The Reunions
The Reunion
It was still dark outside when Sama woke up. She could even see some stars. She jumped on the bed to wake her little sisters. Arana, Mailya and Anathri are so irresponsible. They wouldn’t hear an alarm if their lives depended on it, she thought.
“Get up,” she shook each of them. Arana, Maliya and Anathri, all murmured indistinctly.
One of the things Sama loved about her summer vacation in Manali was waking up early, when it was still dark. Tearing her eyes away from the picturesque scene outside the window, she lazily tumbled out of her night clothes. It was time for an adventure in the hills!
Sama thought, We might see monkeys. They’re so cute and cuddly. I hope they won’t steal my food, though.
Busy dreaming, Sama slipped into her hiking clothes and slung on her backpack.
In the meantime, Sama’s sisters had gotten ready. Anathri, who had discovered her artistic talent was anxiously waiting for the art and sculpting hour of their jam-packed schedule. “What time is it? 5:00? 4:00?” she asked stretching and yawning.
Mom opened the door, “How come you lazy miscreants are up already? Why don’t you wake up at this time on a school day?”
Sama shrugged.
“Are we going yet?” Maliya asked, her eyes shining with excitement.“Okay, Papa’s already downstairs. Are you sure you are all ready?”
“Yes, Mama,” Arana and Mailya said at the same time, mischief twinkling in their eyes.
“Yeah,” Sama replied, after quickly checking her backpack.
Anathri nodded.
The family headed towards Lameduck peak. Sama rushed ahead of everyone else.
After they had been hiking for around half an hour, “Oy, mountain goat!” Papa called. “We’re taking a break.”
“Okay, okay, fine. Can’t I go ahead?” Sama pleaded. “I’m a big girl now. I’m turning sixteen tomorrow.”
Mama rolled her eyes, “Fine, but wait for us at the peak.”
“Yes, yes mom!” Sama ran up the mountain.
Exhausted, Sama stopped halfway. She saw a lean tall figure in the distance. She took a few steps back. The figure took a few steps towards her. “Sama?” a familiar voice asked.
“How – Samar? What are you doing here?” She raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
“I’m on holiday, duh!” Samar exclaimed. “What, do you think I’m stalking you?” Samar laughed.
“Who’s stalking who?” Mama asked, coming out of nowhere.
“Nobody is stalking anybody, Aunty.” Samar replied. “I was only joking.”
“Well, we’ll let the two of you catch up,” Arana smirked.
Samar rolled his eyes. “So that’s your super sane family that you were telling me about a few weeks ago?”
Papa laughed as Maliya yelled, “Cartwheel time,” and began doing cartwheels around Sama.
“Okeey-Dokey,” said Samar. “And I thought my brother was crazy.”
“Race me to the top of the mountain,” Sama changed the subject and darted off.
Sama ran as fast as her feet would take her. When she stopped to catch her breath, she noticed Samar closing in on her. She capitalized on a sudden surge of energy and ran further. Then she lost sight of everyone.
Sama could finally see the peak. As she approached the top, she saw Samar coming from the opposite direction. “I took a shortcut.” He winked.
“Hmph,” Sama snorted in annoyance. She was trying to come up with a scathing retort when they were both distracted by an enormous cave that had become visible a few hundred feet away to Sama’s left. Sama and Samar exchanged curious glances before heading towards it together. Sama stopped at the entrance and peeked in to scan the insides.
She was startled by a sharp jerk. “Let’s go and check it out. How bad could it be? Chill, Sama.” Samar said dragging her in.
“No, Samar. It could be dangerous, you idiot,” Sama protested as Samar pulled her deeper into the cave.
A piercing scream startled them both. They tried to figure out the source of the intermittent wailing that followed the scream. Oddly, the sound seemed to be coming from outside the cave. Sama and Samar edged towards the cave entrance until Sama heard a girl’s voice blubbering between the wails. “Anathri!” she exclaimed astonished to see her sister sobbing.
“This-this is ho-horrifying. We must go on to avenge my ancestors. This cave belongs to their killer.” Anathri declared from the mouth of the cave. “The terrifying megalomaniac Sir Sethan Kala, or Black Satan as we called him, murdered them. Brutally! He was – he was evil. You must come with me. You must help me.”
Sama raised her eyebrows and looked at Samar. “You were saying?”
“Okay, fine. Maybe it’s not totally safe.” Samar shrugged. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
As they inched into the cave, Anathri gave each of them a blade and pulled out her own.
Sama felt something crawl over her foot. It squeaked. Sama jumped. “EEE! What was that?” she screeched almost cutting herself with the blade she was holding.
Samar snorted, “A mouse.”
Sama shrieked and pushed Samar into the lead. “Be careful with that blade,” Samar complained. “Actually, it’s safer with me,” he declared grabbing it from Sama.
Suddenly they heard a noise – CRACK! Everyone took a step back.
Anathri bent down to examine the source of the sound. “That was a bone,” Anathri explained. “See, I told you he killed my ancestors.”
“Well, until we get DNA, that’s not hard evidence,” Samar pointed out.
Sama and Anathri glared at him. “Jeez with expressions like that, you don’t even need daggers.” Samar laughed until he saw Anathri waving her blade threateningly. “Just sayin’.” Samar backed up. “I mean, Black Satan is probably dead anyway if he’s been living here all this while.”
“Can we kill him?” Anathri’s eyes flashed.
“Me or, Black Satan?” Samar inquired.
Anathri sighed, “Both, duh!”
Sama said, “No! Honestly, can you two behave?”
“She’s right, these could be our last moments,” Anathri observed.
“Blah, blah, blah,” Samar muttered.
Anathri pushed Samar. He bumped into a wall. It turned into a door. “What is wrong with you, Anathri?” he snapped.
“Look what I found,” Sama announced as she opened the door.
Suddenly a strong wind pushed Anathri into the wall. She could not get up. So, Sama and Samar had avenge Anathri’s ancestors on their own. Then in came the most gruesome sight Sama thought she would ever see.
With a gnarled face, his lip twisted into a sneer, his bloodshot eyes bubbling with hatred, the bony blood-stained figure of Sethan Kala stormed in. He waved his rusted bloody blade in front of Samar’s face.
Samar was sweating, this was a matter of life and death, and he was risking it for Sama’s adopted sister. Well, whatever, it was too late to think of that.
Samar charged in. He did a fancy jump kick and Sethan fell to the ground. But the result of Samar’s quick thinking scarcely lasted a few moments as Sethan leaped back up and kicked Samar in the face. Disoriented, Samar walked away, looking very dizzy. Then whimpering in pain he clutched his bloody nose. He was nearly recovered when Sethan had arrived there.
Sama got an idea, and yelled, “Oy, Black Satan, look who’s here to punch your nose.”
Sethan turned around, and walked to Sama. This allowed, the finally recovered Samar to knock out Sethan by whacking Sethan’s head with a boulder that was lying on the cave floor.
“What?” said Samar causally.
Sama panicked, “I never thought-I never…” she could no longer contain her shock and fright.
Samar understood, “Sama, he’s not dead. You did it for Anathri. He has killed so many people, that he got what he deserved. We’ll just take him to the police and see what they do about it.”
Sama smiled and walked to Anathri “Are you okay? Samar and I knocked Sethan out.”
Samar cleared his throat, “Ahem-Ahem.”
“Fine, Samar may have knocked him out, but he couldn’t have done it without me,” Sama clarified.
Anathri chirped, bouncing up, “I feel better than ever before! Thanks so much! You’re amazing. You succeeded where my father, his mother and their parents all failed. From this day on I am eternally grateful to you.”
“Wait, which door did we come through?” Sama asked gesturing to the many doors that had appeared almost everywhere. “Eh, let’s just go that way. A door is a door, right?”
“Sama!” Samar protested. “For all we know there could be another Black Satan there!”
Anathri patted Samar on the shoulder. She said reassuringly, “Don’t worry. I’m sure you can handle another one. I mean, you were brilliant.”
Samar rolled his eyes in disbelief. “Ugh, I wish I had never found this cave. Sama was right.”
“No, no,” Sama shook her head. “It’s been quite exciting.”
“And I thought Johnny was crazy…” Samar began.
“Shut up,” Sama said. “I hear something. Someone is calling for help.”
Anathri said, “Maybe it’s another of my ancestors.”
“But didn’t Black Satan kill them all?” Samar was puzzled.
“Not necessarily,” Anathri clarified. “We were massacred. I just assumed he killed everyone. I never thought this day would come!”
As they drew closer to a large oak door, The wails for help became louder and louder. “That’s Avashiya, my great aunt. She’s behind that oak door. But it’s locked. How do we get in?”
“Sama can I have your gym card?” Samar asked.
“My gym’s not anywhere near by.” Sama raised an eyebrow.
“I know that. Can I have it? I know you carry your wallet everywhere.” Samar persisted.
Sama handed her wallet to Samar. Samar used it to pick the lock and then he opened the door. He handed the gym card back to Sama. “Thanks,” he said.
Sama nodded, “See, my purse comes in handy.”
Samar stuck his tongue out at her and went in. Anathri ran in and untied her disheveled ancestor. Tears streamed down Avashiya’s cheeks as she gave Anathri a hug. “I never thought I would see you again,” Avashiya said between sobs. “I’m so glad you never gave up. Everyone else over here is dead. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Now we have to make our way back,” Samar sighed.
“Well,” Sama said pompously. “While you two were busy chit-chatting, I was marking our path so we wouldn’t get lost. See, there’s my toy elephant.”
Sama made her way to it. She was followed by Samar and Anathri who had Avashiya in her arms.
Samar raised his eyebrows. “Uh, you carried it, on a hike?”
“Thankfully, yes,” Sama replied coldly, “Or we would be lost.”
Samar burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, back on the mountain top there were two angry mothers, three sad sisters and Jonathan. The two fathers who had been searching the grounds, finally ventured into the cave.
Sama, Samar, Anathri and Avashiya were desperately lost. They had returned to the room with Sethan’s body, but didn’t know how to proceed. Sama lamented, “I wish I had marked the door when we entered, but – wait I see Papa.”
Sama raced to Papa excitedly, followed by Anathri carrying Avashiya. Samar who was lugging Sethan’s unconscious body ran up to hug his dad. The two dads seemed to know their way out, so they led the way.
When they all emerged from the cave entrance, Maliya and Arana bounced up and down, and Jonathan hugged his big brother.
Samar’s mom darted over. “Where were you? All of us were worried sick! Wait, Samar you’re bleeding? Why?”
“We need to take this dude to the police. Anathri, tell your tale.” Samar said, dragging Sethan’s unconscious body out of the cave.
Anathri said, “It’s all my fault. I told them to help me avenge my ancestors, and obediently they followed.”
Anathri narrated, “You see, when I was very, very young a knight named Sir Sethan Kala,” she gestured to the unconscious body, “attacked my family castle. At that point we were very isolated from the rest of the world. We did not know about guns and machines. Black Satan, who started out as one of us, was banished for interacting with humans. When he attacked, our wooden spears, javelins and arrows were nothing compared to the artillery and bombs he pelted at our castle. In your timeline this would be around World War 2. Luckily, Golan and I escaped unscathed along with a few injured survivors but they didn’t make it. Later, Golan and I hid in the castle and lived there. Then Golan started the Santa Claus business, and you found me.” She looked at Sama.
“Today Sama and Samar helped me avenge the death of my ancestors and executed some desperately needed justice. Samar tackled Black Satan who punched him and he got a nose bleed. But Samar knocked out Satan in the end. Thank you Samar.” Anathri beamed at him.
Samar’s mother rolled her eyes. “Samar, she not even your adopted sister or whatever. So why did you go in?”
Samar said, “Well, I was curious about the cave. And then I kind of just tagged along. Honestly mother, I’m fine.”
Samar’s mother sighed and gave him rib-cracking hug. Meanwhile, Sama’s mom had called the police and they had cordoned off the cave. Anathri pressed her hands together, and Golan appeared.
“Anathri-Avash…” Golan choked on the last syllable.
“iya.” Avashiya smiled, “Golan?
Golan smiled back.
A police woman walked up to the three of them. “I will be needing each of your testimonies.”
Anathri, Golan and Avashiya told their stories. Luckily, it was enough evidence and Sethan was sent to jail.
Golan and Avashiya decided to stay at the castle and they said their goodbyes to the two families.
Everyone, everyone except Anathri, that is, trudged home exhausted. She was still energized from the fact that Sethan was sent to jail.
Anathri came home feeling triumphant. While everyone else lazed around, Anathri sang, “Sethan is gone! Yippee! Yippee! Yippee!”
Sama yawned, “He was nothing Kung Fu couldn’t handle.”
Maliya said, “Yeah, Samar has to teach me. I mean how else, will I squash you, Sama?”
Sama yawned, as she lazily cuddled up in her blanket, “Good night,” she called of and fell asleep.
Maliya sniffed, “Ignoring me. How rude!”
- The End
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