Part 19 - Buckle up

" Where are you running to young lady," Leysa chided from the kitchen,

" don't you dare skip breakfast. You are not leaving home on an empty stomach."

Vysna was on her way out. She slumped midway and turned around to walk towards the kitchen.

" I have kept your tiffin there, on the kitchen counter and milk on the dining table." Leysa pointed at the glass that was kept on the table.

" Milk? Mom seriously? What am I, five?" She retorted.

" No, but you sure are acting like a five-year-old. Drink it, no excuses," she said sternly.

Navil, who was sitting at the dining table, chuckled," She treats me like a five-year-old; Vysna, you are no exception," he said.

Vysna sighed and drank from the glass." This is yum... Butterscotch." She emptied it within minutes. It had tiny butterscotch crystals and a creamy taste.

" Mum knows best, darling, mum knows best," Leysa said with a satisfactory grin." I have packed a tiffin for you, the site is quite far away and remote. Who knows, if you will get anything to eat there. I don't want you starving." She said.

" It's hardly thirty kilometres from the city," Vysna said.

" No more talks, put it in your bag. Go on..." She said.

" Fine..." She picked it up and stuffed it in her bag.

" Vysna, how long does it take to get there from your school," Navil asked.

"About half an hour to forty-five minutes by bus, it depends on the traffic." She answered.

" I think we should buy a two-wheeler for her. So that she can commute in her own time. And a two-wheeler is better to navigate through traffic as well." Navil suggested.

" Hey, that's a good idea," Leysa said, " it will be very convenient for you, you don't have to depend on anyone. You will be able to manage timing on your own." she looked at Vysna.

That was not such a bad idea. Up until recent times, she never felt a need for a scooter. She traveled mostly by bus or taxi or even either of her parents dropped her off at the college sometimes.

Aaden already had a bike because he had asked for it and Dad had rewarded him with one when he had won the nationals. Her father, too, had a bike, but it was old. An old Triumph Bonnie, which he had bought with his own money a long time back. It was old but was in mint condition. When Aaden had suggested lending it to him instead of buying a new one. Her father had straight away refused saying that it was his first love. Her mother had stared daggers at him for that remark. He had given Aaden a street triple, which was a sturdy and smooth bike. Tashvin never showed any interest in bikes he rather enjoyed walking. Tash didn't even want a bicycle. He knew how to ride but didn't want to use it for the commute.

" I think it's a good idea. But I will be buying it," Vysna said," I am getting a salary from my job. I will buy an E.V. on EMI. A monthly instalment will be deducted from my account."

" Are you sure? You should rather put it in savings." Her father suggested. " I will buy one for you."

" No, Dad. Thanks to Mom, I am being paid a hefty salary, being a water affiliate has its benefits. I can afford a scooter. It will give me a sense of independence as well."

" Fine, as you wish," Leysa said with an assuring nod." Don't overwork yourself. Are they treating you well? They are not burdening you too much, are they? You are under no obligation to continue if they pressurise you," she said.

" No Mom, I am under no pressure as of now. And I won't overwork myself," she said.

Navil nodded." We will go and have a look at the vehicles tomorrow. By next week we will get you one."

" Yes, thank you." She hugged her parents and left for school.

It had been a week since she had joined the new school. The teachers were all very supportive and helpful. Except for the water element, she had attended the practical elements classes for every other element. She learnt new things about the other elements.

Every Partham had their strengths and weaknesses. This strength was enhanced when they used their energies in their particular elements. One Partham could use their energy in all elements but the waves worked best in their own elements. Thus, when someone learned how to use these elements to their advantage, they could control their energies and make the best of their powers.

She observed that water served her the best, but Air was also her second most useful element; then came earth, and then it was the fire. Each element had its opposite. The opposite of water was fire and earth was air. Every time, she had to adjust her energy levels when it came to using each of these elements. The most difficult one of them was fire because no matter how hard she tried she was not able to control her energy with it. She couldn't grasp the fundamentals to begin with. Which frustrated her even more.

She had to take care of learning her element on her own. There was a small pool at the school in which she practised every day. She wished she had someone to guide her with it.

She was paired with a girl named Meghana for her communication classes. Meghana was friendly and smart, her element was earth, the same as Aaden's. It was difficult to connect but they were determined to achieve their goals.

The history class was interesting. She had no idea that the Partham history was so vast and intriguing.

" The Parthams had arrived on earth five thousand years ago and since then tried to blend themselves with humans." Her history teacher said. Sreeja Mali was a stout and fair woman. She liked to elaborate a lot and always took very long to explain things.

" The word 'Partham' was derived from the word 'Prathama' which meant the first. When our ancestors landed on earth, they had called themselves 'The firsts'. Because theirs was the only ship which had managed to land safely on Earth. Out of the thousands of ships that had left our former planet only a few had made it to earth. The humans had called them the descendants of the sky. And when they introduced themselves, our ancestors had called themselves the Prathama in human language. Over time, the language changed because words in languages tend to do that. The word turned from Prathama ( the first) to Partham." She concluded.

" This is boring; I don't understand why we even have to know all these things. I can think of a hundred different things that I can do instead of this." A girl named Anika, who sat one row before Vysna, whispered to the girl sitting beside her.

Anika and her friends Sumedha and Sarvan thought of themselves as being too cool for the school. They never spoke properly to anyone, were never quiet during lectures, and worst of all, always craved attention.

Vysna had named them the ASS group because, one: their names abbreviated it, and second: they also behaved like the animal.

" Nobody asked for your opinion," Meghana said to Anika. Who turned around to look at her.

The bell rang and all of them packed their bags to leave the lecture hall.

" Hey, are you leaving early today like you did yesterday? You are very lucky you don't have to attend the classes after lunch. I cannot concentrate at all when my stomach is full." Meghana said to Vysna.

" Yes, I won't be able to catch a bus otherwise. I was so late yesterday," Vysna said, " I don't know for how long I will be missing classes like this. I think it will be till I work on an on-site project." She took out the tiffin her mom had given her.

" Oh, you bought lunch today," Meghana said," I have to go to the canteen." she looked sad.

Unlike Vysna, Meghana lived alone in a hostel. She had to leave her family after the tests.

" You can share my lunch," Vysna said, " I am not that hungry." She gave the box to Meghana.

" Oh, thank you. I miss home-cooked meals so much," she said and opened the box. Her mother had truly packed too much lunch. Five Neer dosas and coconut chutney. What were you thinking, Mom? Am I going to a war or something? Vysna thought and chuckled. She was happy to see that Meghana had enjoyed the food. She had eaten four dosas and a good load of chutney. Vysna got to eat just one.

After lunch, she packed and hurried her way to the bus stop. She didn't want to be late today like she had been yesterday.

Yesterday had been very eventful for her. It was the first day of her on-site project. She was half an hour late because she couldn't catch a bus on time. The bus had dropped her near a village which looked very isolated. From there she had walked to a place which looked like an entrance to a park or a wildlife sanctuary there were many vehicles parked there. After she walked a little further she noticed Reeba standing there.

Reeba had not said anything to her but the disappointment in her eyes was hurtful enough.

" How did you come here?" Reeba had asked. When Vysna had told her, she had only nodded. " It's your first day, you don't know this area and also the site we are working on is at a walking distance from here. Someone had to show you the way to the site." She said.

She was waiting with four more people at what looked like an edge of a forest.

" This is Rajiv," she said gesturing at a man standing beside her. He was of average height, squarish face, dark eyes, medium built and looked about the age of thirty. He extended his hand. Vysna shook it. " He is in charge of the project in my absence and also manages all the personnel assigned for the project."

" That is Taara," she said gesturing at a tall woman, standing beside Rajiv. She had straight long hair and high cheekbones." She is in charge of the restorative designs."

Vysna nodded.

" This is Mister Sundaram, in charge of all the equipment and gear that we are going to need for the project." She gestured at a tall broad man with a moustache. " And this is Sarika,one of your team members. She has a lot of experience with newbies like you." She said gesturing at a short woman in her early twenties, with dark brown hair and a round face.

" There are ten more people working with us, all of them are currently at the site. You will get to know them once you start working with them. Come now we should not make them wait anymore." Reeba said and started walking to the entrance of the forest.

They walked along a narrow path, which seemed to be made by constant treading of people. At the end of the pathway was the site. It looked like an ancient temple with huge pillars and monoliths made of stones. Nature had reclaimed most of the area. Bushes and shrubs surrounded most of the building and creepers and climbers grew along the walls. The air was humid and musty. Moss and algae were prominent. Once they reached the site everyone dispersed for their respective tasks. Except for Sarika. They entered a tent where all the equipment, project related files, water and supplies were kept. There was a map hanging on an easel. It was the map of the site.

" I hope you have studied the file that was given. So that I don't have to explain the entire project to you," Reeba said. Vysna nodded. " Then you know that this site is spread over two acres." She pointed to the map.

" We are currently working here," she circled an area on the map with a pointer. " There is a wall on the eastern side and two monoliths along its end. You and Sarika are going to work on these monoliths. Your work for now is to inspect the structure, note down the damages and report the damages to Rajiv. Nothing else, it's an easy task. Okay now go along with Sarika and gear up."

Vysna followed Sarika outside and to the wall." If you have any questions or any doubts you are free to ask me. Don't hesitate. The only thing I want you to know is to always follow instructions and don't ever disobey Reeba. Okay?" She looked at her intently.

Vysna nodded in affirmation. " And yeah, welcome to the team," Sarika said, smiled and took her to the monoliths. A few men and women were working there.

" Jason, this is Vysna, our new team member. Buckle her up will you." Sarika said to a man who was holding a harness in his hand.

" Hi, Vysna. Don't be scared. I have been doing this for ten years now," he said and put a harness around her. He buckled a belt around her waist and passed ropes through the carabiners on the belt at her waist. He tugged at the ropes to see if they were secure and then showed her how to tighten and loosen the ropes.

Vysna had never done something like this before. She was both excited and nervous at the same time.

The monolith was huge about thirty feet in height and ten feet in width. It had carvings all over it but the carvings were not clear as most of it was covered by moss. There was scaffolding around the monolith and ropes were hanging from the top. It looked like it had been climbed on many times before.

" Have you done rock climbing before?" He asked, Vysna nodded in negation.

" You don't have to do anything. Just hold on to the rope and we will pull you to the top. Once you reach there, you will have to only hook yourself to the hooks there, " he pointed to the top.  " using these clips." He showed her the carabiners on her belt." We won't leave the rope until you confirm that you are secure. Once you are done inform us I will let go of the rope. You can adjust your height using this belay device. " He gave her a helmet and handed her a small popping knife. " Use this only during an emergency," he said.

Vysna's heart was racing with excitement and anticipation. But she was also afraid.

He checked her harness once again and started to pull her to the top. Slowly she was lifted to the top. She did as she was told, hooked herself to the structure and confirmed that she was secure. They let go of the rope and now Vysna was hanging on ropes beside the monolith. She closed her eyes and drew in a long breath.

Then she opened her eyes to see the structure up close. There were circular patterns on the surface. But most of it was covered she couldn't recognise the designs. She wanted to know what the design was under the moss, but she had been told not to do anything else and only to report what she had observed and the damages that she had seen.

She couldn't help herself. Her curiosity got the best of her and she took out the knife that Jason had given her and scraped off the moss on the surface of the structure. There were various symbols arranged in concentric circles. Each symbol was different. At the centre of the circle were six creatures each in one hexagon. One of the creatures looked like the whale-like creature which was on the medallion that she was given on the day of her registration. Her eyes widened and she wanted to know what it meant. Instinctively she sent a small concentrated wave towards the hexagon of the whale.

The ground began to shake and she heard a rumbling sound coming from inside the monolith. She heard screams of people below. When she looked down she saw that no one was around. She immediately tried to lower herself by using the belay device. But suddenly the structure started shaking violently and she was pushed away from the structure by a splash of water which came from inside the centre of the circle of the monolith.

She tried again to lower herself and succeeded to get to about ten feet from the ground and then her harness was stuck.

" What the hell happened here." She heard Reeba's voice. When she looked down she saw that Reeba and Shanka Bali were standing below her.

Reeba opened her mouth and sent a wave to her. The rope snapped, and she fell to the ground.

" What did you do? How did this happen?" Shanka Bali asked.

Before Vysna could answer." Sir, it's my fault. I shouldn't have let her climb on her first day," Reeba said.

" You should have known better. I didn't expect you to be so careless." He said to Reeba and gave Vysna an assuring look.

" Better be mindful next time. You would have been in big trouble if she was hurt in any way," he said looking sternly at Reeba and walked away.

Vysna's head was hung low and didn't dare to look at Reeba.

" Ms. Bhaskara." She stared down at her with fury." I am not here to babysit you. I don't have time for your shenanigans. Every time you mess up and my head is on the chopping block because I am responsible for you." Her colour turned red." I have worked too hard and too long to reach the position I am in. And I am not going to let some girl who thinks that she can use her surname as an excuse to break the rules. You were specifically told not to touch anything and yet didn't listen. If you are going to disobey my orders, I will make sure that you are stuck at the desk for the rest of your life." She was fuming with anger. The air around them had suddenly turned warm and heavy.

Reeba was about to leave." I am sorry, it won't happen again," Vysna said. She stopped and turned to her still looking livid. She was silent for a few minutes and only stared. Vysna couldn't look at her. She kept her head low. Time passed in awkward silence.

" Are you hurt?" She asked.

" Huh? No, I am fine," she said, " I promise it won't happen again," She said with sincerity.

" Hmm...come with me, you look like someone threw up on you." she said. Holding her hand, she took her along with her to the tent. Everyone was standing near the tent. They looked horrified.

After they entered the tent she picked up a backpack from the corner and gave her a napkin to wipe.

" I always carry spare clothes with me. Accidents happen." Reeba said and gave her a hoodie from her bag.

" Wipe yourself and wear this. You might catch a cold."

Vysna took it and thanked her.

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Hello, my beautiful readers 💕💕

Here's an early update.

New discoveries are to be made.

Let's see what they will find on this adventurous path.

Share your thoughts about the chapter in the comments.

Loads of love

RTW ❤️