Looking at the lady's acts and gestures, it appears that she is Pushpa's mother. "Mom?"
"How are you? What have you done? This house is your home; you should behave." The lady tells Ahmaya.
"A few months ago, we received a letter from your neighbours. However, when we arrived, they claimed you had run. We were distressed." She continues.
"Letter?" Ahmaya asks.
"Yes, we received this letter." She takes the letter from her bag, and Ahmaya grabs it right away.
42, Jawahr
South Fifth Street
Kongthong, Assam
To,
Mr Wahlang
Auxiliary of British Soc. College Road.
Dawki , Assam
Oct 3, 1995
Mr and Mrs Wahlang,
I hope you are doing well. I'm writing to express our concern for your daughter, who is in poor condition. We believe her in-laws beat her frequently, and my wife witnessed her brother-in-law assaulting her. This is known by all of the neighbours. We are writing this out of humanity; if this situation continues, your daughter will not survive. And all of this drama is generating problems in our area. This is causing notoriety in our village. We have young children; how will this drama affect them? And kids being around a widow brings them misfortune.
I hope you understand our concerns. Please take your daughter back with you.
With Greatest Regards,
Vasuv Nongrum
Pushpa's mother is astonished to find her reading the letter, as Pushpa is illiterate. "Are you reading this? How come... you didn't know how to read and write?"
"Oh , Pushpa was not even educated?" Ahmaya is furious after reading this. "So you are here to bring me with you."
"Look, I can't take you with me; now this is your home. If you live with love and decency, things will be easier for you." Her mother explains why she can't take her from here.
"Are you serious? Your kid is dying here. Now I understand why she felt the need to escape from this place. Ahmaya yells in rage.
"Shhh! Your brother-in-law likes you, right? Should I tell your father to talk to them about your marriage to him? You'll be married again, and everything will be normal as before?"
Ahmaya smirks in fury after hearing what Pushpa's mother had in mind, "He doesn't like me; he abuses and molests me. Please leave, I don't need your nonsense. Your daughter hurried away from here because she was dying; she knew no one would come to her help, so she ran with hope."
Ahmaya lowers her pitch and says again. "Please go."
"At the very least, talk to Mom. What has got into you?" The mother attempts to converse with her.
"No, talking to you is no good." Ahmaya tells her to leave, and she keeps the letter with her.
"I wouldn't let your daughter suffer and die here." Ahmaya murmurs to herself.
When the mother leaves her room, the mother-in-law enquires, "Have you already talked to her?"
"I don't know. By the way, I apologise if my daughter has given you any concern. I may leave now." She apologises to her in-laws and leaves.
"Hi, what are you doing?" Her brother-in-law enters the room.
He smacks her firmly. "I guess you got some attitude." He speaks while slapping her three times in a row, and "Dinesh", Pushpa's mother-in-law, calls for him from the outside.
He approaches Ahmaya's face, very close, and clutches her face with strength. "Don't resist me; make me happy, and I will make you happy in this house."
He needed to leave because his mother cried for him; otherwise, something awful would happen to her.
This episode tormented Ahmaya, and she wondered if Pushpa was dealing with all of this. She may have faced it every day. She is just thinking about what she can do for Pushpa. How she could help her.
.
Ayani figured out what she ought to do. First, she needs to get her out of there, so she opts to leave at night.
Kitbok paye Ayani a visit.
"See, I need you to get out of all this. This is not your work, nor do you belong in this world." Ayani yells at him as soon as she sees him.
"I just want to know, when will you get her back?" He is desperate to meet her for the last time and ask her the questions he has.
"See, the reason I am telling you to get out of this is because maybe you won't see her again.... Already.... things are messed up, and we need to sort things out as soon as possible, and the only way to do that is to send her back where she came from." Ayani tries to explain the problem to him apologetically.
Without saying anything, Kitbok walks away, devastated. He had hoped to question her and perhaps get one final chance to get to know her, but Ayani says they might not even cross paths again.
Ahmaya is awake again tonight, wondering about what she can do on behalf of Pushpa. Ayani, on the other hand, needs to figure out how she will get to Ahmaya because she has no idea where she is other than the village Kongthong. She chooses to go to Kongthong and look for the house she lives in.
Her powers enable her to quickly reach Kongthong.
Now she must look for Ahmaya. She chooses to seek help from a tree. She approaches a tree and touches its trunk, saying, "Hello, I'm Ayani, the forest spirit." The tree leaves shake, indicating yes.
"I need your help. My companion is somewhere nearby; I need to find her. Please tell me where to look for Pushpa, a widow whose husband passed away 1.5 years ago, living with her in-laws."
Trees are aware of everything that is happening in their community and around them; they are living beings who can hear and see but cannot talk or move. However, they can only communicate with unique beings. The tree shakes its leaves and branches once more to say yes. "Could you lead me?" Ayani makes a request.
Many of the tree's leaves began to fall from it, and after flying, they formed a trail; they continued to fall ahead of each other, creating a complete roadmap to Pushpa's house.
Ayani arrives at the house and uses her skills to force her way inside.
"Finally, you are here." Ahmaya is overjoyed to meet her.
"Hush! Listen, we need to show that you ran away. People should think that Pushpa ran away again, as she had done before. It's her room, right? Open her cupboard and pack some of her belongings." They are out of time and need to leave fast.
Ahmaya begins following instructions. And then she goes on, "Wait, read this letter; today Pushpa's mother came by; she informed me that she received this letter a few months ago, but when she arrived to visit her daughter, it was too late; she had already escaped. Her brother-in-law attempted to assault me, I mean Pushpa's body, yesterday as well. She was just living in hell."
"That's... horrible." She reads the letter and feels terrible for Pushpa.
"Yes, her mother can't take her with them either, and she blatantly wanted her to marry her brother-in-law—seriously, that jerk." We need to help her." Says Ahmaya.
"Are you out of your mind? Don't you want to go back?" Ayani speaks in a dissatisfied tone.
"Pushpa will return and live like before when I go back, right?"
"Yes, maybe. But if she returns to her true self in another location, the location in which you will leave her body. If she returns there, and perhaps they might not come to find her, then she will begin a new life. It was the original plan; she ran away, ended up in Mawphlang, and you came into the scene, and everything twisted up." Says Ayani.
"Beginning from scratch is difficult, especially here. And if she returns to herself in another location, her evil brother-in-law will remain the same. He is nasty, and he can ruin any girl's life. I cannot let that happen. And what if she ended up living here due to the hardships of the world? Then, she will return to hell, a place where murder awaits her. There must be some regulations in the British Raj to safeguard women. We can do something, right?" Ahmaya cannot allow the destruction of another girl's life.
"You can't interfere with a human's fate." Says Ayani.
"I am not using my powers; I will just do it the way humans do."
"It is still impossible for you to do so." warns Ayani
"It is possible; I will do it as Pushpa, not Ahmaya."
"Awaken to your reality." You don't have to do all this." Ayani attempts to convince her.
"I have to do this; I can't allow her to continue suffering and ultimately die." But she is desperate to help her.
"It's her fate; it's her life. We can't do anything."
"Why? You told me that Aokma's are protectors who protect God's creations; Pushpa is one of those creations, and we must protect her." Ahmaya fires back.
"God has not told us to protect her. We work according to God's command."
"I will not use my power; I will act like a human. Please. Tell me about British laws which help women; there are some, and we can complain about them, correct?" says Ahmaya.
"Complaining to them won't work. Crimes against women, such as assault, molestation, and attempted rape, are covered by laws. However, there have been cases where societal views and legal intricacies made it difficult for women to attain justice. Additionally, there have been variations in the effectiveness and execution of these laws. Many legislations is developed by the British colonial legal system to combat crimes against women, but their application and effects are frequently impacted by the dominant power structures and cultural norms." Ayani explains in a go.
"What should we do now?" Ahmaya now falls into serious thought, trying to think of ways to help Pushpa.
"This is the story of every second widow here. This experience is nothing new. Every other widow here experiences this situation. Ayani offers her a reality check.
"This is ridiculous. We need to sort this out; we have to help her."
"What have I got myself into?" Ayani murmurs. "I'm out. I can't help you with anything. If you want to figure anything out, you should do it yourself. Help Pushpa while simultaneously helping yourself return home. You want everything done your way." She takes a big breath and adds, "I took numerous risks to save you. If you hadn't summoned your energy at Patallok that day, I wouldn't have lived. Even now, I am working very hard for you. But you simply have to be stubborn and do everything according to your preferences. You've already engaged one human in all of this: Kitbok. Please don't involve another. I spared everything since you don't know Aokmas, you don't understand their rules and authority, and you're already stressed out, but it's gone too far."
"I am sorry. I know God hasn't told us to help her, but I believe it's my duty. If I am unable to help the sufferer as a human, I shall do so as an Aokma." Ahmaya is determined to help herself and Pushpa.
"I am leaving." Ayani is returning.
"Wait, wait," Ahmaya attempts to calm her down and chat with her. "As you mentioned, reporting him for assault is difficult and everything. I will make him try to murder me, and someone has to witness it, and a complaint will be filed for attempted murder."
"What if he doesn't try to kill you?" Asks Ayani.
"I've seen the ego in his eyes. I just need to pique his ego, and he will undoubtedly try to kill me."
"Whatever you're thinking, I'm out of this," says Ayani before leaving.
Ayani returns home, upset. She wants to help Pushpa, but she understands the consequences of interfering with a human's fate without God's permission.
Her head is so messed up that she chooses to go see her father.
She travels to Nako, Himachal Pradesh; there is a magnificent lake with sparkling crystal water, and Ayani can clearly see the wonderful, colourful, and vivid fishes.
Ayani dips her fingers into the water. "Dad, I call you."
Suddenly, a man rises from the lake, covered in water and with crystal-dark skin.
"You came after a very long time?" Dad smiles.
Ayani is overjoyed to see her father; he emerges from the water, hugs her, and leads her to a nearby valley for a conversation.
"How's everything going?" he enquires of his daughter.
"Fine." She responds with minimal energy.
Her father, noticing her lack of enthusiasm, suspects there is something wrong with her and asks, "What brings you here?"
"I was just missing you and was feeling so confused in life." She responds again in a quiet, unenergetic tone.
"My brilliant daughter is confused....why?"
She groans deeply and responds, "Dad, there is an Aokma who is desperately in need of my assistance; she is unable to do anything without it, and she does not even know how to evoke her power fully. She is so headstrong, and she wants to help a human who is in many problems; she claims she wants to help her as a human. She refuses to help herself before helping that human."
"What's her name?" He is intrigued about who she is.
Ayani does not respond to his question and keeps mute.
"Okay, you would rather not tell me; it's fine. But why do you want to help Aokma?"
"Because she is in need of my help."
"That's exactly what she may be thinking for that human." Her father answers.
"But we can't help a person and change their fate. Could we?"
Ayani puts an argument in front of him.
His father smiles and adds, "Listen, do you know what is written in that human's fate? Maybe what you will do for them determines their fate. And by doing nothing, you are changing their fate. My daughter, fate is a complicated topic; don't delve into it; you'll overthink it and find no answers."
"Dad, but the repercussions for harming a human...."
"Kid, you told me that Aokma only wanted to help the human as a human only. We live in society as humans among humans. And doing something for them as people is very acceptable. As long as you don't use your God-given powers. And harming someone is always wrong; even humans should not do it." Her father gives her an answer to her confusion.
"But that Aokma is already in a lot of trouble, and..." Says Ayani.
"My daughter try to empathise with her thoughts; she herself is aware of her troubles, yet she wants to help somebody first. You yourself have that quality.... I know you."
Yes, Ayani has this quality too; she selflessly put her life at risk for Ahmaya while she was in Pataallok and ready to lose her life.
"God provides us choices; we are the ones who choose what to do. I realise you are currently confused, and all I can advise you to do is listen to your heart and what your inner self is telling you. Don't think about the outcomes, nor should you use your previous experience with anything like that; instead, think about what your actual self is asking you to do." He concludes with the answer Ayani was looking for.
Meeting her father gave Ayani a tremendous sense of comfort. She also received an answer about what to do. She is no longer burdened or sorrowful; she feels light.
.
Ahmaya is alone again with her thoughts. She is also frightened that Ayani will not come to her rescue again, and she will be trapped here indefinitely; she sobs and is terrified. She does not eat anything and does not leave the room; she was at ease earlier because, while not being in the correct timeline, she was still in Mawphlang, where she used to live in the correct timeline. But now she is not even in the right location, and she finds herself between dangerous people: Pushpa's brother-in-law, who is simply waiting for an opportunity to assault her, and her in-laws, who treat her like a jinxed maid.
Another night comes.
Ayani arrives to meet Ahmaya.
"Hi , I thought you would not come. I was so scared and..." Ahmaya weeps when she sees Ayani.
"It's fine. I am sorry; I was too angry yesterday."
Ahmaya is relieved to meet her, but she is also sorry that she may leave the jerk Dinesh as is.
"So, how do you want to teach Pushpa's brother-in-law a lesson? Do you want to go with that plan where you will irritate his ego and he would attempt to kill you?" Ask Ayani.
"I do not think we should go for that. The parents have already lost one of their sons and hold Pushpa responsible for it; if they see their second son go to jail as a result of Pushpa, they will blame her much more and lose both of their sons. People may refer to Pushpa as jinxed. How will Pushpa deal with all of this? I have to drop this plan. I can leave this body far away from here; Pushpa can start afresh, but I hate when I think that a woman will marry that jerk and..." Ahmaya stops speaking and begins crying gently.
"The plan was to make him try to murder you; what if he tries to murder me?" Ayani recommends.
"But how will you do that?"
"I can do that." Ayani continues by saying, "Let me tell you a story."
"There was a demon who had the power to convert anyone into ashes by touching their head. The universe was in peril as a result of this, and then God took the guise of a lovely woman. The beautiful woman made him dance with her, and the demon, blinded by lust, while dancing touched his own hand to his head and turned himself into ashes."