The procession carrying the man’s dead body was reaching the public crematorium. Like the sun that was setting at the horizon, the procession looked dull and grieved. The Crematorium was nearing and as its sight appeared, the laments aggrandized.

The crematorium was situated close to an areca nut (adaykka- in Malayalam and Tamil) farm. Hundreds of lean and straight (the F-TV types) Areca nut trees stood in the farm, waving in the winds and French-kissing the sky (on its lovely lips, the clouds).

The procession stopped in front of the crematory and it was time for the final rites. The lead cleric had uttered the final prayers and then a relative of the dead man had lifted fire on the crematory. As seconds passed by, as the fire grew by, as the laments amplified to the maximum, the 'unthinkable happened'.

Like lightning, sparkles of fire came down from the nearby areca nut tree and the dead man stood up alive! The lamenting mouths and the gloomy faces at once thrown open aghast and then cried aloud for life. In a jiffy, all of them vanished from the scene!

Heard that someone from the fleeing squad had turned back while running and then stopped for being fooled. Because it was the Areca nut farmer Shanku, who came down from the ‘heaven’ and not the dead man. Shanku was on top of the Areca nut tree close to the crematory. As the fire blown up, the dried leaves of a black pepper plant which was growing on the tree too caught fire. The fire went up spirally to the unexpected tribulation of Shanku, who at once lost his grip and plummeted, strewing fire all over and finally landing on the edge of the crematory.

Shanku must have received a funeral attention from all.