Call of the throne

After that strange moment with Bade Ustaad, everything felt quiet, but not peaceful.

I had changed inside, though I didn't understand how.

I stopped talking much. I didn't play or laugh like before.

I started waking up early and walking near the idols. I felt pulled there for no reason.

My uncle noticed. "You're too quiet. No mischief these days?" he asked.

I just shook my head.

He smiled a little, but looked unsure. "Don't go too close to things not meant for your age," he said.

That same week, Chhota Ustaad and Angira returned.

They looked tired.

Chhota Ustaad had dark circles under his eyes and wore a blue thread on his wrist. It didn't look holy.

Lila was not with them.

After that, kriyas started again. But they were not done inside the ashram.

They happened far away, late at night. Only a few disciples went.

One of them returned sick.

He was trembling and whispering strange words.

People said he had been with Angira at a midnight kriya.

People in the ashram whispered.

A politician and a manager were going to visit. Some were scared.

That night, I dreamt.

I was standing inside the gaddi room, but it was different.

The floor was water.

The walls had no end.

And in the center stood the same deity I had once seen during my vision the one before the stars.

This time, she looked at me.

I was getting more time with Bade Ustaad during those days.

He still didn't speak, but he allowed me to stay in his room while he meditated.

Sometimes, I would sit quietly near the wall, waiting for something maybe a word, or just a look.

But mostly, I read the book.

The same book that opened new chapters on its own, every day.

One day, a page appeared titled: The Eight Dwar (Mystic Gates of Life and Death).

At first, I couldn't understand it.

The words were too deep, too strange. My head felt heavy just reading the first few lines.

"Not all spirits can be freed by mantras. Some need the Dwar to open.

Some Dwar only open through knowledge. Some only by blessing."

I kept reading.

My eyes scanned strange names.

Descriptions of souls caught between gates. Some gates were for birth.

Some for death. Some for those who were neither alive nor gone.

"To calm a spirit forever, the right gate must be opened and then closed again."

That line stayed in my head like a bell that wouldn't stop ringing.

The more I read, the heavier I felt. It was like the book was pulling something from inside me.

My hands shook.

My eyes blurred.

Then, suddenly, the words faded.

The pages turned blank. As if nothing had ever been written.

I closed the book and stood up without thinking. I didn't ask Bade Ustaad.

I didn't wait.

I stepped out of the room and went to lie down.

And even though my body was tired, the words stayed in my mind:Not all Dwar open with force. Some wait for you to be ready.