Sagar was raised by his single mother. His parents had been separated some ten years ago. Radhika, Sagar’s mother, wanted to save her marriage, and to that end, she did everything she could. But all her efforts went down the drain. Her husband was in an illicit relationship with a woman who was a schoolteacher in the neighbouring village. Seeing her husband’s stubborn nature, Radhika couldn’t shake a gut-wrenching sense of doom.

Finally, the divorce case was settled in court. Radhika received Rs5,000 cash, a small house, and one ropani of land as alimony from her husband. The day Radhika received a divorce certificate from the district court, there was not an iota of sadness on her face. She was rather satisfied and relieved.

Hemja, Radhika’s village, is about 10 km away from downtown Pokhara. Radhika would grow seasonal vegetables, maize, potatoes, corn, and sell them in the local market in Pokhara. It was due to her hard work and perseverance that Radhika had not only saved some money for her son's higher education but also purchased some land in the village. Her agro-based business was flourishing, and Radhika was much more satisfied with her endeavours.

Radhika’s only dream was to send her son abroad for higher education. She wanted to see her son become a big hakim sahib in the country. This was why she would always ask her only son to put his heart and soul into his studies. She would never expect her son to experience the life she had. Sagar was well aware of his mother’s sacrifice for his education. That’s why Sagar always wanted to bring the world’s happiness at the feet of his mother.

That day finally came for Radhika when her son was given a study visa to Australia. This was the day Radhika was desperately waiting for. Sagar joined the college in Australia and began his studies with all due seriousness. He would speak with his mother on the phone almost every day and assure her not to worry about him.

Sagar’s hard work paid off. He completed a Bachelor’s degree with flying colours. After that, without wasting any more time, he joined the Master’s programme.

Back at home, as usual, Radhika was busy on her farmland, taking care of her seasonal vegetables. One day, late in the evening, Radhika went to her vegetable field and plucked a few sponge guards. In the meantime, without Radhika’s notice, a camouflaged green-coloured snake bit her left palm and quietly slithered away. Radhika immediately pulled her hand back and looked all over her palm, but she did not notice anything in her palm. Radhika thought a thorn might have pricked her palm. Radhika was completely unaware that she had already been bitten by a venomous snake.

Within a few minutes of the snake bite, Radhika’s palm began swelling abnormally. She was still thinking that her palm must have been pricked with a thorn. Her neighbours visited Radhika and asked her to go to the hospital. But Radhika wanted to visit a local shaman before going to a hospital.

Dura Jhankri was a renowned Shaman in the village. Many people had received shamanic treatment from him. He could communicate with the dead spirits to cure his patients who were possessed.

Dura Jhankri looked at Radhika’s palm and closed his eyes for some time. When he opened his eyes, his whole body was shuddering violently. He started muttering, saying that a wandering spirit from the nearby forest possessed her body.

Dura Jhankri began the rituals to contact the spirit that had possessed Radhika. He made some burning coals ready, sat on them, and began calling the spirit. Dura Jhankri’s body was vibrating with violent jerks. His face flushed red and hot.

The infuriated spirit began speaking. “I will not let you go so easily. The crime you have committed, for that you deserve more pain and suffering”.

“What crime did I commit that has angered you so much?” asked Radhika nervously.

“A few days ago, you visited the forest, and the place where you peed was my home. You have discredited my home. Now I want to punish you by inflicting as much pain as possible”.

“I don’t remember if I had done anything that you said. Even if I had done it, it was merely unintentional. You must forgive me for a crime that I committed without my knowledge”.

In the meantime, the spirit left Dura Jhankri’s body, and he became normal. “Now I have understood the whole matter as it is. The spirit is very angry, and to placate his anger, we need to offer him a sacrifice. After receiving that sacrifice, the spirit will happily leave your body, and you will get rid of the pain”.

On the same night, a rooster had been sacrificed in the forest. However, Radhika’s pain did not subside. It turned from bad to worse. Now the pain was not contained only in her hand; it had already spread to her body. Her hand, which was bitten by the snake, was already senseless. At this very stage, Radhika was afraid for her life, and she asked to be taken to a nearby government hospital in Pokhara.

By the time Radhika was brought to the hospital, the poison had already spread to most parts of her body. The doctor took Radhika directly to the ICU for treatment. She was given lifesaving anti-venom drugs.

“The patient needs an urgent operation,” said the doctor and continued. “Her condition is extremely critical, and an urgent operation is the last resort to save her life. Even after the operation, however, we can’t give any guarantee to save her life.”

“It is an absolute miracle,” said the doctors and continued, “No one survives after spreading so much poison in the body. However, in order to save your life, we had to amputate your left arm—there was no other way. All the tissues of the left arm had already decayed. If we had not amputated your arm, the infection would have spread to other parts of the body, and then it would have been impossible to save your life. Which is why we had to amputate your left arm,” said the doctors apologetically.

Radhika thanked the doctors for saving her life. After a few days of rest in the hospital, Radhika was taken home.

The next morning, Sagar reached home. He had already been informed about his mother’s condition. Sagar was in absolute shock when he saw his mother with only one arm. He held his mother and began crying.

“Don’t worry, Aama. You have lost one arm—so what, your son has two arms, and these are also your arms. Never feel that you have only one arm,” consoled Sagar with teary eyes.

“I know my dear son. It is actually your love for me that has kept me alive until now. Merely your presence is enough for me to have heavenly pleasure,” said Radhika and embraced her son.

The next morning, Sagar took his mother and asked her to stand beside a wooden board covered with a bed sheet. Radhika was at her wits’ end because she could not understand why her son had asked her to stand there. Sagar asked her mother to pull the bed sheet. When she pulled off the bed sheet, there was a wooden board. On which it was written “Aama’s Homestay”.

“Aama, this is our new business—Aama’s Homestay. Now I am not going to leave my mother. I’m not going to Australia for my master’s education. I will stay with you, and we will run this homestay. We will produce most of the things in our land and serve our guests,” said Sagar confidently.

“It is alright, but I think you should go back to Australia to complete your master’s degree. I don’t want to spoil your future.”

“I can’t leave my mother in this condition. Now you are my university, Aama. By the grace of the Almighty and your blessings, I will get everything at your feet.”

Radhika was speechless as tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision. Sagar wiped away all the tears from her mother’s eyes.