"Samsara" by J. A. Legg - eBook (epub)
When Devaki’s father mysteriously vanishes after a routine train journey, her once secure life in Bangladesh is thrown into turmoil. As her family struggles to survive, they are forced to leave their home and move to Chattogram, where Devaki grows up in a world defined by hardship and the ever-present shadow of karma. Her dreams fade, and her family's future seems bleak until a mysterious scholarship offer from a wealthy American industrialist, Maxwell Leon, promises a way out of poverty. But this opportunity comes with a heavy price—Devaki must become a surrogate mother for Leon's reincarnation through a controversial procedure known as "Samsara."
As Devaki grapples with this life-altering decision, she is torn between her desires for independence and the overwhelming pressure to secure her family's future. The journey that follows leads her into the emotional depths of pregnancy, where she forms unexpected bonds with the other surrogate mothers and faces the stark realities of the surrogacy program. As she carries the future of two lives within her—her son and the man he is destined to become—Devaki's inner conflict deepens. She begins to question the very foundations of her beliefs, torn between the karmic cycle of life and death and the artificial reincarnation offered by technology.
When Maxwell Leon's son, Stuart, warns Devaki of the dangers awaiting her child, she is faced with an impossible choice: comply with the procedure and give her son over to a life of wealth and power, or escape to the uncharted frontiers of Mars to protect him. In a daring and dramatic turn, Devaki chooses to flee, giving birth to her son, Abhik, during the perilous voyage to Mars.
On the red planet, Devaki faces the harsh challenges of motherhood and life in a new world, far from everything she has ever known. With the help of Vincent Northup, an attorney who becomes her ally and confidant, Devaki navigates the complexities of her new life and finds solace in her decisions. As she returns to Earth with Abhik, she reunites with her mother and reflects on the journey that has brought her full circle. Despite the immense sacrifices, Devaki finds peace in knowing that she has defied fate and karma to give her son a future of his own making—far beyond the reach of the world that once sought to control them both.