7
Sunday.
“Vanitha, ready? Shall we go?” Ranjith Kumar asked.
“Dad, Mom is late as usual. I’m ready!” Six-year-old Divya came forward with a flower-like smile. Ranjith Kumar smiled back at his daughter.
“You’re always a superstar, darling,” he said, picking her up.
“Dad…”
“Tell me, sweetie.”
“Why are you asking us to stay at Grandma’s for so many days this time?”
As Divya asked, he let out a long sigh. “It’s nothing, ma. Dad is going to fight a battle.”
“Wow, exciting! With whom, Dad?”
“With some bad people. Against them.”
“They are bad people, right?”
“Yes, dear.”
“Then they will lose, Dad. My teacher said bad people can never win.”
Ranjith looked at Divya with a smile. Life isn’t as easy as a school lesson, ma, he thought to himself. Here, the bad people are the ones winning. The good people either have to run away from them or suffer.
“What’s this? Are you stunned by Divya’s talk so early in the morning?” asked his wife, Vanitha, as she stepped forward.
Vanitha, naturally beautiful with a lemon-yellow complexion, looked even more stunning in her powder-colored saree.
“You’re the one who is stunning, Vani,” he said. She looked at him with pure love.
“I only agreed because you asked so many times. Just because we aren’t here, don’t make the hospital your whole world. Eat on time. Sleep peacefully.”
“Sure, darling,” he replied.
Divya chimed in, “Dad, you’re a fraud!”
“Why, sweetie?”
“You call Mom ‘darling’ and you call me ‘darling’ too. Who is your real darling?”
Ranjith laughed. “Mom is the Big Darling. You are the Little Darling.”
“Really?”
“Yes, my Little Darling.”
“Let’s go,” Vanitha said, getting into the car. Ranjith started the engine.
The morning chill seeped into their nerves as the car began its descent down the mountain road. Ranjith was careful as the car navigated the hairpin bends. Divya watched the scenery with joy.
At the slope of the eighth hairpin bend, a truck was parked.
Though Ranjith felt a flicker of suspicion, he ignored it and passed the truck. Immediately, the truck began to follow them. Looking in the rearview mirror, Ranjith realized the truck was gaining speed.
Before Ranjith could react, the truck rammed into them with a deafening ‘THUD’. The car somersaulted and rolled down the slope.
Vanitha lay gasping in a pool of blood. Divya’s head was bleeding, and Ranjith’s leg was pinned under the wreckage.
“Help! Help! Someone help!” Ranjith screamed. A shadow loomed over him. He looked up to see Chandrasekhar standing there.
“Sir? You?” Ranjith looked on in shock.
“It’s me. Didn’t expect me, did you? I could have paid someone else to do this, but then he’d know the secret. That’s why I came myself. It’s been a long time since I drove a truck. I think I did a good job. What do you say, Doctor?”
Hearing the voice, Vanitha cried out, “Sir… save my child. Divya… Divya, where are you, ma?”
“Mom, it hurts…”
“Oh God, Sir, please save my child!” Vanitha screamed, wiping blood from her eyes.
Chandrasekhar picked Divya up. “Does it hurt a lot, ma?”
“Yes, uncle,” Divya sobbed. He coldly threw her down the slope.
“No!” Ranjith screamed.
“Doctor, I’m sorry. I came here to commit three murders without leaving a trace. It will take days just to find this car. How will anyone find you?”
He took a knife and stabbed Ranjith in the chest.
“Aaaah… Amma!” Ranjith screamed in agony as blood spurted out.
“I won’t stab you again, Doctor. It’s better to watch all the blood drain out until you die. Enjoy it.”
Hearing this, Vanitha shrieked, “You! One day, your death will be at my hands! I will wait at this eighth curve. I will perform a penance to kill you. No matter how many years pass, I will kill you brutally on this very same day. I swear this upon Mother Earth!”
Chandrasekhar mocked her, “Oh, I’m so scared!” He kicked the car. It rolled many more feet down the cliff with Ranjith and Vanitha inside.
“That is what happened,” Perumal said, wiping his eyes.
Tears traced paths down Arthi’s cheeks. “Was my father really that evil?” Vishal looked at the memory of Dr. Ranjith Kumar with silent respect.
“That day, the Doctor was a god who saved thirty lives. We found his car there much later. Inside the car… oh, I can’t even say it, son.”
Vishal understood. He and Arthi took their leave in silence. As Vishal started his scooter, Arthi climbed on without a word.
“Vishal.”
“Yeah?”
“Poor Doctor.”
“Yeah.”
“The day after tomorrow is the anniversary of his death.”
“Yeah.”
“So, what are you going to do next?”
“I don’t know, Arthi.”
Arthi gripped Vishal’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’m with you. Whatever he did, he is still your father. It’s your duty to save him. The day after tomorrow, you must stop Vanitha from killing your father. I know an exorcist. Shall we see him?”
“Yeah.”
Guided by Arthi, Vishal drove. Within ten minutes, they reached the exorcist’s house. He appeared quite ordinary.
“Tell me,” he said. Arthi explained everything.
He asked, “What do you want me to do?”
“Drive away the evil spirits from that bungalow.”
“That is impossible.”
“Sir?”
“Everyone who has died in this world exists in a different state on this same earth. If they don’t bother you, it doesn’t mean no one is there. There might be spirits right here now. But since we don’t disturb them, they don’t disturb us. That’s the concept.”
“So?”
“If your father isn’t in that bungalow, it’s just a normal house. No harm will come to anyone there.”
“I understand, sir. But how do I save my father from Vanitha?”
“You and your father must leave that place. Once you cross that eighth curve and head down, you’ll have no trouble. I’ll give you two chains. These have been blessed with prayers to Mother Velankanni. If you wear them, neither you nor your father will ever be bothered by Vanitha.”
He went inside, brought two chains, and handed them to Vishal. Vishal accepted them with reverence.
At that very moment, the sound of Vanitha’s weeping echoed at the eighth curve.
