There are only two ways of getting on in the world - by one's own industry or by the stupidity of others (Jean de la Bruyere). Our exams prove the same. Once again, Aastha appeared for the Delhi preliminary exam. However, this time, her stupidity prevailed over her hard work. She made silly mistakes on the paper. Her paper wasn't good.
Morose and dejected, Aastha returned to Kolkata after a few months of hardships in Delhi. She took all the lectures allotted to her in the TIME Institute, but did not allow the sadness to take much of her. She did not let her studies get affected by her poor performance.
Months passed, and she taught in all the branch offices of TIME Institute in Kolkata. With time, TIME had made her an expert in the subject of logical reasoning.
Once a student asked her to solve a question relating to puzzle which seemed difficult on the offing. The student said -
"Mam, this problem based question of puzzle was given to us in the exam conducted by TIME yesterday. However, I found it difficult to solve it speedily. Can you solve the problem for me?"
"Okay, give me the question," replied Aastha. She looks at the question and gives the answer.
"Here, this is the solution to the problem".
"Mam, how did you solve this question in less than a minute".
"It is simple. Just try this trick," she replied. Whenever you find such a big and complex question, the answer to such a question is always simple. Your answer lies in the question itself. Secondly, never think before you solve the question. Just begin writing. Your answer will be in place soon".
"Mam, you have excellent suggestions. Do you have any more of it for our exams?"
"Yes. I have more suggestions. I will share all the tricks of how to tackle tough questions in the class tomorrow. Please be present".
"Thank you, Mam…." replied the student.
"Welcome," she replied courteously.
Alternatively, she undertook some work related to test series from Aim Law Institute which would help her increase her expertise in her craft. In this way, she tackled the biggest problem of her life, i.e. financial irregularities.
On the personal front, she would listen to her parents' comments on her repeated failures. She had to fight her demons now and then. Her subconscious mind housed the biggest demon of the worst moments of rejections, failures, accidents, mishaps and bizarre incidents of black magic.
She lived those moments again and again through her parents and relatives. They could never let the matter subside. The worst addition to everything was her recurrent nightmares. Her dreams were tormenting and caused her immense stress and tensions. During the phase, she could never have a peaceful sleep. It was a tiring routine for her. She couldn't tackle so much work, which caused her more strife than ever. It would overburden her with work, leading to unhealthy work routines like staying awake till late at night.
At night, Aastha slept on the folding bed kept on the raised floor of the platform in the drawing room that led to four rooms inside the flat.
"Why don't you shift inside the room and sleep with your siblings?", asked Rita
"No, I like the fresh air here. There are lots of windows and a scenic serene beauty outside the window of the main road surrounded by trees that I love to look at more often. I like here, Mom.
"Are you okay with the sleep? Isn't your health getting affected?
" My sleep is a little disturbing. I think it has everything to do with my bed. It is a very thin and small folding bed suitable for one person. Don't worry, Mom. I will do something about it." She ignores the conversation and gets back to work.
Morning 3 am - "I cannot breathe. Why am I looking at my past events at a fast forward pace? The accident...my uncle's words, his harassment, his devilish laughter, etc. I understand nothing. Please save me from all this, God. I cannot see myself in such a terrible condition. Why me? I cannot tolerate any more. I want to die. I need some respite from my pain".
She cried badly while in sleep and gets up, shouting for peace. She becomes restless and cannot control her tears.
"Whoa?..Where am I? She looks at the surroundings and then searches for a napkin to wipe off her tears.
Many nights and early mornings were spent like this.
The results of Delhi prelims added to her trauma. She failed in her second attempt to clear judicial services exam while the results of the first one were pending litigation. Her only hope was the result, which was under review by a committee appointed by the Court.
"Why don't you apply for West Bengal Judicial Service Exam? Now that you are staying in Kolkata, why don't you give exam for your home state?" said Kishan to Aastha.
He looked at the disheartened look on her face and added -
"Don't worry, Kid. All will be fine. It eventually has to be fine someday'.
Aastha appeared for the exam. Simultaneously, she prepared test series for students of Aim Law Institute who were also appearing for West Bengal judicial service exam. To her amazement, she cleared the paper with good marks. The results were excellent. This time, the State government took a massive number of students for the next stage. Aastha was happy to be one of them. However, this was not her mission. She wanted to become a judge of lower courts of Delhi and marry Parth.
There was no news about Parth. After a long period of absence from the social media, Parth posted some of his pictures on the Facebook. He accepted Aastha's friend request, and they exchanged pictures. Her love for him was replaced by care and concern of a friend. She was more interested in achieving her mission.
On the other hand, Sebastian Sir offered a contract to Aastha for setting up a branch office of his institute at Kolkata, to which she readily agreed. For the said purpose, she agreed to pay a visit to Delhi, but the said visit got postponed due to the date of mains examination. She deferred everything until the completion of her exams. Her preparation was thorough, and she took some help from the Aim Law Institute. They sent some notes and books to her for her preparation and for promotion of the new branch office of the Institute in Kolkata. Harlyn showed more enthusiasm in the matter and the whole family breathed their last.
Within a span of months, Aastha cleared the second stage of the West Bengal judicial service exam (mains) and appeared for interview. While she was awaiting the results of the West Bengal Interview, there was no news on the pending litigation of Delhi mains. One morning, when her father was reading the newspaper, he saw something useful. It was her name.
"Here...Look at this. Aastha. Your name has come in the newspaper (The Telegraph)", he said excitedly.
"Yes, Dad. I can see my name at number 60. There are total 62 students selected after final interview".
"Congratulations. I will tell everyone and bring some sweets while you inform all your friends about your selection. Don"t forget to inform the Aim Law Institute. They have been very helpful".
"I am very happy. My happiness knows no bounds. I will let the news sink in first and will then inform the Institute".
"And I will keep this newspaper with me," said Kishan gleefully
"Sure, Dad".
After sometime during the day, Aastha called up the Institute and spoke to Akash Sir to give him the news. She said - "Sir, my name has come in the newspaper amongst the top 62 students who have qualified the interview. He said -"Wow. Congratulations. The Institute is very proud of you. Kindly send me a copy of the newspaper. So when are you joining them?"
"Sir, they have asked the candidates to wait for the call letter. It might take a long time".
"Oh yes. It will take some six months during which you take some lectures at our institute. You are needed by us also, he laughed.
So, should I schedule your lectures?"
"Okay Sir. Kindly schedule my lectures. I will anyway come to Delhi to sign the contract for opening a branch office of your Institute in Kolkata".
"I know. Am sure you can take up several tasks at the same time. I know you by now".
"Thank you, sir and give my regards to Sir".
Till the time, Aastha fills her appetite with some classes at the TIME Institute.
At the Institute, she began every class by explaining the concepts and asking the students to solve some questions from the pamphlets given to them. In one of her classes, she encountered very unusual occurrences, one after another.
Sunday, 12th February 2017 -Aastha took three classes back to back in the branch office near her home in Park Street. The students were busy solving the questions silently when she heard some voices in the background. At first, she thought it was her delusion. It was her first class of the day where some test was being conducted by her. While supervising the test, she sat down on a chair for sometime when she heard some peculiar statements being made from across the wall. She heard -
"Aastha can never become a mother. She is a whore, a piece of shit. She can never marry. All the relatives talk shit about her that she hasn't married till the age of 31. We will soon have some respite from her. We need not take care of her after that".
The voices grew louder as if someone was speaking to her over phone. She asked the students if they heard something. They denied having heard anything. She left her class for some time only to check the classroom next door to find if there was anybody. She found that there was nobody in the class.
Bewildered and anxious, Aastha left the room for another class after which her concentration levels dropped drastically. She felt like running away from the class midway. The same statements were repeated next to her ear. After her next class, she stopped hearing the voices. However, while moving through the passageway, she could hear some murmuring with some skirmishes and blemishes against her. She left the Institute hoping everything will be fine after she rejoins the Institute a month later. She took a leave from the TIME Institute.
March 2017 - A schedule was emailed to Aastha for taking some classes in the Aim Law Institute after Holi. She celebrated Holi with her family. Aastha felt dizzy and heavy on the day. Her health deteriorated badly. However, she was happy to take a train journey to New Delhi the next day. On her way to Delhi, the journey was unusual. She heard the same voices repeating the same things repeatedly. Ignoring the disturbances wasn't easy for her. The journey was wholly tiring and cumbersome. After long hours of journey, she reached New Delhi Railway Station. This time, she was even more willing to meet everyone in the Institute, for she had cleared one of the most prestigious exam of the state and was on her way to becoming a judge. She was filled with pride and all ready to embrace success now, rather than just have a taste of it.