The Chosen Twosome

“Weee-Yooo, Weee-Yooo…” blared the evacuation alarm! The children of Gurukul School, familiar with these surprise drills wearily lined up towards the fire exit till they heard a loud commotion followed by people screaming, “It’s a communal riot!”

The next moment was pandemonium and everyone aimlessly ran for their lives. Yatra and Saahas, the athletic sixth-grade twins, dashed down the stairs towards the exit but were shoved inside a room by the sea of students running in the corridor and the door banged shut behind them. Their cries were not heard amidst the chaos that prevailed outside.

The gaseous fumes of the chemistry lab entered their nostrils and burnt their eyes. They were soon enclosed in a column of gas that opened up like a tunnel. Mutually supporting each other, they struggled their way up the tunnel with blurred vision and choked lungs. With a sudden jerk, the two of them were violently pulled headlong into a dark hole. After what seemed to be years of spinning and churning in a deep eddy they came to a halt albeit their heads continued to spin.

It took a while for them to feel the freezing cold and the whiteness that surrounded them. As they were convinced that they died and came to the heavens, a hoarse voice called out to them, “Human kids! How did you end up here?” 

Startled, they turned around to see a massive figure hovering above them with cascading silver hair and covered in a shimmering crystal blanket. They didn’t miss to see a beautifully spinning blue ball farther away. 

The voice continued “Let me see! You must have got stuck to my snowflakes and traveled along with me as I was moving. I am Winter! I left your place so that Spring can arrive.” The figure lifted the white blanket, stretched a pair of black withered hands and said, “Here they are! Welcome, my sisters!” There were 3 other magnificent figures gliding towards them. 

The first one to arrive was pleasant and dainty covered with flowers of different colors with a fascinating scent. Undoubtedly the Spring!

The next one dashed in with blazing, sizzling, gloriously shining form, filled with life and spreading out the much-needed warmth. Certainly the Summer!

The last one sashayed in serenely, brimming with wisdom, carrying a sharp frosty scent with the sound of crunching dry leaves. Surely the Autumn!

Yatra and Saahas with their hearts pounding out of the rib cage looked around at the Seasons encompassing them. Looking yearningly at the distant blue ball, which once was their home - Mother Earth, both of them gathered the courage to ask, “Can we go back?”

Winter nodded and said, “Of Course, you can! You are not dead yet and I brought you along! It will be a perilous path infested with dreadful demons. Slay them all and find your passage!”

Before Yatra and Saahas could utter any words, Winter handed out two white lockets called ‘Hope of Life’ and said, “Whenever you are in despair, hold this close to your heart.”

Spring materialized two bracelets called ‘Pursuit of Peace’ made out of flowers that will never wither and said, “Whenever you face war, spread this in the air.”

Summer gifted two rings embedded with ‘Golden Grain’ made out of all the riches and said, “Whenever there is a dearth, this will bring in wealth.”

Autumn gave them each a headband called ‘Root of Origin’ the root that nourishes the trees to blossom back and said, “Whenever there is gloom, this will be the beacon”

 “Yatra and Saahas, coincidentally your names correspond to travel and adventure. Go ahead and use our blessings wisely!” they said and zoomed away in different directions.

The duo started moving towards the Earth. They hardly got accustomed to the drifting when out of the blue, a humongous beast descended in front of them. Saahas held on to the locket close to his heart and pulled Yatra out of the way of the demon. “I am Sarvadharmasura – The Demon of Religions,” he roared with his evil voice. He had hundreds of heads, each representing a religion. “If you both belong to different religions, you will have to kill each other,” he commanded.

Yatra touched her headband and exchanged a quick understanding glance with Saahas. They both swiftly yanked their ‘Root of Origin’ headband and flung it towards the demon. Both the roots transformed into blazing swords landed on either end of the demon’s necks and chopped off all the heads. The heads that represented the religions formed a pathway with the Root of Autumn as the beacon light leading the path. Earth is now free from the wicked clutches of various religions and is guided by true spirituality.

With the newfound path, they sprinted faster and the blue ball increased in size as they were getting closer. “FLASH BOOM!” They came to a grinding halt as a flash of bright light hit their eyes followed by a storm of bullets and deafening sounds of bombardment. Yatra shuddered and Saahas was soaked in sweat. Their surroundings suddenly turned reddish with a foul smell of blood. Then emerged a gruesome monster with mutilated body proclaiming himself as “Yudhhasura - the Czar of war” and started showering weapons on them.

They both swiftly lifted their ‘Pursuit of Peace’ bracelets and spread its petals and fragrance all around. The monster, his weapons, and the foul smell perished and the beautiful earth looked closer and more peaceful.

As they held on to their locket of hope and moved forward, Saahas felt a severe hunger pang and almost collapsed. Yatra's mouth dried too as she spotted a scrawny figure with a haggard appearance looming ahead with a huge empty bowl in his skinny hands. He announced himself as “Daridrasura – the Demon of Poverty”. He drains physical strength and vitality from people by spreading hunger, thirst, and weakness to impoverish them.

Yatra gathered herself up, helped Saahas get on his feet and both of them aimed and tossed the ring of ‘Golden Grain’ into the empty bowl held by the emaciated monster. The empty bowl overflowed with food and other riches while the monster slowly blew away into smithereens.

The blue ball of Earth beamed brighter.

They heaved a sigh of relief with a triumphant smile and at that very moment got violently pulled into another dark winding tunnel. After the usual spins and churns, they got thrown out in the middle of a room, which they managed to make out as their chemistry lab! They emerged from the room and saw familiar faces filled with happiness, peace, and contentment.

 

As they walked towards their classroom, Yatra & Saahas felt the warmth of the ‘Hope of Life’ locket close to their heart. That will be their proof to narrate their story of “How we got lost and found precious gifts to save the Earth!”