Lullaby

Epilogue

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Naina rushed towards the living room to find her father in law fallen on the floor. He was pointing towards his room and breathing heavily.

Upon looking at Naina he mumbled "Sudha...She is here! She is going to kill us" he coughed while breathing with difficulty.

"You all killed her" Naina spoke with no respect. All she could think of was those two innocent lives that were gone.

Her father in law looked at her for a split second before reaching out for his inhaler. He was an asthma patient and at present, he was having an attack.

As he shakily extended his hand towards the inhaler, it slid away. Unable to breathe, her father in law choked before shutting his eyes forever.

Naina was perplexed by the scene that took place before her. Just then the door burst open revealing Nirmala.

"Stop it Sudha. You can't kill us" Nirmala spoke in a wavering voice.

Her face turned pale upon seeing her husband's dead body. Tears streamed down her face. She was a widow!

Fearing her life that was in danger, Nirmala grabbed the nearby knife on the table and held it under Naina's neck.

"I know you don't hurt innocent people Sudha. If you do anything to me I'll kill this girl right here." Nirmala said, eyeing her surrounding.

Naina gulped in fear. She knew her mother in law was cruel but she didn't know she would take other's life to save her own.

"I met Anandi's neighbours. They said that Anandi was scared of something. She kept looking back as though someone was following her. Before she could understand what was going on, the accident took place. Hearing this, I was sure you were behind this. I should have known earlier that Naina was the one who opened the door. Naina is the reason why I am a widow. So why not kill her?" Nirmala said, drawing the knife closer.

Suddenly, all the windows burst open. The wind rushed in from every direction, making Nirmala distracted. That's when a hand choked Nirmala and she dropped the knife as a result.

Naina saw her! The ghost! A woman with a burnt face. A strange smell filled the air. Before Naina could react she was thrown out of the house, far away from the door.

The next moment, a huge explosion was heard. Naina watched as the house burst into flames. She recognised the unusual smell that bothered her. It was the pungent smell emitted by the gas cylinder. At last, the money-minded Nirmala was killed by her own folly. There was a gas leakage, that engulfed the Roy Mansion in a fire.

As Naina stood there, contemplating about the situation, a voice rang in her head. "I want peace".

She peeked at the side window and found Sudha standing there. She had a relieved look. A faint smile appeared on Sudha's burnt face, which Naina returned. She vowed that she would adequately perform Sudha's last rites. 

Purab returned home and saw Naina weeping at the front gate. The house was half burnt with thick black smoke fuming towards the sky. 

His heart clenched. He asked Naina about his parents but she didn't reply. Upon hearing her silence he was heartbroken. He had lost everybody he loved, or so he thought.

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Two years later...
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"Sudha? Sudha! Where are you my child" Naina looked around the house.

In the past two years, a lot had taken place. Naina finally told Purab the misdeeds that his parents had committed. At first, he was reluctant to believe that his parents had done such a crime. He couldn't bear the fact that his parents had killed Sudha and his unborn child.

When Naina insisted on excavating the backyard, the remains of Sudha's skeleton brought him crashing down to reality. The jewellery which she wore during the time of death was still on her skeleton. Moreover, the homeless beggar's testament also added to Naina's support.

Purab had no choice but to believe the truth. They together appropriately performed the last rites. Finally, they had put Sudha's soul to rest.

After the incident, Naina and Purab grew close. They consummated  their marriage and Naina got pregnant.

They had a lovely daughter whom they named Sudha, in memory of Purab's first wife.

"Got you!" Naina chuckled as she held her daughter in her embrace. Sudha clapped her hands in delight before resting her tiny head on Naina's shoulder.

Sensing that her daughter was sleepy, Naina hummed a fine-tune. She poured in every ounce of her motherly love. She sang about various mesmerizing elements. No sooner did her lullaby end, than her daughter, Sudha was put to sleep.

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Hurray! And that's it!

The journey of writing these fifteen chapters was a rather unusual one. It was a completely new genre to write, so I was a bit anxious. Yet, I'm glad it came out well. :)

Let's meet in a new book, until then
See ya...
Bye-bye...
Take care...

Yours truly,
Mini :)

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