The Strange Street to the Wrinkled Memories

The secret behind the Golden door

Bella furrowed her eyebrow, then smiled, "Hey! Don't you remember me?"
Shravya placed her hand on her head, "Seriously?"
Bella looked at Navya and then at Sandhya. Shravya said, "I don't remember anything. Tell me! Where did you see me and how do you know me?"
Bella regained, "I had met you in the Aahan Mitrapura station, six days back at morning, I guess by 10am."
Shravya nodded, as she continued, "There I was sitting in your seat with my parents,. We were just coming back from Vidyalaya ravikiran, after my parents got my admission into the college there. That time you seemed like you where hiding from someone, you allowed us to sit in your place and then you were standing. On seeing you, the TTE was shocked, you told him something secretly and he arranged a seat for you, infront of us. I asked who you were and that time you answered that you were living with your grandma and that you were a graduate. Then you accompanied me and my parents to here, but from the station we went to Natya street, and I guess you were here in the Rajya street."
Shravya nodded, "But I don't believe I was hiding nor running away from someone. Anyhow, get back to work guys!"
Sandhya refreshed the mood, "Aru! If done with the cleaning in here, I will open the golden door."
Shravya smiled in excitement, "Few more minutes, and we will cleanly rearrange this library in a better way."
Navya hoped, "It's already much cleaner and brighter."

An hour later, it was tea time and Navya walked into their house kitchen. They were already done with the works of the library, except the room with golden door, so they too were walking back to the house. The librarian just closed the door of the library without locking it, because they had to go there again.
Sandhya amazed with their efforts, praised as they got into the living room of the house, "Now that you have changed my library, I bless that mess!"
Navya brought tea in cups and all took their cups with the saucers.

Having the tea, Sandhya asked, "Now what is your plan, Aru?"
Shravya told, "Start from where I stopped."
Bella doubted, "From the station?"
Shravya denied.
Navya asked, "You mean...", Shravya shook her head and Navya panicked, "No! Not again! I can't do that. I will not come with you again."
Navya was the only one who understood what she was planning.
Shravya conveyed, "I will go again, for myself, alone. To..."
Sandhya rose up, "To?"
Shravya completed, "You will lead me to the forbidden Medusa street, to the house of that scientist in the street."
Sandhya drank her tea while Navya walked to the kitchen to wash her cup. Shravya concluded, "I am going tomorrow on my own risk and anyone of you will direct me into there... If Navya is scared, I don't want to risk her because her mother is not fully fine, that means Sandhya aunt can't come too. Bella," Shravya turned to her, who was still blowing at the rest of the half cup tea, "Bella, do you know his house? Will you direct the way to me? You need not come with me."
Bella said after drinking the rest of the cup, "I... I am ready. I will take you till the junction to Samudrore, Amar gaja street and forbidden Medusa street, from there I will direct you and I will come back. I really haven't even gone to that junction because no one gave me a company, now that I have you I will atleast take a glance of the forbidden Medusa street from the junction to there. My grandmother had told me a lot of stories about every villages and streets, including the forbidden Medusa street."
Navya asked, "Myths?"
Shravya drank in her tea and Bella nodded.
Bella placed her cup in the tray with Sandhya's and Shravya's cup as Navya took it in to the kitchen. Shravya spoke, "We will talk about the forbidden Medusa street tomorrow. Tomorrow which time are we going Bella?"
Bella suggested, "Morning by 11, it's near. The forbidden Medusa street is near."
Shravya stopped her, "No. Don't say anything is near in this village, everything is far because Natya Rajya has a vast area."
All gave a short innocent laugh.
Bella said, "It's just half an hour walk to the junction. The forbidden Medusa street will be on the right in the junction. If going by train, it will just take ten to fifteen minutes."
Shravya concluded, "By morning 11, we will walk to the junction. Then you direct me to the scientist's house in the forbidden Medusa street. Till then, work at the library. Come on all! Sandhya aunt!", That call was having a better topping of sweet honey, "Come on! Show us the secret behind the golden door."

The four of them walked back to the library, got in and they looked around. Entering from outside, it felt like they had entered into some other library. It was bright and clean than before. They had done their chores well. They walked up the stairs, on the wall was a red drawing on both sides of the door. In midst the green interior, was the door. Sandhya took a key from her gown pocket and the door was opened. It led them to nowhere other than a room. A long, small room of books again. One of the wall had long book shelf filled with books and infront of it where some archeological materials kept for showcase. On the other side were attached book shelf in the pillars. On that sides, were few chairs too. At the top part, there were carvings and on regular circles the pictures of the royal family were captured. But differential from all the normal things, were a book kept open on a book stand in middle of the room on the long green walk way. Right in the other side was a balcony from where entered the light and mostly fell on the opened book. They got in but Shravya was filled with other questions. They walked in as if it had been an entry to a museum.

After their sight seeing, they sat in different chairs because Sandhya knew the girls had questions to ask, because no one knew about the room other than the royal workers and the library workers. It wasn't necessary to be kept as a secret and neither did they try to keep it a secret, but no one needed to know this part in the library, hence it turned out to be a secret and Sandhya finally announced, "This was, is and will be the secret behind the golden door. Ask me what you have in your minds."

Navya said with childishness, "You never told me it was just books and stuffs in this room."
Bella remarked foolishly, "I never heard about this room. Anyway, happy I could see it, but what is this room?"
Shravya completed, "What is this place? Just another small library attached with a very small royal museum? I thought the prince lived here. Terribleness! What's all this? What is special about this place?"
Navya asked, "Why does the queen come here every year, this month, before the day of the full moon night, if it's just a library? The queen can just see the library downstairs, it's so big than this. It's filled with royalty."
Bella said, "So that's the reason! Only the queen enters here that too once a year, that's why this place isn't that dirty like downstairs. So this will become clean too fast."

Shravya asked, "Why is that book special? Why is it kept open? What is it?"
Sandhya smiled as the shower of questions ended, "That's the point! That book, Aru!"
The three girls looked at each other until Sandhya told them the story behind the book. The story behind the book in the golden door room. That book was the secret behind the golden door.

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Surya_SK