by Faraaz Kazi
He could tell he was not having a comfortable sleep by any standards. He felt someone running a hand over his sleeping body, caressing his hair and softly scratching his arms. Somewhere he started dreaming again. He saw his sister being chased by a huge black dog. He ran forward and collided with the dog throwing it a good distance away and then before his very eyes, the dog morphed into an ugly black beast with a skeletal face reflecting pure evil with empty black sockets where its eyes should have been. A pound of flesh on its torso hung loose, a bluish black liquid mingling with the thick cloud of hair on its skin made the hair on Nirbhay's arms crawl up. The beast growled, in pain or fury, Nibhay could not quite fathom but he could see the sharp canines in its cave-like mouth and as it bounded towards him on two legs, he could make out the two-inch long talons emerging out of its paws. It pounced on him, crushing his head with one mighty blow. Nirbhay's body shook so hard that he opened his eyes thinking it was an earthquake. His shirt clung to his body, thick beads of perspiration found their way down his face and he tried to breathe copious amounts of air.
He had no time to think about the nightmare. Downstairs a gong sounded, the grandfather clock had signaled the arrival of midnight. 'Moonless mansion' greeted midnight by extending the dark shadows from its corners far enough to reach every nook. As soon as his breathing returned to normal, he heard another sound, a softer one that ricocheted in the silence. It repeated again after a second long pause.
“It must be that cursed cat again,” Nirbhay said out aloud, thinking about venturing out to shoo it again. The sound came again. No, cats don't make such sound; this was the noise of footsteps, human footsteps! He could hear them clearly now, slowly ascending the stairs from the lower level. He could make out the distinct 'thud-thud' of the feet on the hard oak flooring, they seemed to come right up to his door and suddenly, the sound stopped. Nirbhay was pretty sure there was an intruder in the house, so he decided to investigate cautiously. He swallowed the trepidation rising in his mind, stood up and walked towards the door. He fished out the torch in his pocket but did not switch it on. He had to wait till he peered outside. Inch by inch, he opened the door and stared into the darkness outside through the gap. Switching on the torch, he shone it outside covering the stairs with the light beam and then the entire empty corridor.
“Who is it?” Nirbhay mumbled, the perspiration picking up steam again. All of a sudden the torchlight began to flicker. It did so thrice before going out with a pop and plunging the corridor into the darkness.
“Looks like the battery went out. I might be having a spare one in the bag,” Nirbhay consoled himself and turned to step inside the room. The moment he did, a strong gust of wind passed through the door, pushing him back as the seven candles in the room, went out together.
“Whoa, what the…” Nirbhay rushed to check on the candles. None of them had burned down completely. He bent over to inspect the wicks. The feeling of being watched suddenly returned and he turned to look at the door. There was someone standing there.
“Ahhh… wh… who are you?” Nirbhay asked, staggering back and bumping into the bed.
The girl had shoulder-length cropped hair and her skin seemed to showcase a strange sort of glow in the darkness. Nirbhay could make out she was wearing a white nightgown that brushed the floor. She looked up slowly from the ground, unfolding her hands and signaling him to come close with her index finger. For a second, Nirbhay's heart hammered in his chest but the fear soon gave way to something inexplicable when he looked in the eyes of the girl. Nirbhay felt himself being pulled towards her, her deep brown eyes melting his tumultuous emotions. As he neared the door, the girl pushed him lightly and he toppled over. He could hear her running away, her laughter ringing in the corridor.
“Hey, wait. What's your name?” he shouted behind her, getting on his feet and stepping outside in the darkness. “Akshi,” came a voice from further ahead, soft and baby-like.
“Don't run away, please come back. I want to know what you're doing here,” Nirbhay said, walking ahead cautiously in the dark.
“I live here.” This time the voice came from somewhere behind him. Nirbhay turned.
“B… but no one lives here since a long time,” Nirbhay argued.
“We have always lived here.” Nirbhay turned again. This time she was standing right behind him, staring at him with a bewitching smile on her lips. The glow of her face seemed to illuminate the corridor and Nirbhay almost had to shield his eyes from looking at her, but she was a spectacle he would not have missed. For a moment, he lost his voice and Akshi laughed, soft yet loud enough for it to echo in the corridor. His heart was pounding against his ribs and he felt a desire burning in his chest of holding Akshi in his arms and talking to her all night.
“Ak… Akshi, you have a beautiful name,” he stuttered. “Thank you,” she nodded.
“Y… you are too beautiful.”
“Thanks again.”
“A… Akshi you said 'we have always lived here.' So who else resides here?”
“My family?”
“Where are they?”
“In that room on your right.”
Nirbhay narrowed his eyes and could just about make out the locked room he had seen earlier.
“But it's locked,” he protested.
“Not every lock has a key,” Akshi said in her mysterious saccharine-like voice.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Nirbhay asked but Akshi didn't respond. She just smiled and turned away.
“Hey, wait. I'm sorry, sorry for trespassing on your property but when I came here in the evening, no one was here, not a single soul,” Nirbhay said.
“Souls are everywhere around you, Nirbhay. You just don't notice them,” Akshi said slowly.
“Huh? You know my name? Went through my bag? Alright, alright… but I mean you must have come here during the night while I was sleeping,” Nirbhay surmised.
“I come here only during the night,” Akshi said.
“Ah, I thought so. So you must be studying somewhere or working during the day. A princess in such a royal mansion shouldn't work, she should just rule,” Nirbhay flirted a little.
Akshi smiled once again in response. It fascinated him further.
“Anyway, I'm Nirbhay… Nirbhay Kumar. Ah, but of course, you already know that. But how?” he asked. “Hey, don't go… listen, tell me why people haven't seen anyone here in recent times if you have always lived here?” Nirbhay asked, trying to engage her in a conversation.
Akshi merely shrugged.
“Ah, I get it. You people are the reclusive types; keep to yourselves mostly, is it? Even my family… huh, what happened?” Nirbhay asked as he saw the colour hastily drain from Akshi's face. She was holding herself tight and staring towards the right nervously.
“What happened? Are you alright?” Nirbhay repeated.
“He's coming… coming to get me,” Akshi mumbled. The glow from her face seemed to scatter, darkness engulfing the corridor once again.
“What? Who's coming? What're you saying?” Nirbhay stepped ahead to comfort her but she took a step back, eyeing the locked room and shaking her head.
“He is coming. He'll kill me,” she said softly and began to sob. “Who'll kill you? Stop crying please,” Nirbhay tried.
At that precise moment, a loud scream pierced the night air, making the hair on Nirbhay's arms stand on its roots. Nirbhay had hardly registered the sound coming from his right when it was followed by an even louder roar that shook the house. Nirbhay could neither assign that sound to man nor beast. A continuous pounding hurt his sweaty ears and he looked at the locked door, shaking as if a hundred men were pounding at it together with their dying fists.
“Ma!” Nirbhay heard Akshi scream. He saw her run towards the direction of the room.
She had not even covered half the distance when another girly shriek echoed across the corridor. The shriek had reached a crescendo when the huge roar drowned it, making Nirbhay lose his balance and slump on the flo
or.
“Didi!” Akshi's scream gave him goosebumps as she ran towards the door. He wanted to shout but his parched throat could only croak.
“Akshi, wait!” he managed to say, standing up with shaky legs and running after her in the dark. He almost caught up with her and was just about to pull her back when something clanked and fell down ahead, the metal sound reverberating through the corridor.
He was going to ask Akshi to step back but his voice remained stuck in his throat as he noticed the heavy timber door fly open and a strong force of wind move it back and forth. A slick and reddish black coloured fluid soon made its way to the corridor, coming towards his feet at a furious pace. He could almost hear the gurgling sounds that it made as it swept the oak floor. He couldn't fool himself any longer by saying it was water from a drainage pipe that had burst. Nirbhay knew it was blood and with a cry, he jumped to the side, trying to avoid slipping in the river.
“Akshi, come on. We have to leave from here… now,” he said and bent ahead to pull her back again. She turned to look at him, scared and crying. His hand passed right through her outstretched arm, trying to grab the air and yet she was there, standing, sobbing, and staring at him and the blood bath in a helpless manner.
Nirbhay had to hold the wall to prevent himself from slipping in the pool of blood. His heart seemed to have stopped.
“Akshi, Akshi,” he whispered but got no response in return.
Right then, an overpowering stench of rotting flesh hit his nostrils making him feel nauseous. He was just about to throw up when an exceptionally powerful force of wind hit him square in his chest. This time, it lifted him clear off his feet and threw him towards the corridor on the left end. As he looked at Akshi while being air-borne, he saw the wind lifting her nightgown just enough to reveal her feet pointed towards him even though she stood with her back facing him.
He crashed down on the floor, his head hitting the base of a window, shattering the glass. Through a faltering vision, he thought he saw a black hirsute beast growling as he shredded Akshi's struggling form into pieces with his two-inch long talons, melting it in the air. Her scream was the loudest, even louder than the roar that followed it. He carried it into the realm of his unconsciousness.
“You think Nirbhay would still be inside that house?” Samir asked as he trudged along with his friend towards the center of their discussion.
The Other Side
93
“I'm sure he would be waiting for us at the door. He is fearless, that guy. Quite brave,” Sushant replied quickening his pace.
“There's a thin line between bravery and foolishness. I just hope he hasn't crossed it,” Samir remarked looking at the mansion as they neared it.
The sun was just about yawning in its morning glory, spreading its yellow flames across the skies as they reached the semicircular irongate.
“Nirbhay,” Samir called out, noticing his friend's absence in the compound or the visible doorway.
“We are here, you can come out now,” Sushant shouted.
The silence was unperturbed.
“He must be inside. Should we go in?” Sushant said, turning towards the fence.
“Not too sure about that. The place does not give me the right vibes and I would think twice before stepping on it,” Samir said in an under-tone.
“It's morning now, Samir and what if Nirbhay is in some sort of trouble,” Sushant said.
“I doubt that but I guess we must check inside,” Samir agreed and both of them somehow hoisted themselves over the fence.
“Nirbhay,” they shouted again as soon as their feet touched the unkempt ground. A cat mewed in response but they could not quite point out where the sound came from. Taking hurried steps towards the door, they kept looking around, hoping they wouldn't have to enter inside the mansion. Their hope was in place as they could make out Nirbhay's form slouched in a corner near the verandah.
“Looks like he slept outside. See I had told you he wouldn't go inside. After all…” Samir was saying but stopped immediately on seeing Nirbhay stir.
“Hey, old man. Looks like you slept well throughout the night. Mosquitoes would have been a problem if not the 'evil spirit,'” Sushant joked, kicking Nirbhay playfully on his backside.
Nirbhay suddenly shot up and grabbed Samir's leg in a steel grip. Samir struggled after noticing the disheveled hair and the blank, almost maniacal look in their friend's eyes that were shining like enormous white globes of luminescence.
“Let go, let go,” Samir said signaling for a shocked Sushant to come to his aid.
“Help me, he's coming… he's going to kill me,” Nirbhay begged, his mouth contorting in pain. The laughter that followed echoed across the valley.
“I do not love men: I love what devours them.” ¯André Gide
Strangers In The Night
S
avio drove his car down the familiar road. He was not in a hurry to get back to his lonely bungalow situated on the fringes of Old Goa. He hummed a popular chartbuster as he pressed down on the accelerator and the powerful engine responded with a surge of raw power. The headlights cut a bright swathe of light through the dark as he sped westwards, enjoying the lonely drive. As he approached the British Cemetery, the headlight lit up the solitary figure of a woman coming out of the gate. As the headlights caught her, she looked up and waved at him frantically. He was driving too fast and his car whizzed by the lady before he could react. He braked hard and the car came to a screeching halt some twenty meters from her. He carefully reversed the car and lowered the window once he was alongside her. He gawked at her beautiful face as she walked towards the car. She was dressed in a short white sleeveless dress with just a hint of cleavage teasing her admirer. The lonely streetlight shone from behind giving her hair a shiny, almost ethereal appearance.
“Thanks!” She had a musical twang to her voice. “I really thought you wouldn't stop when you whizzed past.”
“Actually, I was going too fast. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Today is my grandparents' marriage anniversary. I always come to the cemetery to put roses on their graves and pray for their souls on this particular day. I got late this time and suddenly it became dark. I was wondering how I would make it back home. I'm scared,” she shuddered in the cold.
“Where do you live?” Savio asked.
“I live in Panaji,” she replied.
“Well, you should hop in. I am going that way,” he grinned,
leaning over to the left and unlocking the door.
The woman looked at him for a moment, gave a grateful smile, walked over to the other side of the car and eased herself into the front seat. Savio put the car in gear and resumed his driving. They whizzed past the cemetery and the woman gave a little shiver. “Thanks again for stopping. It is a dark and lonely road and I was beginning to get scared.”
Savio laughed and asked, “But you were not scared to visit the cemetery alone.”
“No. I have been a denizen of that place since a long long time,” she said and paused to look at him. Savio raised an eyebrow.
The Other Side
99
“I was just scared that I'll have to walk all the way to Panaji,” she added.
Savio smiled, “You don't have to feel scared now. Now that you are in my car, let's get acquainted. I am Savio D'souza from Old Goa.”
“Annie. I work as a receptionist at Dona Paula Resort,” she said, “If you were not driving I would shake your hands. You sure saved me a lot of trouble tonight.”
“Never miss a chance to offer lift to a beautiful lady!” Savio laughed.
“Are you sure that I qualify?” she teased with a mischievous look as she matched his laughter.
“Absolutely, Annie. These eyes have seen a lot and rarely miss things.”
“Okay! And what do these eyes tell you about me?” Annie asked, dropping her head to one side and looking at him.
“These eyes tell me that I am in the company of a v
ery attractive lady and my heart tells me that today is going to be my lucky day… err night,” Savio said, before smiling.
“Oh, you are just trying to flatter me,” Annie said, looking at him with large limpid eyes. “You did not tell me what you do.”
“This and that!” Savio was suddenly evasive. “You may say I am a small time businessman.”
“Yeah! A small time businessman who drives a BMW,” Annie smiled.
They entered Panaji city and as the passing streetlights lighted up the interiors of the car, Savio stole a quick sideways look at Annie. She caught him in the act and smiled back at him. He noticed her sparkling teeth behind those ruby red lips as they dazzled his eyes, making him waver in concentration for a moment. Did he just see a pointed tooth at the side or was it a trick of the light? He blinked, slowing down the car.
“Well, we have reached Panaji. Where should I drop you off?”
“Aww, I don't want to go home to an empty apartment just yet. Be a gentleman and take me somewhere for a drink,” Annie pouted.
“That is almost Godfather-like,” Savio smiled.
“I beg your pardon.”
“Ha! I mean to say that it is an offer I can't refuse. Let's go to Vivanta,” he said and did a neat U-turn to reach the club of the five star hotel.
They found a table on the lawn next to the Mandovi river. Savio sat across the table and looked directly at Annie. Her large innocent eyes, flawless skin, sharp nose and fair oval face seemed too flawless to ignore. But her most striking feature was those ruby red lips that were just crying out to be kissed.
Annie saw him looking and smiled impishly. He again noticed an irregular tooth peeking out from her lips. “What are you looking at?” she asked.