Strangely Familiar - The Flaw in Time

Chapter 4

"The only impossible journey is the one you never begin." - Tony Robbins

***

"Did you hear what happened last night?"

Naina whipped her head, wondering if her mother secretly knew about her strange encounter.

"All the nearby cities of the garden valley were destroyed, including our home."

Her hand was suspended in the air, a spoon full of cereal ready to enter her mouth. The room filled with a thick silence for a few seconds as she hesitantly swallowed. Not a single sound could be heard.

"Everyone evacuated the place, right?"

She nodded gravely.

"But they are running out of places to camp. The continuous relocation, the tremors, and the loss of lives have caused panic to rage in the air. People are desperate to stay alive. The government appealed to citizens to provide food and shelter, whatever they can." Mr. Patil voiced his concern, his wrinkled face gaining even more lines.

"They can come here, Ma!" Samraat exclaimed, gaining attention. "This place is huge. It can act as a perfect refugee center."

Mrs. Patil feared her son would propose such an idea. She supposed she couldn't blame him for his negligence. He does not know.

"I am afraid that cannot happen."

Samraat frowned at his mother, having his idea rejected without any explanation.

"Why?"

Naina saw a look of contemplation on her father's face. She assumed he was mentally debating with himself.

"This is the last place to find shelter. There's..," he stopped midway, eyes locking with his wife, seeking permission silently. When she nodded slightly, he continued. "There's magic running inside the walls and around the house that is not particularly welcoming to outsiders."

Naina stared at Samraat, her spoon clattering to the floor as she gaped in surprise. Her gaze flickered between the portrait and her brother, almost as if they were having a silent discussion reminiscent of their earlier conversation that morning.

"Magic?" Naina couldn't believe her parents would hide something so extraordinary and undeniably important piece of information from them, especially after the kind of childhood she had endured.

"How do you know?"

Samraat tried to stay neutral even though the information gushed through his brain like currents.

"There was a case of a disappearance a few years back." There was a look of hesitation on his mothers' face, but she proceeded to answer anyway. "Do you recall your father mentioning a group of college students who stayed at the Mansion?"

Naina understood the lingering tension. She whispered, throwing her an unbelievable look. "You said they were telling tales, Ma! How could you?"

"To protect you, to save your lives." Mr. Patil chimed in, answering in his wife's favor.

"What happened?" Samraat asked.

Mrs. Shreeparna Patil did not know how their respective conscious would conceive the naked truth about the place they currently stayed in. The same place that was once a haven and home to her predecessors.

"One of the students, Shaina Arani, was found missing when she and her nineteen other classmates stayed at the Mansion for one night. They were camping outside the west wing when, according to her friend, the victim heard a strange song, a piece of calm and soothing music, and she wanted to follow it. Here, read this."