Sahana E05

Episode - 5

It took us about a couple of hours to reach Parry’s Corner. It is a place where you get anything at a low cost. Ouija board right from the ancient times has been under constant criticism of various religions. It is believed that Ouija boards were found by the ancient Chinese people and it was used as a medium to talk to their dead beloved ones.

In Parry’s corner, Ouija boards are sold by Muslims. Muslims have always been seen as protector of mankind from spirits. Three years ago, one of my friends referred to Salim’s shop. I still remember that day, I was in college 1^st year I came to get my first Ouija board. I had the experience of talking with 5 spirits until one day I was caught by my parents. They warned and blackmailed me not to try it out again. But this time I had to do it. My parents were out of station too which gave me a great chance.

Salim’s shop was almost at the end of Flower Bazaar.

I reached the shop and said “Assalamu alaikum Salim bhai.”

“Hey Sri, walaikum as salaam. Walaikum as salaam. Epdi iruke?”

(MEANING – May Peace be on you. How are you?)

“Super ah iruken. Neenga?” I asked.

(MEANING – I am doing great. How about you?)

“Allah puniyathula nalla irukom.” He said.

(MEANING - With Allah’s grace, All are fine.)

I smiled at him and said, “Ithu namma dosth, peru raghav.”

(MEANING – This is our friend, name is Raghav.)

Raghav said,” Assalamu alaikum.”

“Walaikum as salaam.” He said and smiled.

“Sollunga enna venum?” He asked.

(MEANING – Tell me. What do you want?)

“Ouija Board. A strong one.” I said.

“Okay two minutes.” He said and went inside a room and brought a box. He opened the box and said, “This is a good board. Use this for constructing a sphere.” He said pointing to a packet of holy ash.

I paid the money and left the place. I was too tired to drive the bike so I asked Raghav to drive. I asked him to drive through Besant Nagar again through the same area. Though it was a circuitous route, I wanted to analyze certain things. Raghav started. During the entire journey of an hour, we were talking about Sudha and Sindhu only. The wonderful feeling of love makes you forget all problems and worries in life.

We reached Besant Nagar in an hour and we drove through the same route as we did that night. We saw SAHANA from the Anna University signal.

“Machi...” I said.

“Yes da. Tell.” Raghav said.

“We saw her out of the blue after this signal. She was wearing the same dress she wore on the day she died.” I said.

“Yeah, I still remember the day when she fell down from the car.” Raghav said as we passed Anna University signal.

“Fell down? I seriously doubt that machi. I think she would have been pushed.” I said.

“Pushed?” Raghav asked with a shock.

“Yes but we will get to know some more information tonight.” I said.

“I just don’t understand one thing da. How did she stop that day in this signal when it was blinking orange?” Raghav asked.

“Machi as far as I know, spirits follow a definite routine which they followed before they die. Like if someone sells vegetables and dies while selling them to me, then there is a great chance that I can see his spirit selling vegetables. You understand what I am trying to tell?” I asked.

“Okay fine. So you mean to say someone would have intervened when she was about to cross the signal?” Raghav asked.

“High possibility.” I said.

“I think we are looking for something very fishy. What do you suspect?” Raghav asked.

“You’re my best friend da and you’re still asking me this question. I suspect...” I said.

“MURDER...” Raghav said.

“Yes. We’ll get answers today.” I said.

“You mean she will tell who murdered her?” Raghav asked.

“Machi, spirits are not like how they portray in movies. Once people die, they are given three choices – First one is for them to diminish, second is to take another form and the third is to roam on earth. The choice is completely left to the spirit. Many of them have the myth belief that spirits get to know all truth once they die. I strongly oppose that. They can only doubt. In our case, if she suspects she was murdered she can’t tell us who murdered her as she doesn’t know. But she can surely guide us through the process of finding the murderer. You understand?” I asked.

“Yes, I am just afraid of this entire Ouija thing.” Raghav said.

“Don’t worry. Everything has a procedure and protocol. If we follow the steps nothing will harm us.” I said in an assuring tone.

“Fine da. I trust you more than anyone else.” Raghav said.

I smiled and patted on his shoulder.

‘I am so lucky enough to get a friend like this priceless gem of a guy’ I thought.

We reached home at 9:00pm after having dinner at a fast food centre called Bakya’s. Raghav and I were waiting for Shiva and Moulee. Once they arrived we had a chat in the hall.

“Hey guys, how was your day?” I asked Shiva and Moulee.

“Shiva would have enjoyed as usual.” Raghav said with a wink and Moulee said giggling.

“Dai stop teasing. I enjoy every day with her company.” Shiva said proudly.

“That’s a great retort. Mine was okay. How was your day?” Moulee asked us.

Raghav narrated everything that happened right from the RTO, visiting SAHANA’s parents and till purchasing Ouija board and their suspects.

“Have you lost your mind? Talking with spirits?”Shiva asked.

“Seems to be a bad idea.” Moulee said.

“You have a better idea, Sir?” Raghav asked.

“Guys, please. I just want to know what happened. What if she got murdered? If you had seen the pain in her parent’s face you wouldn’t have spoken like this.” I said.

“Hmmm fine. But what makes you suspect a murder?” Moulee probed.

“What else you need? A very rich girl, she truly loved Krishna but decided to marry Vijay. Vijay is elder at least by a decade. She accepted the marriage for what? After her death, why should Vijay and the astrologer drive Sahana’s parents outside their house? These are the loose knots.” Raghav said.

“Well, maybe Krishna and Sahana had a mutual break up and then she decided to marry the other guy for her parent’s happiness.” Shiva explained.

“That is very much possible but not confirmed. We can always make assumptions. But if we can get some information by talking with SAHANA then we can decide what we should do.” I said.

“Then, I guess we have to talk to her after all.” Shiva said.

“Guys, it’s very risky. I have heard many stories about talking with spirits. If anything adverse happens it will not only affect us but also our families.” Moulee said.

“I understand da but don’t worry I am not forcing you guys into this. It’s completely your wish. I am going to try this out for sure.” I said.

“I am always with him.” Raghav said smiling at me.

“So Am I.” Shiva said.

“Anything for you guys. Tag me in.” Moulee said.

“That’s great guys.” Raghav said.

“Okay cool. Now I want to explain certain aspects of this entire talking to spirit episode. Before we start, I want everyone to believe in spirits. Even if you don’t believe, keep telling ‘I believe in spirits’ in your mind. Once I put the sphere, you all have to believe that all of us are protected. Even if you are not convinced just keep telling ‘I am protected’ in your mind. At no point of time you should ask any question without respect. These are the most important aspects guys. Understand?” I asked.

“Cool machi. I’m excited.” Raghav said.

Shiva didn’t say anything but just nodded his head.

“Okay.” Moulee gulped.

“By the way guys, I forgot to tell something. Sudha has a friend in Anna University ECE department. Her name is Ganga. She is somewhat close to SAHANA. Ganga told Sudha that SAHANA didn’t come for the tour their department went.” I said.

“Oh when was that?” Raghav asked.

“Remember the day she fell down from the car. That time only the students were to return to Chennai. It’s seems SAHANA told that she would come for the tour but then she missed it.” I said.

“It seems like this will also help us out.” Raghav said.

“Exactly, now we shall start to the terrace. Raghav bring that board carefully. Shiva bring a glass of water. Moulee get two candles from the kitchen. I will go with Raghav and make the setup.” I said and all of us started.

In around five minutes, we reached the terrace. I laid the mat on the ground. I opened the box which we bought from Salim’s shop and took the Ouija board and kept it on the mat. There was a small wooden shell with a hole. I kept the candles on the two sides of the board and kept the glass of water in front of me.

“Yes so that’s it. Guys let me get this straight. I will explain the process. But before that, Raghav please give me that solo photo of SAHANA.” I asked.

Raghav gave me that photo.

“Now for the process, the glass of water is kept for appeasing the spirit. It is not necessary that only SAHANA would come and interact with us. Once I construct the sphere, anyone can interact with us. You have to remain silent throughout the process. The candles are lit for brightness. Spirits generally remain calm in brightness. Look at this wooden shell like thing.” I showed it to them and they observed carefully.

“The hole is here right? Once the spirit comes, it will move this shell on the board. Once we start the introduction, the glass will vibrate and the shell will move to either HI or BYE written here on the board. After that it will tell whether it is interested in interacting with us by moving the shell to YES or NO. If it’s NO, then shell will move to BYE. If it’s YES we can start asking questions with due respect. For any answer, it will move the shell to the letters or the alphabets in the board. Spirits never lie so we should not probe in much. Everything clear right?” I asked.

There was just a silent nod. Everybody was tensed. It was pitch dark and I took the matchbox and lit a stick and lit the candles. I kept SAHANA’s photo on the board. I took out the holy ash, said few mantras and created an imaginary sphere around myself and my friends. I looked at her photo and focussed and said gently,“ Please SAHANA, we wish to talk to you. Please come down. Please come down. Please come down.” And I prayed with opened eyes.

My friends were terrified. They were looking at me anxiously. In around 30 seconds, the glass of water vibrated strongly. My friends were petrified. I could see the fear in their faces and eyes.

“Hi.” I said.

After ten seconds, the shell slowly moved to HI.

‘First step success.’ I thought.

“Are you the SAHANA in the photo?” I questioned.

After a few seconds, the shell slowly moved to YES.

“We would like to talk to you. You remember us?” I asked.

The shell remained in YES for quite some time and then I asked “We want to ask you about your death.”

The shell immediately moved to NO and then to BYE. The glass vibrated and fell down and broke.

“Oh my god.” I said.

“What happened?” Moulee asked.

“She broke the water of glass. She became angry I guess.”

“I was damn scared.”Shiva said.

“But...” I started but stopped.

“Look da, this and all won’t work out. When she is not ready to speak about her death, then how can we help her? Let’s just drop this.” Shiva said.

“He has a point.” Moulee agreed.

Raghav didn’t speak anything.

“Okay guys. I am sorry.” I said.

“It’s okay. Now let’s hit the bed. It’s been a long day.” Shiva said.

Moulee and Shiva left the terrace first. I followed them with Raghav. I left the set up there. Just as I was about to leave, Raghav stopped and turned back.

“What da?” I asked.

He just nodded and we went down and hit the bed. Shiva and Moulee slept on the bed and Raghav and I slept on the mat. I was almost asleep when Raghav called out gently, “Machi...”

“Yes da, what?” I asked in a tired tone.

“Shall we try it again?” Raghav asked.

“Try what?” I asked.

“Speaking with SAHANA.” Raghav said.

“We can try but why?” I asked.

“Machi remember you told me that spirits relate themselves or appear only in front of people who were associated with them at the time of death right?” Raghav asked.

“Yes.” I said.

“Maybe she got angry because Moulee and Shiva were there with us. We should give it a try alone. That is only we two.” Raghav said.

‘Even I forgot about that. He has a point.’ I thought.

“Right, let’s go.” I said.

In five minutes we were again on the terrace. I brought a new glass of water and kept it in front of the board. Raghav lit the candles. I constructed the sphere around me and Raghav and I focussed on the photo. I said “I am sorry for last time SAHANA. Please come down one more time. Please come down.”

The glass of water vibrated but not as fierce like the previous time. Raghav and I looked at each other.

“Hi SAHANA.” I said.

The shell moved to HI quite slowly.

“I am sorry.” I said.

The shell first moved to O and then it moved to K. It said “OK”.

“We would like to talk to you again. Would you be interested? Please.” I asked.

In around five seconds, the shell moved to YES.

“Why you didn’t go to the college tour?” I asked.

There was no reply from SAHANA for almost a minute. Then the shell slowly moved to O... then R... then I... then S... then remained in S for sometime... then A. It meant “ORISSA.”

‘Orissa? What is there?’ I thought and looked at Raghav in a confused manner.

“What happened to Krishna?” Raghav asked the question this time.

The shell was stationery for some time. It then moved to L... then I... then V... then E.

“Live??” Raghav asked looking at me.

I thought for a second.

“No da, it says ALIVE. After ORISSA it remained in A itself for sometime right. So it’s ALIVE not LIVE.” I said.

“Oh yes.” Raghav said.

“Why you went to ORISSA?” Raghav asked.

The shell moved to V... then I... then J... then A... then Y. It meant VIJAY.

“Why did he take you?” I asked.

The shell moved to R... then A... then P... then E...

Raghav and I looked shocked. ‘RAPE???’ I gulped.

“I am sorry. Would you like to answer more questions please?” I asked.

The shell immediately went to NO and then to BYE.

We immediately went down and woke up Shiva and Moulee. We told them that we tried it again and told what had happened.

“What?” Moulee asked in a shock.

“Sex assault?  Vijay?” Shiva asked.

“Yes, that too in Orissa. Now why would he have to take a girl to Orissa and rape? He could have done it in Chennai itself. There is some connection between Vijay, SAHANA and Orissa.” Raghav said.

“There would have been only one possibility.” I said.

“What’s that?” Moulee asked.

“Well, Vijay could have kidnapped her to Orissa and that’s why she would have missed the college tour.” I said.

“Hmmm maybe. Should we inform the police?” Shiva asked.

“No Shiva, police won’t believe Ouija boards. We need to crack this ourselves.” Moulee said.

“Ourselves? I don’t get you.” Shiva said.

“We need to investigate expecting no help from others.” Raghav said.

“The investigation list would start from Vijay, SAHANA’s parents and Ganga till now.” I said.

“Should we inform to Mr.Bharadwaj & Mr.Ananth that we would be taking this as case study?” Moulee asked.

“No da, it’s too early for that. We’ll see what happens.” Raghav said.

“Fine plan is okay. But how do we do the investigation? If we go and ask do you think they will answer properly?” Moulee asked.

“He has a point da.” Shiva said.

“Yeah.” Raghav agreed.

I thought for some time and smiled at them.

“What?” Moulee asked.

“Why fear when Anandhi is with us?” I said and smiled.

“I know where you’re getting!” Raghav exclaimed.

“Yes, we’ll meet her tomorrow.” Shiva said.

“Cool. Now I am feeling sleepy. Good night guys!” Moulee said.

“Good night.” I said.

We all went back to the bedroom when I pulled Raghav’s hand.

“What da?” Raghav asked.

“Thanks da. We are getting closer.” I said and hugged him.

“Anything for you machi. Now sleep well. Good night.” Raghav said.

“Good night da.” I said and all of us slept.

Who is Anandhi?? What happens Next??