The morning sunlight seeped through the hotel curtains, drawing faint patterns on the bed sheet. Shankar sat up, rubbing his eyes, and picked up the ring from the side table. He placed it on his palm, letting the light fall on it.
Now that he was paying attention, he noticed something he hadn't before—fine engravings along the outer edge. Symbols? Letters? They looked ancient. Faded, yet purposeful. Like they meant something… just not in a language he knew.
"Whoa!" Varun's groggy voice cut in. He blinked at the ring in Shankar's hand. "That's a cool-looking gold ring, dude! So shiny. It looks royal. Like something straight out of a museum… or like it belonged to some ancient king or something."
Shankar raised an eyebrow. "You just noticed it now?"
"Was it in your bag? Why didn't you show this before? Is it yours? Who gave it to you?" Varun fired off questions, wide-eyed with curiosity.
"I've been wearing it since yesterday," Shankar replied casually as he slipped it back on.
And just like that, Varun's expression faded. The excitement, the curiosity—it all vanished. He blinked, rubbed his forehead, then looked at Shankar as if nothing had happened.
Shankar narrowed his eyes.
"You're not interested in the ring anymore?" he asked, trying to play it cool.
Varun looked genuinely puzzled. "What ring?"
Shankar slid it off and held it up. "This one."
Varun's eyes lit up again. "Ohhh, right! I totally forgot about it! That's what I was talking about earlier!"
But even before he could finish his sentence, Shankar slipped the ring back on.
Varun stopped mid-thought. Blank expression. As if he hadn't even noticed the ring at all.
Shankar leaned back against the pillow, a grin creeping across his face—but it wasn't from joy. It was the kind of grin someone wears when everything starts making a little more sense… and a little less normal.
Of course it's not an ordinary ring, he thought. Not after what happened that night in the jungle. Not after Savitri's answer. Not after everything.
Something was happening. The ring wasn't just real—it had rules.
And he was finally starting to learn them.
The final day of the trip had arrived, and their last destination in Rajgir was none other than Venu Van—a peaceful, bamboo-covered garden believed to be gifted to Lord Buddha. Unlike the previous days packed with adventures and chaos, this visit felt... calm. Serene. Almost poetic.
The gentle rustle of bamboo leaves filled the air as Shankar strolled through Venu Van, letting the calming energy of the place settle over him. It felt like time was slowing down, giving him the perfect moment to reflect… and test a truth that had been bugging him since the bazaar.
He glanced at the Ring of Truth, shining gold on his thumb.
Still invisible to everyone but him.
Still mysterious.
He spotted Aryan and Vikas by a small pond, tossing pebbles at the water.
"Hey, Aryan," Shankar asked casually, "did you really see that turtle first?"
Aryan shrugged. "Of course I did—"
Nothing.
The ring didn't heat up.
Shankar didn't actually care about the turtle.
"Okay, so it's not just about asking... it's about actually wanting to know."
He moved on.
A little later, he saw Nikhil munching on something again.
"How many laddus is that?" Shankar grinned.
Nikhil laughed. "Two—okay, maybe four."
Still, the ring stayed cool.
"Yup. Doesn't activate unless I really mean it."
But then… he sat beside Savitri, who was quietly sketching near a serene lotus pond, her notebook open.
He looked at her for a moment, hesitant.
There was something genuine in his curiosity this time.
So he asked, softly:
"What's something you'd never admit to anyone?"
Savitri looked up at him, her expression unreadable for a moment before she answered quietly, "I'm scared of being alone."
A soft warmth spread through the ring.
Not painful, but undeniable.
Shankar's heart skipped a beat.
"That was real. That was truth. And I needed to hear it."
He smiled, trying to ease the sudden heaviness that had settled in.
"You're not alone, you know?"
She nodded, her gaze softening. "I know... it's just something I struggle with."
They both sat there for a while, the warmth from the ring lingering between them in the peaceful silence.
Later, while everyone wandered off taking pictures and buying souvenirs, Shankar sat by himself on a rock under the shade.
"So the ring only reacts when my intention is honest. When I really need the truth."
The lotus pond still shimmered behind him, but Shankar had walked off alone now—deeper into the bamboo garden, where the chatter of classmates faded and the whispers of leaves took over.
He glanced down at the Ring of Truth, still warm from the last question.
He could feel it—a strange hum in his skin.
Like the truth had left a scar, invisible but real.
But something tugged at his mind.
"What happens… if I keep asking?"
He needed to know. He needed to test its limits—not just out of curiosity anymore, but because something about the ring felt alive. Like it was watching him back.