by Sabina Khan
By now Shiv had lost it and was bent over with laughter, which was ironic, because the next instant I looked up again just in time to see a monkey throwing a half-eaten banana and hitting Shiv square in the face. Hah, I thought, revenge is sweet. I was laughing so hard that I didn’t see the next missile coming at me, this time a granola bar. It bounced off my face, landing on the ground. I ducked just in time to avoid the next item, a water bottle. That would have taken me out.
“Shiv, I think they’re trying to return our stuff,” I yelled over the cacophony up in the trees. There were at least a dozen monkeys and they were chattering very loudly.
“You think?” he yelled back, barely dodging something wrapped in cellophane.
We were running around in circles picking stuff up while the monkeys followed us overhead. After some time things stopped falling out of the trees. Shiv and I surveyed the lot. It seemed that we had most things back. At least everything we needed right now. The monkeys had disappeared too.
“Okay, that was weird,” said Shiv, fiddling with the compass. “But at least we have our stuff back.”
Suddenly there was a crashing sound that reverberated through the trees. It was followed by another one, this time a thunderous boom, and then the ground shook. Suddenly I felt a strong breeze out of nowhere and then to my utter disbelief a small funnel cloud descended upon the little clearing, blowing dust and leaves all around us. We were momentarily blinded, and when everything settled, I rubbed the dirt out of my eyes. When I opened them, I froze. Before me stood Hanuman. The King of Monkeys. Not Tarzan, but the beloved god from Hindu mythology. Son of the wind god. Savior of Sita. The stories about him were endless. As a child I would beg my grandmother to tell them to me over and over again. I loved his heroism when he saved Lord Rama’s beloved Sita from the demon Ravana. He was the son of a celestial nymph and the wind god, Vayu. Stories of his childhood antics filled my memories, as did those about his powers of shape-shifting. Now he stood before me in all his simian glory. His body was covered in hair but his face was more human than ape. His long tail swished as he stood before us. He was smaller than I would have imagined, but I suspected that had something to do with the fact that he could change his size at will. All these thoughts swirled in my head as I stood in front of him, at a complete loss for words. I stole a glance at Shiv beside me. He was apparently suffering from the same affliction.
Hanuman smiled at us.
“I apologize for my naughty children,” he said in a deep, booming voice that echoed around us.
“Lord Hanuman...I can’t believe it...” I had finally found my voice, but I still couldn’t trust what I was seeing.
“Yes, my dear. It is I, Hanuman. I have been waiting for you.”
“I don’t understand...”
“I have something to give you, my child.” An object appeared in his hand from thin air, as far as I could tell. I had seen one like it before, in a temple in Kolkata. It was a gada, a mace, the favored weapon of Hanuman. He handed it to me. I reached out to grab it by the handle, which was thin on the bottom but increased in girth until it ended in a bulbous top. In the stories my grandmother would tell me, the gada was used in the epic battles of the Ramayana to destroy the armies of Rakshasas. Now I held one in my hand. It was not as heavy as I had expected. My fingers fit comfortably around the bottom and I swung it, hesitantly at first, then with more confidence. I looked up at Lord Hanuman. He was smiling at me.
“It seems that it is made just for you, isn’t it?” he said with a wink.
Then his expression became grave once more.
“You have a difficult journey ahead of you, my child. This gada will help to protect you against the many dangers you will face. It is more powerful than it appears. Use it well.”
And with that he whipped around so fast that all we could see was a cloud of dust and leaves and then he was gone, as quickly as he had appeared. When the dust settled I looked at Shiv. He looked stunned, which was exactly how I felt. In all my life I had never anticipated that one day I would be standing in the middle of the forest having a conversation with Hanuman. He was one of my favorites of all the Hindu deities. His ability to leap over mountains in a single bound, to change his size at will and to heal were all part of my fascination with him. But most of all I loved his loyalty and his willingness to fight for the weak. And now he had given me a gada. I held it close, admiring the intricate patterns etched into the wood. I looked up to see Shiv looking at it longingly.
“Here,” I said, handing it to him. “You can hold it for a while.”
It was like giving candy to a kid. His face lit up and he took it almost reverently. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who was a fan of Lord Hanuman.
Now that we had our stuff back, we sat and ate the rest of our bananas from last night, along with some of the crackers the monkeys had so generously dropped on our heads. There was more coconut water too, so I was quite content when we started back on our trip. A quick consultation of the map and confirmation with the compass indicated that we were still on the right track. Back in Kolkata I had read that a big tsunami a few years ago had altered the geography of the island quite a bit, but it seemed that the interior of the forest had remained unchanged. I wondered when and if we would come into contact with any of the few hundred inhabitants. I’d been fascinated to read in several articles that this particular tribe and its descendants had lived on the island completely untouched by civilization for thousands of years. They kept to themselves and attacked any outsiders with spears and arrows before they got too close. Based on that, I thought we’d been pretty lucky so far. We hadn’t seen anybody at all.
We walked in silence for some time, stopping only to rest briefly so we could make the most of daylight. At one point we were caught up in a monsoon shower that stopped as abruptly as it started, leaving us drenched. However, once the sun came out it took very little time to dry off. We seemed to be making good progress so we decided to stop and eat after a few hours of trekking through the jungle. According to Shiv’s calculations, we would be there by nightfall.
We were just finishing up and getting ready to leave again when I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye. I immediately reached for the gada, which I’d tucked into the waistband of my jeans. I looked toward the trees, where I thought I’d seen something move. But now there was nothing. Shiv noticed me standing very still and stopped as well. He dropped his backpack, reaching for his own dagger. For some reason my eyes were drawn to a particular tree. There was something about it that didn’t seem right.
I walked a little closer and stared at the trunk. The markings seemed uneven. Not that I knew that much about trees, but this one looked like it had...eyes. I jumped back just in time as a part of the trunk seemed to come to life. A figure seemed to peel itself right from the tree. It did not seem friendly. In fact, it came straight at me with arm-like limbs that ended in sharp claws. Shiv jumped in front of me and plunged his dagger into the creature. It staggered back, slowing down for a brief moment before straightening up and coming at us again. This time I put myself between the creature and Shiv, swung the gada and brought it down on the demon’s head. A piercing sound erupted from it as it fell to the ground. But just as swiftly it regained its balance and lunged for me again. I swung again, this time aiming for the torso. It fell again and this time it stayed down. Shiv had come up behind it and stabbed it again with his dagger. It screamed in agony and in that scream I was sure I could make out words. I could have sworn it said “Mahisha is coming for you.” Then it slumped down and its body turned to ash, leaving nothing other than a few tendrils of smoke that floated up into the air. Shiv and I watched, stunned.
“Did you hear what it said?” I whispered, terrified that he hadn’t.
“Mahisha is coming? Yes I heard that,” Shiv said grimly.
It was strange, the way hearing the words from the demon made this whole situation seem more real than all the conversations I’d had with the Rakshakari
. I felt the dread growing stronger. At the same time it also had to mean that we were getting close. That gave me hope, and hope was something I needed badly right now. I could see by the determined set of Shiv’s jaw that he shared my sentiments. Our eyes locked for a moment and then in unspoken agreement we moved on.
“So...this gada,” I said, swinging it around as we began walking again. “It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, somebody sure enjoyed using it,” Shiv said, grinning.
“Hey, a girl’s gotta take care of herself, you know,” I said, playfully punching him on the shoulder.
I didn’t know how long we’d been going when it happened. One moment we were walking along and the next Shiv disappeared. It was as if he had been lifted right off the ground. It was a good thing I looked up, because there he was, hanging in a net from a tree branch, looking as stunned as I felt. But only for a moment. Then I took a few steps forward, too late to hear him shout out a warning. I felt my feet slide out from under me as I was hoisted high up into the trees. Once I’d caught my breath, I tried to find Shiv. Thankfully, I could still see him. He looked shocked, probably due to the profanities coming out of my mouth, or maybe it was the situation in general. Either way, we were stuck there, defenceless and at the mercy of whoever had set the traps.
“Are you hurt, Callie?” Shiv’s voice sounded shaky, which was exactly how I felt. I checked myself as well as I could, given the awkward position I was in. It didn’t feel as if anything was broken.
“No, I think I’m okay. What about you?” I craned my neck to get a better look at him, but the more I moved the more twisted the net got. It was hard to face in one direction.
“Yeah, I’m okay too, I think. Can you see anything from there? I don’t see anyone and I have quite the vantage point here.”
I looked around, turning my head as far as I could without dislocating my neck, but there was nothing. “No, Shiv, I don’t see anything either. Do you think it’s the locals trying to keep us away?”
“I think that’s about right. Remember how my uncle said they’re not very friendly? This is probably how they keep outsiders away.”
“Well, we need to figure out how to get down. Any ideas?” I was getting a cramp in my legs and it was starting to get dark. I did not want to be hanging all scrunched up in a net when night fell in the jungle. Suddenly I heard a loud thud and then a grunt. “Shiv?”
There was no reply. I tried to swing my body to face in his direction. There was nothing to push against, so the best I could do was a rocking motion to get myself moving and hope that I ended up facing the right way. After several attempts, I ended up facing where I thought Shiv had been hanging. He wasn’t there. I swung around again, changing directions, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.
“Shiv, where are you? Shiv, say something if you can.” Panic began to set in and I fought the urge to scream. The next thing I knew there was a tug from above me, and I was falling. As the ground raced up to meet me, I screamed in terror and then mercifully everything went black.
Chapter Seventeen
When I came to, I couldn’t move. I opened my eyes and immediately shut them again as the bright light assaulted them. I tried again, just opening them the slightest bit. I didn’t know how I was being restrained because I couldn’t even move my head to get a look. The only thing I had to rely on was my vision. At least there was light.
I squinted against the brightness and slowly my eyes got used to the glare. I looked around and gasped. I was in a very small cage. It was barely large enough to fit me, which explained why I was stuffed in there like poultry. I strained my eyes as far as I could to get a better look. I was about to scream for help when my cage was rattled loudly. I heard the door being opened and then I was pulled out unceremoniously. My entire body hurt from being all twisted up for who knew how long. I looked at my captor. He was about my height, all of five feet tall, but stocky with curly salt-and-pepper hair. He wore only a loincloth and a held a staff in one hand. His eyes bristled with anger. Clearly I had pissed him off. Then he spoke to me. I didn’t understand the words, but the way he was jabbing at me with his fingers made it abundantly clear I was not welcome. Something twisted in my stomach. I didn’t see Shiv anywhere. I tried to open my mouth and speak, but my throat was dry and scratchy. All that came out was a croak, which made my captor look at me in confusion. I tried again.
“Shiv?” I called out. Nothing. Where is he?
The man yanked me roughly forward. I tried to get a better look around. There was a circular arrangement of shelters made from what looked like bamboo and dried grass. The structures had no walls and only provided cover on top. A few women and children were outside. The children chased each other while the women called out to them every now and then. But I still couldn’t see Shiv.
“Shiv,” I called out again. This time some of the children stopped to stare at me, and the women turned around to look too.
My captor regarded me disdainfully before turning to his right and shouting something. A few seconds later Shiv appeared, hands behind his back. He was dragged over to where I stood by another man with a similar build as my captor. Shiv looked disheveled, his T-shirt torn in a couple of places, but other than that there didn’t seem to be any visible damage. As soon as he saw me his eyes mirrored my relief. Now we just had to figure a way out of this pickle.
When he came closer, I pulled away from my captor’s grasp to reach out to him. That earned me a hard knock on the head.
“Callie...” Shiv shouted, pushing toward me. His captor hauled him back roughly. Then we were both thrown to the ground and pulled back up so that we were kneeling in the dirt. Shiv’s captor produced a knife and held it to Shiv’s neck. I screamed and tried to pull away. I must have dislodged my skull pendant during the kerfuffle because it began to glow and I felt a familiar warmth at my neck. Our captors staggered back, dropping their knives. They exchanged words then turned around to gesture wildly at the women and children. I stood up, watching them, not moving a muscle as the women herded their children into the shelters. The captors looked at us, but their eyes held a very different look now. I recognized it as fear and confusion. My pendant was still glowing, and the way that the two men were eyeing it told me that they knew something we didn’t. Shiv got up to stand beside me, rubbing his wrists.
“They’re afraid of the pendant,” I whispered.
“Do you think they know something about it?”
“That...or they’re just freaked out by the light.” I touched the pendant and moved toward them. They backed away. It wasn’t warm anymore and when I looked down I saw that it had stopped glowing too.
“It’s okay,” I said coaxingly as I inched slowly forward. I had a feeling in my gut that these people knew something. If they had really never been in touch with the outside world for so many centuries then the stories might even be true. Maybe they knew where the temple was and what was hidden inside.
The men had stopped moving backward, which I took as an encouraging sign. When I finally came close enough, one of them picked up a small stick and began to draw in the sand. Shiv came over too and we watched as the man worked fast and furiously. As we watched, it became clear what he was trying to depict. He had drawn a structure that resembled a temple. He had also drawn the figure of a woman. I bent down to get a closer look. It was unmistakeable. He had drawn Kali. She held a sword and a gada, along with an assortment of other weapons. It was a crude drawing but clear enough to erase all doubt in my mind that the inhabitants of this island knew about Kali.
He must have sensed my excitement because when I pointed to the sword and mimed a question, he nodded vigorously. I hoped that meant he would help us. But it appeared I would have to wait to find out. He turned to the women, who were peeking out from the shelter, and waved for them to come out. At first they hesitated, but then slowly a few of them ventured out with their children in tow. Soon they were standing behind the two men with shy smiles. Other men had a
lso joined them.
A little girl with curly black hair came closer than any of the others. She hid her face bashfully but then reached out to touch the hem of my shirt. A collective gasp rose from the little congregation. I kneeled down so that I was at her eye level and gently touched her hair. It was dry and springy, no doubt from the salt water and sun. I smiled at her and she returned a shy smile of her own. Then she ran back to her mother to hide her face in her lap.
I stood up. There was a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach, but this one wasn’t bad. It was the first time I had a sense of being part of something much bigger than myself. Something that had been in play for millennia. After all, these people had inhabited the island for over sixty thousand years and had never relinquished their independence and original culture. They were untarnished by the trappings of the modern world. It was no wonder that Kali’s priestesses had chosen this piece of paradise to keep the sword safe for all this time.
I bent down once again and pointed to the sword in the sand drawing. The men both nodded. I spoke to them in Bengali, even though I knew they spoke a different language. But I felt weird miming and speaking in English didn’t make much sense either. After a lot of gesturing I was able to deduce that they would show us the way to the temple. At least I hoped I was right. It was already dark by now, so when they urged us to sit and brought crude bamboo mats for us to sleep on, we didn’t argue. There were several fires going by now, and the women prepared a meal of fish and some kind of vegetable I couldn’t identify. It was simple and delicious. After we ate, we went to sleep. It was strange that neither of us felt the need to keep watch after the way they had initially treated us. We agreed that they were just defending themselves against outsiders and that they must have been very suspicious of two strangers who had dropped in uninvited. After the almost reverent manner in which they had been treating us the whole evening, I could not bring myself to mistrust them.
