Part 70 Solution
"You are the one who is going to make her win" Guruji smiled, perplexing Arnav and Khushi.
"May we know how?" Khushi questioned to get cleared.
"Why not? Sure... the only solution to all your problem is Durga Ashtami fasting. You should keep fasting but not like a previous time but more severe"
"How, Guruji?"
"You should start fasting from the time Durga Ashtami starts. Should complete the fasting when it ends. That means, the whole twenty-four hours"
"If it is so, should I have to go to the temple at midnight...?"
"No, Durga Ashtami TITHI starts in the morning 6: 22 and completes the next day same time. So, you should go to the temple the next day morning"
"Should not she sleep?" Arnav asked.
"No... she should not sleep nor should she eat anything. She should drink only PANAK after offering it in the pooja"
"Panak means? How does it be prepared?" Khushi asked.
"Dilute jaggery in water. Add lemon juice, a pinch of menthol powder, half a spoon of dry ginger powder, a quarter spoon of cardamom powder, a pinch of nutmeg powder, and, five THULSI leaves in it. Mix them well. Panak is ready. It will give you energy for the whole day."
Khushi nodded ok.
"Anyone from your family can also keep the fast. It will add more power to the Pooja"
Khushi was silent. Who would keep fast for the whole day?
"You should complete the Pooja with five kinds of offerings the next day. It can be anything. If it is fruits, chose five different kinds of fruits. Or, you can offer different kinds of sweets"
Khushi nodded ok.
"When you do the Pooja, your mother-in-law should be locked in a room. She should not come out of the room until the Pooja gets over"
"What if the devil tries to stop the Pooja?"
"They will definitely do..."
Khushi looked at Arnav worriedly.
"But, you don't have to bother about them. Everything will happen in your favor only. So, do your duty, and leave the rest to Devi Maiya. She will take care of everything"
Khushi nodded ok and looked at Durga Mata Idol.
"Don't think how big your problem is. Instead, think how big your GOD who is with you" Guruji smiled.
Khushi nodded yes.
"It's clear that someone is helping them with Black Magic. They will try to increase their power but can't do that as we destroyed the things in their control. Your mother's skull is under the Devi Maiya's feet now. So, we don't have to be scared of them."
"My husband crossed the dangerous phase of his life. Does he face such a situation again when the Pooja takes place?" Khushi asked.
"This is a kind of REBIRTH for your husband. He is destined to be with you. From here on, he will live as per his wish with a lot of satisfaction"
Khushi smiled delightedly making Arnav smirk. No matter how strong and powerful his wife was. When it came to her husband, she was highly concerned. He supposed.
"You will get a helping hand at the right time" Guruji added.
Arnav and Khushi took Guruji's leave and left the Ashram. Arnav drove the car towards Delhi. He saw Khushi thinking something deep. He knew she was thinking about the Pooja.
"Khushi, don't worry, the Pooja will be successful," Arnav said.
"I have no doubt in that. The Pooja will be successful and Maji will get Moksha"
"Then what are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about what Guruji told us about you"
"About me? What did he say?"
"Didn't he say this is your REBIRTH?"
"Yeah, he did... what's there to think about it?"
"If this is your rebirth, you should be thankful to the lord who gave you a second chance. Each and every day is a gift in your life. What are you going to do in return?" she questioned.
"I'm ready to do anything but what do you want me to do?"
"Why not we start an education foundation that provides education to poor children?"
Arnav looked at her with amusement.
"Nowadays, education became the costlier thing the poor could not afford. Why not you do that? Why not you become the founder of many children's lives? Then your life will have values... if God wants you to be alive, he has a reason. He doesn't want you to die. That means, he wants to do something to society through you. Give value to your life, Arnavji. Make people's life valuable"
Arnav smiled.
"Why are you smiling? Do I say anything wrong?"
"No... you are not wrong. When I met Guruji for the first time, he said TWO superpowers are protecting my life. I asked him the reason. I wanted to know why I'm so special. He said I will become a reason for many people's survival and I will get to know that in the future. Now, I got to know why I'm given a second chance"
Khushi smiled satisfactorily.
"I wonder, how I didn't think about using my money in a useful way"
"It's not your mistake Arnavji. When you are surrounded by problems that were waiting to swallow you alive, how could you think of doing good to people? You would have been busy searching for answers to your questions"
Arnav nodded yes.
"I can't believe the happenstance of my life. I never expected I would follow a saint's instruction in my life" he smiled.
"Life is always unpredictable," she said.
"Yeah... I never thought I will fall in love with a girl who called me UNCLE" Arnav chuckled.
Khushi bit her lip to control her laughter.
"I too never thought I would marry the same man whom I locked in the washroom" she laughed.
"You know how furious I was that day?"
"I know... that's why I hid from you"
"That's the incident that changed my life upside down," Arnav said looking at Khushi.
She smiled.
"You won't believe me if I say I can still remember how you looked like when you are born and I can't believe I kissed the same toes after so many years" he laughed.
Khushi's cheeks turned in to red. She blushed biting her lip.
"Shall we go to your kuldevi temple once?" She asked, managing herself.
"Yeah... we will go. After everything gets over, we will go to Lucknow. And we should do that soon" Arnav said.
"Soon? But why Arnavji?" Khushi asked frowning.
"We can't travel long distances if you get pregnant. That's why" he said teasingly.
Khushi got stuck and looked outside.
"Why are you silent? Don't you want to get pregnant?"
She was silent.
"Oi... Khushi... what happened?"
"Maji would not see our child because she is closing up with her moksha," she said sadly.
"Getting moksha is more important for her, Khushi. She could not be with us forever. She has to go. Be practical"
Khushi nodded yes.
"I don't know why Guriji wants her to be locked in a room when the Pooja is taking place," Arnav said, expecting Khushi to say something.
"There must be a valuable reason for it, Arnavji. We should not doubt what he said sitting at the feet of Durga Maa"
Arnav nodded ok with relief.
"I think this fasting will be difficult to keep"
"I don't think so... I have kept fasting many times. However, I will complete it" She said firmly.
"As the Guruji burnt the things and kept the skull under the Duga Maa's feet, would it make a change in Maa's current state?" Arnav asked.
"I think so...if her skull was the base of the black magician, then it might have changed something in Maji"
Arnav nodded his head thoughtfully.
In the meanwhile,
Ratna was listening to Nani and Manohar's talks.
"Can't you too see Ratna?" Manohar asked.
"No, I can only feel her touch"
"I can't believe she is in RM for the past eighteen years and we didn't sense her presence but Khushi did that"
"She is a divine girl who came for our rescue"
"I called Manorama and told her about Ratna. It's her wish if she comes here or not"
"Ratna will not be here for long"
"What do you mean, Ammaji?"
Before Nani said anything, Ratna pressed her hand, hinting not to say anything about Durga Ashtami Pooja. She didn't want the matter to get spread unwantedly. Because she knew Sona and her family would try to stop Khushi from doing the Pooja. She didn't want that to happen. Nani composed herself and said,
"How long could she be here? We have to do something for her Mukthi"
"You are right, Ammaji. It's hell to remain a ghost"
That was when they heard,
"Ghost? What are you guys talking about?"
They saw Dhruv standing.
"There are many more unbelievable things that happened in our lives without our knowledge, Dhruv" Manohar said.
"What are you talking about, Dad?" Dhruv asked.
He said what happened at Sona's house. Dhruv gazed at him seriously and burst out laughing.
"Dad... in which century you are? Ghost... black magic... skull... everything is bullshit... I won't believe all this" he said sarcastically and was about to leave the place. He stopped seeing a weird image forming next to Nani.
It looked like watching an untuned channel. Nani and Manohar also looked at the place and were taken aback. The next minute, they saw Ratna's clear figure there. In no time, Dhruv fainted.
To be continued...
They reached Delhi