It should've been a fun and relaxing vacation...
What happens when my newfound friend and I learn that our parents' lives are under a magical spell? Will we be able to solve the mystery and recover what we've lost? Or will we lose it all to our fear...
I opened my eyes and frowned. Taking a deep breath, I filled my lungs with a strangely familiar smell. The details of the room were still fuzzy.
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I gradually sat up. It was 11:20 a.m.
I was in Gaurav's room!
I got out of the bed to grab my glasses when Gaurav entered. His eyes widened on seeing me.
"You had been out for about 16 hours," he said. His face was grim.
I couldn't face him; not yet. I knew what I did was wrong.
"I need some air," I said, ready to walk out of the room.
Just as I had opened the door, Gaurav slammed it shut.
Feeling his presence behind me, I turned around slowly. His lean body hovered on top of me, as his gaze burned into my skin.
For the first time, I noticed how much taller he was than me. I could barely reach his shoulders.
His breath fanned my bare skin.
I took a step back. As my back hit the door, his arms trapped me between him.
His eyes were dark and distant.
"Why?" he whispered. The pain in his voice made my skin tingle. I looked away.
"You deliberately told me to leave, didn't you? You knew the piece was there, yet you didn't let me go with you. Why? Am I so untrustworthy? Why do you have to do everything by yourself?" There was a strange look on his face. Concern? Betrayal? Anger? I couldn't make out.
"Why Aradhya? Why? I...I thought you... wouldn't wake up. YOU...YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME!!! " he screamed.
"I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO GET HURT THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T CALL YOU-"
"AS IF I'M NOT HURTING NOW ???" he banged the door with his hand.
I flinched, making him gasp.
Instantly, his expressions softened. The darkness in his eyes was gone. He moved his hand from the door and gently cupped my cheek. My heart stopped beating. I could feel the heat building up inside me.
"I'm so, so sorry Ara! I didn't mean to scare you. Oh God- I'm such a mess..." The corners of his eyes were moist. His breaths became irregular.
He stopped and took a deep, shaky breath.
"The thing is- I don't want you to get hurt. After our parents vanished into thin air, the only thing that's keeping me sane is you. I am still hoping to find our parents because I have you with me. You're all I have right now. And if anything happens to you - I...I.."
He broke down, crying.
I couldn't believe my eyes! A minute ago, he was shouting; eyes filled with anger. Now he was crying like a baby, weak and vulnerable.
My brain was clouded, I couldn't think straight. Unable to see him like that, I gently lifted my hands and stroked his hair.
He leaned down and buried his face on my shoulder. I felt a weird aching in my heart. A tear rolled down my eye as I held him close to me.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I won't hurt you again, I promise."
We stayed like that for what seemed like an hour. Then we quietly went for lunch.
We decided to take a day off and figure out the rest of the clues.
"Look through the island with a single, sweeping glance-
To find the second piece, there shall be a chance,"
"This sounds so vague. It basically says that we need to search the whole island. The second part can be anywhere..." he rolled his eyes.
I looked at the first piece of the statue, shining brightly on the table.
"Wasn't there something like...a glance?" I asked.
"Yeah - a single, sweeping glance."
"Hmm..." I thought. How could we possibly look through the entire island in a single glance?
Or... maybe we could! My eyes lit up.
"Rav, remember when your dad made a list of tourist attractions on Easter Island?" He nodded. "Can you please bring it for me?" He got up and started searching his bag. Finally, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and handed it to me. I quickly scanned the paper.
"Moais...sunrise, sunset - already covered. Petroglyphs...no...not this one...YES! " I looked up.
"We were supposed to hike to the top of Terevaka...remember?"
He looked at me with a confused face. " How can you think about hiking right now?"
"No dummy, don't you remember what your dad said? Terevaka is known for its 360-degree view of the island. So, practically we could look at the whole island at once. This means, the second piece-"
"- Is located on the top of an extinct volcano, which can probably be made to erupt with the help of some voodoo magic...how exciting! " he groaned. His shoulders slumped.
"Hey, don't lose hope. We are trying our best. We will succeed." I took his hand with a reassuring smile on my face. Although I was scared, I didn't let it show.
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He clutched my hand tightly and gazed out of the window. As our voices died, silence filled the room. But, I realised it was a comfortable one.
We collected our supplies and set out for a treacherous hike.
