Karan is an ordinary boy living in Brooklyn, New York. Life is as normal as normal can be.
On his 17th birthday, his father surprises him and says that they are moving back to their roots, in India. A land of spiritualism, faith, and most importantl...
"You're a woman," I said the surprise evident in my voice and probably my face.
Reading through it again, I can see how, out of context, this comment can sound a bit crazy. But allow me to explain myself.
After I had woken up, Aasha had come to me to take me to some 'guruji' or a teacher as she told me. I had no idea where exactly I even was. How long was I out? Who carried me to the bed? How was I feeling so much better now? And most importantly, who the hell had changed me out of my clothes?
As these questions flowed through my mind Aasha guided me around the place that she called the 'gurukul'.
The atmosphere was quiet and it didn't seem like any people were around. it was oddly calming. We were surrounded by thick forests in all four directions. They were so thick that you couldn't see more than a few meters through them. This 'Gurukul' seemed to reside in the middle of a small clearing in between the trees. The sky was fully visible and for some reason, the sunlight felt warmer, safer.
"Where are we exactly?" I asked.
"I know you have a lot of questions", she said turning to face me. "But I think it would be better to let the guru explain everything."
This made me curious about this 'guru' that she kept mentioning. The only knowledge I had of that word was from smartasses all over the internet trying to sell you the courses that they all guarantee will make you rich. And most of the time, they happened to be men. So forgive me if I was a bit surprised when the guru turned out to be a woman.
The guru looked towards us and smiled. She was standing at the front of a classroom with about 15 kids sitting on the floor in front of her with their backs facing us. She was a pretty woman, maybe in her mid-thirties. Long black hair tied in a bun with what looked like a band of flowers. She was almost as tall as me, and her skin was coffee-brown. She was wearing no accessories, just a plain white saari like the ones people wear at funerals. She looked towards the students and something, in Hindi I assumed, and all the students started picking up their things. Her voice was a bit more on the deeper side. She walked towards us and I instinctively folded my hands in greeting.
"Hello Karan," she said in English extending her hand for a handshake. "I'm Disha but you can call me Guruji"
"Uh, hi I'm Karan," I said kicking myself in my head, "But you knew that already."
"Yes, I've been expecting you," she said smiling. "Come take a walk with me, I'm sure you must have a lot of questions to ask"
I took a deep breath. There had been a lot of confusion in my life the past few days. Now maybe I could get a few of those answers. With all this on my mind, I stepped out of the classroom along with her.
******
It was almost nightfall. The last rays of sunlight lingered on the otherwise black sky. Below lay a thick forest and underneath the thick canopy it made no difference whether it was day or night. A group of three people walk together carrying torches in their hands. There are two boys and one girl and one of the boys seems to be the leader. He walks confidently as if leading the way for the other two.
"Are you sure we are at the right place?" the girl inquires. "We've been walking for a few hours and we still haven't found anything."
"She's right," says the second boy swatting a fly off his hand. "You know this place is far more dangerous at night and without any sunlight, even you won't be able to protect us."
"I KNOW this is the right place. You know I'm never wrong when it comes to looking for signs" The boy in the lead takes a moment to turn back and says, "And even if we go back there is nowhere safe for us to go to. This is our best bet at a better future."
Saying this he turns back and starts walking again, a bit faster now. "Trust me guys, it's near, I can feel it"
The other two give each other worried looks and keep following him.
Another half an hour goes by. Now the sky is completely shrouded in darkness. The forest seemingly thickens around them. But it could be an illusion due to the low light.
The leader turns around again. "I think its time, I have to use it or we won't be able to make much more progress."
The other two nod and put their hands on each of the leader's shoulders as he closes his eyes and concentrates.
After a moment, the boy's chest starts to produce a faint golden glow. It starts to grow and envelops the three in a warm golden light. But strangely the glow doesn't seem to light up the dark forest around them. Almost as if the shadows were pushing the light back, forcing it to dim.
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"I guess I used it in time." The boy said wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead. "We need to move quickly, the magic in this forest is stronger than I anticipated."
They keep walking deeper into the shadows as the darkness seems to envelop them completely.
