In a dingy room near Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi a twenty two year old man sat with his laptop. Matth had wasted so much money on getting him admitted in a private medical college for medical education and he had dropped out after two years. His headaches didn't let him live in peace. He had been with the Matth since childhood. Nobody had told him about his past, but someone had told him that he was son of a sadhvi from the matth who committed suicide after he was born. The Matth had named him Vedant. People from Matth had been cajoling him to return to Matth ever since he had returned to Varanasi but he chose to live on his own, writing for money on the internet. His headaches were getting severe and severe as time passed, and over that he had experiences that didn't let him live in peace. A few years ago when he was new in medical college, he had joined an internet platform to make new friends. He had always wanted to make friends outside the matth and he tried for it. But later, he found that the ones who posed as friends only became his friends to gang up and bully him. It was a bad case of cyberbullying that left him scarred and he left that social media website. Ever since he had left that website, he had been feeling odd. He felt that he was the Antichrist, but he didn't tell this to anyone. His days and nights went with severe headaches and one single thought, that he was the Antichrist. He didn't want to trouble the people of the Matth. Most of his childhood friends had already taken deeksha, those who hadn't taken deeksha had married and became priests in the local temples. The head of the Matth had chosen him to become a doctor and serve the Matth and people, and he just couldn't continue with the studies due to severe disillusionment and persistent headaches.It was a not easy living with constant headaches and the feeling that he was an Antichrist, yet Vedant tried to live daily, doing enough work to make his ends meet. It's today that he received a parcel. There was a mobile phone in the parcel with a note, "We have answers to your questions. If you want to know the answers, come to us." He switched on the phone and instantly received a message. "Come to Kalpa, and we will pick you up from the airport." Vedant decided to go, as no more could he live with the headaches and constant feeling of being the Antichrist. He packed his bag, and picked his phone and there was a message, his ticket to Kalpa was already booked. He took a taxi to Varanasi airport and in two hours he was standing outside Kalpa airport. The phone he had received in the parcel rang. "Hello," he said. "Hello Vedant, get in the sky blue fiat and it will take you to us," The voice on the phone said. Vedant took his bag and walked towards the sky blue fiat. A man got out and gave a courteous nod to him. "Give me your bag sir!" He said. Vedant handed over the bag to him. The driver kept the bag in the boot of the car and opened the rear door of the car. Vedant sat down in the car. The driver got into the car and started driving. The car after a drive of about half an hour reached the gate of the university. The gates opened and then the car turned towards the guest house. Reaching the guest house, the car halted and the driver got out and opened the door for Vedant. "Sir, you have already been allotted a room, I will get you the keys, kindly freshen up and be ready. Someone from the University would be picking you up in an hour. The driver then proceeded to take out Vedant's bag from the boot of the car and lead him into the guest house. The receptionist saw Vedant and smiled. Handing over a key to the driver. Room 205, she said. The driver took the keys and moved towards the lift, asking Vedant to come with him. Vedant got into the lift with the driver and the driver. The lift stopped at 2nd floor and both got off the lift. The driver on the door of Room 205 handed him over his bag and the key and said "it was nice meeting you sir, kindly be ready in one hour".
Vedant entered the room. It was a nice comfortable room akin to a room of a three star hotel with the same amenities. He went to the bathroom and washed his face and then removed his shoes and lay down on the bed. He drifted to sleep only to wake up to the door bell. He opened the door and a man was standing there. "Hi I'm Dr. Rajesh, I have come to take you to meet someone." "Just a minute sir," said Vedant and proceeded to get into his shoes. He locked the door and then got into the lift with Dr. Rajesh. Outside the guest house Dr. Rajesh had his car parked, it was a silver Honda City. They both got into it and after a few moments they reached in front of a bungalow. "Let's go Vedant." Dr. Rajesh said. Vedant got out of the car and entered the bungalow with Dr. Rajesh. In the living room was sitting Professor Bhattacharya alone.
"Hello Vedant, I'm Professor Bhattacharya." The professor held out his hand to shake Vedant's. Vedant bowed down and shook his hand.
"You might be thinking all of this is very strange, and you are right, in fact, there is one more person in this campus who is feeling exactly the same as you, but times are such that we had to call both of you. Your roles differ though. They are totally different. He needs to find his way still, and he is from what we believe is the chosen one, but I have chosen you, for a job which is as important as him, if not more. You will meet him and others in due time, till then ask your question, any questions and get your answers."
"I feel like I am the Antichrist." Vedant said. "Why?" He asked the professor.
"See Vedant, in today's times we can't really trust what we feel. The times are such. I would suggest that you ignore that feeling, you will become what you choose to be, if you want to become Antichrist you would become him, but you can choose to be Buddha too. We know everything about you, and from what we know, we know that you don't let evil affect you. Know that every single person in this world is capable of unspeakable evils, the ones who do not give in to evil are what the world requires and you are one of them."
"If you know everything about me, then do you know my father? I haven't seen him ever."
"Vedant, I know your father. But know that he is not the kind of person you would like to meet. He is an evil man. Your mother was a pious woman. And he defiled her. In the course of time you would come to know who your father was, at present, just know that you are a spitting image of your mother, in thought, in character, in everything."
"I'm born of rape?"
"Yes, Vedant, this is something you have to come to terms with, and I'm glad that you are here, as what would happen here, would allow you to heal from the wounds of your life, and also help us heal others."
Dr. Rajesh who was sitting listening to the conversation looked at the professor and the professor gave him a nod.
"Vedant," Dr. Rajesh said. "You have been chosen to be in professor's inner circle. There are few in the inner circle and I am one among them, there is a lady named Sharanya and a few people who don't live in the University. Professor believes in you, and you will, in due time, see why. I know you get headaches, but I trust that they would subside in few days". We have allotted you a 2 BHK flat in the residential quarters. We will begin the work tomorrow. Till then you must rest."
Vedant nodded.
"Come, let me take you to your flat," said Dr. Rajesh.
Dr. Rajesh took Vedant to the residential quarters in his car.
"A lot of University staff live here Vedant." Dr. Rajesh said walking with him to the lift of the residential complex. "Your flat is on the 4th floor."
They got on the lift. The doors of the lift opened on the 4th floor. They both walked until Dr. Rajesh stopped at the door which had 407 written on it.
"Here take the keys," said Dr. Rajesh, pulling out keys from his pocket. "It's already evening, take rest and I shall meet you tomorrow afternoon. The fridge is stocked and the kitchen is functional. The supper is on the dining table. Have a good evening and night Vedant."
Vedant opened the door. The flat was minimalistic but gorgeous. The hall which would act as his living room had an electric fireplace, a large sofa and a window that looked at the distant mountains. He could see the fresh snow in the forest nearby. He switched on the electric fireplace and walked to see the rooms. There were two rooms, one was made to be a library, with books of different subjects, he supposed the ones that the professor intended him to read. The second room was his bedroom, where he saw his bag already kept. The bathroom was not very big but there was ample space in it. It had a western commode a washbasin with a mirror and bathtub that doubled as a showering space with a shower fitted above it. At any rate this place was much better than his accommodation in Varanasi.
He got out of the room. And walked to the kitchen which was an extension of the hall and the dining table for four was placed at the convenient intersection at which the hall ended and the kitchen began. There was a fridge in the kitchen which was stacked. He walked to the dining table and saw his dinner served and covered with a plate. Someone had been arranging the room while he was at the professor's place.
He took off his shoes. Slipped in his slippers and went to the bathroom and washed his hands and face thoroughly and dried it with a towel. He was feeling hungry so he came and sat at the dining table. He removed the plate covering the food and found a meal of chapatis, dal, rice, chicken curry and gulab jamun. He ate the food quietly looking at the fireplace.
After the meal he got up and washed the dishes in the kitchen sink. And then he sat on the sofa in the living room and quietly thought for some time. This place seemed genuine, and anyway he had nothing better to do. He got up and went into the bedroom and took out his laptop. He went on the university website. Sure enough he found Dr. Bhaskar Bhattacharya, the professor, as the chancellor of the Aryavarta Gurukul University.
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