Tiger's Curse

by Collen Houck

  my face with its jeweled eyes. Just when I thought I was going to pass out, it descended to my arm again,

  wrapped itself around two more times, and then froze, its head facing Durga.

  I cautiously dropped my eyes to look at it and was awed to see that it had become jewelry. It looked like one of the snake armlets that ancient Egyptians wore. Its emerald eyes stared unblinkingly ahead. I tentatively reached my other arm over to touch it. I could still feel the smooth scales, but it felt metallic, definitely not living flesh. I shuddered and turned toward the goddess.

  The thought crossed my mind that if I had to wear a snake, at least it didn’t weigh down on my arm.

  Like the gada, it was relatively light. Now that I was brave enough to look more closely, I could see that the snake had shrunk. The large serpent had diminished in size to become a small wraparound piece of jewelry.

  The goddess spoke, “She is called Fanindra, the Queen of the Serpents. She is a guide and will help you to find what you seek. She can conduct you on safe paths and will light your way through darkness. Do not be afraid of her, for she wishes you no harm.”

  The goddess reached a long arm out to stroke the snake’s immobile head and counseled, “She is sensitive to the emotions of others and longs to be loved for who she is. She has a purpose, as do all of her children, and we must learn to accept that all creatures, however fearsome they may be, are of divine origin.”

  I bowed my head and said, “I will try to overcome my fear and give her the respect she deserves.”

  The goddess smiled and said, “That is all I ask.”

  She gathered her arms and began to return them to the original positions they were in as a statue. She gazed down at Ren and me. “Now, may I give you some advice before you leave?”

  I demurred, “Of course, Goddess.”

  “Remember to stay by each other. If you get separated, do not trust your eyes. Use your hearts. They will tell you what is real and what is not.” Two of her arms had frozen and were changing back to stone.

  “When you obtain the fruit, hide it well, for there are others who would take it and use it for evil and selfish purposes.”

  “But aren’t we supposed to bring the fruit back to you as an offering?”

  The hand stroking the tiger froze on his fur, and the flesh dulled until it became rough and gray. “You have made your offering. The fruit has another purpose, which you will understand in due time.”

  “What about the other gifts, the other offerings?”

  I was desperate to learn more, and it was obvious my time was running out.

  “You may present the other offerings to me at my other temples, but the gifts you must keep until…”

  Her red lips seized in midsentence, and her eyes dimmed and became sightless orbs once more. She, and her golden jewels and bright clothing, faded to become a rough sculpture once again.

  I reached out and touched the tiger’s head, and then I dusted my hands on my jeans after grazing over a gritty ear. Ren brushed up next to me, and I trailed my fingers over his furry neck, deep in thought. The sound of pebbles falling brought me out of my reverie.

  I hugged Ren around his thick neck, carefully picked up the gada and the small bag I’d brought in, and walked with Ren to the entryway. He stood there for a minute while I grabbed a tree branch and dusted away all of his paw prints.

  I peeked outside first to see if the coast was clear and then indicated to Ren that he could follow. We stepped outside into the bright sunshine.

  As we walked down the dirt path back to the Jeep, I was surprised to see the sun had traveled a long way across the sky. We’d been in there a long time, much longer than I’d thought.

  Mr. Kadam was parked in the shade with the windows down, napping. He sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes as we approached.

  I asked, “Did you feel the earthquake?”

  “An earthquake? No. It’s been as quiet as a church out here.” He chuckled at his own joke. “What happened in there?” He looked from my face down to what I was carrying and gasped in surprise. “Miss Kelsey! May I?”

  I passed the gada to him. He reached out both of his hands tentatively and took it from me. He seemed to struggle a bit with its weight, which made me wonder if he was weaker than he looked in his old age.

  Pure delight and scholarly interest reflected on his face.

  “It’s beautiful!”

  I nodded. “You should see it in action.” I lay my hand on his arm. “You were right to come here first, Mr. Kadam. I would say that we definitely received Durga’s blessing.” I pointed to the snake wrapped around my arm, “Say hello to Fanindra.”

  He stretched a finger to the snake’s head. I winced, hoping she wouldn’t reanimate, but she remained frozen. He seemed trans-fixed by the objects. I tugged on his arm.

  “Come on, Mr. Kadam, let’s go. I’ll tell you all about it in the car. Besides, I’m starving.”

  He laughed, elated and jubilant. Carefully wrapping the gada in a blanket, he stowed it in the back of the

  car, then he came around to my side of the Jeep and opened the door for me. I climbed in, put my seatbelt on, and we drove toward Hampi.

  CHAPTER 19

  On the ride back to the city, Mr. Kadam listened with rapt attention to every detail of our experience.

  He asked dozens of questions. He wanted me to remember details that I hadn’t even considered important at the time. For example, he wanted to know what the other three pillars in the temple showed, and I didn’t think I even looked at them.

  He was so absorbed in the story that he totally forgot that we still had Ren with us. We had to turn around and head back to the trees to drop him off for the night. When we arrived, I volunteered to walk Ren out. Mr. Kadam was happy to stay in the Jeep and examine the gada more closely.

  I walked through the tall grass with Ren all the way to the tree line, bent down, hugged him, and whispered, “You can stay in my room again at the motel if you like. I’ll save you some dinner.” I kissed the top of his head and left him there staring at me.

  Mr. Kadam wanted to eat in at the motel, which meant that we made a trip to the market and brought our purchases to the kitchen. People who were particular about their food could cook it on their own using the motel’s pots and pans or the motel owner would cook the food.

  Mr. Kadam purchased some vegetables, eggs, and a loaf of bread from the market. He went into the kitchen and whipped us up some veggie omelets with pan-fried toast and papaya juice for dinner. I was starving, and, looking at the other foods emerging from the kitchen, I felt very appreciative that Mr.

  Kadam liked to cook. One of the women, or perhaps another guest, was boiling something in a large pot, and the smell left something to be desired. For all I knew, she was boiling the laundry. I also suspected the motel didn’t have any set rules in the kitchen about hand washing.

  I ate a plate full of food and then asked Mr. Kadam for seconds to take back to my room, in case I got hungry that night. He was more than happy to oblige me and didn’t even ask any questions, which was good. Answering them would have made me uncomfortable.

  I left the gada in Mr. Kadam’s care, but the snake armlet wouldn’t budge from my arm. Mr. Kadam thought it might be better to take it off if I could because there would be people that would try to steal it from me.

  “Believe me…I would love to take it off, but if you saw the way she got on there, you might wish for her

  to remain inanimate too.”

  I could see in his eyes that he was fascinated and probably wished that the snakewould come alive again. Well, I, for one, hoped that particular wish wouldn’t come true. It was creepy enough the first time. Squelching that thought quickly, I chastised myself for forgetting that Fanindra was a gift and a divine blessing, and I whispered a quick apology to her.

  When I returned to my room, I changed into my pajamas, which took some doing. Lucky for me, I had a short-sleeved top. I tucked the top of the slee
ve into Fanindra’s coil so her head wasn’t covered and picked up my tooth-brush. I looked at Fanindra in the mirror while I brushed my teeth.

  Tapping the snake lightly on the head, I mumbled with my toothbrush in my mouth, “Well, Fanindra, I hope you like water because tomorrow morning I plan to take a shower, and if you’re still on my arm, then you’re going with me.”

  The snake remained frozen. Her hard eyes glittered back at me from the mirror in the dim room. After brushing my teeth, I clicked on the ceiling fan and set Ren’s dinner on the dresser. I covered it with a napkin and climbed into bed. The snake’s body dug into my side, so I had a hard time getting comfortable. I thought I’d never be able to sleep with that hard piece of jewelry wrapped around my arm, but, eventually, I drifted off. I woke in the middle of the night to a soft scratch on my door and opened it to let Ren in.

  He hugged me briefly, stepped into the room, and closed the door behind him. I showed him where his dinner was, and he picked up the plate and sat on the floor next to my bed. I sat down next to him to keep him company. He finished his meal, then set the plate to the side and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me onto his lap. He pressed his cheek against my forehead and started talking about Durga and the gada. He seemed excited about what the gada could do. I nodded sleepily and shifted, resting my head against his chest.

  I felt safe, cozy, and protected snuggled in his arms and enjoyed listening to the warm timbre of his voice

  as he spoke quietly. Later, he began humming softly, and I felt the strong beat of his heart keeping rhythm

  against my cheek. After a while, he stopped and moved his arms. I issued a sleepy protest. Rearranging my limp body, he lifted me in his arms and cuddled me close. He placed me on my bed and gently straightened my limbs. I felt him brush a kiss on my forehead and cover me with my blanket, and then I was out.

  Sometime later, I opened my eyes with a start. The snake was gone! I rushed to turn on the light and saw her resting on the nightstand. She was still frozen, but now she was coiled up and had her head resting on top of her body. I watched her for a moment, but she didn’t move.

  I shuddered, thinking of a live snake slithering over my body while I slept. Ren lifted his tiger head and looked at me with concern. I patted him and told him I was fine, that it was just that Fanindra had moved during the night. I thought about asking Ren to sleep between the snake and me, but I decided that I needed to be brave. Instead, I turned on my side and rolled myself up in my blanket tightly to prevent any

  odd things from happening to my limbs without my knowledge.

  I mentioned to Fanindra that I would appreciate it if she wouldn’t slither up and down my body when I wasn’t aware of it and that I would prefer it not to happen atall if she could help it. She didn’t move or blink a green eye.Do snakes blink? Pondering that deep question, I rolled back on my side and fell back asleep.

  The next morning, Ren was gone and Fanindra hadn’t moved, so I decided it was the perfect time for a shower. I was back in my room, towel-drying my hair, when I noticed that Fanindra had changed shape again. This time, she was twisted in loops as if she was ready to be placed on my arm.

  I picked her up gently and slid her unyielding body up the length of my arm where she fit comfortably.

  This time, when I tried to pull her off, she slipped down easily.

  Pushing her back up, I said, “Thank you, Fanindra. It will be much easier if I can take you off when I need to.”

  I couldn’t be sure, but I thought that I saw her emerald eyes glow softly for a moment. I was just finishing plaiting my hair and tying it with a green ribbon to match Fanindra’s eyes when I heard a knock.

  Mr. Kadam was standing outside the door with freshly washed hair and a trimmed beard. “Ready to go, Miss Kelsey?”

  “Yes, almost. I’ve just got to grab a few more things.”

  “May I take your bag for you?”

  “Sure. Thank you.”

  We checked out of our motel and drove over to the wooded area to pick up Ren. We waited for several minutes, then finally he shot out of the trees and ran up to meet the car. I laughed nervously.

  “Overslept a little today, did you?”

  He had probably just run the entire way back. I gave him a meaningful glance, hoping he understood my

  you-really-should-have-left-earlier look.

  On the way to Hampi, we stopped at a fruit stand and got a smoothie (called a lassi) and a grainy breakfast bar for each of us.

  When Mr. Kadam got back in the Jeep, I asked, “What about Ren? Shouldn’t he eat something?”

  “Ren could eat, but most likely is still ah…full from his hunt. He will be fine for the next few days or so.”

  Still, when I was halfway done with my lassi, I offered Ren the rest. He stuck his head between the front

  seats and lapped up the rest of my smoothie. His long tongue slurped out what was left of my shake and he also made sure to lick my hand “by accident” every other lick.

  I laughed. “Ren! Thanks a lot. Now my hands are all sticky.”

  He leaned over and started licking my hands with more enthusiasm, swirling his pink tongue between my

  fingers.

  “Okay! Okay! That tickles. Thanks…that’s enough.”

  Mr. Kadam laughed heartily, then reached over to open the glove box and handed me a travel pack of antibacterial hand wipes.

  As I wiped the tiger saliva off my hands, I said, “See if I ever share a milkshake withyou again.”

  I heard a harrumph come from the back seat. When I looked back at him a moment later, he was the picture of an innocent tiger, but I knew better.

  Mr. Kadam indicated that we were nearing Hampi and pointed to a large structure in the distance.

  He explained, “That tall, conical structure you see ahead is called the Virupaksha Temple. It’s the most prominent building in Hampi.”

  “Mr. Kadam, did you ever see the buildings of Hampi, you know, back when you were younger…before they were ruins?”

  “Yes, I did. The city was originally settled around two thousand years ago, but it was at its height between the fourteenth and sixteenth century.”

  “And you and Ren were born in the seventeenth century, right?”

  “Yes, that is correct. When we visited, the temple and other structures were still used, but they were falling into disrepair, and the city had been raided often by invaders. The official city of Hampi is actually

  near these ruins, but it doesn’t include them anymore.

  “Dhiren and I both visited Hampi to see what military strategies we could glean from the city. The ruins are actually very easy to defend. Stony hills on three sides and a river on the fourth side surround the ruins. It was once a great and prosperous city with a wealthy cosmopolitan society. They had splendid festivals that attracted visitors from around the world, but the Muslim kingdoms of the north eventually overcame the Vijayanagara army around the mid 1500s. We’ll be passing Sugriva’s cave soon, where it is said the jewels of Sita were hidden.”

  “Are the jewels still there?”

  “The jewels were never discovered, which is also one of the reasons the city has been sacked by treasure hunters.”

  He pulled off to the side of the road and let Ren out. Explaining, he said, “There will be too many tourists

  on the site during the day, so Dhiren can wait here while we walk the grounds and look for clues. We will

  return for him in the early evening.”

  I watched Ren out the window as he moved in the tall grass. He turned to look at me too as we drove away. Shortly afterward, we pulled into a dirt parking lot full of tiny vehicles.

  “Mr. Kadam, why are most of the cars in India so small? Do they have smaller families? Are those styles

  the most popular?”

  “Well, first of all, the middle class in India earns around two thousand American dollars per year. They don’t have nearly as much money as the middle class people of America.
The average car in India costs around twenty-five hundred American dollars. The cars here are smaller, and therefore, much more economical.”

  “That seems about right…most cars in America can cost about a year’s salary.”

  He nodded. “At present, only a little over one percent of the people in India even own a car, which was fine for many years because they didn’t travel very far. For centuries, most of the people of India were born, married, and died in their small villages.”

  “But all that is changing now?”

  “Yes. Car manufacturers are targeting India, trying to sell these smaller, more economical cars at a very cheap price. They are hoping to take advantage of our rising middle class and the large numbers of young

  people who desire to have cars of their own. The problem is, the country is so densely populated that the major cities aren’t set up for that much traffic. For now, smaller vehicles are rather a necessity.”

  “So your Jeep is like the Hummer of India?”

  He laughed. “Yes, I suppose you could say that. The trunk space in those smaller vehicles will hold only

  a small duffel bag. When you drive around with tigers, you need something a bit larger.”

  “I think even the smallest cars in American are bigger than these.”

  “There are several reasons for that. In the early 1900s, Americans were spread out much farther and required a vehicle to help them travel the long distances to town. When cars first started selling, America

  was a prosperous and rapidly growing nation. The open borders between states gave people the freedom to travel and inspired them to get out on the roads and explore their country. Since the Model T, cars have also been a powerful symbol of freedom and a strong piece of American culture. When the middle class started to move out to the suburbs, it forced them to spend hours in their cars commuting, and a more comfortable ride was preferable.”

  “That’s true. My foster parents hated the commute so much in Portland that they took jobs in Salem so they’d spend less time in traffic. When they did that, they actually downsized their cars.”