Chapter 16: A Glimpse of Past

Jira sat in the front yard of his house, staring up at the dark night sky. Lost in thought, he didn’t notice when his wife, Lenah, approached and set a cup of coffee in front of him.

"Jira, what’s on your mind?" Lenah asked gently as she settled beside him.

"Nothing," he replied, still gazing at the stars.

"I can tell something’s bothering you. Please, tell me," she pressed, her voice filled with concern.

Married to Jira for fifty-two years, Lenah knew him inside and out. Even though he insisted he was fine, she understood there was more to it. Determined to ease his troubled mind, she patiently waited for him to open up.

"Come on, you know I won’t leave until I understand what's going on," she insisted softly, her persistence born from years of familiarity with his moods.

"It’s something from the past," Jira said finally, tearing his gaze away from the sky.

"What do you mean? What’s come up?" Lenah asked, confusion flickering across her face.

"Lenah, the Rubaiyat has resurfaced," Jira revealed, turning to meet her gaze. Lenah’s expression instantly shifted to disbelief as she processed his words.

"What are you saying?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"How is that possible?" Her shock was palpable, her face drained of color.

"Yes, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam has come back into play," he confirmed.

"And today, we had a meeting with The Watchers to discuss it," he continued.

"Who told you this?" Lenah asked, concern and curiosity evident in her tone.

"Jim informed us. He’s convinced that the original manuscript has reemerged, signaling the start of a new cycle of life and death," Jira explained.

He recounted the details of where the torn piece of the Rubaiyat was found and how Jim had learned about it.

"It shouldn’t have happened," Lenah remarked, tension creeping into her voice.

"I know it shouldn’t have, but it’s the reality we’re facing," Jira agreed solemnly.

"Sometimes I wonder if Omar Khayyam shouldn’t have written the Rubaiyat at all," he mused, his tone heavy with grief. "If he hadn’t, maybe these cycles of life and death wouldn’t plague us."

"You never explained how a simple book of poetry could lead to so many deaths," Lenah said, sorrow tinging her words.

"It’s a long story, one I’ve hesitated to share because I’ve seen firsthand the Rubaiyat’s unfathomable power," Jira replied.

"Tell me, Jira. You need someone to listen and help you unburden your mind," Lenah encouraged, her tone gentle.

Jira looked at her, taking a deep breath. Once again, she understood his unspoken need and offered her silent support.

"You know, Omar Khayyam wrote the Rubaiyat back in the 12th century. After his death, it gained fame and was translated into English and many other languages," Jira began, his voice carrying the weight of history. "Omar was a sage, using his words to share wisdom on life, death, and fate through his poetry." He continued, "But little did anyone know that hidden within the verses of the Rubaiyat was a potent power."

"In the late 19th century, as the Rubaiyat gained popularity, a professor from Australia decided to journey to Iran to see the original manuscript housed in a library," Jira continued.

"Professor Aiden was renowned for his expertise in ancient languages and esoteric rituals. Driven by his passion for poetry, he wanted to immerse himself in the profound verses of the Rubaiyat. The depth of its words captivated him like no other book. He even resolved to stay in Iran, dedicating himself to studying it and writing a comprehensive research paper."

"One day, he noticed he wasn’t alone in his daily visits to the library. Another man, always arriving at the same time, would also pour over the Rubaiyat, taking meticulous notes. Aiden figured this man was researching it too."

"But then, one day, everything changed. He spotted a peculiar symbol on one of the papers alongside the Rubaiyat—a skull with cryptic words in an unfamiliar language. Intrigued and unsettled, Aiden couldn’t shake the image from his mind. Once home, he dedicated himself to uncovering its meaning."

"After some digging, Aiden found out that the symbol represented Satan, and the words beneath it said, 'Death is life' and 'Death is for Satan.' With this chilling revelation, Aiden's curiosity turned to fear, and he realized there was much more to the Rubaiyat than he had bargained for." Jira paused, his aged voice heavy with the weight of the story.

"The other man was indeed misinterpreting the Rubaiyat," he affirmed, the wisdom of ages resonating in his voice. "The profound essence of 'The Book, Rubaiyat' can illuminate the path for those with pure intentions, guiding them toward spiritual enlightenment. But for those whose beliefs waver, its verses can twist into something dark, leading them down a path of malevolence."

"You know, Lenah," he continued, "In our pursuit of truth, we inevitably reflect our own hearts; our intentions shape the revelations we uncover."

"We must tread carefully, for the Rubaiyat has the power to reveal both light and shadow, depending on the purity of the seeker’s soul."

"Aiden underwent a profound shift in perspective, realizing that the Rubaiyat held interpretations that delved into satanism as well. This revelation left him stunned, prompting him to follow the man who had been exploring the darker meanings of the Rubaiyat."

"Do you know what happened next?" Jira asked, looking at Lenah, who was hanging on his every word.

"After a few days, a child went missing, and later, his lifeless body was discovered near the riverbank. The child’s body was cut into pieces, each marked with the symbol of a skull."

"Following an investigation, police arrested the individual who had been regularly reading the Rubaiyat and drawing satanic symbols. With his arrest, people believed the danger had passed."

"But just days later, three more bodies were found, each mutilated and marked with symbols of Satan. The Iranian government captured three additional murderers, all claiming to be soldiers of Satan, vowing to eliminate anyone who accused them of satanism."

"Aiden leveraged his connections within the Iranian government to get close to the perpetrators. The unstable mental state and darkness in their eyes shook him to his core. Afterward, he confided in a resourceful friend about the untapped power of the original Rubaiyat—capable of leading people toward spiritual enlightenment or down into the depths of satanism."

"It stands as a testament to the inherent duality within every human soul. Depending on the primal instincts nestled within us, we lean toward the divine or the diabolic. The choice, however, lies solely within our will, shaping our earthly journey and echoing into the futures of generations yet unborn," Jira recounted, as if witnessing it all unfold again.

"Aiden told his friend that he had visited all the murderers in custody. Each professed to be a worshiper of Satan. They claimed they received messages from the Rubaiyat urging them to kill. When they opened its pages, they saw blurred figures that seemed to merge with their souls, compelling them to commit brutal acts."

"A book of poetry was telling them to kill people?" Lenah asked, disbelief evident in her tone.

"Yes," Jira confirmed, taking a sip of his cold coffee to ease his parched throat. "That’s what the murderers told Aiden."

"Aiden shared his perspective with his friend, who refused to accept it. He questioned how a mere book of poetry could incite murder. But when over twenty people in Iran were killed in the same manner over the next two months, he recalled Aiden's warnings and sought him out for solutions."

"Aiden proposed a simple fix: to make the original Rubaiyat disappear, hiding it where no one could find it. With so many copies already out there, he reasoned no one would miss the original, and that might halt the cycle of death," Jira explained, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"But Jira, if copies of the Rubaiyat were already out there, why didn’t people get satanic messages from those versions?" Lenah asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Why was it only the original version that had these dark interpretations?" she probed further.

"It’s believed that Omar Khayyam poured his life experiences into the Rubaiyat," Jira began. "But there was a friend of his who secretly embraced satanism, never revealing his beliefs. When Omar wrote the verses, he would pass them to his friend for proofreading."

"This friend meticulously read every line of the Rubaiyat. Instead of finding spiritual messages, he twisted the verses according to his own dark beliefs. He became so engrossed in this that he resolved anyone who read the Rubaiyat would be drawn toward satanism. He infused ancient satanic mantras into every verse, sealing the dark belief within the Rubaiyat for eternity," Jira recounted.

"Though there’s no tangible proof to back up this legend, we, The Watchers, believe it to be true. That friend of Omar Khayyam turned the Rubaiyat into a gateway to satanism," Jira affirmed.