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Chapter 14 by Leena Pandey | #WriteWithChitra #StoriesConnectUs

Chapter 14

Manorama realised that she had to think things over. What were her options? To continue, ad infinitum, in this purgatory with her killer for company, or to “save his soul” and maybe, just maybe, save her own soul in the process? It really wasn’t much of a choice. She had to find a way to save his soul, even if it meant that she might be left here all alone. It would still be better than seeing her own guilt reflected in his eyes forever.

So how could she save Vivek’s soul? From whatever she had read and understood, the only way was to atone for her sins.

‘Vivek, we need to get you out of purgatory,’ she said to him.

‘Get out? And go where?’ asked Vivek. He was sitting on the edge of his chair, pulling at a loose thread in his jacket and winding it over and over his finger. He seemed drained after his confession.

‘I think … I think your father is waiting for you in heaven. Maybe, your mother too.’

Vivek stopped pulling at the thread. ‘How do you know that?’

‘I saw Vinod at the office. Didn’t I tell you that? And I saw him again here, a few minutes back.’

Vivek jumped up from the chair, starting around, his eyes wild. “Here? Papa is here?’ he cried.

‘He’s not here now,’ snapped Manorama. Then she took a deep breath and tried again. ‘Look, the important thing is that he wants me to get you out of here.’

‘Get me out?’ Vivek questioned. ‘What about you?’

‘Both of us are guilty of Envy and Wrath. But I think you were young and were less enmeshed in those sins. I think that maybe that’s why, you have a better chance of atoning for them.’

Vivek looked doubtful. ‘Do you know how I can atone for my sins?’

Manorama thought for a few minutes, then spoke. ‘Well, Envy is easy,’ she said. ‘You thought my family was perfect. Well, here I am with you in purgatory. And from what Vinod said, 25 years have passed since the night we both died. My family broke up and my kids grew up hating their father because they held him responsible for my death. There is nothing left for you to envy,’ she finished.

‘25 years!’ exclaimed Vivek, ‘Then why are we meeting only now? Why did Papa wait all this time to call me to his side?’

‘Because he was still alive and not yet in heaven. I think he passed away last night.’ God, this kid was slow, she thought, feeling  certain that Divya and Aarav would have grasped things faster.

She continued. ‘And since time doesn’t have any meaning in purgatory, those 25 years just seem like a night to us. But if we don’t do something now, we will remain suspended here for eternity.’

Vivek sunk back into his chair. ‘Well, you don’t have anything to envy either. Ma died, I died, and now it seems, Papa too …’ He broke down into sobs.

She was grateful that he had said, ‘Ma died’ and not ‘You murdered Ma’. She softened her tone and continued, ‘That brings us to our next sin, Wrath. I think the best atonement for Wrath is forgiveness.’

Vivek sniffled silently, his head bowed.

Manorama took a deep breath, put her hand on his head, and said, ‘I forgive you for poisoning me.’

He pushed her hand away and snarled, ‘But I don’t forgive you! You killed my Ma. You turned me into a murderer. I hate you!’

‘Well, I had just found out that my husband was cheating on me with your Ma. What did you expect?’ she retorted.

‘But my Ma didn’t know anything about it,’ shouted Vivek. ‘And I’m 16. I’ve seen your kids, they are small. I was born much before Papa married you. He cheated on my Ma with you and not the other way around,’ he shouted, and Manorama froze.

What he said was true. So it was she Manorama, who had been the other woman? She remembered Smitha mentioning her husband’s name during their lunch. Then when they had gone to Smitha’s house to drop Vivek, Manorama had seen a family photo with Vinod in their drawing room. The right thing would have been to return home and confront Vinod. Instead, she had flown into a rage and taken it all out on Smitha.

‘You are right,’ she told Vivek. ‘I am guilty, and I truly regret my actions. But what has happened, has happened. I cannot give her back her life.’

She paused, hoping Vivek would say the magic words.

‘Vivek, look at me. Don’t you want to get out of here and join your Papa and Ma in heaven?’

‘I do,’ he sighed. He turned back to face Manorama and said, “I … I forgive you.’

Together they waited for a sign. Thunder, lightning, or even a drum roll. Some indication that at least one of them was moving on.

Outside, birds chirped, leaves rustled, but everything else stayed the same. They were still in purgatory.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

Write with Chitra!

Your chance to continue bestselling and beloved author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s story and be part of our first ever crowd-sourced novel!

Find out how you can join the storytelling by following the steps mentioned here.

Read –
Chapter 1 by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Chapter 2 by Sumira Khan
Chapter 3 by Krusha Sahjwani
Chapter 4 by Sandeepa Mukherjee
Chapter 5 by Neha Gupta
Chapter 6 by Mohana Talapatra
Chapter 7 by Snigdha Mallik
Chapter 8 by Kanchana Banerjee
Chapter 9 by Harini Srinivasan
Chapter 10 by Gitanjali Maria
Chapter 11 by Shreya Gupta
Chapter 12 by Shylin Sam
Chapter 13 by Ananya Banerjee

chapter 14


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