The Things That Lie Beyond Our Understanding

It's a story about Muskan, a little girl from Odisha who grew up in a joint family with her parents, grandparents, uncle, aunt, and cousins. She had always felt fulfilled living among so many people she loved. The family home which showed warm emotions actually contained hidden conflicts which broke down the peaceful environment she used to experience.
The young girl lacked enough experience to grasp the arguments which people engaged in but she could identify their anger through their actions while she sensed the rising tension between them. She observed her mother inflict physical harm on her grandmother. Muskan couldn't understand why the people she loved were hurting one another. The young girl discovered she needed to hide her emotions because she lacked the ability to express herself.
Three months later, her father was transferred to Mumbai. Muskan had to leave her grandparents, uncle, aunt, and cousins behind. The girl developed social skills at her new school but she misses her previous joint family a lot.
Years passed. Muskan started her search for part-time employment because she wanted to gain self-reliance through independent living. She had almost got an interview offer at a famous company but her mother's sudden devastating phone call stopped her from taking advantage of this opportunity.
Her grandfather was dead. The inability to focus on her studies made it difficult for Muskan to move forward. She joined her family on their journey to Odisha where they would perform the thirteen-day post-death rituals. On the tenth day, they performed a traditional ritual in which the departed soul was believed to leave a mark in the sand, revealing the form it might take in its next life. Muskan observed the ceremony as she questioned if human beings possessed any eternal mysteries which remained beyond their understanding. Thirteen days later, they returned to Mumbai. Muskan had lost her confidence and failed to secure the job.
She returned to her home that evening and discover her apartment door its flat no. 2021 remained locked from the outside.
But still she knocked and rang the bell. The mother spoke through which she heard in front of her door. "I need your immediate attention because I have been locked out for three hours. I need your help to let me out of here." Her mother's crying became more intense as time went on.
Muskan stood frozen outside the apartment, staring at the locked door. The sound of her mother's desperate crying continued to reach her ears from inside the house. Muskan continued to knock with growing force while she kept ringing the doorbell until someone appeared to rescue her. But no neighbours responded. She ran down the stairs to find someone who could help her because her hands started to shake. A shopkeeper gave her a seat while he helped her reach her mother through phone contact. That's when Muskan learned that her mother was out shopping. Her heart stopped. If her mother was at the market, then who was the woman crying behind the locked door? Muskan started to turn toward the apartment while the crying sounds getting more intense. She started to doubt if all her experiences had been real during that particular moment. The combination of her physical fatigue and her emotional pain from losing her grandfather together with all her past struggles seemed to hit her at this point. The shopkeeper offered her some food. His child sat beside her, smiling innocently as she ate. For a little while, Muskan tried to forget what had happened. They went upstairs together when her mother finally came back home. The door remained closed exactly how Muskan had left it. Her mother unlocked it, and they stepped inside. There was no one else there. During her evening news viewing with her mother Muskan heard a news announcement which caused her to feel intense fear. The shopkeeper and his child—the very people she had spoken to and eaten with that afternoon—had died years ago. Their entire family had died by suicide because of a superstitious belief. Muskan stared at the television, unable to speak. The food that the shopkeeper gave her during the afternoon must have come from someone other than her deceased family members who passed away many years ago.
And if her mother had been shopping, who had been crying behind the door? Muskan started to doubt if she had a ghost following her for the first time or her thoughts could have been tricking her.