The Green Room & Devi Collection

by Nag Mani

  “Me too,” Aditi said when the story ended. Aakriti was playing with a kitten nearby. Smriti was sucking noisily at the nipple of a milk-bottle. “I have two sisters to take my place!” “Lucky man!” her mother commented but Aditi was too young to understand sarcasm.

  When Aditi opened her eyes, she wondered how she could remember something that old. She had no idea that a conversation like that even took place until then. She turned to look at the window, the source of the disturbance that might have woken her. Someone was outside. There were hurried footsteps, then someone began to pound furiously at the door.

  Manoj jumped off the cot and ran to the bedroom.

  “Sahib! Sahib!” said a frail, frightened voice. “My daughter is sick! Zoya is sick! Please help me.”

  This was it, Aditi thought, as Payal pulled herself up. The Devi had told her that it would happen that night. She was on her feet, a little shaky and in pain.

  “Where are you going?” Bhagvati sprang out of the bed.

  “It’s Zoya,” Aditi whispered. “She is going to die tonight. We have to help Razzak.”

  “Sahib, please, open the door. Come with me!”

  “There is nothing you can do to help her.” Bhagvati was blocking her path. “We are leaving tomorrow. Please, Aditi, my son, don’t go looking for trouble.”

  “They are the ones in trouble,” Aditi retorted, “and that too because of us. Because of this man here…”

  “I did nothing…” Manoj mumbled.

  “You didn’t? All you wanted was for me to be bed ridden, so that you continue your affair with that slut with lots of looks and lots of lands. Even if it meant killing three girls…”

  “Why would I…”

  “Trust me Mr Manoj Prasad, whatever you did will come back to haunt you. If she dies, I am going to tell the whole village that it was you who did it!”

  “You will…”

  “Let’s see if you can leave this village alive!” Aditi pushed Bhagvati and rushed to the door. She had raised her hand to pull down the bolt when Manoj grabbed her and pulled her back. She shoved him too. He tripped on a bag on the floor and fell. “I will do whatever I can to help Razzak,” Aditi screamed at him even as his head struck the wall behind.

  “Razzak does not call me ‘Sahib’!” Manoj managed to say from the floor.

  Aditi froze at her place. Manoj straightened himself, rubbing his head, his eyes watery. The knocking came again, softer this time. “Sahib, she is going to die. Please help me! Let me in,” said a voice that very much resembled that of Razzak. She stepped back. “Memsahib? Can you hear me? Let me in!”

  “Come inside,” Manoj whispered, ushering all of them back into the bedroom.

  “Won’t you let me in, Sahib?” The helplessness in the voice was replaced with a cold mockery. Manoj lit an incense-stick and began to chant prayers.

  “Oh god save us!” Bhagvati was trembling.

  The presence outside seemed to withdraw. The women sat huddled together on the bed. Manoj stood close to the portraits of the gods. The clock went Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The fan churned reluctantly. The bulb flickered for a moment, then sprang back to life.

  Then all of a sudden, the window began to rattle. Payal shrieked and dug her nails into Aditi’s arms.

  “LET ME IN!” boomed a voice. And with that came other sounds. Laughter. Scuffling. Arguing. And in the backdrop, the shrill cry of a baby.

  “LET ME IN, SAHIB!”

  Payal began to cry. Aditi hugged her. They all sat together – Manoj had joined them too, a rudraksha bead in his hands – in the far corner of the bed. The window bulged as if it was on the verge of breaking. The Devi had said that it would be happening tonight. The last sacrifice had been marked. Aditi knew the Jinn now needed to gain entrance to her house, to do his job, to make her sick… terribly sick. He could have just entered the house, like he did when he came to take the girls. Why this trickery? He was trying to invite himself in – opening the door when he knocked was an invitation in itself. Why couldn’t he just break his way in? Aditi wondered what was stopping him from entering, until...

  “OPEN THE DOOR,” the demeaning voice roared, “ELSE I TEAR THE HOUSE APART.”

  Then came the sound of footsteps.

  Something dark crossed the hall.

  There was a THUD as the bolt slipped from its holder… and the front door creaked open.

  “The door is open,” said a ferocious female voice from the hall. “Enter – if you dare!”

  “Enter I will!” replied the booming voice, “And burn this house to ash!”

  “This is not your house to burn. Be gone! Return to your Root and hide. Hide till your essence fades and your core turns cold!”

  “Have you forgotten, Queen, the faces of the men who spat on you? The laughter of those who dragged you to the post? Have you forgotten, the pain as metal cut through your flesh and bones? The pain, hotter than fire. He was there. He saw the elements ooze out from your flesh, from your bones. Ah! How they dragged your headless body! That petty queen now dares to stand in our way!”

  “Go, you wretched soul, flee to your master and whine!”

  “This be it then.” There was silence now. All the sounds outside ceased suddenly. The women realised that they had been holding their breaths far too long, and just as they were about to release, the booming voice said again, “I am here to take the woman, and take her I will.”

  The door shut with a bang and the bolt jerked up into the holder.

  “Mummy, I don’t want to stay here,” Payal whimpered. “Let’s go.” Bhagvati patted her head and no one spoke after that. The night deepened. The fan continued to churn. Payal was first to close her eyes. Aditi leaned against her, after pushing Manoj out of the bed and throwing a bed-sheet after him. He curled on the floor. Bhagvati folded her arms around her knees and waited for the sun to rise.

  It was around four that sounds of nature tore the peaceful sheet of silence that had covered the village. Birds began to chirp. Goats began to bleat and scuffle. It was the beginning of another usual day… until a painful cry of a woman rang across the fields. Doors were opened. Babies cried. Someone somewhere shouted, “It’s her!”

  Bhagvati summoned the courage to open the window slightly and peep. She saw a crowd forming outside Laila’s house. “Zoya,” she whispered to herself.

  Aditi ran to the hall, and before anyone could stop her this time, she opened the door and was out in the cold morning. The sky had lightened towards the east, while few stars still twinkled in the west. She ran down the veranda, and just as she did, something grabbed her wrist. She turned around, flustered.

  Nothing but thin air.

  She lifted her hand. Black marks had appeared on her wrist. This was it, she thought. The Jinn had made his contact. She had been marked.

  She turned around and ran towards Zoya’s house. Ignoring the excruciating pain in her spine, she dashed through the front door. People were already up, scurrying like busy rats. The wailing was coming from a room upstairs. She bounded up the steps and just as she reached the landing, a sudden fatigue grasped her. She fell to her knees and vomited. She clutched the door and pulled herself up. Zoya was on a bed, wide eyed, crying. Laila stood beside her. Aditi noticed at once that unlike the previous times, there was no one else in the room. People had gathered in the hall downstairs, but no one dared to come up.

  Aditi dragged herself towards the bed. “Come Zoya. Come to my house! The Devi will save you!”

  Zoya began to cry even louder. Aditi couldn’t see anything suspicious with her body, yet Zoya screamed as if she was on fire. Aditi turned to Laila for support. “We have to take her. The Devi will save her! I will give my life if I have to. Take her before it’s too late. Before he comes here.”

  Laila didn’t move. She stared behind Aditi, her face pale, expressionless. Her lips didn’t move, yet Aditi heard her say, “But he is already here!”

  Aditi swung around. There, in the corner, was a sha
dow that shouldn’t have been there. It was that of a squatting man, his head bent low. The edges were flickering.

  Aditi took a step closer. The shadow didn’t change. It continued to linger harmlessly.

  “An innocent girl,” Aditi whispered to the shadow, “or you wouldn’t stand a chance to face the Devi.” She stepped closer. The shadow remained silent. “The mighty Jinn, or whatever rotten shit you are, is frightened of a woman! Did she not shut the door on your face? Did you not turn away and flee, cowering like a dog? Look, Zoya, don’t be scared of this shit! He is more frightened of you than you are of him.” The shadow was still quiet. Many a curious face appeared at the door. Aditi began to wonder if it was indeed just a shadow.

  And then, the edges stopped flickering.

  The shadow rose to the height of man, a very tall man.

  It detached itself from the wall.

  “Arre you nottt terrified, womannn?” said a booming voice that rattled the windows. The faces at the door disappeared amid loud shrieks. “Yourr deatth willl be ssslooow andd mersscilesss.”

  “You cannot kill me, you shit,” shot back Aditi, her voice quavering, “you are bound to carry out what was promised. You cannot kill me just yet.”

  “Behold thisss helplesss womannn! Ssshe daresss to acquaintt me offf my ownnn rulesss! I cann sssuck the bloodd outt offf yourr petty boddy, munnnch on yourr bonesss, drinkkk the esssence offf yourr sssoul…”

  “Oh, maybe you can, you shit, but you won’t, for you are too scared of her. If you so much as pluck my hair, she will be onto you. And you know only too well you are no match for her.”

  The shadow came closer. “Anddd why willl sshe standdd-uppp forr you?” it asked, laughing.

  “Because she is bonded to me.”

  “Do you thinkkk sso, womannn?” The laughter grew louder.

  “She promised to protect me from men who mean me harm, and I offered her my blood.”

  “Buttt I am no mannn!”

  Aditi swallowed. The shadow sensed the weakness and came even closer. “Accept it you shit, that you are scared of her!” She managed to steady herself. “Take me instead of the child, if you are as powerful as you claim to be, I dare you. A woman dares you!”

  “Takke youu I willl, petty womannn!” The shadow bellowed in rage. It lurched forward and Aditi felt something grab her throat. She was lifted in air. People were screaming outside the room.

  “Arre youuu nottt frighteneddd now?”

  “I… I did not…” she managed to choke.

  Then, within a blink of the eye, she was smashed against the window. She screamed and screwed her eyes shut, and when she opened them moments later, she found herself hovering outside the window, one storey above the ground. Something warm trickled down her scalp under her hair. Villagers were scampering away like a litter of puppies. The grip on her neck loosened and she fell to the ground. Ripples of pain shot through her body. The world blackened. Then something gripped her hair and with inhuman strength, began to pull her down the path to the forest.

  If dying was that easy, Aditi would have preferred dying than being pulled out of the darkness. The world was hazy at first, her eyes refused to focus. But the pain… it was as if her scalp was being pulled off. Her back… she had difficulty in breathing. She could make out that the sky had lightened. She saw the outline of her house. And on the roof, stood a woman, watching them...

  Aditi was near the edge of the forest. She couldn’t see the person dragging her, but she was aware of the many presences that had appeared in between the trees and in the foliage. “Help me!” she sputtered out the words. “I promise…”

  The Devi stood where she was. The house began to diminish. Leaves and branches obscured it from view, yet the Devi did not move. The pain was unbearable, but Aditi was too tired, too weak to struggle. A heavy humming filled the air under the forest canopy. Shadows moved and stirred behind tree trunks. Some followed her. They talked to each other excitedly. This was a different world altogether, dark and mirthless.

  Aditi found herself thinking of her father. She missed her home back in Purnia. She missed her childhood. No one had even tried to rescue her. Was she so unwanted, so uncared for, so unloved?

  It started with a slight movement in some bush. Then came a bark… and out leapt Bachcha, snarling at the invisible force that was pulling her. Aditi was laid down, and before she could even let out a sigh of relief, she was flung a few feet down the path. They had crossed the big ditch that was filled with water. Bachcha was on the other side, tails between his legs, fangs bared, snarling. The humming had increased to tangible vibrations that threatened to pull her core apart. It was coming from the deep within the earth.

  The shadow reappeared. Bachcha retreated, then stood his ground at the edge of the ditch, a small whitish figure barking ferociously in the feeble blue light. The shadow raised its hand. Bachcha opened his mouth again, but the bark got stuck in his throat. What came out instead was a faint whimper. Blood trickled out of his mouth and nose. He opened his mouth again, but only managed to cough out more blood. Then his forelimbs gave way. He fell head-first into the water and never surfaced.

  Someone started laughing. Aditi tried to reach for the water – pull him out before it was too late – or was it already – but was lifted in the air. The shadow pulled her into the clearing. She fell on her back and crouched in pain.

  “Aunty,” said a voice.

  Aditi looked up to see Zeenat and Zeba crouching under the canopy of the ancient tree. A man, tall and powerful, stepped in between them. His face was white. A black beard hung down till his chest. Even though evil and monstrosity gleaned in his eyes, his aura was seductive. Aditi found herself being drawn to him. “I cannot kill you yet, woman!” he said in his resonant voice, articulate now, rich and so manly that Aditi found the hair on her forearms rise, “but my master can!” He raised both his hands and the vibrations emanating from the ground intensified.

  Aditi felt her senses sharpen. She could somehow feel the presence of others around her, feel their emotions, their thoughts. They were filled with pain and misery and hatred. She could almost hear the Jinn call out to someone in a strange tongue, yet she understood it. She understood it all. He was summoning his master… to accept the gift he was offering… accept the pure soul of two young girls…

  As he chanted his mantra, Aditi felt another presence, very feeble first, then growing stronger and stronger, until it dominated everything around. She felt it in her core. It was something far superior than every life-form around, with unearthly intelligence and knowledge, with emotions beyond human comprehension. There was a myriad of thoughts, of lands she could not begin to imagine, of skies she had never seen, of darkness, of wetness…

  The tree began to sway. The leaves shuddered, the branches flayed. Aditi sensed anger now. The power was annoyed for having been summoned.

  “Gudiya,” said a voice behind Aditi, “is everything all right?”

  The Devi appeared inside the clearing.

  “Come, my Queen,” said the Jinn, though his lips never moved, “are you here to witness my offering?”

  “I am here to take what is mine.”

  “The woman is not yours. I have claimed her!”

  “Then fight me you must, you cursed soul, to claim your property!”

  “You are bonded to her, my Queen? You accepted her wish!” the Jinn was surprised. Then another realization hit him and he smiled, baring his sparkling teeth. He began to laugh in his booming voice. And the laughter spread like a ripple as shapeless figures hiding in the trees and behind the trunks joined the chorus. He didn’t need to speak, Aditi could almost hear his thoughts. The Devi had made a terrible mistake, for she didn’t know that he was bonded to his almighty master. Having accepted the wish, she was bound to fight him to protect the woman…

  …and if she did that, his master was bound to protect him.

  The Jinn turned around to face the tree. He raised his hands and began to chant a
mantra far darker and intimidating. Aditi gasped.

  He was asking his master to rise above the surface.

  The tree twisted and rattled. Hundreds of black shapes flew away, and suddenly, the branches began to dart back and forth, capturing the flying shapes and pulling them back, forcing them into a crack that had appeared along the length of the trunk. The evil power was annoyed for having been summoned to the surface. The Jinn dropped his hands. He was scared, yet he knew his master would be pleased when he saw what was being offered.

  Aditi caught glimpses… She was flying under starry skies. Rivers and ponds. Stretches of vast, dark lands. Houses. Young girls… Lust. She wanted more power. More girls. For decades she worshipped her master. And one day her master spoke back to her. He gave her shelter in his abode… and took away a large portion of her essence taken in return.

  She became powerless. How that Queen mocked her! Insulted her! And she could do nothing but hide in her tree.

  She continued to worship her master, hoping she would please him some day. Hoping he would give her powers greater than what she had before. Decades passed. Then came a draped figure carrying a young goat in its wake. It gave her two names – one of the victim and the other of the sacrifice – a young girl! It had been so long… But her lust could wait. She had far greater endeavours to think of. Her master would certainly be pleased if she offered him a human soul. The hooded figure had initiated the ritual. It couldn’t end until she was satisfied with the offering. And she wasn’t satisfied with just one. Frightened for its own life, the figure took two more names. And how pleased she was with herself!

  Aditi convulsed with the multitude of involuntary thoughts. She had taken her two victims with ease. If her master would be pleased with two… if… then she could keep the third for herself. The sky demons were fighting that night. They roared. Their swords flashed. And she summoned her master. But that vile Queen, she was there too… there with her malevolent intention of stopping the offering…

  Aditi shook her head and screamed. The evil began to rise from the ground, sucking in every ray of light. Its darkness hurt her eyes. It was as if she was standing only inches away from a sun, a sun that emanated darkness instead of light. The emotions it carried were overwhelming. The vibrations, Aditi now realised, was a continuous chant. Even in the absolute darkness, Aditi could feel the presence of the spirits of the two girls, the Jinn and the Devi.