The Coming of Kalki

by Poulomi Sanyal

  “Me too. Is it safe to go back to meet Dr. Sinha?”

  “It should be, but I am still waiting to get a final all-clear from our hostess, Wanda. Ah, there she comes,” indicated Alejandro as Wanda Faraday’s kind and smiling face appeared near the door.

  “Good evening, my lovelies. Would you care to gather around? I have some serious thoughts to share,” she said amicably, waving her arms to usher them towards the sitting area next to the fire.

  Once Alejandro and Nirmala had comfortably seated themselves in the soft ornamental couches across from the fireplace, Wanda started speaking in a serious tone.

  “There is this puzzle that has been eating away at me for months. For days I have pored over the scrolls and pondered hard, but it is now driving me crazy. I am making no headway, and I believe that I have more information to gather. There is this date, in the spring of next year, barely half a year hence, that is striking. That may be the date foretold for an Armageddon or for a great revival, I cannot tell which, and since there is little time remaining before this mystery event will be upon us, I have decided to travel at once.”

  “At once?” exclaimed Alejandro. “Before your retirement?”

  “My retirement is impending. Merely two months away, and perhaps I could hasten it if I tried, citing my age and long tenure. Whatever may be, I wish to be gone by my retirement day at the latest, and perhaps it will be a dreary journey with very little opportunity for communication. If it leads me to the den of our enemy, so be it. If it means that this path will end in my sure and certain demise, fear not, for I will welcome it.”

  “Oh no!” Nirmala shrieked out in horror.

  “Don’t say that, Wanda. Nothing of that sort will happen. We’ll send aid as soon as we are able, no matter where you are. But you must ensure that you have Wolfgang and Chris equip you with their gadgets for communication,” Alejandro assured.

  “I promise that I will.”

  “May I ask where you would journey to, madam?” asked Nirmala timidly.

  “For now, that must be kept secret, I am afraid. But in time you shall know.”

  “Secret? Secret even from us, your own, the Hekameses?” asked Alejandro bewildered.

  “I am afraid so. But only for now,” said Wanda, and then she paused, looking silently into the blazing hearth and the happy holly and Poinsettia that decked its mantel. She stared thus for several minutes, deep in thought and then continued.

  “I worry not about my safety, but there is a worry that bothers me much.”

  “What is that Wanda?” asked Alejandro in a soothing voice.

  “What becomes of Zoya in my absence? Will her training go awry? Will she receive the guidance that she needs? Mind you, if the scrolls speak the truth, then it is she and she alone who can save us when the day comes.”

  “I am aware, Wanda, as is the rest of the Hekameses. We will guard her with our lives.”

  “Brave words.” Smiled Wanda. “And of you, I expect nothing less. But alas, that is not enough. Her guidance must not be diffused. There needs to be one person with ultimate accountability for her. Only then will she receive the guidance that she needs, and her path will not wander aimlessly. Now, I have a favour to ask of you, my dear Alejandro…” She paused and looked at him.

  “You would like me to take charge of her?”

  “I was not very subtle, was I?” said Wanda, now breaking into a giggle.

  “No, you were not,” agreed Alejandro with a grin.

  “So, will you?”

  “You have my word.”

  “Very well. It is time for my brandy, unless there is something I can in turn assist you with before I relax for the evening.”

  “Nothing urgent, Wanda, but I think it is about time for myself and Nirmala to head back to India to pursue Dr. Sinha, and we would like your advice on when you feel that this would be opportune.”

  “I am of the understanding that it should be safe for you to return to India in February, but I will consult with Wolfgang tomorrow and give you my final thoughts.”

  “Fair enough,” said Alejandro.

  “And young lady, would you be able to return here or come to Germany, or the UK, in a month or two, to continue your training with the Hekameses? That is, of course, if you wish to stay with us,” said Wanda, now speaking to Nirmala.

  “Of course, I want to stay with the Hekameses. Your fight is my fight now and I do not wish to turn back like a coward. I am able to come back to the USA if required. I have a green card. With a visa, I could go to Europe as well, but I probably won’t be able to stay long.”

  “That is good news. I am sure Alejandro and Wolfgang can arrange for your next steps or perhaps even Albert.” And then, reaching out and touching Nirmala’s arm she said, “Good luck. To you both.”

  CHAPTER sixteen

  The day after Christmas, Zoya was finally on her way to London. It was a long, overnight flight and she was looking forward to finally being alone with her thoughts after the chaotic few weeks since Thanksgiving. Her stay at Dr. Faraday’s house was like drinking from a fire hose. She learned too many things all at once and had so many questions. Some were answered, some were not. Her supposed powers were her primary area of curiosity, followed by the eagerness to learn more about the quest of the Hekameses and the enemy they fought. How was it that she possessed somewhat supernatural powers all her life without ever being aware of her capabilities or without being able to harness them to perform extraordinary feats in the fashion of a comic-book superhero? She remembered how Dr. Faraday had explained this off to her:

  “That is because, my child, a power we possess only appears to be supernatural when contrasted with the skills of others, who do not possess this gift or peculiarity. Now, something that seems ordinary to you for instance, like picking up vibes and signals from around you, may not seem at all natural to others. But you have no way of knowing what others perceive without inhabiting their bodies. If you could, for a day, inhabit the body of someone else around yourself, you would notice a fair difference between your abilities and theirs. Do you see my point?

  “Furthermore, you will learn as you go that a majority of our brain actually lies dormant together with the capabilities that are therein contained. This dormancy needs to be overcome by ‘exercising’ that part of the brain, so to say. By doing so, you can awaken the neurones that will otherwise remain asleep. This is the part where we can help you to train your abilities. All humans have a repository of these dormant neurones and synapses that they can awaken, but in the brain of a Hekameses these are more numerous and powerful, due to the accentuated geomagnetic activities at the time of their birth.”

  This, among other things, illustrated to Zoya how the Hekameses were planning to bring on board the Nirmala lady who was not one of their kind. They would train the dormant part of her brain to make it more receptive and powerful. She may not ever be as powerful as the ones of her kind, born with an unfair advantage, but she could follow them closely enough. It astonished Zoya that Nirmala had volunteered to join the Hekameses of her own accord, risking so much. All the more inspiration for the likes of herself to be engaged with the cause.

  But there were still many unanswered questions. Zoya knew precious little about the terrorists, the Aifra. How many were they? What were they like? Who was their leader? What was the motive behind their actions? What on earth did they want to achieve in the end with these senseless acts of massacre? Did they know about the Hekameses? How much did each organization know about the other? Why were the Hekameses fighting anyway? What made them think this was their fight and it was their responsibility to wage this war? Many such questions remained unanswered.

  She was told that some of these questions were still a mystery even to the Hekameses. Such as the questions about the Aifra. Much about the Aifra was unclear. The journey was on to uncover these secrets, and Zoya would also have a part to play in this discovery process.

  Despite the unanswered questions, her initiat
ion process into the group was far from directionless. No matter who the Aifra were and regardless of the Hekameses’ true reason for fighting them, Zoya was being trained for this fight. Literally so, as was evident from the shooting lessons that Alejandro had given her. Visiting a shooting range with him twice a week had become a part of Zoya’s routine while she stayed at the Faraday house.

  Sometimes Nirmala too would accompany them, though these visits seemed to do little to improve her aim. Nirmala was no marksman for sure, but the need was so dire, as she understood it, that basic self-defence training was something she refused to shy away from. Zoya also played her part in helping Nirmala. In the evenings, she would teach her some beginner martial-art techniques, so that she could tackle an unsuspecting attacker if need be.

  Now as Zoya sat there in her airplane seat, wrapped in a comfy blanket, her head grew heavy. Her train of thoughts turned out to be quite soporific, and her mind floated languidly back to her first day of training with Alejandro.

  “Okay, so you remember why we’re doing this, right?” Alejandro asked, standing next to Zoya inside a shooting station in one of the 50-yard lanes.

  “So that I can kick their ass when the time comes.”

  “Umm…well no, not exactly,” Alejandro chuckled. “It’s for defense. Just like your karate. No one expects you to kick any ass. But if we ever face attack, you must be able to survive and prevent capture. Got it?”

  Zoya nodded.

  “Good. Now put on your safety glasses and earmuffs. Arms straight. No, don’t bend that elbow. Straight, straight…yeah, better.”

  Zoya fired her first rounds. It was a strange feeling. The cold metal of Alejandro’s trusty Browning Hi Power, felt heavy in her hands at first. But oddly enough, it soon became an extension of her limb. It filled her with a strange confidence she never thought she had. Before she knew it, she had fired her last round for the day and taken her earmuffs off, feeling unusually sated.

  “Alright, it’s Nirmala’s turn. You did well for your first day, Zoya. You’re a natural!” Alejandro said with a pat on her back. “Leave the gun here and get Nirmala for me, will you?”

  Zoya flashed him a broad smile. “Yes sir!” she said with a mock salute.

  Outside the shooting station, she could see Nirmala in the distance. Spotting Zoya, she started walking towards her.

  At the same time, Zoya saw a lady emerge from the station right next to theirs with her gun still in her hand. But before Zoya could alert her that this wasn’t allowed, she set the gun down on the floor and hurried towards a man standing about a hundred feet away. Just as Nirmala was within two feet of the abandoned weapon on the floor, a child wandered into its vicinity and made to pick it up.

  Fearing that a mis-fired shot was most likely to hit Nirmala directly, Zoya reacted instinctively and lunged into the air, her feet landing centimeters away from the gun, just in time to kick it out of the infant’s reach.

  “Oh my God, Zoya,” Alejandro, came running. “Are you alright?” He knelt next to her, extending a hand.

  “Ugh. Pulled a muscle, I think,” she whimpered, grabbing onto Alejandro’s hand for support.

  A couple of security guards appeared, collected the gun from the floor and started escorting its owner outside for blatantly violating the weapon handling regulations inside the range.

  “That was outstanding, Zoya! You saved, my life. Didn’t know you were such a trooper…” Nirmala’s voice faded away.

  Suddenly, Zoya could hear bells in the distance and a chanting; no, a song. The crooning was like a balm that soothed her every muscle and filled her heart with a dazzling white light. The words were in a strange language, but in her mind, it sounded like this:

  ‘Where are you my beloved one, my heart will ever pine

  Oh Lord, my Lord, you rule my heart, forever you are mine.

  As Krishna you set foot on earth draped in brilliant light

  Come back as Kalki in my arms in your glorious might…’ The words trailed off and Zoya was woken with a jolt by the lady seated next to her on the plane.

  “Did you say something?” the woman asked with a curious look on her face.

  “Oh, who me? I am sorry, no… must have dozed off,” Zoya replied, suddenly embarrassed.

  “No worries. It sounded like you were singing a song or something in your dream! I bet it was a happy dream, eh?” she replied casually.

  “Haha. Was I? Oops! Don’t really remember what I was dreaming,” Zoya lied, feeling even more ashamed. Luckily, the air-hostess arrived with their dinner right around that time, saving Zoya from humiliating herself any further.

  Phew! she thought as she ordered the lasagna.

  CHAPTER seventeen

  It was mid-February, when Alejandro got news that it was finally all clear for them to travel to India again. However, they did not want to risk travelling to Dwarka this time, or even to the state of Gujarat for that matter.

  “The meeting has been arranged for you on a tropical island in the Bay of Bengal, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands,” Wolfgang Müller reported.

  “Oh, why there? Do they have tequila?” Alejandro joked. Nirmala who was standing beside him, chuckled audibly. But jokes were to Wolfgang what green meadows are to a fish, useless and irrelevant.

  “The island is a Union Territory. Yes, that is the word I think. It is a historic site and is controlled by the federal government in New Delhi. They are our sympathizers and we will not run into any trouble while in federal territory,” he explained humourlessly.

  “I see. So be it then! We will book our tickets tomorrow.”

  “Very well. This Dr. Sinha, he will meet you zere,” Wolfgang said finally, slipping briefly into his German accent.

  * * *

  A week later, Alejandro and Nirmala arrived at the capital city, Port Blair, on a direct flight from New Delhi. A chauffeured private car waited for them at the airport to take them straight to the Ferry Terminal. The ferry would then take them to a smaller island of the archipelago, Havelock island, with its pristine blue waters, colourful coral reefs and white sandy beaches. At Havelock, another chaperone was waiting eagerly to whisk them off to their pre-arranged accommodation in a cottage-style resort.

  At the resort, they were met by a gracious receptionist who quickly checked them in and showed them the restaurant where they might have dinner later. The chaperone then bid them farewell for the evening and promised to re-appear in the morning to take them to meet Dr. Sinha, who was staying elsewhere for security reasons. Wolfgang’s contacts in India had made all the arrangements and everything was organized in an immaculate fashion. So much so that it almost felt like a vacation.

  Dinner was at the cozy little restaurant inside a cottage of its own within the resort premises. It had a beautiful view of the sea on the eastern side. A quick dip in the ocean at the private beach followed by a cool shower had already stirred Alejandro’s appetite. Now, sitting here in the laden salty breeze that smelled of sand and sea-shells, he felt famished. He could eat a whole cow. Cow was not on the menu, however.

  In India, cows end up dozing idly on the streets and not on people’s dinner plates, thought Alejandro fondly, reminiscing his experience of the day they escaped the police in Dwarka.

  Despite the absence of beef, the dinner menu did not disappoint. There were several kinds of fresh fish and large prawns cooked in a multitude of saffron-based delicious curries. There was fragrant pilao of basmati rice and lentil soup and hand-made rotis and parathas. They both ate ravenously without talking.

  Towards the end of their meal, Nirmala spoke. “How is it that Dr. Müller was able to make all these arrangements so far away from Germany, where even I would not have known what to do, even though it is my own country?”

  “Wolfgang used to be a diplomat when he was younger. He has worked at the German embassy in India and elsewhere. We are lucky to have him with us to facilitate our cross-border activities,” Alejandro explained.

  “Very
interesting. I would love to meet this man. He seems really intriguing.”

  “Indeed, he is, and you will definitely meet him some day. But for now, we meet Sinha.”

  “Yes. Tomorrow, should we meet at the lobby at eight then?” Nirmala asked as they paid the waiter and were about to head back to their rooms.

  “Sounds good.”

  * * *

  In the morning, Alejandro stood in front of the mirror in his hotel room, dressed in a lemon-yellow polo shirt and his trusty pair of beige, weather-worn travel pants, with many pockets. He pulled his comb out of his backpack and quickly inspected his wavy dark hair before setting them straight as much as he could with quick, expert strokes. There were patches of grey on the sides and along the side-burns. Alejandro sighed. He was mid-forty and the signs were finally starting to manifest.

  What an interesting life it had been so far, ever since he found out about his abilities. Yet his journey was far from over. The war was only just beginning, and if all goes well, today may prove to be a critical milestone in their cause.

  He met Nirmala in the lobby at the appointed hour, and then they were led away by their chauffeur from the previous evening. Alejandro was surprised when, instead of taking them to another resort in Havelock, as he had expected, their guide brought them to the ferry terminal instead.

  “Are we going to Port Blair again?” Alejandro asked their escort.

  “Yes, sir. That is what I was told.”

  No one spoke any further and soon they were in Port Blair, driving to their destination. Alejandro did not know where they were headed. It was, of course, kept secret on purpose. After about fifteen minutes of driving through the city streets, he finally noticed the ominous, fortified building that their vehicle was now heading directly towards and felt suddenly nervous.

  “Whoa there, is that where we are going? What is that building? It looks like a prison!” Panicked Alejandro, sitting bolt upright.