Chapter 1 - The Soul’s Attachment
Shikha could not bear it anymore. The treachery had shoved a sharp knife into her heart, piercing every nerve that wanted to love Subhash.
How could
he do this to me? I was a fool to have trusted him blindly. I am so naïve. I
thought I couldn't be lied to or cheated on and that I could easily see through
evil in a person. Now, after I saw what Subhash had done to me, I was unable to
bear it. It will haunt me all my life unless I choose to end it now.
Shikha’s
thoughts were spiralling into a tornado that was about to consume her. She
prayed to God and sought forgiveness for what she was about to do. But before
she took the extreme step, she wanted to see Subhash meet a gory end; she
cursed him severely. With shivering hands, she drank the poison and waited for
a new pain to set her free from the tormenting pain in her mind.
***
Anmol was
extremely tired after his session of chemotherapy. Every pore in his body was
in agony. He was in a delirious state, but his daughter’s voice was reaching
his ears.
“Ma, what
happened to Papa? He has changed so much. Tell me is he going to be alright?”
“He will be
soon, dear,” came the reply.
Anmol was
heartbroken on hearing the reply from his wife. The doctor had given a mere 20%
chance of survival, and the reports of the therapy weren’t great, yet his wife
was maintaining a strong facade in front his daughter. He cursed himself for
putting his wife and daughter through the agony. He was praying that all of it
should end. If he dies, his wife will be out of this unending misery of
visiting him and consoling his daughter every other day. He had to do it, there
was no other way, thought Anmol.
But then,
he had promised his daughter that he would be there when she got married. It
pained Anmol that he had to break his promise. In the middle of the night, he
mustered all his strength and walked out, not knowing where he was headed to.
Just when he neared the stairs, he fainted and stumbled down rapidly breaking
many of his fragile bones. A lifeless body rolled down the stairs waking the
nurse near the reception.
***
Akriti was
waiting patiently at the said location. Soon, all of her friends joined.
“Akriti,
don’t you think it is a bad idea?” said Vignesh.
“Shh, I am
filming it right now. Don’t talk, no noise at all,” whispered Akriti.
She had set
multiple tripods to mount the thermal camera and the regular optical zoon
high-definition camera. She signalled everyone to remain silent and zoomed in
on the banyan tree, especially the aerial roots that suspended and coiled among
themselves.
She checked
the weather once again to see if it was windy tonight. Fortunately, it wasn’t.
The whole group sat motionless with bated breath. Akriti was all eyes towards
the aerial shoots. As expected, she detected tiny movement as if a heavy body
was trying to climb the root. Soon, two other roots began to move gently, as if
in a rhythm. Akriti ensured that she was capturing all of it on the camera.
Nobody noticed two figures gliding towards the aerial roots on the thermal
camera recorders as they were busy observing the tree for its unusual
movements.
***
