At The Threshold of Time

2

Shivali lay still, her eyes still closed. On straining her ears for any noise, she could make out a faint clanging of metal, something that sounded like many tiny bells, and the crackling of fire.

Daring to open her eyes, Shivali sat up, not understanding anything. She was still there, on the landing between the two floors. She stood up and dusted her clothes. Not a single bruise. Even her arm had stopped hurting. What had happened?

Shadows danced on the walls, cast by the torches smelling of burning wood, mixed with a hanging aroma of some kind of flower she hadn't noticed before, and which was probably covered by the stench of people's sweat. But where were the people? The sudden silence after a day filled with commotion was eerie. And did the caretakers just miss her sprawled on the floor when they lit the torches?

Shivali began getting down the rest of the stairs to the ground floor. She could see a block of golden light fall on the fountain in the centre of the courtyard. It was sunset. So she had passed out for many hours.

Hold on, she didn't remember seeing a fountain there before. And since when were shields and swords hung on the walls?

She slowed down with each step, blinking uncomprehendingly. Why were men standing in red dhotis all along the corridors, and why did sheathed swords hang from their waists?

One of the men's eyes fell on Shivali. A moment of shocked silence, before he asked in a voice louder than necessary, 'Who are you?'

All heads turned towards her.

'How did she enter?' Another one shouted. The man closest to her lunged at her without warning.

Shivali took a step back onto the stairs. Then another. And another. They weren't going to slow down. She veered around and ran.

She'd run the length of the second floor, take the opposite staircase and escape. Never mind, there were men here too.

As she bolted up the floors, Shivali didn't dare turn back, but knew the men were just an arms distance from her. Their footsteps thundered louder. Maybe more people had joined the chase. Or maybe they were closing in.

A man on the fourth floor managed to grab Shivali's hand. Panicking, she shrieked, kicking his knees. He faltered, ever so little, but just enough for Shivali to tug her hand free.

She halted on the fifth floor. No men here. Just four narrow corridors surrounding a fenced rectangular gap. Holding the fence and panting, Shivali looked down to see the fountain below. Her heart sank. The only way down was the way she had come up.

Two arms trapped hers. She was jerked back and around onto her knees.

'Please, don't,' she begged, her eyes shut, and waited for something to hit her, maybe a punch in the face. But there were only more shuffling of footsteps.

'I heard a woman scream, What is this commotion?' She heard a man's annoyed voice.

Shivali looked up to see a man towering a few feet from her. At first she thought he was wearing a golden armour, but it turned out to be about a dozen necklaces running all over his chest, covering almost entirely, a violet shawl he wore beneath. His golden silk dhoti made his tan skin look darker. For a moment she could only wonder about the reason someone would dress themselves so heavily during the hottest months of summer.

His hair, as long as hers, fell on his face, covering one of his already narrow eyes, and the confusion growing on his face as he registered her was the same as Shivali's.

She instinctively looked down at herself. She was wearing black jeans and a yellow top that had a doodle of the sun saying 'be happy!'

'Who are you and how are you here?' The man finally asked, slowly, like he wasn't sure she'd understand his words. 'Do you work here?' He added as though an afterthought.