A journaled legacy

Aditi Verma, AIS VYC Lko, XII A

Eena could finally breathe as the dust settled around her during the long-overdue cleaning of her home. Drawn to the dim, forgotten attic, she climbed up to escape the chaos. There, buried beneath old trunks, broken lamps, and musty rugs, she stumbled upon something that made her heart skip a beat - a thick, leather-bound journal.

It had belonged to her late grandmother Mahalakshmi, whom she missed terribly. Flipping through the worn pages, Eena smiled as she found love notes, faded receipts, stories about childhood, vacations, and more. But one story didn’t fit.

As she read further, Eena’s eyes widened. The gentle, saree-clad woman she knew had written about solving crimes, using aliases, and hiding classified information. At first, Eena thought it was a piece of creative writing until she kept reading. The final log stunned her: "Captured the second crime-ring of this month. HQ will have to approve my vacation now."

Her grandmother was a secret agent! According to the journal, Mahalakshmi had sworn to never reveal her identity to a civilian. Her writings clearly stated that if someone ever uncovered the secret, they would be assigned the mission of either destroying the classified files or continue her legacy by protecting them.

Eena was automatically entrusted with the mission to protect the journal from falling into the wrong hands. Captivated by this secret, Eena thoroughly scoured and examined the dusty attic for other hints as she was fuelled with excitement. After hours of searching, Eena noticed something peculiar: a locked chest embedded within the floor that had many encryptions on it. "The puzzles mentioned in the journal!" she was shaking with excitement. With a steely resolve to sort everything, she solved the challenges one by one. It prompted a click and a rusted creak. She slowly opened it to find a dossier marked ‘TOP SECRET’. That was the moment Eena knew her reality had pivoted forever. No longer could she be an unaware granddaughter. At that moment, Eena felt the full weight of the choice that lay ahead of her - either to embrace her grandmother’s legacy or walk away to safety. Ultimately, Eena stood tall in that attic, vowing to uncover every concealed secret, shield every protected truth, and extend the mission of her beloved grandmother, the spy.

Moonlit magic

Saanvi Joshi, AIS Noida, IX F

Moonlight told secrets to the sea

A gentle melody for you and me

With every phase, a tale unfolds

Of mystic wonder yet to be told

Glowing orb that lights the night

Luminous friend, a gentle delight

Silvery glow in the midnight sky

Luna’s gentle light leads passersby

A sun in the dark, shining bright

Guiding through darkest of nights

Radiant, calm, a sight to behold

Moon’s beauty will never get old.