Ratneshwari

Chapter 8

At Shivan's home after the reception

Ratneshwari changed her clothes and stepped inside the bathroom. Bathroom..... it is not used just for bathing and freshening up. But she wanted to freshen up. She relieved herself. Then she walked to the sink. It was a cold place. The coldness was good. She opened the tap. The tap water washed her dusky skin. It was so cool enough to cool her skin. When she was done, she returned to her bedroom.

She was very tired. She felt sleepy. She relaxed herself on the bed. She went into a deep slumber.

Shivan entered the room after sometime. He changed his clothes and after freshening up, decided to sleep.

After sometime, Shivan woke up all of a sudden. He didn't know what was happening. He heard Kumaran, his childhood friend, calling him. He was shocked. He opened the door of his room and saw him. He ran to him and said, "Are you okay? Thank God! You have recovered."

Kumaran said," I am fine."

Kumaran had met with an accident 5 days ago. He was in the ICU. Many of his family members had given  up the hope of his recovery. But he was standing in front of Shivan, fit and fine.

Believe it or not, Shivan didn't wonder why Kumaran was so fit even after meeting with such an accident.

Kumaran said to him, "I came here to give you something. I am in a hurry. I will have to leave." Then, he handed a watch to Shivan. He smiled and left. Shivan closed the door of his house. He thought of returning to his room when he heard a strange sound. It was a weeping woman. The sound was coming from his backyard. He went there and saw a woman sitting on the ground with a baby on her lap.

What he saw next, horrified him. The baby was sleeping peacefully. But the peacefulness was strange. He realised that the baby was dead and the woman was cuddling a dead baby. The woman turned back and looked at him. She was a leper. Leprosy had damaged her face. She was a stranger yet her face seemed too familiar. Shivan couldn't remember whose face it was.

The unfamiliar yet very familiar lady was staring at him. Her moist eyes were filled with agony and helplessness. Her facial expressions were not clear. But Shivan could figure it out that she was  angry. Her lips were as dry as the desert sand. It seemed that she wanted to speak various things to him. But, her helplessness had sealed her mouth.

Shivan was too scared. Suddenly, he started feeling that he couldn't breathe. He was restless. He started to lose control over his body and fell down.

At that moment, Shivan came out of his dream. He was in a state of shock. He couldn't believe what he had seen. It seemed so real. But he was glad that it was just a dream.

He saw Ratneshwari sleeping beside him. She was in a deep sleep. As she was sleeping in 'her' room beside 'her' husband, she was sleeping carelessly. Her sari was not in the proper order. Shivan could see her waist which was covered by her dusky skin. Her cleavage was also partially visible. She was beautiful.

Shivan fell asleep again.

Shivan woke up, the next morning. It was 5 o'clock. Usually, he didn't wake up this early. But that day he just couldn't sleep more. Then, his phone rang. It was his friend Shyamalan.

"Hello Shyamalan"

"Hello"

"Is everything fine? Why did you call at this hour of the day?"

"Kumaran died."

"What?"

"Kumaran died. It happened just an hour ago. B.... T..... A....... Shhhiv............. "

"Hello? Hello? Hello? Oh God! What's wrong with the mobile network now?"

Shivan couldn't believe his ears. His dear friend had died. It was a great loss for him. All their childhood activities flashed in front of his eyes. Suddenly, a thought struck his mind like a thunderbolt. He said to himself," What about my dream? Is it related to Kumaran's death in any way? Why did I dream about him, the lady and her dead child? What's the meaning of my dream?"

His mind was disturbed. But he decided not to share it with anyone.