Chapter 14: Roots and Revelations

Just as I was picking a spot, a patch of tree shadow suddenly fell over me, making me uneasy. I followed the shadow with my eyes. Behind a tangle of overgrown graves stood a row of neem trees, especially dense—two or three trees tangled together.

The air was cooler here, and the chirping of crickets grew louder. I ran my fingers along the bark, the neem’s bitterness sharp against my skin. There was a feeling—hard to describe—that something was watching from the branches above.

I suddenly thought of the address Sneha had written: Rajpur district, Jinnat Pul, end of Neem Marg. Neem Marg was the mountain road we had just taken—so the end?

A gust of wind stirred the leaves, and I remembered Sneha’s trembling hand writing that address. The name seemed to pulse in my mind, drawing me toward the tangled trees.

I walked towards the neems, pushing through the dense branches. A strange grave hidden in the shadows appeared before me. I hurried over and saw that the tombstone faintly bore the surname "Nema."

The letters were half-eaten by moss, but I could just make out "Nema" in the faded sunlight. The grave was so hidden, it felt like even the crows avoided it.

What surprised me most was that the tombstone was surrounded by carved beams and painted rafters. Under the upturned eaves at the top, there were indeed two large lanterns carved in relief.

I looked closer and noticed a carving of fish on the base, just like Sneha had described. My heart skipped a beat. Maybe, just maybe, we’d found it.