Soon the news that Bhavani was alive were known by everyone. The Modis also understood about her return and Gopi was again wondering how all of a sudden, Bhavani has died and again, how all of a sudden she is back.
“Maaji, what do you think, what could have happened?” She said.
“I don’t know, Gopi.” Kokila replied. She was physically there but her mind was somewhere else and Gopi immediately noticed that.
“Maaji, is there something wrong? For a long time, I’ve been noticing that you always seem to be thinking about something and whenever we talk about Gaura, you become silent and there’s some fear in your eyes. Tell me, did she tell you something? Did she threaten you again?”
“No, Gopi, everything is fine. Gaura hasn’t told me anything, don’t worry.”
“Maaji, I know when you are lying so you better say the truth.”
And during that time Gaura was following the Modis through the cameras she had set up in their house.
And Kokila recalled Gaura’s words how she would hurt the family if her secret ever gets known by anyone.
“Gopi, you better don’t ask anything, for I can’t tell you. Please, let’s put an end to this conversation now.’
‘No, I will not put an end to the conversation until you don’t tell me the truth! Listen, maaji, we are alone now, no one can hear us. Whatever you say to me will be known by only me and you.”
“No, Gopi. Gaura is everywhere, she may hear us and then…”
“Then what? She can not hear anything now. Please, calm down and tell me, what did she tell you?”
“No, I can’t.”
“Fine. If you don’t want to say it out loud, then write it down. Wait, I will bring you something to write on.”
And as soon as Gopi left the room, Kokila received a message.
“It’s not too late to turn back, Kokila. You promised me that you will not share my secret with anyone, so you must keep your promise. If you say even a word, your whole family will die, and you will be required to perform their last rituals.”
Kokila froze when she read the message by Gaura. She realized that her best friend from childhood was keeping an eye on her at all times.
And then, Gopi came back.
“Maaji, here it is.” She said. “You will finally feel better after writing what worries you.”
“No, Gopi. Really, there’s nothing that worries me. I am telling the truth.”
But Gopi wasn’t accepting know for an answer.
“I am not leaving you until you don’t reveal what makes you feel afraid! I see the fear in your eyes, maaji!”
And then, Kokila started crying.
“Gopi, I can’t tell you anything even if I want to. Gaura will murder us all, I am telling you it’s very dangerous! So you better stop asking!”
“What is so dangerous, maaji? What did Gaura maasi tell you that you feel so scared? Please, maaji, tell me!”
“Gaura told me that she has killed Bhavani. She told me she has drowned her. She then added that if I don’t keep her secret, she will drown me just the same way. She then started dragging me towards the water and I had to promise her not to tell anything. If I hadn’t kept her secret, I wouldn’t be standing in front of you today.”
Gaura heard and saw everything.
“What are you saying, maaji?”
“That’s the truth, Gopi. Now let’s put an end to this conversation. And do not ever tell anyone what I told you today. Maybe Gaura already knows what I did. So, now we should just wait for our death to come.”
“No, maaji, we will not die, don’t worry. All will be fine, you will see. Now relax, please.”
And then, Gopi went to do her work and Kokila was alone. Minutes were passing and nothing more happened, so Kokila began to feel relaxed. Maybe Gopi was right and Gaura would not do anything to them?
The night arrived. Kokila was preparing to go to sleep when suddenly, she felt someone behind her. She turned around and saw… Gaura.
“What are you doing here?” Kokila said.
“Don’t say a word and come with me!” Gaura said. “I warned you not to say anything to your bahu, but you ignored my words. Now follow me if you don’t want your family to pay the prize for your mistakes.”
“But, Gaura…”
“Listen, Kokila, you must follow my orders now. And be quiet, we don’t want to wake up your family, right?”
And they left through the door. Kokila was shivering in fear but she knew she now had to face the consequences of her actions.
“Where are we going, Gaura?”
“You will see.”
“You are not going to do anything to me! Gopi knows everything already, so if I disappear all doubts will fall on you first.”
“No, Kokila, your Gopi will not start to doubt me. You know what? I wrote a letter to your family like you have written it and left it in your room. The letter says that you have decided to leave the Modis on your own because you are worried for their safety. The letter reads as follows.
“Dear Modi family,
Since the first day Gaura came into our lifes, we hadn’t had even a minute in piece. She tortured us so many years and no matter what we do, we couldn’t make her go away. She always comes back and she is even more dangerous than the previous time. Gaura came into our lifes because she wanted to take revenge on me. And because of that, she ruined our whole family. The reason for your suffering is me. I decided to leave you and go back to my mother. If I am away, Gaura will stop torturing you. Please forgive me, my dear family. And don’t try looking for me, I will be fine. I don’t like it that I must be away from you but, if that’s the only way for your happiness, I am ready to do anything.”
Kokila was stunned. Gaura would again succeed in her plans and she couldn’t do anything to stop her.
“Is that your new plan, Gaura?” She said. “It will not work for a long time, you will see.”
“Kokila, you must admit it, my plan is perfect. No one will doubt it that the letter hasn’t been written by you. Your family knows that you are ready to give your life for their happiness. They will get sad at first, but then they will give up on trying to find you.”
“And what are you going to do with me now?”
“See, we arrived.”
Gaura took Kokila to a graveyard.
“Do you see this grave? I made it especially for you. My wish for revenge will finally come true. I will bury you here, alive. You will die because you will not be able to breathe underground.”
“No, Gaura, you are not going to hurt me! I am your best friend from childhood, did you forget? We were like sisters, did you forget? No matter how angry you are at me, you will never take away my life!”
“Really? No, I will. I lost my brother because of you and since that day, the wish for revenge is always with me. When you die, I will finally stop having nightmares and my nights will be peaceful. You was never able to understand my sadness because your sister Jigna is alive. But anyway, our story will end here now.”
“Alright, gaura. I am agree to die. But you must promise me something.”
“What?”
“If I let you bury me now, you will promise me that you will not hurt my family.”
“Fine. I will not. I will not care about your family. Because when you die, my wish for revenge will come true and I will finally be happy.”
Kokila didn’t want to die yet. But she knew there’s no escape and just decided to accept her fate.
“Are you ready?” Gaura asked.
“Gaura, when I die, you will realize your mistake and you will change your mind but it will be too late.”
“I will never change my mind, Kokila. Your death will be the happiest thing that may happen in my life. I will not regret your death. And remember, you stopped being my friend a long time ago. You are my enemy now.”
And then, Gaura put Kokila in the grave and began covering her with dirt.
In one hour it was over. Gaura had just buried her best friend alive. She gave one last look of admiration at her work and then went away.
And the poor Modi family was yet to find out about what has happened to their beloved family member.
