Helen was taken aback.
"What the hell!" said Helen.
Vidya finished frisking her.
"Get into the car," Vidya told Helen, pointing to the car Vidya had arrived in. Helen did not move.
"If she doesn't get in, force her in through one the windows," Vidya said to the bodyguards. The bodyguards advanced toward Helen.
Helen got into the backseat of the car.
"Get that body in the trunk of this car, and get the other car towed back home," said Vidya to the two bodyguards.
"Yes, madam"
"Londhe, get into the car," said Vidya calmly.
"Yes madam," said Londhe getting into the driver's seat of the car. The two bodyguards put Karishma's body in the trunk of the car. Vidya got into the backseat of the car, next to Helen.
"Crematorium," said Vidya. The car lurched forward, speeding away.
"I hope you understand what you have done," said Vidya to Helen.
"I have done nothing. What goes around comes around. Now you'll understand what it feels to be driven out of that house," said Helen to Vidya.
"Madam, should I gag her?" grunted Londhe, looking at Vidya in the rear-view mirror.
Vidya shook her head.
"Gagging me won't change anything," sneered Helen.
"If you utter a single word against madam...!" said Londhe.
"Let her speak," said Vidya.
Helen looked at Londhe triumphantly. "This so called Bhoir Mansion that this bitch is now going to vacate was built and gifted to my great grandfather by the British. He used to work with them and was in charge of the entire district," said Helen. "The noble Bhoir family occupied it illegally and then fought like dogs among themselves for its ownership."
"Madam, I'll pull her tongue out!" roared Londhe.
"Let her speak. I want to know what she believes happened. I want to close this chapter today, once and for all," said Vidya calmly.
"Let's hear your side of the story," she said to Helen.
"We took refuge in the servant quarters," Helen continued, addressing Londhe. "My parents didn't have a child for several years, so they adopted didi, who was our maid, as their daughter. Soon, I was born, bringing great bad luck to the family. My mother passed away, followed by my grandparents, and soon my father disappeared. It is said he committed suicide, but didi always denied it, possibly to protect me. Can you imagine how the two of us have grown up among these families where everyone hated us with all their might? The taunts, bullying, catcalling, and even physical abuse--in the Bhoir Mansion compound, at school, on the playground, everywhere!"
Londhe did not say anything.
"Oh, and add to that the fact that didi suffered from anorexia and had a hormonal disorder."
Vidya listened silently.
Helen drew a sharp breath. "And this bitch had no guts to drive us away from the servant quarters because she saw a political advantage in it. This area is heavily populated with Agris and Kolis with Brahmans in the minority. So she started posing as the messiah of the Brahmans in Miraghar and graciously allowed us to stay in her compound, so to speak, right along with her. Which is also why Bhau offered didi that menial job in that drama theater in his constituency."
Several moments passed.
"If that's all you have to say, that's either a very conveniently one-sided perspective into the story, or you have no idea of your own family history," said Vidya, maintaining her calm.
"What do you mean?" said Helen nastily.
"Do you know that your grandfather Balwant Karmarkar was a tyrant of the highest order and exploited our poor Agri-Koli tenant families in all ways possible? He raped most of the wives of the tillers of the soil."
Helen fell silent. Londhe lowered her head and shut her eyes momentarily.
"The Kul Kayda turned the tables. The act allowed tillers to possess the land they farmed. Your grandfather gambled his way into bankruptcy, not only losing his entire hundreds of acres to us, but also ending up owing us a monumental sum of money. We were left with no choice other than to forcefully occupy your mansion--and by the way, the occupation was not illegal. I have the paperwork."
Helen was stone-faced.
"And what was mine and didi's fault in all this?" she asked meekly.
"If you ask this, you'll also have to tell me mine and Dhanu's fault. We weren't at fault either, and yet we were going about our lives, fighting off our--what's the word for it? Stigma?--trying to reconcile with our pasts. That was until today," said Vidya.
"Why bring Dhanu in this?" asked Helen tepidly.
"Your needless bravado has changed everything today," said Vidya, dodging the question. "Losing that house is a loss to me on levels you will not understand. And I want you to know what you have done before you..."
"Madam..." interrupted Londhe warily. "We are here."
Vidya nodded slightly.
The car entered through the gate of the crematorium. The trio alighted from the car.
"Did Singh complete the formalities?" Vidya asked a worker.
"Yes, madam, he is here, and everything is taken care of. We were just waiting for the body."
Crematorium workers carried Karishma's body inside. A priest approached the trio.
"Is Mr. Singh a relative of the deceased?" the priest asked Londhe.
"I'll perform the last rites," said Helen. The priest looked confused.
"Madam, will a male relative be arriving?" the priest asked Vidya.
"Didn't you hear me?" Helen scolded the priest. The priest nodded, leading the trio to the incinerator room. The air inside the incinerator room was stuffy and acrid.
Vidya whispered something into Londhe's ear. Londhe nodded.
"Do you want to take off her jewelry and other accessories?" an attendant asked Helen.
"Did you find anything on her?" asked Helen disdainfully.
The attendant lowered his gaze, and joined the rest of the attendants, who began wrapping Karishma's body up to the neck with an orange sheet, and laid it on a mat, her legs facing the incineration chamber. The chief attendant lit an oil lamp and an incense stick and kept them near Karishma's head. Another attendant brought a mud pot, containing burning pieces of wood. The priest handed Helen a small vessel with ghee and a spoon and started chanting mantras, signaling her to pour the ghee on Karishma's body at the end of each set of mantras. After instructing Helen on the next course of action, the priest walked three times around Karishma's body in anticlockwise direction, followed by Helen as she sprinkled water from an earthen vessel. Finally, Helen broke the earthen vessel by dropping it on the ground near Karishma's head.
Londhe left the room. A couple of attendants lifted the mat and slid Karishma's body inside the incinerator.
Helen stood expressionless, clutching into her sides, looking in the direction of the incinerator.
Londhe silently returned with Singh, a large well-built man wearing a turban, who carried a few long, thick ropes. None of them wore any footwear. Both tiptoed toward her back. Londhe snatched Helen's wings and ripped them apart, and Singh moved his huge arms around her, pinching her nose, making her gasp for air, and stuffing a piece of cloth inside her mouth. Helen let out a muffled scream and threw her hands around. Londhe gripped her hands and brought them behind her back. Helen struggled violently, throwing her body weight around but Singh held her still, while Londhe tied a rope around her wrists, and tightened it by cinching it firmly between her arms. After tying her feet together, Singh and Londhe picked her up and laid her down on a mat.
"Use Londhe as her kin, and perform the same rituals on her," Vidya said to the priest.
The priest looked at Vidya in horror.
Helen's writhed around, making loud muffled noises, trying to break out of the hogtie.
"But she is alive!" protested the priest.
Helen managed to roll off the mat.
"Yeah, you can add that as a new skill to your resume," said Vidya as she walked up to Helen and landed a massive kick in her stomach. The priest looked at Vidya disbelievingly.
"Do as I say, or you will be in her place," said Vidya to the priest.
The crematorium attendants nervously began wrapping an orange sheet around Helen, who continued writhing with all her might.
"Hold her still," Vidya commanded the crematorium attendants. An attendant gripped her shoulders, while another held her feet.
The priest repeated the last rites, with Londhe performing the same rituals that Helen had performed earlier. Helen twisted around agonizingly, appearing to gradually lose strength.
"Throw her into the incinerator adjacent to the earlier one," said Vidya to the attendants.
The attendants picked Helen up.
Helen twisted fiercely.
The attendants lost their grip on her, and she dropped to the floor with a loud thump. They picked her up again. The door of the incinerator opened. As the attendants started sliding Helen inside, she let out a series of loud whines.