THE MYSTERIOUS FRAGMENTS

CHAPTER 1: DISCOVERY

Don't worry, I have taken all my belongings. Please have your medicines on time.

Father, please take care of mother. I will be back in six months, said Rohan, his eyes swollen and tears flowing down his cheeks. Rohan was a twenty-year-old lad who was bidding farewell to his parents as he was leaving for India. Suddenly the departure of the flight leaving for India was announced. He bade his parents his last farewell and boarded the flight. Rohan was an intelligent and an active child who always looked on the brighter side of things. He was raised and brought up in Australia. He had pursued a degree in archaeology and was now on his way to explore India, home to various cultures and traditions. He was very excited as he was visiting India for the first time and would stay in his grandfather's house. His grandfather had long died in an accident and a caretaker maintained his cottage. He reached India in a day to find that the caretaker had come to receive him at the airport. The house was situated in mother nature far away from the congested cities in Dehra. When they reached the cottage, Rohan liked the ambiance, the clean fresh air and the lush green trees. He entered the house and felt like he had entered a huge palace. The furniture was well maintained with a table laden with Indian delicacies, he had his stomach filled and thanked the caretaker for the sumptuous meal. My name is Somu he said introducing himself. Somu assured him saying that he didn't need to worry about anything but not to go to the basement downstairs. Rohan asked him, 'Why but? Somu hurriedly went away as if though he remembered something, but Rohan didn't mind and he went to his room to freshen up, still thinking why the caretaker had warned him. After freshening up he decided to explore the house. Rohan didn't have an idea that in the room in which he was staying was his grandfather's room before. He saw some of his old furniture, old books, and a puja room. What disturbed him the most was that the basement always remained locked, but he never paid attention to all these things. He didn't believe in paranormal activities. He started exploring various temples in north, following its culture and tradition. Rohan had a perfect time in India and felt it was worth it. One week had been over and Rohan didn't feel like returning home. One night, he had been sleeping soundly in his room, until an unusual sound made its way through it. It was a sound as if someone was scratching the walls. He awoke to the sound, his heart playing the hardest of beats and his body was drowned in sweat. It was one of the most dreaded nights he had ever experienced. The room was filled with utter and breathtaking darkness which he felt was doomed to never-ending hell. With courage, he put on his mobile torch and went outside the room. The sound was now coming more, he walked a little distance until he realized that the sound was coming from the tightly shut and locked basement. He started walking downstairs to the basement until something pulled him and he loudly screamed, Ahhhhh...........On turning around, he was shocked to see Somu who was still holding his hand. By the time the sound had stopped coming. Somu led Rohan to another room, the series of events completely shook him. Somu said, ' Baba I had warned you not to go there, then also you didn't heed my advice. Tell me why did you go there?. Rohan, still shaking said that he had heard some sound coming like someone scratching the walls from downstairs. He asked Somu what it was? Somu answered that he had worked in this house since his grandfather was alive. He said that his grandfather used to be a pandit in a temple and that everybody who came to meet him was restricted from going to the basement. Grandfather personally used to clean the basement, though he was old. Somu also told Rohan an unusual thing, while his grandfather was on the verge of dying, he said only one word, ' HAMPI'. This thing disturbed Rohan very much. Somu also said that it didn't take long to spread rumors about the basement that it was haunted. Rohan didn't sleep that night thinking of the specific word. The next day he called somu and said he could take leave on that day because he was not feeling well and wanted to rest. Somu nodded and left. This was a golden opportunity and he went inside to search for the key to the basement. He searched the house high and low but could not find the key. Suddenly his brain struck, that there was an old drawer in his grandfather's room which he had not checked. He hurriedly went inside and opened the drawer. He found unusual things in that drawer like turmeric, some nails, and a hammer, until he noticed a red cloth in which a key had rusted over the years. He was sure that it was the basement's key. Night had fallen, by the time he was searching the key. He went down to the basement. There was utter silence, he could hear his heartbeat and breathing. He opened the lock with the key and pushed the door. The sound of the hinges creaking came out of the silence. His torch was on and he could see a massive cupboard, a small bed, and that the bedsheet was covered with blood. He felt a chill down his spine and his hair stood up. It was as if someone was present in the room and watching Rohan. Rohan went to the cupboard and opened it. On opening, he found some clothes and in the locker, he found three fragments, bits of paper. On them, the words- 'Place', and 'God's' and on another the word 'Hampi' was written. Rohan began to rearrange them like a puzzle and a clue was found out God's place- Hampi. This was the most important clue that Rohan had found. In another drawer, there was a letter with a ring kept safely. The letter read that Rohan's grandfather was doing research on Hampi ruins but his research remained uncompleted because of some issues and he desperately wanted to complete the research. Rohan confidently said that he would fulfill his grandfather's wish. He slipped the ring on his finger and came out of the basement. As he was coming, he heard the same sound again but he did not paid attention to that sound and he started to search about Hampi on his laptop.

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