The spirit continued to cry, her body returning slowly to the pale light that used to mesmerise anyone that landed they gaze upon her, and her clothes coming back to the celestial white and silver details. She knelt down next to the body and cradled the head, tracing the little bells that still could be seen on the feet of the body. The 4 friends didn’t know what to do next, since any move could be their final one. The friends whispered almost above a sigh, scared to not anger her and to make her lash out. All of them had their suspicions, but no one dared to say them out loud. Rohan already connected most of the pieces and was ready to explain to the group what was happening, and the others were slowly tracing the lines between the info they gathered, but the first to act was Simran, who told the others to hold her backpack, and to give her the ghungroos. She got them tied to her ankles and slowly started to move to the spirit, but Prem grabbed her hand, and asked if she was sure. She looked deep into his eyes and reassured him that everything will be alright because she has a feeling everything will be fine if she will be the one to communicate with her first. Rohan from the back placed a hand on Prem’s shoulder and told him to let her go because everything will be alright, he already solved the hardest part of the mystery.
The girl took her charm of Shiv Nataraj and slowly went to the woman crying and with each step a shy clincket could be heard hitting the rough walls of the temple, and the pale glow of the moon returned slowly. The woman lifted her gaze, and was met with the sight of the teenage girl smiling at her sweetly and with the little statue of Shiv Nataraj that she placed to the ground and prayed to, chanting a mantra. The spirit looked confused at first, but when she saw the ghungroos she understood what she was doing. She was getting ready to perform and was praying to the lord of the dance, so the spirit joined her in the praying, chanting a whole stotram. When she finished, she stood up next to the girl and waited to see her dance, eager to join her in a worshipping dance. Simran started to do her choreography on the Shiv Tandav, but it was weird since she did not have the beat to guide her. She struggled a lot to try being on beat with the song in her head, but would sometimes lose the beat or make the wrong move, which made the spirit look at her all judgy. Prem, seeing what was unfolding, chose to help Simran with the music part, so he took out the tablas, and asked the girl where is she in the Stotram to try and sync with her. She answered and with some good timing, they managed to sync and now Simran was confident enough to finish all her moves, to complete all the expressions and to feel the music. But Prem knew he wasn’t so good at the tablas since he didn’t practice with them in a while, yet somehow he still managed to hit every note and every bit to perfection. Yes he knew the song before, but the speed and accuracy still lacked some finesse, but when he saw the hand on the ground he knew that the Gandharva was helping him with the music, was helping him hit everything just right for the girls to dance.
As the girls were dancing, the beautiful harmony made a show that was far from this realm. Sure, the woman was amazing and her skills were far superior to Simran’s, but the girl didn’t get discouraged, and it seemed as she was trying to match her level, even if that was basically impossible. The dancers were moving gracefully, full of emotion, every move filled with precision and a clear message from the others to read, gracing the others with their presence and dance. The 2 were dedicating this dance to Shiva himself and they were proud doing that, they were creating an entire adaptation of the lyrics in the stotram, making it feel alive and powerful, feel like The God of Destruction was in there with them and this was their way of pleasing him and making him happy, by dedicating a dance like his character, divine. They came to a final as the Stotram ended, and they ended in the Shiv Nataraj pose, a tribute to the creator of dance itself, then they bowed to one another, and to the statue. The spirit seemed calmer, more collected, it was like all the rage she was exhibiting earlier was now transformed into pure devotion and gracefulness. Her face was relaxed, as her entire body was, and she just seemed exhausted, tired, in pain. Now the group could see her in person and she was even more stunning than before. Her figure was like the moon itself, pale, calm, yet infinitely powerful and mysterious, and her eyes held up so much pent up emotion, so many feelings, but the one that could be seen clearly was sadness. It wasn’t a soft one, neither a deep heart wrenching soul one, but it was a profound one, one that stretched for centuries, one that didn’t hurt anymore, but it still sadden her. Her hair was astonishing, black, thick and slightly curly, its accessories dangling from it were just adding to her beauty, her clothes were full of details sewn with silver thread, her arms were adorned with white and blue bangles in honour of the Blue-necked God, and if the group didn’t knew she was an apsara, they would surely know that she wasn’t a mere mortal.
-I am Simran. I am a classical dancer, but I still have a lot to learn since I don’t always nail every move, every emotion or every beat.
-I know, but you have true talent in you. Believe me I saw it. And you have courage, I like you. I am Chandramukhi, and I believe you already know what I am.
-Are you truly an apsara?
-Yes, dear. And you are special. You have not only the skill which can be worked on, but you have raw talent, you can guess the next move, even if you don’t know, and you can enter in the next beat even if you get lost. Plus, you are brave, you just tried to match the skill of a celestial dancer, and of course you can’t match them 101, but you were close.
-Oh my god, I just danced with an apsara and she complimented my skill. I will forever remember this. I swear I will never forget it. Thank you for allowing me to be the lead dancer. I am sorry I had some flaws, the next time I will dance with you I promise I will improve my skill, if you are ever up to dance with me again.
-Thank you dear for taking me out of my grief. I am sorry to try and kill you. I know you have pure hearts, it’s just that now I will have to wait another month to see my beloved, since he is shy and doesn’t like to come here when there are people over here. And of course I will love to dance with you again.
-We are sorry Miss. Simran said bowing down to her.
-Oh honey, don’t bow. she said as she bent down to grab her shoulders and to pull her into a hug. And don’t call me Miss, call me Chandramukhi.
-Chandramukhi, I am sorry to disturb you, but I have a question for you. said Rohan braver than the other 2.
-Sure, um, what is your name?
-Rohan, miss.
-Sure, Rohan, what is it?
-We really wanted to uncover what had happened here, who is behind the killings here, and why did this temple become what it is now. Can you help us? We already think we solved most of the mystery, but there is something we are missing.
-Oh, well, sit down honey because I have a lot to tell. the woman told the others so they all sat down, while the Chandramukhi sat down and cradled the hair of the burned corpse.
Chandramukhi was a well known apsara, gracing the court of Indra, along with her husband, Dilip who was a renowned gandharva, that sung songs so beautiful, every court would want to have him. The pair at some point picked Shiva as their patron God, and from then on she dedicated every dance to him, while he would sing praises and stotrams in his name. Lord Shiva, after seeing such devotion and how pure hearted they were in everything they were doing, started to talk with them and to befriend the couple. At some point, Shiva approached them with a request, to go to earth in a place called the Chandra Kingdom, in the capital, and to grace his followers with our music and dance because they were worthy of the best, and we were the best He could offer. We were dear to Lord Shiva and this was a request so nicely delivered that we immediately went down and graced them with our celestial talent. When we first arrived in the city, we understood why He held this city close to his heart, the temple build in his name was stunnig, it was outright celestial. So I gathered girls and boys from around the city to teach them bharatanatyam and Dilip gathered humans eager to learn the divine instruments to teach them the way of music. We were happy there and everyone was excited that we arrived in their city to grace them with our arts.
But this didn’t last forever. Around 400 years ago, on a full moon just like this one, we were doing what we have done for years at that point. I gathered my girls and some boys and started my dance, while my husband along with other musicians started to sing our beats. It was a beautiful night, and everything was going perfect. We were doing a multiple-moments show, and our strongest part, and the most perfect was the Shiv Tandav part. Even the queen and king of the Kingdom came to see us perform and we were grateful to be welcomed with such open arms by the court. While we were in the middle of the dance, a nobleman entered the sacred ground on which we performed and yelled at all of us to stop. We ignored him until more and more higher-ups of society came up and started to disrupt our performance. I stopped and so did my husband, but I was furious because the greatest offence to a performer is to disrupt his moment.
-This woman is a churail! She has bewitched all of you with her beauty and dance to forget that this is the land where no evil is brewing.
-It’s not true! She is one of the kindest and purest souls in this Kingdom.
-Of course you would say that because you are her accomplice! You are the one that spins complex lies and that tries to rewrite reality in order to get a hold on the power of this sacred place. You only want power, and so does she! You are here to destroy our kingdom and to challenge our devotion to Shiva himself. You are a disgrace to all of us.
-We helped you rebuild the cultural side of this kingdom, we helped you create dancers and musicians, we helped the poor and we even helped rebuild houses after floods. People from all over the Indus valley come to see us and even from far away places. So I don’t think we are after the power. I said offended.
-Of course you would do that. To get on the people’s good side, so that you will have their support.
-We aren’t trying to get on their good side. We are just good people with a pure heart that know how important it is to give back to the community.
-You two are far from pure hearted, even Lord Shiva is disappointed in us for believing you. And if you don’t believe me, look inside the temple and you will see the statue turned with its back to you, and the fangs of the great serpent aren’t here anymore. Go, check.
-You are a liar, you are the one that wants power, that wants public support, and you are framing us in order to be more liked by-
-Liars! We have checked and it is true! Punish them! Destroy the evil within our home! a bunch of women and men yelled.
-Gladly! the men said as they grabbed me and my husband.
The first one to fall was my husband. They cut his tongue in front of everyone, making a scene, holding his head and making it clear to anyone that the greatest loss for a singer is his voice, then they dragged him and me inside the temple, the small drops of blood that can be seen outside even in this day being from him. Inside the temple, they cut his hands in order to stop him from ever singing again and placed the hands on the altar to Shiva. The trail of blood that leads to the altar was made by his severed hands, and as if it wasn’t enough, they dragged him all along the temple, encouraging the people in the public to hit him and even spit on him. As they finished with this, they stabbed him once in his chest, and thrown him to me, as a dog. I screamed at them as I held my dear husband in my arms, watching him die with every second, as blood spilled from the wound on his chest and from his arms. I was heartbroken and I was furious that the people we helped, the people that claimed they were the hands of Shiva himself, dared to kill the ones dear to Him. But I didn’t had enough time to process what was happening, because they took me as my Dilip let out his last breath, and I was drenched in oil. I looked all of them in the eyes, and I swore upon Lord Shiva that I will have my revenge, and just as I finished talking, they set me ablaze, and I was burned to a crisp. But they weren’t able to destroy my body, since He saw what had happened in his temple. He stopped the fire before it consumed me entirely, although it was too late by then, because I died and they hid my body somewhere, while they cremated my husband’s.
Me and my husband were sent again in the sky, and in front of Lord Shiva we talked and came to a deal. I was driven by revenge and I was sent by him to protect his temple and to have my revenge, a slow, but painful one. My husband was a more pacifistic soul and he decided that he was wronged too much by these people, so he will only make himself shown on full moons when no one is there. The thing is, we would not be able to leave the temple grounds after we will get our revenge because our bodies aren’t cremated entirely, we still have human remains here. After the discussion with Lord Shiva this was the deal and we all agreed. You see, this offended Him greatly. For once, we were one of his dearest companions and our death was a great grief for him, but the fact that our deaths took place in His temple, by his followers’ hands, in order to get more political power and to destroy their so called opponents. He was angry that His greatest temple was painted by our blood in a sacrifice that he hadn’t requested, and especially to be betrayed by your own followers, to have them commit such a heinous crime in your name, in the name of cleansing the city of the evil. He was sad, angry, but most of all disappointed that his followers did such a thing.
-So he made them pay for that, right? asked Naina.
-Yes. But how did you know?
-A nice old lady gave us some documents that tell about the great horrors of the fall of the Chandra Kingdom. The nature going against the humans, about the plagues, the blood, the withered crops and flowers and about the death that ensued.
-Oh death indeed. The first target was the one that set me aflame. I kidnapped him during his sleep and brought him to the temple. I made him confess why he did everything he did, and his poor excuse was for power and stability, but I’ve had enough of this self-serving way that some of you humans behave, so I slit his tongue, like he did to my husband, then I slit his hands, like he did to my husband, then I burned his feet, like he did with me. And as he died without anyone shedding a tear for him, I left him there to be found by the others.
-And then the rest that contributed to this got the same treatment, right? You got to have your revenge? And I presume the ones hit by plague were the ones that Lord Shiva deemed guilty?
-Yes, indeed. You are clever young girl. What is your name?
-Naina.
-Well, you are right Naina. Only some were hit by the plague, and those were the ones that I got to have my revenge on, and they were enough people that I managed to feel satisfied. I was happy that I got to avenge my and my husband’s death, and I was happy with each killing I did, but I did regret one.
-Seriously? asked Naina.
-Yes, when it came to the king and queen. They were such nice people, but their sin was the fact that they knew me and Dilip personally and didn’t try to help us, didn’t try to defend us. So I told them why I was there, and they just accepted their fate, apologising for not helping us. I told them that I forgive them, that I am doing Lord Shiva’s work and if they apologise to Him, He may forgive them, but regarding to me, I will accept their apology and I appreciate this. I chose a peaceful death for them, one by a very potent poison so they drank it and died peacefully.
-What happened after? asked Rohan.
-I got my revenge and the people got too scared to live in the city. So they abandoned the capital and the rest of the kingdom plunged into chaos as their king and queen died. We respected the deal we made with Lord Shiva and he told me to defend this temple with all my might and he blessed me with the gift of sensing if someone has a good heart or a bad one.
-See sweetheart, they have a good heart.
-Dilip! You came here! she said as she hugged him tight.
-Of course I came dear, and these kids deserve a medal. They were brave enough to venture on these grounds, to search for the truth and to be curious enough to ask questions respectfully. They are fighters of rights and they have the mind and belief that they can go through this.
-Oh dear, I know. After all, I wouldn’t have told my story to anyone. They have the power to make this right. They have the power to make justice for us, to bring us justice and to clear our name, the name of the temple and the name of Shiva himself.
-I have a question Mister Dilip. asked Prem.
-Just Dilip boy.
-Dilip, did you help me with the tabla?
-Well, you did most of the work, I just enhanced it with a little of my magical talent.
-Can you teach me how to play it better? Of course if you have the time.
-Yes I can, eager musician. I will gladly do it if you are up for the challenge.
-I think first of all we should finish cremating these parts so that the 2 of you will be free from the mortal grounds, that you could go anywhere you’d want. It’s the right thing to do, since you were trapped here by those people all that long ago. said Rohan serious.
-But I promised Lord Shiva that I will defend this temple forever. I promised to him that I will never let this temple be denigrated again.
-Chandramukhi, about that… The mayor and some of the higher-ups of the city want the temple demolished. They used the latest murders as an excuse to call this a dangerous zone and to demolish it. the boy continued.
-But those teenagers were just plain cruel. They did so many bad things.
-We didn’t know, but we guessed. The bad thing is that they used this so that the temple will be destroyed in order to create more apartments. Simran said.
-We have to do something about it! Chandramukhi exclaimed, her anger starting to be shown again.
-Yes we do have to do something. a voice said, coming from the large statue that was knocked out.