Samsaara : Devadoot

The Office

When I entered the kitchen, she had already put the rice on the stove and had started tempering the mustard seeds in the coconut oil for the Moru Curry. The asafoetida went in next and the whole kitchen was filled with its delicious aroma. I took a bowl and cracked a few eggs in it and started beating it for an omelette.

She said, "I have to call your uncle to tell him that you are back."

"Why did you tell uncle?" I asked.

"Well this is the longest you have been out without informing me," she replied.

"OK, I will call him up and tell him I'm fine," I said.

"Good. BTW your uncle informed your dad's old partner. Both sent out feelers looking for you," she said.

"God. I will sort it out tomorrow," I told her.

"Don't bring God in between this," she said.

"I can't he is busy resting with his wife," I said.

"What?", she asked.

"Nothing. Look the onions are browning," I said, changing the topic deftly.

A hearty home-cooked meal: and the satisfaction of knowing that mom ate later, we retired into our rooms. My focus was back on learning more about my new core and its abilities. My core also had inscriptions on it just like Paviraa's core. I did the same thing as I had done before to understand it better. Wrote the inscriptions down on a piece of paper. The writing began to fade. Within seconds, the writing had disappeared entirely. And I waited for the magic to happen - And waited - And waited some more. It did nothing.

I thought something must be wrong in the way I wrote it so I did it again. Yet again, nothing happened. I observed every line, curve, and dot on the inscription and copied it to the exacting standards. This time I had my hopes up. At the end of the last stroke, I lifted my pen up and stared at it eagerly. Nothing. Only the ink disappeared

I jotted the inscription down six times but nothing happened, apart from the ink fading away. Maybe this was the wrong way to test its power. Since I didn't know any other way it would be difficult to figure it out without some help. I crushed the sheet and tossed it in the bin.

I was tired from my trip and now disappointed that I can't understand the powers, it was time to call it a day. I closed the curtains and shut windows. When I turned around, I saw that the piece of paper was there at the same place as before, pristine, unfolded, crease-less. Although I distinctly remembered throwing it away, it was still left on the ground. I picked up this sheet of paper and below it was another identical piece of paper.

Now I lifted that sheet of paper which lay on the floor and there was another sheet under it. Not just a sheet, there was a small stack of sheets. Every time I wrote the words on the sheet of paper it replicated itself. Six replicas of paper, for each time I wrote the inscription.

"Great! I have a supernatural Photocopier," I said to myself sardonically.