The Enchantress

16. Journey Started

The three sat in the car, everyone silent. It was 6:30 am. If they had started later, there would be a lot of traffic on the way. Mohamaya had helped her mother to pack a lunch box for them early in the morning.

"Ganapati Bappa morya," Mahamaya muttered slowly as the other two joined in on the cheer, joining hands in front of the miniature Ganesha statue in the car. It was important to take his name before starting anything important. That's why, many Indians had his or other deities miniature statue in the car.

The car, Ertiga, started moving. The vibe was awkward as Mahamaya said in a low voice, "I'm sorry about what I have done earlier."

Mahesh said nothing but Indrayani sighed, holding her daughter's hand. Mahesh cleared his throat and asked her, "Did you know? There was a time when Indrayani almost died."

Mahamaya gasped and looked at her father in surprise. Indrayani turned around, her face glum, maybe because she was remembering the memories.

Mahesh continued, "Her pregnancy was dangerous because her body was not ready for a delivery. She was too lean for it. Her life was in danger throughout the pregnancy and I had started working more so that I could save up more for the hospital expenditures. That's why, she had to visit the hospital alone. She never told me about it."

Mahamaya looked at her mother, her eyes wide. She asked, surprised, "Why didn't you abort me then, Aai (mother)?"

Indrayani held her cheek lovingly and asked, "Why will I abort a life that I and your father created together? I thought that those were the last months of my time on Earth, so I threw a tantrum, that I wanted to visit river Ganga and your father had to eventually comply. It was my last wish. However, what I didn't expect was that I would go into labour so soon. Thankfully, the delivery was handled so accurately that I was saved and you were born healthy too."

Mahamaya looked at her parents with amazement. She never knew this. Was that why they were reluctant on letting her be in the army or the police? Because they were afraid to let her die? Attachments are strong and sometimes suffocating. They stop us from doing our duties. No wonder Gautam Buddha, founder of Buddhism, felt suffocated in his big palace.

Her parents were not perfect either. You need to be detached to attain liberation, moksha (breaking from the continuous cycle of life and death) but she was not an exception too. She would perform all her duties but she would be completely attached to her parents. She could live away from them but she couldn't live without them.

Hugging her mother tightly, she felt like she would cry anytime soon. Before she did however, Mahesh joked, "Don't cry or my parents will say, did you make our granddaughter cry now?"

This made her chuckle but she didn't part with Indrayani. Indrayani kept patting her hair, before she said, "Alright, enough of this uncomfortable posture. My hands are paining now. Your mother seems to have gotten old now."

To which, Mahesh joked, "Really? I will say that she's still eighteen."

Everyone laughed as the trip continued until the sun was a little up and everyone was hungry. Indrayani had packed a few chapAtis (soft flat breads) with pickle (raw mango one) rolled together as they had stopped near some greenery and sat down on the grass to eat their food.

After they were done, they washed their hands with the drinking water they had with them and kept the waste in their polythene bag before they continued with their journey.

"Now, how about some games?" Mahamaya asked, grinning.

"Sure, which one?" Indrayani asked?

Mahesh exclaims excitedly, "AntAkshari, of course."

Both the women laughed. Mahesh loved songs and he knew so many that Antakshari was his favourite game. In Antakshari, an individual or a team is given a letter and they have to sing a song which starts from that letter. Once they are done, the last letter of the word where they stopped, the next individual or team have to sing a song which starts from that letter.

"No, that's not fair. You know all the songs in the world", Indrayani said, pouting.

"Then a story?" Mahamaya asked excitedly because she loved stories.

"Yes, that's your father's department," Indrayani said, laughing.

"Alright, so buckle up for a story," Mahesh said mysteriously...