The last Zone

Sulabha was speaking. Vinay was listening quietly. There were still many questions which remained unanswered. But now that Sulabha was revealing everything to him, he withheld them.

‘Abhaya was Satish’s half-sister. Satish didn’t know she existed. When Satish was young, his father had walked upon his mother and started living with another woman, which happened to be Abhaya’s mother. The family had fell on hard times after Satish’s father deserted them. Obviously, Satish developed a resentment towards the other woman. It was only when Satish’s mother with the help of her brother, sued Ram that she got a share in his property. This is how Swarg Sadan came in their possession.’

‘Satish lost his senses on hearing that the woman whom he had picked up from the bar was his half-sister and the cause of his suffering. In a fit of anger he stabbed her to death. That’s what Satish had told me. Further, he had said her ghost continued to haunt him. In a bid to help him, I started to clandestinely learn the techniques to tame a ghost. For I believed that the ghost was causing trouble in our lives too.’

Vinay couldn’t control his curiosity at this point and he asked, ‘Since when you started believing in these things.’

‘We all change. Life, its twists and turns change us Vinay.’

‘But why didn’t you tell me about it earlier.’

‘Would you have believed me if I had told you.’

Vinay had no answer to that. So, he kept quiet. Sulabha continued, ‘But what Satish had told me was half-truth. That day the woman had not died.’

Vinay’s eyes shone with excitement. Sulabha said, ‘Satish had thrown the body into the valley. But the woman wasn’t dead. She remained suspended from a branch of the tree and was miraculously rescued by a goat herder. She recovered and told her father about everything. Enraged, Ram entered Swarg Sadan and confronted Satish. I feel one murder, even unsuccessful, emboldens a person to commit another. Vinay killed Ram and buried him in our kitchen garden. He didn’t wish to commit the same mistake again’

‘You mean to say that the skeleton which was found in our garden was of Ram?’

‘Yes, the forensic reports have confirmed that it was of Ram. Satish didn’t stop at that. He eliminated Abhaya and her mother as well. This is how Ram Madhvani and his family entirely disappeared. No one was left even to enquire about them. Soon, Satish sold off the bungalow. But the spirit of the young woman continued to haunt him.’

‘What about the murder case in which Ram was involved, for whom Mrs. Shah’s husband was surety?’

‘Some village folk was murdered and his body was thrown into the forest. Neither Ram nor Satish had anything to do with it.’

‘How do you know about all this? Did Satish tell you?’

‘I learnt it from the police. They are filling the final report today.’

The final report was filed. Sulabha was acquitted of all charges.  The couple didn’t want to have anything with Swarg Sadan. They sold the property and moved to Pune. They had bought an apartment near Nisha’s. While they were moving out of Swarg Sadan, Vinay looked back. Swarg Sadan was enveloped in the morning mist, and the mystery woman stood on the terrace, with her hands folded. Finally, justice was done.