Sahana E04

Episode - 4

The next day morning, I woke up at 8:00am. I woke up the guys and said “Hey Raghav, we surely saw that same girl right?”

“Yes sure shot. The same girl only.” Raghav said.

“Okay fine. Let’s get ready and start to the RTO.” I said.

“Okay fine. Hey guys you’re coming right?” Raghav asked Moulee and Shiva.

“No da. I Am going out with Lavanya for a movie.” Shiva said.

“I’m also not coming da. Have to meet Mr.Ananth and discuss about the case study.” Moulee said.

“Okay fine.”Raghav said.

Raghav and I started at 9:00am. We went to the RTO office in Jafferkhanpet. We reached by 9:30am. It was very crowded and many people were waiting in queues. Many people were waiting for their driving license, for driving, for getting forms, etc. I was wondering how and whom to contact, when Raghav said “Hey come with me machi.”

I went with him. He was approaching a man.

“Hello sir. Epdi irukeenga?” Raghav asked.           (MEANING – Hello sir. How are you?)

“Uh. Yaaru paa nee?” He asked.                                                (MEANING – Who are you?)

“Sir, enna nyabagam illaya? Naa than Raghav.” Raghav said with an excitement.

(MEANING – Sir, Don’t you remember me? I am Raghav.)

“Illaye paa.” He said.                                                       (MEANING – I don’t.)

“Ada enna Sir?” Raghav asked.                                  (MEANING – What sir?)

Raghav then turned to me and said, “Dai machi, I told you know. He is our man. Very simple man. Till he is there we needn’t worry.”

Without knowing what to say, I just smiled and nodded my head. The man was smiling proud and at the same time he was confused as to whom we were. I felt like a dumb – ass.

Raghav then turned to that man and asked “Aprom sir, madam, paiyan lam epdi irukaanga?”

(MEANING – Then Sir? How are people at home? Son? Wife?)

This was more than enough for the man.

“Ellam nalla irukaanga paa.” He said with a glee.                 (MEANING – All are fine.)

“Super sir. Oru china help venum.” Raghav said.                                (MEANING – I need a small favour sir.)

“Sollu paa.” The man said.                                                            (MEANING – Yes tell.)

“Illa sir, oru vandi number iruku. Atha vechu address ah vaanganum.” Raghav said.

(MEANING – I have a vehicle number. I want the address of the vehicle.)

“Avlo thane. Number ah kudunga.” The person asked and I handed a piece of paper to him. He started walking away to his office.

(MEANING – That’s it. Okay give the number.)

“Hey machi, who’s that guy?” I asked.

“If I knew it I would have told his name right.” He said with a wink.

“What?” I asked.

“You only said you didn’t know whom to contact or approach so only I used this trick. “ he said.

“Wow, you are quite spontaneous da mama.” I said.

“All talent da.” He said with a wink.

We waited for the man to get the details. I was anxiously expecting that everything was an illusion.

The man came out with an A4 paper.  He came near us and handed over the paper. “Here it is, the address of the vehicle number and the owner of the vehicle.”

Raghav got the paper from the man and saw it. He was struck with awe. He was holding the paper with absolute shock. I took the paper from him and saw it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was written:

RTO DATABASE SEARCH

Vehicle Number                                              :               TN – 09 – BF – 4090

Vehicle Owner                                                 :               SAHANA S

Father’s Name                                                  :               SATHISH KUMAR.P

Address                                                              :               No.27, East Jones Road, 3^rd Cross, Saidapet,Chennai                       600015.

‘Vehicle Owner : Sahana? Address : East Jones Road. She died three days ago? The newspaper read her address, her pink scooty, no helmet, etc. And everything was the same when me and Raghav saw her near the temple. What’s all this?’ I thought.

“What happened?” The man asked.

Raghav suddenly shook his body and said “Nothing sir, I will never forget this help. Take this sir.” He kept a hundred rupee note and pulled me towards the exit.

“Machi, we saw her. I mean saw it. I mean...” Raghav said.

“I can understand Raghav, don’t get tensed.” I said.

“What the hell? Why? I can’t understand anything.” He said.

“Relax, don’t panic.” I said.

“What do we do now?” He asked.

“You know what I am thinking machi.” I said.

“Fine. Let’s go.” He said.

We started towards the address mentioned by the RTO. We reached the place in half hour. The residence was diagonally opposite the temple. Just as I parked the bike, I could visualize the girl standing outside the temple yesterday night. The very thought of it created ripples in my body. The residence was locked. The moment I touched the gate I felt something strange. Something like in the horror movies. There was a garland merchant outside the temple on the opposite of the house. Raghav and I went over to him.

(CONVERSATION IN ENGLISH ALSO, FOR READER’s CONVENIENCE)

“Hi akka, antha veetla yaarum illaya?” I asked the lady.

(MEANING – Excuse me, is there no one in that house?)

“Avangellam gaali pannitaanga pa. Rendu naal munnadi.” She said.

(MEANING – They left the house 2 days back.)

“Enna akka solreenga? Enna thidernu?” I asked.

(MEANING – What are you telling? Why suddenly?)

“Ungalukku Vishayame theriyatha? Naalu naal munnadi intha veetu ponnu accident la sethuduchu. Intha veedu raasi illa josiyar sollitaaru. Adutha naale veeda gaali pannitanga.” The lady said.

(MEANING – You don’t know the issue? Four days ago, the girl in the house died in an accident. The astrologer told this house is inauspicious. So the next day itself they left the house.)

“Oh apdiya? Avanga enga ponanga nu theriyuma ka?” I asked.

(MEANING – Oh is it? Do you know where they went?)

“Edho velacherry la oru company pinnadi edho flat sonnanga. Dai kanna athu enna peru da?” She asked a boy near her.

(MEANING – They went to a flat behind some company in velacherry. Hey what’s that company’s name?)

“Sootherland ma” The small boy said.

“Oh Sutherland huh?” Raghav asked the lady.

“Haa athan. Antha perae vaaila nozhaya maatengarthu.” The lady said.

(MEANING – Yes exactly, I am not ablt to pronounce that word properly.)

“Oh seri ka thanks.” I said and turned to Raghav.

“Machi we need to go to velacherry.” I said.

“We’ll go but I want to ask you something.” Raghav said.

“Yes da. Ask.” I said.

“Why are we probing a lot in this?” Raghav asked.

“I have all the answers for you machi. But not now, trust me. We have to move fast.” I said and started the bike.

Velacherry was one of the fastest developing areas in Chennai. If you had seen the area a decade back and now, one would be amazed. Sutherland was situated near the Vijayanagar Bus stand. There was a huge apartment called “Green Paradise” at the back of Sutherland.

We reached Sutherland and parked my bike at the back of the company, i.e. entrance of the flat. Raghav and I went towards the security office.

“Hello, excuse me.” Raghav said.

“Yes?” The security said.

“I want to meet Mr.Sathish Kumar who shifted here a couple of days back.” Raghav said.

“Okay fine. Sign this register.” The security said.

“Okay. May I know the apartment number?” I asked.

“D-803.” The security said.

“Okay thanks.” I said.

The register had six columns. It had details like Name, Address, Phone Number, House of Visit, Person of visit, In time.

First Raghav entered his details and then I entered my details. We walked inside the huge flat in search of Block –D. The entire flat was filled with kids. All kids were playing, running, cycling, etc. It was a joyful sight to look at innocent children laugh and smile. It makes you to forget the heaviest problem in your heart. We crossed Block-A and Block-B. There was a small underground passage probable for parking. Block- C & D were adjacent to each other. We entered Block-D and opened the lift. We pressed 8^th floor button. Both Raghav and I were very silent. We were tensed and we could see it in each other’s face. The lift reached 8^th floor. Raghav gulped.

We got out from the lift. D-803 was on the right. We went and stood near the door. Quite confused on what to do next, Raghav and I looked at each other. I decided to ring the door bell. I rang the bell. In around 10 seconds the door opened slowly.

“Uh Hi, I am Srikkanth and this is Raghav. We have to come meet Mr. Sathish.” I said.

On the other side was a lady weary in looks probably nearing her 40’s. Her eyes were swollen and she was wearing a brown colour saree.

“Okay. May I know who you are?” She asked.

“We are... (gulped) Sahana’s friends aunty.” I said.

“Oh. Please come In.” She said. Her face lighted up as she heard the word Sahana.

She opened the door fully and let us in. We started moving inside when we saw a huge portrait of Sahana smiling. ‘SAHANA’ I thought.

I felt something chill on the ground. The entire flooring was of granite and extremely lavishly furnished. On the walls, there were calendars with names Sahana Constructions, Sahana Diamonds, Sahana Granites.

‘No wonder they are damn rich but Sahana was a simple girl.’ I thought.

We were seated in the sofa. The lady said, “Happy to see you friends here, she was our sweet angel. Next month she was to get married. But...” She started weeping.

Raghav stood up and said, “Please ma, Don’t cry. I know this is an irreparable loss.”

I didn’t talk. I couldn’t see the pain in her eyes.

Mr. Sathish came over. He was a man looking young for his age. He must be nearing his mid 40’s. He was stiff and tall man. He was wearing a think frame glass.

“Yes, I am Sathish.” He said.

“Hello uncle, I am Srikkanth and this is Raghav. We are Sahana’s friends. I am sorry for what happened.” I said.

I could see a small curve of smile on his face when he heard the name Sahana.

“Oh. Yeah we are the most unlucky parents. She was an amazing daughter. Having all riches, we have lost our precious treasure.” He said and removed his glasses. Tears rolled down his eyes.

“I am sorry uncle. No doubt she was an amazing girl.” Raghav assured.

“By the way, did you study in the same college? Never seen you guys before.” Mr.Sathish asked.

I hurriedly said, “Yes uncle.” Raghav looked at me with surprise. I just gave a plain look.

“Oh that’s good.” Mr.Sathish said.

“Uncle, why did you leave the saidapet house?” Raghav asked.

“Once our daughter left us, servant maids told that they saw her spirit roaming in the house doing daily routines, etc. Though I didn’t believe it Vijay and his astrologer forced me out of the house for our safety.” Mr.Sathish.

“Oh fine. Who is Vijay uncle?” I asked.

“He was supposed to marry Sahana next month. He is my close friend’s son. Didn’t she tell you?” Mr.Sathish asked.

‘Then what happened to Krishna?’ I thought.

Raghav was expecting some lock. But I said, “Sorry uncle, she has referred him as Viju only. We are unaware of his fullname.”

“Okay very well. We were all happy and excited about her marriage but before that...” His voice sank down.

“I understand uncle. I am sorry.” I said.

“So what are you guys planning to do after engineering?” Mr.Sathish asked.

Raghav gave me a ‘We are finished look.’ But thanks to Bharani who has already mentioned his plans after engineering, I said “Both of us are planning to study further uncle. Master’s in US.”

“That’s good. Sahana too wanted to study further. But she accepted for marriage just for our happiness.” Mr. Sathish said.

We remained silent.

“Uncle...” I said.

“Yes?” Mr.Sathish asked.

“If you don’t mind, Can we have a photo of Sahana?”  I asked.

“Sure.” Mr.Sathish said and went inside his room. After two minutes he came with two photos.

“This photo was taken during her engagement. This is Vijay.” Mr.Sathish said pointing to a man standing near Sahana.

Raghav and I looked at each other.

“This photo...” Mr.Sathish started.

“Is her college ID card photo.” Raghav said.

“Yes.” Mr.Sathish said.

“Uncle...” Raghav said.

“Yes?” Mr.Sathish asked.

“Can I have your phone number too?” Raghav asked.

“Yes, sure.” He wrote his number in a paper and gave it to us.

“Okay uncle, we will take leave.” I said.

“Okay. Thanks for coming.” Mrs.Sathish said. There was enormous pain and at the same time extreme satisfaction on her voice.

“Sure ma.” I tore a piece of paper and wrote my number on it and gave it to her.

“Please consider me as your son ma. You can call me whenever you feel like.” I said.

“God bless you both.” Mr.Sathish said.

We started and came to the exit of the apartment.

“Raghav, there is something fishy here.” I said.

“Yes I too feel the same. They are rich, she was in love with Krishna and how can she marry this Vijay?”  Raghav asked.

“When her parents can do so much for her, they will surely accept her love also. Besides, look at this engagement photo. Sahana is looking sad and tensed.” I said.

“Yes and look at Vijay too. He looks at least 10 - 15 years elder than her. There is something very fishy here.” Raghav said.

“We have only one choice.” Raghav continued.

“Yes, I understand da. Call the guys. Tonight midnight. Before that we need to get the materials.” I said.

“Yes, we shall go now.” Raghav said.

We started our bike and we drove towards Parry’s Corner. Raghav called Shiva and Moulee and told them the entire story.

I believe in spirits. I have studied many books and online material and I have also spoken to spirits. I stopped it because of my parent’s fears and advice. Speaking with spirits is a myth according to many people. But to me it’s the art of communicating with your beloved ones who are no more. Spirits are not visible to everyone; they will be visible only to the people who were associated with them before their death.

Raghav asked, “Machi, what is the basis of our plan?”

“See machi, first Sahana is rich. She loved Krishna but she was about to get married to Vijay next month. I am damn sure that Vijay is at least 10 years elder to her. Though if we believe that Sahana’s spirit roamed in her place there is no chance that she could harm her parents. Then why should Vijay and the astrologer drive her parents from the place? Sahana’s spirit stopped before the temple because, there is neem tree in front of the temple. Spirits never pass the neem tree. Neem is the most sacred and powerful of all leaves and spirits never surpass the neem leaves. She was visible only to our eyes and vanished when Shiva and Moulee came. Right?” I asked.

“Yes.” Raghav said.

“Yeah that’s because she saw us last at Anna University before her death. Remember she got dropped down by that car. She was in some problem.” I said.

“Yes, I remember.” Raghav said.

“Exactly so at that time Shiva and Moulee weren’t there with us. That’s why she was not visible when all the four of us were there. You understand?” I asked,

“Yes da. There is something really fishy and we have to find it out. Poor girl.” Raghav said.

I just nodded my head.

“It’s been three years and I am going to do it again. First I have to get the ouija board.” I said.

“Yes da. We should find out what happened.” Raghav said strongly.

‘ Sahana, I am sorry that we lied to your parents. I’m coming to help you.’ I thought.

What happens next?? Wait and Read :-)