Final decision

Pooja disconnected the call. She was furious at Madhav's behavior. She could not believe that her own sister betrayed her and accused her stealing. She believed that the bond between the siblings was strong but her belief shattered before her own eyes. Pooja had made her decision, she did not want the land or money, she wanted her dignity. She wanted to have good relationship with her siblings though the one with Archana was already ruined. Pooja asked Anil and Prarthana to meet. She wanted to inform the discussion with Madhav and Archana in person as well as informing her own decision of backing out.

When Anil and Prarthana came to Pooja's place, she narrated what happened during the phone call - Madhav's meltdown and Archana's betrayal. Both Anil and Prarthana were shocked to hear that their own sister had stabbed them in the back. Archana had accused not only Pooja but all siblings of keeping her in the dark and erasing her right over their mother's property.

Pooja further continued, "there is one more reason to call you here. Right from the day 1 I had decided if the land causes quarrel that divides the siblings, I will back out from it. That day when I spoke with Archana I felt that money had started overpowering the relations. Hence I have decided to take a step back. I am no longer proceeding with the land transfer. I will consider that no land ever existed. If our mother wanted to keep the land as a secret, I will let that be. I am out".

Anil and Prarthana heard Pooja's decision and did not question it. They did not try to convince her to continue. They respected her wishes. To Pooja's surprise, both Prarthana and Anil joined her.
Anil decided to back out too, "Pooja we learnt about the land because of you, else we would not have known. If you are not in this, I will not continue too. I do not want to ruin our bond".
Prarthana was reluctant to leave it because of the efforts they had put in. But without her siblings she could not proceed, "though I would have liked if we proceeded. Yet I do not want to destroy our relation. Let us meet the lawyer and ask him to stop the procedure".

Pooja, Anil, and Prarthana met the lawyer to intorm their decision. The lawyer did try to convince but finally gave in as per the decision of the siblings. The transfer was stopped citing family disputes. The procedure created a divided between the siblings which was beyond repair. Pooja, Anil, and Prarthana remained close, rather they got closer. Yet the divide made all of them sad.

With each passing day Archana started getting distant. Maybe it was the fear or shame, her phone calls slowly stopped. Her communication with all siblings reduced. It remained limited only for wishing on milestone celebrations and festivals.

I believe this is the story of most households where ancestral land or inheritance breaks the family ties. I have heard stories from friends who had also gone through similar experience. It is disheartening to see that money holds bigger power than blood relations.

Though this happened over three years ago, even today we feel the heat of it. I wish that we would have never learnt about the land and none of this would have ever happened.

- The End -