The guests arrive at Aastha's place. She gives a cold welcome to them.
"Oh! They have come," she thought, hiding behind a book.
"Hello, Bela. How are you doing? And where is the doll? I want to meet her," said Maria.
"She is sitting there. Just go and meet her. Now that you are here, you can meet her more often," began Bela. Maria happily approaches Aastha.
"So Aastha, how are you? You have been a source of inspiration for us," spoke Maria.
"Inspiration?"
"Yes. The way you have taken care of yourself throughout the journey in Ahmednagar. You were brave."
"Do you remember who I am?'
"Yes. You are Aunt Maria."
Maria spoke through her trans medium. I have come to kill you. What will you do now?"
She showered anger and frustration on her and left for the inside room.
Aastha got an eerie feeling. "I think I should leave the house as early as possible. By tomorrow morning, perhaps".
Let me take the opportunity tonight to pack my bag with two sets of clothes and some articles of use and run away from here. This place sucks. These gaits suck.
I need to save my life. Thinking about the consequences of staying back at home, Aastha drifts into sleep.
Early morning, she leaves the home on the pretext of going out for an interview.
"Why are you taking the bag with you?" asked Bela
"I am going for an interview at the Jadavpur branch office of TIME. I need the bag. I have kept my resume and other papers in the bag. Now shall I take your leave?
"By when will you be back?" queried Aunt Maria who stood behind Bela. She wanted to play dangerous.
"I don't know. It will take a lot of time. Perhaps by evening. Aastha looked perturbed.
While Maria gave an unusual stare at Aastha, Bela smiled at her only to make her feel insecure about herself".
"I will have to go to the nearby park, 'Victoria' first and stay there for some time. Then I will visit some more places and choose where to stay for times to come," she thought.
'I will never return. They want to kill me.' Thinking so, Aastha sits on the grass alongside the only patch of land in Victoria's dimension. She hears someone humming a tune.
'Who is he? Why is he sitting beside me?' thought Aastha.
"I am new to this place. Can you help me with something? My name is Rahul."
"Ohk...I don't know you."
"Let us know each other first. I am a photographer. What about you?"
"Photographer and in this magical world? It cannot be so". She murmured. Aastha was amazed by his talks. Nevertheless, she continued.
"Hi, My name is Aastha Sidhwani".
"Hi. I have been watching you for a long time now. You were sitting here for a long time. Is everything okay?"
"Oh that. I was enjoying the scenery here - The trees, the birds, and all passersby. May I join you? If you don't mind."
"Sure. You are anyways sitting beside me."
"No. I mean can we share talks for some time."
"Oh! why not. Why are you sitting alone? I mean don't you have anyone with you - your family or friends."
"I have left my home."
"Why did you leave home?"
'Nothing that I should tell you,' murmured Aastha.
"What did you just say?"
"I said I left home due to some problem of mine."
"I know the problem girl. Please go back to your home. They are waiting for you. He said through his trans medium.
Aastha was taken aback by his words. She immediately left the place and started moving towards the South of the Kolkata dimension. She forgot that she is surrounded by magical gaits everywhere.
To make problems worse, she was running short of finances. 'How will I survive for days together? I cannot go back also', she thought.
'I have 100 rupees as my savings. That will help me survive the den for a few more days. What next?' pondered Aastha.
Thinking about the problem, Aastha moves her hand toward her ears when she touched her earrings.
'Oh yes, I have my earrings. I can sell them at a jeweler's shop. Will do that tomorrow. Till then I will have to figure out how to spend my day. Why don't I go back home? What if they kill me? Both the ladies have created problems for me in the past. Thinking so, Aastha walks a little further along the Jagubazar road and then back to Park Street. It is evening by then.
'The bag is very heavy for me. I need to be careful with my back,' she thought.
In the evening, Aastha walks around a circular path in the park street through Russel street to the main road. After some time, she looks around to find a suitable place to sit. 'I will sit here and read a book while listening to some music,' thought Aastha while accommodating herself at a small area at the entrance door of the main building near "Mansarovar Building". At first, she felt a little uncomfortable with the passersby giving her a stare and mocking her.
The magical gaits kept on saying while passing through the pathway -
'Go back to your flat. They are waiting for you at the Flat.'
She ignored the murmurings of the gaits. However, she could not ignore her sisterly gait, Catherine who happened to pass by the area where she was sitting.
"Why are you sitting here? Come let us go in. Why are you not at home? she said
"I...I...was just....thinking of spending some time out", replied Aastha
"No. Come with me. Let us go up to our flat now." Catherine insisted and they went up.
In the flat, both the ladies started pouring in questions and showering their love by asking "What took you so long? Come eat something. Have you had anything?"
"No. I don't want to eat anything," said Aastha
"Where were you till now? asked Aunt Maria.
"I..was.."
Catherine interrupted. "She was sitting down at someplace near our building. I saw her and dragged her up."
"Nothing. I was just chilling out."
"Don't you dare stay out for long, especially at night," said Bela while Maria gave a smile.
"Now you go into your room and take some rest. Nobody will sleep with you inside the room for today."
"Why won't Catherine sleep with me?"
"No. She will sleep with us. We will chat for the whole night."
"See me tomorrow morning. I am sleeping for now," replied Aastha
There was no response from behind the door for some time.
Aastha looked at the door of the room and tried to take a nap or two.
Early morning, she decided to leave the house in the late afternoon after having her lunch and escape their evil becomings.
It was noon when gets ready for another of her chalk it up to experience with her runaway escapade.
This time she was more determined to sell her earrings.
"I am leaving for an interview scheduled at the Salt Lake office of TIME Institute".
"But"..Bela interrupted. "You just had an interview yesterday. Then how come you have an interview today? She looked at Aastha suspiciously.
"No, the head of the department wasn't present in the Institute to take an interview. They have arranged another interview for today.
"Okay. Before you leave, have your lunch and come home fast."
"I need you back home by evening."
"Need?"
"I mean you should be back home by evening. Otherwise, all the members of the family will begin to worry."
"I will try".
Aastha leaves the house in haste.
"Why are you so afraid?," a voice came from around. It was the girls' gang and they made fun of her. Their voices echoed across the dimension piercing her earbuds.
She shrugged off everything and paced towards Victoria to sit there in contemplation.
There was nobody around at this time of the hour. It was a little over noon and the sun shone overhead causing much more heat than before. She was sitting alone this time with no one to teach her a lesson.
'What should I do? I am in fear of losing my life. They are out there to kill me. That Aunt Maria has come from Ahmednagar only for the purpose,' she thought. Aastha looked around frantically when she started feeling hungry. Her penury left her speechless.
Before taking a bite, she proceeded towards a nearby jewelry shop in Jagubazar to sell her jewelry, her earrings which were turned into a magician's article during the game.
But she needed money and that too, quick. After some bargaining, Aastha was able to secure an amount of four thousand rupees for herself after selling her earrings at a loss of Eleven thousand rupees.
'Quite a loss,' she thought. However, she grabbed a bite from a nearby Mc. Donald's outlet to fill her hungry belly.
The day passed. By the end of the day, she found herself sitting in the same place near her building with no respite from her back pain.
'Oh! I cannot stay here sitting like this for the rest of my life. There is no place to sleep. How will I take care of myself? Particularly during my monthly menstrual cycle.', worried Aastha. Her worries led her to her Flat. She went back home.
"You are very late today also. Where were you till now?" inquired Bela
Interrupting the conversation, Catherine said - 'Look Mom, she has got something in her hand.'
"Oh. This is for you. I have got some sweets for all of you. This took my time."
"Go and freshen up, Aastha. You look tired."
"Wait. Where are your earrings"
"Oh. My earrings. Where are they? I must have lost it somewhere. Gosh. They were very expensive. Were they?
Both Bela and Catherine took turns to show their worries through their trans medium. They said -It was a magical article which she lost. It was our magical doll's decorative piece. Now, what will we do?
"She hasn't lost the earrings. That moron has sold them," said Catherine through her inner place.
"She has lied to us. Should I ask her again?"
"No. Leave it."
Bela looked worried. "What will I tell my master, Harry? He must have known everything about the earrings."
"It was their gift to the doll."
I will think of something.
I think this doll of ours became scared of my midnight ordeals. I should be crafty in making my food of her fears for the magical gaits.
Here, instructions have also come from Harry Sir," said Bela
"Already," replied Catherine
"You know who he is," replied Bela. "Harry Sir is a magician's hub. He knows everything. He is our God, omnipotent and omnipresent.
He, though says that he has limitations on his powers and that this kid, the doll is the biggest fetters on his powers. She is the biggest restriction imposed on his exercise of magic.
His instructions are to take care of the doll and not indulge in practices of food making deterrent to the doll. The incident shouldn't be repeated.
So no more food making of her fear.
"Don't be disheartened, Catherine. The Girls are there. They are doing good work."
"Oh yes. The girls. When are they coming back?"
"They will be back within this week."
"They want some food of Jee Huzuri (some servitude) of ours. So, I will serve them food henceforth.
But how will you churn yourself to work for a family of five and a group of four girls?
I am thinking of keeping a maid who will help me do all the work of the house not to mention their work of Jee Huzuri (servitude). She will also help me take care of the doll and practice black magic.
"We are all Satra (magical gaits). How will you find a maid who has less aura against the girl and who is ready to serve all of us? queried Catherine
"Someone came to me yesterday for the said purpose. She said she was ready to stay here and work for us throughout the day."
"Did you explain everything to her about the work?"
"Yes. She will join work from tomorrow."
"No. I mean did you explain to her about the work of making food of black magic for everyone.'
"Oh..She is good at it. I have kept her on a reference from one of the girls, Swati."
"Oh! her. If Swati has referred her name, then she must be good."
Now we will be a team together against this doll.
"Don't breed contempt was also Harry Sir's instruction," she laughed
"She has come already."
"Oh! Yes. There she is. The maid was standing at the door."
"Ok. I will give you some work for now. You do that. Then at noon, I will explain your routine work to you."
She didn't reply and began her work.
She was not a maid only. She was a magical gait who needed to be made like others. She got an opportunity to be near Aastha through whom all had to be made along with through the other mediums of Bela, Catherine, Xavier, and Henry.
Most often, they communicated inter se through their transmedium so that Aastha would not know of anything.
"Now that we have a maid and the girls' gang will be back, can we hold a meeting tomorrow night, all against the doll," said an excited Catherine
"Hold your fetish," Catherine. "You are highly attached to her," cried Bela
"Yeah. You are right. I am attached to the doll's vagina. All of us are.
"But that bitch doesn't give us her attention."
"Why will she give you attention? If you do bad to her then why will she do good to you?"
"We don't understand the dynamics of karmas. We are magical gaits. If we want something we take it."
You have joined the girls' gang for your food making and other activities. We have a good maid who is good at torturing her. We are also torturing her every day by putting pressure on her. What else do you want?
She is a bloody hell strongest human parath I have ever seen. She is made up of thick skin.
I forgot to convey her message.
"Whose message?"
"The maid is saying that she wants more money from next month," replied Catherine
The maid doesn't do anything except a little bit of help and loads of gossiping against the doll and she is asking for a raise.
Henry also wants twenty thousand rupees for his luxurious endeavors.
From where will we manage so much money? worried Bela
Don't worry. I will speak to the maid. And Henry will have to understand not to be overindulgent.
You don't need to speak to the maid.
Why are you saying that?
The maid says she is not able to sleep peacefully in the house and she wants to go back to her husband so she wants to quit this job.
"But we need her."
"We will get another one for our Servitude."
Please ask the maid to do her best. It seems her food making is limited to the kitchen only.
"She brooms the floor, the incantation cell taking Aastha's name as part of black magic practice," said Bela. The maid adopted seventeen black magic practices to make food of all types but without any luck. She got some sindoor (vermilion) and replete it with black magic spells in Aastha's name. That sindoor is kept in the temple place along with all the idols of god.
"It is a Devil's haven more than a temple place," Catherine interrupted
The temple here is nothing but a decorative piece like the doll.
"What do we do now? She is leaving us."
"Let us carry on without her. However, she was the best in whatever bad she did to the doll," added Catherine.
"It was just a brief stint of one month, and she had to leave."
"Don't cry, Kid said Bela to Catherine. She had to leave for Kalighat, her new haven.
"Even Gauri left for Southern Avenue," added Catherine
"You mean she left the girls' gang," replied Bela.
"Yes. She is no longer part of the group."
"She was a good leader," said Catherine. And an even better tormentor!
We will miss her. But she is not that far a distance from here.
Two new girls are coming tomorrow, Menal and Garima.
And...They are coming for Aastha.