INT. TEMPLE – FLAMES TURN BLUE
The fire rises high, now glowing blue and white. The air becomes thick. A loud feminine roar is heard—part divine, part beast.
A form of Devi—fiery, ghostly—rises behind the idol. Glowing eyes. The trishul glimmers.
DEVI’S VOICE (echoing, layered)
“The vow is fulfilled. The gate shall close.”
The temple shakes. Wind screams. And then… silence.
INT. TEMPLE – AFTERMATH
Smoke clears. Sneha collapses in Ajay’s arms—smiling faintly.
SNEHA (softly)
I feel light… finally.
AJAY (crying)
Don’t go, Sneha. Stay with us!
SNEHA
I already stayed… one lifetime too long.
Her eyes close. Her body dissolves into ash, gently scattering in the wind.
The broken idol behind them is now whole.
INT. TEMPLE – MOMENTS AFTER SNEHA’S SACRIFICE
Ash from Sneha swirls gently across the floor. A strange, peaceful aura spreads across the temple. The fire pit dies out on its own.
AJAY (falling to knees)
Sneha…
KIRAN (softly)
She knew. She planned to end it.
RAMESH (terrified)
Are we free now? Please tell me we’re free.
A deep bell sound echoes—not from inside the temple, but from far above—like from the sky itself.
EXT. VILLAGE – EARLY MORNING
The storm has vanished. The village is no longer cloaked in darkness. Birds chirp again. The vines on the houses have withered. A golden hue lights up the path leading out.
AJAY (emerging from temple)
Look… the forest trail. It’s back.
Ramesh touches a tree and feels it—alive, no longer dead wood.
KIRAN
We should go before this place changes its mind.
AJAY (quietly)
No… before I do. If I stay… I might never want to leave.
EXT. FOREST TRAIL – JOURNEY BACK
The trio walks slowly. No words exchanged. Kiran leads using a now-working GPS.
RAMESH
My mind still feels... full. Like someone walked through it.
KIRAN
I recorded some audio during the ritual. When I play it back… there’s another voice. A fifth.
AJAY
Sneha’s?
KIRAN (shakes head)
No. Older. Male. Angry.
FLASHBACK – 73 YEARS AGO – BLACK & WHITE STYLE
We see the original ritual—people chanting, a young girl (Sneha’s past self) hesitating at the edge of the yagna fire. A high priest shouts:
HIGH PRIEST
Do not break the circle! Yogeeshwari will not forgive!
But she runs. The ritual collapses. Smoke, spirits, chaos. The priest is engulfed by black mist.
BACK TO PRESENT – EXT. FOREST TRAIL
The friends continue walking. The sky grows brighter as they descend the hill.
AJAY (to Kiran)
She paid for a sin she made in another life. That’s heavy.
KIRAN
Or maybe… she was sent here to fix it. A second chance.
RAMESH (softly)
Then why do I feel like someone’s still watching us?
All three stop walking. They turn. The trail behind them is… empty.
EXT. ROADSIDE VILLAGE SHOP – DAY
They reach a normal Kerala village road. A tea stall. Locals. Life is normal again. The trio walks up to the shopkeeper.
AJAY
Brother, which is the nearest bus stop?
SHOPKEEPER (confused)
You came from the hills?
KIRAN
Yes, from the forest route near Pathala—uh… the old trail.
SHOPKEEPER (alarmed)
What? There’s nothing there. No village. No temple. That place was abandoned after the cholera outbreak... in 1952.
INT. BUS – LATER THAT EVENING
They sit quietly. The bus rattles through winding roads. Ajay looks at the seat beside him—empty. He slowly opens Sneha’s scarf, which he had wrapped around his wrist.
RAMESH
We’ll never be the same again.
KIRAN (staring ahead)
That’s what a yatra is. You leave something behind... and come back with something else.
INT. AJAY’S HOME – HYDERABAD – NIGHT
Ajay walks into his prayer room. Places Sneha’s scarf near the photo of his father.
AJAY (praying)
She brought peace… to strangers. Let her find peace too.
A sudden breeze flickers the diya (lamp). The flame dances but doesn’t go out.
