"Vaishnav is bitten by a snake!"
Deepak's panicked words hit the group like a thunderclap. For a moment, everyone stood frozen, unsure how to react. Then Ajmal snapped into action, grabbing Neeraja's shawl and tying it tightly just above Vaishnav's wound to slow the spread of venom.
"Everyone hold on... we need to get him into the car and to the hospital as soon as possible," Ajmal instructed, his voice steady but urgent.
The group sprang into motion, helping Vaishnav to his feet.
"Dada... just a minute..." Shivatmika's calm but firm voice cut through the commotion. All eyes turned to her.
"Dada... by the time we get Vaishnav to the hospital, it will be too late. By then..."
Ajmal looked at her, confusion and fear etched on his face. "And so...?"
"I'll be right back." Without waiting for a response, Shivatmika dashed towards the nearby bushes. Moments later, she returned with a handful of leaves.
"Shiva… what is this?" Ajmal began to ask, but Shivatmika was already rubbing the leaves vigorously between her palms, extracting their juice. She then carefully poured the juice into Vaishnav's nose and mouth. The group watched in stunned silence as she worked, their confusion giving way to a glimmer of hope.
Shivatmika then grasped Vaishnav's feet and began massaging them. Slowly, Vaishnav's eyes fluttered open, drawing a collective gasp from the onlookers.
Without missing a beat, Shivatmika disappeared into the darkness once more. She returned with berries and flowers, grinding them into a paste with a small stone she had picked up. Taking a water bottle from Selin, she mixed the paste with water and poured it into Vaishnav's mouth. Moments later, Vaishnav coughed, then took a deep, steadying breath.
"Dada, don't go to the hospital... the poison is coming out."
Sanju's voice trembled with a mix of awe and relief as he watched the blue color fading from Vaishnav's body. Everyone turned to Shivatmika, their expressions a mixture of wonder and curiosity.
"Princess… what magic did you cast?" Ajmal asked, his eyes wide with amazement.
Shivatmika merely smiled in response, her demeanor serene. A gentle breeze swept through the clearing, carrying the soothing scent of bael.
"Dada..." Shivatmika began, her voice soft but clear. "In the palace library, I came across the 'Avantika Samhita,' written by Avantika, who is believed to be my past life. I read the sections on the treatment of poisons in it."
She paused, her eyes reflecting a distant memory. "When I saw Vaishnav in this state, it was as if someone urged me to try them. All these herbs, which I had never seen in person before, somehow felt familiar to me. It must all be God's grace."
Her friends stared at her in astonishment, taken aback by the words of the usually skeptical Shivatmika. Yet, the relief that Vaishnav was saved overshadowed their disbelief.
Shivatmika carefully washed Vaishnav's wound and applied a fresh bandage with more herbs. The rest of the group supported him, helping him to sit on the tarpaulin they had spread out. As the vehicles roared to life again, speeding up the mountain path, the sense of urgency returned.
"We need to find out if there are people who saw Vaishnav somewhere on top of Muthimala," Ajmal said, his voice resolute. "If there is, they should be found and held accountable for climbing the mountain."
As they ventured further into the mountain terrain, Ajmal abruptly stopped the car. The faint sound of moaning had caught his attention. Abid quickly exited the vehicle, torch in hand, scanning the surroundings. Behind a cliff, he discovered two figures lying on the ground, blood trickling from their mouths as if they had been severely beaten. Their weak moans filled the air.
Manish and Naveen joined Abid, their faces covered by cloth masks, obscuring their identities. They were strangers, but their injuries were unmistakable.
"Who are you? Why did you climb the mountain?" Ajmal demanded, his voice firm as he approached the two men.
They mumbled something in response, their words unintelligible to Ajmal.
"I think they are Telugus, Dada," Atul suggested.
Ajmal nodded and repeated his question in English. The men struggled to form words, muttering fragments like "I...V..."-nonsensical and broken.
Sachin, rummaging through the pocket of one of the men, discovered a map. It was the missing map from the palace library.
"Then treasure is their goal," Ajmal concluded, turning to his team.
"But I don't understand who beat them, Dada..." Celine asked, her eyes searching Ajmal's for answers.
"Whoever it was, they did a thorough job," Deepak remarked.
"Anyway, we've saved ourselves a headache," Ajmal noted, though concern flickered in his eyes. "But we don't know whether the one who hit them was an enemy or a friend..."
"Since they have the map, we can assume he's our friend for the time being," Ajmal decided. He took the map from Sachin and handed it to Shivatmika.
"What are we going to do with them, Dada?" Manish inquired, glancing at the injured men.
"Disable their arms and legs, take them to a hospital. They can return home when they're healed," Ajmal instructed coldly.
The team lifted the battered men, throwing them into the Thar. With their task complete, they began their descent down the mountain, the map now securely in their possession.
***************
"Orpheus, the son of Calliope, the goddess of poetry, and Eugres, the king of Thrace, possessed a gift so extraordinary that his songs made animals, birds, trees, and even rocks dance. His voice was a symphony of such enchanting beauty that it captivated all of nature.
His heart belonged to Eurydice, his beloved wife, and their life together was a tapestry of joy and love. But fate wove a darker thread when, one day, Eurydice was bitten by a snake and succumbed to its venom. Orpheus was plunged into a grief so profound that he resolved to defy death itself to reclaim his love.
With unwavering determination, Orpheus journeyed to the shores of the dead in Hades. His mournful melodies charmed Charon, the ferryman of the underworld river Styx, and lulled the fierce guardian dog, Cerberus, into submission. Each note he played resonated with such sorrow and longing that even the heart of Hades, the ruler of the underworld, was moved.
Hades granted Orpheus a rare boon: Eurydice could return to life, but with one condition. Neither Orpheus nor Eurydice was to look back until they had fully crossed the underworld. Desperate to have his beloved back, Orpheus agreed, and Eurydice followed him as they began their ascent to the world of light.
With every step, Orpheus led the way, his heart pounding with the anticipation of their reunion. For days, they traversed the dark realms, inching closer to the surface. Finally, the first rays of sunlight pierced the gloom. Overcome with joy and the desire to share it with Eurydice, Orpheus turned to look at her, forgetting Hades' warning in his eagerness.
In that fleeting moment, their eyes met, and Eurydice's form began to fade. With a look of sorrow and acceptance, she vanished, slipping back into the shadows of the underworld. Orpheus's cry of despair echoed through the realms, a testament to the eternal loss he had to bear for his brief moment of weakness."
Shivatmika lay with her head resting on her grandmother's lap beneath the familiar rock by the riverbank, her eyes closed as she listened to stories.
"Granny, are human desires truly so insatiable?" she asked after hearing the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice.
"If there is anything beyond control, it is the mind and its desires, my dear," her grandmother replied gently.
The full moon cast its silvery light over the still surface of the river, making the sandbank glow with a golden hue. In the distance, Muthimala shimmered under the moon's transparency, the sky a canvas of stars with the full moon at its heart.
"Isn't it Pournami tonight, Granny?" Shivatmika asked, her voice filled with wonder.
Her grandmother turned her gaze from the distance to look at her. "Pournami in Agrahayanam," she confirmed. Shivatmika recalled how her eighteenth birthday had passed that morning with little fanfare, marked only by the cutting of a small cake with her friends.
She rose from her grandmother's lap, her eyes drawn to the golden surface of the river and the distant sandbar.
"On this Pournami," she mused, "isn't it when the cat monk Shanti Dev meets his sweetheart Avantika in her second incarnation?"
Shivatmika laughed softly at the thought. Her grandmother remained silent.
Suddenly, Shivatmika's eyes lit up, a special expression dawning on her face as if she were waking from a deep memory.
"I feel poetic, Granny..." she said in a dramatic tone.
"My Shanti Dev will come to me now, Granny... from the transparency of the wind, from the honeycombs of the flowers, from the feathers of the flamingos, from the vapors of the clouds, from the heights of the sky, from the depths of the oceans, in the pit of time. From... from the windows of birth and death... to me... my grandmother..."
Grandmother was shocked by Shivatmika's words, unable to understand why she was so upset.
"God..." she muttered, feeling fear fill her heart. "What happened to my child? Dear Shiva..."
But Shivatmika didn't seem to hear her. She stood up on the sand without answering, her gaze fixed on the riverbanks.
"Shiva dear..." Grandmother called again, her worry deepening.
Somewhere within her soul, Shivatmika felt Purandaradasa's Shiva kirtan filling her, the scent of bael blossoms wafting through her nostrils. Grandma approached her and placed her hands gently on Shivatmika's shoulders.
"Having a headache, Granny..." Shivatmika said, still looking into the distance. "I want to lie on Granny's lap."
Grandmother sat down on the sand again, and Shivatmika lay down, resting her head on her grandmother's lap. She closed her eyes, seeking comfort and solace.
Suddenly, the moon dimmed. Grandma heard the distant roar of a storm brewing over Muthimala, the sound of tree branches snapping echoing through the night. Her fear grew.
"My Lord..." she whispered in trembling voices.
She looked down at Shivatmika lying on her lap, relieved to see that she was fast asleep, seemingly undisturbed by the ominous sounds around them.
Will continue...