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Chandrakanta
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Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Glossary
The Locked Chamber’s Secret
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Chapter 11

The Locked Chamber’s Secret

6 min read · 4 pages

We have mentioned several times above that in the garden where Kishori lived, on one side there was a building whose door always remained locked and was guarded by a naked sword.

It is midnight. Darkness has enveloped everything. The strong wind rustles the leaves of the tall trees, breaking the silence. At this moment, Lali, holding a rope in her hand, cautiously protecting herself from all sides and looking around carefully, is heading toward the back of that very building. She reaches the wall, fastens the rope, and climbs up onto the roof. All around the roof was a wall three cubits high. With great cunning, Lali broke open a hole in the roof, just large enough for a person to descend through comfortably, and she herself went down inside with the help of the rope.

After two hours, Lali emerged carrying a small chest and, using the rope, descended from the roof and set off in another direction. She entered the baradari on the eastern side, from where there was a way into the palace, slipped inside the gate, and reached the palace.

This palace was very large and magnificent. The queen herself resided here with two hundred maids and companions. Passing through several halls and doors, Lali reached the door of a small room and gently knocked on the latch.

An old woman got up, opened the door, let Lali in, and closed it again. The old woman must have been about eighty years of age, and goodness and compassion radiated from her face. The small room, the few necessary items, and the simple cot all indicated that the old woman was living her life in helplessness. Lali touched her feet in reverence, and the old woman stroked her back and asked her to sit.

Lali (placing the box in front): "Is this the one?"

Old Woman: "Did you bring it? Yes, that's right, this is certainly it. Now, whatever you do next, be very careful! Let it not be that, at this final moment, I am stained with disgrace."

Lali: "I will do the work as cleverly as possible. Please bless me, so that my endeavor may succeed."

Old Woman: "May God reward you for this good deed. Did you feel any fear there?"

Lali: "With a firm heart, I brought it here; otherwise, what I saw there is not something I could ever forget while alive. I will have to see it once more yet. Oh, my heart still trembles."

Old Woman (smiling): "Indeed, wondrous things are gathered there, but there is nothing to fear. God will help you."

Lali picked up that little chest and, returning to her own room, placed it safely and lay down on her bed. In the morning, she rose and went to Kishori's chamber.

Kishori: "All night I kept thinking of you, and again and again I got up and went outside, wondering if any sound of commotion might be heard."

Lali: "By God's grace, nothing hindered my task."

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