Anathema - The Curse

- Epilouge -

- 18 years later...

I pop another 'shankarpaade', a special Indian snack, in my mouth as I watch Shlok and Anupriya, my children, arguing. Their banter over the silliest things amuse me. My friends, Gregor, Luca and Noah sit beside me as they keep an eye on their own children too.

The wives have pushed us out of the kitchen and are preparing for dinner. We offered to help but they refused, claiming that we will only add more work than they already have. On the other hand, Aai, Dad and my friends' parents are out shopping for gifts for their grandchildren.

Diwali is a week away and as I promised Aaji and Azoba, along with my friends and family, we all visit their house in Lakshadweep every year to celebrate Diwali. I still can't believe it has been 5 years since Aaji and Azoba passed.

Their death had been a sudden shock to all of us as we had grown very attached to them. Earlier, the thought of them brought tears to my eyes but now it only brings fond memories. As they say, time heals everything.

I married Anya, the love of my life, when she graduated a year after me.

Seven months after our wedding, Luca and Grace tied the knot. Even though they have three kids, they still fight like Tom and Jerry.

Noah married his college sweetheart Daphne when they were still in their second years of college.

The last among us to marry was Gregor. He met the love of his life, Evangeline, in her restaurant and wedded her in a month.

Our respective parents' company, 'SMG Corp' has expanded even more after Gregor and I took charge. Now, the fashion and media department of the company is handled by both Anya and Grace. Luca is a retired NFL player and is now a stay-at-home dad. As for Evangeline, she is a chef and handles her own nationwide food chain. Noah is a well-known professor in the US while Daphne handles the pharmaceutical department of the company.

We all returned to Sadaphuli Dweep but this time, it was pre-planned. The real answer to the riddle I read in the book hit my mind after many years. The answer was simple enough. The answer was Sadaphuli itself.

Sadaphuli is the Marathi name of the flower rosy periwinkle which is used to extract the cure for cancer. Moreover, the island had many plants which cured most of the lethal and life-threatening diseases.

Greg, Daphne and I worked along with the Indian government to produce and supply these medicines worldwide at a very low cost.

Visiting Sadaphuli Dweep again helped me and my friends recover from our PTSD. Like I mentioned before, time heals all wounds and we don't suffer from the trauma like we did in the earlier days.

We are still in touch with Uncle Harsh (the real Harshchandra Sadaphuli). He is now retired and lives a peaceful life with his wife and his family in Nagpur.

With all that aside, today we are successful, happy and most of all content. After all, if you are not content with what you have then nothing in this universe can satisfy you.

The sound of cars through the driveway draws me out of my mind into the present. Looks like Aai, Dad, and the others are back from their shopping trip.

The children rush forward to greet their grandparents as they squeal and shout. Their attention quickly shifts to the bags in their grandparents' hands which they try to peek into.

"Kids, stop. You'll all get your gifts. Your grandparents have just arrived. Let them sit down." I shout out, but they don't listen to me.

Their mothers come out and scold them to sit down quietly. But I know this quiet will only last for a while.

Life with my Anya, my children, my family and my friends is chaotic.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

The End....