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Summary - The Mistress of spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni...

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The Mistress of Spices: Summary

Tilo, an immigrant from India, was a shopkeeper, a strong clairvoyant (vidente), and a chosen Mistress of Spices. Tilo was immortal, she had no age and The Spices she gave to her customers help them to satisfy their needs and desires, such as; sandalwood to dispel painful memories; and black cumin seed to protect against evil eye. As a young girl, Tilo was initiated as one of several young Mistresses of Spices by the First Mother, who warned the girls about certain rules they must follow; or they had to deal with the consequences. They were ordered never to leave their respective stores all around the world, they mustn’t touch the skin of the people they meet and they mustn’t use the great and incomprehensible strength and power of the Spices to their own interests. Tilo ended up in Oakland in a store called "Spice Bazaar". Her life changed one day, when a handsome man on a motorcycle crashed outside her store. Tilo tried to heal his injuries while trying to ignore their strong mutual romantic attraction. Her life changed when he touched her and they began to fall truly in love. She called him The Lonely American. But; the Spices became suddenly angry and jealous, and things soon started to be worse and worse with her other customers. In fact, the Spices started to have negative effects on her customers. Tilo then recognized that the source of these misfortunes was her breaking of the rules. The First Mother came to her in a vision and was angry with Tilo for choosing Doug over the Spices. Totally sad, Tilo promised to return to India and to close her store. She was also decided to help her customers one last time and told the Spices that she would spend just one more night with Doug. So, she closed the store and went with Doug for the night. After a romantic and passionate night, she left him a note that she must leave and could not return, but that she would love him forever. After that, she returned to the store and set the Spices on fire, with her at the centre of the flames, as a sign of eternal servitude and slavery to the mystical Spices. In the end, Doug came searching for her, and found the store devastated. But Tilo had not been burned after all; she was still there, alive. There was no sign of a fire, but there had been an earthquake. A vision of the First Mother sitting at the beach was shown, telling Tilo that because she demonstrated her loyalty to the Spices, now she could have everything she desires and the Spices would never desert her again. Doug agreed to help her rebuild the store, and she happily reunited with him as they walked along the beach holding hands; their romantic relationship was strong and pure as ever....