"Yes, beta," responds Ahmaya's mother.
She is sitting alongside Ahmaya at their home in Delhi. She is feeding Ahmaya with her hands, as she used to back then. Ahmaya breaks into tears as she sees her mother and hugs her warmly.
"What happened, baby?" her mom asks.
Ahmaya is just sobbing and hugging her firmly.
Her father enters the room.
"You guys wanna go out for a movie date?" He speaks.
Ahmaya sees her father and runs to hug him.
Her father asks the same question: "What happened?"
She wipes her tears and says, "Let's go, the three of us, to a movie date."
Her father smiles at her. And then everything around Ahmaya starts vanishing, slowly everything vanished, her parents too, and she starts shouting, "What is going on? What is this?"
She bursts into tears. She then discovers that she is in a dark, deserted cave. Then she hears a voice.
"So you are not Pushpa."
Ahmaya notices in front of her a woman in black Saree is sitting in meditation stance, her eyes closed.
"Who is Pushpa?" Ahmaya says quivering.
The woman opens her eyes, gets up, and walks over to Ahmaya, holding her wrist, "The body you are in. This is Pushpa's body."
Ahmaya remains silent and says nothing.
"I was merely examining you, you are really, someone else in Pushpa's body."
"Examine?" Ahmaya is concerned.
"Yes examine, I saw a lot of grief in your heart." The lady speaks in a sardonic, nostalgic tone.
"Where are my parents?" Ahmaya asks, her eyes filled with sorrow.
Lady chuckles and responds, "Come on, you're not a human; how could you not realise it was an illusion? "Are you pretending not to know?"
"Illusion? What the hell are you trying to say?" Ahmaya is upset, sorrowful, and in tears all at once.
"Oh god, you are really unaware." The woman rolled her eyes up and down, and Ahmaya unwillingly slumped to the ground.
Lady sits on the ground and grabs her face. "Who are you, and why are you here?"
"I don't know; I'm not here by choice. Really."
She drops her head to the ground. And Ahmaya's forehead begins to bleed slightly.
"I don't want to torture you, just tell me the truth." The lady speaks in a harsh manner.
"I don't know, it is the only truth." Ahmaya screams.
Lady snaps her finger, and Ahmaya is once again in front of her mother in their home, but this time her mother is moving away from her, and as Ahmaya comes towards her, she moves away from her, and everything vanishes, Ahmaya cries and yells angrily, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing; tell me the truth, and I won't do it. Why are you here?"
"Can you please make me meet her again." Ahmaya begs before her.
The lady smirks, snaps again, and Ahmaya is again in front of her mother, but this time her mother is screaming, and some man is stabbing her, and she is bleeding; Ahmaya is unable to move or get to her mother except to cry, and her mother becomes unconscious.
Ahmaya returned to reality, crying, "Don't do it!" she yells angrily.
"Tell me everything, I won't." advises the lady.
Ahmaya spits on her face. "Fuck off bitch."
The lady slaps her. She picks up a doll, twists the doll's right hand, and Ahmaya's right hand begins to hurt like death; her skin or bone isn't hurting, but the soul inside her is, and Ahmaya cries out in pain.
Woman stops "I ask again"
"What do you want to know?" Ahmaya asks.
"Everything."
Ahmaya explains how she arrived, except that she is an Aokma.
The lady says, "Give me a statement to believe you."
"I am telling you the truth sincerely. You mentioned it yourself: I had no idea it was an illusion. I also didn't realise this body belonged to some Pushpa?"
"What's your relationship with Ayani?" The lady questions with interest.
"I met her here, she said she can help me go home."
"Do you know who she is?" the lady questions Ahmaya.
"Yes I know."
"Do you want to go back? "I have the power to send you back." The lady approaches.
"Wait, really? You should also give me a statement that makes me believe you." Ahmaya stated.
She grins and continues, "as long as I brought you and saw you, I knew that you are not the one who we perceive, inside this human body, there is a different soul, I examined your soul, found your grief, and played with it like a toy, and you didn't even realise."
"Send me back, please." Ahmaya begs.
"Do not worry; you will not know or feel anything. I'll send you back where you want to be so you can resume your regular life. Just let me do what I perform."
"How can I trust you?" Ahmaya don't trust her.
"As if you have any other options than me." she says with a smirk, "I promise you will get to your destination safely." She goes on.
"What do you want me to do?" Ahmaya is helpless right now; she has no choice but to trust her; she has to get home fast, and the woman in front of her is powerful; she fears that if she opposes her, she will be killed and would be unable to return home.
"Nothing much kid." She orders a man, "Take her and give her whatever she wants, feed her whatever she wants; she appears exhausted. And please dress her wound; she cannot go home bleeding." She informs the man. She approaches Ahmaya and places her fingers on her cheeks. "Go with him, eat something, and freshen up."
Ahmaya follows the man into a room; Ahmaya is apprehensive; the man has a very scary expression; he dresses her wound, asks her if she wants to eat anything specific, and shows her where the lavatory is. Ahmaya refuses to eat whatever he serves her; she is not hungry thanks to the pain she experienced as a result of that woman's tricks; she cannot forget seeing her mother and father.
After a few moments, the male returns her to the woman.
"What is all this?" Ahmaya notices that in that dark cave, the woman has constructed a giant rhombus on the ground, sits on one end, and gestures to the spot in front of her, "sit there" she wants Ahmaya to sit on the other edge in front of her.
Ahmaya demands "answer me first."
"Nothing, it's just a process to send you home, don't ask too much question, its hindering my flow," the woman threatens.
Ahmaya lets out a loud sigh and sits in front of her.
The room is now empty.
The woman begins her programme. She's humming some mantras. Ahmaya initially feels nothing, but after a while, she experiences tingling throughout her body.
Suddenly, they both hear a surge of people, and here comes Ayani rushing into the cave, scattering the woman's goods and firing up the rhombus.
The woman shouts, "You can't do it." And instantly grips Ayani's neck. With her fiery eyes, she stares at Ayani and strangles her; a few guys arrive and grab Ahmaya, preventing her from leaving. Ayani is struggling to fight back against the woman.
Ayani is about to become unconscious. A man hits Ayani in the back with a rode, the woman quits her, and Ayani collapses on the ground.
Ayani exclaims, panting, "Leave her alone; don't do this." Ayani stands up, struggling, and hits the men around her with her power. She awakes her power and, with that exquisite green light, sweeps away the men who was grasping Ahmaya.
Ayani holds Ahmaya; "why are you here? Run." She is wailing and worried.
Ahmaya is disoriented and in misery. She runs but is unable to reach the cave's exit.
"Don't do it; she doesn't have any power to help you," Ayani tells the lady, who laughs and attacks her.
They're fighting, but Ayani is turning weak in front of her. The woman lifts her with her right hand and throws her, and she collides with the stone. She can't stand up anymore, and as soon as Ahmaya notices it, she runs towards Ayani. "Are you okay?"
"You need to get out of here, as quickly as achievable, she is dangerous, she will snatch your power away from you." Ayani warns Ahmaya.
"Come here, let's finish it, and tell God's hoe to stay away from it." The woman beckons Ahmaya to her, yelling.
"No... this is not right." Ahmaya replies.
"Are you kidding me? Do you want me to kill her?" Woman says pointing to Ayani.
"Don't, just don't; I know what you're doing is wrong. I will not be a part of it."
"Don't you want to go home?"
Ahmaya enters to deep thinking. She somehow knows that whatever this woman is doing is not good, she is doing something wrong. But she is the only one till now who guaranteed her that she can send her home, she has the power too. she is in dilemma, what decision should she make? Ignore Ayani's word and do what the lady says or do what Ayani says and become the filthy woman's prey.
"You're taking a lot of time, kid, sure take it; till then, I'll kill her." The woman steps back and fetches a new doll. She initially pulls the doll's hair, and Ayani feels as if someone is yanking her hair out. She yells.
Ahmaya is observing all of this, still debating what she should do; even after she makes a choice in support of Ayani, the woman does not appear to leave them.
The woman now takes a knife, holding the doll in her left hand and the knife in her right, she giggles and makes a cut on the doll's tummy, and Ayani cries. Ahmaya notices that Ayani is bleeding, and Ahmaya tries to cover the wound on her tummy with her hands so that it does not bleed much, "don't fucking do this," Ahmaya says with rage, "please," she lowers her tone as she sees the knife in her hand.
"I can't, I'm sorry," the woman wonders, "should I cut one of your legs, Ayani?" She chuckles and adds, "It would be fun! "How will you rule the forest with only one leg?" she laughs out.
"Why are you torturing people?" Ahmaya questions her.
"I am not interested in responding to you." She moves the knife closer to the doll's leg.
"God will not forgive you." Ayani warns the woman.
An enraged woman grins and says, "Where is your god when your leg is about to be cut in half?"
In front of Ahmaya, the lady is about to slash Ayani's leg; Ayani is already bleeding; what should I do? Should I do what the woman instructed me to do? Ayani told me she needs my power; what power? What is the right thing to do?
Ahmaya stares at Ayani with tears in her eyes. Ahmaya recognises what Ayani done for her; she felt a connection with her from the beginning, she senses her righteousness, Ayani believed her, soothed her, and she was the only one who was connected to her true world. Ayani consoles me; she was the only one here who was connected to me since 2024, and she is genuine. She was here to protect me; I need to be on her side.
Ahmaya suddenly recalls her mother's tearful look, which was part of the woman's trick.
She looks the lady in the eyes, fuming, and says, "Don't do this, I tell you don't. Don't mess with us."
"You don't show me those eyes; otherwise, after chopping her leg, I'll pop your eyeballs out."
As she says, she is going cut the doll's legs, As the knife touches the doll's leg Ahmaya yells "DON'T" so loudly that the entire cave shakes with her voice. Her eyes widened and became red. She takes a couple steps towards the lady.
"I...SAID...DON'T...MESS.... WITH...US" she screams it extremely loudly. As she says it, a shimmering golden light comes out of her body, shaking the whole ground. That golden light threw away the lady in the dark end. But the golden light continues to shine from Ahmaya's body, and her rage remains unrelenting; she is unable to settle down.
The golden light from her body is causing damage to the cave's walls, and the cave is on the verge of collapse. Ayani is watching Ahmaya and realises she needs to calm her down since her fury will cause huge damage.
Ayani attempts to stand up and approaches Ahmaya, placing a hand on her shoulder and saying "everything's okay, I am okay, calm down.... please...calm..." and collapse to the ground. Ahmaya calms down as she notices this, the golden light emanating from her body dims, and she takes Ayani in her arms, "Are you okay, let's get out of here, do you know the exit?"
"There is no exit to this place. Hold my hand I will take ourselves outside"
"Can you do this in this condition?"
"Yes. "Hold my hand."
Ahmaya clutches her hand and closes her eyes, and they both find themselves in a beautiful house after a moment.
"What is this place?"
"This is my house." Answers Ayani. "How are you feeling, by the way?" she further questions.
"I feel uncomfortable; is this the power you were talking about? I had no idea what had just transpired because it was so sudden. It seemed like my emotions were beyond my control. I feel odd. I'm still experiencing a new sensation in my body." Ahmaya shows her concern.
"It's fine; it was your first time sensing your energy. Have some tea; I'm going to go dress my wounds."
"Let me assist you with this." Ahmaya helps her dress her wound. "What was that place, and who was that lady?"
"It was Pataalok. That lady is a teacher of many evils in Pataalok. She was also an Aokma, embodying the forest spirit, like me." Says Ayani.
"But she abused her power; she had a lot of power, and she had trained herself extensively, but she abused it, breaking the rules of God and nature. And then God took her position away from her and advised her to repent so that she could get back it once she realised her mistake. But she joined hands with the pataalok leaders. She possessed far more authority than we did, and instead of using it for good, she abused it. She misleads Aokmas and other divine beings and steals their energy in exchange for anything they want, which is how she grows stronger over time." She continues.
"It's difficult to beat her and match her powers; she wields a lot of power by doing terrible things; she's now a witch, but your power just bested her; that's incredible; it indicates you're special among us." She concludes.
"Well, for how much time we were they're for?" Wonders Ayani. "The time in that world works differently", she lets out a huge sigh, "I wonder how much time has been passed in this world?"
"What...do you mean?" Ahmaya questions.
"Time works differently in our and that realm; sometimes I stay there for days and return after only a few minutes in our realm, but other times I stay there for minutes and return after days in our realm. It's a game of time." Ayani answers.
"Let's check," Ahmaya says hurriedly. "Let's check what time it is."
"Today is 19-1-1936." Looks out Ayani in the newspaper.
"What????? What was the day I left?" Ahmaya is terrified; she kissed Kitbok the night before she went, and she is concerned about him.
"I left to find you when people you were living with were searching for you, the young boy and his companions were looking for you, they said you were missing from yesterday." Ayani responds.
"Date?"
"I guess that was 17th of October."
"It was October 1935 now its January 1936." Ahmaya marvels. "Almost three months have passed. "Shit. Shit."
"What happened?" inquires Ayani.
"Kitbok." Ahmaya whispers.
"Kitbok? "That young boy."
"He must be worried. I was residing at Rupomoi's and vanished."
"Don't worry you can live here." Ayani offers.
"It's not about living; I need to go look for him." "Please take me to Rupomoi's home." Ahmaya stands up in a hurry.
Ayani takes her to that home at her request.
When Ahmaya arrives, she bashes inside, where she finds Rupomoi, "Hi, where is Kitbok?"
"Who....oh you, how are you? did you find your home?" Rupomoi Asks.
"It's a long story, can you please call kitbok."
"Sir must be at his university right now." Rupomoi responds.
After hearing this, Ahmaya begins to leave.
"He is getting married, don't be too shameless, I know what happened between you too, leave him alone." Rupomoi addresses Ahmaya.
Ahmaya hears but does not respond and leaves.
"Take me to his university, fast." Ahmaya instructs Ayani.
"University. "What is going on?"
"Just take me."
She brings her to university.
When she arrives at the university, she searches for Kitbok. She cannot find him. She searches for him tirelessly until she discovers him, standing in the ground. Ahmaya rushes towards him, "kitbok kitbok, I am so...."
"Who are you?"
"Me it's me. Kitbok. You helpe...."
"I am sorry Miss; I don't know you."