Kundan | S01 EP7 - Nanaji ki Atma | क्या आत्मा लौट आएगी?

It was more than two weeks since I landed in my grandmother's village, but what I heard about the place made even those two weeks a lifetime. Among all the strange stories exchanged among the villagers, one that stuck with me was the story of the haunted garden—a garden where our Master Ji had disappeared into thin air. No one knew why or how it happened. What they did know was that he was last seen at the garden's gate, led there by none other than my grandmother.

One evening late, curiosity bested me while I sat with my aunt. The oil lamp between us wavered and cast shadows upon her thoughtful face. "Aunt," I started tentatively, "why did Grandma go to the garden with Master Ji on the evening of Amavasya?

She glared at me, taken aback by my unexpected question. After a brief hesitation, she let out a sigh. "Yes, Kundan. That's what was in her letters, wasn't it? 'Tomorrow is Amavasya, and I'm bringing your friend Master Ji.'"

"But why is Amavasya so special?" I insisted.

Her face grew serious. "Kundan, you worry too much about things you shouldn't. Go to bed now."

I scowled. "But I'm not tired yet."

"Go on, go," she urged, a sharpness in her tone. "It's late."

Resigned, I left her and returned to my room. But as I lay down under the coarse cotton sheets, I couldn't help but feel that she was keeping something from me. I could hear through the thin walls as she made the creaking of the wooden chair shift against the floor, and then. nothing. I fell into fitful sleep.

The following is the next morning, and I woke to whispers outside my bedroom. The dawn was just about to break, and the coldness of the air reminded me of the cold night. I quietly got up and found my aunt and mother seated on the verandah, their voices barely above a whisper.

"Sister," said my aunt murmuringly, "why don't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" was my mother's reply, her voice weighed down with nervousness.

"About the thing. with Brother-in-law that night."

"Annu," my mother said abruptly, "stop bringing this up. I don't wish to discuss it."

"It's significant."

"It isn't."

"It is!" My aunt's voice rose slightly before she composed herself and looked around nervously. "Please, just say it. What did you witness that night?"

"Talk softly," my mother whispered tersely. "Okay, I will tell you." She gasped for breath, her voice shaking as she went on. "That evening… Kundan's father had gone to repair the transformer next to the ancient tree. Since he didn't come back after a long while, I… I went to search for him."

"And then?"

"I did not find him there."

"Where was he, then?"

"He was in the garden inside."

"What then?" my aunt asked, hunching forward.

"Nothing," my mother replied hastily, her voice resolute. "I brought him back."

There was a moment of silence before my aunt broke it again. "Sister… was it Amavasya that night?"

"Yes," my mother admitted softly.

Listening to them talk gave me goosebumps. My mind went into overdrive. What had been done to my father that night? Was his destiny connected with the garden too? My thoughts ran wild, and before I realized it, a fit of coughing erupted from my throat, revealing my presence. 

"Auntie, Kundan!" one of them yelled.

Panicked, I rushed back to my room, flopping onto the bed and pretending to sleep. Although my aunt did not seek me out, her words and my mother's hung in my mind. The enigma deepened, enveloping me like a chill fog, until I eventually gave in to restless sleep again.