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"Found you!" Deva Shanmugam shouted. It was the school holidays, and the Shanmugam children were playing Hide & Seek with their cousins outside in the backyard. Deva Shanmugam had just spotted his cousin Gowri Mohan, poking her head out of her hiding spot- a big bush.He had already found the others, Aisha Shanmugam, his sister and Raju Mohan, his cousin.
Although Deva and Raju were a year older than their sisters who were 12, they agreed to play Hide & Seek for it was a boring, blazing hot day. "Lunch time!" Mrs Shanmugam called out. The children grinned and raced inside for they were very hungry after running about in the sun the whole day. "Children, where are your manners?" Mrs Mohan said while shaking her head. "Wash your hands and stop running around and tripping everyone up." she continued, for the children were indeed running about excitedly and making quite a chaos.
Soon, everyone was at the table eating, Mr and Mrs Shanmugam, Mr and Mrs Mohan and the children. After lunch, the girls walked their parents to the door while the boys carried their bags. "Have a good time children, and don't mess up the house. Remember to get up early and do all the house chores before going out to play." their mother advised them. "Always lock the doors when you go to bed and when you are not at home. Never open the door to strangers. The kitchen is stocked up with your favourite food. If you want something else, there is some money I have given to Aisha to buy something. " added Mrs Mohan.
"Alright, alright, we get it. We are 13 amma * , we know how to take care of ourselves." Raju said. "Yeah, you even left us a list of all the house chores to be done while you are gone." pointed out Gowri. "A long one that is," muttered Deva while rolling his eyes.
"Time to go!" Mr Mohan called out cheerily. The children waved goodbye to their parents and looked at each other as the car disappear down the street. "So, what should we do now?" asked Aisha. They all kept silent and looked outside.
"Why don't we....clean up the leftover food and clean up the table? " suggested Gowri, who was a neat freak. "Uhhh...No way..."' groaned Deva. Then he brightened. "How about you two girls do that and we'll play video games?" he said while fist bumping Raju. "What? Come on you two, don't be so lazy, "Aisha said and started toward the kitchen. The boys had no choice but to follow her and help them, for their money was with Aisha , and she wasn't going to give them anything if they were in her bad books.
While Aisha washed the dishes, Gowri helped her to put it away and the boys were assigned to pack the remaining food. At least, that was what they were supposed to do..They were too busy chasing each other around the dining hall and bumped into the table, causing a glass plate to fall and break. "Crash!" Aisha gasped and rushed to the dining hall with Gowri at her heels.
"Huh! And you were the one who said that you are 13 and can take care of yourself?! It has not even been a day yet, and you both have already managed to create chaos!" shouted Aisha angrily. Gowri was more sympathetic. "Are you two hurt?" she asked, concerned. The boys nodded their head no. They didn't dare to say anything, Aisha had a hot temper! "Oh, what is amma * going to say?" she moaned. Their punishment , given by Aisha was to stand still facing the wall and think about what they did, until the girls were done cleaning up the mess.
For the rest of the day, the boys behaved themselves and eventually, Aisha calmed down. While completing a jigsaw puzzle in the evening, they got bored and decided to "explore" the house.
While "exploring" the girls' bedroom, They noticed a part of the wall which had a different pattern from the rest of the walls. As Deva was leaning against it, there was a sound, and the next minute, he was gone! Everyone was alarmed and searched for him. As they were there leaning against the wall ,discussing the problem, the wall moved and a new secret room was in sight. The girls were shocked and Raju began to call for Deva.
Deva came up to them and told them the least expected news. "We're in a secret room!" he said excitedly. There was a long silence. Then Gowri got one of her extraordinary ideas. "Let's go further inside and see more!" she suggested. It was very dark, and nobody could make out a thing. Fortunately, Raju had a torch and the light made everyone feel better.
They ventured forward, and found a door handle with a key inserted into the keyhole too! Aisha opened the door with trembling hands. It opened with a creak, showing that it had not been opened in a long time. The children found themselves buried under a pile of clothes and were squashed in wardrobe which they assumed was a room!
"Ahh!" screamed Deva." An alien is attacking me!" "Oh shut up Deva, stop being such a baby." scolded Aisha still angry at him." They're just clothes for goodness' sake!" she continued. Where's Raju and Gowri?" she asked. "Raju, Gowri ! Where are you both?" she called with Deva echoing her.
"Guys... you should see this." said Raju appearing in front of them. Just as Deva and his sister was about to ask what it was, their mouths dropped open. Gowri was nearby, standing on SNOW!
It was freezing, and they decided to rummage in the wardrobe to find some warmer clothes. They came out dressed covered from head to toe! They were wearing boots, mittens, beanies and coats. Even the boys who claimed it was clothes for "girly girls" and it was not cold at all, wore them too!
They started forward with 'Aisha the Adventurous' at the front and Raju bringing up the rear. Deva kept looking around, frightened, and stumbled along. Aisha rolled her eyes, 'Honestly, people would think that he was 5 not 13, the way he behaved!' she thought. Gowri, who was walking behind him, kept bumping into Deva when he stumbled or stopped. Finally exasperated, she started shoving and pushing him to move and eventually got tired of it, switched places with him. Even patient Gowri could not stand Deva!
The sun was setting, and everyone began to get hungry. They decided to go home, pack food and continue their journey the next morning. They finally got something to "explore" after all!
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