**From & To Satish **( New Pictures Pl see pg 163) - Page 4

 

Enjoy...the picture and start your comments here please...

 

Satish, it is great to see you in different roles.....

 

 

I bet you're the one on the right in this pic naa?  hheeh

 

    THE UNDEAD (mohini)

 

What is a ghost.Is it that someone you feel is watching you or following in your shadows when you are walking alone in the dark.Is it good or evil in nature.Is it the remains of a once living breathing human being who died before its stipulated time.Did death come to it by murder,suicide or accident.Who knows but the best thing is to leave things as it is and not disturb things which lie asleep or just waiting for their prey to come along.But some of the dead are just not dead but in reality undead.For their lives were taken away in their youth and they are waiting for their chance at revenge and to satiate their anger which has been burning for years and  still some spirits  wait for decades and centuries to quench their thirst for innocent blood.

                         The forest looked dark and foreboding in its looks.Deep in its bowels something stirred and howled.The sounds were inhuman in nature and it scared the wits out of even the  creatures that had made the forest their home and they fled in terror.Even the rays of the sun had trouble getting through the thick foliage and hence most of the plants did never make it to adulthood and rotted.In the middle of the forest stood the banyan tree and it was singular in appearance.It looked as if a demon was standing there with her hair blowing in the wind ready to do battle.There is a strange looking nail made of copper or brass nailed to its trunk.It was from here the strange tormented noises and growls were coming.Far in the distance leaving a trail of dust in its wake, a jeep with its top open is making its way though the dusty untarred paths of the forest.As the car passes the banyan tree it stretches itself as if to grab the vehicle and blood pumps out of the place where the nail is protruding.

                                             The car with its occupants drives into a compound in which an ancient looking house is situated and jayavarman the owner of the house gets out of the vehicle with sheela his fiancee.Two other people, rohini a diploma holder in cultural sciences and traditional art forms of dances and raja an architect by profession also alight from the vehicle.Jayavarman looks at all of them  and says,so what do you think of this place.Think it will be worthwhile if we convert it into a resort.Raja ,sheela and  rohini  look at him and say jaya,are you joking.This place is absoluely magnificient.Such a quiet secluded spot is what most city dwellers look for when they want to take a break from their busy shedules and look for places to go for holidays.And if you build a few cottages it will be a bigger hit with foriegn tourists and there is enough area here to go trekking.Jayavarman takes sheela's hands and says so our honeymoon can be finished here and i can save money by not taking you to goa or some other exotic location.Sheela pinches his arm say,you cheapskate just because i told you i wanted a simple wedding,does not mean you can cheat me a of my honeymoon.Laughing all of them go into the house.Their luggage is taken inside by an old man who doubles as a watchman and cook and who stays in the nearby village.
                       After freshening up and having a cup of tea they  go around inspecting the house.Raja tells jayavarman,listen lets leave this buliding as it is and just give it a a new coat of painting and bathroom fixtures.It has been built with lot of love and care and even a minor alteration will kills its beauty.We will build small cottages around the compound on the same lines as this house and maintain a constant theme on whole.
                                     Raja wants to go out and look around the property and rohini says she will give him company.Jaya says he needs to check his mail and gets his laptop out and asks them to go ahead without him.Sheela says she is having a slight headache and goes in to the bedroom to take a small nap.Taking his digital camera raja and rohini start examining jaya's property in more detail.Raja takes lot of pictures of the house and they slowly move towards the edge of the forest which border's the property.The large banyan tree stands alone and when they both see it they feel as if it is asking them to come closer.A strong breeze blows through the place as if the forest itself is trying to warn them to leave the place in quiet and not disturb anything that is sleeping there.Marvelling at the giant tree raja starts taking pictures of it and then tells rohini,listen i want a photo of myself leaning against the tree.Rohini takes the camera and raja leans against the tree and hits his head against something sharp.Screaming in pain he turns to see if some snake or insect had bitten him.But only finds a sharp metal object buried in the tree.Cursing the people who had done this,raja turns to rohini and says ,can you believe these illiterate people who live here.God what were they thinking when they left sharp objects like this sticking around.What if someone hurts his eye or something.No raja said,i am not going to let that happen and looking around for a rock or something he finds one and starts hammering the rock until it slips out.The nail falls out and what seems like blood seeps out from the place where it was and at that point,everything in the forest goes quiet as if in cowering in fear of what would come out of the tree.Heedless to what was happening around him,raja picked up the nail and showing it to rohini he said,listen this does not look like a nail but more like a very thin dagger.After examining the object they decided to return to the house and took the nail with them.But if only they had turned back they would have seen something slowly slipping out of the tree and following them.
The time is about 11.00 pm and raja is sitting in the hall nursing a drink and watching the photos he had taken using  jayavarman's laptop.Hearing a noise as if sombody had called his name he gets up and looks around.Slowly wondering who it was that was calling him raja came outside the house and saw a beautiful lady standing there.Wondering what a woman must be doing at this time of the hour he goes towards her abut she turns and starts walking away.Not knowing what to do  raja decides it is to good an oppurtunity to let go and decides that he would follow the woman and maybe if he was lucky.he could bring hwer back to his room to spend the night.Just as he is about to follow the woman,jayavarman comes out and asks where do you think you are going.Raja says well,i just came out to get some fresh air before i went to sleep and saw this woman standing here.To which jaya said,must have been some of the tribals out hunting.Anywayit's getting late and we have lot of work tommorrow so come in and go to bed.Raja cursing his bad luck follows his friend into the house.Seeing them go we can hear something growl in anger and retreat deep into the forest.
                                              Next day as they are all getting ready to go out and visit some of the tribal villages nearbye,jayvarman sees the nail which raja had pulled out from the tree the previous day and asked him where did you get this strange loking object.Rajy tells him,it was sticking dangerously out of a tree and hurt my head, so i pulled it out or that it might someone too.Examining the metal object and cup of coffee in hand jaya walks to the verandah where the house keeper is dusting the shelves.Turning to jayavarman,he humbly said sir i am glad you are doing something about this place for it has been kept shut for so long.Then seeing the nail in jayavarmans hands he says in fear,sir whatis that you are holding in your hand.Jayavarman shows it to him to which the servant asks him where did you get it.After listening to him the servant warns that the nail is not some ordinary nail but something used in black magic and he should throw it away.He further warns him to return to the house before sunset.Not understanding what the servant was blabbering jayavarman asked him to be more clear and explain what he was talking about.The servant mumbles some excuse and goes away.
                  Having had his dinner,raja the architect is trying to do some sketches of the house but his mind is preoccupied with  the beautiful woman he had seen last night.Hoping to see her that night,raja looks up to see rohini outside the house gesturing for him to come out.Wondering what she was doing outside raja comes up to her and asks her what,not feeling sleepy.to which rohini strangely replied,sleep i never sleep and right now i feel like walking and being among trees for sometime.Then rohini tells raja,come let us go for a walk before jaya wakes up.Hands around his body for it is getting cold by the minute raja follows rohini not knowing that rohini is in fact sleeping in her room.After walking for some time they reach the banyan tree and rohini stops and looks at raja with provocative looks.Thinking she is making a pass at him and not wanting to miss a good oppurtunity raja takes rohini in his arms and starts kissing her ears and neck.Rohini changes into the evil spirit which had been trapped in the tree and kills raja.
                           Next day morning at the breakfast table jayavarman looks at his watch and tells sheela and rohini,dont you think it is strange that raja would sleep so late when usually he is the first one out of bed.Saying this they go to raja's room and not finding him there all of them wonder where he must heve gone.Deciding to wait for some time for him to return,they spend two hours going over the photos of the house before deciding to go in search of raja.Calling his name,they search in vain until they come to the banyan tree.Feeling something trickling on her necksheela puts her hand,brings it back and looks at it and is shocked to see blood on them.jayavarman and rohini both look up to see what could be dripping blood and see raja's body hanging in the branches at which point sheela screams and faints.Shocked but at the same time pained to see his friend hanging dead in the branches jayavarman carries the unconscious sheela back to the house and tells rohini to call the police and ask them to come to the place immediately.
                                 It is late in the afternoon before the police arrive at the scene of the crime and raja's body is lowered from the branches.The police are accompanied by a forest officer who tells them that a leopard might have killed raja and carried him to the branches to feed but must have run away hearing people searching for him.The inspector asks  jayavarman,sheela and rohini to stay back in the house and not return to the city until the autopsy is over and the report has been handed over to him.They agree andreturn to the house.The servant with tears in his eyes and folded hands begs them to leave immediately for their lives are in danger.Not understanding why he would want them to leave jayavarman asks him why does he want them to leave and who is going to cause danger to their lives.The servant replies,sir i should have warned you yesterday itself when i found you holding the nail which was used to nail the evil spirit in the tree.Shocked and worried at the mention of evil spirit rohini requests the servant to tell them in detail what had happened to raja.
                     
flashback
                             A few generations earlier,one of jayavarman's ancestor who was the diwan of that taluk had come to stay in that house after hunting leopards and elephants.To entertain him some local women had come to dance and sing songs.But as fate would have it the diwan rajavarman fell in love with one of the tribal woman a beautiful and young girl called thamarai.In spite of her refusal the diwan had his men kidnap her and brought to the house where he raped her.Not able to bear the shame since she was in love with another man thamarai hung herself in the banyan tree and died.But from the day she died her spirit haunted the diwan and terrorised all the people with him and managed to kill a few of his bodyguards.Finally a powerful wizard was called to help them.He chanted and did pooja the whole night and finally managed to lock the spirit in the tree and nailed it and where it remaind until it was set free.Then the wizard laid talismans around the house so that no other evil spirits could enter the house and  cause trouble.

scene no 10
                           Just as the servant finished saying the story,all of them loud growls and eerie shreiks in th air.The paintings in the hall of his ancestors caught fire and started burning.Things flew around as if trying to knock them.By now totally scared jayavarman asked the servant what they were going to do to save themselves from the evil spirit.

scene 11

                                The servant tells jayavarman that they would have to be on guard through out the night as it was too dangerous to go out in the night with the spirit roaming around.the whole night all of them stay close together in fear that if they stray afar from each other the spirit might somehow entice them outside and kill them.The whole night jayavarman,sheela and rohini hear their dead friend raja calling and crying for them to come and help them.They hear him screaming and moaning in pain.But they realise that it is all an illusion and that the evil spirit is doing all that just to trick them to come outside for it cannot enter the house which is protected by the talismans placed around the house.
                                                When daybreaks the servant leaves saying he will go bring the wizards great grandson who still lives in the area.Meanwhile the police arrive and inform jayavarman that they are not able to decide the cause of rajas death and that theu are free to leave.After they leave jayavarman swears to sheela and rohini that he would not leave the house without avenging his friends death.The servant returns with an old but powerful looking man and informs jayavarman that the gentleman was called veerswamy and that he was going to hel them.jayavarman and rohini fall at the mans feet who blesses them and tells them that he would do the needful.He tells them that you city people dont respect the rules of the forest and its traditions,otherwise the dead man raja wouldnt have removed the nail without questioning why it was originally put there.
                                                                 Sitting in the verandah the man prepares a small fire and places lot of strangelooking dolls and deities around the fire.Then taking a skull out of the sack he has with him and wand made of silver he starts chanting some strange words.Outside the house they hear the spirit screaming in pain and telling them it would leave them all alone if they hand over jayavarman.The wizard calls jayavarman to his side and tells him,i am going to give you a nail and hammer and when i tell you i want you to walk straight to the banyan tree and hammer this nail.Most importantly when you are coming back dont turn back for any reason for then your life will  be in danger and even i wont be able to help you.The ghost will try to trick you in all ways possible but please dont turn back.Jayavarman says ok and when the wizard tells him to go he slowly but with pounding heart steps out of the house and starts walking towards the house.Wind screams and howls and pushes him back from reaching the tree and it as if the whole forest is blocking his path.But he manages to reach the tree and hammer the nail and starts walking back.But then he hears his dead friend crying and calling his name.It says jaya i am dying in pain and you are the cause for my misery.Trusting you i came with you to see your house and now you are abandoning me like this.What kind of friend are you to treat me like this.Then jayavarman hears his mother call him,his mother who has been dead for nearly five years.Then he hears sheela screaming in fear to be saved and he nearly turns back.In an emotional state jayavarman is about to turn back but realises all that he heard is an illusion and that the ghost is trying to cheat him and kill him.By this time he has reached the house and enters the safety of the insides and comes hurriedly to the wizard.At this point the wizard picks up a strange looking doll and chants loudly as if calling to someone.The dead womans spirit slowly but steadily is dragged into the doll and is finally trapped into the doll.The wizard says you died an unnatural death and will never find peace as long as you are in this form so i am going to cast you in the fire and kill you for at least then you will be out of your misery.He calls jayavarman and asks him to beg for forgiveness from the spirit since it was his ancestor who had caused all this misery to her.Jayavarman with folded hands prays to god for the salvation of her soul and then the wizard throws the doll into the fire which screams and writhes in agony but finally subsides and burns to ashes.A silence falls on the house and it is as if  a veil of darknes has lifted off everyones spirit and calm returns.

Jayavarman decides to leave the place alone for it is filled with such bad memories and with one last look at the house says goodbye to his friend and with they all leave in his jeep driving back to the city.
                                    

                               

 

      the return

                                                                               
She is really beautiful as the jasmine flowers she is plucking.hearing a noise she turns and smiles beautifully with loving eyes but then it quickly turns into shock and fear for she is pushed from the stool she was standing on and she topples and falls over the railing.We hear her pitiful scream as she falls three storeys down and slams into the metal tables below.Her final struggles to hold onto precious life is seen in her eyes mixed with a sense of shock.Blood flows and life ebbs out her dimming her eyes to the dull glow of death.

                                                      25 years later

 

                                        There is a car slowly making its way up the hill and as we come closer to the vehicle we can hear a woman talking to a man.She is saying,i don't believe that you had a house here in this beautiful place and you hid that information from me.If your manager hadn't brought up the topic of disposing the house then i would have never known about it.I am glad that i was able to come with you to look at this place before it is sold.I dont understand why you would want to dispose such a beautiful place when we have enough money and especially when the market is down and we wont get a good price.
                         The man driving the car whose name is rajeev is quiet,deep in his own thoughts and not paying major attention to his wife manju.The car slowly comes to the top of the hill and halts at a tall metal gate.Rajiv honks and from a small outhouse an old man comes running and when he sees who is at the gates,he immediately pays respects to rajiv,sir it is so wonderful to see you after all this years.The manager sir told me that you would be coming but didnt tell me the timing.Rajiv and manju drive into the compound and get out of the car.The watchman  comes and asks,sir this is a pleasant surprise for it has been so long since you came here and then he looks at manju wondering who she is.Rajiv turns and says to manju this is muniyandi who has been working here for nearly 50 years and he is more of a family member.He turns to muniyandi and says this is manju my wife.I am sorry that i couldnt invite most of you to my wedding for everything happened so suddenly.Muniyandi pays his respects to manju and says sir,madam you both must live happily for a hundred years and have lot of wonderful children.

                                        Rajiv says,we have come here just to stay until the evening and then we have to drive back to town to catch a flight back to chennai.I have some important meetings lined up for tomorrow.I didnt want to come but manju wouldn't listen and forced me to come with her for she wanted to see the place where i grew up.Saying this he walks towards the house and looks at it longingly.Memories of time spent with his father flood his thoughts but are quickly shaken away when manju calls to him.She says we have such little time before we leave,come let us go into the house and see the interiors.Just as they are walking into the house rajiv notices that a chill has descended on them and the sun is quickly being covered by dark rain filled clouds.Rajiv hopes it is just a passing thunder storm and not something which would last the whole day for it would make the drive downhill slightly dangerous for the roads would be slippery with water and mud.
                                Pushing the doors open they walk into the hall which though slightly dusty still shows its majesty with teak pillars and ornate woodwork.Huge portraits line the walls and faces of rajivs ancestors look down him some of them with an expression as if complaining to him why he had abandoned his ancestral home.Manju excitedly calls to him and says i didnt know your mother was so beautiful when i saw her photos in the album but now looking at her portrait she looks like a goddess.Manju throws her arms around rajiv  and says god so much tragedy in your life.First your mother dies during delivery and and then when your father remarries your step mother also dies in an accident.
                                     Rajiv yes manju,my dad was so heart broken that he drank himself to death.He loved me so much,i really wish he was here to be with us.The times i spent with him in this house is still so fresh in my memory..Just as he is saying this he sees raindrops falling on the window panes and a sudden gust of wind rattles the windows slamming them with a loud bang.Manju screams in fear and realising it was just the windows she smiles shyly and  says i will go to the kitchen and see if i can make some black coffee for us both.
                                                                                 Meanwhile rajiv switches on the radio and tunes into a local channel.An announcement is being made that the roads leading down the mountain has been badly hit by a landslide due to flash floods and that it will take two days to be repaired and that the army stationed nearby has been dispatched to do the work.Deciding he would go into town next day to find out about the situation,rajiv joins manju in the kitchen and tells her that they might have to stay in the house for a few days because of the landslide.Manju is very happy to hear it and says i am glad i packed a few extra clothes and toileteries in our mini suitcase and left it in the car boot.She goes to the car and comes back with the luggage.

                                                                                 The day wears down and quickly evening becomes night.After a light dinner rajiv and manu realise that they are alone away from the city with no work to disturb their privacy.the mood turns romantic and they end up in the bed.Just then manju sniffs the air and says rajiv what a beautiful fragrance.There must be a jasmine plant nearby for they bloom in the night and give out such beautiful smell.Rajiv says,i dont know about jasmine but we have lot of rose plants in and round the house.After having made love both slip into a deep sleep.Not knowing what disturbed her manju wakes up from her sleep sensing a presence and hearing someone walking around in the room.She thinks she heard someone crying and saying something.Sitting up she looks around the room and slowly getting out of the bed goes and looks out through the window.But she is not able to see much in the dark and as it is still drizzling she decides she must have imagined whatever it was that woke her up and goes back to an uneasy sleep.

                                                 Early morning sunlight filters through the lace curtains and the morning calls and songs of the birds arouses manju from her sleep.Not wanting to disturb her husband who is still fast asleep she goes into the bathroom.She switches on the heater and brushes her teeth while the water is getting hot.After that she starts bathing,while the bathroom fills up with steam resulting in the mirrors getting misted over.Finishing her bath manju steps out of the tub and come to the mirror and not being able to see her reflection she wipes the mirror with her hand and screams when she sees somebody else's face being reflected in the mirror.Frightened she turns around  to see whose face was reflected in the mirror,but upon finding nobody there she quickly turns towards the mirror but there is nothing there except her own reflection.Stunned and not knowing if she imagined what she just saw or if it really was somebody standing there manju nervously comes to the bedroom to see rajiv slowly waking up.Not knowing to tell him what she experienced in the bathroom and unnecessarly scare him manju decides to froget the matter and goes about making breakfast.
                                                     After breakfast manju goes around seeing all the rooms and comes to rajiv's step mother's photo and just as she is passing it she realises the face in the photo has turned towards her direction while previously it was looking straight at her.Wondering if she was imagining things again she walks back and goes the other way and turns to see the photo again.She realises with shock that the face has turned from that side to this side facing her.Slowly but cautiously she goes towards the photo when she sees that the face instead of smiling is snarling at her in anger.jumping with fright she rushes back to the dining hall where rajiv is trying to tune the radio and stumbles into him.rRajiv asks what happened,hurriedly mumbling something manju asks rajiv you told me that your step mother died in an accident but never told me how or where.
                                                        Rajiv very hesitantly says manju it happened 25 years back,why do you want to know what happened or how it happened.But manju insists,so rajiv says she toppled over the terrace and fell down and died.manju exclaimed what she died here,in this house.yes,rajiv replies.That is the reason why father abandoned this house and took me to the city to study.That's  why i didnt want to come here all these years for it brings back lot of painful memories which i have been trying to forget.
                                                       Then rajiv says,listen enough of this depressing talk,we are going to be here for just a little time so i want you to be happy and not think of things which happened in the past.Come lets go out and see if we can buy some fresh vegetables and fruits and it will also be nice to breathe some fresh air.The area really comes alive after rains and looks beautiful.Both leave the house holding hands but behind them it seems as if the house is stretching itself to hold them back from leaving.
                                               Making small talk,rajiv and manju come into a small market square where they both enter a small departmental store.While manju is picking up some bread and milk,rajiv goes to another section of the store to pick up some batteries and a torch and also picks up some candles.The shopkeeper comes upto manju and says you look new to the place,where and with whom are you staying for i am familiar with all the people here and if necessary you can call me and tell me what you want and i will deliver it to your house.Manju says no that wont be necessary for we wont be here for long and then tells the shopkeeper where she is staying.on hearing the house being mentioned,the shopkeeper's expression changes and he says but madam that house,well nobody has ever stayed there.Manju asks why is that,but before the shopkeeper can say anything rajiv comes up to join them.Avoiding any further talk about the house manju thinks it is better to keep silent and after paying the bill they pick up the carry bags and return to the house.

                                                          An uneasy silence seems to hang in the air adding to the omnipresent chill which seems to pervade the whole of the house.even with the radiators generating maximum heat the house seems to be getting colder.Both of them pull up the rugs and cover themselves,when rajiv says listen dont worry about anything.We will be leaving in the morning and god knows when we will be coming back again to this house again.So just relax and sleep well.Saying this he hugs her and manju cuddles up to his chest and slowly both of them drift off to deep sleep.Whether it is instinct or a bad dream rajiv wakes up with a start with a sense of foreboding .The room is dark ,and he slowly reaches out to manju but does not find her in the bed.Getting up slowly he goes to the bathroom but it is also empty.Wondering where she was at this hour he sees the wall clock and it read 3.00 a.m.Calling her name rajiv comes out of the bedroom searching for manju.not finding her in the kitchen or the other rooms he slowly climbs up the stairs and finally reaches the terrace.He is shocked to find manju standing near the railing .He shouts out to her and says what are you doing here at this time of the night.Manju replies i am plucking some jasmine flowers.Rajiv says,are you crazy there are only roses her and how the hell can you pluck jasmine flowers.with her back still turned to rajiv,manju says no they are not roses,they are jasmine,cant you see them,cant you smell them.they are my favourite flowers.Just as she says this, a strong fragrance of jasmine hits rajiv and he reels in shock not knowing what to say or react.
                                                                                                 Nervously rajiv says manju,step back because the railing is very old and rusted and it is dangerous to be so close to it.Manju turns and says no it is not dangerous,for i am not the only one here plucking flowers,she is also here.Rajiv stutteringly asks what,who is here,where.Manju says she and turns towards to rajiv.Her eyes are closed as if in deep trance or sleep walking.eyes closed Manju says,she has been alone all this while waiting for you and now she wants me to stay with her.Saying this she climbs onto a stool and edges closer to the railing.Rajiv screams, and mixed with his screams he hears the screams of his step mother as she toppled over the terrace railing.

                                                                          Trembling with fear rajiv realises that there is something near manju and screams in terror when he realises it his stepmother.The ghost of his stepmother is standing next to manju and places her hands on manjus shoulders.Realising that she means to push manju over the railing,rajiv breaks into tears and cries.no,no dont so it please dont punish her for what i have done.I have spent 25 years of guilt and sleepless nights cursing myself for what i did to you.I should be the one to be punished not my innocent wife.

                                         flashback 25 years ago

We see that rajivs father is really close with his son and that rajiv does not miss not having a mother to love him for his dad loves and looks after him so well.But everything changes when his dad brings home a new wife lata whom he has married after a very brief romance.Things were never the same after that for rajiv had to share his dad with lata whom he refused to see as his step mother.Too young to understand and still a child rajiv keeps barging into his dads room even after repeatedly being told not to enter without permission.But lata seems to  understand  rajiv's pain and tries to bond with him.But everything comes to an end when one day rajiv throws a tantrum for not getting enought attention from his dad and his father slaps him for being rude to his step mother.
                                The hatred for his stepmother multiplies into something more violent and evil which lurks in all of us and one day when his lata is plucking some jasmine flowers near the terrace railing rajiv deliberately topples the stool and in an impulsive action not knowing the consequences to follow.As lata falls to her death we hear her screams of her terrified soul.
 
                                                                   the present

The screams turn into sobbings of a guilt ridden heart and rajiv is on his knees begging for manjus life.I am sorry,i am sorry,i was too young to know that you were actually kind and loving.All i knew was hatred and i saw you as an enemy who was trying to separate my father from me.Now i realise what i did to you.I beg you please forgive me.spare manjus life.If you want to punish or take someones life as revenge,please take mine because i was the one who killed you.With folded hands he falls near the ghost's feet and says mother please forgive me,please forgive your son.Forgive and spare manjus life.she is also an innocent like you and you know what pain you have suffered waiting for me to come back.Please end this now by killing me but dont kill manju.
                                             The ghost looks at rajivs face and slowly smiles and then turns and lowers manju to the ground and stands there for a few moments before smilingly she dissappears.The chill seems to vanish with her gone and with sunlight slowly slowly flitering through its early morning light,the house suddenly seems to have changed its mood as if waking from a deep slumber.Rajiv feels a weight has been lifted off his chest.slowly he lifts and hugs manju close to his chest and tenderly kisses her forehead.in his heart he says thanks mother.
                                                                        Manju wakes up to the smell of coffee which rajiv has brought for her and says.I had a terrible nightmare.I dreamn't that i was floating and i was surrounded by jasmine flowers.You were yelling my name to come back.Rajiv says don't worry everything will be all right from now on and by the way i am not selling the house and have also decided to spend more time here every year.Manju hugs him and we leave them a happy contented family.

                                        To err is human but to forgive is divine.The nature of forgiveness does not rest only with god and human beings but also with ghosts or spirits as we call them.For what were ghosts once but human beings.All of us look for peace of mind and in forgiving we not only free the other who committed a sin against us but also remove the hatred that burns our souls and not letting us rest in peace even when we die.