THE MINI ADVENTURES OF SHRUTI

CHAPTER 20

After that Hiraman sulked the whole time. Shruti noticed it but remained silent. When they got to Ayodhya, everything seemed normal, as if nothing was wrong. It was in the night that Shruti discovered everything was wrong. Kari had not come back to her room. She looked for her in the palace. She passed by a room and heard Kari's voice from inside. She slowly peeped inside. She saw Kari in Mahesh's arms, and Gillu on his shoulder, the birds perched nearby. Rani said to Mahesh, "She told us something big today."

"What?"

"She said that her city is submerged and will soon be fixed."

Part by part, all of them told Mahesh everything that ever happened between them, all of Shruti's information, whatever she ever told them. Each word of theirs pierced Shruti's heart like a sword. At the end, Mahesh said, "I knew it from the very beginning. I'll prove that Swarnagiri doesn't exist and that she is a traitor! You all have done a very good job. You'll be feasting for the rest of your lives."

Mitthu asked, "You're giving us those fruits you promised us when you employed us five months ago, right?"

"Of course. You've been providing excellent service since five months, you deserve more than that."

Shruti rubbed her eyes. She covered her mouth so nobody would hear her sobs.

"I can't believe I let a liar stay in the palace for six months!"

Rani spread her wings. "Me neither."

Kari's ears dropped. "Whatever you're doing isn't very good. You made us cheat her."

Bulbul bent forward. "Shut up fool!"

Mahesh said to them, "Tell your master that he'll receive his payment soon."

Kari looked up at Mahesh. "But I don't want to go back to him. Shruti was so nice! Can't I get a different owner?"

Everyone told Kari to shut up.

CHEATERS! They cheated me!... But why did I trust them? It's my fault. I should never have told them anything!

She ran to her room and locked herself inside. She sobbed and wept on her bed. She then got up and changed into her jeans and t-shirt, which she had worn when she had come to Ayodhya for the first time six months ago. She threw the ghagra away. She wiped her tears and wore her bag. She was wearing her shoes, when Hiraman flew in through the balcony. Shruti looked at him. "Go away!"

"Shruti, please listen. I wanted to tell you earlier, but I just couldn't..."

"Even you cheated me! I can't believe it! I never expected you to do so Hiraman!"

"I'm not one of them. I know you saw everything. I wasn't with Mahesh, remember?"

Shruti recalled what she had seen. And she remembered that Hiraman wasn't there among the others.

He's telling the truth. He wasn't involved in this

Shruti looked at him and waited for him to say something.

"I have bad news. Mahesh is coming after you. Run! Run away!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's gone to get the troops... Follow me."

Shruti wrapped a shawl around her and also covered her face with it. She followed him outside the palace and managed to get a horse to ride. She had to get out of Ayodhya as fast as possible. She told Hiraman that she knew the way out, and he perched on her shoulder. It was hard to see in the dark, but she anyway rode on. A few earthen pots were smashed under the horse's feet during the ride. I'm not sure whether they all were earthen pots, but they did get smashed. She made her horse go as fast as possible and was soon out of Ayodhya. She left the horse outside the gate and continued on her feet.

"Why did you leave the horse?"

"It belongs to the kingdom of Ayodhya. Also, they'll discover that guy missing and might trace me through him."

"What about your footprints?"

"What footprints?"

Hiraman looked back and could see no footprints.

"I can't see properly, but I'm sure there aren't any footprints." She ran, walked and jogged throughout the night. Finally, she reached the place from which she came – the same part of the forest she found herself in, when she arrived. She stood in a spot, which she thought was the spot where she had first set foot on when she arrived.

She took out the time machine and sat down.

Hiraman looked at it. "What's that?"

"It's a time machine."

Shruti told Hiraman everything and apologised to him for hiding it. He threw tantrums that he too wanted to come along. Shruti tried her best to explain to him she wouldn't be able to take care of him and that he knew nothing about the 21st century, but he remained adamant. Shruti thought for a while and hatched a plan. She soon knew what to do, and how to do it perfectly. He would have to stay in her bag without making any noise when they would have reached their destination, as per her instructions. She didn't tell Hiraman anything else and told him to wait till 8:30 am.

"Why?"

"It was around 8:30 am when I arrived."

"Do you have to go at the same time?"

"I don't know. But I don't want to take a risk by landing up in the wrong timing."

She held Hiraman close to her and waited for it to be 8:30 am. When it was time, she stood up and told Hiraman to take refuge in her bag. She kept a small part open so that he could breathe. She set the machine and pressed the green button. The same light, the same blue atmosphere, the same everything, and the time-traveller girl was gone.

She successfully gave the machine back to Gopal and told him that the keypad didn't work when she reached the past, without revealing anything else. He nodded and sent her back to her orphanage. She was adopted the day she went back, by her biological parents. They finally realised that they shouldn't have left her and took her back. Her mom ended up being an animal-lover and agreed to keep the parrot, as she was planning to bring home a pet. She's happy now with her mom, dad and elder brother. It took her some time to forgive her parents, but she did. Both the siblings are equally intelligent. So, Shruti has good company and has finally found permanent friends – her brother and her parrot.

I know she changed a lot of history, which is not acceptable at all... But do we have the records of that? Does anyone know what happened after Ram returned to Ayodhya in his court?

Nobody knows the changes in history, so I don't think it should matter. Should it?