Relics or Reality- Part 1

The darkness screamed my name as I reluctantly climbed up the rickety wooden ladder. A look at the floor shook me and I stood there at the 3^rd step from the top, petrified. I closed my eyes to drown the feeling of dread and, but it swam through and churned the waters in my stomach. I started gathering my courage, and breathing deeply; yet, I could feel something pulling me upwards- curiosity. Up- away from the safe haven of the ground; and my coffee; and my books; into the dark confines- the gargoyle at the top of the passage of my new house. A place unopened since a lifetime, a place unknown to the world- the attic.

The doors creaked open- with a sound characteristic to a horror movie, just a lot scarier- and let out the intruders, sent in by nature- spiders. Escaping blindly into their new habitat, they jumped past me and ran for their lives; making me all the more nervous I glanced into the shadows, my mouth dry with fear. My eyes adjusted to my new surroundings, and I could make out obscure outlines of shapes- of varied sizes. I took a step higher on the ladder, and hefted myself into the hole in the wall. My eyes blinked, and I looked fervently at ‘my’ belongings.

There they all stood- a jug, a suitcase, and a pile of books- parched. Dressed in elite cobwebs and the make-up of dust and grime, the archaic objects looked their years of neglect and disregard. The same look passed my eyes as well, and the disgust radiated off my face. Ideas of disposing of this waste flicked my mind, and as I debated the on meager amount I could get from selling this stuff, my eyes caught something glittering from a well protected niche in one of the walls. As I glanced intently at it, I could feel a sense of excitement building in me. The wall was different from the rest- not cracked, not broken, nor dilapidated- it was just sooty, and painted with the graffiti of cobwebs.

I pushed my way through the maze and hesitantly reached the crevice. Reaching into the opening, I touched the object, and a jolt passed through me. I could swear that a zephyr swept past my face; and I breathed in the cool air for a second. The shine was not the characteristic of the object itself, but it was its cover which had given the relic away.

It was a book, a manuscript; dressed in fur, it looked at me in a way to entice me into opening it; to compel me to explore the secrets it held- maybe a hidden treasure, maybe the recipe to success, maybe the thesis behind a new discovery. Curiosity took the better of me, and with the silence of the loft as my only companion, discounting the remaining spiders and their beloved homes, I opened the first page.

My mission was to unearth the secrets and to decrypt the weird handwriting- curved, slanted, and petite- and the words and their meanings, held in close companionship by them all. And I was consumed, all in 1 movement.

Excerpt #1 from Diary

Waqt tha suhana,

Kabhi nahi tha unko bhulana,

Saare vaadon se mukar gaye voh,

Aur zindagi main kuch, rahana.

PS: This is the first installment of a 7 part story.