So here we were, sitting at the lawyer's office, staring at the mysterious parcel.
The will had been read by the lawyer and I was in a state of shock. Why would an abandoned widow of the family make me her heir and give me the wierd order to go to Darjeeling and meet a random family. I had never crossed Meerut and the idea of going to the north-east gave me a little apprehension.

The instructions were clear, I was to take the keys, open a locker in the bank at Noida, take its contents along with the box, which I was not to open, and hand over to the person at the given address. The money in the locker was for me. And she had asked my mom to not utter a single word to me about it all. All the rest of cousins were looking at me as if I had betrayed them by gaining this inheritance. An inheritance which was giving me strange vibes which made me feel uncomfortable.

So next morning, I went to the bank and opened the locker. There was cash, another small box, a scarf and two sealed envelopes in it. I took everything and returned home. It was a bitter-sweet moment to see such a huge amount of cash. The small box was an old antique jewellery box, with a small lock. The scarf was of the most exquisite wool and an intricate embroidary of two leaves and a flower around a letter M. She had made me a rich woman.

One envelope was addressed to Baba and Maa... and the other, the one I was fearing to open, had my name on it, Janasya...

... to be continued




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