EPILOGUE.

The police officials did the rest.
The tribals who supported Ashok were detained.
But they weren't of any use as such.
Their language was above our level of understanding.

From the house, we got back Madhav's bat and lot of cricket balls.(43 to be precise!)
We became rich.😜

Raghav, our big catch didn't reveal anything at first. A few tight slaps and whipping from CI Ramendran did the trick.

With Raghav's help, the police nabbed the corrupt Marine official who let the weapons in.
As luck would have it, the boat of smugglers came the next night.
They too fell in the ambush perfectly.

With their help, Ashok's son would be nabbed too-abroad.

The whole case was flashed across both print as well as TV news channels. Each household now knew us. We three hogged the limelight everywhere.
We became famous.

..and soon, the day of farewell came.
And I felt bad.
This was my best vacation till date.
I wanted to enjoy the pure air and serenity here before I jump back to my crazy city life.
I decided to go on a walk.
Alone.

I was on a rewind mode,thinking about everything that happened in these three weeks. The best three weeks of my life!

That's when I pass by the playground.
Media reporters with their mics and video camera were doing their usual stuff.

Secretly, I wished to go inside the house one last time before going back.

I put on my cap and walked towards the house,hoping no media person catches me. I'm already tired of giving interviews the past 2 days!

As I near the door,a police official stops me.
I remove my cap and he smiles.
“You're always welcome here.”
“Thanks.”,I smile back.

The house was subjected to thorough searches by the officials.
They discovered loads of imported weapons and tonnes of drugs worth crores from the first floor and the secret chamber.

Taking the stairs,I reach the 1st floor bedroom.
A old black and white family photo adored the walls.

Happy times..

I went near to have a closer look.
But, don't know why I felt weird.

Someone was behind me..

No one.

“Thanks..”,a female voice echoed.

“Who...Who's this? ”
“Is..is anyone here?”,I struggled with my words.

“We were here only since that dreaded night my friend..we didn't go anywhere..”,another female voice echoed this time.

This might be an illusion. You're thinking too much. I better go....

“This ain't any illusion my friend. This is real.”

I was dumbstruck.
The house was really haunted!

“Anuja and Amrita..right? ”

“Ya.. You're correct. These were our names,when we were alive.”

“Ashok did this all for his personal benefits.. How could he..”

“Calm down boy. It's fine. That's life. Let go. No point in talking about the past.”

I kept silent.

“All we want is to thank you guys for your help. You're our saviours. We're free now.”

Silence.

“Hello!”
“Anyone here..? ”

No reply.

They had left; to reach their destination.

Heaven.

                     THE END.