Chapter 30: chapter 30

He told me exactly what happened on the dawn of 23rd April. When his nephew returned with the blood thinning injection, the doctor said, "Now, there is no need for the injection. Your patient is no more." He was unable to fathom the sudden turn of events merely in two hours. The question of how, when and what was torturing him like hell. That night, he cried endlessly like a child. He refused to take his dinner. He went inside his father's room and talked with his mother at length discussing the qualities of his father. My mother-in-law had not been accustomed to living a life of a widow. She expressed her inhibitions and generally memorized him all the time. She was missing her husband the most. She spoke about his and her unfulfilled hopes and ambitions which aggrieved my husband. The more he talked the more he remained distracted.The next morning he complained of not feeling well. He sensed something wrong with him and wanted to be shown to a doctor. He went to a doctor's clinic. The doctor prescribed some vitamins and asked him to stay calm and meditate. He checked his pulse, blood pressure and sugar everything was normal. There was nothing to worry but he remained worried all the time. I thought it to be the aftermath of the virus and sounded calm.  Subsequently, he refused dinner every night and one fine evening he imitated his father during his last days in the hospital. He breathed heavily and talked bizarrely. He asked for forgiveness from God joining his hands. He modulated his voice similar to my father-in-law. I became worried and tensed. All my degrees went down the drain and I speculated he had been possessed by the spirit of my father-in-law. He dreaded entering the bathroom and remaining alone in the room. He sought to accompany me all the time. He didn't allow me to cook, clean or leave his side for a minute. He acted like a small baby. I had to cajole him to sleep and utter falsehood to complete my work. My mother-in-law and sons took charge of him if I had to leave his side. At around five in the evening, he felt a sort of uneasiness and went to discuss my father-in-law in his room. When my mother-in-law chanted recitals, tears of sadness cascaded down his cheeks. Then he complained of not feeling good which my mother-in-law speculated to be some gastric issue. On hearing of acidity, he belched hard producing a loud sound. I was disturbed by his peculiar behaviour. I was extremely concerned when he remained awake all day and night and didn't allow me and my kids to sleep a wink. I begged my mother-in-law to look for an exorcist. She summoned the baba which she confided upon. He performed his tricks and declared, "His soul has not been relieved. It is wandering inside this house. It would trouble him unless his prayer meet is held duly. His soul is trapped and it is suffering. He had bared a tough life on this Earth. Now he wants liberation from all worldly affairs. I have performed my bit, rest assured he will not trouble henceforth. "He lectured upon his past, present and future sins out of my understanding. I only wanted to restore the health of my husband. That evening he talked silly but was able to get a sound sleep for a few hours. The next day again he refused to eat anything and remembered his father. He got severe hallucinations. He became extra conscious of the knock on the door or if somebody peeped inside the room he appeared doubly anxiously bombarding me with several questions.