Chapter 16: MAGIC SHOP

This chapter gives the clue of Imlie's time travel hence hope all of you have a good time reading it. 

CHAPTER-16:

Magic Shop(BTS) Language: Korean

I know you're hesitating
Because even if you tell the truth, it'll come back as scars
I won't say clichéd things like "have strength"
I'll just listen to you, listen
What did I tell you?
I told you you'd overcome
You didn't believe (really)
Will we be able to overcome?
This miracle, did we make it?
(No) I was always here
You came to me
I do believe your galaxy
I wanna hear your melody
The stars in your Milky Way
How will they appear in your sky?
At the end of my despair
I found you, don't forget
You're my last reason
Standing at the edge of a cliff
Live
Days when you hate that you're you,
days when you wanna disappear
Let's make a door in your heart
If you open that door and go inside,
this place will be waiting for you
It's ok to believe,
it'll comfort you,
this Magic Shop
As you drink a cup of warm tea
As you look above to the Milky Way
You'll be alright, oh this is a Magic Shop
So show me (I'll show you)
So show me (I'll show you)
So show me (I'll show you)
Show you show you
Like a rose when blooming
Like a cherry blossom when scattering
Like a lily when withering
Like those beautiful moments
I always wanna be the best
So I was always impatient and anxious
Comparing myself became a daily thing
My greed that used to be a weapon became a prison and noose
But looking back, to be honest
I don't think I wanted to be the best
I wanted to be someone's comfort,
I wanted to touch someone's heart
I want to take away your sadness,
 your pain
Days when you hate that you're you,
days when you wanna disappear
Let's make a door in your heart
If you open that door and go inside,
this place will be waiting for you
It's ok to believe,
it'll comfort you,
this Magic Shop
As you drink a cup of warm tea
As you look above to the Milky Way
You'll be alright, oh this is a Magic Shop
So show me (I'll show you)
So show me (I'll show you)
So show me (I'll show you)
Show you show you
If I told you I used to be scared of everything too,
will you believe me?
All of the truth, all of the remaining time
All of your answers are in this place that you found
In your Milky Way, in your heart
You gave me the best of me
So you'll give you the best of you
You found me, you recognized me
You gave me the best of me
So you'll give you the best of you
So I'll find you, the galaxy that's inside of you
So show me (I'll show you)
So show me (I'll show you)
So show me (I'll show you)
Show you show you

MAGIC SHOP

"She rests in the forest behind the temple of Goddess Sita, below the white bougainvillea bush which never blossomed like the one in the Sarpanch's house but I am sure since that had flowers blooming in it for the first time in eighteen years this bush will be filled with flowers too"

Imlie and everyone looked at the person's face who said this.
"Satirth Bhaiyya(brother)" exclaimed Imlie.

"Satirth..." shouted the Village Head at the top of his voice.

"Baba... what's happening? Why the hell have you all caught my baba? Baba... Amma has also been arrested back at home. Why did misfortunes fall on our family?" questioned Yuvraj, the youngest son of the Village Head who entered through the gates of Imlie's house. He was extremely disturbed with the chaos, the Friday morning brought at his family.

Chavi looked at him, though she acted a little close with Aditya purposefully but that guy who was her fiancé for the last five years didn't think twice before disposing of the engagement, also never came to her to ask about the real situations.

'What if there would be some other girl in her place who had fantasized about a good married life and loved him? What if she had fallen in the traps of movies and fictions where a perfect married life is shown as common as 'daal chawal(pulses and rice: staple food)' and thought about partnership where the husband would know about all her mood swings to her inner weakness when in reality most marriage just starts with sex and ends with a daily boring life? Marriages work only because you try your best to hide your true self like me who had left hope to ever be free from this place and would have also wore a mask of ideal daughter-in-law and wife like others if Imlie hadn't decided to take me out of here at any cost. Thanks to her I saw another avatar of my own biological parents which I never thought I would see in my life. I thought they were controlling but the level of being a murderer. Should I mourn or be glad that my sixth sense had already warned me off?' thought Chavi.

Aditya came near Chavi and held her hand to show support as he remembered how this very guy who is called Yuvraj had spat venoms last week on Chavi's character and almost provoked everyone to burn her, it was good luck that she belonged to an affluent family and at the end they were married. Though neither Chavi nor Aditya could accept the marriage he was happy that her life was saved. At that very moment Aditya understood the role of money and power, he married Imlie in his last life because she wasn't engaged to anyone and she committed only one crime in their eyes hence they forced the marriage but if she was engaged with someone else from the beginning then the result would have been different. She would have been burnt down instead as a vile girl who ruined her chastity which Chavi didn't face as Dulari Lal decided to marry her off and sent her to the city but as she was back here again this time they decided to kill her because they would feel humiliated every moment of her being here and even if she leaves for studies she would be the gossip as she would break the norm of the lives of the girls from affluent families which would set a bad example according to them.

Chavi looked at Aditya and said, "Look at this disgusting man who didn't even ask me the truth for once. What would have happened if someone else would have been in my place? Girls here fantasize marriage and put their husbands in pedestals"
"That's how most dreams break down," replied Aditya.
"Don't mind my remarks but I would like to say this very line to you too as your friend now" exclaimed Chavi.
"What?"
"You owe an apology to your ex fiancé too"
Aditya went silent for a few seconds and replied, "I will think about it sometime later"

'Sometimes people understand everything but don't want to accept and apply it in their own life' thought Imlie who heard their conversations in between Yuvraj's shouting about how misfortunes befall upon them.

"I will call my other brothers, you don't care a bit for Baba. How could you be like this big brother?" Yuvraj questioned Satirth. The other two sons were in cities and they moved there with their wives after they got jobs. Satirth decided to stay back at the village for his personal interests as he might be nominated as the best candidate for next Village Head and Yuvraj was the youngest who was twenty years old.

"Ask Baba instead, did he care a bit when he ordered his men to stab Bhabi(sister-in-law)? What was her age at that time do you know? She was only nineteen, even younger than you. My brother died as he loved her immensely." retorted Satirth.
"I don't believe you"
"No need to believe me the evidence will speak for them, by the way you are also like them. You didn't think twice before provoking everyone to burn down Chavi, her luck was good that she didn't end up like Chandrakala or Chandrakanta as in this age as people are really observant and conscious."

Yuvraj went silent hearing this and looked at Chavi when she turned her face to the other side in disgust.

"Officer, I will take you to Giri Parvat where Chandrakanta's body was thrown. I was fifteen years old at that time. I followed my parents, hiding from them when they heard that my brother was getting married in Sita Maiyya's temple. They killed Chandrakanta and watching that scene, my brother took his own life, that day I also came to know that Chandrakala died in Dulari lal's hands. My father made up a phrase and a story on true love so that they could get rid of suspicion and people were superstitious enough to believe the vanishing story. They even spread the rumor of Chandrakanta running away with some random guy from another village so that her disappearance doesn't attract much attention. They also decided to plant white bougainvillea where they made the grave of brother and Chandrakala so that even if their bodies are found they can get over with the story as the grave of lovers. I actually stole one of the plants that were brought from the city and planted in the forest where they put Chandrakanta's body so that the location doesn't get lost. I would like to be the eyewitness of everything that happened eighteen years before" said Satirth.

"Thank you Mr. Satirth to show this courage of speaking against the perpetrators who are your parents, now would you like to lead us the way to the grave?" asked Harshit and instructed two of the officers to leave for Chautaalgarh Police Station with Dulari lal and the Village Head. The six men were already taken to the hospital first for their injuries and Dulari Lal's wife and the Village Head's wife were also arrested from their houses.

"No...baba don't take my baba...Amma..." Yuvraj cried, pleaded and begged. His world had came crumbling down in the most unexpected way. Yesterday only he was talking about the biggest talk of the village that was Chavi's arrival and wanted her out of the village as she had cheated him. But today his family is the biggest talk of the village. He remembered his father's laughter while eating dinner and the moments when his mother used to feed him by her hands. He remembered when he used to offer color(powdered color used in Holi) on his father's feet during the festival of Holi and sleeping on the lap of his mother. This pain of learning new things about his parents took a huge toll on him. He laid on the ground gulping his tears, crying like the abandoned child hugging himself. He was on the verge of fainting when Chavi handed him a glass of water and helped him to sit again. He looked at her with tears in his eyes.

She said, "When we live our life we don't know when the darkest hour of life starts, at that time patience is the key. This dark hour will pass too believe me"

As she said this he didn't know what to say, he remembered when they met for the first time when his parents fixed his marriage with her. She was thirteen and he was fifteen, they immediately became good friends. She was a topper and he was an average student that sowed the first seeds of jealousy in his mind. He asked for his marriage sooner because he didn't want her to study after high school else he feared she would cross him and become successful. His jealousy towards her had slowly not only destroyed the friendship they got but also never made the space for love to appear between them. He didn't flinch while spewing about her character when he felt she cheated him, it was never love but an opportunity to inflict harm on her as a revenge for all the jealousy she made him feel.

He stood up and left without drinking the water. If he had drank the water offered by her then he would have hurt his pride and ego, also his inner conscience would have kept on pointing at him later that he did wrong and he would feel ashamed of himself. He decided to throw the whole incident as a box filled with something he doesn't want to remember at any cost, inside the deep ocean of memories so that he forgets them and no one gets the chance to question him, not even himself.

Chavi stood up, Aditya looked at her, and others had already left with Satirth long back.
"Wolves may lose their teeth but not their nature, rassi jal gayi par bal nahi gaya(Everything has turned into ashes but he is still holding his attitude for his ego) " exclaimed Chavi.

Imlie and everyone reached the place Satirth mentioned, the plant was indeed filled with flowers today for the first time in eighteen years, she grew up seeing this place but never identified that a Bougainvillea plant was lost between anonymous forest vines. Harshit instructed the two villagers who were called to dig the grave.

They started their work when Imlie asked Satirth, "Why didn't you speak up about this till now?"
"I was found one day by my father, he came to know that I was an eyewitness so I was caged here in this village when my brothers got a chance to study and leave the village. Mother and father used to keep an eye on my every action. Also their paid goons were instructed to keep an eye on my life. People thought I stayed behind for my personal interest of being the next village head when the real plan was to enroll Yuvraj as the next candidate for the Village Head title." replied Satirth.
"I am sorry to hear this" said Imlie and everyone felt sorry for Satirth.

Imlie tried to go near Harshit to talk about something when Meethi grabbed her hand, "Gudia"
"Yes"
"Stay away from the police matters as much as possible, also you are a girl don't go in between men. It's not good for your image"
"Amma, first of all I am studying journalism, see... I have been taking the pictures too and it is my duty to get involved with the police for my work. And it's really a sad thing to say but only 22.8% of the Indian female population is in the working sectors which makes most of the working females to work in between men who are the majority in numbers. If we shy away for our image we all would end up staying at home again depending on the men of the family. You and nani also work out with men in fields''
"But we don't go near them and also they are our acquaintances"
"That guy over there, the main officer, is my friend as well as someone whom I called brother. I actually called him here"
"You knew him beforehand?"
"Yes, in Delhi my purse was stolen, he helped me to get it back that's how I came to know him" Imlie lied neatly.
Once again Harshit sighed hearing Imlie's neat lies from far.
"Oh, then okay" uttered Meethi.

As Imlie went near Harshit, he said, "You contradicted their thoughts of females not mingling with males as well as supported with the lines that I am someone whom you called 'brother'."
"Sometimes you don't need to be so opposing to the thoughts that have stayed in society for so long.  The consequences are really harsh when you hit them in a straight forward way. Rather approach them in a more flexible way, hit it with your open mindedness first as a blow then sooth them with their views. When you will keep introducing them with this constant process slowly they will start to understand and feel from inside that the rules that exist in the society is quite harmful. In the contrast if I hadn't said about you whom I consider as a brother then my mother would have been quite upset with me gradually making a distance between us and ending every scope of entertaining the idea that females need to walk, run and even jump with males. The difference of entertaining liberty in profession is huge among men and women as men are still way too ahead of us"
"That's a complicated thought process" replied Harshit.
"I know, right?"

"I want to do the post death rituals. Will I get the skeletons in the future?" asked Satirth.
"Sure after the forensic departments are done with their investigations" replied Harshit.
"Thank you," said Satirth.

"Brother if a pair of silver anklets and a pendant is found with the skeletons please give them to me" requested Imlie.
"Why?" enquired Harshit.
"I want to do something with them"
"Okay, but I don't think they found any anklets with other female skeleton, the pendant was found with the male skeleton"
"I knew beforehand you won't find anklets with the other skeleton"
"Why?"
"Secret"
"You and your secrets"
Imlie smiled at Harshit's remarks.

Villagers accumulated to know about the new things that were happening in their village.
"Caste problems were a big factor of the deaths in India, glad the era has changed. Otherwise even from this village we would have found more Chandra and Shekhar like this." remarked a young teenage girl who came with her mother to see the digging of the grave.
"No, the caste system is still a problem here, it's just not visible with naked eyes," replied Imlie.
"How?" asked Harshit.
"After this incident there was no inter-caste marriage at all in our village, they promoted Chandrashekhar and Chandrakala as ideal lovers who were from the same caste which popularized marriage within the same caste and spat venoms about Chandrakanta whose story was that she ran away with her lover abandoning her own mother; the major disadvantage of inter-caste marriage where you abandon your elders for love, this unpopularized the idea of marriage in between different castes."
"Wow, two aims shot with one arrow" exclaimed Harshit.
"Indeed, after this story got popular most people opted for arranged marriage and since marriage within the same caste was the trend, even love marriages were mostly in between the couples of same caste." replied Imlie.
"No doubt there wasn't another Chandra Shekhar here."

Suddenly a woman came out of the crowd and enquired, "If I narrate this story, would it make a case against the Village Head and his wife aka my father-in-law and mother-in-law?"

Everyone looked at the direction of the voice, she was Nirmala; Satirth's wife.
'Now what more crimes are left to count against them?' thought Imlie.
"Ma'am we have already arrested them you can file a case through the court also you shuld file a FIR too" replied Harshit.
"I am not sure would this make up as a crime or not so I would like to narrate it first"
"Okay, as you wish"

Everyone thought that she would complain about her husband with whom she doesn't even like to share the same room and it was known to the whole village. Everyone was quite surprised the complaint was actually against her father-in-law and mother-in-law with whom she had pretty good relation according to everyone. All looked towards Satirth to see his facial expression but he was calm and composed. He slowly made his way near Nirmala and stood with her as she started to narrate the story.

"This is actually the story of my Bari Mousi(Mother's elder sister), she was first betrothed to my father but once she went to the city with my grandfather and helped a Russian lady to get back her purse which was stolen by a thief. She came for solo traveling to India and this inspired my Mousi and she decided to break off the engagement and never marry. This made everyone furious, my nana(grandfather) tried to convince her a lot but she was adamant which hurt my father's ego as a girl was rejecting him. He talked with my father-in-law who was already married at that time and said that he would like to take revenge. My father-in-law helped my father and acted as if my Bari Mousi tried to seduce him and Vimla, my mother-in-law became the eye witness. They tried to kill her but a couple who was visiting different villages in this district to understand our handicraft techniques helped my mousi to run away from here on a very short notice. After that even my mother hated her and called her a vile woman who broke the norm of natural and normal life. I guess her anger was also generalized as every time my father used to beat her he used to say that she is the sister of a vile woman. One day when I was sixteen, I came across my father and father-in-law while they were having a chat and were quite drunk, at that time I heard about them being the reason for the hatred my Bari Mousi received. I said to my mother and she slapped me, she said at the end of the day it was my Mousi's fault to reject the marriage, she was just being selfish. Women should not survive without a husband and that's the natural way, single women are witches. But my father had already died two months back for a heart attack, can a case for my Bari Mousi be be filed against my in-laws? I just contacted her she said it's absolutely okay from her side"
"Yes, cases like this can come under manipulation" replied Harshit.

"Was this the reason why you were not on good terms?" asked Meethi.
"No, we were always on good terms. Both my husband and I love each other" replied Nirmala.
"Then the rumors?" asked Dulari Devi.
"It's true but partially; we might sleep in different rooms but we do love each other. Actually when she was married to me I didn't know her before marriage, it was a sudden forced marriage with the daughter of my father's friend. So when she met me during our first night for the first time she said she hated me as I was the son of two bad people who made her Mousi's life hard but I was also someone who knew their ugly faces beforehand so I shared my brother's story and how I was observed for my every action from the time I was seventeen." replied Satirth.
"We understood that if we stay on good terms then we will both be observed and I wanted to find my Mousi hence that very night we planned, we will act as if we are on bad terms. He is indeed a person with a big heart, he took all the rumors on himself when people said he couldn't satisfy me or he has problems. For the distance we showed they believed we were on bad terms and I could go to the city sometimes alone or accompanied with my small brother. I was able to find the couple as I got their pictures in the album of our house, they had clicked pictures with my father-in-law as he was the Sarpanch of the village. They are quite active with their NGO. And at last I found my Mousi who works now as a helping hand in a house stay in Nainital and makes handicrafts for living. Luckily she was still in contact with the couple, she is a single, happy and content lady with her life."

"I could understand her pain, the survival of a single woman is hard," said Meethi empathizing with Nirmala's aunt after she heard the whole story..
"But you survived Amma, every woman can survive on their own if they really want it. But we just keep fantasizing about husband and married life so much that there is no space of the thought that we could survive on our own too, especially we females," replied Imlie.
"You are right Gudia, if marriage would have been a choice rather than a way of life then many could live their life with their own accord and with their own set of goals and happiness, be it men or women" replied Meethi.

"Sir, all the skeleton pieces are found" said a police officer loudly.
"Okay let's seal the area and send these skeletons to the forensic department" replied Harshit.
"Okay sir"

Everyone left after cleaning up the area but Imlie stayed behind looking at the grave which was an empty pit now, it was sealed from every direction with yellow tapes.
"Why did you guys show me your story? I was no one to you" exclaimed Imlie lost in her thoughts.

"Because you were born that night, the night we left this world Meethi's Gudia(daughter)"
Imlie looked behind at the voice and saw far in between the jungles there were two white silhouettes. Imlie ran towards them but couldn't move her body after she saw their face. Chandrashekhar and Chandrakanta were standing in front of her, they smiled and thanked her, after that they walked towards Goddess Sita's temple together holding each other's hands and disappeared in thin air.

"This time they really did vanish in thin air" exclaimed Imlie when suddenly a mango leaf flew at her out of nowhere. She looked at her surroundings, there was no sign of breeze. She turned the leaf and saw something was written in Sanskrit on it.

"Niyog Sampanna(Mission Accomplished)" Imlie read the two words written.

'Mission Accomplished? What kind of mission?' thought Imlie.

Suddenly she had a huge urge to scribble something. She ran to one of the stores on the base of the Giri Parvat which mostly sell worshiping materials like earthen lamps and flowers. She went to an acquaintance's shop and asked, "Kaka, is the shop's bouni(the first sale to the first customer of the day) done already?"
The man looked at Imlie and said, "No beta, not yet"
"Well I don't have money right now so don't consider me as the customer, could you lend me a piece of paper and a pen?"
"Okay" the elderly man replied and gave her a torn piece of paper from a notebook and the pen he uses to write his sales.

Imlie scribbled two things on the paper:

-The justice to the dead

-Change the fate of the dead

She returned the pen and the man asked what happened at her place that the whole village was in so much chaos. Imlie said about how the Village head and Dulari Lal tried to kill Chavi and some past murders which they did, came into light after eighteen years. She talked with him for the next five minutes and left for her home. She noticed the clock of the shop had already stuck its hands at 7:10 am. She decided to leave for Delhi by the 12:00 pm bus by today.

As Imlie was a few yards away from her house, she saw Harshit was waiting for someone standing leaning on the door of his Mahindra Scorpio. His car was parked on the sideways of the road.
"Bro, waiting for me?" asked Imlie reaching towards him.
"Yeah! The email you sent me through Niti said that there are pictures of marriages of Aditya Kumar Tripathi in the terrorist's laptop. That day you went through the contents?" asked Harshit.
"Yeah, I did."
"Why was that man's tongue gone? What did he know that you did not want others to be aware of?" asked Harshit with a serious tone.
Imlie leaned on the back door of the car like Harshit and folded her arms across her chest, she looked at the sky and replied, "I didn't want people to know that I went through his laptop"
"If I am not wrong the whole viral issue..."
"I did it"
"Are you trying to exploit information?" asked Harshit angrily.
"Did I?" Imlie looked at him straight in his eyes.
"Could you be a little clear with your intentions?"

Imlie sighed and explained she did this because Chavi's college would start from Monday and she needed her out of Tripathi House. But Harshit could not get the need of cutting Damodar's tongue, he understood that even Imlie needs to visit a psychologist. There is something really wrong with her too.

"Was her marriage something the villagers forced or you bent the circumstances to make them do it?" asked Harshit softly.
"She asked for my help, I wouldn't have been able to see myself in the mirror if I hadn't helped her; after all what she did for me in the past was incomparable to any help I ever do to her," said Imlie lost in her thoughts.
Harshit looked at her and exclaimed, "Do you have any idea how much of a dangerous person you are? Your family will die in shock if they see this face of yours"
"Brother, some things shouldn't be known to everyone, not even the people who are called family because they care for you and wouldn't want you to be involved in something dangerous. But if everyone tries to stay safe then someone has to get their hands dirty, also I am the kind of a person who gets the thrill in a dangerous atmosphere."
"There's no point to argue with you, well I will go to Chautaalgarh from here to do the other stuff related to this case and shift Sushmita to Delhi by today."
"Called the ambulance already?"
"Yes, I will take her to Little Sunflower Hospital. It's the best in terms of services"
"I will google pay the amount to you after I return to Delhi"
"It's okay take your time"
"Bro, please get a check up of her mental health too. I visited her yesterday and felt signs of depression and anxiety in her, on a bad note this can make her suicidal to some extent"
"Okay, when will you return to Delhi by the way?"
"Today only. But why did you ask?"
"Stay a little careful from Niti"
"Why?"
"She may blast you off"
"Why? Did she say that to you?" asked Imlie with a smile.
"No, just felt like giving you a warning. See you in Delhi" said Harshit while getting inside his car.
Imlie waved her hands and said, "Bye, see you later"

Harshit left and Imlie went inside her house. She saw Meethi had cried a lot and thought that her mother shed tears for her friend whom she misunderstood from the last eighteen years. But she went inside to make breakfast after she got her composure back with Dulari Devi. It was already 7:45 am. Imlie went to the other side where Chavi and Aditya were talking sitting on plastic chairs.

"May I join the conversation?" asked Imlie.
"Oh please, Sure" , Aditya assured.
"What are you guys talking about? By the way Chavi we will be leaving for Delhi by today's 12:00 pm bus" said Imlie.
"We were talking about the annulment of our marriage by tomorrow. Though it has no legal papers, the marriage indeed took place and now is a talk of the town" replied Chavi.
"That's so great" said Imlie.
"Well, I guess I should leave then, I came in my bike and dragging it back to Delhi is a hard job. " said Aditya.
"Why?" asked Chavi.
"Back pain"
"Oho, old man problems" smirked Chavi.

"No one will go anywhere without breakfast," said Meethi loudly from inside.
"Aditya, please leave after breakfast. Also I don't know Chavi had informed you or not but I did her admission already so today I will drop her in the College Hostel"
Aditya looked surprised but happy, "Where?"
"St. Frederick's" replied Chavi happily.
"Oh my that's a tough College to get in"
"Our Chavi was a topper" stated Imlie.
"Look, who's saying? Adi bro, you will not believe this girl is a topper too. And she scored a seat in City College for herself "
"Imlie... you said something different?" Aditya asked with a smirk.
"I am sorry I lied as I was cautious of you" said Imlie.
"By the way City College was my College too" said Aditya.
"Really?" Chavi asked, surprised.
"Yes, I was the most popular guy at the College," said Aditya.
"Are you bragging?" asked Chavi, cracking into a laughter.
"No I am not, believe me" Aditya tried to convince Chavi.
"Aditya, I asked the officer. They will give a statement on your marriage being at gunpoint. Your suspension will be taken back I guess after that" said Imlie.
"But then also I will take this week as a break because..."
"Because he needs to find Ahana, his love" Chavi completed his sentence.
"He said everything to you already?" asked Imlie.
"Yes, time travel story and everything. Also he tried to marry you with half information." said Chavi.
"I am actually embarrassed by that part," replied Aditya.
"It's okay, we are comfortable enough now with each other" said Imlie.
"Indeed, I want to meet Ahana di. Also Imlie tell him what souvenirs you want from Himachal Pradesh, I have already handed my list. He will return next Saturday" said Chavi.
"I will call you and give the list later Aditya but you guys tell me first, what's your relationship now? I can guess but I think being vocal helps a lot" said Imlie.
"But how would a society accept a pair of husband and wife becoming a pair of siblings?" said Aditya lost in thought.
Chavi lost her smile too at this question of Aditya.
"I actually have an answer to that question," said Imlie breaking the silence.

"What?" both asked in unison.
"Just say you guys are best friends to the society and only tell your future partners the truth. I will vow as the witness for both of you whenever you want" said Imlie.
"Will they believe?" asked Aditya.
"If they have eyes, they definitely will. Also we may have only one word called 'Love' in English but its meaning changes when it is put to different aspects of different relationships." said Imlie.

Chavi and Aditya brightened up when Meethi called them to have breakfast in the kitchen, it was a combo of chapati and mango pickle. As Aditya left to eat inside Chavi grabbed Imlie's hand asked, "Imlie"
"Yes"
"I didn't say this to Aditya but I am curious to know"
"What?"
"Did you time travel too?"
Imlie gave a faint smile to her and replied, "Yes"
Chavi left her hand abruptly surprised but Imlie grabbed them again immediately and said, "Breakfast is waiting for us. Let's go inside"
Chavi nodded her head and left with Imlie to have breakfast.

After breakfast Imlie went to Satirth's house, he was surprised to see her at his home. He requested Nirmala to bring a glass of water to Imlie and welcomed her to the drawing room.

"Imlie please have a seat"
"Satirth Bhaiyya, I know too much is going on but I have come here to talk about some urgent things. I will try to be as straightforward as possible."
"Sure"
"The first request is from Chavi actually, since her parents have been arrested and the granary of her family is still full. She requested if you could sell the grains till the next three months on her behalf for a fair price"
"Sure I can, by the way I saw her husband here. Is everything okay now?"
"To be honest they will sign the annulment papers tomorrow"
"So there's no hope for their relationship?"
"No but she got her admission in a college in Delhi so she will be studying there. After three months both of us will return for a few days for summer vacation. At that time she would appreciate it a lot if you teach her the grain business."
"I can, but will she be able to run the business?"
"Only time will tell, but there's no harm in giving her the opportunity to learn these skills. Also her study course is Bachelors of Business Administration hence I hope you could expect her to have the skills of a business person"
"Oh, that's great then. I will teach her gladly"
"And the second request is from my side for your brother and sister-in-law"
"What is it?"

Imlie explained what she wanted him to do and he was surprised how she talked about the things which he also didn't know about his brother or his lover.
"You talk as if you know them Imlie"
"It's just a suggestion and do give your name in the village office for the Sarpanch title."
"But will people..."
"You and your wife suffered a lot for your family hence people's sentiments are with you right now"
"But using people's sentiments for my gains. When I think this way it feels like I am doing a bad task" said Satirth.
"Always remember Bhaiyya(brother), opportunity doesn't knock the door twice. By the way, is my house's legal paper with your family right now?"
"Oh yes, my father took it when Meethi didi took out the loan last time. It's in the locker right
now."
"Can you tell me how much money I have to return with the interest to get the papers back? I can give the money right now if you have internet banking facilities"
Satirth looked at Imlie's face trying to process what she said, "You want to pay back now?"
"Yes"
"Okay wait a moment"

Satirth brought out the house papers, Imlie checked the papers; they were real. Satirth calculated the interest with the principal amount being forty and with interest Imlie had to pay back forty eight thousand rupees. Imlie paid him through her UPI app.
Nirmala gave her a glass of water, Imlie looked at the questioning eyes of them while taking a sip of the water.
She replied, "Actually I took some part time jobs as editors and got my advance payment"
As both Satirth and Nirmala were not much aware what kind of job she was talking about they believed it. Imlie even requested Satirth to not tell her family that she already had taken care of their debt and asked him to accept whatever money they give him for next three months. As Imlie was leaving she said, "I know this might feel awkward but please stay careful of Yuvraj. He is no less than an injured lion right now with no hope of how to save his parents. This might get directed to both of you as you three live together as a joint family"

As Imlie came out suddenly some past memories came to her where Aditya was talking about the love he lost. She suddenly exclaimed with the realization that she just remembered Ahana's appearance according to Aditya's description, "So one side of her face was burnt with acid attack and she was suicidal." As more memories flooded in of a broken Aditya describing his pain, she remembered him saying Ahana suicided and he was late to save her. He was in tears, Imlie didn't understand what to do. Aditya had left for Delhi already as he had to ride back such a long distance but now when he doesn't remember what Ahana's appearance was or how she died, here Imlie remembered his words of Ahana. She might have not seen Ahana with her own eyes but Aditya's description was clear, she had a half burnt face in an acid attack. The news he was actually working was her case and they met that way; for some reason she suicided. Imlie made her way back home with a heavy heart with the newly regained memories.

Imlie put the legal files in her bag hiding it from her family and wrote the content of the torn paper on her notepad. After this both Chavi and Imlie had their lunch, went to Dulari Lal's house and locked every door. Chavi left a spare key of the granary with Satirth and met Meethi and Dulari Devi at the bus station who came to say goodbyes to her and Imlie. Chavi was quite confused she should say it or not when Imlie assured her saying, "I know what you want to say. No work is small or big, you can request her"
Getting an approval from Imlie, Chavi said, "Meethi Mousi"
"Yes Chavi"
"I know it's odd to say this, could you please take these spare keys of the main house. I actually wanted to request you to clean it every week but didn't know with what mouth I should have said this. It feels like I am making you small. I would have paid you but this uncomfortable feeling I am feeling while saying this as you did so much for me"
"Chavi, no worries. Work means Maa Lakshmi(Goddess of money and wealth) for me. I do domestic work in so many houses of this village, I can do yours too. You are not making me small, rather you are giving me an opportunity to earn money in the profession which I actually do."
"Thank you so much, I am so ashamed of myself asking you to do this"
"It's ok dear, you just focus on your studies" Meethi blessed Chavi.

Imlie went near Meethi, held her hands and said, "One day Amma, this won't be your profession anymore. Now since this is your profession hence I said to Chavi to give you the work which you actually do. But..."
"Gudia, kaam wali bai(the helping hand/servant) always stays as kaam wali bai. There's nothing to feel ashamed about it" said Meethi, trying to explain that the status of a person doesn't change so easily.
"Amma, profession changes, status changes and lifestyle changes too. I will make sure that your life changes and one day the embroidery skills in which you have the real talent will shine. You will be known for your embroidery techniques more than just as a domestic worker. I will make sure of it" said Imlie and bent her head to touch her feet( touching feet is a way to show respect to elders in India).

Both Chavi and Imlie sat on the bus. Chavi asked whether Imlie got angry for her request to Meethi when she explained she was not at all angry. Rather it would have looked more odd if she had requested Meethi to hire another domestic worker when she herself is one. This would create disparity among all the domestic workers present in Pagdandia and if she had asked Satirth to hire a domestic worker then Meethi would have lost her chance for this job opportunity and earn some extra cash.

As the bus sped up, Chavi and Imlie both fell asleep. They were quite full after lunch and Imlie was sitting on the window seat of the bus which made her fall asleep faster than she imagined.

Imlie saw she was outside Dulari Lal's house and it was night time. Dulari Lal was helping his wife to walk but it didn't take more than a few seconds from her saree for Imlie to understand that this was post Chandra-Shekhar's death, that very night. She was crying a lot.

She asked, "What if the doctor is telling the truth and our baby really died?"
"He is not a famous doctor, he might have misjudged. I called the famous Doctor of the village. He would arrive at any moment" said Dulari Lal, opening the lock of the door. He helped her to get inside the house Imlie followed them from behind.

The atmosphere inside the house was utterly chilled. He took her inside and made her sit on the bed. The servant who used to stay in their house brought the doctor with him. As he was checking Imlie saw something which she did not expect to see at all. Chandrakala entered the room, bruises were visible on her body and so were traces of mud and sand. She slowly went near her mother who was sitting on the bed as the doctor was checking. Imlie gulped down the saliva accumulated on her throat, she was kind of sure what would happen next.
"I don't think so the baby is alive" said the Doctor with a sad expression.
"What are you saying Doctor? Check her again right now. Just falling down can't kill a baby of four months" yelled Dulari lal.

Imlie saw Chandrakala looking at both of their faces and then she vanished. And immediately Imlie could hear the extra heartbeat again.
The Doctor checked again and was surprised. He assured Dulari Lal and his wife that the baby is absolutely okay. He could hear the heartbeat.

"My oh my, the baby inside the stomach is dead but someone else got a new life" exclaimed Imlie.

Suddenly Imlie found herself in another place. This time she wasn't invisible. She had the small hands of a child. She saw Metthi wiping the floor, it was Dulari Lal's house; suddenly Chavi held her hand and pulled her to the backyard near the Bougainvillea bush and said "Ilie I lay here, inside the soil"

It didn't take Imlie seconds to understand that the five year old Chavi remembers that her grave was below that piece of land and this piece of memory was actually her own.

Imlie was pulled again to another lane of school memories where she and Chavi were talking. They were in sixth standard that time.

Imlie saw her mouth open automatically as she said, "Chavi do you remember we used to play in your backyard near the vines with white flower"
"I don't remember actually. Did we?" Chavi asked, surprised.
"Yes," as Imlie said it she realized Chavi had forgotten everything and she now doesn't remember that she was actually Chandrakala.

Imlie woke up when a leaf hit her face which flew inside the bus. She grabbed the leaf and saw something written in Sanskrit again.

"Niyog Sampanna(Mission Accomplished)"

Suddenly Imlie remembered the past timeline when Chavi was dying in her arms. She took the blow on herself and was dying when Imlie screamed, "Why did you took the blow on my behalf?"
"Imlie...I remembered two days back" Chavi said trying to catch her breath as she was bleeding profusely.
"What? Don't lose consciousness, the ambulance is coming" said Imlie trying to keep her awake.
"I remembered that I was dead long back, I was never alive, I tried to move away from death and this village but my fate never changes..." said Chavi, losing her breath.
"What nonsense are you speaking? Stay awake...stay..." as Imlie was saying this she noticed Chavi has closed her eyes already and her body lost all signs of the living.

As Imlie was back in present she saw Chavi sleeping keeping her head on her shoulder peacefully.
'Chandrakala or Chavi I don't care who you are but this body belongs to you now and I have changed your fate' thought Imlie and threw the leaf out of the window. She took out the notepad and ticked a right sign near both the missions with a smile when she suddenly heard a voice in her head.

'Who talks with the dead? And you are on the verge of death Imlie. I am giving you the opportunity of a new life. These are the set of missions you need to fulfill then only your new life will have an alternative ending else you will be stuck in a never ending time loop always living your life from eighteen to thirty' 

Imlie was extremely shocked with the new entry of information inside her head. Whose voice was this? And she was inside a time loop? Her head got filled with so many questions that she couldn't sleep anymore in the bus.

Imlie dropped Chavi in her College hostel which was only two kilometers away from Imlie's College. St. Frederick College was considered a sister College of City College. As Imlie reached her hostel at almost five o'clock she found Niti standing at the door of her room with a broom.

"Niti '' exclaimed Imlie.
"Welcome back Imlie madam. You can call Harshit to tell that you are in Pagdandia and only text me to send an important email to him. From the last twenty four hours you didn't call me for once you idiot" said Niti and tried to attack Imlie with the broom.
"Oye, I am sorry Niti ma'am...Hey don't beat me with the broom" pleaded Imlie.
"Today is you versus I. And I declare a war for ignoring me" said Niti pointing the broom tip towards Imlie.
"I am dead! She is really angry" muttered Imlie under her breath.

Bouni: A belief of never letting the first customer go without any things being sold to them at any cost. It is the first sale of the shop of the day and no seller would let go their customer even with the price of giving things at 50% off. It's beyond religions as I have myself seen Hindu as well as Muslim sellers be very careful with Bouni. If you are the first customer you can bargain a lot if it's not a fixed price shops.

~Songs Used:-
-Magic Shop(BTS) [Language: Korean]

Well this chapter somehow showed up how a person can be both progressive and holds into societal belief at the same time(Meethi), feels what is wrong with others but fear to accept as someone who made similar mistakes(Aditya), understands he is wrong but not ready to accept(Yuvraj), how society associates images of a female's character if she mingles with males, how unnatural it is for an individual to take marriage as a choice rather than normal or necessity and so much more. Sometimes I myself end up a little uncomfortable while pointing out these things in the story but the mystery and thrilling plot of Imlie's life make my heart go on and on and on...
Yours Mimi(❁´◡`❁)