Vikaya sat up, sitting near the coffin just a few feet away from her freedom but the anguish she felt on loosing it every time was gone. She felt numb, thoughtless and surprisingly calm. Just staring at the endless sky and the land with no end
"Aren't you coming?" called Zar hanging upside down from the tree
Vikaya sighed but didn't move
"Pekassador?" called Zar but Vikaya was sitting like mysterious, creepy doll
This odd behavior piqued Zar Hhital's confusion and curiosity. He floated over to her and stood like a pillar
"Vikaya?" he said
Vikaya sighed again and slowly turned her head and stared at him with a blank expression but to Zar it felt ominous and disturbing because he could feel what was coming next
"Why?" she asked
But Zar was silent, just staring at her
"I need to know Zar - Why?" she asked, a littler louder this time
Zar stepped back "Come on, we have to continue" he muttered
But Vikaya ignored him
"Why are you stuck here? Why did Alekon Do send me here? What is connection between you two?" asked Vikaya now standing up, demanding answers from Zar, her eyes flaring
Zar was silent and just hovered ahead, away from her
"Answer me!" she yelled
"No" he replied going straight to his beloved tree
"Then I guess we'll be stuck here forever" she said
Zar turned and glared at her
"You know we are in a catch-22 situation right? Because I am not moving till you answer me" she said, standing tall and staring straight
"You don't want to leave this place?" asked Zar in a menacing tone
"I don't feel hunger, I don't need to sleep. I guess I will live here forever, like you" she said in the same menacing tone
"Are you sure you don't want to continue?" he asked, still in a dark tone
"Are you going to answer me or not?" she asked
"THIS IS MY DOMAIN!" he yelled loudly in a very dark tone and the skies boomed with thunder and lightening
Vik glanced at the sky and turned to find Zar standing in front of her, glaring!
"I am not afraid of you. Go ahead kill me! It will better than spending the rest of my days here like this. Then go ahead and spend an eternity here, waiting and alone!" she said gritting through her teeth
Zar stared at her, with a stern yet helpless look in his eyes. He raised in hand, tightly held in a fist and threw something at her.
"Ughh!" she exclaimed "Wow, real mature Hhital!" she yelled, feeling the irritation of sand in her eyes
Rubbing her eyes softly, trying to get out the sand she blinked continuously like a weird toy. It even spiked her anxiety!
"Finally!" she breathed a sigh of relief and opened her eyes. Although they still didn't feel completely clear and "normal"
Looking around desperately as her blurry vision slowly came into focus, her eyes widened, almost falling out with shock!
"Zar Hhital! You wraith!" her whole body vibrated, screaming with rage
The whole area had changed into a different setting, a different world, a different time. The land looked like it was burned to the ground, even the ashes of what was used to be didn't remain, it was scorched beyond human imagination
"You have to decide now" Zar's voice boomed across the empty land. It was too damaged to be even called a land
"Go through another riddle and if you answer correctly you will be shown the way to what you are asking for" he said
"And if I don't take this option?" she asked
"If not then you can figure out your own way back from here" he said
"Does it even exist?" she said looking around the never-ending haunting land
A small sneering snort was heard "Of course there is. But I am not sure when you will be able to find it"
Vik sighed. Irritation was beginning to creep up on her. Hunger was finally getting to her. Has she reached the real world?
"Alright!" she yelled "Just ONE more riddle and if you don't keep your promise. It will be a rare occurrence in your very long Hhital life"
"What kind of rare occurrence?" Zar was curious, his dark tone suddenly changed
"Killing of the dead" said Vik in a sinister tone
Zar huffed and a thunderous clap shook the land and in the blink of an eye Vik disappeared
Vikaya landed in a bright, shiny world
'Welcome to Affluentia Airport" the electronic banner displayed
Vikaya found herself in the body of a different man who was walking out of the airport. A sleek body with dark hair and skin
"Mr. Des?" called a man waiting outside "The car is this way. He smiled at him as if he knew him
Des followed the man and sat in the car
"I tried to clear things off your schedule sir but one thing was not possible" he said
"What is it?" asked Des
"The meeting with Zen Luwol. He insisted for today" said the assistant
"Alright, when is it?" he asked
"At 5pm. He will meet you at the office then visit various sites with you" the assistant said
"Alright" said Des
Affluentia Charitable Trust was one of the most trusted organizations in the country and Des Dumas was one of its trustees. Zen Luwol was one of the top actors of the country and for some reason he wanted to meet Des
"It is nice to meet you Mr. Luwol" said Des
"Likewise Mr. Dumas" smiled Zen
Zen was good-looking but a whimsical character and his behavior somehow reflected it
"I want to make donations to different charities under your Trust" said Zen
"Wow, that's amazing. We really appreciate this" said Des beaming
"But Mr. Luwol had some questions" said Zen's manager
Des nodded "Go ahead please"
"Would you be publishing any press release regarding this?" he asked
"Well, we always issue a press release even if it's a small donation unless the donor specifically requests not to" said Des "Do you want to keep this anonymous?"
Before the manager could answer Zen blurted "Absolutely not"
Des was taken aback but smiled and nodded
"One more thing" said the manager "Mr. Luwol has another request. He wants to visit every place for which he will be making donations for and he wants to meet people and click photos with them and everything"
"Oh, yeah that's alright. We would love to have you there" said Des
"Alright" Zen stood up "Shall we go then?"
Affluentia Trust is a big organization. Home for children, Home for elderly, Animal rescue, Nature restoration and even a Recycle Plant, they manage all these and beautifully too!
Zen was active and smiling everywhere! With kids, with old folks, all the animals and cute dogs even the trees and plastic! And in every place his whole crew was present to take amazing high quality pictures
"Alright Mr. Dumas, our meeting has come to an end. Thank you" Zen shook hands with Des and the whole crew left
Des Dumas sighed, stretched out his arms and left chuckling
"Shall I drop you home?" asked his assistant
"Sure" he said
Vikaya strangely enough found herself leaving the story and ending up in an empty yet terrified space. A place where large rocks floated in air and there was nothing around. Although the rocks were all held together, it was still unstable
"So tell me Vikaya Pekassador" echoed Zar's voice
"A good deed such as charity but done for selfish reasons, is it a morally good thing or a bad thing?" asked Zar
Vik sighed and contemplated deeply, digging into her inner well of wisdom and personal ideals
"If it's charity, then it's a good thing" said Vikaya and sat down because she knew more was coming from the chatterbox
"Hmmm" Zar stretched out, clearly something piqued his interest and poor Vik just rolled her eyes
"You specifically emphasized 'If it's charity' please elaborate" said Zar excited
Vikaya sighed, took a deep breath and continued
"When you do a good deed for someone with no advantage in return, that is charity then even if you have a selfish motive behind that, it's still a good deed. He still helped all those people and all those causes, so the scales tip towards it being good" said Vikaya
"But he did get an advantage in return! He did it for public's praise" said Zar
"Yeah, but he dug that advantage for himself! He spent all that money for that advantage - Public's love; but he didn't do it to get an advantage from the people he helped. He was even polite with them, which was very unexpected!" said Vikaya
"Hmm" said Zar "Good answer. Now I have a bonus question" said Zar
"Ugh! Zar I swear I will beat you to a pulp then kill you!" yelled Vikaya
"The path is already open, you can go ahead!" said Zar and a loud snapped echoed
The rocks at the further end gathered in a straight line and created a path in front of Vikaya
"You can walk the path, however the question still remains although optional" said Zar
"Alright tell me" said Vik scowling
"Are selfish deeds wrong except in the cases of charity?" asked Zar
"People really have twisted the term 'selfish'" began Vikaya
"We are selfish beings Zar, we are born like that and that is not a bad thing because a person only came to please himself or herself and that is a good thing. But the intention really really matters. Let's take relationships, we all seek relationships to feel loved and to love of course. So, there is selfish motive behind it - to be loved and there is nothing wrong with wanting that. However if a person just wants to receive love and not give it then that is not love at all. That is true greed" said Vikaya
"So, let's say a person is very sweet and polite with a person.." began Zar but was immediately interrupted by Vik
"Analyzing a relationship requires a lot of details Hhital and at this point you are just dragging this aren't you?" said Vikaya
"If that person is doing all this just to evoke love from the other person, to know the real them but they don't intend to love them back after evoking that love then that deed is pure evil" said Vik
There was radio silence in the unknown realm
"You may go ahead" said Zar bluntly
Vikaya stared at the rocks ahead, her heart wanting to jump out of her body at the thought of what she was about to do. A deep breath in, she turned to look behind and all the rocks behind and around her had fallen away! Only the rock she was standing on remained
"No turning back Vik" her inner voice said to her
Vikaya pumped up with courage stepped on the rock ahead and the whole path lighted up! The rocks joined together and formed a solid path, welcoming Vikaya
"I am coming Zar!" she yelled and stepped ahead