Hiraeth |✔

Vermilion top

Zen ran his hands around the platform. The blind men would gawk at his skills in the darkness of the early dawn. He felt a gland-like impression at a corner of the platform.

Outside the cellar, a huge tide obediently soared up and collapsed back on the orders of the blemished moon. Inside, they heard faint snoring sounds of guards coming from somewhere nearby the gates.

Scarlett and Zen had curiosity ride their body.
" A sewage passage or.." She gulped a chunk of air, " an ancient mummy house! Zen, what if there are bodies of Egyptian Pharaohs, wrapped up with the finest lavender and thyme perfume, moving around or writing letters to their lovers on a papyrus sheet-.."

"Scar! shhh..." Zen, slowly lifted the top, his two fingers dug into the cavity. The wild expected sound on lifting a steel platform was never heard, for it seemed like they had sucked the noise away. They together stooped their heads to see nothing but feel a depth that was certainly beyond the length of Zens lanky hand. He moved his hands in the empty space and felt a coarse fibre against his skin. When one sense doesn't work, other senses work extra sharp. A rope ladder dangled like a man on the edge of a skyscraper, holding on with his only finger grip. The taint moonlight along with the drops of rainwater entered through the holes in the cellar walls and made its way into the mysterious opening.

"Stay back Scarlett. Close the lid just the way it was after I am inside. Act normal on anybody's coming." He whispered into her ears, turning his terror stained face towards the deep opening.

"No! Let's both get in, it has a hook to close the lid from the inside." She had determination in her voice.

"What if there are mummies, Scar?"

"I will be happy to meet them. I am sure they will like me."

"Where did all your fear go?"

"It died long ago along with the mummies!"

"Ugh! Fine, you go first" Zen pulled the ladder from the inside.

"Scarlett moved down and down. The ladder seemed to never end. The expanse around her was vast. She heard Zen slowly close the lid more like a door to a different universe. After, exactly 30 steps, she felt a hard surface. Climbing down, Scarlett never encountered the soft, almost invisible cobwebs. She stood there in complete darkness. Zen stumbled upon her on his landing. Scarlett hinged back on the huge cans that she never knew existed behind her. It created a domino effect, sending the cans a wave of concussion. The shrill sound echoed through the dark cave.

Zen, being extra careful, moved a couple of steps ahead. He placed his hands on the walls as he moved forward, in the hope to find a switch or perhaps a torch-like in vintage rooms. After a while of dabbing around, he finally found a raised surface, which seemed like a round switch. On pressing, no lights turned on, but a huge shutter raised itself up. The sound it transmitted made their already throbbing heart sink in panic. Zen, tried moving his fingers around the smooth barrier and yet again, he found a switch, which was rectangular. On exerting force on it, a faded light turned on revealing a shaking Scarlett, the muddled cans in the corner and a door under the raised shutter.

He shuffled towards Scarlett. She stood under the orange-filtered light, her head hung low. In that oversized charcoal-grey pant and a tattered vermilion top which was given to her after a small bath when she arrived at the cellar. The smugglers never tried to physically harm them, providing them meals and permitting them baths with scanty water. This made her feel worse about what they would be doing with her. The top also had  'B19' sewed into the cotton. She stood like an effigy sculpted by a five-year-old. Under her heavy heads tear drops oozed out softly, as if any louder, would invite the guard down!

"Zen, I feel tired emotionally. I can't do this anymore. The guards might come down any time. This is killing me. I only see danger everywhere I turn. I am acting like a coward but all these things are crushing me down. Where are we? What is all this? Let me go up, be blown in the direction of the wind, be carried away by a preying eagle!"

Zen held her arms. "Don't give up Scarlett. You are built to fight! Fight the raging winds and the preying eagles! You are strong and I doubt that I will ever again meet anybody (if I'm alive) as strong as you! Stop shedding those precious tears of temper, Scar. Come, over there, you discover? Let's see where that door leads us to." He gently held her lilac like hands unveiling his assuring smile.

They cautiously walked on the blue glossy marble. The contemporary door was drenched in a saturated brown coating with rectangles arranged in a geometric sequence. A white strap was squirted between the rectangles which kept them as independent blocks. The silver handle had fine carvings of shapes all over. Beneath it, there was a metal combination lock of four-digit numbers with rotating discs. Both of them investigated it slowly. As a trial, Zen rotated the sleek discs of numbers, a red button glowed when the AI recognised that the combination was wrong. It showed 2 more tries left on a mini screen next to the glowing button. They both stared at each other, both knowing, they were no code breakers. A feeling of downfall collided at their gaze.

"Do you think that number you had told me in the ship works"? Scarlett asked in a defeated tone.

"The one which I saw near the cargo seal"?

" yes!"

"Ahh...even if that were to be the code, I don't remember it. Do you?"

"I didn't  memorize it, but I think the number is with me."

"What?? Scarlett! You didn't write it, of course, where do you find a pen, how then?" He was struck with astonishment.

"I didn't write it, but I'm carrying it."

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           A/N:

               How is she carrying it? Any guesses?