“I did not abandon you, my child,” the voice echoed from an old building that read ‘Ram Dhoot Ka Ashray.’” Shalu Srinivasan woke up drenched in sweat, her heart beating insanely, her mouth opened in a noiseless scream!  She recognized her bedroom. The gentle breeze swayed the curtains as the moonlight shone through the gossamer fabric. It was the same nightmare again.  Uneasy feelings crowded her chaotic mind. The sounds of the wind chime were unmistakable, the one that was left at the doorstep of her house a few days ago.  A voice echoed from above her head as she had picked it up. Ram Dhoot Vidmahe Kapirajaya Dheemahee Tanno Hanuman Prachodayat She recognized the shloka. It was dedicated to Lord Hanuman, one of the seven immortals (chiranjeevis) in Hinduism.  She jerked to a standing position and found no one. She was confused, the echoing voice filling her heart with awe. She wanted to throw it away, but there seemed to be a strong bond between her and the windchime.  Shalu wrapped it tightly in a cloth and stuffed it into her enormous tote bag.  A few days later, one morning, she found a photo album outside her door. The flowery cover of the postcard-size album was old and faded. The album had just one picture, that of a baby with a toothless smile held by a handsome man. A beautiful lady was hanging on the man’s free arm. Everybody was happy in the photo. Who’s album was it? Why did she feel a tug in her heart? Unconsciously, she put her hand into her bag lying on the table, and pulled out the wind chime from her bag and unwrapped it. The gentle sounds from the chimes simultaneously soothed and excited her.  That was the first time the gentle voice echoed from the depths of her soul. The same voice, the same message.  “I’m sorry, my dear daughter. I didn’t abandon you.” From then on, she heard the same voice in her nightmares. The wind chime was hung in her bedroom just above her bed. The voice in the dream was soothing and calming.  But the rest of the nightmare was not. In it, she was a baby in the arms of a woman whose face was unclear. Shalu sensed the fear and desolation of the woman holding her.  “No! I will not give her up,” the woman holding her pleaded into the dark abyss. “She’s of impure blood and doesn't belong here,” said a faceless crackling voice. “It’s better for her to be cast away.” The woman held onto the baby tightly. Then, suddenly the baby was yanked out of the woman’s arms and flung into the air. As the child’s body flew through the air, the sky lit up, and the next thing that Shalu saw was the orphanage in which she grew up. The lucid nightmare that never let her sleep in peace seemed real, scarily real.  Shalu lay back in bed and tried to get back to sleep. A few restless hours later, the daily alarm woke her up. After her morning rituals, she sat down at the dining table with a cup of strong, filter coffee reflecting on her nightmare, knowing it will recur.  The orphanage had taught Shalu how to live happily with basic necessities, although she was considered weird. Because she could read people’s minds like a book.    The first time she realised her power was after a few months of stay at the orphanage. Kavya, a beautiful girl, was being taken away by her adoptive parents. But, Shalu read the warden’s thoughts. “As long as such beautiful women come here, I shall never want for money! ” Shalu’s protests were silenced with beatings and abuses. It took a year of such abusive behaviour at the hands of the warden and his stooges before Shalu learned to keep her thoughts and those of others to herself. A kind volunteer at the orphanage urged Shalu to take up psychology.  After finishing a masters in psychology, Shalu Srinivasan got a job in a reputed hospital as a counsellor-cum-therapist. She was sought after for her therapeutic skills and people felt calm in her presence.  Shalu had never bothered to find out about her biological parents. It was as if some part of her mind didn't want to deal with it.  Now, the photo and the repeating nightmares exhorted her to search for her true roots. She had no clue where to start. And then it struck!  “Ram Dhoot Ka Ashray!” She should try and find that place.  Her internet searches revealed one that matched what she saw in her dreams. It was a mental asylum. She went to the place not knowing what she would encounter.  As she entered the old but well-maintained foyer, the receptionist looked up. When she saw Shalu, her face broke into an uncertain smile.  “Just stay here,” she ordered a bewildered Shalu who never expected to be recognized. The receptionist didn’t return, but a wizened old lady did. She may have been old but the light in her clear eyes shone bright. She came towards Shalu and said in a cold, steely voice “You might not be as impure as I thought! Maybe you can fit in despite your untouchability!” Shalu’s blood turned cold because it was the same voice that told her to keep the wind chime safe! “Yes! That was me, Shalini!” As if she could read her thoughts, far better and faster than she herself could! “And yes, I can read your thoughts far more accurately than you! That is the power we have!”  Shalu was stumped, and more importantly angry.  This lady walks into my life unannounced and talks to me as if to an errant child! Untouchable! Which world did she live in? “What the hell is happening? Who are you? And what is this place?” “Come! Let me take you to your mother!” The old lady’s brusqueness was making Shalu livid! “Mother! You crazy old woman, do you think at all before you speak? You think you can come into my life after 25 years and tell me my mother is here and without an iota of emotion? Are you nuts?”  “Just follow me. I don't have time for this! That’s why I told your mother that she should give you up, and for good! Not just place you among the drama-loving mortals! You’ve picked up their love for drama!” She turned and walked towards a door that led to a verandah! Shalu sprinted to cover the distance between herself and the old lady, placed a hand on her shoulder, and turned her around, or rather tried to. The instant she touched her, a powerful energy threw Shalu a few feet away. “Don't try it again. You cannot manage my power, yet! Just follow me now!” Shalu got up, grimacing in pain as her body came to terms with the bad fall. She meekly followed the lady now, intrigue and shock overpowering her anger.  They walked through the length of the verandah dotted with doors on the right at regular intervals, probably opening into different rooms. The old lady opened the last door, and beckoned Shalu in. There was a single bed at the corner of the room right under the window. On it, sat a woman. Not just any woman! The same woman who held the baby in her dreams. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Shalu. “My baby!” She rushed forward and hugged Shalu, and somewhere from the depths of her heart, the memories came flooding back. She recalled her father and mother, the people in the single photo in the photo album. The voice that echoed in her dreams was of her mother’s. Shalu hugged her mother back as tears of happiness and regret of the time lost came forth unabashedly. “Enough of the emotions, now,” said the old lady. “Can’t you let me hold my child for a few more minutes?”  “No! There’s no time. She needs to start training right away. The world needs her! Listen, girl! We are special, of the lineage of Lord Hanuman, son of Vaayuputra, one of the seven immortals of this land! Yes, that’s why the wind chime is so powerful in our hands.” She knew about the seven immortals and recalled the shloka dedicated to them. Ashwathaama Markandeyarr Vyaso Hanumanash cha Vibhishana Krupacharya cha Parashuramam Saptaita Chiranjeevanam “But that’s just a myth!” “I worry for you, child!” The old lady turned her nose up at Shalu’s ignorance. “Those are myths in the mortal world. But in our world, that is real. You are special, except not entirely special. Your naive mother fell in love with a mortal and had you. We couldn’t risk mixing the two worlds irretrievably.” “Where is my father?” “He’s gone!” “You killed him?” Shalu screamed.  “He didn’t fit here!” “How callous! He was my father! I’m an untouchable, isn’t it? I’ll save you the trouble of having to deal with me.” She pulled out the wind chime from her purse and left it on the table.  “I’m taking my mother to the world of mere mortals.” She then held her mother’s hand and led her out of the building while the old lady watched them, her clear eyes unreadable!  “My doughty granddaughter! The perfect recipe to set things right!”   Penmancy gets a small share of every purchase you make through these links, and every little helps us continue bringing you the reads you love!