The Carved Message
Ajit was dumbstruck. The lifeless body of his favorite man in the world; his dadu was in front of him. He held the wooden box tightly in his hands.
***
It had been a month now since Ajit had shifted in small house with his wife and ailing father. Ajit had to leave the ancestral bungalow as well as he was thrown off the family business post his grandfather’s demise. Ramesh, his uncle had taken over the whole property including their share.
“Dad, I often wonder and fail to understand why Dadu gave away everything to uncle in his will? I am not saying that we took care of him for any vested interest yet how could he make Ramesh uncle the sole nominee of his will?”Ajit wondered.
“You are right. But you know how Ramesh is? It won’t be any surprise if he used any devious means for the same, “answered his Dad.
“Hmm, I know. He has been always mean to all of us including Dadu. Dad, did you ever think why our old advocate Mr. Sharma was replaced by this new lawyer? There is definitely something fishy but we have no proof to prove this,” he sighed.
The days passed and Ajit also tried to settle down in life.
Ajit would often miss his Dadu and would hold wooden box, which he gave to Ajit on deathbed, for hours. It was a dusty wooden box that Ajit had preserved just for sentimental reasons. Many times he would look at the box and read the carved message ‘Being upside down and patience go hand in hand.’ The message didn’t mean anything but despair to him.
One fine night Ajit was unusually upset. He had seen Ramesh and family dining in a posh restaurant. On the other hand, he was still struggling. With these thought racing in his mind, he picked the box when his wife came.
“You look so upset. What’s the matter?”she asked.
Ajit didn’t answer and sat down. His wife knew that he hadn’t been able to move on from the travesty and tried to console him. But the restless Ajit pushed back on her arguments. All this time, he was holding the box in his hand hanging in dejection. Five minutes into the argument, a click sound came from the box drawing the attention of both. Ajit opened the box; the false base had gotten loose due to the weight of the hourglass. The latter had got activated when the box was held upside down and pushed out the false base out after five minutes.
A startled Ajit took out the folded paper kept in that hidden secret space. To his surprise, they were the will papers signed by his Dadu. There was another hand written letter which read, “Ajit, I know you won’t throw this box. I am hiding my original will here. Ramesh has forbidden Mr. Sharma from meeting me. Blessings!”
Finally Ajit had deciphered the meaning of carved message.
GLOSSARY
Dadu- a sweet nickname for paternal grandfather.
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