The Legend Of 'Rakshak': The Blue Stone

Sylvia continued to sit under the tree until the guards came to inform her that they were about to close the park.

Sylvia got up and walked out of the park absentmindedly. She didn't know when did she reach home and entered the huge lab of her grandfather. She only came to her senses when her grandfather shook her by holding her arms to tell her something important.

"Sylvia! Sylvia! Amie! Are you listening to me?"

Sylvia finally came out of her daze and looked at her grandfather who was standing in front of her and looking at her with a worried gaze.

He was a man in his late sixties. Mr. Saymon Rudalf was wearing his gold-rimmed eyeglasses and a simple faint blue shirt with white pants beneath his lab coat.

His hair and beard had turned completely gray-white but his excellence and experience were obvious on his vibrant face.

But right now, he looked a little troubled due to some reason.

Sylvia blinked and first looked around her before staring at her grandfather dumbly. "Huh? Grandpa?"

Mr. Rudalf stared at Sylvia for a moment before taking a deep breath to repeat his speech, "My dear granddaughter, I don't know what has happened with you. But for now, just keep this personal matter of yours aside and listen to me carefully. Did you see those three gentlemen who walked out with your father just now?"

Confusion surfaced on Sylvia's face again. "Huh? Which three gentlemen? Was Dad here? Why didn't he meet me?" She asked with a stupefied look on her face and started to look at the door.

Mr. Rudalf sighed to himself helplessly. "Sylvia, my child, there is an emergency. Your Dad was in hurry. He will come tomorrow." He patted her shoulder, feeling distressed for her condition.

Turning around to look at him again, Sylvia nodded her head and started to rub her aching forehead. "What happened, Grandpa?" She asked while walking towards the couch near the window.

She was tired and wanted to take some rest.

Mr. Rudalf followed after her and sat on the couch, facing her. "Sylvia, do you know why did I name you after my late beloved wife?" He asked her suddenly.

Sylvia nodded in affirmation. "Because I look almost like Grandma."

Mr. Rudalf shook his head in disagreement. "Because you have inherited the courage and talent from your Grandma. I see the same potential in you. She was a clever and courageous lady of her time. After her demise, I engaged myself in my biggest project so I can go back in past and stop that brutal road accident that had happened twenty-one years ago. It snatched my beloved wife forever from me." There was a slight hint of pain in his aged voice as he talked about his late wife.

"I can understand your feelings, Grandpa." Sylvia wiped the tears which were threatening to fall from the corners of her eyes. She then looked at their main house from the window. She could hear her mother's and aunt's faint voices in the kitchen. "I hope, you will get your love back soon." She said softly.

Mr. Rudalf smiled and shook his head. "You cannot change the predestined things unless... it is necessary." He said mysteriously while looking at her meaningfully from above his eyeglasses.

"Predestined..." Sylvia repeated and scoffed. "It means my and Chris's breakup was predestined as well."

Mr. Rudalf raised his brows in surprise. "You broke up with Chris?"

Sylvia covered half of her face in her palm and sighed. "He cheated on me, Grandpa." She then told him everything in brief.

Mr. Rudalf took off his eyeglasses and stared somewhere in distance. "I don't believe a sincere and well-behaved boy like Chris can do such things."

"I will never trust anyone ever again, Grandpa," Sylvia said between her sobs. "I will listen to Dad and join the Army soon. I want to go away from Chris and his memories."

"Ah... My child..." Mr. Rudalf sighed to himself and stayed silent, waiting for his crying granddaughter to calm down a little.

"You are coming early to such a critical conclusion and trying to take a decision which is not yours from the beginning." He said after a while and patted Sylvia's head lightly. "You should try to understand why Chris did this to you. He must have his reasons."

"He has already told me that he was in contact with Norah and everything that is happening is according to his wishes," Sylvia said, feeling a little angry at her grandfather for taking Chris's side.

Mr. Rudalf raised his hands in defeat after seeing tears welling up again in Sylvia's eyes. "Alright. Let's not talk about Chris anymore! He is a bad boy!" He said firmly.

Suddenly, his cell phone started to ring in his pants pocket, interrupting their conversation. Mr. Rudalf pulled out his cell phone and accepted the call instantly.

"Mr. Davis... Yes. My son told me about the robbery and I am also trying to find out a solution... What? Oh! Rest assured. I will do something... Let's meet tomorrow morning then..."

Sylvia stopped crying and started looking at her grandfather's grim expressions while he talked on the call. As soon as he disconnected the call, she straightened up and asked in a hoarse voice, "What happened, Grandpa? What did Davis uncle say?"

Mr. Davis was Mr. Rudalf's friend and he was the chairman of the National Institute of High Energy and Quantum Physics.

Mr. Rudalf put his cell phone back into his pants pocket and turned to look at his granddaughter.

"Sylvia, do you remember I had told you about the story of a blue stone named Rakshak?" Mr. Rudalf asked her in a serious tone.

As her mind was still in chaos and undergoing trauma, it took Sylvia a couple of minutes to remember the tale of a blue stone she had heard in her childhood from Mr. Rudalf. She nodded her head. "Yes, I remembered. It is said that it protects our country from all the deadliest natural calamities and evils."

Mr. Rudalf nodded his head back at her with a smile. "Right! And today, a group of pirates stole that blue stone."

"Huh?" Sylvia was dumbfounded. "Is it real? Isn't blue stone a myth?"

Mr. Rudalf shook his head in denial. "Of course it's real! Who told you that it is fake? Otherwise, why would our government protect it and send Army to my house?"

Sylvia stared at her grandfather. "Why?" She asked in return with a dumb expression on her face and started to look at him suspiciously. "Don't tell me, grandpa... They are doubting you for stealing that precious stone. I am warning you, I will not support you if you are the Captain of that pirates' group."

Mr. Rudalf was speechless for a whole minute. "You, atrocious girl! You are exactly suspecting me like your father! Hmph!" He stood up and started to walk towards his work desk with thudded footsteps, expressing his agitation.

Sylvia smiled slightly and got up from the couch to follow her grandfather. "I was kidding, Grandpa!" She shouted from behind him.

Mr. Rudalf halted and turned to look at Sylvia. "They came here asking for your Grandpa's help." He said and beckoned her. "Come, I want to show you something."

"Oh..." Sylvia walked hurriedly to catch up with the old man. "But why did the Army wants your help, Grandpa? Can't they catch those pirates by themselves?" She asked Mr. Rudalf by hooking her arm around his.

"This is the main problem, Amie." Mr. Rudalf said with a helpless look on his face. "Those pirates met a horrible accident on the road and all of them perished into the explosion of a tanker carrying the fuel. Unfortunately, the divine blue stone turned into ashes in that explosion."

"What?!" Sylvia exclaimed in shock and stopped walking abruptly.

Mr. Rudalf hummed in affirmation and reached his work desk. "As you know Mr. Davis is one of my old friends and also the one who has been funding greatly to my time travel project, he wishes me to go back in time and bring back the blue stone."

Sylvia muttered a simple 'Oh' and sat in one of the chairs across her grandfather's work desk. "Then, did you try to bring back the blue stone?" She asked him next.

Mr. Rudalf walked around the desk to sit in his chair. "Nah! It's not that simple task as you think." He then pulled an old map lying on his desk and opened it completely.

"Please explain, Grandpa. My mind isn't in working condition." Sylvia said while rubbing her sore eyes.

Mr. Rudalf pursed his lips as he watched his exhausted yet curious granddaughter. Looking down, he cleared his throat and attracted her attention towards the map in between them.

"This is an old map of Aldamadala forest. At present, it is known as the Madala region in North." He started to speak. "The territory where the nine holy sages had kept the blue stone with proper rituals."

Sylvia leaned forward to take a close look at the map. A bold and cursive line on the map caught her attention,

'Aldamadala Forest Map: Valdes Dynasty, Northington, Tenth Century'

It was a map of the forest named Aldamadala in the ancient country of Northington. Among the various names of valleys, rivers, and mountains, she saw the name 'Mountain Serina' was highlighted with a yellow marker pen.

Mr. Rudalf tapped his finger on Mountain Serina. "Here, the tallest and toughest mountain in Aldamadala. Mountain Serina is the home of Rakshak, the blue stone."

"It must be difficult to reach this mountain. How did those pirates manage to get there?" Sylvia asked with an amused expression on her face as she stared at the drawing of Mountain Serina.

Mr. Rudalf looked up at Sylvia and smiled slightly. "It is indeed difficult but not impossible to get there."