“Good evening Mr. Swaroop, how are you feeling now?” the voice of the doctor brought Swaroop out of his thoughts. “I am ok”, he replied, as if in a trance. “All your reports have come and they are normal. You can go home today”, he gently patted Swaroop on his shoulder and left. The nurse checked his blood pressure and temperature and smiled saying “Everything is normal”.

But Swaroop still felt uneasy.  He knew that something was wrong, but neither the doctors nor he knew what was wrong. Swaroop’s mother came out in the aangan (courtyard) where Swaroop was lying down looking at the stars. “How are you feeling now?” she enquired gently stroking his hair.  “Ma, something is not right”, he held her hand and began to sob like a small child.  Indu Devi, his mother, was a strong woman. She had seen war, partition and many other tragedies in her life. But seeing her son suffer like this, even she could not bear it.

For almost a year, Swaroop had this strange dream. He would see a lot of flying people as if they were coming to attack him. They always had a leader, who looked like a female, who would beckon him to come.  He would feel deep pain in his chest and start sweating. The whole episode would last for a few minutes but it always happened when he was alone.  He insisted with his mother that it was not a dream and this was actually happening to him.

“Let’s go to the Rishi who lives in the forest. He might be able to get rid of Swaroop’s demon,” her sister Kaushalya told Indu Devi.  Seeing no sign of improvement in Swaroop’s condition with medication, Indu Devi went to the Rishi. The Maharishi as they all called him, was sitting on the floor cross legged. His body was clad in a dhoti and he had bhasma (ash) spread all over his body. He had long tresses and a beard almost till his navel.  The place had an almost intoxicating scent of burning incense. He heard the story of Swaroop and said, “This looks like he is from another world. They are beings much stronger and intelligent than us. Bring him to me on the night of Amavasya (new moon) and we will have a havan here”.

Winter had set in in the desert state of Rajasthan, where winters are very severe. Indu Devi, her sister Kaushalya and son Swaroop walked towards the forest.  “Ma, I don’t want to go there. I know something will not be right”, Swaroop held his mother’s hand and wept. “She had come yesterday, I saw her very clearly in the sky. She was flying. She said the same thing, what are you doing there, you belong to our world, come back, you will never be happy there…” Swaroop narrated the incident that happened the previous day.  “You must have been dreaming, don’t worry, the Maharishi will get rid of the demon”.

The forest was pitch dark except the part where the Maharishi sat in deep meditation.  A small light was burning near him. The three of them sat on the ground a few feet away from the Maharishi. A strong wind was blowing and the rustle of the dried leaves made the place look very spooky.  It was Amavasya (new moon day). The Maharishi had kept the Havan ready. He asked Swaroop to sit on a small wooden plank opposite to him and close his eyes. Swaroop obeyed. It seemed as if forever, then suddenly a bright light appeared and Swaroop could see her. The Maharishi’s voice asked, “Why are you troubling him? What do you want?”  She was dressed in light blue clothes, which were shining in the light. “I want him, he is from our clan, he has come here by mistake.” The Maharishi said something and chanted some mantras.

It was almost day break. Swaroop was lying on the ground in deep sleep. Indu Devi and her sister were sitting in one corner watching silently. They too had dosed off somewhere during the havan. The Maharishi beckoned Indu Devi and said, “She loves him very dearly and would not want to let him go, so I have struck a deal with her, she will come into his life on earth. Very soon, she will appear in his life as his love. But don’t tell him any of this”. Now you take him home, he will be normal.

After some time Swaroop opened his eyes. He looked much fresher.  They returned home.  His mother told him that the demon has been removed from his body and everything will be normal.

Swaroop had finished his lecture and was sitting in the staff room.  He had rejoined his work as a lecturer in Biochemistry after almost two years. He was immersed in correcting the test papers when someone knocked the staff room door.  A beautiful girl was standing there clad in a light blue chiffon saree. “Sir I am Karishma, I have some difficulty in Chemistry, I am from first year and would like to join your tuitions.”

“But, I don’t give tuitions”, he said. He was mesmerized by her beauty. “However, if you want, I can start with you” he quickly replied, as if not to let her go away.

Karishma came to Swaroop’s house every day to learn Chemistry. His mother also became very fond of her. She saw that her son was falling in love with this girl and remembered what the Maharishi had told her. After she completed her studies, Karishma and Swaroop were married.

Years later, when Karishma and Swaroop had completed over twenty five years of their married life, one day, while cleaning the house, in a diary of Indu Devi, Swaroop came across the noting of his incident with the Maharishi. Many years after their marriage, Indu Devi had narrated the story to Swaroop and he just laughed it off.  He was not sure if he should tell Karishma, but then he decided to tell her. When he began the story, Karishma said, “I know it was my deal. What could I do? I loved you so much and I had to make this choice, but I am glad I did it, because without love, life has no meaning. When love beckons, nothing else matters. At first I tried to keep you under my spell but then the spell of your love was so strong, I had to come into your world” She smiled and hugged Swaroop and whispered in his ear, “I love you”.