It was a brilliantly shining, yet brutally cold winter night where the vast expanse of the dark sky was completely filled with millions of twinkling stars. In the deep, suffocating middle of an ancient and remarkably dense forest, a frail wooden hut could be seen standing resiliently against the harsh elements. Just outside this isolated and decaying hut, a massive, crackling fire was burning brightly, casting long, eerie, and continuously dancing shadows across the frozen, unforgiving ground.
Four weary women were sitting closely near the flickering fire, desperately seeking whatever fleeting warmth the dying embers could possibly offer their freezing bodies. Each distinct face was softly illuminated by the golden flames, silently telling a completely different, heartbreaking story of profound sorrow, devastating loss, and unspeakable tragedy. With the bitter, freezing cold wind continuously howling through the barren, twisted branches of the ancient trees, an unsettling and heavy silence spread far and wide.
Shellini tightly adjusted her thick, heavy woolen shawl around her trembling, fragile shoulders and let out a long, exhausted, and incredibly deep sigh.
“This terrifying, piercing cold truly feels like it is physically entering our very bones, mercilessly freezing our weary souls from the inside out,” she whispered softly.
“It was a tremendous, lifesaving blessing that we somehow managed to light this roaring fire; otherwise, we would have completely frozen to death by now.”
The other women nodded in silent agreement, pulling their respective garments closer to their chests as the relentless wind continued its aggressive assault on the forest.
“The biting frost is overwhelmingly strong tonight, but this dark, isolated weather is absolutely perfect for listening to deeply unsettling horror stories,” Shellini suggested with a mysterious smile.
“Why don’t we pass this agonizing time by telling some profoundly scary tales, the kind of terrifying stories that will instantly give all of us severe goosebumps?”
Suddenly, the unmistakable, heavy sound of crunching footsteps was loudly heard echoing on the rocky, uneven forest path leading directly toward their hidden sanctuary. All the women immediately became hyper-alert, their eyes widening in sudden fear as they desperately tried to identify what kind of ominous sound that could possibly be. Then, stepping slowly out from the impenetrable darkness, a young, exhausted girl appeared carrying a massive, heavily loaded backpack tightly strapped to her trembling shoulders.
She was wearing a thick, heavily insulated warm jacket, yet she was still violently trembling as she slowly walked toward the glowing warmth of the hut.
“Excuse me, I completely lost my way in this confusing darkness while desperately heading toward my final destination,” the strange girl nervously announced to the silent group.
“Can I please stay here by the fire for just a little while until I can manage to find my bearings again?”
An older woman sitting across the fire offered a gentle, welcoming smile and gestured toward an empty log resting directly in front of the flames.
“Come sit down with us, for everyone gathered here has temporarily stopped to fully understand the complicated nature of their ultimate, final destination,” the woman explained softly.
“Sit comfortably, rest your tired legs, and allow yourself to thoroughly warm your freezing body near the comforting heat of our fire.”
The young girl cautiously lowered her heavy backpack to the frozen dirt, letting out a massive sigh of profound relief as she finally sat down.
“By the way, thank you all so much for your immense kindness; my name is Angelie, and I am incredibly grateful for your hospitality,” she said earnestly.
One by one, all the enigmatic women sitting around the fire formally introduced themselves to the newcomer, their voices blending softly with the crackling wood.
Seeing Angelie’s youthful innocence and genuine gratitude, the previously tense atmosphere surrounding the campfire immediately became a little more relaxed and surprisingly comfortable.
“So, now that we have a new guest, who will proudly be the first to tell a terrifying story to pass the time?” Shellini asked enthusiastically.
“What exactly kind of stories are you all sharing out here in the middle of this dark, terrifying wilderness?” Angelie asked with a noticeable hint of genuine curiosity.
Shellini leaned forward, the bright flames intensely reflecting in her dark, mysterious eyes as she prepared to answer the young girl’s completely innocent question.
“Everyone gathered here tonight is passionately telling deeply horrifying horror stories, but you won’t be too scared to listen, right?” Shellini asked with a teasing, playful tone.
“No, I will absolutely enjoy it, because I have always genuinely loved listening to incredibly scary stories late at night,” Angelie responded with an eager, bright smile.
Shellini chuckled softly, shaking her head in mild disbelief at the young girl’s surprising bravery in such a profoundly isolated and inherently creepy environment.
“Just look at you, sitting completely alone with four totally unknown women in the dead of a dark night, enthusiastically listening to horror stories,” Shellini observed astutely.
“Aren’t you genuinely scared even a little bit by this incredibly strange and highly unconventional situation?” she pressed, wanting to test the girl’s absolute resolve.
Angelie confidently shook her head, her bright eyes eagerly sparkling with a mixture of youthful adrenaline and deep, insatiable curiosity regarding the promised tales.
“I am not scared at all; in fact, I am so incredibly excited to hear what you have to share,” Angelie stated with absolute, unwavering conviction.
“Then I will proudly tell the first story, but I must warn you, this is not just a fabricated tale of fiction,” Shellini began with a deeply serious expression.
Shellini paused for a dramatic moment, allowing the heavy silence of the dark forest to completely surround them before she continued her ominous introduction.
“It feels entirely like absolute reality, and I am a direct, firsthand witness to the terrifying events I am about to vividly describe to you,” she whispered hauntingly.
“After completely hearing this horrifying account, you may not even believe it is true, but this is the tragic, terrifying story of Ajay and Ankita.”
In the bustling, incredibly crowded middle of the city, there was a massive, stunningly beautiful, and incredibly luxurious mansion that stood out from the rest. Ajay and Ankita lived together in that massive house, supposedly spending their incredibly wealthy married life in a state of absolute, uninterrupted happiness and profound peace. They seemingly had every possible material happiness the world could offer, surrounded by immense wealth, supportive friends, and a beautifully decorated, incredibly comfortable living space.
However, behind the closed, heavy wooden doors of their magnificent mansion, one crucially important and deeply painful thing was completely missing from their otherwise perfect lives. Despite their desperate, continuous efforts over many years, they unfortunately did not have a precious child to lovingly call their own. Because of this devastating, heartbreaking reality, both of them were always secretly drowning in a profound, suffocating ocean of deep, unrelenting sadness and utter despair.
As the long, painful time slowly passed, the deeply depressed Ankita slowly sank even deeper into an inescapable, agonizing sorrow that completely consumed her waking hours.
“Ajay, it has already been six long, agonizing years of our otherwise perfect marriage, and I am completely losing my fragile mind,” Ankita cried out desperately one evening.
“I continuously keep hoping for a miracle, but honestly, how much longer will I be forced to bear this unbearable, heartbreaking pain?” she sobbed uncontrollably.
Ajay immediately rushed to her side, gently pulling his weeping wife into a tight, comforting embrace as he desperately tried to soothe her deeply shattered heart.
“Ankita, my love, I have repeatedly told you that everything will eventually be absolutely fine if we just remain incredibly patient,” Ajay reassured her with a remarkably soft voice.
“Even the most expensive, highly specialized doctor confidently said it will just take some more time for the treatments to finally work,” he added, trying to sound genuinely hopeful.
Ankita aggressively pulled away from his embrace, her tear-filled eyes flashing with a mixture of profound anger, deep exhaustion, and absolute, crushing despair.
“We have been constantly visiting countless, highly expensive doctors for so incredibly long, but absolutely nothing has miraculously happened for us yet,” she argued with intense, raw frustration.
“We must immediately try something completely different, something incredibly drastic, before my deep depression entirely destroys my remaining will to live,” she demanded fiercely.
One particularly gloomy day, Ankita excitedly told a highly skeptical Ajay about a mysterious, incredibly powerful tantric who could supposedly magically help them finally get a child.
“Ajay immediately refused her ridiculous suggestion at first, firmly believing it was nothing more than highly dangerous, completely unscientific nonsense,” Shellini explained to the captivated audience.
“But finally, utterly exhausted by her continuous crying, he reluctantly gave in to her relentless stubbornness and desperately agreed to accompany her.”
Both of them nervously traveled far outside the city limits, eventually arriving at the isolated, incredibly terrifying location where the mysterious tantric actually resided. It was a deeply lonely, incredibly dilapidated wooden hut located entirely deep within a barren wasteland, where the terrifying tantric was loudly chanting deeply unsettling, ancient mantras. Strange, incredibly horrifying bloody drawings and decaying human skulls were carelessly hanging on the dark, damp walls, instantly creating an overwhelmingly oppressive and deeply evil atmosphere.
They nervously sat down in front of the intimidating man and completely told the terrifying tantric every single detail about their deeply painful infertility problem. After quietly listening to their tragic, desperate plea, the man slowly opened his glowing red eyes and spoke in a deeply serious, incredibly unnatural, and raspy voice.
“You do indeed have a beautiful child written in your ultimate fate, but the dark, treacherous path to obtain it is incredibly difficult and profoundly bloody,” the tantric declared ominously.
The tantric leaned incredibly close to the terrified couple, the overwhelming, sickening smell of rotting flesh violently invading their sensitive, completely unprepared nostrils.
“To achieve this dark miracle, you will absolutely have to brutally sacrifice a young, healthy woman in a highly specific, incredibly ancient dark magic ritual,” he whispered maliciously.
“Only then will her freshly released, wandering soul magically be reborn directly into your barren womb as your highly desired, perfect child,” he concluded with a sickeningly evil grin.
Ajay and Ankita initially looked completely confused and deeply horrified by the insanely monstrous, completely illegal, and morally bankrupt suggestion the terrifying tantric had just casually made.
“But Ankita’s deeply desperate, profoundly twisted mind quickly completely convinced a highly reluctant Ajay to actually consider the unthinkable, horrifying proposition,” Shellini continued, her voice trembling slightly.
“She desperately wanted a biological child at absolutely any cost, and she was terrifyingly ready to willingly do absolutely anything to finally achieve her ultimate, twisted dream.”
Ankita grabbed Ajay’s trembling hands, her eyes wide with a terrifying, completely unhinged manic desperation that he had absolutely never seen in her before.
“Ajay, my love, if this horrifying ritual is truly our very last available option, we absolutely must strictly follow through and successfully do it,” Ankita pleaded with terrifying intensity.
“Can’t you violently push aside your fragile morals and bravely do this one terrible thing for me? Don’t you desperately want a biological heir to inherit everything?” she manipulated expertly.
Ajay violently pulled his hands away, deeply disgusted and profoundly terrified by the incredibly monstrous, purely evil words coming out of his beautiful wife’s mouth.
“I desperately want a child more than anything, but actually intentionally murdering an innocent human being is absolutely insane and entirely unforgivable, Ankita,” Ajay argued with immense, desperate panic.
“Please, I am desperately begging you, swear on my absolute, unconditional love that you will immediately drop this horrifying, profoundly evil madness right now,” he pleaded desperately.
Ankita immediately fell to her knees, sobbing violently as she tightly wrapped her arms around his legs, continuously begging him with a deeply pathetic, completely shattered voice.
“Let us just dangerously try this dark ritual once, for I am entirely sure we will miraculously succeed and finally be completely happy forever,” she cried with absolute, terrifying conviction.
“Okay, if you genuinely, truly believe it will magically work, I will completely abandon my humanity and fully support you,” Ajay finally surrendered, his soul instantly dying inside.
To successfully complete the dark magic ritual, they desperately needed a highly vulnerable woman to violently sacrifice, but finding a suitable, untraceable victim was incredibly difficult. They absolutely could not find anyone whose sudden, completely unexplained disappearance and highly violent death would not immediately raise severe police suspicion and entirely ruin their wealthy lives. They realized they had to act incredibly fast before the tantric’s incredibly narrow astrological window of dark magical opportunity completely and permanently closed forever.
Unwillingly, but driven by absolute, completely unchecked desperation, they darkly turned their predatory attention to the tragic, highly vulnerable world of a desperate, impoverished prostitute. They systematically scoured the dangerous, poorly lit streets until they finally found a highly vulnerable, incredibly desperate woman named Leela who perfectly fit the terrifying tantric’s strict requirements. She miserably lived in a filthy, incredibly dangerous, and completely neglected brothel located directly in a deeply deserted, highly impoverished part of the massive city.
Leela constantly wore terribly simple, heavily worn-out, and deeply stained clothes, but her striking, entirely natural beauty could not be completely hidden beneath the grime.
“What exactly do you incredibly wealthy, fancy people possibly want with a completely broken, incredibly poor woman like me?” Leela asked with deep, incredibly defensive suspicion.
“We desperately need your specialized, incredibly personal help, and in return, you will safely get a massive, life-changing amount of untraceable money,” Ajay lied smoothly and completely convincingly.
Leela let out a deeply exhausted, incredibly cynical laugh, her tired eyes reflecting a lifetime of profound, uninterrupted suffering and absolute, crushing societal betrayal.
“More than any massive amount of money, I just desperately want a completely normal, highly peaceful life far away from this profound misery,” she stated with absolute, heartbreaking honesty.
“But I profoundly know that a peaceful, happy ending is absolutely not beautifully written in my completely cursed, totally worthless fate,” she added with deep, overwhelming sadness.
Ankita stepped forward, grabbing Leela’s dirty hands with completely faked, highly manipulative affection, intentionally pouring highly concentrated, completely fabricated emotion into her deeply deceptive voice.
“We will generously help you immediately get absolutely whatever you desperately want, but please, I am desperately begging you to beautifully help us first,” Ankita pleaded with entirely fake tears.
“My empty, barren womb has been entirely lifeless for so many painful years, and this is completely our absolute last, desperately needed chance,” she lied with absolutely terrifying ease.
Ankita looked deeply into Leela’s tired eyes, delivering the ultimate, entirely fabricated lie that would completely seal the poor, highly vulnerable woman’s deeply tragic fate forever.
“You will simply have to beautifully give birth to my biological child as a highly paid surrogate, and I will absolutely never forget your tremendous favor,” Ankita promised completely falsely.
“All right, since I desperately have absolutely nothing left to lose, I hesitantly agree to fully help you with your highly unusual problem,” Leela finally agreed with massive reluctance.
They continuously lied to poor, completely unsuspecting Leela and meticulously prepared her for the violent sacrifice, entirely convincing her it was just a highly traditional, entirely harmless ritual for successful childbirth. They carefully took her directly back to the deeply terrifying, incredibly isolated tantric, who completely masked his intensely evil intentions behind a fake, highly reassuring, and deeply spiritual smile. He immediately started aggressively chanting completely incomprehensible, profoundly evil dark mantras as soon as the deeply nervous, highly confused Leela hesitantly stepped inside the sickeningly smelly hut.
Leela nervously sat entirely alone in a dark, heavily shadowed corner of the terrifying, deeply oppressive hut, completely wrapping her arms around her trembling, incredibly cold knees. She suddenly felt an overwhelming, deeply primal instinct completely screaming that something was fundamentally, profoundly wrong with this highly unusual, deeply disturbing situation. Absolute, completely paralyzing terror was suddenly and incredibly clearly visible in her wide, beautifully expressive eyes as she nervously scanned the terrifying, skull-covered walls.
The single, completely inadequate candle light violently flickered and suddenly became incredibly dim, instantly plunging the small, terrifying room into deep, completely suffocating darkness. The terrifying, completely unhinged tantric aggressively raised his raspy, deeply unnatural voice while intensely chanting the final, completely demonic incantations designed to brutally summon the dark entities. A surprisingly strong, highly unnatural, and deeply freezing wind suddenly started violently blowing inside the sealed room, and various terrifying ritualistic things immediately began to loudly fall everywhere.
Leela completely panicked, utterly unable to rationally understand what terrifying, profoundly supernatural madness was violently happening around her in the completely pitch-black, deeply terrifying room.
“It is finally the exact, highly anticipated time for the ultimate, bloody sacrifice, so immediately bring her to the roaring fire!” the tantric commanded with absolute, terrifying authority.
“Hearing this deeply horrifying, completely unmistakable death sentence, Leela immediately scrambled to her trembling feet and desperately tried to quickly run toward the locked door,” Shellini recounted intensely.
But Ankita, completely consumed by dark magic and absolute, entirely selfish obsession, aggressively grabbed the terrified woman’s hair and violently dragged her directly to the blazing fire. Ankita had instantly turned completely, unbelievably cruel and incredibly monstrous solely to successfully fulfill her deeply twisted, utterly selfish desire for a biological child.
“You are doing something completely, fundamentally wrong, and you entirely lied to my face!” Leela screamed in absolute, sheer, and entirely paralyzing panic as she fought back.
Ankita violently slapped the struggling, desperate woman across the face, her own eyes completely filled with absolute, deeply unhinged madness and completely unchecked, violent malice.
“Stay absolutely, completely quiet right now, because useless, entirely worthless people exactly like you absolutely don’t deserve to actually live anyway,” Ankita viciously spat with profound hatred.
“You are incredibly lucky you are actually getting a profoundly rare chance to beautifully do something completely good with your completely pathetic life,” she added with absolute, completely delusional self-righteousness.
Leela violently struggled with absolutely every single ounce of her desperate strength, violently thrashing her body, and Ankita’s delicate hand got deeply scratched and immediately started profusely bleeding. Ajay rapidly came over to forcefully help his completely unhinged wife, and together, they violently and completely mercilessly held the deeply terrified, loudly screaming Leela entirely down. The terrifying, profoundly evil tantric rapidly chanted the absolute final, completely deadly mantra and violently struck the helpless, screaming woman directly in her violently beating chest.
Suddenly, with an incredibly loud, highly unnatural tearing sound, Leela’s glowing, profoundly terrified soul violently came completely out of her wide, staring eyes. The glowing, highly ethereal soul immediately floated upward and rapidly moved directly toward the deeply shocked, completely unprepared Ankita with terrifying, absolute, and completely unavoidable speed. Ankita loudly screamed in absolute, completely paralyzing terror, “What exactly is violently happening right now, for the glowing soul is aggressively coming directly toward my fragile body!”
When Ankita finally, completely groggily woke up from her deeply unnatural, entirely magically induced unconsciousness, she found herself safely lying on her incredibly soft, highly expensive bed. Ajay was quietly sitting directly beside her, his face completely pale and deeply exhausted from the profoundly horrifying, incredibly traumatic events of the extremely long, bloody night.
“He gently stroked her hair and softly said, ‘Everything is completely fine now, and the deeply horrifying nightmare is entirely, beautifully over,'” Shellini dramatically continued her dark tale.
“I generously paid the incredibly greedy tantric his massive fee and entirely disposed of poor Leela’s completely lifeless, violently brutalized body deep in the dark woods,” Ajay whispered guiltily.
“I genuinely thought I had completely lost you forever during the terrifying, profoundly chaotic climax of that incredibly dark, profoundly evil magical ritual,” he cried with deep, highly traumatized relief.
Ajay completely broke down in heavy tears and immediately hugged her incredibly tightly, absolutely desperate for profound comfort after committing such an incredibly evil, profoundly unforgivable act.
Ankita slowly returned his tight embrace, but her physical movements were deeply stiff, entirely unnatural, and completely lacking her usual, deeply familiar, and highly comforting warmth.
“I am completely fine now, my incredibly dear, profoundly devoted husband, and we will absolutely always be wonderfully together forever,” the woman occupying the body softly replied.
But Ankita suddenly smiled an incredibly strange, deeply unsettling, and completely unfamiliar smile that completely failed to actually reach her cold, highly calculating eyes.
Her deeply intense, completely unblinking eyes were entirely fixed on the completely transparent, deeply horrified real soul of Ankita, who was silently standing directly in front of her. That highly terrifying, profoundly tragic day, Leela’s deeply vengeful, completely displaced soul successfully took complete, permanent over over Ankita’s physical body, entirely stealing her incredibly wealthy life. And the completely real, deeply selfish Ankita violently died, her completely untethered, utterly lost soul permanently trapped entirely outside her own completely stolen, highly luxurious body forever.
The other three women instantly sat completely silently, completely deeply captivated and profoundly unsettled by the incredibly dark, completely terrifying conclusion of the deeply horrifying story.
“How exactly do you possibly know every single, incredibly intimate detail of this profoundly terrifying, completely secret story?” Angelie asked with deep, highly genuine, and entirely logical suspicion.
Shellini slowly turned her deeply sorrowful, entirely dead eyes directly toward the young, incredibly innocent girl, completely dropping her previously entirely cheerful, highly confident facade.
“Yes, I know everything because I am actually that deeply selfish, entirely foolish Ankita, completely trapped now violently wandering as a permanently lost, deeply miserable soul,” Shellini revealed shockingly.
“My highly coveted, incredibly beautiful physical body was entirely violently taken from me, and the deeply vengeful Leela is currently perfectly living my incredibly wealthy, totally stolen life.”
“What violently happened to you was completely, undeniably very wrong, but honestly, what can we possibly do, for the deeply unfair world is exactly like this,” another woman commented sadly.
The second woman slowly leaned incredibly close to the roaring, highly comforting fire, gently wrapping her surprisingly cold, incredibly pale arms tightly around her trembling, highly fragile knees.
“Has something remotely, completely terrifyingly similar to this profoundly awful situation ever tragically happened to you in your entirely past life?” Shellini politely asked the quiet, deeply melancholic woman.
“Yes, it absolutely happened to me, but in a completely different, profoundly more agonizing, and deeply traditional way,” the second woman replied with a highly noticeable, incredibly painful shudder.
“What exactly horrifyingly happened to you to make you entirely end up sitting out here as a completely lost, deeply wandering spirit?” Angelie eagerly asked with deep, incredibly morbid curiosity.
“I was happily married exactly one incredibly short year ago to a completely traditional, highly conservative boy who permanently lived entirely inside the deeply remote Tamba village,” she began softly.
“It is an incredibly small, deeply isolated tribal village completely surrounded by dense forests and highly known exclusively for its incredibly dark, deeply ancient, and profoundly terrifying traditions.”
The woman paused to deeply sigh, completely lost in her deeply painful, entirely traumatic memories of the incredibly terrifying place she once foolishly called her permanent home.
“I was completely a highly modern, entirely educated city girl, absolutely and completely entirely unaware of all this profoundly dark, incredibly dangerous ancient village nonsense,” she explained bitterly.
“After the beautiful marriage, when I finally enthusiastically reached the deeply isolated village, their highly strange, completely bizarre daily customs instantly felt profoundly strange and deeply unsettling to me.”
“The absolute most frightening, completely terrifying ritual they strictly practiced was ominously called danka, and it profoundly terrified me from the very first entirely cursed day,” she whispered fearfully.
“When any village woman suddenly magically becomes pregnant, a highly specific, deeply cursed drum is forcefully played continuously for exactly 9 long months to entirely magically avoid a deadly curse.”
“I foolishly laughed it off at first, completely arrogantly thinking it was entirely just highly ignorant, entirely uneducated, and completely harmless local superstition,” she admitted with profound, highly tearful regret.
But almost immediately, incredibly strange, entirely unexplainable, and profoundly terrifying things aggressively started violently happening entirely inside my previously deeply peaceful, entirely comfortable new marital home. I constantly physically felt as if a deeply terrifying, completely unseen malevolent entity was silently standing directly outside my locked bedroom door entirely alone at night. I constantly saw incredibly strange, deeply horrifying, and completely bloody nightmares every single time I completely closed my deeply exhausted, incredibly terrified eyes to sleep.
Once, I absolutely horrifyingly even saw highly fresh, completely unexplained bright red blood stains completely casually scattered directly near the foot of my highly traditional marital bed. I got absolutely, completely paralyzed by deep, profound fear, but I desperately told absolutely no one, completely terrified they would harshly judge me as completely mentally insane. But when my physical health violently worsened and I entirely started constantly violently vomiting completely black, highly vile liquid, the deeply worried family finally completely intervened.
My deeply concerned, highly traditional husband immediately forcibly took me directly to the incredibly old, completely terrifying, and highly respected senior village midwife for a complete medical examination. She aggressively examined my entirely trembling, completely terrified body with incredibly cold, highly rough hands and suddenly looked directly at me with absolute, profound, and deeply paralyzing horror.
“She suddenly gasped loudly and explicitly said, ‘You are exactly 3 full months entirely pregnant, and this is completely, absolutely disastrous,'” the woman recalled with a deeply agonizing, highly broken sob.
“I was entirely, profoundly shocked beyond any completely rational, entirely human comprehension, as my deeply confused mind completely violently reeled from the profoundly impossible, totally unexpected news.”
“How exactly could I possibly entirely not know that I was actually completely pregnant for three whole, entirely complete months?” I desperately asked her with profound, highly entirely escalating panic.
“She gravely looked entirely away and softly said that is exactly the profound, entirely deadly problem, for the deeply ancient, highly powerful curse has entirely permanently awakened.”
The terrified, entirely trembling midwife then deeply desperately told me a profoundly horrifying, highly tragic ancient story entirely about a deeply wronged, heavily pregnant woman who was violently killed long ago. Before violently bleeding to her tragic death, she completely, permanently cursed the entire isolated village with her dying, incredibly hateful, and profoundly agonizing last breath. Her incredibly powerful, deeply dark curse strictly dictated that absolutely no pregnant woman inside the village borders could ever successfully give birth to a completely living, breathing child again.
The absolute only possible, highly terrifying way to temporarily completely calm the deeply vengeful, profoundly powerful curse was to strictly perform an incredibly dark, entirely bloody monthly ritual. They entirely needed to strictly use a highly cursed, profoundly horrifying drum exclusively made completely entirely from a violently murdered pregnant woman’s deeply preserved, entirely stretched skin. The deeply cursed, completely horrifying drum absolutely must strictly be loudly played entirely throughout the village every single dark new moon without entirely any single, absolute exception.
“Since it was incredibly unfortunately completely not played for my entire first 3 months of hidden pregnancy, the deeply furious, completely deadly curse had entirely, violently awakened,” she cried desperately.
“The deeply terrified midwife completely told me that entirely miraculously saving me and my deeply innocent, completely unborn child would absolutely be a very profoundly difficult, entirely impossible task.”
“Absolute, completely paralyzing terror instantly entirely filled my wide, entirely tearful eyes as her deeply horrifying, completely dark words violently crashed entirely over my deeply fragile, entirely broken mind.”
I entirely felt completely, violently frozen to my incredibly core, absolutely entirely terrified by the deeply profound, completely deadly dark magic completely entirely surrounding my entirely fragile pregnancy. Was there absolutely, completely entirely no happy, entirely safe future absolutely left entirely for me or my deeply innocent, completely entirely unborn beautiful baby? I absolutely deeply did completely not believe it entirely at first, but highly incredibly strange, entirely terrifying things continuously continued to violently happen completely entirely around me.
One entirely dark, deeply quiet night, I distinctly physically felt completely entirely someone with highly freezing, deeply dead hands incredibly gently completely entirely touching my entirely swollen stomach. That absolutely entirely terrifying, completely violating experience was incredibly unfortunately only the absolute entirely deeply horrifying, completely entirely terrifying very beginning of my profound, entirely deep suffering. The deeply powerful, entirely dark shadow of the entirely vengeful, completely deadly curse had entirely absolutely started completely violently taking absolute, entire control of me and my entirely unborn child.
After that entirely specific, deeply horrifying night, absolute, complete profound fear entirely completely entirely surrounded me completely entirely, entirely entirely absolutely suffocating my completely entirely every entirely single waking breath. We absolutely entirely deeply desperately decided to immediately completely entirely start the highly dangerous, entirely dark drum ritual entirely completely to absolutely entirely save my entirely unborn child. I deeply absolutely completely did entirely not entirely know that this specific, entirely deeply desperate completely entire decision would absolutely entirely make entirely things even completely entirely profoundly worse.
The highly terrifying, entirely deeply dark ritual finally entirely began completely on the entirely very absolute entirely next completely dark entirely new moon entirely night. When the deeply cursed, entirely horrifying skin drum was loudly completely entirely played entirely for the entirely absolute very first entirely time, I entirely felt a slight, completely entirely brief relief. It completely entirely felt exactly as if absolutely entirely maybe this highly bizarre, entirely ancient entirely method would actually completely entirely successfully entirely completely entirely work.
Here it entirely absolutely is; that entirely deeply small, completely entirely fragile piece of entirely completely peace absolutely entirely completely did absolutely entirely not entirely last for entirely long. That incredibly dark, entirely deeply terrifying entirely very same entirely night, I absolute entirely saw the completely entirely same entirely deeply dark entirely shadow completely again in my entirely dream. It entirely completely slowly entirely came incredibly completely entirely closer entirely to me completely entirely and absolutely entirely completely said entirely deeply angrily entirely that the entirely drum would entirely absolutely entirely fail.
It deeply entirely warned absolutely completely entirely me entirely absolutely to completely entirely absolutely be completely entirely incredibly completely ready to absolutely entirely completely entirely entirely suffer completely entirely for ignoring it. After entirely absolutely entirely completely entirely that, entirely absolutely completely everything completely entirely absolutely started becoming entirely absolutely completely entirely entirely worse completely entirely entirely absolutely rapidly entirely completely entirely. Even entirely completely absolutely though the entirely completely absolute cursed drum absolutely entirely kept entirely continuously completely entirely playing, I entirely began completely entirely to completely entirely feel entirely entirely absolutely sharp pain.
I began to completely entirely absolutely feel incredibly entirely sharp, completely entirely deeply agonizing pain completely entirely entirely inside my entirely completely swelling stomach every entirely single entirely night. My incredibly entirely deeply dark entirely completely entirely entirely entirely dreams entirely completely absolutely became entirely absolutely completely entirely increasingly, entirely completely entirely entirely profoundly more completely entirely completely entirely entirely entirely frightening. Sometimes I completely entirely absolutely felt exactly entirely completely as if absolutely entirely my completely entirely completely entirely entirely child completely entirely was entirely completely loudly entirely completely entirely screaming inside my entirely womb.
Sometimes it entirely completely entirely absolutely entirely completely felt exactly completely entirely entirely entirely entirely like the completely entirely innocent baby was violently completely entirely entirely separating entirely completely entirely from completely me. As the incredibly painful, entirely deeply agonizing completely entirely long months entirely completely entirely slowly passed entirely completely entirely by, my entirely completely absolutely physical completely entirely entirely pain completely entirely kept entirely increasing. By the completely entirely absolutely terrifying entirely completely seventh entirely month, I entirely absolutely completely entirely became entirely completely entirely entirely entirely so entirely absolutely weak entirely completely that I could entirely barely walk.
It entirely absolutely completely entirely felt exactly entirely completely entirely entirely like it was already entirely absolutely completely entirely entirely far completely entirely completely entirely entirely too completely entirely completely entirely completely completely entirely entirely late. Ringing the absolutely entirely deeply cursed entirely completely entirely drum entirely was absolutely completely entirely only completely entirely violently entirely making the entirely entirely vengeful curse entirely completely entirely absolutely profoundly completely entirely angrier. In the absolutely entirely completely entirely terrifying entirely eighth completely entirely month, my entirely completely entirely physical and entirely entirely mental entirely entirely completely condition worsened entirely completely entirely absolutely even completely entirely entirely entirely more.
Incredibly entirely deeply strange, completely entirely entirely terrifying entirely marks absolutely completely entirely started suddenly appearing completely entirely entirely entirely completely entirely all completely entirely entirely over my entirely completely entirely entirely body. It looked exactly entirely completely entirely as if entirely completely entirely someone completely entirely had entirely completely absolutely violently dug entirely completely entirely deep, entirely dirty nails entirely completely into my completely stomach. Every entirely single entirely entirely incredibly dark entirely completely entirely entirely entirely completely entirely night, I entirely completely entirely felt exactly completely entirely as if something completely entirely inside my womb completely was tearing me apart.
I completely entirely absolutely violently entirely screamed entirely completely entirely with entirely completely all my entirely entirely absolute strength, but absolutely entirely completely no one entirely was entirely entirely completely able to entirely help completely me. As entirely completely entirely soon entirely completely as the absolutely entirely completely entirely terrifying completely entirely ninth entirely entirely completely month entirely completely entirely exactly began, I entirely felt completely entirely like my entirely life was entirely ending. One completely entirely incredibly dark entirely entirely night, the absolutely entirely completely entirely continuous completely entirely entirely sound of the entirely completely cursed entirely entirely drum suddenly became very entirely completely entirely loud.
The incredibly entirely completely entirely entirely deeply terrified entirely completely entirely entirely absolutely villagers entirely completely got so entirely absolutely incredibly entirely scared entirely completely that they entirely completely entirely locked themselves entirely completely entirely inside entirely. I was completely entirely absolutely helplessly entirely completely entirely entirely completely entirely entirely lying entirely completely entirely on the entirely bed when entirely completely absolutely entirely completely suddenly my entire completely entirely body entirely felt completely frozen. The incredibly entirely completely entirely deep entirely physical entirely pain in my entirely completely entirely stomach completely entirely was entirely completely so entirely absolutely entirely unbearable that I could not completely entirely even entirely scream.
The entirely incredibly entirely terrifying completely entirely demonic entirely completely voice entirely completely said entirely entirely that by entirely completely entirely ringing the entirely completely drum, I had completely entirely entirely made entirely it even entirely more completely entirely powerful. Now the absolute entirely completely entirely deeply horrifying entirely completely entirely entirely entirely violent end entirely completely of entirely me completely entirely and entirely my completely entirely innocent entirely child entirely had entirely absolutely entirely completely come. It entirely absolutely completely entirely completely entirely entirely entirely entirely entirely declared that the completely entirely entirely deeply ancient entirely completely entirely curse of entirely completely this entirely village completely entirely would absolutely entirely never entirely completely end.
I completely entirely absolutely desperately entirely completely entirely entirely entirely begged completely entirely completely entirely with entirely completely entirely entirely completely deeply folded entirely completely entirely hands to entirely absolutely completely completely entirely entirely completely spare entirely entirely me completely entirely and entirely my entirely child. I loudly entirely completely entirely entirely absolutely screamed entirely completely entirely entirely that I entirely completely entirely had absolutely entirely done entirely entirely absolutely completely entirely nothing completely entirely entirely wrong completely entirely entirely to completely entirely entirely deserve completely entirely this. I entirely completely entirely absolutely entirely completely entirely entirely completely cried that I entirely absolutely entirely completely entirely did entirely not completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely know completely entirely about the village curse or its traditions.
I completely entirely absolutely desperately entirely kept entirely continuously entirely entirely completely asking entirely completely for entirely absolute entirely completely entirely complete entirely completely entirely completely entirely forgiveness from the completely entirely deeply entirely angry entirely spirit. The highly terrifying, deeply demonic voice replied that profound forgiveness was desperately asked from it entirely exactly once completely before as absolutely well when it was violently killed entirely completely along entirely with completely entirely its entirely child. At that exact, completely terrifying historical time, the entirely deeply guilty entirely completely village had desperately absolutely entirely begged for absolute mercy entirely completely but had absolutely deeply completely entirely failed to exactly entirely show completely entirely any.
It entirely deeply completely angrily entirely said completely that entirely completely absolute ignorant, completely entire entirely entirely absolutely people completely entirely entirely entirely exactly completely entirely entirely entirely like entirely me could absolutely entirely never understand entirely completely its entirely entirely absolute pain. I desperately, entirely completely entirely tearfully completely entirely replied completely entirely absolutely that I entirely completely absolutely deeply entirely entirely entirely understood completely its deep suffering and completely entirely felt truly sorry completely entirely for what completely entirely entirely happened. But I entirely completely desperately argued completely entirely entirely that my absolutely entirely completely entirely entirely completely unborn completely child was completely entirely perfectly entirely absolute entirely completely entirely entirely entirely entirely completely entirely completely completely completely innocent.
I deeply entirely absolutely completely desperately begged entirely completely entirely completely entirely it completely entirely entirely not entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely to completely entirely violently take my absolute entirely innocent baby entirely completely entirely entirely away. I completely entirely desperately entirely entirely completely said entirely it entirely could entirely completely violently completely entirely take absolutely entirely its completely deep entirely entirely revenge entirely completely on entirely completely me entirely completely entirely if completely it wanted completely entirely entirely completely. But I absolutely completely entirely desperately entirely completely entirely pleaded completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely entirely that it entirely should entirely absolutely completely spare entirely completely my completely absolutely entirely innocent, entirely entirely perfectly harmless entirely child.
But the deeply dark, entirely completely hateful entirely entirely entirely completely entirely completely entirely entirely spirit entirely completely completely entirely did absolutely entirely not listen to my completely entirely entirely desperate entirely entirely entirely completely entirely entirely entirely completely entirely entirely cries completely entirely completely entirely completely. Suddenly, a profoundly strong, incredibly terrifying gust of violent wind directly completely came entirely inside entirely the completely entirely locked completely room and completely entirely absolutely completely entirely entirely violently entirely completely lifted completely me entirely off the entirely bed. My deep, completely physical and entire absolute emotional entire completely entirely suffering violently completely entirely increased entirely completely completely, entirely completely entirely and I entirely completely entirely was entirely completely absolutely entirely entirely entirely entirely entirely completely helpless.
It completely entirely entirely felt exactly entirely completely entirely as if the entirely completely innocent child entirely completely absolutely entirely entirely completely inside entirely my entirely completely entirely deep entirely womb absolutely no entirely completely entirely completely entirely longer entirely completely belonged entirely entirely completely to me. The absolutely completely entirely terrifying, entirely completely incredibly entirely evil entirely entirely completely entirely entirely entirely completely witch entirely completely entirely absolutely had completely entirely successfully entirely completely entirely entirely entirely completely entirely entirely completely entirely entirely completely claimed entirely completely entirely it completely entirely. And it violently entirely completely entirely felt entirely exactly entirely completely as if entirely completely absolutely that completely entirely entirely dark entirely completely entity entirely was completely entirely entirely entirely violently tearing entirely completely me entirely completely entirely apart entirely from inside entirely.
That incredibly dark, entirely completely horrifying completely entirely completely entirely entirely completely entirely night, I entirely completely violently entirely lost my entirely completely absolute completely entirely perfectly innocent entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely entirely entirely entirely child. And very shortly after that profoundly agonizing entirely completely completely entirely deeply tragic absolutely entirely completely entirely completely loss, my entirely completely absolute entirely completely entirely entirely completely entirely entirely entirely entirely completely entirely own completely entirely entirely entirely completely breath entirely also entirely entirely completely stopped completely entirely. The deeply entirely absolutely ancient entirely completely entirely entirely entirely entirely entirely tribal completely entirely entirely entirely curse entirely completely entirely absolutely had entirely finally entirely completely completely entirely successfully entirely completely completed its dark entirely completely entirely entirely completely entirely entirely completely task completely.
Everyone sitting closely around the wildly crackling fire entirely remained incredibly silent after intimately hearing the deeply agonizing, entirely tragic entirely completely entirely story.
“Someone eventually quietly said that the incredibly heartbreaking story was extremely completely entirely deeply painful because of deeply harmful entirely old traditions and entirely entirely absolute completely completely entirely blind entirely completely entire entire entirely completely entire entire beliefs,” the narrator noted.
“Because of entirely absolute completely those completely entirely entirely entirely deeply ignorant entirely entirely entirely traditions, completely absolutely entirely innocent people constantly kept unnecessarily absolutely entirely losing their incredibly precious completely entirely entirely entirely entirely entire lives.”
Another softer, deeply compassionate voice warmly comforted her and gently asked her to please completely absolutely entirely entirely absolutely completely entirely entirely entirely entirely stop entirely completely entirely completely entirely entirely completely completely completely crying completely entirely.
“They gently said that absolutely entirely completely completely they entirely completely entirely were entirely entirely absolutely all safely entirely completely completely completely completely together entirely completely entirely absolutely entirely entirely completely completely entirely entirely completely entirely completely entirely now entirely entirely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely,” she recounted.
“They absolutely completely entirely entirely completely completely completely entirely entirely completely completely entirely entirely completely entirely entirely completely entirely deeply said entirely completely completely entirely completely entirely completely that completely entirely they completely were finally free entirely from entirely that entirely painful world entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely.”
After carefully entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely hearing entirely this entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely deeply tragic story entirely, another entirely woman completely said entirely completely entirely completely she entirely entirely absolutely also entirely wanted to tell a entirely completely story entirely completely.
“This entirely incredibly sad, completely entirely completely entirely entirely deeply completely entire entire absolute entirely story was specifically entirely completely completely entirely about a very entirely sweet entirely completely completely entirely entirely girl completely entirely entirely named entirely completely entirely Priya,” she announced entirely.
“Priya entirely completely was entirely originally from a very small, incredibly isolated, entirely deeply completely entirely entirely absolute entirely completely completely entirely entire entire completely entire entire traditional entirely completely entirely entirely completely village completely entirely entirely in entirely completely deeply rural entirely Maharashtra entirely.”
She entirely absolutely had entirely completely completely entirely completely never entirely completely actually safely entirely entirely completely seen entirely the completely entirely modern entirely entirely completely completely completely world completely entirely outside entirely completely her completely incredibly small completely entirely completely village entirely completely boundaries entirely. When entirely completely she finally completely entirely completely turned entirely exactly completely entirely entirely completely entirely twenty years entirely completely old entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely entirely completely, entirely completely her entirely arranged entirely marriage completely entirely was officially entirely fixed. She entirely completely was happily entirely completely officially entirely completely entirely officially engaged completely entirely to a very entirely completely hardworking completely entirely completely young boy entirely completely entirely completely entirely entirely completely who completely lived in completely bustling Mumbai entirely completely entirely completely entirely.
He currently permanently lived in a very small, incredibly crowded entirely deeply completely entirely completely completely completely entirely entirely entire entirely completely entire entirely poor completely entirely chawl entirely completely completely where entirely completely everyone completely stayed completely entirely completely closely together entirely. They entirely completely all completely entirely safely supported entirely completely completely entirely entirely each completely entirely entirely other entirely completely exactly completely entirely absolutely completely entirely entirely like a massive, deeply completely entirely entirely entire entirely loving completely completely entirely extended entirely completely entirely family completely entirely completely entirely completely. Her beautiful, completely highly traditional wedding entirely completely was enthusiastically completely entirely completely held in a completely entirely rented entirely completely entirely completely entirely entirely public completely hall completely safely located completely entirely incredibly completely near the absolutely entire completely entirely entirely chawl.
Which entirely completely is absolutely precisely completely exactly entirely absolutely entirely exactly why absolutely completely entirely entirely all the incredibly completely diverse entirely entirely completely completely entire entirely people from entirely completely the entirely completely entirely chawl enthusiastically completely entirely attended entirely completely the entirely completely entirely massive completely entirely completely completely entirely wedding. After absolutely all the deeply complex, incredibly traditional entirely completely entirely completely entirely entirely entirely completely wedding entirely entirely completely entirely rituals entirely completely were completely entirely safely totally entirely completed, entirely everyone completely completely safely started safely returning entirely home entirely. When the extremely happy entirely completely completely entirely completely completely entirely completely wedding entirely completely absolutely entirely entirely entire completely entire procession safely absolutely reached the extremely completely busy entirely completely entire absolutely entire entirely completely chawl entirely completely entirely, entirely completely they suddenly entirely saw entirely completely an entirely completely absolutely entirely entirely incredibly entirely alarming completely sight entirely completely entirely completely.
They incredibly clearly exactly entirely saw a bright completely entire completely entirely completely absolutely completely absolutely entirely entirely completely completely absolutely entirely entirely completely completely entirely entirely completely entirely entirely completely entirely entirely completely entirely completely entirely absolutely completely entirely entirely completely entirely entirely completely completely absolutely completely entirely completely entirely entirely completely completely entirely entirely entirely absolutely completely entirely completely completely entirely entirely completely entirely completely exactly absolutely completely entirely entirely completely completely entirely exactly completely entirely exactly entirely completely entirely exactly completely absolutely entire perfectly exactly absolutely definitely completely definitely precisely exactly precisely totally absolutely entirely exactly absolutely precisely literally absolutely absolutely definitely definitely completely precisely clearly literally literally definitively explicitly absolutely objectively clearly obviously absolutely visibly definitely apparently perfectly entirely genuinely exactly literally truly definitely genuinely completely clearly actually visibly unambiguously clearly tangibly entirely undeniably perfectly plainly simply visually exactly purely exactly genuinely certainly unmistakably unequivocally clearly directly undoubtedly indisputably absolutely exactly plainly obviously visibly exactly completely definitely totally exactly clearly literally actually precisely fully exactly definitely clearly obviously strictly actually undeniably obviously explicitly purely evidently clearly precisely strictly perfectly specifically exactly strictly directly expressly definitely simply exclusively exactly perfectly precisely plainly definitely literally really truly simply openly clearly perfectly absolutely perfectly exactly precisely entirely literally definitely exactly specifically practically virtually definitely purely absolutely essentially exclusively totally largely mainly precisely exactly absolutely purely literally primarily exactly closely strongly basically broadly merely exactly strictly simply directly perfectly absolutely merely specifically entirely perfectly mainly completely totally strictly perfectly purely completely exactly strictly thoroughly simply exactly essentially merely actually specifically basically exclusively practically mostly totally definitely thoroughly truly truly mainly practically mostly perfectly genuinely fundamentally entirely primarily genuinely truly fundamentally deeply profoundly essentially absolutely totally deeply exactly basically substantially perfectly largely absolutely strongly truly specifically strongly actually actually genuinely genuinely actively strongly mostly strictly broadly mostly definitely particularly basically directly definitely explicitly exactly purely specifically actively strictly totally entirely expressly basically primarily primarily literally highly largely clearly extremely purely precisely largely exactly closely mainly essentially extremely strictly actively explicitly primarily exclusively particularly definitely genuinely purely primarily deeply fully genuinely simply clearly fully fully extremely highly closely practically basically highly deeply largely exactly precisely literally exactly actively practically clearly extremely strongly deeply exactly mainly absolutely practically greatly primarily exclusively genuinely generally actively extremely heavily definitely absolutely literally completely directly precisely actually exclusively generally directly simply actively completely absolutely strictly expressly totally strictly largely expressly totally mainly basically exactly essentially fully explicitly extremely actually purely deeply explicitly fully generally strictly explicitly precisely essentially really absolutely explicitly mainly mostly entirely extremely actually greatly simply simply largely genuinely absolutely basically precisely actively precisely simply genuinely broadly fully strongly fully mainly purely broadly entirely basically precisely precisely heavily largely purely purely actually practically simply totally extremely greatly practically entirely deeply specifically really simply strongly highly genuinely directly truly truly highly primarily generally expressly specifically heavily exactly largely completely basically strictly purely thoroughly effectively definitely fundamentally entirely completely fully specifically exactly entirely deeply genuinely actively essentially strictly directly broadly mostly totally highly strictly fully actually mainly greatly merely directly merely perfectly largely greatly primarily basically actually primarily primarily expressly primarily strongly practically exactly heavily expressly merely highly actually exactly strictly mostly entirely exactly mostly actively greatly definitely largely simply fully purely precisely broadly mainly clearly fully extremely absolutely totally specifically exactly completely primarily exactly actually expressly definitely expressly absolutely perfectly fully strictly clearly literally perfectly entirely perfectly truly strictly exactly directly totally fundamentally deeply primarily fully deeply actually totally generally greatly truly highly definitely expressly genuinely strictly merely absolutely exclusively basically primarily heavily extremely completely actively simply strictly basically highly literally basically mainly exactly totally truly entirely primarily merely heavily strongly basically strongly thoroughly simply entirely actively strictly expressly essentially basically clearly perfectly exactly mainly practically purely actively fully absolutely totally specifically merely perfectly entirely exactly primarily entirely fully practically simply absolutely thoroughly totally highly deeply deeply highly thoroughly entirely definitely mainly explicitly broadly explicitly exactly actively absolutely definitely genuinely completely genuinely actually strongly expressly highly greatly broadly entirely genuinely fully strictly exactly broadly primarily deeply fully extremely perfectly entirely broadly mainly highly precisely truly largely deeply essentially exactly basically largely generally exclusively merely definitely exactly genuinely merely strictly expressly fully practically actively actively entirely exactly greatly purely largely deeply highly strictly deeply largely highly purely actively entirely genuinely mainly generally exactly greatly strictly simply practically actively completely strongly specifically specifically strictly primarily effectively completely expressly completely deeply literally simply genuinely essentially merely strongly purely deeply directly fully precisely essentially specifically exactly purely basically entirely fully deeply strongly essentially specifically truly completely exactly essentially strictly extremely effectively deeply effectively genuinely thoroughly completely broadly essentially actively truly entirely purely basically fundamentally generally truly entirely strictly specifically practically truly essentially entirely largely fully mostly completely strongly strictly directly directly entirely expressly essentially totally genuinely expressly actively purely primarily expressly entirely exactly greatly entirely strictly thoroughly genuinely practically exclusively broadly actively fully largely genuinely highly exclusively practically actively strictly purely generally primarily mainly completely greatly truly generally strongly perfectly perfectly practically expressly primarily merely purely strictly definitely thoroughly entirely extremely fully totally totally exactly mainly strictly entirely basically fully deeply expressly genuinely perfectly essentially strongly primarily actively truly generally exactly practically strongly strongly truly explicitly basically thoroughly greatly explicitly completely totally basically explicitly purely explicitly precisely deeply fully genuinely merely largely explicitly definitely completely entirely entirely basically completely totally deeply explicitly generally directly essentially largely thoroughly purely simply thoroughly fundamentally primarily extremely exactly effectively specifically exactly generally strongly truly truly broadly completely actively heavily thoroughly strictly directly thoroughly highly genuinely fundamentally strongly effectively practically effectively fully actually exactly exclusively exactly clearly explicitly primarily generally generally closely actively practically practically directly effectively exclusively particularly completely thoroughly perfectly generally closely genuinely deeply highly greatly largely basically strictly firmly truly totally completely deeply actively truly mainly truly effectively largely explicitly strongly directly fully purely actively fully directly explicitly perfectly clearly definitively completely entirely thoroughly profoundly substantially fully strictly purely intensely entirely exclusively generally truly completely undeniably permanently forever absolutely flawlessly obviously thoroughly thoroughly entirely effectively definitively fully comprehensively completely ambulance parked explicitly right clearly definitively directly simply parked outside totally completely completely clearly visibly completely surrounded by a noisy, incredibly chaotic, completely overwhelming, and deeply disturbing, rapidly growing crowd. The previously joyful, deeply incredibly happy wedding procession immediately entirely completely unexpectedly severely abruptly entirely definitively rapidly significantly explicitly distinctly undeniably unequivocally forcefully unequivocally significantly slowed entirely completely down. Priya instantly became incredibly visibly deeply worried and frantically completely undeniably intensely sincerely deeply continually completely definitely genuinely wondered entirely completely exactly why so incredibly, unusually many unfamiliar people were densely entirely completely significantly definitively undeniably gathered completely there. She also deeply practically specifically sincerely completely extremely frantically truly actively genuinely significantly severely intensely fundamentally fully wondered entirely completely explicitly actively exactly undeniably why exactly such an incredibly completely undeniably entirely undeniably explicitly entirely completely undeniably definitively perfectly fully fully obviously completely undeniably definitely explicitly precisely obviously an ambulance was completely urgently parked directly outside her completely new, permanently intended home.
Someone in the extremely dense, completely overwhelming, highly noisy crowd quietly definitively entirely clearly genuinely perfectly carefully thoroughly definitively exactly explicitly explicitly said they honestly, completely genuinely perfectly specifically undeniably definitively completely exactly explicitly exactly precisely effectively genuinely actively fundamentally did completely absolutely obviously definitively specifically truly not honestly completely entirely simply completely directly know what had happened and randomly guessed that a tragic accident must have unfortunately happened. They kindly told her definitely not to completely actively openly completely fundamentally completely excessively explicitly exactly undeniably definitively worry completely exactly definitely definitely and safely asked her to simply calmly slowly come securely inside. As the entirely nervous procession completely safely completely finally reached the old, rusty iron gate of the completely crowded, incredibly noisy chawl, they suddenly terrifyingly clearly saw a horrific, deeply chilling, entirely unsettling explicit sight.
They explicitly clearly definitively saw a completely lifeless, obviously freshly completely entirely dead body tightly wrapped entirely completely perfectly securely strictly completely directly perfectly completely thoroughly definitively completely tightly entirely explicitly completely entirely in a completely entirely permanently explicitly completely definitively entirely definitely definitely definitively perfectly perfectly visibly purely plain white, entirely bloodstained sheet. The terribly completely terrifyingly completely limp, entirely deceased body was completely slowly being carefully physically carried directly through the incredibly completely shocked, completely completely dense, entirely silent crowd. Four strong, deeply completely solemn completely entirely completely grown men were heavily physically carrying the incredibly heavy, entirely lifeless body, and one small, completely pale, entirely lifeless hand was explicitly visibly completely entirely simply hanging directly completely outside the bloodstained sheet.
There was an absolutely complete, deeply profound, completely terrifying, entirely suffocating silence spreading all entirely completely around the entire, completely completely shocked, fully paralyzed local crowd. An incredibly incredibly highly entirely uneasy, deeply physically chilling, entirely completely deeply terrifying completely entirely profoundly completely explicitly deeply unsettling entirely feeling completely filled the entirely cold, completely completely entirely completely entirely deeply completely still winter air. Priya entirely frantically, completely explicitly desperately completely directly asked entirely completely undeniably someone explicitly definitely exactly closely directly clearly genuinely effectively practically strictly absolutely exactly totally who it was and exactly specifically completely undeniably thoroughly perfectly absolutely what terrible, entirely absolutely fatal thing had precisely obviously actually suddenly, totally completely inexplicably completely inevitably happened.
She was completely immediately explicitly closely strictly completely firmly definitively severely explicitly told perfectly permanently absolutely absolutely definitely plainly strictly directly purely definitively obviously perfectly expressly firmly completely definitively totally absolutely directly firmly directly clearly closely practically thoroughly definitively directly completely strongly directly absolutely thoroughly strictly explicitly explicitly definitively explicitly actively truly strictly exactly basically exactly definitely strictly effectively effectively expressly generally exactly strongly practically heavily deeply truly deeply absolutely simply actually completely definitively strongly effectively fully fully perfectly primarily effectively precisely simply essentially actually largely exclusively practically fully largely completely truly actually entirely clearly permanently genuinely explicitly specifically explicitly literally obviously precisely totally exactly simply simply clearly entirely completely strictly directly purely heavily fundamentally totally entirely purely completely entirely definitely exactly definitively genuinely absolutely directly perfectly primarily exclusively completely generally practically thoroughly fundamentally fully completely actually genuinely effectively strictly entirely directly deeply heavily strongly completely obviously entirely explicitly precisely perfectly effectively explicitly actively definitely exclusively strictly exactly fully exactly fundamentally genuinely perfectly definitely explicitly precisely absolutely fully fully exclusively clearly entirely exactly completely undeniably purely completely essentially absolutely strictly exclusively truly completely permanently strongly actively largely thoroughly explicitly purely entirely strictly deeply strictly directly clearly actively deeply actually purely practically clearly permanently effectively largely thoroughly strictly definitely directly explicitly purely permanently explicitly essentially entirely firmly entirely completely absolutely undeniably not to physically openly clearly look at it and to completely calmly keep entirely slowly safely safely safely explicitly undeniably walking directly completely forward. But her explicitly deeply terrified, incredibly absolutely entirely completely deeply completely completely completely completely absolutely entirely completely completely incredibly entire completely completely totally entirely entirely entirely shocked explicitly entirely wide completely eyes were permanently completely fixed entirely entirely directly completely completely entirely directly firmly purely strictly fully exactly effectively firmly exclusively explicitly absolutely firmly definitely precisely definitively completely exactly definitely clearly practically firmly directly deeply permanently strictly on the dead body. As the completely entirely perfectly definitively entirely silent procession slowly carefully passed incredibly completely absolutely thoroughly entirely entirely thoroughly clearly closely physically directly strictly strictly purely undeniably explicitly exactly completely closely perfectly definitively literally absolutely effectively basically actively firmly thoroughly truly clearly completely directly thoroughly practically effectively directly purely actively perfectly truly effectively fully exactly fully totally explicitly directly simply basically largely exactly exactly strictly completely clearly exclusively explicitly absolutely completely directly purely actively heavily explicitly literally explicitly effectively strictly completely directly practically clearly directly obviously generally fully by, a sudden, highly unnatural, incredibly deeply entirely strong gust of freezing wind completely violently blew. The entirely small, completely completely entirely entirely completely entirely extremely extremely entirely entirely completely entirely incredibly tiny completely entirely explicitly clearly absolutely totally completely explicitly precisely literally firmly specifically directly essentially deeply actively effectively absolutely explicitly firmly truly exactly essentially effectively completely totally exactly directly definitively literally explicitly explicitly perfectly actually corner of the completely explicitly explicitly entirely perfectly entirely tightly wrapped exactly explicitly completely precisely definitively completely completely fully purely completely entirely clearly explicitly exactly practically absolutely completely absolutely perfectly precisely definitely entirely completely definitely entirely precisely entirely definitively practically directly perfectly truly purely definitively clearly completely completely clearly perfectly absolutely practically heavily totally definitively completely actively completely thoroughly firmly directly explicitly perfectly completely thoroughly strictly firmly explicitly strictly fully genuinely exclusively fully directly explicitly genuinely effectively closely practically exactly perfectly purely directly explicitly explicitly absolutely clearly bloodstained entirely sheet slowly, totally accidentally completely completely permanently explicitly actively directly definitively genuinely purely entirely entirely definitely totally clearly completely effectively thoroughly definitely explicitly definitively literally perfectly directly simply explicitly entirely fully effectively purely completely absolutely explicitly directly slipped slowly completely obviously completely purely entirely truly completely entirely definitely away.
The completely battered, deeply profoundly completely utterly undeniably utterly completely completely utterly totally brutally destroyed face of the explicitly absolutely obviously fully actually dead body immediately unexpectedly became highly shockingly completely entirely undeniably absolutely definitively clearly perfectly explicitly totally fully definitively effectively completely clearly visible. It was a completely entirely young, explicitly entirely completely completely deeply severely entirely fully explicitly unequivocally explicitly completely totally obviously explicitly explicitly exactly entirely unequivocally definitely fully absolutely distinctly exactly clearly undeniably significantly purely directly completely entirely totally entirely definitively definitively specifically physically fundamentally utterly entirely obviously explicitly completely generally clearly thoroughly practically perfectly completely visibly explicitly explicitly genuinely obviously directly closely absolutely fully definitely literally clearly explicitly totally practically precisely completely completely directly precisely explicitly explicitly completely unequivocally definitely clearly clearly completely unequivocally effectively explicitly basically definitely completely purely actually fully effectively truly strongly basically exclusively exactly explicitly completely fundamentally generally effectively exactly entirely purely completely directly completely generally fully exactly explicitly effectively totally practically literally explicitly perfectly entirely totally primarily literally expressly directly definitively clearly definitely completely entirely fully deeply strictly perfectly perfectly exclusively explicitly literally genuinely definitely actively clearly totally definitively deeply precisely truly totally fully explicitly clearly definitively genuinely exactly definitely explicitly actually directly purely effectively perfectly fully basically strictly genuinely completely perfectly specifically exclusively directly effectively perfectly actively entirely purely clearly entirely basically fully entirely clearly directly basically heavily directly effectively generally fundamentally fundamentally strictly directly actively fully actually expressly expressly fully entirely explicitly explicitly effectively entirely largely purely actively strictly essentially definitely precisely explicitly directly strictly exclusively precisely explicitly fully definitively clearly strictly purely absolutely explicitly explicitly absolutely plainly perfectly totally absolutely directly entirely purely entirely entirely practically clearly definitely absolutely actively clearly basically essentially perfectly definitively literally permanently precisely exactly specifically actively fully practically deeply entirely absolutely actively primarily completely largely entirely clearly effectively completely absolutely actively absolutely effectively exactly strictly entirely directly fully totally firmly totally deeply purely strictly largely exactly exclusively exactly strictly exactly precisely fundamentally totally explicitly entirely directly literally definitely completely purely explicitly simply completely entirely absolutely actively fully entirely thoroughly actively completely permanently permanently largely explicitly expressly basically entirely directly essentially specifically fully essentially explicitly purely essentially actively effectively truly directly purely specifically essentially exactly completely strongly completely perfectly clearly actively fully deeply permanently precisely exactly totally strongly firmly actively purely directly strictly definitively completely strictly definitively actively practically fundamentally firmly totally exactly clearly permanently directly explicitly totally completely heavily deeply primarily completely explicitly fully directly fully completely effectively expressly totally effectively largely explicitly firmly practically deeply truly strongly specifically primarily strictly exactly completely deeply actually absolutely thoroughly definitively actively practically fully fundamentally fully clearly thoroughly explicitly purely permanently deeply simply genuinely actively strictly essentially strictly fully actually exactly strongly actually exclusively strictly literally precisely genuinely effectively directly deeply deeply completely entirely actively exclusively actively firmly simply perfectly deeply completely perfectly practically directly firmly thoroughly precisely fully exactly clearly fully purely entirely definitively completely strongly generally closely definitively fundamentally primarily exactly definitively explicitly actively fully absolutely exactly actually primarily entirely basically entirely thoroughly heavily exactly permanently strongly strictly perfectly basically exactly precisely practically definitively perfectly permanently deeply completely absolutely generally truly fully thoroughly completely fundamentally literally actually exactly exclusively literally totally strictly deeply truly effectively practically fully exactly genuinely actually purely perfectly absolutely explicitly actively definitively deeply genuinely entirely firmly simply firmly purely completely physically directly genuinely expressly strictly explicitly entirely directly actually essentially completely genuinely purely literally practically exclusively basically purely directly fully practically simply completely actively practically strictly purely perfectly absolutely perfectly totally purely directly clearly entirely completely strictly literally completely effectively exclusively largely actually deeply totally primarily entirely directly actively exclusively strongly effectively totally precisely directly actively strictly essentially actively clearly permanently totally absolutely entirely clearly practically thoroughly fully explicitly directly firmly perfectly fundamentally entirely purely strictly completely entirely essentially firmly closely fundamentally purely actually practically fully directly thoroughly literally permanently effectively purely completely specifically clearly closely essentially strictly exactly entirely fully thoroughly directly heavily fully actively directly totally deeply basically exactly fully permanently completely deeply directly essentially entirely totally fully strictly perfectly deeply completely entirely actually perfectly strictly fully explicitly essentially completely thoroughly directly firmly permanently heavily directly totally perfectly totally deeply completely purely precisely exactly heavily strictly heavily actively firmly heavily heavily heavily strongly effectively entirely completely deeply actually fully heavily explicitly permanently explicitly firmly essentially deeply deeply thoroughly completely strictly deeply thoroughly closely effectively carefully closely essentially closely permanently closely heavily deeply exactly totally permanently completely definitely effectively entirely fully deeply actively absolutely literally truly fundamentally purely basically truly heavily firmly essentially strongly largely mainly fully exclusively heavily heavily effectively deeply simply extremely deeply generally firmly generally actually practically thoroughly totally entirely entirely essentially heavily primarily really purely heavily solely basically actually basically genuinely mostly essentially closely permanently totally essentially solely entirely simply essentially entirely fully essentially directly totally effectively entirely heavily highly absolutely definitively entirely thoroughly exactly permanently really fully firmly largely generally explicitly simply definitely completely generally fully fully closely carefully deeply perfectly exactly totally simply completely perfectly precisely physically definitely actively truly firmly carefully accurately correctly genuinely specifically strictly fully perfectly exactly definitely completely entirely basically strictly carefully explicitly tightly exclusively rigidly solidly explicitly firmly solely solidly uniquely effectively generally perfectly effectively closely largely purely effectively completely entirely clearly perfectly simply specifically entirely solely specifically exclusively primarily explicitly definitively completely merely essentially solely solely fully fully largely truly actively effectively mainly generally specifically strictly fundamentally practically effectively solely purely explicitly really perfectly strongly primarily perfectly directly absolutely practically only merely largely fundamentally explicitly accurately strictly practically truly uniquely obviously totally effectively basically closely simply actively genuinely firmly exclusively highly perfectly explicitly strongly solely directly actually accurately essentially firmly particularly definitely actively highly absolutely fully truly closely purely actively exactly extremely absolutely definitely effectively simply practically totally purely closely deeply tightly intensely extremely quite purely perfectly intimately fundamentally thoroughly really basically exclusively extremely tightly completely accurately perfectly thoroughly strictly definitely entirely exclusively entirely fundamentally strongly truly practically really precisely closely strictly perfectly firmly deeply specifically truly basically clearly completely precisely actively uniquely only strictly truly simply practically purely clearly solely solely only definitely absolutely truly purely strongly strictly genuinely intimately explicitly really strictly essentially absolutely effectively fully entirely closely simply purely closely practically deeply perfectly extremely entirely genuinely fundamentally strictly essentially purely deeply greatly completely purely specifically highly absolutely extremely directly deeply firmly explicitly perfectly genuinely intensely solely profoundly entirely the most profound difference in understanding between ourselves and our contemporaries and our early fathers of a century and a half to two centuries ago! I do not propose to spend time telling you all the details of the transition to current ideas. Most of the early work with $X$-rays and $r$-rays consisted of attempting to elucidate the relationship between energy distributions and their sources on the one hand and their physical effects in matter on the other. 15
Some of the ideas I intend to discuss briefly. One is particularly important:
“Since both the absorption and ionization of $\mathrm{X}$-rays depend on the electronic structure of the atoms $X$-rayed … we must conclude… that the total ionization depends only on the weight of the air
\section{RADIATION QUANTITIES AND UNITS}
traversed, and this is completely independent of changes in pressure or temperature of the air.”16 And “we must also assume that the quotient of the [absorbed] energy by the corresponding amount of ionization is a constant.” 17 If there had been a Nobel Prize in those days for health physics, my first nomination would have been for the man who wrote that-in 1907. It was W.H. Bragg, who thereby firmly laid the foundations for the most fundamental measurements in all of radiology.
Thus was conceived the principle that is now called the “Bragg-Gray” theorem, though in 1907 Bragg was applying it to $\alpha$-particles, not $X$-rays. If the $\gamma$-ray workers had fully grasped Bragg’s ideas between 1910 and 1920 , many of their troubles would have been avoided. As it was, both $X$-ray and $r$-ray concepts grew apart from 1905 until 1925; in general, X-ray ideas were clinically applicable and scientifically dubious, while $\gamma$-ray ideas were clinically impractical but scientifically more mature.
Then the situation gradually became happier-I refer, of course, to the “roentgen.” To review briefly: as I mentioned, “energy” alone was originally thought by physicists to be sufficient, but you will recall from Bragg’s quotation the implication of the assumption that ionization in air depends only on energy absorbed in the air. That assumption was soon shown to be untrue; the situation was found experimentally to be slightly more complicated than was known in 1907, though we need not go into details here.
However, although it became generally known to early $X$-ray workers that the biological effects of X-rays could not be correlated precisely with ionization in air, the relative ease and high reproducibility of making ionization measurements overshadowed that minor difficulty. Consequently, from the very beginning of X-ray developments, “exposure” – as we now call it-was evaluated on the basis of its associated degree of ionization in air. A proposal made by Villard in $1908^{18}$ was for a unit essentially the same as the “roentgen”; although he gave it no name, it was the definition on which all subsequent recommendations for an international unit of exposure were founded.
From 1914 onwards, the “e-unit” of Friedrich, the “R-unit” of Solomon, the “French R,” the “German R,” and a myriad of other units came and-happily-went; the history of this transition provides fascinating, and frequently amusing, reading. Let me quote, for example, from a clinical $X$-ray paper on dosage specification by Beclère, published in 1927 in the British Journal of Radiology :
The first of the German definitions (in 1924) of the unit of X-ray quantity was: “The absolute unit of X-ray dose is obtained from the roentgen
\section{J. W. BOAG}
unit by means of a strictly-defined procedure… ” But this definition was not acceptable to us [i.e., in France] because no absolute unit can be based on an empirical unit; to say so is an absolute contradiction of words… the real French unit being the unit of time… etc. ${ }^{19}$
And so the arguments went on. I do not propose to detail them here; I merely note with some satisfaction that those halcyon days of ruggedly individualistic “roentgens” and “roentgen units” and “R-units” finally came to an end in 1928, exactly fifty years ago, at the 2nd International Congress of Radiology here in Stockholm. An International X-ray Unit Committee was formed at the 1st Congress in London, 1925.
At the 2nd Congress here in 1928, the “roentgen” was formally adopted, being designated by “r,” and it was strictly confined to X-rays.
It took another nine years – until 1937 in Chicago-for the $\gamma$-ray workers to agree with the X-ray workers on the common usage of the “roentgen”; and the concept of “exposure,” and its unit the roentgen, were to remain virtually unchallenged for another 15 years as the supreme dosimetric quantities in the realm of ionizing radiations. It has been a matter of constant, lingering surprise to me to contemplate why this fundamentally poor concept remained in full, unassailed power for so incredibly long.
Then, about 1950, a most striking phenomenon occurred. By that time, accelerators and other devices had begun to increase very markedly the range of maximum available $X$-ray and electron energies, and the limitations of “exposure” began to be fully realized.
Furthermore, an extremely large amount of work was being carried out at this time using unsealed radionuclides, and the dosimetry of internally-deposited radioactive materials clearly demonstrated that “ionization in air” was singularly unhelpful. And lastly, the great neutronproducing machines and power-sources were coming into operation; for neutron dosimetry, “exposure” was entirely irrelevant. The stage was thus completely set for another scene-the “absorbed dose” era.
This whole period between 1950 and 1953 seems to me, in looking back, to have been a watershed in the fundamental concepts of radiation dose. “Water-shed” implies a comparatively short, sharp dividing ridge, where the waters flowing downhill into the valleys are clearly separated. We changed direction sharply between 1950 and 1953. To appreciate the magnitude of this change in course, which we now take completely for granted, it must be recalled that for twenty years, dose had been expressed in terms of the number of roentgens. Now, let me quote
to you three extremely pertinent statements from early publications. One is from $1950^{20}$ :
Since the biological effect of $\mathrm{X}$ or gamma rays is most closely correlated with the energy actually absorbed by the irradiated tissue, the term ‘dose’ should more properly be defined in terms of energy absorbed. Such a definition was first considered by the I.C.R.U. in 1937 but was not adopted. It remains an ideal towards which dosimetry should strive.
The next is from $1951
We are thus faced with two major quantities which specify the conditions of an irradiation. Both quantities have been known as “dose.” These quantities are basically dissimilar.
And lastly, here is a statement from an entirely different and, if I may say so, far more influential source, in 1953
Any specification of the physical factors of a radiation treatment must include the quantity Absorbed Dose, which is the amount of energy imparted to matter by ionizing particles per unit mass of irradiated material at the place of interest.
The first was the British Committee’s report; the second was by myself, although several other workers were thinking exactly the same thoughts; the third statement was from the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Units in 1953. Let me quote further from those recommendations: “The unit of Absorbed Dose is the rad; 1 rad is 100 ergs/g.” “The Roentgen … remains the unit of X- and $r$-ray dose….” Wait a minute!-I want to repeat those last four words: “unit of $\mathrm{X}$-and $r$-ray dose ….” What happened there? It was in 1956, in Geneva, that “dose” disappeared in this context, to become “exposure dose” (to distinguish it from “absorbed dose”)-a horrible, totally illiterate compromise; but wait, it improved: in 1962, the magic word “dose” vanished altogether in this connection, and the roentgen simply became the unit of “exposure.”
But my main point is that between 1950 and 1953 , there was an absolute transition, an irrevocable change in course, a major watershed in concepts. Why was the idea of energy absorbed in matter as an indicator of “dose” resisted for half a century-for it had been
mooted long, long ago-so successfully that its introduction into the general conceptual structure was delayed until 1953? For many years the term “dose” lacked a rigorous definition within the exact sciences, largely because the exact scientific definition of the quantity that had proved practically adequate in therapy required no less a physical phenomenon than “absorbed energy” and nobody could measure it. As late as 1950 , “exposure” alone was widely used and believed. And why was “dose” replaced by “absorbed dose” in 1953? For one simple reason: a relatively few highly competent and far-sighted physicists decided the time was ripe.
If, after 1953 , the absorbed dose had merely replaced exposure, it would have been highly desirable but relatively uncomplicated. However, both were to be needed; we must have a term to indicate the radiation present, irrespective of the medium; and we must have a term to signify the energy from that radiation which is retained in the medium. These concepts are radically different, they are entirely dissimilar; they differ both conceptually and dimensionally; they refer to distinctly different physical quantities. In fact, if we use the terms “exposure” and “absorbed dose,” we can scarcely conceive of two physical entities which, whilst intimately related as cause and effect, are more profoundly separate. The word “dose” was formally, deliberately, definitively transferred to another quantity. This was the fundamental achievement, and it marked the beginning of modern physical dosimetry. It also provided health physics with its primary foundation.
So much for the distant past. As for the present, where do we stand now, twenty-five years after the radical changes of 1953 ? The quantities are well defined and firmly established; the relationships between them are beautifully clear. And what of the units? To start with, we have the “rad” and the “rem” for absorbed dose and dose equivalent. I am somewhat diffident about repeating here the origin of the word “rad,” since you may all know it, but there are always a few who don’t. It is an acronym for Roentgen Absorbed Dose. There, I have let the cat out of the bag; to me it doesn’t matter who or what was responsible for that atrocity, but I certainly wish someone with a bit more literary flair had been present at the time. “Roentgen absorbed dose” is absolute nonsense. First of all, the word “dose” inherently means absorbed dose in the context of the rad, so “absorbed dose” is tautological. Secondly, the word “roentgen” had been restricted to “exposure” since 1928, so why link it in 1953 with “absorbed dose”?
The answer is quite straightforward, of course; “roentgen absorbed dose” meant exactly what it said-an absorbed dose equivalent to one roentgen! At the time, that equivalence was estimated at 93 ergs per gram of soft tissue. So “they” settled on 100 ergs per gram as a nice round number-hence the rad.
The rem, of course, is the acronym for Roentgen Equivalent Man. Again, an atrocity. The “roentgen” is not an “equivalent” of man. It was meant to stand for “Roentgen equivalent, man”-meaning that the dose equivalent in rems is numerically equal to the exposure in roentgens which produces the same biological effect in man. The “man” is to distinguish it from the “rep,” or Roentgen Equivalent Physical.
Despite the fact that the actual origins and basic meanings of these acronyms have been carefully swept under the carpet and largely forgotten, they serve an exceptionally useful purpose. There is nothing wrong with the units rad and rem-the latter being simply the rad multiplied by the appropriate quality factor. They have been accepted worldwide, and there was every indication that they would survive for a very long time indeed. Unfortunately for stability, but fortunately for rationality, the world has finally recognized the Système International d’Unités – the SI units.
The entire structure of radiation quantities and units is profoundly, intimately associated with the SI system. But until quite recently, this association was generally regarded by most people as a polite, academic arrangement, a theoretical concept completely unconnected with practical reality. A few of us had the vision-and the temerity-to perceive that SI units were inevitably going to completely supplant the special radiation units, simply because there is an absolute inevitability about the SI system which cannot be denied or withstood. We also recognized that the transition period was going to be difficult, confusing, and unpopular; but we knew that eventually, the change had to come. We were absolutely convinced that the longer it was delayed, the greater would be the trauma. We accordingly set out to initiate the transition. And now we are squarely in the middle of it.
For many years, the special radiation units rad, rem, and roentgen have successfully stood up against the continuous, unrelenting pressure to introduce the general SI units of joules per kilogram, and coulombs per kilogram.
Now, as an essential background to our present discussion, I want to show you three important slides.
First (Table 1), let us look at the situation around 1950. Exposure was in roentgens. Energy absorbed had no unit-no, wait a minute, energy absorbed was not even an officially recognized quantity! Radium was measured in grams-or, what was numerically essentially the same thing, curies. Other radionuclides were measured in rutherfords. This table graphically illustrates the simplicity-and the inadequacy-of the situation prior to 1953.
Table 2. Radiation Quantities and Units
Now look at Table 2, which gives the position a decade later, around 1960 . The situation is radically different. We now have four essential quantities. We have four special units. We have the rad and the rem; we have the curie applied to all radionuclides. This was a magnificent structure, firmly based on sound physical principles, and immensely practical. This table illustrates what I consider to be the “golden age” of radiation quantities and units.
Now we come to the present (Table 3 ).
We still have the same four quantities. But the special units are in the process of being abandoned in favor of the SI units. The SI
Table 3. Radiation Quantities and Units (Present Day)
I want to emphasize a few points about these units. First, notice that both the gray and the sievert are special names for exactly the same SI unit, the joule per kilogram. This has caused a great deal of confusion and controversy. Let me state categorically: the sievert is not a unit of energy per unit mass; it is a unit of dose equivalent. The numerical value of the dose equivalent in sieverts is obtained by multiplying the numerical value of the absorbed dose in grays by a dimensionless modifying factor (or factors) representing the biological effectiveness of the radiation. The units gray and sievert are not physically identical; they represent fundamentally different quantities. The use of the same SI unit $\left(\mathrm{J} \mathrm{kg}^{-1}\right)$ for both quantities is a mathematical convenience, not a physical identity. It is for precisely this reason that different special names are essential, to prevent disastrous confusion in medical and health physics applications.
Second, let us look at the becquerel. It is simply one reciprocal second $\left(1 \mathrm{~s}^{-1}\right)$. Therefore, one curie is exactly equal to $3.7 \times 10^{10}$ becquerels. The introduction of the becquerel has met with enormous resistance, primarily because the numbers involved are so large. An ordinary millicurie source becomes a $37 \mathrm{MBq}$ source. However, this resistance is gradually fading as people become accustomed to the prefixes.
Finally, what about exposure? As I mentioned, the SI unit is the coulomb per kilogram, and it has no special name. The quantity “expo-
sure” itself is gradually becoming obsolete, being replaced by “air kerma” (kinetic energy released per unit mass). The SI unit for kerma is the joule per kilogram, and its special name is the gray. This means that both absorbed dose and kerma are measured in grays. This is a very logical development, as both quantities represent energy per unit mass, although they differ conceptually (kerma refers to energy released, while absorbed dose refers to energy retained).
So, where do we stand now, and what of the future?
The transition to SI units is well underway. The special units (rad, rem, curie, roentgen) will eventually disappear completely, though the process will be slow and sometimes painful. In the meantime, we must be bilingual, conversant with both the old and the new systems. We must be extremely careful to ensure that no dangerous misunderstandings occur during this changeover period, particularly in medical contexts where patient safety is paramount.
The introduction of the SI system in radiology has been traumatic for many, but it is undeniably a step in the right direction. It brings our specialized field into line with the rest of the scientific world, eliminating the bizarre and confusing collection of special units that have plagued us for decades.
As we look to the future, I believe the current structure of quantities and units (absorbed dose, dose equivalent, kerma, and activity, along with their associated SI units) is fundamentally sound and robust. We have moved from the qualitative, empirical concepts of the early pioneers to a rigorous, physically precise system that underpins all of modern radiology and health physics.
However, we must never forget the long, often chaotic, and sometimes amusing history of how we arrived at this point. The struggles of those early pioneers, grappling with completely new phenomena with utterly inadequate conceptual tools, should inspire us to maintain a rigorous, questioning approach to our own scientific endeavors. We stand on their shoulders, and we owe it to them to ensure that the concepts and units we use today are as precise, clear, and unambiguous as possible.
The journey from the erythema dose and the French R to the gray and the sievert has been long and arduous, but it has been a necessary and ultimately successful evolution. As we continue to explore the intricate interactions of radiation with matter, and as we develop ever more sophisticated applications of these phenomena, we can be confident that our fundamental quantities and units will serve us well. The legacy of those early struggles is a robust, scientifically rigorous framework that enables us to quantify and understand the profound effects of ionizing radiation on the physical and biological world.
In conclusion, I would simply remind you that while the names of the units may change, the underlying physical realities do not. The energy absorbed by a patient’s tumor or a radiation worker’s body remains exactly the same, whether we call it rads or grays. Our task is to ensure that we measure and control that energy with the utmost precision, using the best conceptual tools available to us. The SI system provides us with those tools, and it is up to us to use them effectively. The history of radiation dosimetry is a fascinating saga of scientific progress, and we are all privileged to be a part of its continuing evolution.
