The Bygone

Episode 4

2.57 AM, 29th March, 1542,

In one of the stilted huts of the Mazonian tribe.

               All he could see was that green glow of the structure. He could still see a crystal clear image, as if he was standing right in its face. Francisco was never more puzzled or bewildered than he was then.

             “What could it possibly be? He said it had been there for generations now and it was a gift from gods who walked out of a bright circular window of light. Who are those ‘gods’ depicted in those cave paintings?”

            Generations ago, there were visitors. They came in from far off worlds, out of a light, brighter that the sun, that no human could bear. Their flawless white outer coverings made them look superior, strongly emphasised by their length. They were really tall, as the paintings described. Francisco still wondered about how that gift had been saving people. He had seen people get instantly cured and reverted to their best health when touched by a chunk of crystal.

           “Is this the real Holy Grail? Whatever it is, I want it. I will be rich with this.” Francisco planned to steal that chunk and escape from that place. He started setting up things for his departure from the place. The Mazonians provisioned him with a small raft and necessary items, which would be sufficient for him to survive through the journey back home. Orellana had other plans too. He decided to steal the crystal and leave the place.

           Two hours after the stroke of midnight, Francis sneaked into the chamber for the crystal. He was supposed to sneak in and out in no time. But things weren’t as he would expect them to be. There was a creature protecting the chamber, the same creature Carl told him about. It was like nothing he had seen before and scarier than it could be described. He stealthily sneaked past the creature. Everything was perfect until he twitched a twig, waking up the creature. He had no option other than flee from the place. Jumping across the fallen trunks of the trees and in a hurry to escape from his death, he reached his raft and rowed away into the river. He was glad that he got the creature off his back.

         “Maa, what happened to you? Talk to me, talk to me” cried Varun, trying to make his mom talk. She didn’t seem to be listening to anything, as if some sort of charm was cast on her. Tears didn’t stop flowing from Dhairya’s eyes looking at her mom in such a helpless state.  The kid healed Varun’s bruises using the small crystal that his mother gave him, when she helped Dhairya and Stella escape. Varun couldn’t believe his eyes looking at his injuries mysteriously disappear. He looked as perfect as he was before the air crash. Wounds recovered and looked as if nothing ever happened to his body.

          Meanwhile, they heard some fast-moving foot steps that sounded towards them. “Quick, we need to leave.” whispered Stella to Varun and Dhairya. The Mazonian kid started running and waved to them from a distance giving them signs to run in that direction. Varun lifted his mom on to his back and started running as fast as he could. They didn’t know where they were going, but they didn’t have a better option.

          The kid guided them on to a path that seemed to be used very less. Varun could see a hill far away, may be at the end of the path. They got slower and slower, but couldn’t hear the footsteps anymore. Dhairya ran out of breath and collapsed next to a tree.

         “Looks like we lost them. It is safe for us to stop here for a while.” whispered Varun. They resumed the walk after a brief halt. After walking till sunset, they heard a waterfall. It sounded pleasant after a day of unimaginable events. They paced up towards the waterfall. As soon as they reached the waterfall, the kid ran into the water and pushed himself through the curtain of water. It seemed as if there was a cave behind the waterfall. They followed him into the cave and marvelled at how different it looked. It looked serene white all around, with water flowing over the stalactites and stalagmites.