[#14] Melody of Misconduct
A tale told by Mohit Mamoria
The story begins at The Haveli.
Everyone’s eyes turned towards Saafiya. She put her hand inside her pajamas pocket and brought out the ball. She brought it closer to her eyes and inspected, as if trying to locate something on it. Once she located, she said in excitement, “There it is. The triangular mark. Momo’s favorite story. It has to be this. It has to be this. It has to be this story of hers.”
Ramu looked at the other two friends to figure out if he was the only one who didn’t understand what she was saying. Shreyansh was driving and was focused on the road and Ananya stared blankly at Saafiya. He was relieved he wasn’t the only one. Shreyansh asked the first question, “Saafi… Are you sure you want to play suspense-suspense?”
A smile was about to appear on her lips but she held it back and said, “I am just thinking. I am not sure. But it makes the most sense.”
“We can help, child, if you can share with us too.”
Ananya agreed, “Yes Saafi… go on.”
Saafiya nodded and began speaking, “Well, it is about her, Momo’s, favorite story — the story of the pyramids. In her story, there was a tribe that had a tradition of not keeping secrets of any sort among themselves. They believed keeping secrets was the work of a devil. They didn’t worship the Gods in human forms for they believed in worshipping something that knew everything. They worshipped a pyramid — a pyramid that was located at the center of their forest.”
“A pyramid?!” Shreyansh shrieked.
“Yes. It was believed that the pyramid knew everything. No one kept anything to themselves. If anyone was embarrassed or shy to reveal a part of themselves to other tribe mates, they could reveal it to the pyramid. One could walk inside the pyramid through the narrow passage that couldn’t fit in more than one person, and upon reaching the Revelation Hall that was located in the heart of the pyramid, talk his or her heart out to the Invisible God. The tribe believed the pyramid soaked the truth and the guilt in its great walls.
“The pyramid knew everything. The pyramid stored everything inside itself. The pyramid atoned the tribe of their guilt. The guilt was their religion, the pyramid was their god and the Melody of Misconduct was their prayer.”
“They had a prayer?!” Ananya asked in a tone filled with curiosity.
“Yes they had a short prayer that one would say before speaking inside the Revelation Hall”, she said and closed her eyes trying to recall the exact words. “It was a short one but I had heard it long back last time. Am not able to recall.”
Ramu was silently listening the what Saafiya had to say. When no one else spoke, he said, “Saafiya child… So this means that the mark on the ball…?!”
Saafiya sees the mark on the ball in [Tale #7 Our Little Secret].
Saafiya completed his sentence, “…is a pyramid. The pyramid knew everything. This ball could know some things too. Words were spoken and stored inside the pyramid. I guess, the words are spoken and stored inside this ball. The prayer to wake up the pyramid — the Melody of Misconduct could wake up the ball too. For some reason, I know it will. I just have to recall the prayer.”
Shreyansh was silent for a long time, mostly because he was focused on keeping the car on track. With the eyes still on the road, he suggested, “Saafi, if you can just recall the words that formed the prayer, we all can try to arrange them into the melody. Just try to remember the individual words.”
“I AM TRYING, SHREY. I AM TRYING”, she replied in agitation. She got impatient because in that moment, it seemed that everything, including her father’s life, depended on one of her childhood memory. She tried hard to recall but couldn’t. Her eyes got moist. Her lips dried. Her head started paining. Her breathing became heavy. “When no one listens…”
Ananya shrugged and asked, “What Saafi?”
“Where no one watches…”
“We aren’t following, my child”, Ramu politely mentioned.
“Walk inside me…”
“Is she reciting the prayer?” said Shrey.
“And let me peek inside you…”
“She definitely is”, Ananya confirmed.
Saafiya spoke loudly, “When no one listens… Where no one watches… Walk inside me… And let me peek inside you.”
She spoke louder, “When no one listens… Where no one watches… Walk inside me… And let me peek inside you.”
She spoke loudest, “WHEN NO ONE LISTENS… WHERE NO ONE WATCHES… WALK INSIDE ME… AND LET ME PEEK INSIDE YOU.”
The ball began to glow and cracks started to form on its surface. The glow inside the ball, as seen through the cracks, was brighter. The ball cracked open and from it, came a voice, “Saafi…”
“MOMO!”
“Saafi, my daughter, my little angel. You figured it out.”
“Momo, is that you? Momo!”
“Yes, my little angel. I am your Momo’s memory that was preserved by her in this ball. I have just one thing to tell you. Listen carefully.”
“Yes Momo. Tell me. I am listening.”
“Wes wants your father dead. Wes is our first son. Your father was born in a time prior to Wes’s time. Do not trust anyone. Do not listen to anyone. Listen to me, my child. Listen to me. Wes is our chosen ruler. When Wes got to know about the candles, his hunger for power grew. He wanted those candles so that he can become the Timeless Ruler, who would rule the past, the present and the future.
“He is already ruling the future, Saafi. The future has become brutal. People are slaughtered. Mercy has become just a word in the dictionary. But your father is stopping him from ruling the past. A brother cannot rule another brother. A brother cannot kill another brother. To truly become the Timeless Ruler, he wants to prevent the birth of your father.
“Do something. Kill Wes. We are going back to future to talk to him. If we don’t return, consider us killed, little angel. The future is merciless. Your grandfather saw it. He came to past to fix it.
“Kill Wes. Trust no one. Love you, my little angel.”
The voice stopped talking. The ball grew brighter and within a moment, it shattered itself into thousands of tiny pieces that got lost into thin air.
The story continues:
—
If you like this story, please hit the ❤️ below to recommend it and help others find it!
