Chapter 4: The Building That Wasn’t What It Seemed
The next morning dawned crisp and clear. After a breakfast of hot parathas and sweet tea, Mrs. Sharma led the four children through winding mountain paths lined with pine and oak trees. Birds chirped overhead, and the distant sound of temple bells mixed with the call to prayer from a nearby mosque.
“Where are we going?” Chaitra asked nervously, unused to such long walks.
“You’ll see,” Mrs. Sharma replied with a twinkle in her eye.
After walking for nearly an hour, they reached a clearing where stood the most unusual building any of them had ever seen. It seemed to shift and change depending on where you stood.
Faisal, approaching from the east, gasped. “It’s a beautiful mosque! Look at that crescent moon on top and those intricate geometric patterns!”
Amily, coming from the west, shook her head in confusion. “What are you talking about? It’s clearly a church! See the cross and those stained glass windows?”
Chaitra, walking up from the south, pointed excitedly. “Are you both blind? It’s obviously a Hindu temple! Those are lotus carvings and I can see the om symbol!”
Tiger, approaching from the north, managed to whisper, “B-but… it’s a G-gurudwara. I can s-see the Khanda s-symbol and the d-dome…”
They all stopped and stared at each other, then at the building, then back at each other.
“This is impossible,” Amily said.
“M-maybe we’re s-seeing things,” Tiger stammered.
Mrs. Sharma smiled knowingly. “Why don’t you all go inside? But remember – go in together, as one group.”
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