Unveiling the Temple of Love

It was a sunny afternoon. The sun's rays were so bright that they blinded me momentarily as I emerged from the subway station. One touch to my glasses and I saw the world clearly again.

However, after just a few steps, I slipped on a piece of paper and tumbled onto the ground.

"Ouch!"

I groaned and rubbed my elbow, then glanced around to see if anyone had seen me. Luckily no one seemed to have noticed my embarrassing tumble. I stood up and dusted off my jeans. There was a note on the ground, an old one judging by its worn edges and yellowed hue. It was addressed to 'Vivek'.

I chuckled at the name of the recipient. My dad had an old friend named Vivek who he used to drink beer with back in university days. Every time he brought him up, he'd get a faraway look in his eyes, like he was reliving his carefree college days where you didn't have to worry about anything except getting laid.

I put the note in my pocket and continued walking. This was New York City after all - there would be many people named Vivek here. I wasn't even sure if it was for someone living here or just some random tourist who had dropped it by mistake.

As I walked through Broadway, watching countless people rushing back home after work, I spotted a familiar face - my childhood friend Vivek! He looked just as tall and handsome as ever, with his broad shoulders and chiseled jawline, but there was something different about him...he looked older somehow, more mature than the last time we met when we were both ten years old.

"Hey Vivek!" I called out to him as I waved my hand energetically in the air. He turned around and smiled when he saw me waving at him. He walked towards me with open arms waiting for a hug but stopped short when he saw my messy hair and wrinkled clothes from my recent fall on Broadway. "What happened? You look terrible," he said with a frown.

"Yeah, yeah." I waved his concern away dismissively and said: "It's been ages! How've you been?" Suddenly self-conscious about how disheveled I looked, I added: "I'm great! How about you?"

"Same ol' same ol', nothing much has changed since we last met." He laughed wryly and gestured at himself: "Still single."

I punched his arm playfully: "You're exaggerating! You're not even thirty yet!"

He shrugged: "That's what happens when you're a nerdy archeologist whose only real hobby is traveling." His voice trailed off sadly as he kicked at a pebble lying on the road.

Suddenly our attention was drawn away from our conversation as someone screamed loudly behind us: "What did you find?" A small group of men dressed in dirty overalls surrounded us and started looking around at us warily. We exchanged glances and slowly started backing away from them until we reached the other end of the sidewalk where they couldn't reach us any longer.

"Geez! Who were those guys?" Vivek asked incredulously once the weirdos were out of earshot.

"No idea," I replied shaking my head vigorously.

Vivek took out his phone and quickly Googled 'New York gangs'. Within seconds an article appeared on his phone screen titled 'List of dangerous gangs operating in New York City'. We read through the list together until finally we found a match for those men - it was The Warriors gang! They specialized in smuggling illegal goods across state lines which increased their risk of being caught by law enforcement agencies significantly.

"They weren't too happy when they realized that we have no idea what they were talking about," Vivek continued reading aloud from his phone screen.

"Yeah, that makes sense," I nodded in agreement.

When we got home later that evening, Vivek suggested we go on an expedition together next week to India where there might be traces left behind from an ancient civilization known as The Yuvan Empire in spite of their very limited historical records remaining today. We spent most of our childhood summers together so it felt natural for me to agree to his suggestion without hesitating.

We decided to meet early next Monday morning outside Grand Central Station so we could take trains together before starting our long journey overseas to India.

As soon as we entered Grand Central Station early next Monday morning, Vivek grabbed my hand excitedly: "Oh look! An antique shop selling rare pieces related to The Yuvan Empire!" He pulled me inside without waiting for me to reply and bought two wooden masks carved during The Yuvan Empire era which were supposed to help those who wore them improve their mental capacity.

Hours later after buying tickets for flights departing from JFK airport on Thursday night and connecting flights from Mumbai airport onwards till reaching Jeypore airport in Orissa state on