"What do you mean?"
"I am her father-in-law, she is Pushpa, we were searching for her from quiet few time." An elderly man with her wife standing next to Kitbok's brother comments.
"Yes, they are from Kongthong. That girl is their daughter in law." Kitbok's brother concurs with them.
What the heck is going on, Kitbok wonders, his mind spinning. "Bring me the husband."
"Our son passed away 1.5 years ago; he is no longer with us." The elderly woman says.
"See, she has no husband, that's why she keeps lying about her identity and seducing a boy of a wealthy family." Kitbok's brother is attempting to persuade him that Ahmaya is a complete liar who, as a widow, is attempting to start a new life through deception.
"Shut up, I don't believe you guys." Kitbok refuses to trust them; he feels there is something he is ignorant of.
But his older brother threatens him. "You have to. We're going to that woman; I'm going to drag her from that house and send her back to Kongthong."
"Brother don't." Kitbok is trying to stop them from humiliating Ahmaya.
"She belongs there." His brother responds.
"No, she don't." Kitbok is aware that she does not belong there, that there is something odd.
"You've lost your mind." His brother and her in-laws starts to depart for Ayani's house.
Kitbok doesn't understand anything; her name isn't Ahmaya; is she Pushpa? She's a widow. Why was she here if she was from Kongthong?
He rushes to his brother, "Take me with you, I want to see the truth through my eyes."
.
"See, you can't come to my house and cause chaos anytime you think, sir. I know you are concerned for your younger brother, but this isn't right," says Ayani as she opens the door and sees them all. "You may talk to your brother and work things out with him personally." she continues.
"We're not involved with you or that girl; her in-laws came seeking for her and wanted to meet her, so we brought them here." He responds to her with rudeness and contempt.
Ayani makes eye contact with Kitbok, and they are both bewildered and stumped. Ayani knew it would happen soon. In laws? who that girl truly is, and in which body Ahmaya lives. This will be a major disaster.
"In-laws? Please explain more." Ayani inquiries.
"Let me come inside and talk." They bash their way inside and sit in the seating.
The brother and in-laws sit inside acting as though they've won something or that they can make someone else look bad since they have the authority to do so.
"Bring her. She needs to accompany her in-laws." Kitbok's brother places an order.
"How can I trust you guys?" Ayani raises suspicions.
In the interim, the elderly woman says. "Pushpa married my son 5 years ago, but he died 1 and a half years back. She was devastated by his death and couldn't eat or sleep.....rather than sending her to her parents' home, we chose to keep her with us. However, she eventually ran away. We searched everywhere but couldn't find her. But now that we know she's here... please send her off with us; she's, our asset."
"I can't send her off with you." Ayani denies sending her away with them.
"Ask herself, she is our daughter in law." The elderly man suggests.
Ayani rushes to Ahmaya's room, where she is sleeping. "You need to wake up."
"What happened?" She wipes her eyes as she wakes up, still half sleeping.
"Kitbok and his brother are here. This body belongs to some Pushpa; her in-laws are gathered." Ayani attempts to explain.
"What? Is she married?" Ahmaya is shocked and concerned about how she will manage the implications.
"She's a widow. Quickly come outside. Just tell them you don't know them, and I'll handle the rest" . Ayani explains further.
Her mother-in-law rises up quickly upon seeing Ahmaya and asks, "Are you okay? Are you fine?"
"Ma'am I am sorry, do I know you?" Ahmaya shows no emotion when she sees her and says.
"Don't act; I know you remember me...."
"I am sorry, I don't." Ahmaya doesn't know them, and none of her feelings are associated with them. Furthermore, she can't manage to go along with them.
The mother-in-law slaps Ahmaya hard, saying, "Don't act smart." She carries arrogance and fury.
"How could you slap me straight away? I said, I don't know you; now leave." Ahmaya yells back at her.
"You gotta temper now." She responds back.
"Ma'am you see, I can't trust you as soon as she says she knows you." Ayani explains the mother-in-law modestly.
"Who are you to her?" She interjects,
"As a moral human, I need to help her, even though I am no one to her," Ayani responds smartly.
Kitbok brother interrupts the discussion. He approaches Ayani and looks down at her. "Are you a slut just like her, you also go around and seduce men?"
"Please be polite and leave my house." Ayani dragged them outside her house.
Both Ahmaya and Ayani need to figure out something fast because they are in big peril. "We are in a huge mess, If I make you disappear suddenly then all the suspicion will fall on me and those people will not spear me." Ayani speaks.
"Just wipe their memory." Ahmaya proposes.
"I can't simply make people forget important aspects of their lives without a legitimate reason; God will punish me if I do.We have to find a way."
As soon as they could think of something, a mob began loudly knocking on the door.
"Shit" Ayani goes to the door, and Kitbok's brother and Pushpa's in-laws have collected a large crowd. They are all raging at Ayani and mocking her. "Send her with them."
"She is pretending to have forgotten."
"Even if she has really forgotten, it is the job of these people to remind her."
"She is their asset, send her off with them."
Pushpa's father-in-law walks in, takes Ahmaya's wrist, and drags her out with him. "come on let's go with us."
Kitbok and Ahmaya are looking at each other while her father-in-law drags her along, but they are helpless, and Ayani is too; there is nothing she can do right now. To them, she is pushpa, and she cannot prohibit her in-laws from taking her.
Ayani approaches her quietly, places her hand on her shoulder, and whispers, "Go with them, I will soon come to you, and we will figure out everything."
Ahmaya decides to accompany them, but Kitbok simply observes and mulls over thoughts.
They carry Ahmaya by force to Kongthong, which is 45 kilometres from Mawphlang.
Ahmaya is merely waiting for Ayani to come to her rescue; likewise, Pushpa's in-laws do not look like decent individuals; they are twisted. She is also thinking about what Kitbok might have thought of her; he would be puzzled, he doesn't know much, and he would have thought I was a liar.
As they arrive at their home in Kongthong, Pushpa's mother-in-law pushes her to the ground, "What? You don't remember us. You ate our son, and now you're seducing other men, shame on you!" she screams at her.
"What? Are you serious? I'm not sure how your son is... I mean my husband died, but I am confident it was not my fault." Ahmaya argues back, but she wonders if Pushpa did something that caused him to die. "How did my spouse pass away? I don't remember," she asks her in-laws.
"You genuinely don't remember, or you just want to rub our scar. He died of malaria." Her mother-in-law responds.
"So, what's my fault in it?"
"Shut up you are jinxed, because you are a sinister my son died....Foolish woman ,we were very happy that you yourself ran away from here, we weren't going to bring you but that guy , himself approached us that take your daughter in law far because he wanted you away from his brother , he offered us plenty of cash too."
Ahmaya is appalled to hear this; Kitbok's brother wanted me to stay away from him, and he chose this way of doing so?
"We're exhausted, so put our stuff in our room and prepare some tea." The woman orders.
A young man enters the house; "mum, you arrived home." He appears to be the second son of Pushpa's inlaws.
"Sister-in-law, you are back, that's good." He speaks to Ahmaya.
"Bring water for my son.... he just came in don't you see? " The elderly lady instructs Ahmaya.
"Why should I? Doesn't your son have his own legs? Ahmaya says in a stern attitude.
She gets a heavy slap from her mother-in-law, who keeps calling her a "you witch." Pushpa's brother-in-law intervenes, saying, "She must be tired, leave her."
Ahmaya, enraged, enters a room and sits.
"Oh you came into my room by yourself?" The lady's second son enters the room, which must be his.
Ahmaya apologies and got up to leave.
He clutches her hand as she prepares to leave, "Wait, why are you leaving? We can talk." He's touching her hair and neck, and she's uncomfortable with his actions, words, and touch. She frees her hand from his clutches and heads straight to the kitchen. He comes to the kitchen after her.
But then his mother enters the kitchen, "You are here; go to the market and bring some veggies." she says to him.
"Sure, Mom. "I'm going," he says, touching her butt. Ahmaya smacks him hard. "You pervert."
"What's happening here, did you just slap my son?" Her mother-in-law hasn't spotted her son doing that, and she's furious that she dares to hit him.
"I was touched inappropriately by your son." Ahmaya attempts to explain, but she doesn't believe her words.
"How can you blame my son, you slut? You must've done something.... You deserve to die." She starts striking her again, this time harder.
The boy snatches her hair, "You surely need a lesson."
The son and his mother pull her to a dirty room, toss her in, and lock her up. Ahmaya sits there and pities Pushpa; she feels so horrible for her. Pushpa was in so much pain. She rubs her body, hugs herself, and cries, and she feels terrible for Pushpa.
.
Ayani is thinking about how to get Ahmaya out of there; she needs to get her out fast and send her back to her place otherwise everything will be spoiled, but how? Even if I bring her, nothing will happen right away. I can't keep her with me; I need to locate a spot where she can be hidden from everyone.
Kitbok arrives at her residence and asks, "What is going on? Tell me now. Her name is not Ahmaya; is it Pushpa? What's going on here? Explain to me now." He has a lot of questions and is eagerly searching for answers.
"I realise this is probably very complicated for you; I can't tell you everything; please understand and leave. Ahmaya is the only one who will answer your searches." Ayani urged him to go.
"No you tell me, she is not here right now to answer me, she is with her fucking in laws, you answer me." He screams at Ayani out of curiosity, and he is getting agitated .
"She is indeed Ahmaya, and she is Pushpa too." Ayani responds.
"What do you mean?"
She goes on to say, "It is true that she came from the future, and Ahmaya is living inside Pushpa's body. Since the body cannot travel across time, her soul did and ended up in Pushpa's body."
So, the face I kissed was not the face of Ahmaya, the hand I touched are not hers....oh my god this is so fucked up. he thinks.
"I told you going ahead with her would be difficult for you."
"So, what's happening now?" he inquires.
"I don't know, I need to bring her back and send her to the future as soon as possible." She responds.
Kitbok is distressed and depressed. She needs to return to where she belongs, and the entire time she is here, she is not even in her body, and he is crying loudly. He cries so loudly on his walk home that the trees can hear him, and his cries reverberate. He loves Ahmaya so much, but he has never seen her true face and is not even able to see. He has never met the actual Ahmaya. He loves her so much that it crushes his heart to think that he hasn't even seen her and is unable to live with her or have an ordinary existence with her.
.
Ahmaya is sitting and weeping lightly over Pushpa And that is how the night passes. She hasn't slept a single wink. She was concerned all night, wondering when Ayani would come to her support.
And the door to the room opens, "Make her learn and give her some brain; we can't live with her at this point. She's already eaten my son." She heard her mother-in-law's voice.
A new lady walks into the room and slides the door.
"How are you doing, my girl? I apologise." She speaks.
Looking at her acts and gestures, it appears that she is Pushpa's mother. "Mom?"
"How are you? What have you done? This is your home; you should behave." The lady tells Ahmaya.
"A few months ago, we received a letter from your neighbours. However, when we arrived, they claimed you had run. We were very worried." She continues.
"Letter?" Ahmaya asks.
"Yes, we received this letter." She takes the letter from her bag, and Ahmaya grabs it right away.
42, Jawahr
South Fifth Street
Kongthong, Assam
To,
Mr. Wahlang
Auxillary of British soc. College Road.
Dawki , Assam
Oct 3, 1995
Mr. and Mrs. Wahlang,
I hope you are doing well. I'm writing to express our concern for your daughter, who is in poor condition. We believe her in-laws beat her frequently, and my wife witnessed her brother-in-law assaulting her. This is known by all of the neighbours. We are writing this out of humanity; if this situation continues, your daughter will not survive. And all of this drama is generating problems in our area. This is causing notoriety in our village. We have young children; how will this drama affect them? And kids being around a widow brings them misfortune.
I hope you understand our concerns. Please take your daughter back with you.
With Greatest Regards,
Vasuv Nongrum
Pushpa's mother is astonished to find her reading the letter as Pushpa is illiterate. "Are you reading this? How come... you didn't know how to read and write?"
"Oh my, pushpa was not even educated." Ahmaya is furious after reading this. "So you are here to bring me with you."
"Look, I can't take you with me; now this is your home. If you live with love and decency, things will be easier for you." Her mother explains why she can't take her from here.
"Are you serious? Your kid is dying here. Now I see why she escaped from here." Ahmaya yells in rage.
"Shhh! Your brother-in-law likes you, right? Should I tell your father to talk to them about your marriage to him? You'll be married again, and everything will be normal as before?"
Ahmaya smirks in fury after hearing what Pushpa's mother had in mind, "He doesn't like me; he abuses and molests me. Please leave, I don't need your nonsense. Your daughter hurried away from here because she was dying; she knew no one would come to her help, so she ran with hope."
Ahmaya lowers her pitch and says again. "Please go."
"At the very least, talk to Mom. What has gotten into you?" the mother attempts to converse with her.
"No, talking to you is no good." Ahmaya tells her to leave and she keeps the letter with her.
"I wouldn't let your daughter suffer and die here." Ahmaya murmurs to herself.
When the mother leaves her room, the mother-in-law inquires, "Have you already talked to her?"
"She's not my daughter anymore. By the way, I apologies if my daughter has given you any concern. I may leave now." She apologises to her in-laws and leaves.
"Hi, what you doing?" Her brother-in-law enters the room.
Smacks her firmly. "I guess you got some attitude." He speaks while slapping her three times in a row, and "Dinesh" Pushpa's mother-in-law cries for him from the outside.
He approaches Ahmaya's face, very close, and clutches her face with strength, "Don't resist me, make me happy, and I will make you happy in this house."
He needed to leave because his mother cried for him; otherwise, something awful would happen to her.
This episode tormented Ahmaya, and she wondered if Pushpa was dealing with all of this. She may have faced it every day. She is just thinking about what she can do for Pushpa. How she could help her.
.
Ayani figured out what she ought to do. First, she needs to get her out of there, so she opts to leave at night.
Kitbok pays Ayani a visit.
"See, I need you to get out of all this. This is not your work, nor do you belong in this world." Ayani yells at him as soon as she sees him.
"I just want to know, when will you get her back." He is desperate to meet her for the last time and ask her the questions he has.
"See, the reason I am telling you to get out of this is because, maybe you won't see her again.... already.... things are messed up and we need to sort things out as soon as possible and the only way to do that is to send her back where she came from." Ayani tries to explain the problem to him, apologetically.
Without saying anything, Kitbok walks away, devastated. He had hoped to question her and perhaps get one final chance to get to know her, but Ayani says they might not even cross paths again.
Ahmaya is awake again tonight, wondering about what she can do on behalf of Pushpa. Ayani, on the other hand, needs to figure out how she will get to Ahmaya because she has no idea where she is other than the village Kongthong. She chooses to go to Kongthong and look for the house she lives in.
Her powers allow her to reach Kongthong in the blink of an eye.
Now she must look for Ahmaya. She chooses to seek help from a tree. She approaches a tree and touches its trunk, saying, "Hello, I'm Ayani, the forest spirit." The tree leaves shake, indicating yes.
"I need your help. My companion is somewhere nearby; I need to find her. Could you please tell me where to look for of Pushpa, a widow whose husband passed away 1.5 years ago live with her in-laws?"
Tress is aware of everything that is happening in their community and around them; they are living beings who can hear and see but cannot talk or move. However, they can only communicate with unique beings. The tree shakes its leaves and branches once more to say yes. "Could you lead me?" Ayani makes a request.
Many of the tree's leaves began to fall from it, and after flying, they formed a trail; they continued to fall ahead of each other, creating a complete roadmap to Pushpa's house.
Ayani arrives to the house and uses her skills to force her way inside.
"Finally, you are here" Ahmaya is overjoyed to meet her.
"hush! Listen, we need to show that you ran away. People should think that Pushpa ran away again, as she had done before. It's her room, right? Open her cupboard and pack some of her belongings." They are out of time and need to leave fast.
Ahmaya starts doing what she is told. And then she goes on, "Wait, read this letter; today Pushpa's mother came by; she informed me that she received this letter a few months ago, but when she arrived to visit her daughter, it was too late; she had already escaped. Her brother-in-law attempted to assault me, I mean Pushpa's body, yesterday as well. She was just living in hell."
"That's... horrible." She reads the letter and feels terrible for Pushpa.
"Yes, her mother can't take her with them either, and she blatantly wanted her to marry her brother-in-law, seriously that jerk. We need to help her." Says Ahmaya.
"Are you out of your mind? Don't you want to go back." Ayani speaks in a dissatisfied tone.
"Pushpa will return and live like before when I go back, right?"
"Yes, maybe. But if she returns to her true self in another location, the location in which you will leave her body. If she will return to it there, and perhaps they might not come to find her, then she will begin a new life. It was the original plan; she ran away, ended up in Mawphlang, and you came into the scene, and everything twisted up." Says Ayani.
"Beginning from scratch is difficult, especially here. And if she returns to herself in another location, her evil brother-in-law will remain the same. He is nasty, and he can ruin any girl's life. I cannot let that happen. And what if she ended up living here due to the hardships of the world? Then she will return to hell, where she will be murdered. There must be some regulations in the British Raj to safeguard women. We can do something, right?" Ahmaya cannot allow the destruction of another girl's life.
"You can't interfere with a human's fate." Says Ayani.
"I am not using my powers; I will just do the way humans do."
It is still impossible for you to do so.
"It is possible, I will do it as Pushpa not Ahmaya."
"Come to your senses.You don't have to do all this." Ayani attempts to convince her.
"I have to I can't let her live in hell and die." But she is desperate to help her.
"Its her fate its her life we can't do anything."
"Why? You told me that Aokma's are protectors who protect God's creations; Pushpa is one of those creations, and we must protect her." Ahmaya fires back.
"God has not told us to protect her. We work according to God's command."
"I will not use my power; I will act like a human. Please. Tell me about British laws which help women; there are some, and we can complain about them, correct? says Ahmaya.
"Complaining to them won't work. Crimes against women, such as assault, molestation, and attempted rape, are covered by laws. However, there have been cases where societal views, and legal intricacies made it difficult for women to attain justice. Additionally, there have been variations in the effectiveness and execution of these laws. Many legislations is developed by the British colonial legal system to combat crimes against women, but their application and effects are frequently impacted by the dominant power structures and cultural norms." Ayani explains in a go.
"What should we do now?" Ahmaya now falls into serious thought, trying to think of ways to help Pushpa.
"This is the story of every second widow here. This is nothing new. Every second widow here goes through this." Ayani offers her a reality check.
"This is ridiculous.We need to sort this out; we have to help her."
"What have I gotten myself into?" Ayani murmers. "I'm out. I can't help you with anything. If you want to figure anything out, you should do it yourself. Help Pushpa while simultaneously helping yourself return home. You want everything done your way." She takes a big breath and adds, "I took numerous risks to save you. If you hadn't summoned your energy at Patallok that day, I wouldn't have lived. Even now, I am working very hard for you. But you simply have to be stubborn and do everything according to your preferences. You've already engaged one human in all of this; Kitbok. Please don't involve another. I spared everything since you don't know Aokmas, you don't understand their rules and authority, and you're already stressed out, but it's gone too far."
"I am sorry. I know God hasn't told us to help her, but I believe it's my duty. If I am unable to help the sufferer as a human, I shall do so as an Aokma." Ahmaya is determined to help herself and Pushpa.
"I am leaving." Ayani is returning.
"Wait wait," Ahmaya attempts to calm her down and chat with her. "As you mentioned, reporting him for assault is difficult and everything. I will make him try to murder me, and someone has to witness it and a complaint will be filed for attempted murder."
"What if he doesn't try to kill you?" Asks Ayani.
"I've seen the ego in his eyes. I just need to pique his ego, and he will undoubtedly try to kill me."
"Whatever you're thinking, I'm out of this," says Ayani before leaving.
Ayani returns home, upset. She wants to help Pushpa, but she understands the consequences of interfering with a human's fate without God's permission.
Her head is so messed up that she chooses to go see her father.
She travels to Nako, Himachal Pradesh, there is a magnificent lake with sparkling crystal water and Ayani can clearly see the wonderful colourful vivid fishes.
Ayani dips her fingers into the water. "Dad, I call you."
Suddenly, a man rises from the lake, covered in water and with crystal-dark skin.
"You came after a very long time?" Das smiles.
Ayani is overjoyed to see her father; he emerges from the water, hugs her, and leads her to a nearby valley for a conversation.
"How's everything going?" he inquires of his daughter.
"Fine." She responds with minimal energy.
Her father, noticing her lack of enthusiasm, suspects there is something wrong with her and asks, "What brings you here?"
"I was just missing you and was feeling so confused in life." She responds again in a quiet, unenergetic tone.
"My brilliant daughter is confused....why?"
She groans deeply and responds, "Dad, there is an Aokma who is desperately in need of my assistance; she is unable to do anything without it, and she does not even know how to fully evoke her power. She is so headstrong, and she wants to help a human who is in a lot of problems; she claims she wants to help her as a human. She refuses to help herself before helping that human."
"What's her name?" He is intrigued about who she is.
Ayani does not respond to his question and keeps mute.
"Okay, you don't want to tell me it's fine. But, why do you want to help that Aokma?"
"Because she is in need of my help."
"That's exactly she may be thinking for that human." Her father answers.
"But we can't help a person and change their fate. Could we?"
Ayani puts an argument in front of him.
His father smiles and adds, "Listen, do you know what is written in that human's fate? Maybe what you will do for them determines their fate. And by doing nothing, you are changing their fate. My daughter, fate is a complicated topic; don't delve into it; you'll overthink it and find no answers."
"Dad but the repercussions for harming a human...."
"Kid, you told me that Aokma only wanted to help the human as a human only. We live in society as humans among humans. And doing something for them as people is very acceptable. As long as you don't use your God-given powers. And harming someone is always wrong; even humans should not do it." Her father gives her an answer to her confusion.
"But that Aokma already is in a lot of trouble and ...." Says Ayani.
"My daughter try to empathise with her thoughts, she herself would be aware of her troubles still she wants to help somebody first, you yourself have that quality.... I know you."
Yes, Ayani have this quality too; she selflessly put her life in risk for Ahmaya while she was in Pataallok and ready to lose her life.
"God provides us choices; we are the ones who choose what to do. I realise you are currently confused, and all I can advise you to do is listen to your heart and what your inner self is telling you. Don't think about the outcomes, nor should you utilise your previous experience with anything like that; instead, think about what your actual self is asking you to do." He concludes with the answer Ayani was looking for.
Meeting her father gave Ayani a great sense of comfort. She also received an answer about what to do. She is no longer burdened or sorrowful; she feels light.
.
Ahmaya is alone again with her thoughts. She is also frightened that Ayani will not come to her rescue again, and she will be trapped here indefinitely; she sobs and is terrified. She does not eat anything and does not leave the room; She was at ease earlier because, while not being in the correct timeline, she was still in Mawphlang, where she used to live in the correct timeline. But now she is not even in the right location, and she finds herself between dangerous people: Pushpa's brother-in-law, who is simply waiting for an opportunity to assault her, and her in-laws, who treat her like a jinxed maid.
Another night comes.
Ayani arrives to meet Ahmaya.
"Hi , I thought you would not come I was so scared and..." Ahmaya weep when she sees Ayani.
"Its fine, I am sorry, I was too much angry yesterday."
Ahmaya is relieved to meet her, but she is also sorry that she may leave the jerk Dinesh as is.
"So, how do you want to teach Pushpa's brother-in-law a lesson? do you want to go with that plan, where you will irritate his ego and he would attempt to kill you?" Ask Ayani.
"I do not think we should go for that.... The parents have already lost one of their sons and hold Pushpa responsible for it; if they see their second son go to jail as a result of Pushpa, they will blame her much more and lose both of their sons. People may refer to Pushpa as jinxed. How will Pushpa deal with all of this? I have to drop this plan, I can leave this body far away from here, Pushpa can start afresh, but I hate when I think that a woman will marry that jerk and..." Ahmaya stops speaking and begins crying gently.
"The plan was to make him try to murder you, what if he tries to murder me." Ayani recommends.
"But how will you do that?"
"I can do that." Ayani continues by saying, "Let me tell you a story."
"There was a demon who had the power to convert anyone into ashes by touching their head. The universe was in peril as a result of this, and then God took the guise of a lovely woman. The beautiful woman made him dance with her, and the demon, blinded by lust, while dancing touched his own hand to his head and turned himself into ashes."