Family secrets

"I need to speak with you. I will call you tonight", I received a very direct text message from my friend Bhakti, my life long colleague turned friend. After reading that text I knew the phone call is going to be an explosive one.

Bhakti called me at 10:30 pm, " I really need to get this off my chest or I don't know I will probably lose my mind" her voice was anxious.

" You do not need to be so dramatic. Take a deep breath and tell me everything from the beginning," I told her in a calm way.

" Okay, I met an Astrologer in December," she had started but I interrupted her, " why did you do that Bhakti? I told you not to do something like that. It is just an unnecessary and useless rabbit hole," I practically scolded her.

" Now you listen to me very carefully everything is going to be really important. Don't try to interrupt when I am speaking," Bhakti said aggressively which made me stop and listen to her.

" Moving on. He told me that in my family there was some member for whom the last rites were not performed. Maybe because the relatives could not perform them. He told me that because of this incomplete rites there are problems in our family, " she said.

I rolled my eyes after listening to her knowing very well that she would not be able to see me. But somehow she knew, " I know you are rolling your eyes but just listen. I did not believe him earlier but then I thought to find out more about my family. First I asked my mother but obviously she did not know anything. Then my dad, grandmother, uncles, aunts, I asked everyone. Nobody knew anything like that. But somehow my gut was telling that what the astrologer had told me was true," Bhakti went on with her rant but she started sounding calmer with each revelation.

"Since nobody knew, I decided to visit my native place. I knew I would find out something from there. I spoke to the neighbours and other people from the village. Who knew my family very well. And I was able to uncovere the truth," I was intently listening to Bhakti. The story was becoming interesting.

"In the village I met one of the very old neighbours. He was close to 100. He told me that my grandfather had an older sister. When she was 2 years old she was kidnapped. My family was never able to find her. It was before the Independence so there was not much search and rescue for an Indian kidnapped girl. The police did not carry out the search and she was never found dead or alive. I think it was this relative of mine for whom the last rites were not performed," when Bhakti narrated this story chills ran down my spine. What she had narrated was indeed scary. I could not even imagine what she must be going through after learning the tragic story of her grandaunt. One cannot even imagine what could have happened to that little girl.

After hearing her story I cannot stop thinking about it. There must have been several young children who must have met similar fate. But unfortunately nothing could be done about them. I cried silent tears for those innocent souls. Those lost children are ghosts of the past that remain buried somewhere and only some determined people like Bhakti could and cover them.