When Loved Ones Are Far Away
By: Vidanage P. Karunaratne
Published by WSIC EBooks Ltd.
Copyright June 11, 2010 by WSIC Ebooks Ltd.
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DEDICATED TO ALL MY LOVED ONES
PROLOGUE
In the eyes of a casual onlooker, the row of somewhat dilapidated buildings rendered a macabre appearance. Nevertheless, the usual customary people in and around the environment, undoubtedly knew that the row of old buildings had been utilized to house an orphanage for destitute girls of varying ages whose parents were non entities. Separated from this row of old buildings, stands a relatively new building that bore evidence of recent repair, which has been used as a school to educate all the girls in the orphanage from the lower kindergarten up to the GCE O’ Level. This school is also equipped with a library laden with books in all three languages viz. Sinhalese, Tamil and English, mostly donated by charity organizations and philanthropists. Facing the school building, there is a ground area of nearly one acre of well-kept grassland, which is used as the playground for the girl students. This orphanage and the school affiliated thereto situated in a town called Kottawa, seem to have been administered by the Department of Probation and Child Care in Sri Lanka. Like all the schools in Sri Lanka, this school set up for the benefit of orphaned girls too, operated five days of the week, whereas the library of the school has been kept open during week-ends as well.
That was a sunny Saturday in the month of June. All the classrooms in the school seemed to be empty. In the playground, of course, quite a number of girls of different ages were engaged in various sports activities. The library was in full operation and consequently all the seats therein were occupied. Two grown-up pretty girls who portrayed some similitude to one another particularly in the way they have been attired, and hitherto been engrossed in what they have been reading, quietly walked out of the library and sat on a marble bench under the shade of a large mango tree, erected few yards away from the library building, may be to break the monotony. The younger one of the two girls who happened to be slightly less fair-complexioned than the elder one, who looked extremely fair-complexioned, adorned her face with an alluring smile and initiated a conversation delving into their pathetic but innocent lives.
“Vindya Akka, to tell you very frankly, when we were doing reading in the library, I have been watching you closely and kept on thinking about you. Suppose, you had been born to parents of a well-to-do family, at your age of 18 years, you would have definitely got through your A’ Levels and be in the threshold of entering the University. Being an orphan girl like me, even without proper coaching and guidance, see how far you have gone in your-self studies! After getting through your O’ Levels with Distinctions in all the subjects in your first attempt itself, by now you have practically read almost all the books in our library and like most of our friends say, you have become a ‘walking library’. Not only that, you have been the most brilliant student in the English language in our school. Now Akka, since our school doesn’t have an A’ Level class, what do you intend doing in the future? I mean, what are your plans for the future?” Questioning so, the younger girl, named, Kanthi Nanda, looked inquiringly in to the beautiful countenance of her bosom-friend, Vindya Piyumika.
Vindya did not respond for a few moments; it seemed like she was in a highly pensive mood. Minutes later she glanced sharply at her friend and said:
“Kanthi Nangi, you do very well understand that poor and helpless orphan girls like us who don’t know who our parents are, who don’t know where our relatives are, have no chance whatsoever in doing studies beyond the O’ Level. If I am to do my A’ Levels, I’ll have to attend another big school that conducts such classes. However, the question is who is going to spend for my higher studies? Who is prepared to bear such expenses for my sake? No chance, my dear friend, no chance! Anyway, you see, the grave problem I am confronted with at the moment is not either doing my A’ Levels or finding a job, but to save myself from the bottomless abyss I may certainly fall into if I don’t take precautions now itself!”
While Vindya was uttering such sentiments woefully, Kanthi clearly saw her friend’s beautiful brown eyes becoming dilated and gradually get clouded with tears. She conjectured that something was radically wrong and became apparently inquisitive in finding out what the precise reason happened to be and asked:
“What is this grave problem you are confronted with Vindya Akka? Please tell me what it is. You know, dear, I am your best friend and confidante who is even prepared to sacrifice her life in order to save you from whatever calamity, however dangerous it would be. You can jolly well vouch on my fidelity, so please tell me quickly, what it is!”
“Kanthi Nangi, can you remember that secret concerning one of my abilities that I confided in you some time back? You are the only person who knows about it…………”
Before Vindya could complete what she wanted to tell, Kanthi interrupted her and blurted out: “Yes, Yes, I remember it Akka, it’s about that clairvoyance powers, you said you seem to possess. Am I right?”
“Yes, Nangi, my good girl, you are quite right.” While mentioning so, Vindya looked around very carefully in order to ascertain that nobody was in the hearing distance and reduced her voice to almost a whisper and continued: “You know dear, since several days my clairvoyance repeatedly attempts to inform me of an impending disaster that might befall on me if I don’t take preventive action very soon. It keeps on warning me that if I don’t flee from this danger, I would invariably fall into a deep abyss from which I may not be able to extricate myself in the course of my whole life. Under this fearful situation, it becomes obviously dangerous for me to stay in our orphanage any longer, Nangi.”
“Vindya Akka, please tell me very clearly as to what will be the danger you are exposed to in our orphanage, ah? Everybody living in our orphanage and connected to our school, our girls, teachers and other workers seem to be very friendly with you. In this situation, who is the one that dares to pose you a danger? If there is somebody like that, you tell me whom that rascal is, and I am not going to spare that rascal whoever it may be! You know what type of a wild girl this Kanthi Nanda is, aren’t you?”
“I know all that, my dear sister! I very well know that you are ever prepared to fight for my sake under whatever circumstances. But Nangi, this is an insurmountable force, nobody in our school, not even our Madam Vice-Principal, not even our Madam Principal herself, can stop or prevent. To tell you very frankly, every top senior person in our school, seems to be coming under his command and spell. Therefore, my dear, I have become very helpless in this situation. The only way available for me to escape from the evil clutches of this devil, is to surreptitiously flee away from the orphanage without anybody’s knowledge and mind you Nangi, that I am going to do tonight itself! If I do delay this task even for a day, I am quite positive that my life would be completely ruined. In this situation, my dear sister, promise me that you will help me to escape from the orphanage tonight itself, after we partake our dinner.”
“Please don’t worry, Akka, I am prepared to do whatever you wish and say. There is no second word about it. Anyway, I just cannot understand head or tail of what you say and I do not see anything clear enough. Now, please tell me precisely as to who this devil is or in other words, this insurmountable force as you name him, who is all out to harm you.”
At this juncture, without responding to her faithful friend, Vindya made a thorough visual surveillance around the place and coming very closer to her on the marble bench, began whispering a rather long tale:
“Nangi, have you seen that new Superintendent in charge of our orphanage who has come here recently? He is a person by the name of Cletus Perera. From the very first day he used to visit the orphanage and the school, he is in the habit of eyeing me lasciviously like a lecher. Looking at me straight with dilated eyes, this chap waters his lips, winks at me in a lewd manner and also inserts both his hands into his trouser pockets and rubs his groin area obviously to convey to me that he is infatuated with me and wants to possess me. Do you know, my dear, my clairvoyance tells me that already he had compelled and ordered both our Vice-Principal and Principal to somehow or other send me to him? I certainly know that he wants to ravish me, ruin my virginity and literarily drink my unblemished virgin blood. I simply cannot let that calamity befall on poor me and that is precisely why I have decided to run away from this orphanage tonight itself. Now, can you see my picture clearly, Kanthi Nangi?”
“Very clearly, Vindya Akka. I think that this Cletus Perera is obsessed by your exceptional beauty and your brilliant complexion. Am I right, sister? The way he looks like, I presume he is a married man. I too observed on several occasions that he used to level sharp glances at you directly. So, do you really think that he would attempt to outrage your modesty or in other words, rape you?”
“Kanthi Nangi, you are only 16 years old; two years younger to me. You do not exactly know the type of vices and diabolical and heinous crimes that are happening in this horrendous world today. Cletus Perera is not a fool to openly rape me and ravish me; what he needs is to scare our madams and to keep me as his mistress secretively; that much I know and I really feel it. That means, he will compel our madams to send me to his office room every night. You know that he has a separate, covered and confined office room for him in the school building. He will keep me there every night and ravish me until the following day wee-hours. After keeping me as his concubine for some months, later he will completely take me out from the orphanage and may even sell me to his lecher friends. In this situation, Nangi, I might even be compelled to lead a life of a prostitute. Now, can you understand what type of mire I am going to fall into?” saying so most lamentably, in an extremely pathetic and sorrowful tone, she held tightly both hands of her friend with her quivering cold hands.
“Now, I can clearly comprehend the type of disaster that is going to befall on you. So, please tell me the nature and type of assistance you need from me in order to escape from this disaster. Sister, believe me, whatever type of assistance you require, be sure that it is always forthcoming, O. K……” Mentioning so, Kanthi as if expecting a quick reply from Vindya, focused a sharp inquisitive glance at her pensive countenance.
“Thank you very much, Nangi. This is the help I need from you: after we partake our dinner, we will go to our beds and be there for some time pretending to be sleeping like logs. Once I give you the signal, we will get up quietly, stealthily walk out of the orphanage unnoticed by anyone, and reach the barbed-wire fence just at the edge of the building just near the boundary wall bordering the road. I will be taking with me just only a few clothing of mine, my only possessions. I will put all my books, lesson notes and magazines in your cupboard so that you can use them for your benefit. Perhaps you may know, Nangi, that, it is very difficult for anyone to creep through this barbed-wire fence all-alone, on her own. What you could do is to hold the barbed wires together, stretching it as wide as possible until I creep through it on to the other side. The moment I am out, you adjust the barbed wires to their usual position, not allowing any suspicions to come up to the effect that this is the point from which I escaped. Thereafter, quietly go to your bed and sleep as if nothing has happened. Please do not brood over me and start crying. Tomorrow morning, finding that I am missing from the room, our madams will start asking various questions from you about my disappearance. Then tell them that during the whole of last night you had a long sleep and act as if you are not aware of anything that had happened. O. K. sister…..”
“Don’t worry, Akka, I’ll do everything to the last letter the way you explained and keep it a top secret between you and I. But, believe me, I am very scared. Aren’t you taking a bigger risk than getting caught to that Superintendent fellow by stepping on to the road all alone in the night, ah? Don’t you think that those bloody rowdies hovering in the dark along the road will not molest you and rape you? Later, after raping you, due to the fear that you will identify them, they might even go to the extent of killing you and dumping your body in some unknown place. Did you ever think of these repercussions, Akka?” Vindya could distinctly see the unexplainable fear and fright depicted in the eyes of Kanthi as she kept on asking such questions.
In spite of the explanation rendered by Kanthi in regard to drastic repercussions that might follow as a result of taking the course of action already decided by Vindya, to her utter astonishment, Kanthi saw a somewhat sarcastic, humorous smile appearing on her friend’s face. In the next moment, stroking her head in an affectionate manner Vindya began consoling her by providing a plausible explanation with a view to allay her fears:
“Yes Nangi, I do totally agree with what you just explained. It is true that the risks and dangers posed in the night on our roads are very high, particularly to girls and young women and I know this position quite well. But, I presume that you are well aware of the confidence I have posited on my clairvoyance. It foretells me that some time after I step on to the road, I am called upon to encounter a daring risk and at that very moment of my being exposed to that risk, some formidable and invincible superhuman protective force would definitely come to my rescue and carry me to a safe haven where I would ultimately find solace. Nevertheless, beyond this point, I find that my clairvoyance doesn’t travel. Hitherto, my clairvoyance had never failed, and I am one hundred per cent positive that this powerful superhuman force will save me from all the troubles and take me to a safe place. Therefore, for the time being, this is more than enough for me. What do you say, sister?”
“Yes Akka, I too believe and rely on the merits of your clairvoyance powers and I am more than surprised with the manner in which it warns you of the impending and imminent dangers. I still remember that incident when a broken loose tile on the roof of your classroom was just about to fall on to the heads of you and the girl seated next to you, how you dragged her also and ran out of the classroom. I also remember you later told me the story that you knew beforehand that such a broken tile from the roof would fall on your heads. Am I correct?”
“You are correct, Nangi, and that is the precise reason why I have decided to rely on my clairvoyance and planned to embark on this unusual risky journey. Now, promise me that you will help me to complete my job in the way I have planned, please!”
“Certainly, my dear sister, even at the expense of my life I will help you. However, tomorrow morning when they find out the fact that you are neither in the orphanage nor in the school, there will be a big rumpus. Our madam will, invariably inform the Police; when that Superintendent fellow comes to know that you are missing, from our madams, I am sure he will hit the ceiling and engage a search party to find you. Therefore, it is rather advisable that you conceal yourself properly for some time. But, later when the situation simmers down, you may inform me of your whereabouts; and that too you must do very carefully. Do you understand, Akka?”
“Yes, Nangi, my dearest, I do understand. I will never, ever forget you. With the blessings of the Triple Gem and with the help of the Gods, if a philanthropic benefactor provides me safe shelter and a peaceful home, I am determined to help you by stealthily taking you out of the orphanage and bring both of us together. That way, I promise that I will try to make your life also a successful one. In the meantime, sister, you do a thorough study with the help of my notes I have given you and endeavour to pass your O’ levels. I am very sure that if you do study my notes thoroughly, you can certainly score 8 D’s.”
“My dearest Vindya Akka, from the very bottom of my heart, I wish you an extremely fortunate and successful future with the kind blessings of the Triple Gem and all the assistance of the Gods.”
“Thank you very much, my dearest sister, Kanthi, I too wish you the same. So, my dear, it is not that advisable to bid farewell to each other once we go to our room; it will then become too obvious. That might even lead to the other girls suspecting both of us of trying to sneak out from here and ultimately it may tend to thwart all our plans of escaping. In this context, Nangi, we will quietly bid good-bye to one another while sitting on this marble bench itself.”
In this manner, the two bosom-friends, Vindya Piyumika and Kanthi Nanda, embracing and hugging each other, with eyes filled with warm tears, bade a heart-rending good-bye to one another.
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CHAPTER ONE
Professor Vivek Karunananda has been accredited with being a Senior lecturer in the University, a Senior Executive in the State Corporations and Companies and a Senior Management and Marketing Consultant to many Business Organizations in Sri Lanka for a considerable period of time and today has reached the 63 rd milestone in his life. Reclining supinely on his bed placed in the front bedroom of his palatial two-storey residence situated in Nugegoda, a populous town in close proximity to the Capital City, Colombo, and attributing to himself a rather pensive mood, he seems to be pondering about the train of events he had encountered in the recent past. Although he happens to be an individual endowed with an invincible stature, a strong will-power and charisma as well as an indisputable intellectual capacity, while dwelling in nostalgia, he knew that he had become quite emotional and sentimental which state of mind had lead to his eyes getting clouded with tears. While removing the pair of spectacles he is wearing and wiping the tears filled in his eyes on several occasions, he engaged in a futile attempt to contain and console himself, and finally finding that it is of no use, kept inert permitting his eyes to shed tears as much as they wished.
Nayana, his beautiful, loving and faithful wife for 37 years is no more today. Going down the memory lane, he thought of the day he got married to her; he was then 26 years old and she was barely 22; he was an Assistant Lecturer in the University and she was his student therein. He reminisced that at that time she fell for him, head over heels and started loving him madly to the extent that she even disliked other girl students talking with him. After their marriage, she became extremely possessive of him, very often enticing him to canoodle her, caress and kiss her whole alluring body without sparing even an inch of it. He also remembered the way he unclothed her making her buck naked and commenced caressing, kneading and kissing her golden-coloured pair of protruding breasts with their rose-coloured areole, taking her nipples in his lips in tiny caresses. In the course of these carnal and amorous situations, although she kept her eyes closed most of the time, he recalled how she responded to his concupiscence by cupping and stroking his turgid erect membrum virile with her hands thus nonverbally inviting him to enter into her exquisite body. However, he remembered, that he never wanted to go into her without indulging in his famous fore-play or sex-game, ‘Cunnilingus’ on her. After spreading her magnificent soft, silky, velvety pair of thighs to its maximum span, he spent several minutes engaging in his famous game before making the big entry into her wet fabulous, fascinating fanny. In his nostalgia, he even reminisced the quite audible whimpers, groaning and moaning sounds emanating from her mouth in ecstasy at the crisis point of her orgasmic excitement. Within the first five years of their married life, she bestowed him with two lovely baby daughters whom today he considers as his best loved ones. Thereafter too, both of them avidly continued their married life indulging themselves in the most lascivious manner taking due care to satiate their individual concupiscence mutually, demonstrating the power and beauty of physical love which, as time passed by, metamorphosed into one of great mental and spiritual attachment. Nevertheless, he recalls with heart-rending lament, the hitherto unexplained reason for the sudden change in her sexual desires and behaviour which he conspicuously noticed over the last decade. He still remembers that at one point when she began evading his amorous and sexual advances, he needed to know as to why she was doing so. However, she did not provide him with a plausible explanation to his query, but evaded the issue with an alluring smile and stated that as they have now become old and therefore should endeavour to refrain from sexual activities as much as possible. At this juncture, he began to suspect whether she was suffering from a malady originating from a syndrome called Vaginismus. Being a writer who authored a book titled “Sexual Truisms and Men and Women” recently, he knew that this was a common disease experienced by many married females particularly after they have reached menopause. What occurred in a situation such as this was the painful spasmodic contraction of the vagina, or in other words, the painful irritating sensation in the canal between the womb and the external genital orifice of a female. He reminisced with hilarity, when he questioned her on this suspected malady, how she retorted in an antagonizing tone, discarding such a proposition.
In a scenario of this nature, he pondered, he could do nothing but to become complacent of their passive conjugal cohabitation. He gradually learnt to become contented on her behaviour towards him; at times she was like a mother to him; at times, like an elder sister; and at times, a faithful girl-friend sans any physical or sexual relationship. Nonetheless, quite conversely to her sexual behaviour, he somewhat wondered how his concupiscence did not simmer down or plummet but sustained the same status quo throughout this whole period of time. He realized that she knew that his sexual desires have not diminished in any way, and consequently cast a shadow of suspicion towards him, perhaps innately toying with the idea that his attention might be drawn by some other women to whom he used to deliver his lectures on Management and Marketing. However, consequent to their two daughters migrating to foreign lands accompanied by their husbands, the couple was compelled to lead a life of solitary nature, being left alone in a large house. Although feeling desolate, they were quite happy and contended since tranquility and harmony prevailed throughout between them. Financially too, the couple happened to be rather well-off, mainly due the fact that they never fell into the category of spendthrifts.
Anyhow when the D-day arrived, Vivek became visibly devastated; however strong and firm he used to be, he was thrown into a state of utter confusion and perplexity. As usual, when he got up a little late in the morning of that fateful day, he found his faithful wife, Nayana, peacefully fast asleep on her bed placed next to his. ‘She may be feeling tired, let her sleep some more time. I’ll get up and feed the fish; by that time she may be awake’ thought he and got up from his bed. Moments after feeding the exotic fish that are being reared in five aesthetically built ground-ponds situated in the front yard of the house, he returned to the bedroom and glanced at his wife’s serene peaceful figure still reclining on her bed. He felt dismayed to disturb her slumber but subliminally feeling somewhat uneasy, he thought of calling her and inquire whether she was alright.
“Nayana dear, are you still feeling sleepy? Anyway, are you O. K? Now the time is just past eight o’clock” he said and finding no response forthcoming from her, he walked up to her and slightly pulling out the tucked mosquito net from the edge of her bed, placed his right palm on her brow. Instantly he became dumbfound as a very cold chill pierced his palm placed on her brow; thence he touched the rest of her body and in bewilderment heaved a deep long sigh and cried in agony: “Nayana, my darling, why did you leave me all alone in this miserable world even without bidding me good-bye?”
Nayana had reached 59 years in her life and had left Vivek quite silently, just past midnight on that fateful day due to a sudden virulent heart attack she suffered. Vivek had witnessed her mother, his mother-in-law, too passing away as a result of a similar type of heart attack almost at the same age. Nayana, his loved one had departed from him and the other two loved ones are far away, thus compelling him to tread on the journey of Samsara in solitude, pondered Vivek.
Upon hearing the news of the sudden death of their beloved mother, extremely heart-broken, Vivek’s two daughters accompanied by their husbands and children arrived in the Island as early as possible. A few days after their arrival, the funeral of Nayana took place amidst a large gathering of relations and friends. Although profusely grief-stricken with a heart laden with excruciating pain, suppressing all those emotions and maintaining his usual composure, Vivek was seen attending to most of the matters connected with the funeral.
Subsequent to the untimely demise of their beloved mother, Vivek’s two daughters, namely, Chand and Nisha were confronted with a dilemma; both of them had a long discussion with their husbands and arriving at a decision, approached their father. Vivek could remember this lengthy discussion his two daughters had with him as if it happened only yesterday.
“Father, frankly we have no heart to leave you behind in this country any longer” said Nisha commencing the conversation. “We have very firmly decided to take you to our countries. You can take turns in being with us. I suggest that you, in the first instance, come to Australia with me because already you have quite a number of friends there. After about one year, you can be in Canada with Chand Akka. Meanwhile, I could arrange you to get the permanent residency in Australia. Father, you know very well that my two sons, your grandsons, love you immensely and they will be delighted to be with you again. So father, Jagath will attend to all the necessary Visa matters for you and you don’t have to trouble yourself on those, isn’t it, Jagath?” Stating so, Nisha looked at her husband who nodded in affirmation.
Whilst listening to what his second daughter uttered, Vivek seemed to be engrossed in deep thought. As he seemed to be in a pensive mood, everybody present there observed that the usual cordial smile marked on his pleasant countenance had disappeared. Vivek noticed that all the eyes were focused on him. He then began talking:
“Nisha, I very well know that you two, my dearest daughters, as well as Jagath and Ravi and my grandchildren love me dearly and that is why you all want to take me to your countries without leaving me all alone here. But, my dears, I just can’t leave Sri Lanka at this juncture because as you may already know, I have undertaken so many tasks now and they are still in an incomplete stage; there are few books I haven’t completed as yet; another two novels to be completed and one novel I have just started. Moreover, the University has invited me to commence some new classes for the final year students. In the circumstances, if I were to abandon all these projects and leave Sri Lanka at this crucial point, what would my stature and prestige be? I am really sorry, my dears, leaving this country at this juncture has become an impossibility.”
Attentively listening to what her father explained, the elder daughter, Chand at this point started to pinpoint the vicissitudes that might be associated with staying all alone in a large house such as theirs: “Father, please be sensible; we jolly well know the fact that although you are now 63 years, still you imagine that you a strong man of 40.” She let out a broad smile pausing for a few moments: “Yes, surely father, you don’t at all look 63; you really look quite younger than your age—may be just passed 50 or so. But can even a man of 40 stay alone throughout in a big house like this, ah? No way, my dear father, no way. Just think, who is going to look after your meal requirements? Your laundry? Cleaning and upkeep of the house? I know you very well, father; you, no doubt, understand all these problems you would be invariably facing in the event of you opting to stay back, but your real aversion to come with us is due to the idea that you entertain in your mind about making yourself a burden or a trouble for us. Am I right, my father? Please, please father, don’t ever entertain such silly ideas! We love you very much, and we need you together with us!” Chand seemed to be like almost pleading.
Glancing very affectionately at his two daughters, Vivek adorned his charismatic countenance with a sarcastic and mischievous smile and quipped: “I know that my two little darling daughters are real angels; you two seem to read my mind; yes, I know all what you mentioned is true and I quite appreciate it. O. K., O.K., I’ll come with you, but definitely not when you leave at this time. I’ll try to complete somehow or other the work I have in hand and the lectures I have undertaken at the University, during the next couple of months and then arrange for my Visa to Australia. Is that proposition alright?”
Nisha realized that her father’s stubbornness had now been reduced to a certain extent by her sister’s argumentation. Nevertheless, how is he going to live alone even for a couple of months as he proposed, she thought. ‘Father appears to be strong enough, but he is 63 and our dear mother left us at 59; if something unbecoming happens when he is living alone during this couple of months, oh, God! How are we going to bear the repercussions then and face the world?’ she wondered. She opened her mouth:
“No, no, father, I am sorry; Jagath and I are going to take you to Australia at whatever cost. I simply can’t allow you to stay alone here. I’ll ask Jagath to finalize your Visa matters tomorrow itself. We are definitely taking you to Australia when we go back, and that’s certain and final, O.K., father.”
Vivek knew that his second daughter, Nisha was a strong-willed and extrovert girl from her childhood and as such he did not desire to hurt her feelings; since subconsciously he felt adamant about leaving the country at this crucial point of time wherein his presence was required to complete the tasks at hand and fulfill his life’s ambitions, he thought of pulling a ruse and escape from this pressure. He remarked:
“Nisha my dear, just listen to me; if I leave the country with you all, what is going to happen to this house which you all very well know, has been my life time sweat and sinew and also the place where you two were born and bred. Therefore dear, don’t worry about my safety during this couple of months, I can buy my meals from a hotel, I can prepare my tea all by myself, since the washing machine is here I can do the laundry myself and also as I have contracted with the University to conduct lectures, I may, perhaps not feel lonely. And once I have completed all the tasks I have undertaken and sell our house also to a respectable, decent family, then I presume that I would have the peace of mind and solace to join you two in Australia and Canada forever. Until then you two could phone me or come on the Skype even daily; I’ll also be in touch with you two on the Skype as and when time permits. Is that arrangement alright?”
His two daughters and their husbands exchanged glances and focused their undivided attention on him. They undoubtedly understood that it would be quite futile to argue with him any further. Thereupon they took a collective decision to attend to all the unfinished work in connection with the funeral of their mother and also not to leave anything to be done by their father, before their departure from the country.
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Their return flights to Canada and Australia were scheduled to leave the Katunayaka International Airport on the same day itself. Both daughters and their husbands dissuaded Vivek from joining them in their journey from home to the Airport, because they knew his travel back home had to be done all alone in the night. In the circumstances, it happened to be an extremely pathetic and heart-rending scenario one could witness at the point of their departure from home. Vivek’s four grandchildren—three grandsons and one granddaughter—started wailing saying that they could not leave their grandfather—‘Dada’, in their own words. His two loving daughters embraced him in the first instance and fell down on their knees at his feet along with their husbands and worshipped him. Notwithstanding the magnanimity and the stable stature he had been endowed with, Vivek too was incapable of consoling himself and broke down when all his children—his loved ones—too began sobbing and crying loudly. Eventually, with much remorse and melancholy he caressed and kissed them bidding them good-bye. When the motor vehicle carrying all his loved ones disappeared from his sight along the road in front of his house, at once he ran inside the house, closed and bolted the front door behind him. Thereafter, he entered his bedroom, reclined himself on his bed in a prone position and began crying bitterly.
Perhaps, he might have been on his bed engulfed in a sorrowful and depressed frame of mind for a considerable length of time delving into the recent past, but suddenly realization dawned on him that all this time he was dwelling on retrospection. Mustering moral courage, he at once got up from his bed and glanced at the wall clock hung on the wall; it now showed him the time was almost seven o’ clock in the late evening. ‘I am a man of stature; quite virile and strong; there is no point in brooding over on what occurred in the past. Nayana, my love for 37 years has left me forever, never to return; the rest of my loved ones, though they were insisting that I should join them, I didn’t want to do so. Now, that’s it; without worrying further, I’ll regain my usual composure with vim, vigour and vitality and now itself I’ll follow my daily routine.’ Thus talking to himself, he stepped on to the Hall of the house where the TV set was installed and switched it on following his usual practice.
Vivek’s usual daily practice had been to watch the programmes telecast on the television commencing from 7.00 p. m. and concluding at 10.00 p. m. Today, he remembered that Ravi, his elder son-in-law had brought for him a packet of dinner containing delicious fried rice. Around 8.30 p. m. while he was viewing one of his favourite episodised teledramas, he partook his dinner and continued watching the TV. Just past ten o’ clock, he switched off the TV set and sat at his large writing table with a view to continue the writing of one of his unfinished English novels. Nonetheless, he found that he was unable to get started as his trend of thoughts and sequence of the novel got interrupted by that traumatic mindset which he vehemently attempted to suppress but failed miserably. Every time he tried to put his pen on paper, subliminally he began to visualize his wife, Nayana calling him perhaps from a utopian netherworld, stretching both her arms amiably and requesting him to join her there. He observed that she was wearing only a beautiful transparent white gown with pleats, which very clearly exposed her pair of golden-coloured round breasts with their pink-coloured areole and nipples, her naval and groin area and her tiny vagina with sparsely grown black pubic hair. Then he remembered his eyes becoming drowsy and he was about to fall asleep. Again he scantly remembered that the left side of his chest started giving him a severe pain, at which point he extinguished all the electric lights in the house, except the one illuminating the Hall, and went to bed. Thereupon, he fell into a deep, deep unfathomable heavy slumber—‘Oh, the White Angel of peaceful and serene deep sleep, absolve me from this excruciating mortal agony and misery, come to me, embrace me and take me to a Netherworld where there exists eternal solace!’ He seemed to be pleading before his mortal life became extinct.
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CHAPTER TWO
The electric light illuminating the Hall of Vivek’s residence seemed to be burning day after day and night after night, virtually day and night for three consecutive days. If someone around the place had been carefully listening, they may perhaps confirm that intermittently the three land telephone lines installed in the residence, kept on ringing and after some minutes stopped automatically. Since the computer belonging to Vivek had been switched off, nobody was able to connect over the Skype. In fact, an atmosphere of complete inertia or rather lifelessness seemed to surround all over the place.
Nevertheless, all of a sudden, a slight stir and a faint noise seemed to emanate from the bedroom in which Vivek slept, on the third day morning; it was a faint groaning and yawning sound. Still lying on the bed but raising himself from waist upwards from his reclining supine position, he stretched his hands to his sides and let out a big yawn while wiping his still sleepy eyes with both his hands; then he glanced at the octagonal clock hung on the wall to his right. With eyes indicating surprise, he mused: ‘Oh! My Goodness! Now the time is almost half past nine; I think I have been sleeping like a log since last night.’ At once, he got out of the bed and stood facing the opposite direction to the bed, ready to step out of the room.
While walking into the Hall in order to switch off the electric light that he saw burning therein, he wondered as to why he felt so light-weighted. However, he did not want to take much notice of that condition, and soon after extinguishing the burning electric light in the Hall, thought of going to the toilet in order to empty his bladder as usual. ‘How strange’ he mused, ‘after sleeping the whole night like a log, why don’t I have the urge to urinate? Instead, I feel very light and like floating. Why is this change?’ he further wondered.
As was his usual practice, he returned to the bedroom to comb his disheveled hair; but innately his conscious commanded him to glance at the now empty bed—the bed his beloved wife had been sleeping all these years. While passing simultaneous glimpses at the two beds kept adjacent to one another—his and his wife’s—he became utterly horrified to the extent of horrification and dumbfound, due to the strange phenomenon he evidently witnessed on his own bed; he saw his own physical body calmly lying on his bed supinely, with eyes fully shut and sans any clothes whatsoever. Unintentionally, his eyes searched his own apparel he was wearing at that moment; they were the same apparel he wore before going to sleep: ‘what the hell is this? What is my naked body doing on the bed? If I am sleeping on the bed, then what am I?’ pondering so, he drifted into a deep pensive mood.
Being a versatile intellectual well-versed in many spheres including Occult Sciences, Vivek had done extensive research on Paranormal Phenomena and Vampirology and based on such studies had produced a book titled “The Living Dead or The Vampire Legend”. Now depending on his vast knowledge gained in these spheres, he endeavored to explore into the preternatural or paranormal phenomenon he currently encountered. After some moments of thought, he seemed to be talking to himself: “Now, I quite understand this whole unusual incident in the proper perspective; my corpus has split into two separate fractions while I was in a deep slumber or coma or perhaps even death. Here I am in the form of my astral body that is quite alive and my physical body is dead and lying on the bed but still keeping warm and fresh. And I know obviously that if I don’t take some concrete immediate action, my physical body will die forever and in a scenario of this nature, there is the possibility of my astral body transmigrating into another physical corpus and transform me into another individual, and I know that this process is known as Metempsychosis. Let me see what could be done to sustain the status quo.”
Invincibly determined to remedy this paranormal situation into which he had fallen that might perhaps render detrimental repercussions, he immediately unclothed himself completely and laid his present astral body on top of his quiescent physical body in a dovetailed form, caressing and embracing it thoroughly, from head to toe. Few moments elapsed from the point these two entities intertwined with one another; momentarily he felt some energy very much resembling a strong electric current originating from his astral corpus which penetrated into his physical corpus in a symbiosis. Although at this point he seemed to experience a severe pain, he mustered courage to remain calm. The preternatural phenomenon he witnessed almost immediately made him astound to the utmost; unimaginably, he was witnessing a scenario in which his own physical body disintegrating and gradually absorbing into his animated astral body thereby making it heavy.
At this crucial juncture, Vivek vividly discovered that there remained only one corpus as a single entity; he had transformed himself into his former physical structure and mental status. He then, at once raised himself from the bed, got out from it and stood beside it; while stretching himself, he felt as if completely rejuvenated and feeling young and strong which status contributed his conscious to delve deeply into this paranormal condition. Taking his own physical metamorphosis into account, he surmised that this condition of becoming young again is a biological process in humans known as “Rejuvenescence” where the body cells gain or fill with fresh vitality. Nevertheless, certain doubts sprang up in his mind casting some ugly dark shadows. In fact, he has risen from the dead; come back to life after death in the same physical form, which means that he has turned a Vampire! However, in his extensive research in the field of vampirism, he had found that the real vampires are afflicted with a disease called “Hematomania” causing them to cultivate a morbid psychosexual desire to drink or suck blood, may be of human or animal. Fortunately, he did not seem to entertain a thirst for blood; instead he felt thirsty and hungry for real human food; water, tea, rice and curry, ice-cream, chocolate, etc. Anyhow, there are other forms of innocent vampires—known as “Revenants” who come back to life after death—the living dead—with the prime purpose of completing the incomplete work or tasks they had to leave behind in their previous life. Once they come back to life from their death, it is believed that, they develop extraordinary strength, more mental dexterity and become rejuvenated. ‘In this context, I presume that I have become a real Revenant’ Vivek hypothesized and he wanted to test his conjecture.
He moved closer to his bed made out of hard timber and with his left hand tried to lift it; he raised it without any effort, which issue substantiated the fact that he had gained extra strength. At this point, although he became somewhat convinced of the fact that he had turned a Revenant, he felt profusely thirsty and hungry. In a minute, he dressed himself with the same cloths he was wearing earlier, and trod on to the pantry, opened the refrigerator and helped himself to some of the delicious edible food stuffs stacked therein by his sons-in-law prior to their departure from the country. Becoming rather satiated by quenching his thirst and hunger, he, in slow motion, returned to the Hall and commenced contemplating and conjecturing about the metamorphosis that had mysteriously affected his life.
He began exploring into two hypotheses: The first conjecture was that he had suffered a severe heart attack while in a deep slumber and died instantaneously. At that traumatic juncture of sudden and painful death, his live astral body that underwent the excruciating pain and agony of untimely and unforeseen death became detached and separated from his dying physical body. Perhaps, that may have been the reason as to why he saw himself in two forms—his astral body that is light weighted and quite alive and donning his cloths; his physical body that is heavy weighted and quite dead. Anyhow, he was not certain how long his dead physical body remained on the bed quiescent while his astral body being quite alive though dormant, had been fast asleep. He could remember that his loved ones left him on Wednesday, the 14th evening; then what is the date today? He was unable to find the answer at once. Anyway, he knew that there was a ready reckoner in his possession and that was his wristwatch equipped with day-date facility, kept on his writing-table. Attentively he paced across to his office-room adjacent to the Hall and laid his hands on his quarts wrist-watch which indicated that today is Saturday, the 17th. Thereupon he surmised that he was under the spell of a deep slumber for 3 nights and 2 days consecutively. Under these circumstances, he could conjecture that by some misfortune, his astral body got detached from his physical body but on second thought, after the elapse of three days, came back in order to establish the conjunction again.
However, the second conjecture deviates from the first, on many facets: It dwells on the premise that he, in no uncertain terms, expired due to a sudden severe heart attack he suffered on the 14th night, soon after going to bed. Upon definite death, his soul, or in other words, his astral body transformed into the transient form of a Revenant while his physical body remained dead but still maintaining its warmth. Nevertheless, on the third day after death, the transient astral Revenant thought it expedient to incarnate itself with the physical body simultaneous with the conjunction preformed, for the sole purpose of attributing to itself extraordinary physical strength and enhanced mental faculties. In terms of the Theory expounded by Occult Scientists, in the event of an individual after his death turning himself into the form of a Revenant would inevitably become rejuvenated. Therefore, the process of Rejuvenescence stands valid in the case of Revenants too.
Whatever the accurate case may be, Vivek was now one hundred per cent certain that he had returned from the dead. However, his inquisitive mind compelled him to investigate into this “Theory of Returning to Life after Death” in an elaborate manner. Adhering to the command given by his inner self, he again entered his bedroom and undressing himself completely standing in front of the full-size mirror attached to the wall of the bedroom, started analyzing his physical features from his head downwards; he understood that he had not shaven his beard for three days; previously, prior to his death, if not shaven for two days or more, the short bristles grown on the face surfaced in gray, but today such bristles have surfaced mostly in black. Anyhow, he could not express anything about the hair on his head because he used to dye his hair in black. In the next moment, he looked at the reflection of his torso in the mirror and was astonished to discover that all the hair grown on his chest, abdomen and pubic area had turned into black color in contrast to the scattered gray hairs he found earlier on those regions.
“Even though I am dead, I have started living again” rejoiced Vivek, “now I have enough time to complete all the work I have undertaken. I am positive that I have become a Revenant with a rejuvenated appearance and more physical strength. However, I must not disclose this secret to anybody, not even to my daughters. Let it be a secret forever—only my Nayana from the Netherworld will know my secret, the truth.” Thus, he became more than happy and contented over these miraculous developments. He died at the age of 63 and perhaps possibly might have another similar life span; At this point, a subliminally generated paradigm began revolting in his conscious. ‘Why shouldn’t I investigate and analyze my sexual virility and the strength of my penis? It is a matter I should be more concerned of when I feel comparatively younger and virile’ thought he and putting all his clothes on, went back to his office-room and powered his computer. Minutes later, he searched for an adult website wherein the most erotic and carnal exposures of young teenage girls, women and men were displayed. The erotica that appeared on the computer screen almost astounded him; he witnessed a plethora of fully nude photographs of teenage and young women in various lascivious and erotic poses prominently exhibiting their boobs, vaginas, vulvas and thighs and adorning their beautiful faces with alluring and bewitching smiles. However, with a view to check his sexual virility, he started stroking his already partially erect turgid phallus while erotically watching those semi-nude and fully nude photographs of young women. To his much surprise and utter wonder, even before he began to masturbate in the proper way, his erect membrum virile metamorphosed into one of rigid turgidity and as hard as a thick steel-rod, raising itself even beyond inverted 110 degrees. His present mindset too, rejuvenated miraculously, regarded these nude photographs of teenage and young women extremely alluring, enthralling and irresistible, and thus driving his sensual emotions to carry on masturbating in slow motion until he reached his orgasms. Moreover, bringing to his mind a sense of profound delight and surprise, this entire process of ecstasy and ultimate orgasmic climax, sustained for a considerable length of time he had never experienced before in his life.
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Vivek was driven even beyond the far depths of exhilaration; he, as a matter of fact, had now become not only young and virile but also sexually attractive. Nevertheless, however much personally complacent he was, yet he seemed innately dwelling on the loving memory of his dear departed wife, Nayana and also on the fact that his other loved ones being very far away: “Nearly three days have elapsed since the departure of my two daughters, sons-in-law and my grandchildren and by now, they may have reached their countries. But, I don’t know whether they had given me any telephone calls while I was dead. Anyway, I’ll keep the computer in operation so that they could reach me on the Skype” he pondered.
A little while later, the very minute he stepped out of the bathroom, he heard the ringing tone of the computer Skype to which he at once responded; then he found Nisha, Jagath and their two sons in full vision on the computer screen. Since they also had opened the video on their computer, he realized that they could see him too.
“Hello, father,” said Nisha, ”we reached Sydney today morning; there was a delay of two hours in Singapore on our way. I gave telephone calls to you the moment we arrived home because your computer was offline. However, all your phone lines kept on ringing for a long time. Father, is there any problem? Are you alright?” she inquired.
“Don’t worry, Nisha dear, I am quite alright. I had a rather long, peaceful sleep since last night until today morning. It may be that I was fast asleep when you rang” he replied.
Thereafter, a rather long chat ensued with Nisha, Jagath and the two sons. At the end of the conversation, Nisha thus remarked and displayed a happy, broad smile:
“Father, I don’t know whether it is my vision or the enlarged computer screen, but you seem to appear quite younger and more handsome than when we saw you last. Why is that?”
“No, dear, it is because I took a shave a little while ago and washed my face applying some face-wash” explained Vivek quite contentedly with a mysterious smile painted on his pleasant countenance.
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Vivek’s elder daughter, Chand too appeared on the Skype as soon as they reached their home in Canada. Chand, Ravi, their son and the daughter after having a long chat with Vivek bade him good-bye with the assurance that they would again be contacting him very soon. At the conclusion of the conversation, Chand too made the same remark to the effect that her father seemed to appear more handsome and younger than she saw him on the last occasion.
Nonetheless, in the end, Vivek made a very firm resolution to himself that under no circumstances, he would go to the extent of divulging the details of his death and the life thereafter and also the truism that he had become a Revenant to anybody extant in this material world.
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CHAPTER THREE
Leading the invigorated life of a Revenant, Vivek seemed to be experiencing untold happiness inwardly as he felt that his mental adroitness and dexterity had increased by leaps and bounds. Even his memory power, he gathered, had enhanced as he now could remember and recall even the minute details of his past life and experiences, as if they had taken place recently. He went a little further and started guessing whether he had developed any psychic or clairvoyance faculties. Upon this realization, he closed his eyes and began visualizing; he could clearly see his own University, The University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka inviting him to take over some Elective Courses conducted for the benefit of the Final Year students of the First Degree and also some Courses designed for the Masters Degree; but this, he told himself, was not anything unforeseen or unexpected but what had been already decided by the University and that he would be getting the letters of appointment during the next couple of weeks requesting him to commence his lecturing once the new academic year began.