by Faraaz Kazi
“It's all in the mind, dear. Honestly, the bungalow is as normal as possible,” he had said.
Swaminathan chafed with impatience as the taxi was struck in the rush hour traffic. He looked at his watch and realised that they had been stuck at that particular juncture for well over twenty minutes. He had rushed to Chennai the moment he had heard that his wife had been admitted in New Asian Hospital for her delivery. But traveling to Kochi, and then catching a flight to Chennai had been a cumbersome affair and now this traffic was not helping his cause. The moment he landed in Chennai, he had called Bhagyalakshmi on her mobile. His mother-in-law had picked up the phone and told him that the operation was still on. Swaminathan was nervous; he knew that he would become a father soon. In his nervousness though he had not forgotten to thank the Goddess; whose blessings, he believed, were instrumental in bringing about this magical moment in their lives. He wanted to just fly over the traffic and rush to the Hospital to hold Bhagya and their offspring in his arms.
“My child!” He thought and his face broke into a nervous
smile. He wondered how the child would look. Would it inherit its father's swarthy complexion and straight hair or would providence be kind and give it his mother's delicate features, wheatish complexion, curly hair and narrow black eyes? He imagined holding the baby in his arms with Bhagyalakshmi looking proudly at both of them.
His reverie was interrupted as the taxi rolled to a stop outside the hospital. He paid the driver in a hurry and rushed inside, not even waiting to collect the change. He found his mother-in-law waiting outside the room. Her eyes lit up the moment he saw him.
“Ah, there you are. We all have been waiting for you. Congratulations, Bhagya has been blessed with a beautiful baby boy!” his mother-in-law exclaimed, hardly able to conceal her joy.
Five years later.
Bhagyalakshmi swung lazily on the swing while enjoying the mellow breeze. The rays of the setting sun bathed the entire vista with an orange hue. The old gardener pottered about, attending to minor tasks. ‘He is not so grumpy now,’ she thought. ‘In fact he has brightened up considerably and talks to Surya for hours.’
She heard a patter of little feet and saw her son Surya running behind a ball that disappeared behind the thick bushes. She stood up and went to fetch it for him.
“Don't go there. There is a King Cobra in the flowerbed,” Surya whispered.
She froze once more at the mention of the snake, a distant memory tickling her brain and then she looked at her son. He looked so adorable with his fair complexion, blond hair and blue eyes.
“Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red.” ¯Clive Barker
Red Bangles
I
never knew the meaning of love until the day I saw her. I was in school, an awkward and shy, stay in the background kind of teenager. Seeing her walk into the class hugging a stack of books to her chest, unsure about herself yet looking every bit like the angel she was, I fell in love.
She was fair, almost my height and walked elegantly with those thin deer-like legs that the school skirt did little to hide. She sat two rows behind me and I still remember turning back now and then on any given pretext just to catch a glimpse of her. A glimpse that would keep me going for the entire day.
“Students, this is your new classmate, Arti Sharma from Dehradun. She will now be studying with you. So everyone say 'Hello' to Arti,” our class teacher, Ms. Gonsalves introduced her and everyone except me had responded with a 'Hello Arti' in their singsong voice. I was too busy relishing the aura of her nervous smile warming my insides.
Try as I might, I never had the gumption to approach her for small talk as she had a large girl gang and was the cynosure of all eyes. Three years later, we passed out from school, I was dejected. Even though I had topped the board exams, I was distraught considering the fact that I would not get to see Arti again.
A pleasant surprise awaited me when I joined junior college a couple of months later. Arti had joined the same college! It was perhaps a divine sign, showing support towards my feelings. We had opted for the Science stream and were the only two students from our school to study in that college until Samit came along. Samit and Arti had been friends since she had taken admission in school and I remembered the burning sensation in my heart every time I saw them together.
In college too, Arti and Samit sat together on the same bench. I dropped the habit of taking a seat in the first row to listen to what the professors had to say and shifted back, just so that I could keep Arti in my sight. I would see her slap Samit's hand playfully and hear her muffled laughter between lectures whenever he would crack some silly joke. His presence irked me no end.
A few days later, I found myself paired with Arti by one of our professors for an experiment in the chemistry lab. Samit was absent thus giving me the golden chance to work on the chemical mixtures along with Arti. She smiled, acknowledging me and I tried to focus on the experiment, trying to enjoy the half hour we would be together.
“Pass me the dropper, Vinay,” she had said, turning to me all of a sudden. With shivering hands, I gave her the instrument while considering the enormity of what she had said. She knew my name, she knew I existed.
I kept mumbling 'Pass me the dropper, Vinay' for three days in a row. I could not contain my feelings any longer and I knew the time had come when I should confess them to her.
But how could I? I couldn't even open my mouth when she was around. The butterflies in my stomach made me forget whatever I would be speaking if my eyes fell on her. The Rose day, I decided, would be the perfect time to profess my love for her.
With a dozen red-roses and a cheesy pick-up line from a romance novel that I had started reading to get schmaltzy ideas, I stood near the college parking space looking out for her familiar figure when loud whistles and hoots attracted my attention. Out of curiosity, I walked to the source of the noise. The roses in my hand seemed to wither away that very instant, their petals suddenly turning black. I could not bring myself to look at that scene- Samit down on his knees handing over a red rose to Arti, who seemed content with blushing away all the attention. The claps and whistles followed, informing me that she had accepted the rose from his hands. Before I left for home, I saw them hugging each other tight. I remained absent from college for that entire week faking an illness, an illness for which there was no cure in the history of mankind.
I resumed college deciding to stay clear from Arti but wherever I went I seemed to run into her, her thoughts never left me. Once again we were teamed up, this time in the Botany lab and Arti suddenly turned to me after we had finished the experiment.
“Vinay, you look so tense these days. You should take a break from studies sometimes and just chill out,” she said.
I wanted to ask her whether she would chill out with me but I ended up giving her a goofy smile and she playfully patted my back before leaving.
My heart started composing fantasies once again and after a long time, I saw a small ray of hope illuminate my life. What if Samit and Arti were to break up? Who would lend her the crying shoulder? I knew what I had to do then. For the first time, I realised that I was ready to do anything to be with her. She was the sole reason I existed.
Two days later, I stole Samit's notebook from class and spent two weeks trying to imitate his handwriting. When I was perfectly sure about my artwork, I wrote a letter to Radhika, another girl in class whom Samit was good friends with. In the letter, Samit through me confessed his infatuation with Radhika, admitting he was with Arti but wanted to dump her because of her incessant tantrums. The next day, when Samit was in the playground and Arti was away, I carefully placed the missing notebook along with the letter right beneath Arti's desk. In the break, I could see her reading the letter covered between the pages of the same notebook. With a triumphant smile, I went home and started rejoicing. My surging hopes came crashing down the very next day. I was shocked to see Arti, Samit and Radhika sitting together and laugh
ing loudly on some joke. It was clear she had taken Samit's word for it rather than going by the 'proof' in her hands.
I tried many such stunts over the years but whatever I did, whatever I said, just didn't work and I tore my hair in frustration as attempt after attempt went down the drain. Growing up from our teens into adulthood, we continued the same stream for our graduation. All this while, not once did my feelings for Arti falter. On the contrary, they only intensified in their purpose seeing her and Samit happy together. 'Why don't they ever fight?' I used to think accompanied by many other thoughts that rose from my undeclared feelings. It was only a matter of time that Arti's father announced his daughter's marriage with Samit as soon as we graduated.
I don't exactly remember how I was feeling that day. Disappointed? Heartbroken? Mere words are too mellow and passé to describe the turmoil that was raging within me. I do remember locking myself in the bathroom and shedding copious tears, trying to come to terms with my fate. But I was still not willing to give up and accept my destiny. How could I? I had never failed any test. I had never asked for anything from God. I had pursued Arti as my dream since the time I didn't even know what love was. So how could I just let someone else take her away from me?
For the next two months, I did nothing but lay down a plan. No one heard from me during those two months, my only focus being Arti. I secretly followed her like a silent shadow every time she went out, kept a check on her activities and the wedding preparations. I zeroed in on the beauty parlour she frequented. The area had dense bushes surrounding the narrow path one had to walk to reach the parlour. The wedding day arrived and not wanting to make any mistake, I followed Arti right from outside her home in the van I had rented for the purpose. Her sister and a girl friend were accompanying her to the parlour.
After four anxious hours, Arti came out from the parlour accompanied by the other two. Looking at her, I temporarily forgot about my intentions and just stared at her unmatched beauty through the bushes. She looked so beautiful in that green lehenga, her skin glowed with all that jewelery on her frame- the glittering paayal in her feet, the silvery kamarband on her waist, the tinkling jhumkaason her ears, the slithering bindiyaon her forehead and the red bangles on her wrists.
Their loud whispers and giggles broke my trance. As they came near, I slowly shifted the small tranquilizer gun in my hand and took aim from the bushes. There was no way I would miss when the path was so narrow and the target so close. The dart hit her friend right in the neck and with a whimper she slumped down. Arti and her sister were walking a few yards ahead and thankfully, noticed nothing unusual.
The second shot caught Arti's sister right on her exposed waist, her sari hiding the small injection. As soon as the needle sunk in her skin, she bellowed like a cow and collapsed on the ground. I saw a worried Arti turn towards her and shake her unconscious frame. She soon started to fumble in her purse and grabbed her cell phone. At that exact moment, I jumped out from the bushes behind her and placed the chloroform sprinkled handkerchief on her face. After a momentary struggle, she fell right into my arms.
I dragged Arti to the van hidden behind the bushes. Three hours later, I carried her inside an old apartment in the less populated suburbs. I gently placed her on the bed and admired her beauty, which had multiplied manifold in her bridal attire. She was mine now and I could hardly believe that. I would marry her and the fact gave me boundless joy. Her shining skin, her fair colour
The Other Side
165
blinded my eyes. I touched her face with shaky hands, then her arms and then circled a thirsty finger round her belly. She was the purest form of creation for me and I would ensure she remained so.
I was afraid that she would run away from me once she woke up and so I decided to tie her limbs to the thick bedposts. I used a thick rope lying in the attic and proceeded to knot her limbs, checking and rechecking every twist of the rope on each limb.
“Just a momentary suffering, my love,” I whispered into her sleeping ears.
Hardly had I done so than Arti began stirring and twisting her delicate body. She moaned in a low delectable tone, her eyelids fluttering a little. The chloroform was losing its effect and for some strange reason, the butterflies in my stomach returned. I wasn't ready for the confrontation, not yet. I still felt as jittery as the first time I had tried talking to her. No, it would have to wait. I needed some more time to ready myself. Without thinking about anything else I fumbled for the chloroform bottle lying nearby, tilting it to the right where my handkerchief waited to soak in the liquid. Arti moaned again, trying to move her tied up limbs and her eyelashes seemed to rise. I shivered nervously, my hands shaking so hard that it was becoming difficult to think in a clear manner and in the process; half the bottle of the knockout liquid flooded the cloth. Arti opened her eyes, looking up towards the ceiling and without thinking about anything; I jumped ahead, slapping the handkerchief into her face with my right hand, while covering her eyes with my left.
I felt her struggle against my hold, her tied-up limbs disturbing the white sheet laid beneath her. It took all my force to hold the cloth in place till I was sure Arti was back to her dreamy state. I pulled back, heaving a sigh of relief as I dropped down beside Arti on the bed. I don't quite remember my eyes shutting down, my tiredness overtaking my attempts at keeping myself awake to look over Arti.
In that dreamy state, an inexplicable feeling usurped me, giving rise to horror as I witnessed a pair of gruesome blackened hands making their way towards my neck. I could feel my throat constricting as they closed in. The hands came together as they neared my face, red bangles on the wrists, their clanking sounded like someone ringing the death-knell on my grave. I choked, trying to breathe in large amounts of air as the hands wrapped themselves around my neck. My eyes bulged out as with inhuman strength they squeezed the life out of me. I willed myself to open my eyes and sat upright in the bed, gasping for air and wiping the sweat swimming over my forehead. Slowly I got down and looked out of the window. It was still dark outside, my wristwatch told me it was two in the morning. I tried the switches on the wall but no light came on.
“Power cut,” I groaned. That was a common problem in this part of the city.
I checked on Arti. She was still unconscious. I wondered what would have happened to the wedding, how Samit would have reacted and what people would have said. It didn't matter to me anymore. I had her with me and nothing else was the key to my happiness. I promised myself to confess everything to her when she woke up in the morning. I sat on the wobbly chair opposite the bed, intending to watch over her. I don't remember how long I sat there but I narrowed my eyes when my reverie was broken by a sound. Slow and soft, it seemed to be the jingling of bangles.
The Other Side
167 Strangely it sounded similar, almost as if I heard that before. Somewhere…
I walked gingerly to the door and looked out of the room but the darkness was a deterrent to my vision. I heard the sound again. It seemed to come from somewhere above me. The attic? I looked up but couldn't see anything in the meager moonlight coming in through the ventilator. The sound repeated, the jingle echoing across the hall.
“Mice,” I reasoned with myself and went back to my chair. Hardly had I parked myself when the sound reached me again, this time it was accompanied by whimpers and wails that made me stand up and hold the chair for support. The hair at the nape of my neck stood at an end. 'This surely can't be mice,' I told myself and slowly walked out of the room again.
I peered into the attic and immediately backtracked. There was someone squatting near the bars, holding their head between the legs. I could just about see their shadow in the limited moonlight. The first thing that came to my mind was that it was some drug peddler who had made this vacant apartment his hideout at night. I picked up a sturdy vase lying nearby and slowly advanced towards the attic, climbing the steps without a sound. The sobs sounded louder, almost feminine now.
“Who is it?” I shou
ted as soon as I crept inside the confined area.
The sound stopped as soon as I spoke. Something stirred, I could see the shadowy figure lift its head and all of a sudden it turned towards me. I staggered back and fell onto the floor; the vase went crashing out of my hands. The bones in my body started clattering against each other, their jitters strangely sounded similar to the clanking of bangles. The face… that face… those red charcoal like burning eyes… in a subdued form… they belonged to... I couldn't think clearly. No, it couldn't be.
The meager amount of moonlight too vanished. A cold gust of wind blew in my face, unsettling me and suddenly the faint light entered the attic again. The cloud had moved on and so had the figure in the attic. There was no one near the bars. As I stood up, my legs still shaking a loud thud made me skip a heartbeat.
I quickly ran towards the bedroom. The door was shut.
“It must have been the wind,” I convinced myself though the wind had been blowing in the opposite direction. I wanted to get inside the room. Arti was alone inside. I tried to push the door open with both my hands, banging my body against it. Furiously, I twisted the knob to the left and right. Just as I was about to kick it, the door opened slowly, almost as if someone was letting the curtain drop inch by inch to reveal the darkness inside.
I watched my steps, holding onto the wall as I entered inside. The room seemed darker than before almost as if dark shadows had swallowed the entire space. The moment I had both my feet in the room, the door banged shut behind me. I turned to twist the knob once more. No use, mysteriously it had jammed again. I pulled out my cellphone from the pocket of my jeans and through the white light, I surveyed the room. There was no one on the bed, I gasped.