Harnath had collected the money from his buyers so that he could repay his debts to his trading partners. It was this money that he had thrown at Chaudhary when he gave him the ultimatum. He had planned to steal it back and then raise an alarm about a thief having broken into the house. Thus he would have got the money back while the blame would go to the thief of his imagination. The plan failed miserably.
The creditors started mounting pressure on Harnath. Harnath could no longer put them off with his empty promises and pleadings. Some of the creditors threatened Harnath with a lawsuit. One of them went ahead and actually filed a suit against him.
Though Chaudhary was not associated with Harnath's business, it was his image, creditworthiness and goodwill that had enabled Harnath to raise money from the market. This created problems for Chaudhary. Though nobody had yet directly approached him for recovery, he started avoiding meeting people. He repeated to himself his resolve not to misuse Gomati's corpus.
One evening a recovery agent came to Chaudhary's doorsteps and started calling Harnath names in a loud voice. This angered Chaudhary and he felt like rushing outside and hitting the boorish fellow. He told himself that a father was under no obligation to repay his son's debts. He could restrain himself with much difficulty.
At dinner time Chaudhary's wife asked, "Things have come to such a pass: what is going on in our family?"
Chaudhary dryly responded with a counter-question, "Am I responsible for it?"
"Of course! My poor boy swears to me that he has got only a small stock left with him. And at this critical juncture you have chosen to take away all his cash.", said the lady.
Chaudhary responded, "So, do you expect me to let him appropriate funds entrusted to me by a dead woman?"
"And it is okay with you if creditors attack our honor!", retorted his wife.
"How can I help matters? It is five years since Gomati passed away. When are we going to fulfill the task she entrusted me with?", said Chaudhary.
"My son has skipped dinner and he hardly ate anything for lunch.", rued his wife.
Chaudhary looked at his wife and said, "Skipping meals will only make things worse. You must persuade him to eat properly."
"Why don't you talk to him?", asked his wife.
"Right now I am his biggest enemy in his eyes.", said Chaudhary.
His wife said, "I say let us hand the money back to him. The well can wait for some more time."
"No. That will amount to betraying the trust of a dead person. We must not do that whatever be the consequences.", Chaudhary pleaded.
His wife paid no attention to him and proceeded towards the room where the cash was kept. As she was about to reach for it, she gave out a shriek and hurriedly stepped back. She was trembling like a leaf.
Chaudhary asked her with much concern, "What happened? Are you feeling dizzy?"
His wife turned her frightened gaze towards the shelf and exclaimed, "Damn it! The witch is standing right there."
Chaudhary took a look at the shelf and said, "What witch? I don't see anyone there."
"She caught my wrist. My heart is still pounding so hard."
"You are seeing things. Gomati passed away five years ago. She is no more!"
"No, no. I saw her with my own eyes. Even Harnath claims to have seen her last night holding the cash in her hands."
"Did he come to my room last night? What for?"
"He wanted to talk to you about the money but ran away after encountering the witch."
"Ok. You go and fetch the money. I am keeping an eye on you."
"No, I will never step into that room again."
"Alright then, I will fetch it myself."
Chaudhary walked into the room and picked up the cash. He had no apprehensions. There was no trace of any ghostly presence. His wife was peeking from outside. Chaudhary walked up to her and said with a hint of pride in his voice, "I saw nothing here. If she was here, where did she go?"
His wife responded, "I do not know why you cannot see her. Maybe she liked you that is why she is sparing you the scare."
"It was just a hallucination that you suffered."
"Was my boy hallucinating too? Would you like to check with him?"
"Why don't you check it out yourself once again? I am right here."
Encouraged by her husband she again walked into the room and gingerly tried to pick the cash up. Before she could do so, she let out a scream and ran away into the courtyard.
Chaudhary followed her to the courtyard and said in a surprised voice, "There was absolutely nothing there. Why did you run away?"
His wife replied breathlessly, "The witch! She scared me to death. She is still there. What is wrong with your eyes? Why can't you see him?"
As this was going on, Harnath arrived at the scene. He looked at his mother and asked, "Mother, are you okay?"
She responded, "That witch scared me twice today. I was trying to give the money to you. Your need is urgent. We can always get the well constructed once the crisis blows over. The witch caught my wrist even before I could touch the money. I was frightened to death."
Harnath said, "Let us call a good witch doctor who can exorcise her."
Chaudhary asked Harnath, "Did you see her too last night?"
Harnath replied, "Yes, I had come to seek your advice on a business issue. As I entered the room I saw her standing next to the shelf. I got scared and ran away."
Chaudhary said, "Could you go inside the room once again?"
Harnath's mother intervened, "No, I wouldn't let him go into the room even if you were to give me a fortune."
Harnath nodded agreement with his mother and declined to go into the room.
Chaudhary said, "But then why can't I see her?"
Harnath responded, "Who knows; she may be afraid of you. I propose to call a witch doctor today itself."
Chaudhary said, "This beats me. I cannot make head or tail of the whole episode. By the way where does the suit filed by Baijnath Pandey against you srand?"
Harnath was so cross with his father that he seldom discussed business matters with him. He shifted his gaze away from his father and stared blankly in the air, "Let things take their own course. How can I help matters? There is no way I can get back the money that I borrowed and lost."
Chaudhary asked, "What if he chooses to enforce his decree?"
Harnath replied, "In that case whatever little stock is left over will get auctioned off!"
Chaudhary asked, "Wouldn't that mean closing down the business?"
Harnath said with exasperation, "What can I do at this stage? Had I known your impatience I wouldn't have thought of expanding the business. I was able to make both the ends meet even without expansion. Now my ambitions are likely to land me in the jail. So be it."
His mother intervened, "Who dares take you to the jail as long as I am alive?"
Harnath responded philosophically, "Your parents bring you into this world and bring you up. Thereafter one is on one's own. Parents cannot share in the punishment for one's deeds."
Chaudhary truly loved his son. He insisted on repayment of the corpus because he thought that Harnath was wifully avoiding repayment. Now he could see that his son was in trouble indeed. If he were to be jailed or the business declared bankrupt, the honor of the family will be compromised as well. Why not give the money back to Harnath and take it back after the business revives?
Suddenly someone called for Harnath in a harsh voice from the outside. Chaudhary asked Harnath, "Who is it?"
Harnath said, "It must be the government official for enforcing the decree."
"Is he here to seize the godown?"
"Looks like it."
"What is the amount decreed?"
"Rupees one thousand two hundred."
"Can we bribe him away for now?"
"I do not think so. He must already have received tips from the other party. And the other party must be accompanying him."
"In that case let us use Gomati's funds to pay off the decreed amount."
"I wouldn't touch her money. God knows what havoc she might wreak upon us."
"We are not embezzling it. It will be returned. If you are afraid, I will go and get it."
Chaudhary had a slight apprehension that Gomati might stop him too. But no such thing happened. He removed 1200 rupees from the wad and handed it to Harnath.
By evening whole of Gomati's fund was gone.
To be continued ...
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