Awakening in the In Between

Maali Almeida, a war photographer, wakes up in a foggy, bureaucratic afterlife, unsure how he died. He's surrounded by a chaotic crowd of the recently dead, all desperate for answers. The afterlife is a confusing, crowded waiting room, echoing the chaos of his war-torn homeland. Maali's memories are fragmented, and he's told he has seven moons—seven days—to resolve his unfinished business or risk being lost forever. The rules are unclear, the staff are overworked, and the dead are angry, confused, or resigned. Maali's irreverence and skepticism clash with the system, but he's compelled to find out how he died, what he left behind, and what, if anything, he can do before his time runs out.

Bureaucracy of the Afterlife

Maali is processed by afterlife officials, including Dr Ranee, a murdered academic now working as a Helper. He's given a palm-leaf "passport" and told to get his "ears checked" and "sins coded." The afterlife is a Kafkaesque bureaucracy, with queues, forms, and arbitrary rules. Maali meets other dead souls, some famous, some anonymous, all with unfinished business. He learns that the afterlife is as divided and chaotic as the world he left, with its own hierarchies, prejudices, and power struggles. The dead are urged to move on to "The Light," but many, like Maali, are stuck by guilt, anger, or the need for justice. The system is indifferent, and the only certainty is that time is running out.

The Box of Truths

In life, Maali was a photographer who documented atrocities, corruption, and war crimes. He hid a shoebox of incriminating photographs under his mother's servant's bed, believing they could change the world. Now, as a ghost, he realizes these photos are his unfinished business. The box contains evidence implicating powerful figures in Sri Lanka's violence, including politicians, soldiers, and rebels. Maali's friends and family—his mother, his lover DD, and his best friend Jaki—are searching for him and the box, unaware of the danger it brings. The box becomes a symbol of truth, memory, and the cost of bearing witness in a society built on forgetting.

Ghosts and Ghouls of Colombo

As Maali explores the city in ghostly form, he discovers it's crowded with the dead—victims of war, riots, and political purges. He meets other ghosts: a headless atheist, a revolutionary, a lawyer burned in the 1983 riots. Some are vengeful, some lost, some resigned. The afterlife is haunted by demons and yakas, creatures from Sri Lankan folklore who feed on pain and despair. Maali is warned about the Mahakali, a monstrous spirit that devours lost souls. The dead are drawn to places of trauma—cemeteries, massacre sites, torture chambers—unable to move on. Maali's journey becomes a tour of Sri Lanka's collective wounds, seen through the eyes of those who cannot forget.

The Living Left Behind

In the world of the living, Maali's disappearance sets off a chain of events. His mother, a tough, bitter woman, tries to bribe the police. DD, his secret lover, and Jaki, his best friend, navigate bureaucracy, suspicion, and grief. They are questioned by police, threatened by politicians, and manipulated by activists. The search for Maali and his box of photos exposes the complicity and cowardice of those in power. The living are haunted by the same violence and secrets as the dead, and Maali's absence becomes a catalyst for reckoning with the past. The boundaries between love, loyalty, and betrayal blur as each character faces their own guilt and longing.

The Photographer's Secrets

The contents of Maali's box are gradually revealed: photographs of massacres, torture, and collusion between enemies. Each envelope is marked with a playing card, symbolizing the games of chance and power that define Sri Lankan life. The photos implicate government ministers, rebel leaders, and foreign agents. They are coveted by NGOs, journalists, and the state, each with their own agenda. Maali's art is both a weapon and a curse, exposing the cost of seeing too much. The act of bearing witness becomes an act of resistance, but also of self-destruction. The photos force the living to confront what they would rather forget, and the dead to reckon with their own complicity.

Bargains with Demons

In the afterlife, Maali is courted by Sena, a dead revolutionary who leads a ghostly army seeking revenge. Sena offers Maali the power to "whisper" to the living, to influence events, and to punish the guilty. The Mahakali, a monstrous demon, also seeks to claim Maali's soul, offering power in exchange for surrender. Maali is torn between the desire for justice and the risk of becoming what he hates. The afterlife's politics mirror those of the living: alliances, betrayals, and the seduction of violence. Maali must decide whether to join the cycle of vengeance or to seek another path, even as his time runs out.

The Whispering Dead

Maali learns to "whisper" into the ears of the living, nudging them toward or away from danger. He tries to warn Jaki and DD, to protect his friends, and to guide the search for his photos. Other ghosts use their powers for revenge, manipulating events to punish their killers. The boundaries between the worlds blur, as dreams, memories, and hauntings shape the choices of the living. The dead are not at peace; their unfinished business spills over into the world, perpetuating cycles of violence and grief. Maali's attempts to help are fraught with unintended consequences, and he is forced to confront the limits of his power.

The Price of Witness

As the search for Maali's photos intensifies, the stakes rise. Politicians and police conspire to suppress the evidence, resorting to murder and intimidation. Maali's friends are threatened, and the box is stolen, destroyed, or hidden again and again. The cost of truth is measured in bodies and betrayals. Maali's own death is revealed to be the result of a conspiracy involving those closest to him. The act of witnessing, of refusing to look away, becomes both a moral imperative and a death sentence. The line between victim and perpetrator blurs, and Maali must reckon with his own failures and compromises.

The Palace of Pain

Maali's journey leads him to the "Palace," a secret torture center where the state's violence is enacted. Here, ghosts of victims and perpetrators mingle, each trapped by their own guilt and rage. The living and the dead are bound together by the machinery of repression. Maali's friend Jaki is imprisoned and tortured, and he must use his last powers to save her. The ghosts plot revenge, orchestrating a suicide bombing that kills their tormentors but also innocent bystanders. The cycle of violence is unbroken, and Maali is forced to confront the futility of vengeance. The Palace becomes a symbol of the nation's soul: wounded, haunted, and unable to heal.

The Final Moon

With his seventh moon rising, Maali is hunted by the Mahakali and betrayed by those he trusted. He must choose between revenge and forgiveness, between clinging to the past and letting go. He uses his final "whispers" to save Jaki, to warn his friends, and to try to break the cycle of violence. The cost is his own soul: he forfeits his chance at The Light, risking oblivion to do what he believes is right. In the end, Maali's actions save some but not all, and the world goes on, wounded but unchanged. His story becomes a parable of the limits of justice and the necessity of mercy.

The River of Births

As his time runs out, Maali is guided to the River of Births, the threshold between lives. Here, he meets other souls, animal and human, each seeking release or rebirth. The river is a place of forgetting and remembering, of letting go and moving on. Maali is offered a choice: to forget, to remember, to forgive, or to be forgiven. He chooses to let go, to accept the limits of his power and the inevitability of loss. The river carries him toward The Light, a place beyond suffering and memory. The cycle of birth and death continues, indifferent to individual stories.

The Light and the Ledger

In the afterlife's bureaucracy, Maali is assigned a new role: helping other souls navigate their own unfinished business. He sits behind a counter, answering questions, offering comfort, and witnessing the endless parade of the dead. The work is repetitive, often thankless, but it offers a kind of peace. Maali learns that every soul is unique, every story unfinished, and that the work of healing is never done. The afterlife is not a place of answers, but of questions, choices, and the slow work of forgiveness. Maali's own story fades into the background, as he becomes part of something larger.

The Weight of Memory

Throughout his journey, Maali is haunted by memories: of violence witnessed, love lost, and opportunities missed. Memory is both a curse and a gift, binding the dead to the world and offering the possibility of redemption. The struggle to remember and to forget shapes every character's fate. The nation's refusal to remember its own crimes is mirrored in the personal amnesia of the dead. Maali learns that healing requires both remembering and letting go, and that the past cannot be changed, only understood. The work of memory is ongoing, and its weight is shared by all.

The Cost of Justice

The quest for justice drives Maali and the other ghosts, but the results are mixed. Revenge brings only more suffering, and the guilty often escape punishment. The system is rigged, the powerful are protected, and the innocent suffer. Yet small acts of courage and kindness persist: a photograph published, a friend saved, a truth spoken. Justice is not a destination but a process, fraught with compromise and disappointment. Maali's story is a testament to the difficulty of doing the right thing in a broken world, and to the necessity of trying anyway.

The Last Photograph

Maali's photographs, though suppressed and stolen, survive. Some are exhibited, some are lost, some are sent abroad. They become fragments of memory, seeds of truth, and reminders of what was witnessed. Art is both fragile and resilient, subject to erasure but capable of outlasting its creator. The act of seeing, of recording, is an act of hope in the face of despair. Maali's legacy is not in changing the world, but in refusing to look away. The last photograph is of a pangolin, a symbol of survival and vulnerability, a reminder that beauty persists even in darkness.

Forgiveness and Farewell

In the end, Maali forgives those who wronged him, and is forgiven in turn. He says goodbye to his friends, his mother, and his lover, accepting that life goes on without him. The dead and the living are bound by love, regret, and the hope of reunion. The afterlife is not a place of answers, but of acceptance. Maali's journey ends not with triumph or despair, but with a quiet farewell. The work of healing continues, and the cycle of birth and death rolls on.

The Cycle Continues

The story closes with the sense that nothing is ever truly finished. The dead become Helpers, the living become the dead, and the work of remembering and forgetting goes on. The world remains wounded, but beauty and kindness persist. The cycle of violence is not broken, but neither is the possibility of change extinguished. Maali's story is one among many, a thread in the tapestry of a nation's history. The final lesson is humility: to bear witness, to forgive, and to accept the limits of one's power. The cycle continues, and so does hope.

Characters

Maali Almeida

Maali is the protagonist, a war photographer, gambler, and closeted gay man in 1980s Sri Lanka. His life is defined by a restless search for meaning, justice, and connection, but also by self-sabotage and cynicism. In death, Maali is forced to confront the consequences of his choices: the pain he caused, the truths he exposed, and the people he left behind. His journey through the afterlife is both a detective story and a spiritual quest, as he seeks to understand how he died, what he left unfinished, and whether redemption is possible. Maali's wit, skepticism, and vulnerability make him a deeply human guide through a world of ghosts, demons, and bureaucrats. His development is marked by a gradual acceptance of his own limitations, a willingness to forgive, and a commitment to bearing witness, even when it costs him everything.

DD (Dilan Dharmendran)

DD is Maali's lover and flatmate, the son of a powerful Tamil politician. Athletic, sensitive, and closeted, DD struggles with his identity, his family's expectations, and his love for Maali. He is both a source of comfort and a site of conflict, torn between loyalty and self-preservation. DD's relationship with Maali is marked by tenderness, jealousy, and the constant threat of exposure in a homophobic society. After Maali's death, DD is left to navigate grief, guilt, and the burden of unfinished conversations. His development is shaped by the challenge of living authentically in a world that punishes difference, and by the need to find meaning in loss.

Jaki (Jacqueline Vairavanathan)

Jaki is Maali's closest friend, a radio DJ and aspiring artist. She is outspoken, rebellious, and fiercely protective of those she loves. Jaki's relationship with Maali is complex: she is both confidante and unrequited love, sharing in his secrets and his pain. After Maali's disappearance, Jaki becomes a detective, risking her own safety to uncover the truth. She is haunted by guilt and longing, but also by a stubborn refusal to give up. Jaki's journey is one of survival, resilience, and the search for justice in a world that offers little. Her development is marked by the courage to face danger, the wisdom to let go, and the grace to forgive.

Dr Ranee Sridharan

Dr Ranee is a former university lecturer and activist, killed for her moderate views. In the afterlife, she becomes a Helper, guiding souls through the bureaucracy of limbo. She is pragmatic, compassionate, and weary, embodying the tension between idealism and resignation. Dr Ranee serves as Maali's mentor and conscience, urging him to move on, to forgive, and to accept the limits of justice. Her own story is one of sacrifice and disappointment, but also of quiet heroism. She represents the possibility of healing, even in a broken world.

Sena Pathirana

Sena is a dead JVP revolutionary who leads a ghostly army seeking revenge on their killers. He is persuasive, passionate, and dangerous, offering Maali the power to influence the living in exchange for joining his cause. Sena embodies the allure and the danger of righteous anger, the temptation to perpetuate cycles of violence. His relationship with Maali is both seductive and adversarial, forcing Maali to confront his own capacity for vengeance. Sena's development is a cautionary tale about the costs of refusing to let go.

The Mahakali

The Mahakali is a demon from Sri Lankan folklore, a monstrous spirit that feeds on lost souls and suffering. It is both a literal and symbolic presence, representing the nation's collective trauma, the cycle of violence, and the danger of being consumed by one's own pain. The Mahakali tempts Maali with power, threatens him with oblivion, and ultimately claims many of the dead. It is a force of nature, indifferent and insatiable, a reminder of the darkness that haunts both the living and the dead.

Stanley Dharmendran

Stanley is DD's father, a Tamil politician who navigates the treacherous waters of Sri Lankan politics. He is pragmatic, calculating, and ultimately complicit in Maali's death, choosing family and power over justice. Stanley's relationship with Maali is fraught with suspicion, resentment, and unspoken truths. He represents the compromises and betrayals that define survival in a corrupt system. His development is marked by guilt, denial, and a belated attempt at redemption.

Elsa Mathangi

Elsa is a Tamil-Canadian activist who employs Maali to document atrocities. She is ambitious, resourceful, and morally ambiguous, using Maali's photos for her own ends. Elsa navigates the world of international NGOs, balancing idealism with pragmatism. Her relationship with Maali is transactional but not without empathy. She represents the complexities of activism in a world where good intentions are often compromised by politics and self-interest.

Detective Cassim

Cassim is a police detective caught between duty and conscience. He is tasked with covering up crimes, suppressing evidence, and enforcing the will of the powerful. Cassim is haunted by guilt and fear, but ultimately risks his own safety to help Jaki escape. He represents the ordinary people trapped in systems of violence, struggling to do the right thing in impossible circumstances. His development is a testament to the possibility of small acts of courage.

The Minister's Demon (Dead Bodyguard)

The Minister's Demon is the ghost of a former bodyguard, now attached to a powerful politician. He is sardonic, world-weary, and fiercely loyal to his master. The Demon represents the unseen forces that protect the powerful and perpetuate injustice. His relationship with Maali is adversarial but not without respect. He serves as a reminder that evil is often banal, bureaucratic, and self-justifying.

Plot Devices

Afterlife as Bureaucratic Limbo

The novel's central device is the afterlife as a surreal, bureaucratic waiting room, echoing the confusion, corruption, and indifference of Sri Lankan society. The dead must navigate forms, queues, and arbitrary rules, mirroring the struggles of the living. This structure allows for satire, social commentary, and a blending of the mundane and the supernatural. The afterlife's rules—seven moons, ear checks, the Light—create a ticking clock and a sense of urgency, while also highlighting the absurdity of systems that promise justice but deliver only delay.

Photographs as Memory and Evidence

Maali's hidden box of photographs is both a literal and metaphorical device: evidence of crimes, fragments of memory, and seeds of change. The photos are coveted, suppressed, and destroyed, reflecting the nation's struggle to confront its own history. Each envelope, marked with a playing card, represents a different facet of truth: personal, political, artistic, and moral. The act of photographing becomes an act of resistance, but also of self-destruction, as Maali's commitment to witnessing costs him his life.

Ghosts, Demons, and Folklore

The novel is populated by ghosts, demons, and yakas from Sri Lankan folklore, who embody the nation's collective trauma, guilt, and unresolved violence. The Mahakali, in particular, represents the danger of being consumed by one's own pain. The supernatural is not an escape from reality, but a way of making visible the wounds that haunt both individuals and societies. The dead influence the living, blurring the boundaries between worlds and highlighting the persistence of the past.

Whispering and Dreamwalking

Maali and other ghosts learn to "whisper" into the ears of the living, nudging them toward or away from danger. This device allows for moments of hope, intervention, and unintended consequences. Dreamwalking blurs the line between memory, desire, and reality, allowing the dead to revisit unfinished business and the living to be haunted by what they cannot forget. These devices create a sense of interconnectedness and the possibility of change, even as they underscore the limits of agency.

Nonlinear Narrative and Fragmented Memory

The novel's structure is nonlinear, moving between past and present, life and afterlife, memory and forgetting. Maali's amnesia creates suspense, as the mystery of his death is gradually revealed. The fragmented narrative mirrors the disorientation of trauma and the difficulty of making sense of a violent world. The use of multiple perspectives—ghosts, the living, the dead—creates a mosaic of voices, each with their own truth and blindness.

Satire and Dark Humor

The novel employs satire and dark humor to expose the absurdities of war, politics, and the afterlife. Maali's irreverence, the bureaucracy of limbo, and the banter of ghosts provide relief from the horror, while also sharpening the critique. Humor becomes a survival strategy, a way of coping with the unbearable, and a tool for exposing the lies that sustain violence.

Analysis

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is a profound meditation on the legacy of violence, the burden of memory, and the elusive nature of justice in a society scarred by war and denial. By reimagining the afterlife as a chaotic bureaucracy, the novel satirizes the systems that perpetuate suffering and evade accountability. Maali's journey is both personal and political: a quest to understand his own death, to protect those he loves, and to force a reckoning with truths that society would rather forget. The novel's supernatural elements externalize the trauma and guilt that haunt both individuals and nations, while its humor and irreverence prevent despair from overwhelming hope. Ultimately, the story suggests that healing requires both remembering and letting go, that justice is always incomplete, and that the work of bearing witness—however imperfect—is essential. In a world where the dead cannot rest and the living cannot forget, the cycle of violence continues, but so does the possibility of forgiveness, beauty, and change.

Last updated: October 1, 2025