“Why is Radha Aunty going to the mountain top temple at such time. Even the pujari no longer goes there regularly?”, asked Meena to her vegetable vendor Radhika.

“Oh! she visits the temple daily of the Goddess and she says she will continue to do so till she fulfills her wish.”

“What is her wish?”, asked Meena.

“I don’t know we will ask her when she comes down in the afternoon. She has had a very sad yet eventful life.”

“Why, what is her story?”

“Her husband passed away fifteen years back leaving her alone with their four young sons with the eldest just ten years old. He left nothing for them but she never gave up hope and raised her children the best she could. She would wake up at 4 am and make food for her kids to take to the school and then head to the farm so she could be back by lunch to meet the kids and give them food. Then she used to make papads the whole week to sell at the Sunday market. The evil Mahendra Thakur had his evil eye on her and tried to even sexually assault her but with God’s grace, the Sarpanch and entire Panchayat interfered and made sure that she remained safe. She made sure that all her four children studied and with God’s grace they four turned out to be the best students. Her eldest was the first one in our village to go to the big village school. Her life was all around these kids. She would play with them, feed them, and made sure they studied properly. Slowly her papad business flourished and she started earning well from it.”

“But I have never seen the kids.”

“That is the tragedy. The elder one went to work for a factory in the city and one by one the remaining three joined them leaving poor Radha Aunty all alone. It is saddening to see her living all alone despite giving her best to the kids.”

“Why doesn’t she go to the city to live with them?”

“She can’t give up her papad business here now and the kids in the city hardly earn enough to sustain all of them. They are now at marriable age too.”

“So why don’t they come back.”

“Like all our menfolk and the kids, they are in love with the city life and would live there and work hard rather than stay in villages,” said Radhika shrugging as she picked up her basket and left. “They say this had made poor Radha Aunty half-mad as she still keeps working hard saving for God knows what. Maybe to move to the city.”

Later that day, they were all sitting in the afternoon discussing the coronavirus.

“I am telling you this is all China’s doing,” said the Sarpanch.

“No-no this is a curse given to us,” said Meena.

“So far we have been lucky that there is no case here in the village,” said Choudhary.

“And thankfully none of the children who have returned from the city are infected. Thanks to our strong natural immunities,” said Manohar.

“It is too early to say, they have just come yesterday. We need to watch a few days,” said Doctor Saab.

“But you will see that no one from our village will be infected.”

“I am telling you this is a curse only,” said Meena adamant that her belief was true. This was God’s way of punishing them for their sins.

“No, it is not a curse!” said Radha Aunty curtly as she overheard them coming back from the temple. She sat down below the tree and wiping her brow continued.

“You see when all my four children had gone to the city, I had pledged to Devi Maa that I will visit her barefoot for 1,000 days and perform the necessary sacrifices if she makes my family whole again and brings my children back. And it was yesterday, on the exact 1,000^th day of my Tapasya that they all four returned due to the coronavirus as their factories shut down. Now they have promised to stay with me in the village. They have realized that they can expand the papad business with the savings I have made and they even have some plans of sowing some special vegetables and fruits that they say sell at very expensive rates in the city. They and many other children like them have decided that they will stay back and instead of struggling and toiling at cities, they will stay back and help this village flourish. They have seen many opportunities and are now much wiser and appreciative of nature and the benefits of living in villages with no scarcity of food. They can travel to nearby cities whenever they want and now with electricity and mobiles, there is no major problem also. So, you see this is not a curse but for us the boon that the Devi Maa has given for my Tapasya! My family is whole again.’

They all stared at the radiating and first time looking so happy Radha Aunty. They did not have the heart to tell her that although her kids were her world the Coronavirus has caused so many deaths all around the world and so much pain and suffering.

Meanwhile, they see the Pandit Ji running towards them shouting, “This is blasphemy. This is a tragedy. Someone has severed the head of Mahendra Thakur and kept it at Devi Maa’s feet as if like an offering.

They all looked again at Radha Aunty just back from the temple with a chill in their heart when her neighbor’s son came running towards her and said, “All you four kids are down with heavy fever and are coughing badly. Maa has said to tell that to Doctor Saab also and no one should go to your home. It seems they have come back infected with the Coronavirus.