24 The Queen of the Hearth Part 24

Since she left Guru ka Taal in Agra, Jassi had little time for introspection and thinking out things. She wanted to use a day or two to do just that. She wanted to understand her own situation first.

How could Jassi leave Maa even if she found it difficult to imagine what Maa is saying. While demons, angels, and the little girl who sucks one with their soul and aura seemed too fantastical, she was seeing and talking to a ghost. Had she even believed in ghosts before Maa turned into a ghost and contacted her?

This reminded Jassi of an incident of her school days. In the boarding school, up to Class VIII, she used to stay in a dormitory – a room shared by 8 girls. After the classes were over at 2 pm, the girls were led to the mess by the line monitor for lunch. Then, the students used to get a 2-hour break which they could use in any way they like. At 5 pm, a teacher used to come to the dormitory to guide and assist the students in their studies.

She would let the girls do their homework and study on their own but keep an eye on them. If a student asked for help, the teacher would help the girl with the problem or the doubt she had. It was like having a tutor for three hours every day.

Since all the eight girls were from the same class, they used to be classmates, study mates, and playmates too. Often, girls of a dormitory used to bond like family and call each other 'sisters'.

Jassi was a quiet but intelligent girl. She used to finish her studies quickly and then, help her sisters with their work. She would also borrow books from the library to read but in the dormitory, it was difficult to find quiet time to read and explore as much as she liked.

Her sisters would drag her over one thing or the other. Sometimes, they would fight and Jassi had to mediate the fights angering both the parties. This used to take too much of her time.

When she cleared Class VIII with top marks in all the sections, she was given the choice of choosing to stay in a single or a double room as a reward. It means that she could choose to stay all alone in a room or share it with just one more person.

On one hand, Jassi longed for the quietness of the single room but on the other hand, she was afraid that she would feel lonely after some time. There was one other problem. Even if she chose the double room, she could keep only one sister with her – angering the rest of the six sisters of her dormitory.

The facilities and interiors in the single and double rooms were much better. There was a small PC too connected to the school's wi-fi to allow the best students to learn more about the topics of their choice from the Internet. Naturally, all the sisters wanted Jassi to choose them as her room partner.

Now, all her sisters had been her good friends, and had taken her home one time or the other. All of them were from well-off families and their parents paid special attention to Jassi as she had been a consistent topper of her class. Moreover, they knew that she was an orphan, so there was a 'pity' factor too which Jassi had always tried to avoid.

In short, Jassi ended up being in a single room – and she ended up in one which was believed to be haunted. However, Jassi never saw the famous 'ghost' of her room during her four-year stay in the room, nor did she every feel being watched by someone. This confirmed her believe that ghosts were just a figment of imagination of silly people with vivid imaginations. Maa's ghost had shattered her belief but still she found it difficult to believe Maa's stories. Even if she believed her stories, she could not think of any way to help her.

This line of thought led Jassi to think of how to corroborate Maa's story, and how to help her ascend to Heaven. She entered the state of meditation as taught by Maa and called her.

Maa appeared and said, "Yes, my child."

"Maa, I was wondering what are the funeral rites of Sikhs. Since you died so suddenly, no one carried out your rites. I never had a family before you and I have never thought of this. Perhaps, performing these rites for you can bring peace to your soul and help you in your onward journey. What can I do for you?"

Maa thought for a moment. "I am buried here in the garden. You'll need to dig my body out, place it in a coffin and take it to a gurudwara (Sikh's place of worship) and place it in front of our reigning Guru – Guru Granth Sahib. Then, it needs to be cremated in a cremation ground with the evening prayer – the Kirtan Sohila. You can then go to the Gurudwara, sing the Anand Sahib (hymn), and say the Ardas (prayer). If WaheGuru wills, I might meet the Creator and move on."

Maa had lived the life of a nun. Still, she felt that with the mistake she had made, her chances of being forgiven are slim. Her face was gloomy.