" What the hell was the old man doing in the war period. " And then he looked at the the door, and then at him.
" Aren't you the person who said not to open the door. " Raghav said looking at the old man, who has a serious face on.
"And you are doing just that. "
" That's not the topic here, the topic is you my friend, breaking your own rules. And if we are talking about me, I'm just standing in front of that door, taking a breeze. But you, my friend, were full inside the door, maybe meeting with your family." Raghav said jokingly.
" Enough." He said in a loud voice.
" Be on your work Raghav, and don't ask questions that don't concern you or your work. Your job is to preserve, so preserve. '' Said the old goat in little bit of heat.
" Okay! " Was his reply, not knowing what to do.
And Raghav went on with his work. He reached a mountainous area, where a carnival was happening, and looked around. The old man was on silent mode, so he was almost alone there. He looked around and didn't see anyone.
" What happened hear.? " He focuses around. He saw all the rides, glowing, but there was no one, not even the wenders. He raised his senses, and felt something. He went to an ice cream stand, and took out an ice cream bar. And starts eating it in silence.
And while he was beating, a bunch of chaya-ratri started to appear from all around him, and they gathered around him. He didn't even look at them, and waited for the leader to show up. And from the middle of them, a man in black robbs and a long beard came in front of him, and all the chaya-ratri made way for him. The person in black robs sat beside him. And Raghav didn't even look at him.
" What's your name? " Asked Raghav to the man sitting beside him.
" Aren't you supposed to tell your name first, when asking someone's name? "
" True! But you know me, I am Maharakshak . But I didn't know you? So what's your name "
" You are a good man, I can see it. No one has asked for my name before. But now you ask, I'll say it, It's mrityu. Born from ashes. "
And Raghav paused a bit.
" Mrityu? The strongest son of the person whose name no one pronounces. "
" Kali purush. "said the man. And Raghav looked at him.
" I know you have some incidents with these names, but I can assure you, I'm not a freak like others. I don't fear him or worship him. For me, he is meant to play, like everyone else is for him. I serve no man, I only serve one thing, and leave for that thing. "
" And that is ? "
" Death. " And Raghav stands up.
" Well fair enough, cheap death , let's see how much you cost "
" Sure Mr Maharakshak. I hope you will be better than your father. " And Raghav looked at him with narrowed eyes.
" I see. You don't know mrityu. "
" I die on a daily basis, who do you think you are?"
" Arrogance? Not a new thing in your line, I'll make sure you overcome it. "
And Raghav took a fighting stance. And when he was about to attack he heard the old man's voice.
" RUN. " loud and clear. And Raghav got confused.
He was about to ask why, when he saw all the chaya-ratri running away from him. And he couldn't understand why? .
" Aren't they supposed to be fearless. " And then a sense of dread feeled the area, and he heard a page turning of a book.
Ravhav looked at the black robed man, and he was holding a black book in his hand .
" You should listen to your teacher, he is right. You should run. " And he stopped on a page, and tore it from the book. And all of a sudden, his surroundings changed. He was now on the road. He looked around, and saw that he was near a hotel, a burning hotel. Smoke was rising from it. He tries to call the old man, but nothing happens. The signal Was lost again.
" 26/11 . People called this act by its date. " And Raghav turned and looked at the speaker, who was looking at the burning building , his black book in his hand.
" Don't think of attacking me, I'm not a fighter, I'll fight when I need to. And currently I don't . " And then he looked at the building again.
"A total of 175 people were killed, 9 were terrorists with 166 victims. Of the 166 mortalities, postmortems were conducted on 114 predominately male victims ages 5 to 70 years old; 108 of these were already dead when the force arrived. "
" It was by terrorist group, Leopold Café, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, The Taj, Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident, Cama Hospital , Nariman House , Metro Cinema,
St. Xavier's College. Those were the places where this attack happened. But the name of this attack didn't do justice to it. It didn't end on the day it began. It lasted four days straight. And the name didn't see how things were affected. The name didn't discrice the motive behind this attack, the name didn't describe the pain, the sacrifices, the death. "
" Do you know what the motive of this attack actually was? " And Raghav looked at the empty area.
" It was to blame us. " And Raghav looked at him.
" Quite true. "said the man.
" The archives said that people died, and when forces arrived, they got saved, the terrorist died. And that was their plan. Every single person knows, you can't go unescaped for this. They know they're gonna die, they know what they are doing, and for what. " And Raghav stood there listening to his words.
" In the name of God? " Asked Raghav.
" No! Why would people kill for him, it's just a cover up. "
" The main motive was politics, simpl is that, 26 was the amount that was focused most in the news channels of all counties. Not because it was the day of the attack, but because there were a number of foreign casualties in the city. If the plan has worked out as they have thought, the name of the person responsible will have, Rajesh dalit and Umesh Mehta or something. Starting an all over debate of the caste system of India . Which has nothing to do with this incident, it was just a scapegoat for the people responsible. And what might be the headlines, if I may ask? "
And Raghav looked thoughtful and replied.
" Caste system, cause of 26/11 . "
" Close! But not wrong. It'll be. Hindutva is terrorism. "
" Just flip the names a bit, name them sharma or singh. And you got this. " And Raghav immediately lifted him by his throat.
" Why are you showing me this? And what's the meaning of this. " And then all of a sudden, Raghav saw that mrityu was standing some Distance away. He looked at him, and he looked back.
" I don't like unnecessary violence, Maharakshak. "
" The reason is simple, look at the building in front of you. And say what you see? " And raghav just did that, and replied.
" I saw pain and fear. "
" Interesting, two out of four. But you forgot the most important thing, motive and death. "And he opened his book again.
" Don't worry, I'm just showing you stuff, we will definitely gonna fight in the end. And remember Maharakshak, remember all the incidents have those four things. " And then he stops on a page.
" I found it . " And then he tore it. And all the surroundings suddenly changed. And Raghav found himself near a village, an empty and old village, a very very old village.
He looked around to see if anything disaster related happened or not, and he found none. There wasn't anything that looked like a catastrophe.
" 1943 west Bengol, there is no specific date about this incident written in the books, but for the sake of naming they called it the Bengal Famine. Over 3.5 million people died in a span of six months. And if we calculate it's twenty thousand people a day, a number that even I was astonished of. But that isn't the most interesting part of this famine, there have been many famine during the British Empire in india, and far more people has died during those incidents, but the things is, I only has this famines detailed list in my book, and that was named same as what we call it. And to get in my books, the incident shall be created by a man. And this famine was not anything different. Pain, fear, motive and death. Pain of helpness. knowing you can't stop the end. Fear of loneliness. Knowing that you are the last one to die in your family. Motive to fight a war they started. Britishers have their own people to feed first, and they know they have survived two famines already so they can survive another one. And death, well let's just say it's self explanatory. World War two has my attention back there, so I didn't know much about it. " And then he looked at raghav.
" Forgive me, Maharakshak, that you have to see it. But as a merchant of death, it's my responsibility to feel the part of my deal. " And he presented his book to him.
" Here, this is my book, it has all the gathered man-made catastrophes and deaths that have ever happened since the beginning of the kalyuga. Don't worry, it has no black magic or trick involved in it, it's just a memo for me. Tore a page to see the after match, beginning, the fight, and those four causes. You can purify it by the powers of your familiar. But I'm seeing that your guru will stop you from seeing this. So ask him a question. "
And he got silent.
" Why is he hiding your mother. " And the whole world looked like it was shrinking. And Raghav felt that he got punched in the face, and he crashed through several houses, and stopped in a mountain area. He stood up and cleared his head from the buzzing sound he was hearing and concentrated on the figure in front of him.
" Ask him why didn't your Maharakshak stand there, doing nothing. When they could have saved millions of lifes from going to the end . Your laws bind you. " And he punched him again, and he rocketed forward. And he crash landed on a river. And Raghav stood back, shaking a bit, in the sellow river.
" You are different from others. You have arrogance, but you didn't reflect any hate. " And he went to punch him, but Raghav blocked it, and threw him in the water, and punched him in the face, and splashed the water all around. And mrityu vanished from there, and appeared behind him, Raghav sensed that, and raised his guard to protect himself from the punche, and he rocketed forward. He stopped himself by digging his hand on the ground. And saw the man coming in his direction.
" You don't seek power or anything physical. " And he was about guy Raghav, but he blocked it with his hand, and drove that hand to his face. And land satterd on their feets, and when Raghav saw, he wasn't there.
" But! " And Raghav turns.
" You are scared of death. " And he was aiming at his face , but Raghav ducked, and delivered another solid punch on his face. And followed him, and punched him down, and he crashed on the ground. Raghav went toward him, and grabbed him by his throat.
" Say that again. " He said glaring at his eyes.
" Not yours, but other's. " And the whole world changed. He looked around in wonder, he was back in the carniwal, but it was destroyed and burning . And when he looked at the person in his hand, he saw a random civilian, bleeding.
He dropped him in fear, and went to check on him. But the man on the ground tried to run, and then he heard crying, and when he turned, he saw a man trapped under some carnival ride, he looked back at the man he was holding, and he wasn't there. He went to help the man under the ride, and when he went to help, the woman trying to lift the ride, came in front of him, stopping him from going to him. She was terrified of him, and she told him to spare him. And then he looked at the whole scene in a terrified motion, fear, pain and death. His head was spinning. And he was hearing all those noises in a loud tone. And he screamed. And a blue lite filled the area, and everything came back to normal. And there was no one, the carnival was closed, and no one was there. He looked in the direction where the ride had fallen, and he saw the ride was in his place standing.And then he heard the proof that he was in the real world, the old man's voice.
" You were reckless. " Shouted the old man.