The Reunion

This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. After several failed attempts the three best friends had finally succeeded in having a reunion. 

“This only worked because Mai is going to the States and you wanted to see her one last time. You guys don’t respect my initiatives otherwise ” Dimple asserted as she drove the car. She was the leader and basked in the spotlight whenever a chance opened up.

“And, she wanted to bully me one last time.” Anwesha groaned, riding shotgun. She was an introvert, who seldom spoke. 

“Aww.. you two cannot stop gushing about me, can you? I love you too sweeties, but what’s the plan? Dimple just showed up to my house and picked me up.” Maithree chimed in, sitting in the back seat. She was an ambivert - she spoke her heart and mind with people near and dear, but was painfully quiet otherwise. Often it seemed like she wasn’t her usual self and had a pretentious facade on. 

“We are going to have tea and breakfast at Nathu Stall and then go to our school. Greet our teachers - especially Anup Sir, Krisha Ma’am, and Tapan Sir. They really made our school days memorable and I’m eternally grateful to them. Then we have lunch at our favorite restaurant near the school and go on a long drive to the Hills. All throughout we’re going to gossip and have fun. How does that sound?”

Anwesha and Mai nodded in agreement.

When they reached the breakfast stall it was over-crowded and they had to wait longer than usual. 

“I usually despise waiting this long but today I'll wait all day long because it’s you, girls. Even silence is comforting with you girls.” Dimple said. 

“I wonder what we’ll miss if we wait the whole day here…I’m really looking forward to going to school and meeting the 3 teachers” Maithree said.

“Do you remember we used to think Anup sir had a crush on Krisha Madam? I mean, no offense to both teachers - they were amazing.” Dimple chirped in.

“Oh yes, the gossips were juicy. Tapan sir too. Our imagination had no limits. ” Maithree replied. 

“Crowd’s subsiding. I'll place orders  - what’d you want for breakfast? Poha for me. Idli for you two? Along with chai for all 3.”

Anwesha said, stepping out of the car. 

“Bang on!” the other 2 chimed.

***

Their school looked the same but it brought back humongous memories. They signed the entry sheet with the security guard and went inside. Mr. Anup’s staff room was on the 2nd floor. 

knock knock. 

“Who...who’s there??” Anup sir responded. rather weirdly. Like he was scared of something. 

“Hi Sir, it’s me - Dimple. The batch of 2015. My friends - Maithree and Anwesha are here too. You taught us Chemistry.” 

As the door opened, a panicked Anup Sir greeted them on the other side of the door. He looked as if he’d seen a ghost. 

“Si.. sir are you okay? You look awful.” Dimple seemed concerned.

“Yes, girls. Come in..” he invited them in. “But please, close the door behind you.”

“Are you okay, sir? ” Anwesha asked matter-of-factly.

“Yes.. yes…..so tell me. What brings you - .” just before Anup could complete. The stationary from the pens spills out all by themselves. Few pens start rolling down from the table. The books started flipping pages all by themselves. Windows start to bang.

“That’s weird. The weather was pleasant just until now. But, we’ll still close the windows for you, Sir. The weather can be unpredictable at times.” Maithree went towards the window. 

But, all of a sudden the windows slammed by themselves stunning everyone in the room.

“I better call security." Dimple tried to run towards the door - but they seemed locked from outside. 

“I’m sorry girls, I shouldn’t have called you inside… I shouldn’t have responded. I thought I’ll be safe if I have company. But I have angered her. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me, girls.” Anup sir was in tears as if he were pleading for mercy from someone. He was on the floor sitting helplessly, with his face covered in his palms. 

“Anger who, Sir? Is there something we should know?” Dimple asked.

Anup nodded slowly. 

“What is it?” Maithree inquired.

“I hope there’s no spirit,” Dimple said. “You really must look at yourselves in the mirror.” Dimple tried to joke.

“Well, seems like there is a spirit, Dimple.” Anup sir said.

“Did the spirit make contact with you Prof?” Anwesha asked. Her question took everyone else by surprise. 

“Yes..” Anup. 

“I know how to communicate with spirits - leave it to me.

Everyone, please sit back. Don’t try to escape.” When everyone in the room obeyed. 

“Oh. Curious soul, inquisitive soul. What do you seek? Oh, prying soul. You may now speak. Drop a pen for “No” & flip the pages of the book for ‘Yes’. Are you ready?”

Dimple let out a giggle “You’d be an amazing poet Anwesha! I love how you’re trying to lighten everyone’s mood....” just before she could finish...The pages of the book flip. Maithree signaled dimple to sit down and be quiet. 

“Sweet. Are you here for revenge?”

The pages flip.

“Are you after all of us?”

No answer. 

“Okay... I will change my question... do you know all of us?”

The pages flip.

“And... Do we know you?”

The pages flip.

“Are you a student? Or alumnus?”

A pen drops to the ground.

“Are you a teacher then?”

The pages flip.

“Are you a male teacher?”

A pen drops to the ground.

“So, a female teacher. Ma’am, who are you after? Drop a pen from the table and point it to the person you’re after.”

A pen drops, swiftly rolls, and points straight at Anup sir.

“I see… So are you angered that Anup sir asked us to come inside?”

The pages flip so swiftly and close the book entirely.

“Well.. we’re sorry then. We just had 1 single holiday to spare before Maithree leaves for the states. We wanted to meet our teachers before that. They and this school played an integral role in molding us into the person we are. Especially Anup Sir, Krishi Ma’am, and Tapan Sir. They guided us, inspired us, motivated us, persuaded us. They taught us discipline and good behavior. We cannot see Anup Sir in such a state. So, please, talk about it. That’s one way to solve it. Anger won’t help anyone. Please.” 

There was an awkward silence. Dimple rose up “Anwesha... we probably should get going..”

“No, Dimple. We should have closure. We deserve it. Otherwise, we know we’ll talk about this all day long. Go sit. I’m not done yet.”

“Ma’am are you still here?” 

The book opens and the pages flip.

“Would you like some help?”

The pages flip.

“Do you promise to go away after we help you?”

The pages flip.

“I can help you by giving a body as a medium to you. But on one condition. You should introduce yourself, tell the story and wait for me to give a verdict.”

Nothing changes.

“Ma’am, is that okay??”

Pages flip.

“Okay then, enter Anup Sir’s body.”

“Anwesha.. what are you doing!!??” Maithree shouts. “Are you out of your mind?? Please stop!”

The temperature drops, until everyone shivers.

“My child... what did you want to know?” a familiar, feminine voice inquires. The 3 friends turn around. In complete possession of Anup Sir’s body, stood pale, expressionless Krisha Ma’am. Her eyes turned pitch black with no differentiation of retina, pupil. She looked distant, forlorn, and gloomy. 

How could she die?? Why was she seeking revenge? She was a very sensible woman. She motivated children, encouraged them to be benevolent. She was clearly a teacher by passion. She had a knack for it. She was brimming with positivity. What had happened to her? She had a vital role in shaping the girls as they are today.

“Krisha ma’am!!!” The girls stood up, aghast. “What happened, Ma’am? Please tell us.”

“Do I really need to divulge details of my personal life to you? I think not.”

“Yes, you should. Remember, when I thought I was the most superior student just because I was rich and I had a chauffeur. I thought I attended a like-minded class until I met Anwesha. She was so painfully quiet that it piqued my curiosity. Her mother drops her off in a two-wheeler, what if they can’t afford a car? And whatever happened to her dad? I’ve never seen him drop his daughter at school. Male ego? I asked her this unabashedly and then she said her father passed away. That tamed me down. You were a spectator of this and spoke to both of us. You asked me to be sympathetic towards people and encouraged Anwesha to come out of her bubble. You brought us to the right track. Now, Anwesha has become so responsible and I’m going to the States. I do not wish to be a burden on my parents. I’m going to work part-time and start on my own. You drilled this sense into me, Ma’am, and I never thought I’d be returning the favor at any point. An opportunity has presented itself. Please do not deny ma’am.”

“The sole reason why I motivated children is that when they are in their prime age, it is easy to instill kindness in them. It is also easier to pluck the evilness, the politics off of them. Else, they grow with hatred and angst and torment other people. Anup is one such monster.”

“What did he do to you, ma’am?”

“Anup had made several female teachers uncomfortable with his dirty glances and inappropriate touch. He seemed so full of lust. It was toxic being his colleague. He was eyeing the Headmaster Position. To me and fellow female staff, it seemed like he wanted more of it. When Tapan Verma joined. A gentleman with just 3 years of experience became a strong contender for the same position. My faith in school was restored when morals and ethics took over experience and Tapan was the Headmaster Elect. But, little did I know...”

The spirit in possession briefly left Anup’s body to show how sorry he was. The girls present in the room were disgusted. The spirit returned to the body and continued...

“On one hand, the enmity between Anup and Tapan was at a peak. On the other hand, despite our very different backgrounds - Tapan and I were falling in love. But I was guilty of it. Tapan was filing for a divorce and his wife wasn’t okay. He had a daughter to take care of. I didn’t want to be a mistress. With all these conflicting feelings, I was extremely vulnerable and Anup benefitted from this. Dating within the school is not on paper in the school. Anup threatened to use this to deprive Tapan of Head Master Status. This could be detrimental to Tapan’s job too. He couldn’t afford that risk. So, we kept it under covers. I thought things would end here... it would surely get awkward, but no one would lose their job. What could go wrong I thought?” Krishna’s voice was now scathing. She was speaking between teeth and let go of Anup’s body. All of a sudden, Anup seemed to be getting strangled by a mighty force. It seemed to push him against the wall. 

“Ma’am... please finish the story.” Please...” the girls pleaded. They were nearly in yearns. They couldn’t fathom a woman who preached nothing but good deeds was engulfed in pain and misery from within. 

“But that’s when Anup swooped down so low. The thing with poisoned people is even though you clean them - they retract their way. And so, Anup was scared that Tapan was extremely capable and would bounce back. So, he murdered him - cold-bloodedly and framed me as a murderer. Tapan’s wife and daughter sued me. I was shattered. Anup sought sexual pleasures from me to silence these rumors. I gave up on my own life. But I won’t spare Anup.”

“But if you kill him, there will be no difference. He might perhaps turn into a spirit and wander around. He should rot in jail.” Anwesha answered.

“She has a point. Make him confess. We can record it and make it viral on social media.” Dimple replied. 

“And this comes as no surprise that he will not be hired in a profession near kids anymore. I cannot believe we idolize you, Sir. When the entire world around us hated Maths, we liked it because you made it fun. But I guess, for us, henceforth Maths Teacher is the one we should hate.” Maithree said sternly.

“Krisha Ma’am, we’re so miserably sorry that you and Tapan Sir had to lose your life in the process. We’ll never let your sacrifice go in vain, ma’am. We’ll ensure we practice the values you’ve taught us and spread it.”

Krisha stood teary-eyed, smiling at the girls. She was proud of the elegant girls they’d become. She left Anup’s body and the girls did as per plan. They recorded a confession, called the police.

As they returned to the car, Dimple said “How the turntables! Some people hide so much behind their smiles. Time and again, it should be enforced to be kind to each other. ”

“You’re right, Dimple. This is going to leave a profound impact on me. And Anwesha, good job with the spirit!! Is this from that psychic Ma Savitri you told us about?” Maithree asked.

“Yes. But I think we did a good job as a team. I love you girls.”

“We love you too, Anwesha. But I wonder if we were wiser when we were young, we could’ve seen the injustice happening? We were so naive back then.” 

“True, but, I wish we got to see some sign of Tapan Sir.” Dimple said.

“We can still leave our condolences to his wife and daughter, but it’ll be a little awkward,” Maithree said.

The girls nodded because by then it was too late.