Grass, it smells of freshly rained grass, thought Anikaa and opened her eyes reluctantly when a small drop of water fell on her cheeks. She stared at the dark clouds preparing themselves to empty their water cannons. She smiled and again a drop of water fell on her lips. She turned her head and saw Raymond lying on his front. His stubble had grown a bit more from the day before and his eyes were tired. But, he had the same smile stretched across his lips.
"Like what you see?" he asked.
"Not bad. But there is enough scope of improvement," said Anikaa smiling.
It had now started drizzling and Raymond turned around, now lying on his back.
"Looks like you can thrive in rain," he said seeing Anikaa smiling.
"Yes. I am pluviophile- rain lover," said Anikaa.
"And, I am Anikaaphile," said Raymond.
"That's not a word," said Anikaa.
"Then, I'll make one," smiled Raymond and winced as he lifted his arms.
"Are you hurt?" asked Anikaa remembering how Jiyu had hit him.
"No, just bruised."
"You think anyone will believe us," he asked.
"Do you want someone to believe you?" asked Anikaa.
"No. I don't care," said Raymond getting up. His muscles were sore.
"Let's go before we get drenched," he said offering his hand to Anikaa.
She stood up, holding his hand and looked at her watch. It was 5 am and early dawn was breaking through the sky. "Your house is beautiful," said Raymond looking at the villa. They were standing in the garden of Anikaa's Munnar home.
"I know. Let's see if the door is open," said Anikaa and they sauntered towards the door of the porch.
The door was open because Karan and Rachel were sitting in the living room. Rachel yelped and dashed towards Anikaa. As per her last experience, Anikaa had braced herself for Rachel's display of joy. She staggered back a little but controlled the force. Raymond was astounded when Karan engulfed him in a bear-hug. For next ten minutes, Rachel bawled uncontrollably. When, her sobbing stopped- Raymond told them the whole story.
"I knew something was wrong, because the moment you vanished- Rachel was back to her senses," said Karan.
"But, how can you go like that?" wailed Rachel.
"Rachel, save the tears for your retirement speech," said Anikaa.
Rachel opened her mouth and closed it, gulping the weight of emotions coursing through her. Only Anikaa would go to any length to save her and not care for a word of gratitude in return.
"So it was him all throughout," said Karan.
"It was him," assured Raymond.
"How did you know that mum met him before going to Thailand?" asked Raymond.
"I guessed it from the CCTV footage. The golden paint set was missing in the footage, two days before she went to the Thailand. She must have posted it to Bhagyashree," said Anikaa.
Anikaa now knew why the vase painting was coated with the layers of paint. Shalini wrote the riddle on the canvas as a clue, but never painted on it. While, Jiyu (when, in disguise of Shalini) unknowingly painted the vase on the canvas so as to be free of any suspicions.
"Why didn't he steal the gem from you, why did he wanted to kill you?" asked Karan.
"Because the gem cannot be stolen. It chooses its owner, empowers them and saves them from dangers. I bet your mother had the gem with her when Jiyu attacked her and that's why she survived," said Anikaa.
"But because of the attack, she lost her memory. And, that day when I unknowingly helped in her treatment in Thailand, somehow the old lady passed the gem to me," she added.
"The gem had mystical powers?" asked Rachel. Anikaa nodded.
"Talking of powers, I'm famished. Can you please ask Bahadur to prepare breakfast for all of us?" said Anikaa to Rachel and then she remembered- "Oh...no...He's on holiday right."
"No...He returned last night. Because, Shireen mam called him to say that they are returning tonight to give surprise to you."
"Surprise, is it?" smirked Anikaa.
"Alright ask him, to prepare breakfast and book a flight for three of us to go to Thailand. We have to fetch Mrs. Shalini Sturrock."
With Anikaa's help, they found Shalini in the hospital recovering from amnesia. She didn't recognise Raymond and Karan but recognised Richard's face. They took her to Seattle back with them and soon the headlines splashed-
SHALINI STURROCK FOUND ALIVE IN THAILAND
'In an interesting turn of events, famous multi-billionaire Richard Sturrock's wife who was reported to be dead few months back, found in Thailand. Her sons have stated she will be recovering very soon.'
'The mystery remains to be solved. Where was Shalini Sturrock till today?'
*****************
It had been over a month since Sturrocks' left to US. Anikaa was busy discussing some papers with Rachel and a lawyer when Bahadur knocked on the door.
"Mam, this came from Sturcocks."
The lawyer sniggered hearing Bahadur but straightened up when Anikaa gave him a stern look.
Rachel took the envelope from Bahadur's hand and opened it. Out came an inscribed black- coloured invitation written in gold which she passed to Anikaa-
GRACE WITH YOUR PRESENCE
Dear Anikaa,
I have not thanked you enough for what you have done for me and my family. To celebrate Shalini's return I personally invite you and your family for dinner tomorrow at Sturrocks mansion. Grace us with your presence.
P.S. This time it will be a private dinner.
Hugs and wishes,
Richard Sturrock
Anikaa smiled reading the message and passed the card to Rachel to read.
"You know what to do," she said.
**********************
Karan rushed to the Rolls Royce and Bentley entering the huge gates of Sturrocks mansion. He swiftly opened the door of the Bentley and received Shireen, Prashant and Ramnik. Richard and Shalini were at their son's heels and heartily welcomed Anikaa's family. While, Luton Ravenscroft merrily trotted to the black Rolls Royce and opened its door for Anikaa and Rachel, greeting them zealously. Rachel was wearing a cream coloured lace and chiffon dress while, Anikaa was wearing a black-coloured lace dress which had short sleeves and a V-shaped plunging neckline at the back that hugged her body dearly. After the much welcomed greetings, everyone entered the Sturrocks mansion.
One could hardly say that it was the first meeting of Sturrocks' and Mehra family. Shireen and Shalini were confabulating like old school friends; Prashant was engrossed in conversation with Rachel and Karan on his favourite topic- cars; Ramnik was enjoying a game of pool with Richard and Anikaa was sitting by the pool alone. She was gazing at the reflection of moon in the pool, lost in her thoughts when a husky voice broke in.
"You should be banned in black Miss Mehra," whispered Raymond in Anikaa's ears, and came around in front of her. He was casually dressed in white shirt and grey pants.
"Do we know each other?" asked Anikaa.
Raymond grinned. "I apologise. I would have dropped my conference call, had I known you'll be looking so stunning."
"Flattery accepted," said Anikaa.
They both looked inside the house when Shireen and Shalini laughed on a joke.
"I'm so glad it ended this way," sighed Raymond.
"Hey brother, stop boring Anikaa and join us, you two," bellowed Karan.
"Come, let's go," said Raymond.
"You go. I'll just finish this call," said Anikaa as her phone rang.
"Alright, don't make me wait," said Raymond and winked.
Anikaa looked at him going inside the mansion, his words still ringing in her ears- 'I'm glad it ended this way.'
She disconnected the phone and looked at Shalini whose health had improved a lot in last few months. Her memory was not fully back but she had whole-heartedly accepted the love of her husband and sons. She glanced at Rachel, relieved to see her healthy and happy. The black mark on the back of her neck was diminishing day by day but it was constantly on Anikaa's mind. The mark that resembled the black maze that she had seen on Bluestar. Several questions were unanswered- How did Shalini wrote in Duanphen lipi? What's the meaning of black maze?
She placed the glass on the poolside and tugged the pendant clung to her chest, hidden inside her dress. The black almond-shaped pendant glimmered in the moonlight.
"Not yet. It's not the end." she said and attached the pendant back to her chest, her eyes turning golden-blue.
****************
A NOTE FROM AUTHOR
Thank you for reading the first part of series- Anikaa & The Mystery of the Painting. I hope you liked it. The second part- Anikaa & The Escape is going to be released this year in 2021.
********************************
ANIKAA & THE ESCAPE
Jiyu has been caught, but is it the end? Mukund, Anikaa's painting gallery manager was found unconscious in his office; Protiva, Milan's old friend was knocked out cold in her house. However random they are, Anikaa has established a connection between the attacks. What is the connection? Read the second part of the story where Anikaa will travel to Himkhasa and meet the most revered tribes of Himalayas- Honarks. The plot will intensify; testing Anikaa again as she will try to stop the most dreaded escape. Next part coming soon!
***********************
About Me
Dear all,
My name is Adhya Krish. It is said that one must not ask the caste, creed or color of a learned saint- and I hold that true for every human being. Born an urban, middle-class, Indian family; I was exposed to books from a very early age. Both my parents are avid readers and so our house was filled with books of all genres. However, I deftly skipped the hard-bound, heavy historical books and gave all my attention to mystery novels. Yes. My favourites being- Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew, Agatha Chrisite and J.K. Rowling.
I always think those people are lucky who know what they want to do in their lives. But, I was not amongst them- not until I turn 30. Before 30, I graduated in science, went to UK for five years, finished two masters and worked in an International bank in India. However, I quit my job after a year in banking. Something was not right- it wasn't striking. At that time, I stumbled upon a book- 'If truth be told, a monk's memoir' and after reading it- I decided to work on something which comes from me, never tires me and represents me in every aspect. In short, I decided to find my own calling.
During this time, I had a vision of a painting which was full of riddle. I first dismissed it as one of my random dreams but the vision started recurring and so with a determination to make a strong female protagonist, I started writing- Anikaa & The Mystery of the Painting. The rest of it followed. With the grace of Maa Sarawati, I finished my first book and started looking for publishers. And, after fifty emails and a wait of a year, I decided to self-publish my book.
Anikaa & The Mystery of the Painting is going to be followed by two more novels in the series. The female protagonist- Anikaa Mehra is very much like me- stubborn, a bit reserved and mysterious in her personality. She is the girl who you are or you want to be as she depicts the modern woman who is independent and thinks ahead of her game. Having said, that she is also emotional and caring.
I hope you'll fall in love with Rachel, Bahadur, Raymond, Milan, every character of my book as I have and I hope you'll wait eagerly for the next part. If you do wish to contact me, you can message me on wattpad. I don't want to fill your email accounts with my newsletter so I'm not asking you to follow subscribe to anything. However if you wish you can follow me on instagram- adhyakrish111.
Just look out on amazon and wattpad. I will announce the next part of Anikaa on instagram, wattpad and amazon very soon.
Be positive and enjoy your life.
Your favourite author,
Adhya Krish