THE CALL:-
--------------
The Gurukula had gone silent.
Puru lay on his mat, eyes open, staring into the darkness above him.
His thoughts refused to settle.
The footprints.
The forest path.
The differences.
Everything pointed somewhere—
But doubt stood in the way.
"What if I'm wrong…"
He turned slightly.
He needed another mind.
Someone to question him.
Someone to see what he missed.
Raghu.
The thought stayed.
Raghu would have said something.
Not immediately.
But after thinking.
After observing.
He would have seen a connection.
Puru exhaled slowly.
"I should have listened…"
The words faded into the quiet.
Tanuj came to mind.
But Puru dismissed it.
Tanuj was already affected.
Emotional. Disturbed.
This was not something he could place on him now.
Puru closed his eyes.
The weight of doubt remained.
Slowly—
Sleep took him.
Darkness returned.
But this time… it was different.
He was not alone.
A faint light appeared before him.
Soft.
Not bright.
But enough to push the darkness away.
From within it—
A figure emerged.
A woman.
Her presence was calm.
Unmoving.
Her face… unclear—
Yet it glowed.
Not like fire.
Not like the moon.
Something else.
Something that did not belong to the ordinary.
Puru stood still.
He could not speak.
The woman looked at him.
Not with emotion.
But with knowing.
Then she spoke.
"Puru."
His name felt heavier in her voice.
"I have chosen you."
The words echoed—not in the air, but inside him.
Puru's breath slowed.
"I need your help."
A pause.
Soft.
But weight carried within it.
"Will you do this… for me?"
Puru tried to respond—
But no words came.
The light around her began to fade.
Slowly.
Like it was never meant to stay.
Her presence weakened.
Her form blurred.
Before disappearing completely—
Her voice came once more.
"Find the path…"
Darkness returned.
Puru woke up.
His breath steady.
But his mind… not.
The room was the same.
Silent.
Still.
Yet something had changed.
He sat up slowly.
That was not a dream.
Not like the others.
His doubt… had not vanished.
But something else had taken its place.
Direction.
Before sunrise:-
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Puru sat awake for a long moment after the dream.
Fear had touched him for an instant.
But it did not stay.
Instead—
Something else settled within him.
His thoughts returned to the same place.
The forest.
The footprints.
The path.
"Find the path…"
He exhaled slowly.
"Maybe… I was not wrong."
Before the first light touched the sky, Puru had already prepared.
A small cloth bag.
A water flask.
His sword.
Nothing more.
No hesitation now.
Only direction.
The Gurukula was still quiet.
Students slept.
The courtyard lay empty.
Puru stepped outside, his movements careful, controlled.
He paused for a moment.
Tanuj.
He could leave without telling.
But—
If he didn't return…
The thought remained.
Puru turned and walked toward Tanuj's room.
Tanuj opened the door, still half asleep.
"Puru…?"
"I'm going to the forest," Puru said quietly.
Tanuj's eyes cleared immediately.
"The forest? Why?"
"To search for Raghu."
There was no hesitation in Puru's voice.
Tanuj stared at him for a moment.
Then stepped aside slightly.
"You think he went there?"
"I do."
Tanuj looked down briefly.
Then back at him.
"Don't tell anyone?" he asked.
Puru nodded.
"If others know, they'll try to stop me."
Tanuj understood.
A faint worry appeared in his expression.
"Be careful," he said. "And come back as soon as you can."
Puru gave a small nod.
"I will."
The sky had just begun to lighten.
A faint grey spread across the horizon.
Puru moved silently across the courtyard.
The Gurukula walls stood tall ahead.
He didn't stop.
With a quick step and firm grip, he climbed—
And dropped down the other side.
Outside.
No turning back now.
Ahead—
The forest waited.
INTO THE FOREST:-
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The forest opened slowly before him.
Not dense.
Not welcoming either.
Puru chose the path where the trees stood apart—just enough space to move without forcing his way through.
At first, it felt simple.
Step after step, he moved forward, eyes scanning the ground, the trees, the broken edges of the path.
But the forest did not give answers easily.
Some paths narrowed without warning.
Branches thickened.
Grass rose higher.
More than once, Puru had to stop… turn… and retrace his steps.
The same trees.
The same silence.
The same uncertainty.
He kept moving.
No footprints.
Not even one.
The ground was covered with thick grass, soft and undisturbed.
If Raghu had passed through here… the forest had already swallowed the signs.
Puru slowed.
His gaze shifted upward.
Broken branches.
Bent stems.
Leaves disturbed at unnatural angles.
He began following those instead.
Subtle signs.
Faint.
Almost invisible.
Two days.
That thought pressed into him.
Two days since Raghu disappeared.
Wind… rain… time—
Enough to erase everything.
Puru stopped for a moment.
He had no clear direction.
No certainty.
Only assumption.
He could turn back.
He should turn back.
His legs didn't move.
Not backward.
Forward.
The trees began to thin.
The air changed.
Less damp.
Less heavy.
And then—
Dry land.
Puru stepped onto it slowly.
The ground was harder here.
Cracked in places.
Clear.
He lowered himself slightly.
And saw it.
A faint mark.
Then another.
Footprints.
Not clear.
Not deep.
But there.
Visible enough.
Real.
Puru's breath steadied.
He followed immediately.
No hesitation now.
Each step sharper.
More focused.
The sun had climbed high.
The heat pressed down without mercy.
Sweat gathered along his neck, his back.
His throat had begun to dry.
But he didn't stop.
Didn't slow.
He marked his path.
Small cuts on bark.
Broken twigs placed deliberately.
Silent signals for his return.
Just in case.
Time passed.
Distance stretched.
And then—
The forest ended.
Not gradually.
Suddenly.
Before him stood something unexpected.
An old settlement.
Abandoned.
Broken houses.
Collapsed roofs.
Walls cracked and eaten by time.
Roots had pushed through stone.
Trees had grown inside homes.
Nature had reclaimed everything.
Puru didn't step forward immediately.
His legs felt… unsteady.
Not from exhaustion.
From something else.
The place felt wrong.
Too still.
Too empty.
He moved slowly.
Carefully.
Eyes scanning.
Searching.
Any sign of life.
Any movement.
Any sound.
There were paths.
Narrow.
Dry.
Worn into the ground.
Not by time—
By use.
Recent.
Repeated.
Puru followed one.
His heartbeat slowed.
Focused.
Most of the ground showed nothing.
No clear prints.
Only faint disturbance.
But enough.
Enough to say—
Someone had been here.
Then—
He saw it.
A small house.
Unlike the others.
Its walls still standing.
No large cracks.
No collapse.
And at its door—
A lock.
New.
Silver.
Unfitting.
Alive… in a dead place.
Puru stopped.
His breathing quieted instinctively.
He stepped closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He leaned toward the door.
Pressed his ear against it.
Silence.
For a moment—
Nothing.
Inside—
Raghu lay still.
Bound.
Breathing shallow.
Waiting.
Not knowing if anyone would come.
And just beyond the door—
Puru stood.
Closer than ever.