2 Sand Clock
Part 2 Sand Clock
Khushi blinked her eyes, looking at the sand clock. Was this the sand clock Uncle Nayak told about? She became excited. The thing she was having in her hand was a TIME MACHINE. She could not believe it. Her excitement touched its peak. She wanted to check it immediately.
She remembered an incident related to her grandfather. He asked her once if she could change the past, what would she change? As she was a little girl at that time, she didn't know what to answer. So, she asked her grandfather the same question. He replied.
"I will save Mahatma Gandhiji from his death"
Khushi remembered that. She decided to use the clock that way. She looked at the clock but she didn't know how to use it.
"Hey, clock take me to Birla House, New Delhi on 30th January 1948 at 5 pm" Saying, she turned the clock.
In the blink of an eye, she appeared at the Birla House in New Delhi on 30th January 1948. She looked at her surroundings excitedly. She saw Gandhiji slowly coming there. She ran her eyes at the crowd and found Godse. She rushed to the police and said,
"He has a gun... check him"
The policeman looked at her oddly who looked extremely modern.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter... catch him. Or else, he will kill Gandhiji" she shouted that dragging everyone's attention.
Godse tried to run away. The police blocked him and checked. They found a gun with him. They took him away and looked for Khushi. She again turned the clock and left the place with the satisfaction of saving Gandhiji.
She again came back to her old house and smiled happily.
Taking her phone, she surfed in Goggle about Gandhiji's death. She frowned seeing the same date and time of his death. She could not understand anything. She went to the past and stopped Godse from shooting Gandhiji. Then why didn't it change? She was confused. What kind of time machine was this? She looked at the clock shrinking.
Taking the teddy bear, she pulled the cotton stuff out. She saw a small hand diary in it. Taking it, she gave it a look. It was undoubtedly notes about the clock but it was in Prakrit language. She went through it and wondered. The sand clock was undoubtedly a time machine.
*We could go to the past but the future.
*We could converse with people when we travel to the past.
*But... We could not CHANGE anything.
*If we stayed in the past, it would create a PARALLEL UNIVERSE. That was completely against nature.
*We could return to the present anytime with the use of the clock.
*While returning, we will appear at the same place from where we went in the past.
Khushi frowned. What kind of time machine was this? If we could not change anything, then why did people die for this? What would they do with this? They just travel to the past. Nothing more than that. It would be useful to an explorer like her but not for common people.
But... Something didn't seem right. If it had no use, why did people chase her? Why did they kidnap Nayak? Did she miss something? Maybe...
Khushi decided to meet Nayak the next day. She wanted to get clear her doubt. He might have known about the clock. Or, he would know its purpose. Keeping the clock in her pocket, she got back to the hostel.
She didn't sleep as her mind got stuck in the clock. How beautiful the feeling of changing the past...! How proud she could have been if she had changed the past...!
Suddenly, something kicked her mind. Wait... She tried to stop Gandhiji's death when she got the clock. Would everyone do the same? What would happen if the clock went to the bad people? Would they think of stopping Gandhiji's death? No way... They might change the end of the second world war... They could help the dangerous terrorist group... they could provide them weapons... They could do anything. Then the whole history would change. It would affect the harmony of the people...even countries. It may lead the world into an economic crisis. And... What if they brought dinosaurs and coronavirus again?
Khushi looked at the sand clock gulping down. How dangerous it could be! It should not go into any antisocialist's hands. She had to submit it to the right person. It should be treasured by the government. Nayak was the perfect person to do that. He knew how to do it because he knew the value of the clock. She decided to give it to him the next day.
The next morning
Khushi got ready not only to meet Nayak but also to go to Varanasi. She decided to spend a month there as she heard a lot about it. She wanted to do research about Varanasi and make a cover story about it. So, she stuffed all the needed things in her backpack, mobile charger, power bank, Tab, torchlight snacks, readymade food, etc., etc.,
She checked her mobile and it had a full charge. Finally, she took the sand clock and kept it in her pant pocket. She looked at her watch. It was 8:45 am. She had to go to the railway station to catch the Kashi Vishwanath Express at 11:35 am. She always preferred train journeys. She felt comfortable in it. She found the Air journey boring. Train journey always came first.
She checked the ticket in her purse and kept it in her pant pocket. Taking her backpack, she left the hostel.
Delhi was burning in the heavy sunlight. Khushi waited for a cab. She was continuously wiping her sweat that was running down uncontrolled. There were a few school students also waiting for their school bus.
"Oh God... I can't bear the heat" a girl said.
"It seems Shiv Bhagavan opened his third eye. Delhi is on fire" another one said.
"The heat is heavy this year..."
"It's increasing every year but no one does anything," a girl said wearily.
"What can anyone do about this?"
"What else? We should plant trees to save ourselves. That's the only way. We could have to stand under the shadow of the tree if this bus stand had a tree here"
"To plant trees, Emperor Ashoka should come taking rebirth. No one would do that other than him" a girl chuckled.
"Yes, she is right. Didn't we study Samrat Ashoka planted a lot of trees in the Maurya Empire... It would be better if someone does that for us"
"Nothing will change until we expect SOMEONE to do that. We can change it if we start planting trees" An old lady who heard their talks said, making the children speechless.
"Do you know how greenish Delhi was when I was young? All trees got cut off and Delhi became a concrete city. Then we have to face the consequence. My life will get over in a few years. But children like you should understand the need for trees. You should do that. No Ashoka will come and do that for you" the old lady said disappointedly.
"Is that true, were Delhi so greenish when you were young?" A little girl asked the old lady.
"Yes, so greenish"
Khushi jerked hearing a horn sound. Her cab arrived. She got in and left the place but her mind stayed in the children and old lady's conversation. How Delhi would have been in the Ashoka period? She surfed about the Ashoka emperor on the way to Nayak's house.
She looked outside when the cab came to a halt. She saw the PWD department men digging the road.
"Ma'am, the cab could not enter the lane. Could you get down here?" the cab driver requested.
"Yeah, I will get down. Thank you" Cutting the meter, she walked towards Nayak's house.
When there were twenty meters to his house, Khushi stopped. She saw the saw RED shirt man who chased her the previous day watching Nayak's house. She hid behind a car and looked at him. He signaled to his crime partner who was standing a little away from him.
She entered the small lane hurriedly and headed to the main road. Going to Nayak's house would not be good. She didn't know how many of them were there. She could fight with them if they were four or five. But what if they were more people, just like yesterday? What if they had chloroform with them just like yesterday? It was not wise to fight with them.
But, she should hand over the clock to someone before going to Varanasi. Roaming with the clock would be risky. Something clicked in her mind. What if she handed it to the archaeology department where her grandfather worked? It would be a good idea.
Hiring a taxi, she headed to the archaeology department. She came to the inquiry and waited as the authority was talking on the phone.
"I can understand. I know you are Rudra Pratap Singh's grandson"
Khushi jerked upon hearing the name. Didn't Nayak mention the name? Yes, he was one of the suspects in her parent's Murder. His grandson was on the other side. But why? But his next stand shook Khushi to the core.
"We could not find Rishi Dev Gupta's granddaughter. She is not in their old house. She stays in a women's hostel. She is an explorer it seems. So she hardly visits Delhi. I will let you know if we get to know about her" He disconnected the call and looked at Khushi.
"What can I do for you, madam?"
Khushi nodded her head left to right with an awkward smile and left the place, leaving the man with a frown.
She didn't know what to do. It seemed Rudra Pratap Singh won't leave her until he got the sand clock.
When she came to the main gate of the archaeology department, she got stuck seeing the Red shirt man in front of her. He removed the spray from his pocket. Khushi understood he was going to make her unconscious. Her mind worked fast. Taking the sand clock from her pant pocket,
"Take me to the Ashoka Empire's Delhi in 261 BC" She turned the clock.
The next second, she was standing in the forest area of the Ashoka Empire.
To be continued...
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