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Silences have Secrets
Shivani Shetty
MYSTERY
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Submitted to Contest #2 in response to the prompt: 'Write a story about your character finding a mysterious message hidden in an old book.'

Mysterious woman named Shanti lurks in the city, to find out something missing from the mail that was bestowed upon her father is not to be found. The person has finally reached the palatial house now occupied by a new family, they seem to be joyful. The woman knew this place belonged to her father. But, there is no concrete evidence, which is mistaken to be someone imposter. The kids playing in the garden, have suddenly seen a person staring at them. They asked their parents about the same, as to what was transpired. There is a woman named Maya who wants to talk to the owners of the new place. She now has access to a lot of things. 


The woman is somebody you would have doubts about, what the message could be. The family is unaware about the presence of something mundane as papers, that can lead to changes in their family. Suddenly, the youngest child is sick, his parents were worried about the situation that has occurred. The kids wanted to go to the location, filled with secrets, and mysteries behind the closed doors of the store room, where nobody wants to go. It is an old house, where the families have vanished, either through natural calamities or shifted to a different location. It is the same and pristine room that has never been touched. 


The kids once met the old woman that was lurking in the house, Shanti. She warns the family to be careful of the situation. The kids laughed at them. However, the youngest of the two siblings, decides to believe the words that have been spoken. He goes to the place that indicates the hidden message written inside the closet of the store room. He reads the instructions that lead him to talk about the same journey which was presented to him, and is currently giving a new form of flattery, while he also ponders over the mystery box that leads to all the secrets as some kind of treasure hunt. There is a supposed rule regarding the box, an innocent being needs to open it. It could be read by anybody else. Nevertheless, it has garnered a sequence of new mysteries unraveling to a new beginning. 


This unfolds a new perspective to be unbelievable, as the elders tend to not believe in whatever they say. The kids wanted to notice how the time has come for them to not earn anything, it will be an amazing life ahead. The house has given them the chance to not proceed, but they decide to speak about the same. It is the story of a new couple, who were in love and talked about the journey they were presented as he was the man, who was strong built, with an immense caliber, and loved his darling wife. 


Shanti in her 40s, lives with her mother, and her father was gone long back in the war. She saw there were letters written in the pages while flipping the same. Her eyes catch the glimpse of the story behind it. She makes a promise to herself that she will catch hold of the written material missing from her father's mails. Expecting it to be the money and jewellery present in the place. Her mother is sometimes very upset about the kind of a woman she is talking to. She believes there is no new thing to be followed, it is just in her daughter's imagination. 


The kids planned along with Shanti to go to the mystery room, later that night. They successfully go to the place, the bodyguards of the house deems it to be a normal occurrence taking place, they finally reach the place to learn that there were letters written to the lady love. The kids are as upset as Shanti, as there was no treasure involved, no money, no jewellery, nothing. It was a bunch of letters, written by an ex army officer, when he went into hiding and spoke about how he really wants his lady love as a part of the journey to go with, and is willing to stay for her. Yet, it was not possible due to which the time was not in his own hands, and he had to rely on destiny. 


Shanti sees the man who has written the stories seems to have a similar composition of words structured into sentences. Also, there were similarities with handwriting. She flips through the pages of the letter to notice the name Sheena, it was her mother. She understood the time and place, but there were some mosquitoes. They come out and go to the hospital, and the kids tell their parents to clean the store room as there were to be cleaned. Thus, the reason for people vanishing from the place. Subsequently, the place was clean and crystal clear. The series of letters written in the mystery box, were written by the army men, who went into hiding and they saw Shanti’s father writing the letter, to realise these were the treasures of the mystery box. The place once was an open area, where people could hide with ease and perfection. 


She sends to the neighbours the letters about their family man, who had written the series that needs to be noted. Sheena was shocked to learn that her husband had written the letters for her in this manner. Nevertheless, it was a journey that concluded for the men, who went into hiding. The stories seem to have forgotten the reality that was bestowed upon them to realise, it was a different gesture presented to their wives, in order to explain an alternate reality. 


The kids soon began to wonder whether there was really a treasure in the house, or was it a false hope thrown at them. Shanti understands the plight for her mother to be in a position, where her life has changed for the betterment of the world that was given to her, is not really what she envisioned it to be. Sheena really felt that her husband was a guy who always stayed in her memories that she really loved. Her silence was never glanced from her view point, that had multiple secrets which were only shared within herself, even her daughter would not know. She looks at his picture and smiles, probably without any glance to be seen again, like everyday. 


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I have awarded 50 points to your well-written story. Please reciprocate by commenting on the story “Events behind Borderless Vision” by Parames Ghosh and awarding 50 points by 30th April 2025. Please control click on the link https://notionpress.com/write_contest/details/1940 to find my story. If you cannot find my story, please send me your email address to Parames.Ghosh@gmail.com, I shall send the clickable link via email.

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