Part 5 Miracle

Arnav looked at Khushi with confusion.

"What do you mean AFTER ME?"

"That means I don't belong to this village," Khushi said.

"Are not you?"

She nodded no.

"Fifteen years ago, Ratna Aunty found me in the same temple where we met this morning. I was five years old at that time."

"How did you come to the temple?"

"I don't know. I was unconscious when Ratna Aunty found me. On the same day, village people found the dead body of a man in the nearby forest..."

"Who was he?"

"No one knows... People could not understand what I said as I talked in Hindi..."

"Hindi? Are you a north Indian?"

"Uncle Arvind said I spoke in Hindi, and my name is Khushi. So, I must be a North Indian because Khushi is a North Indian name... of course, nowadays South Indians started naming Sanskrit names. Uncle Arvind said I looked like a North Indian with a fair complexion and features."

"oh... That means the man who died in the forest was not related to you. If he were related to you, you would have cried seeing his lifeless body."

"Yes, Arvind uncle also concluded the same."

"How did the man die?"

"He blood vomited..."

"Blood vomited?"

"Mmm... Didn't I say anyone with bad intentions could not enter this village? His intention must have been bad. Uncle Arvind suspected that the man might have kidnapped me from my parents. That's why he let me stay at their palace..."

"Did he adopt you?"

"Adopt? What do you think about the Royals? It's difficult to step into the palace without a reason and forget about being adopted. You know what? I started calling them Uncle and Aunty just five years ago. Before that, I called them sir and madam."

"Why so?"

"It's because of the OLD KING..."

"Old King? Who is that?"

"Uncle Arvind's father. He was not like Uncle Arvind but very strict. He kept the servants within their limits. Servants would shiver to stand in front of him. He didn't even allow me to go to the school. Uncle Arvind was the one who requested his father and sent me to the school."

"What's your designation?"

"B. Com..."

"That's great...! You Said you talked in Hindi. Then, how did you manage Tamil?

"What's the big deal? I would have learned Tamil being at this place."

"That's why the girls in the palace are dominating you?"

"Mmm..."

"By the way, what's wrong with Ratna madam? Why is she in this condition?"

"She is the very nicest woman I have ever seen. She is not blessed with a child. The old king always taunted, scolded, and cursed her for not giving an heir to his family. It put her under pressure. She started suffocating from stress. The king started arranging for Uncle Arvind's second marriage without his consent. She was distraught and tried to commit suicide. So, she jumped into the big well behind the palace. Her head got hit in the stepping stone of the well. She lost her mind. The only thing she repeatedly said after the accident was, where is my son? Uncle Arvind fought with his father for her wife's miserable condition. He decided to leave the palace, taking Ratna Aunty with him. In shock, the old king had a heart attack. The treatment didn't help to keep him alive...he left the world."

"They are Royals... Didn't they think of taking her for the treatment?"

"Do you think they didn't? They went for the treatment. The test result said she had no problem. Doctors asked them to wait... But the old king was not ready to wait. That was the problem."

"Disgusting..."

"There has been only one male heir in their family for many generations..."

"What do you mean?"

"Yes, Uncle Arvind is an only son of their parents, his father was also an only son, and his grandfather is also the only son of their parents..."

"Oh..."

"That was what disappointed the King."

"Why did he blame only Ratna, madam? Why didn't Arvind, Sir? He, too, could have had a problem."

"No... every heir of his family had surely given birth to a son. So, the king believed Uncle Arvind would be eligible to become a father. So, he blamed Ratna Aunty. Don't know why she could not get conceived having no problem..." Khushi felt bad for Ratna.

"Ratna madam is a nice woman. Her father-in-law tortured her a lot. How did this village let him live here?"

"I already told you... if anyone who belongs to this village is bad, their wish will never come true... the old king wanted to have an heir, but it didn't happen."

"Ok... but what's Ratna Madam's mistake in this? Why is she suffering?"

"Some questions have no answers... maybe, you will get the answer sooner or later."

"I don't believe such things..."

"You will... one day you will believe..."

Arnav smirked.

"Trust me, Arnavji... this village is a holy place..."

"Yeah, you guys believe Lord Shiva lives here..."

"Not only Lord Shiva. Have you ever heard about SIDDHAS?"

Arnav was silent because he had heard about Siddhas from his Guruji.

"In Tamil Nadu, a Siddha refers to a being who has achieved a high degree of physical and spiritual perfection or enlightenment. The ultimate demonstration of this is that Siddhas allegedly attained physical immortality. Siddhas obtain intellectual powers called siddhi through constant meditation in certain educational disciplines. Siddhas are knowledgeable in literature, science, technology, astronomy, fine arts, music, drama, and dance and provide solutions to common people in their illness and advice for their future."

It was not new for Arnav. He already knew them. He heard them from the Guruji many times.

"You might have known about Siddhas because you are from GORAKHPUR...! Gorakar is one among the EIGHTEEN Siddhas...! Gorakhpur got its name because of Gorakar Siddhar. Right?"

Arnav nodded yes.

"Those eighteen Siddhas are considered Lord Shiva's DIRECT disciples. Every one of the Siddha lived hundreds of years... some of them lived thousands of years. Now also, people think, still, they are living in abstract form..."

"Ok... why are you giving me the lecture about Siddhas now?"

"It's because this is a Siddhas village. They live here."

Arnav raised his brows.

"Yes, they knew everything. We can't see them, but they will listen to us... watching us..."

"Do you say, now also, they are listening to us?" he chuckled.

Before Khushi replied, a plant in the nearby bush shook rapidly. Arnav and Khushi looked at the plant and then at each other.

"I think there is an animal." Arnav checked to see if there was an animal but found nothing.

He looked at Khushi, who was standing silently.

"Don't say it's also the theurgy of Siddhas..." he smiled.

"Believe it or not..."

Khushi started walking from the place. Arnav smiled at her and again looked at the plant. He started walking smilingly. His smile faded as the plant again shook. Arnav knew there was no animal near the plant. The beauty was that the other plants near the particular plant didn't even shake a bit. They were still. The plant stopped shaking. When Arnav took a step to leave the place, the plant again shook. It shook like someone was shaking it with his hands. Arnav moved towards the plant and held it tightly to stop it from shaking, but it shook faster than before.

To be continued...