Glowing Gem

After finishing his lunch, Shapra grabbed his school bag and ran out the door. The afternoon sun beat down as he met his best friend, Anmol, waiting by the gate.

"Ready for another day of torture?" Anmol grinned, nudging Shapra.

Shapra rolled his eyes. "If by torture, you mean math, then yeah, totally."

They both laughed and began walking to school together. When tiffin time arrived, Shapra decided to step outside the school for a while. He wandered down the street, his mind preoccupied with the events of the day, when something caught his eye.

A small, old temple stood quietly at the end of the street. Shapra stopped, confused. He'd never noticed this temple before.

"Huh, weird... I don't remember seeing this before," he muttered to himself.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he walked toward it. As he neared the entrance, a sudden gust of wind blew, and the holy colors used for tika—bright orange, red, and yellow—swirled across his face.

"Ugh! What the..." Shapra rubbed his forehead, trying to wipe it off. As he stepped closer, he tripped and fell onto the stone steps, landing at the feet of a large statue of Lord Shiva.

His eyes caught sight of something glittering near the base of the statue—a round, red gem, glowing faintly in the sunlight.

"Is that... a gem?" Shapra whispered to himself. He reached down to pick it up, but just as his fingers touched the smooth surface, a loud bark startled him.

"Ah!" Shapra jumped back, and to his surprise, the gem slipped from his fingers and fell straight into his open mouth.

"Whoa!" he gasped, his throat closing as he instinctively swallowed. The gem tasted sweet, like a toffee, a strange yet pleasant sweetness that made him blink in confusion.

Just as he was processing what happened, the dog barked again. The sudden noise made him gulp harder, and the gem slid down into his stomach.

His mind raced, his heart pounding in his chest. As he stood up, the world around him began to blur. Images flashed before his eyes—his grandparents' faces and strange figures that resembled human but with something... off.

"What was that?!" Shapra breathed out, his heart racing. The images were blurry and disorienting, like a broken dream.

Before he could fully process what he had seen, he heard someone approaching.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" a voice demanded.

Shapra turned to see the poojari, the temple priest, standing at the entrance. His head was shaved, and his gaze was sharp and stern.

"This is a sacred place," the poojari scolded. "You shouldn't be here, especially not like this."

Shapra stood up quickly, still dazed. "I—I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"Leave now," the poojari interrupted, his voice firm. "This is no place for wandering strangers."

Shapra, his mind spinning, nodded and ran out of the temple, not looking back. What had just happened? And what was that gem?

He ran back to school, feeling strange as if something inside him had changed. The day went by in a blur, and soon school ended. He walked home with Anmol, but his mind was too preoccupied to enjoy the walk.

When Shapra finally reached home, he stepped inside and called, "Mom, I'm home!"

Shradha, his mother, turned with a smile, but there was something odd in her eyes, something unfamiliar.

"Shapra, how was your day?" she asked, her voice warm but lacking its usual spark.

Shapra stared at her for a moment. "Mom, are you... okay? You look a little... different."

Shradha smiled, but the expression didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm fine, sweetie. Just tired."

Shapra stood frozen for a moment, his unease growing. Something was off. But he couldn't put his finger on it.

He shook his head. "Alright, if you say so..." he muttered, still lost in his thoughts.

What had that gem done to him? And why did it feel like something was changing, not just in him, but in the world around him?

To be continued…