The Banyan Tree That Sets the Souls Free : Chapter 5

 

 Twisted Tales or Enlightened Souls?

Akriti was excitedly giving her analogy about the prophecy and the Banyan tree. Prof. Siddhartha was giving his inputs regularly.

“You see, the tree has its roots spread to a considerable portion of the mansion. Going by the visible portion of land covered by the tree, it might be more than a 500-year-old tree, but the accurate age can be determined only after core drilling by a botanist. But it is safe to say that it has been there for many centuries. Hence the line ‘The Banyan Tree stood witness to some of the most revolting rituals,’ applies to this tree,” continued Prof. Siddhartha.

“Since the mansion was abandoned, it was home to many people who dabble with dark rituals and dark energy. So, it is apt to conclude that the prophecy talks about this tree,” he concluded.

“So, what do you think unearthing this prophecy means to us?” asked a journalist.

“It means that the evil spirits or the demons, as depicted are not necessarily stories; they may be real and felt only by a few sensitive people. But I have here the visual proof that the spirits that live on this tree do move around,” said Akriti and proceeded to show them the thermal imaging videos where the spirits were gliding towards the aerial roots.

***

“That woman is not ready to let go of her ego to move ahead. She is here for ages now,” replied the Banyan tree.

“Ego, what happened to her?” asked Anmol.

“When she lived, she troubled every near and dear one with her pride. She had to be always right. Now, even after her death, she is not ready to accept that she had hurt her own family with her pride. When you accept your mistake, you repent and begin your journey to forgiving yourself, but when you are too vain to accept the mistake, you can never move ahead,” replied the Banyan tree.

“Oh, I see. But I had promised my daughter I will stay with her always,” said Anmol, becoming sad.

“Your daughter has faith in you, every act of kindness from a stranger and help she gets will remind her of your promise. Your daughter believes in your promise, and that will protect her in her life. You need not worry about her,” replied the Banyan tree.

“Is it? I didn’t know it worked like that,” replied Anmol.

“The mortal world runs on belief. If you believe, you can do anything. The people restrict their minds, thoughts, and beliefs making their lives difficult and miserable,” replied the Banyan tree.

“So, I needn’t worry about my daughter. But what about my wife?” asked Anmol.

“You were the one who took the extreme step of killing yourself to free her from the bondage of looking after you. I am sure you are relieved that she is finally free,” replied the Banyan tree.

“Yes, I feel very relaxed now,” said Anmol and looked around because he was feeling warm, all of a sudden. The chill surrounding the Banyan tree had vanished. He was now travelling in the path of the light that was filtering through the roots. At last, he was free.

***

The only woman remaining on the Banyan tree spoke again,

“How stupid are these people? They misunderstood the prophecy,” she laughed hysterically.

It was getting dark, and the press heard the squeal of laughter and got tensed. Akriti was the only person to be excited. She jumped to action and told her team to set the thermal cameras ready in place. The press did not feel it was important to stay anymore. Few reporters assumed that Akriti might be setting it up to gain more views on social media.

“My laugh scared them all,” said the woman and began giggling.

“They misunderstand because they are seeing it from their perspective. You see, right and wrong are always constants, but the perspective of a person is the variable. If you think you are right and do not want to agree you are wrong, you believe it strongly, making you blind to the real truth,” said the Banyan tree.

“You mean I was wrong in not accepting that I hurt anybody? I stick to my stand. I haven’t hurt anybody. If they were so sensitive they should never have interacted with me,” said the woman.

“May be, it is not time for you to move ahead in your journey,” said the Banyan tree.

“If you want me to accept lies to glide away, I would prefer to be stuck on this tree forever,” said the woman, shaking with anger. The root coiled around her frail body tightly, and she screamed in agony.

THE END