The Seceart of the last shadow Fort

The Secret of the Lost Shadow Fort

There are many secrets hidden on Indian soil. Some lie in the earth, some in human hearts, and some in the bosom of time. One such secret lay hidden in the Shadow Fort a fort about which people had been gossiping for centuries that some invisible shadows come to life there at night.

This fort was in the middle of India during the seventeenth century. It appeared like a common fort: high walls, big gates, and a damaged palace within, but its environment was eerily quiet. People from surrounding villages were reluctant to visit the fort as soon as the sun went down. They would tell that sometimes there were screams emitted from there and shadows enveloped by light would wander through the rooftops of the fort.

Nawab Ismail Khan, the king of this place, was a courageous, shrewd and practical man. He had been hearing about this fort since he was a kid, but he never used to believe it. He made up his mind to go and look at the fort himself and make things clear.

It was a night under the light of the moon. The sky was clear and the stars twinkled. The Nawab and his five special guards entered the fort. They had torches in their hands and bravery in their hearts. All was calm until the first hour. The fort was surely empty, but nothing out of the ordinary was sensed.

But as soon as midnight, the mood inside the fort started changing. Suddenly a rusty door opened by itself. The Nawab and his friends were shocked. They unsheathed their swords, but chose to go ahead. On the other side of the door was a huge hall, the walls of which were adorned with ancient photographs. The faces of queens, kings, and courtiers appeared in these pictures, but there was one photo that drew everyone's attention — the photo of a young woman, with an odd depth and sadness in her eyes.

Under the photo were the words:

Zarin Jahan She Who Was Imprisoned in the Shadow of Time.

The Nawab had only examined the picture attentively when all at once a gale burst forth and the torches were extinguished. The hall was suddenly in pitch darkness. Amidst this darkness, the echo of footsteps was suddenly heard, as though somebody was walking — yet nothing was visible. Then there was a voice, deep and solemn

Whom time has imprisoned, only truth can free.

The soliders of nawab gazed around in fear. The sound started to more louder. All Soliders vanished one by one. Only The Nawab remained . Shadows started to roam around him in the dark. But the Nawab did not lose hope, he exclaimed aloud:

I want to know your secret, not kill you.

When they heard this, the shadows ceased at once. Then slowly all quieted down. The door shut by itself and a dim light fell across the hall. Tears appeared to be trickling from the eyes of the picture, and a fresh line was added beneath the picture:

A person who tells the truth is not a captive of time.

The following morning, the Nawab emerged from the fort, by himself. There was no smile on his face and a new glow in his eyes. He never revealed what took place that night, or where his friends had vanished. He simply said:

Some secrets, only time knows. And some secrets, even time does not tell.

To this day, the fort retains the name the Lost Shadow. Few are brave enough to set foot there, and those that do. they leave, yet they don't linger.