The Union of Terrinville VOLUME - 1

Snehal Ghosh

Chennai • Bangalore

CLEVER FOX PUBLISHING Chennai, India Published by CLEVER FOX PUBLISHING 2022 Copyright © Snehal Ghosh 2022 All Rights Reserved. ISBN: 978-93-94457-69-0 This book has been published with all reasonable efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. No part of this book shall be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The Author of this book is solely responsible and liable for its content including but not limited to the views, representations, descriptions, statements, information, opinions and references [“Content”]. The Content of this book shall not constitute or be construed or deemed to reflect the opinion or expression of the Publisher or Editor. Neither the Publisher nor Editor endorse or approve the Content of this book or guarantee the reliability, accuracy or completeness of the Content published herein and do not make any representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose. The Publisher and Editor shall not be liable whatsoever for any errors, omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause or claims for loss or damages of any kind, including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising out of use, inability to use, or about the reliability, accuracy or sufficiency of the information contained in this book.

This book is dedicated to my grandpa who taught me to see what others can’t.

CHAPTER 1 In the Thar Desert of India, lies a place known as the Misted Mudhouse of the Haunted Terrinville, or, Shaitano ka ghar. This place - though in a desert - is covered by thick mist, making the whole place totally invisible. According to many beliefs, myths and traditions, there is something evil in that place and anyone who goes there never returns. Most people thought it was just an imaginary story; but, today I am going to tell you the tale of a person who experienced this whole place and its people and even came back alive, to tell the world what it actually is. In Florida, North America, there was this boy named Dravey Glones, who was mostly known as Darer Bearer since he was so daring, adventurous 1

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and brave that he wasn’t even afraid of a tarantula or a great white shark - and there had been many incidents to prove it. Like, once, he was at the beach with some of his friends. It was announced that there was a shark near the beach and everyone needed to evacuate the area. Everyone got out of the water and ran towards safety. But, one of Dravey’s friends was drowning and the shark’s fin could be seen above the water, moving towards her. Any normal person would have called for help or something, but Dravey at once jumped into the water and carried his friend to the shore, the shark keeping a close chase. They almost would have been eaten, but their friends grabbed them as soon as they were within reach and pulled them on to the shore. The shark tried to come for them, opening its jaws on the beach sand. That was just how fearless and adventurous he was. Because of his bravery and adventurous self, some said that he was an immortal, powerful alien and

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thus he wasn’t afraid of the horrors on our planet. But, those were just myths; he was actually a lover of adventure and wanted to become an adventurer or explorer. Well, this tale focuses on how his wish came true when his uncle Manash, from India, gave them a surprise visit. On Dravey’s 12th birthday, at around 10:00 pm, when he and his parents were wishing each other ‘good night’ and getting ready to retire after a long day, there was a call. His dad answered the call and talked with someone for a while. Then, both his parents came into his room, smiling happily. Dravey knew that there was some good news. “Hey Dravey! Looks like your birthday is going to end on a great note! Your uncle Manash just called saying he’s coming to Florida two days later. He is now at New York on some business trip,” his dad said cheerfully. Dravey was already very happy on hearing this as it had been years since he had met his uncle,

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when his mom spoke out happily, “Moreover, he said he is going to take you to India and give you a tour.” He was exploding with happiness. He was going to India! He’d have so much fun there! And if his textbooks and all the websites on the phone were even a bit true then surely India must have a million places which he could explore. Suddenly, breaking his happy thought stream, his mom said sceptically, “But should I let you go to India? I don’t think you’ll be able to manage living alone.” He knew she was not serious but couldn’t fight the urge to speak up. “Please, mom. I’ll manage it! And I won’t be alone, there will be uncle and aunty with me,” he pleaded. “Yeah... but, you know, such a long time without studying? Maybe it’s the summer vacation but you ought to study,” she sounded as if she was still doubtful.

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“Please mom. Don’t worry about it. I’ll make up for it after I come back!” he kept saying. “C’mon now, honey. Let him go. He had scored so well in the exams anyways,” his dad stood up for him. “Hmmm. Ok. I guess I can let you go,” his mom said slowly. “Yeahhh!!! I’m going to India for the summer vacation! Yeah, Jordan, I’m going! I’ll not be home listening to Jessie’s stupid gossip!! I’ll...” “Hey, hey, hey! Now don’t get all that excited! I’m not done speaking yet,” his mom said, lowering Dravey’s mood. “Now, listen carefully. I’ll let you go with your uncle only if you promise to finish all your summer vacation homework by the time he comes.” That seemed to be the end of it, so Dravey began speaking up, “I...,” but his mom interrupted him, “Annndddddd, you’ll have to promise to be

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on your best behaviour while you’re staying with your uncle, and also that you would give all your attention to your studies and bring good marks in the next term too.” He started to object, “But...” “No ‘buts’. It’s a one-time deal. Either promise or forget about going to India.” His mom made a ‘give and take’ gesture. He could see that he had nothing to do but promise, so he said sadly, “Ok, mom. I promise to finish all my homework within two days.” “And that you will be on your best behaviour.” “And that I will be on my best behaviour.” “And also that you will bring good marks in the next term as well.” “And also that I will bring good marks in the next term as well.”

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“Ok, then. You’re free to go with your uncle to India for your summer vacation.” With that, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. His parents kissed him ‘good night’ and went to their room. Dravey was quite excited to go to India but did not like the fact that he had to do so many things for that to be possible. His day hadn’t gone so well anyways. His birthday had not been so awesome. It had started off pretty badly with only Jessie, his over talkative friend, showing up. And she had kept talking and talking until the twins, Jordan and Mini, who were Dravey’s and Jessie’s best friends respectively, showed up at around 3 PM. After that, it had started raining and so the rest of his friends had not bothered to come. And so it was just like any Sunday or Saturday, with Dravey and Jordan hanging out while Jessie and Mini chatted along. Dravey would have been quite sad but couldn’t be because he was constantly thinking about all the fun things he would be doing in India.

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The time passed by quickly with Dravey working almost the whole time to complete his unbelievably huge homework that was meant to be done in the whole of the vacation. Two days later, at around 8:00 am, uncle Manash called to check whether Dravey was ready or not. Dravey had gotten up early in the morning - which was rare of him - and completed the last bit of his homework, got ready and had breakfast. So he himself answered the phone and told his uncle that he was fully ready. His uncle told Dravey that his plane had just landed and that Dravey should reach the airport with his dad. So he and his dad set off for the airport in their car. On the way to the airport, Dravey thought about everything he’d be doing in India. He saw one or two planes landing and taking off and was excited about going by plane too. When they reached the airport, uncle Manash was waiting outside. His dad was in a hurry because it was almost 9:00 am and

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he had to go to his office. He bid uncle Manash goodbye, told Dravey to behave well and listen to his uncle and then he hurried into the car and drove away to his office. Uncle Manash took Dravey to the gate through which they were to board their plane, asking him about random things. Then, as there was still some time left, he told Dravey that he could explore the shops and also could buy something if he wanted to. He gave him a few dollars and sent him off. Dravey went to buy some snacks and juice for both of them. Dravey was looking around when he saw a shop where they were selling small kiddie explorer backpacks and also a small chimp robot companion toy. Dravey rushed to the shop and spent almost all the money he got from his uncle on them. Then, as he only had a dollar left, he bought two cans of juice that were fifty cents each. When he returned to the gate, uncle Manash was waiting with snacks.

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So Dravey didn’t have to worry about the snacks anymore. While they were enjoying the snacks and juice, uncle Manash asked Dravey what he had bought with the money he had given him. Dravey told him about the kiddie explorer utility set which included a kiddie explorer backpack and a robot chimp companion toy. His uncle asked whether he was a fan of exploring and adventure and Dravey, without a second thought, readily told that he loved adventure and also loved exploring. His uncle looked amused at this and told him that in India there are many places of adventure and exploration. Dravey already knew a little bit about it but wanted to hear more about the different places from his uncle. But, unfortunately, their flight gate opened up right at that time and they had to go. Inside the plane, after listening to the safety instructions and the plane had taken off, Dravey asked his uncle about those places. But his uncle

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told him that he’d show and tell everything once they reached India. He added that it was much more fun to see them rather than just talk about it. Dravey agreed and decided to just wait to reach India. They chatted along for some time and then watched some movies on the entertainment systems of their seats. At around 1:30 PM, they were given lunch and at around 8 PM, they were served dinner. By 10 PM, they were sleeping peacefully. At around 4 AM the next day, they reached the Jaipur airport, all cramped up and tired from sleeping in the plane. Then they took a cab and went to uncle Manash’s house, which was quite far from the airport. It was almost 5 AM when they reached his house. Both of them agreed that it was a tiring journey and so they went to bed by 5:30 AM. Dravey woke up quite late - at around 12:00 PM - and freshened up. Then he went downstairs thinking that after all that travelling his uncle must be very tired and asleep still. But, much to his

Dravey is just an ordinary middle-school kid, except the fact that he wants to explore and go on adventures when he grows up. When a sudden trip to his uncle’s place in India leads him into accidentally stepping into some weird mist in the Thar Desert, he gets transported to some weird dimension with potato-heads and cyborgs roaming around instead of humans. Finding himself in such a confusing world, will Dravey be eaten by monsters? Will it be his end? Will he die alone, without any friends or family by his side? It’s unclear what would happen - he might just get lost in that dimension without any friends, or he might just be caught and executed. But will he ever step down as a fearless wannabe-explorer? Isn’t that the real question among all this drama?