I went to the temple to see Priya’s Mom.

Going to the temple was a really heartbreaking experience for me. I couldn’t help but think of all the times I had been here with Priya.

I found her mother at the temple at a corner praying silently. She seemed to have aged a lot and lost a lot of weight since I last saw her. I could only imagine what she was going through.

I stayed far away from her till she finished praying.

As soon as she was done praying and was about to leave, I went to meet her. She was walking towards the exit when she finally noticed me.

She almost started crying again when she saw me. After a couple of minutes of silence, she finally spoke.

"How are you, Jacob? I heard you were having some memory issues. Are you feeling better now?”

I could feel the warmth and care in her words for me.

"I’m feeling better, Aunty. I have started remembering stuff. But unfortunately, I still can't recall what happened in the last year or that night.”

I felt ashamed saying that. I couldn’t even look properly at Aunty’s face without feeling guilty.

"It's ok. I'm sure you must be already in a lot of pain and trying your best at the same time. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Sometimes we can't control what happens.”

I was being torn inside. Priya had always told me her mother was a simple and caring woman. I felt responsible for all the pain she was going through right now. After few minutes of silence, I spoke up.

"Aunty, I wanted to know how you and Uncle were doing. I was too ashamed to show myself till now. I kind of hold myself responsible for what happened that day. I believe it must have been my idea to take Priya there. I had been planning to propose to Priya there for a long time now.”

“Didn’t you just say that you don’t remember what happened that day? So let’s not make any assumptions and put unnecessary blame on ourselves. Like I said, we can’t control everything that happens. As for Uncle and me, we are trying to adjust to the situation in our own way. I have been spending more time at the temple praying for my Daughter.”

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I was feeling more ashamed listening to Aunty’s replies. I still asked to know more.

“What about Uncle? Is he ok?”

I could see the visible discomfort on her face when I asked that.

"I'm not sure what to say about him. He hasn't been himself for some time now. And he won't talk about it to anyone either.”

"Was it since the incident?”

"I think so. Actually, he has been acting a bit weird even a week before that. And no matter how many times I ask him, he won’t answer. He seems very troubled with something.”

"A week before the incident? Would you know anything that happened around that time?”

"I think it started after he last talked with Priya. She called him around a week back to tell him that she will be coming back soon.”

I was getting a strong feeling something was not right about that. But I couldn’t put my finger on it.

"Was everything ok between them? I mean, was he ok with our relationship? Was that what was troubling him?”

"As you know, he was never thrilled about it. But I believe he had made his peace with that. So I don't it's related to that.”

"Ok. That’s a relief to hear. The last thing I wanted was to cause some friction between them because of me.”

Aunty was deep in thought with a helpless look on her face.

"I feel completely lost, Jacob. Priya was everything to me. Now with her gone and Uncle behaving weirdly, I really don't know what to do. I feel like I am losing everything.”

After a pause, she continued.

I'm glad I had this chance to talk to u. Seeing you remind me of Priya. She really was happy with you. Take care of yourself. And try to come home if you can. Maybe seeing you will help ease Uncle’s mood as well.”

"Sure, Aunty. I’ll try to do that.”

Before she could leave, I asked one question that was bothering me for some time.

“Aunty, I wanted to ask one more thing. Did anyone meet Priya that day before she left home?”

"No. No one at home when she had arrived. I had gone for a wedding, and Uncle was out since the day earlier. By the time I had come back, she had already left in her car. I wish I could have been at home then. Maybe I could have prevented both of you from going to that God-forsaken place and prevented what happened.”

I could see she was close to tears again. I tried my best to console her.

"Aunty, like you, said earlier, we are not always in control of what happens.”

“I just wish things had turned out differently.”

And she started crying at that.

"We all do, Aunty. We all do.”

I decided to try my best to cheer her up.

“I’ll try to come and talk to Uncle soon. Any idea where I might find him?”

"He stays inside his study all day. He doesn't talk to anyone. You can find him there when you want to talk to him.”

"Thanks. I'll go there as soon as I get a chance. Take care, Aunty. And let me know if there is anything I can do for you.”

She gave me a weak smile at that and left. I knew she was in as much pain as me, or maybe more. We all had to handle the pain in our own way.

But the talk with her raised more questions than answers about Uncle. Like the Inspector said, his behaviour seems really odd. I think I'll have to talk to him after all. But I had a feeling he won't be as welcoming as Aunty had been with me.