The Rejection

10

Aakriti continued, “After completing Aarav’s diary, we quite were shaken up and did not understand what to do next and how to tell my father that the reason behind the death of Aarav is our brothers. In order to protect their own share of Diamond, they killed him and still are searching the way to the fifth floor of the cave. We were more confused about whether to tell my father or not because after reading the diary we kind of had a thought that what if he was involved in Aarav’s death too. And if he would ever get to know that I and Manan had found about the cave, maybe our lives would be at risk too. After learning about the cave I could see the strange behavior of Manan. After he learned about the cave and Diamond, his mannerism was totally changed. He then onwards kept asking about that temple, that well, that graveyard, that tree. As he was not born and brought up in our village he did not about where it all was. He grew up in the city. He forgot about Aarav’s death and was totally just interested in that diamond. He asked me so many questions about it I was in great shock, that my other brothers killed my own little brother and maybe my father too. I did not tell anything to Manan for a while. I took Aarav’s diary and kept it safe with me. I started to believe that my ancestors were right, a girl should never know the wealth-the secret wealth of her family as one day or the other her husband would get attracted to the wealth and mess would be created.  

After some days I gathered strength and told my father all about Aarav’s death. Manan warned me in advance it would be better if I did not tell anything about my knowledge of Diamond and the cave. But my father sensed that I might know something more and their secret of wealth was not secret anymore. He was angrier with me than he was with my brothers for killing Aarav. I told Manan that both of our lives were in danger. And we should flee away from the village. But Manan denied and he asked me to stay a couple more days in the village and find about Diamond and took some with us. I told him it was not a great idea and our lives were at stake and we should be worrying about our lives and not diamonds. Manan denied and I agreed to stay for a few more days because I also had no choice but to stay with him. I showed him that old temple, that unused well, that lied down a tree, that scariest graveyard. I showed him all, out of which he chose the fourth floor as it was easy to go through the tree which is already laying on the ground and as mentioned diary out of all flour, maximum Amount of Diamond would be found inside the fourth floor (As the diamond meteorite hit the ground in the shape of the pyramid so, except the fifth floor, next maximum source of diamond was fourth floor-whose entrance we already learned through the diary.) We decided to go on the fourth floor one dark evening. We took some lanterns with us. It was dark and the tree was so huge, to find the entrance was such a difficult task but Manan found it. I seriously do not know how he found it and I just kept following him and if I ever again will go to that place, I will not be in a position to find the entrance on my own. We went inside and started a search for Diamond. It was the huge floor, there were so many excavations, so many brutal surfaces, some trees had grown inside it and water was dropping on the surface. It was slippery too. We searched the whole floor but we did not find anything. We came back empty-handed. We thought it was some fabricated story and they were never any Diamonds inside it. But Manan insisted to go again and search more carefully the second time. 

We went again, except darkness and sound of water dripping and dead silence we again found nothing. I got slipped due to the water presence on the surface and my sandals were slippery too. When Manan picked me up, he saw it was something sparkling thing under me. He helped me get up and he put his lantern at the place where there was sparkling to see what it was. Through the lantern, we could see it was indeed Diamond. But it was just a freckle of Diamond. Nothing much was there. It was as good as noting. We went back again empty-handed but we did learn that there was really the presence of Diamond in the cave. We then explore each floor one by one but all efforts were in vain. We figured that my brothers must have known that we are well informed about the cave and its benefits, that they took all the Diamonds with themselves and must have to hide it in some place safer, where neither us nor anyone else could find it. They must have taken all-out after Aarav rejected their offer of trade up, I do not hate my brothers but I know how greedy and selfish they were that they might have emptied the floors from Diamonds and then had told Aarav about all te entrance so even if Aarav wanted he could not get all the diamonds from all the floors for himself. 

Our guess was correct as one day all my brothers came to our house and asked us, how did we kill Aarav and why did we kill him. We did not understand anything for a while but then we figured how they wanted to put blame on us and kill us and clean their slate and wanted to be safer when we were gone. Manan did not have any family, my family was going to kill me itself so there was not anyone who would cry about our death or would ask about us if we went missing, so they had planned to kill us.   As we were outsiders to them they wanted to kill the information of cave and Diamond along with killing us. I told them that we did not kill Aarav and there was no way that I would kill him for some amount of money or Diamond. My brothers gathered us and were not ready at all to listen to us and we're almost ready to hit Manan with the rod they brought with them. Manan started the conversation and told them that he and I were innocent and we were ready to move away from the village without telling anyone from the village or without taking anything from the cave.  None of us brother believed and they had planned to kill us no matter what. But out of nowhere Manan snatched the road from Aashray’s hand and he hit Aashray with it. All of us were amazed after seeing that. Aashray was hit really hard and got fainted. No other brothers dared to come forward and touch us and they wanted to take care of Aashray too who was hit badly by Manan. I thought my nightmare was over but it had just begun. Manan dragged Aashray and kept him in one room. Manan had worn the face which none of us had ever seen from sweet innocent to he changed into completely different person, a cruel one, who had nothing to lose and was filled with anger, and frustration. He was not Manan anymore and he was like some other person who was asking questions to my brother about Cave and Diamond.

It was not that my brothers were respecting him as their brother in law and were not doing anything  but they were shocked and surprised by his sudden change of behavior and they were not ready for it. They had not planned that Manan or I would attach back on them on our defense. It was sudden shock so they could not do anything. He asked my other brothers about Diamond and where they had hidden it. No one spoke anything and nor did they were afraid. It was as if they were trained for situations like that, and had practicesd the art of silence and not uttering word. Manan knew it was tougher if the two of them were together and facing questions, so he separated them in different room. He took my eldest brother in a room where Aashray was kept. Aashray was already bleeding and Manan tortured him more and asked my eldest brother questions about the Diamond and he was toruring Aashray for not getting any response from my eldest brother. The tortured process continued but Manan did not get any response. My eldest brother could see Aaskray bleding and crying for help though he had sealed his mouth and he did not open it. 

Manan started asking questions to my other brother for information. Manan tortured them but still, they did not open their mouth. Then Manan began to tell them about all the roads through which one can reach the cave and the amount of Diamond it had and now was missing, that was something which none of them were prepared for. Manan told them that he knew Aarav had found the fifth floor and how he was killed. They all were amazed that how did Manan know about those secret ways and about fifth floor as well. They began to panic. They all were almost injured by Manan and mentally and physically were broken by Manan. Manan told them he had studied in a city and he knew all the rules and regulations about ruling government and how it was illegal of them to use those Diamond for their personal benefits. Manan tortured, threatened, and tried everything he could do to get the information but nothing worked on them. 

Manan got furious and he was already frustrated. One of my brothers, Aman kept saying how he and his brothers were strong enough to handle the pressure and torture. Aman too was hit with rod on his knees. I hated them after what they have done with Aarav but they were still my brothers, I could not see them in that position and begged Manan to stop. He locked them up in a room. Manan took his bag and entered that room in which they were kept. Manan had a thumbscrew and he crushed Aman’s finger in it. He did not even stop for a second before doing so. All he wanted was information. Out of three brothers, two of them were injured and one was terrified, there was no way they could escape or could save his other brothers.

Manan waited for them to melt and tell him information, neither had they melted nor Manan was feeling sorry for what he had done. After some time, he went to my father’s house and he found him in his room. My father was sleeping peacefully on his bed. He had his favorite devotional book in his hand and was fall asleep while reading it. Manan snatched his hair and he brought my father to our house. He then interrogated my father and showed him how worst situation he had made of his two sons, who did not give Manan any information. Manan had tried all the possible ways he knew to extract information. But all his efforts were in vein. 

He made a fake story that there were still some Diamonds left on the third floor which were yet to be extracted from the cave. It was hidden inside the cave in a manner that no one but only Aarav had found. Aarav had mentioned about those Diamonds in his diary and the diary was found by Manan and Aakriti, so they knew where it was. He made them make believe that some Diamonds were hidden in a Cave and him and Aakriti were going to take them all out and would live happily on it. He was just trying to get more information about the Cave and its rest floors to get more diamonds but as none of the brothers nor did our father tell him anything. He would be just happy to have those some diamonds with him. He then set all of them free and told him that he would never show his face to them again. My brothers and father went back to their house and made a plan to go in the third floor before Manan would go. My father might have told them where the third floor was, the secret way of third floor was. They all were on their way to reach the Cave and were taking low steps as they did not want to get anyone’s attention. When they were walking in dark, without any servant or anyone with them, Manan made surprise entry with his two friends and abducted them one by one. He and his friends blindfold them and took them to the Cave. Manan asked his friends to go when they were about to reach the Cave so his friends would not learn about the Cave. He managed to drag them to the third floor of Cave. 

He took my elder brother with him and he tied him with his hands and feet so he would not be able to move or escape and left him in there. Then he took Aashray with him and he tied him from his neck with a rope and he left him there, somewhere on the third floor. Then he took Aahan and then my father with him and tied them and left them somewhere inside the third floor. All were inside the third floor, no one but only Manan knew where he had kept them. All were kept at different places so no one could help each other in escaping. He then put a huge rock on the entrance of the third floor, near graveyard to close the entrance or exit from the outside, so that they could not escape from anyhow. No one could come in there and save them as for villagers that Cave never existed. He tied them and left them so he could go inside the cave whenever he wanted and again tortured them for information. He had told his friends that he was abducting them because he had some surprise plan for them and he did not want them to know about it. His friends received some good fortune from Manan so they did not ask much and accepted the fact that it could be some happy personal family matter.

He came back home and started to yell at me that I was also on their side and I am not telling him anything on purpose and was trying to save them and those Diamonds. He loves me so much that he cannot torture me the way he did to them and he believed in me that I did not know anything. He knew after doing what he did to my father and brothers it was not safe for him to stay in the village for a longer time. Although the secret of the cave was not known to others but sudden disappearance of a wealthy man would be noticed by all, and if his whole family goes missing, everyone would notice it. And if anyone would come to me for questioning about my father, Manan knew that I could open my mouth and Manan would be in great trouble so the next day he packed our bags and he told me we were going someplace away from the village, somewhere no one could find us. He has studied in cities so he must all the places where we could be safer so he chose this city to bring us here.”