18 The Queen of the Hearth Part 18

"The year I turned 13, my parents started looking for a suitable groom for me. But I refused to marry. That was the first time when I had denied doing anything they had asked of me. Apparently, my face glowed when I said that I wanted to be a sewadaar (servant) in a Gurudwara rather than marrying someone. My parents were awed. It was a scandalous move at that time. They tried to talk to me about it but every time they discussed it with me, I used to look down in a modest way but never gave in.

They later said that my face glowed every time I refused.

They discussed it with their elders and the local pandits (priests). One of the famous pundits prophesied that I was touched by the angels and my decision is right. In short, I was allowed to not be married and stay at the Gurudwara.

My parents cried a lot when they left me at Guru ka Taal in Agra but I adjusted really well and stayed there happily.

When I packed my things for the great journey to the God's service – I had only taken my few clothes, a photo of Wahe Guru to keep in my room and the glass with the drop of angel's blood.

10-15 years after the incident, I still had the glass. I had stopped expecting it to ever see a baby angel. Yet, I used to look at the drop every day.

When I was about 25 years old, I opened the glass and a shiny little being flew out. She was beautiful and glowing like a little firefly. She had wings and she was about my palm's length. As I uncovered the glass, she flew out of the glass, saw my face, and stretched her arms.

Motherly love overwhelmed my heart and as soon as I tried cupping her in my arms, she flew away. She turned and smiled at me – teasing me, playing with me…and then, she flew out of my room.

It was 3 am and no one was up yet but I knew that it would soon be light and I could not risk anyone seeing her. I ran after her.

As soon as we crossed the Gurudwara's premises, the demon that I had seen in my childhood stood staring at us. He had a crazy glee on his face on seeing this baby angel. He was just about to snap her up when my two guardian angels showed up once again. The lady caught the baby angel while the man angel fought off the demon once again. The lady looked at me accusingly.

'I am ssssorry,' I said but she looked away in mild anger.

This time, the demon was not easy to fight off. With his eyes locked on baby angel, the demon put all that he had in the fight. At one stage, he managed to swat the lady angel's hand and snatch the baby angel. It was then when I caught a glimpse of the fury of the lady angel. She gave such a loud scream that the demon flew away with its force. But even while being thrown away, the demon gave a loud laughter which sounded like the rumbling of the clouds.

Then, she turned to me. It was difficult for her to calm herself. She touched my head and communicated, 'You don't know what you have done, child. You have been instrumental to spawn an angel on Earth which has been touched by a demon. It's a recipe for a disaster. Now, this baby will have the purity of the angel marred by the evil of the demon. She touched you and your touch shields her from all angels and demons with your human scent.

I cannot take her with me until she proves herself to be totally angelic. She will always face situations that will pull her to the good side and the evil side – and if she turns evil, God save Humanity. One fallen angel has been challenging God since the Eternity – one more with him and no one knows what will happen to the universe as we know it. With this one deed, you have doomed the future of your entire race and many other races. I will take this child in my care and try to guide her in the best way possible. Keep this all a secret, and this time, keep your promise.'

With this, the two angels disappeared.

Though I knew nothing much, I could feel that I had done something extremely wrong. Since then, I never saw the two angels, the baby angel, or the demon but the incident still weighs heavy on my heart. Every day, since then, I have prayed fervently for the Humanity and for the angels and for the forgiveness of my sins."

Maa looked heartbroken. Jassi instinctively tried to reach out to her but her hand passed through her hand.

This kind ghost had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Perhaps, this is the reason Maa had not been able to journey beyond this world.