Part 6: The Horror
Renu had decamped with three lakh rupees and my diamond-set gold rings which I had kept in the drawer of the table. She would never return I knew. She knew very well that I would not be able to pursue her because of my social position. I, however, had nothing to say against her. The night before her fleeing my sleep suddenly broke by her shrill cry and I hastened out of bed switching on the light. I found her standing near the bathroom door and trembling in horror. I could reach up to her in time to hold her before she lost consciousness. I carried her to the bed and glancing backwards got befuddled to find the idol box, which had been at the far end of the room, was now in front of the bathroom door. Like a hypnotized fellow I moved closer to the box and my hair rose on end to find the lid of the box jerking upwards as though in a frantic effort to be free from the pressure of the spice grinding stone-slab, which I guessed, Renu had placed over the lid. Suddenly I turned intrepid and opened the lid of the box after removing the stone. The idol stopped struggling and turned quiet but its eyes revealed blood chilling vengeance. I could not endure its vehement glances and put the stone in place again after shutting the lid. I myself was horrified but did not reveal it to Renu who had regained consciousness by this time. She held me tight and implored that we leave this room at once and spend the rest of the night in the adjacent smaller room. I carried all our belongings to the smaller room after I had shifted Renu, locked the door of the larger room and remained sleepless on the floor of the smaller room for a long time. Renu was unwilling to tell at that moment what had terrorized her and I did not insist. Eventually we fell asleep out of exhaustion.
In the morning Renu prepared the breakfast as usual and then told me what had panicked her. She had to go to the toilet at midnight and she did not switch on the light lest it would disturb my sleep. So she groped her way toward the bathroom door and was astonished to notice a ray of light emanating from something close to the bathroom. Looking more closely she discovered the box the lid of which was wide open and she was struck with terror to find the nude idol emitting rays of light and its eyes rolling with unimaginable vengeance. With her presence of mind she forced down the lid and put the stone over it. The sound of something constantly striking the inner side of the lid terrorized her and she could not help shrieking before she lost consciousness.
I went out for a walk in the high road and after return discovered Renu was gone keeping the main door wide open. By instinct I opened the bag containing money, check books, and ATM cards. She had taken only the cash. Later on opening the drawer I found the costly rings also gone.
I no longer had indiscretion to open the door of the larger room and inspect the idol although at times I felt strong inner urge to do so. Subterranean fear urged me to leave the house at once keeping the idol where it was.
I stacked all my garments and other essential articles in my suitcase and the handbag and walked up to Sukna where I withdrew money from an ATM and hired a vehicle for Siliguri. I booked a room at a hotel of dubious reputation near Siliguri North railway station. Lying in bed in the hotel room I started planning the future course of my life. It occurred to me for a while to call my wife and return to my peaceful ethical living. But I could not contain the idea for a long time. I felt deep hatred for my worthless wife as the blissful nights with Renu flashed across my mind. No, it would be sheer folly to return to her, I thought. I was now completely metamorphosed and had no way to get back to the earlier life. It occurred to me that with money I could get access to plenty of voluptuous call girls and decided to look for one right at that moment. At times I thought that everything concerning the image was simply illusion and I should go back to the rented house but an uncanny terror prevented me from indulging in such indiscretion.
I consulted the manager and he showed me a large number of profiles. I selected a few and he contacted them. Only two of them were free that night. I chose the twenty eight year old Bengali widow and made an appointment with her at dinner in a bar-cum hotel. She came on time and after early dinner we had a vigorous session and she too was charming and besides, she knew some Kamasutra tricks that gave me intense pleasure. She had some important family works that night and had to leave after one wild session. She promised to come next evening and to reassure me accepted only half of her usual fee. I had already proposed to her for going out with me to some place for about a month. She gladly accepted the proposal for a month’s Bhutan trip. She was virtually free from obligations as she had no issues and her parents used to reside with her elder brother; but she needed a few days’ preparation for such a lengthy stay away. I decided not to remain attached to a single woman and so did not want to have any long term attachment with this widow unlike in the case of Renu. I was very much relieved as the thought of the idol no longer perturbed me. Unlike Renu, this woman seemed to have no resemblance with the idol and I was gratified to think that relation with her had made me free from the curse of the idol.
So I was on the eve of a vigorous and worth living life. I felt happy and fell asleep as soon as I had switched off the light.
At midnight my sleep broke as I stumbled down on something hard. At first I thought it was a dream but soon realized it was real and I had so far been street walking along the Hill Cart Road. The hotel at Siliguri had a whole-night bar and the main gate remained open all through the night. So it was not difficult for me to sneak out unnoticed. But I had never before suffered from this sleep-walking syndrome. I felt something was attracting me with irresistible force. Looking around in the street light I realized I was not far from the rented house and the idol now reappeared before my mind’s eye. I hastened up, ignored the pain on the forehead because of the hard fall and accelerated my pace. I had no longer any fear for the idol. Contrarily I felt a deep attraction for the yakshini. I got closer and closer to the path leading to the house and visualized the nude idol enlarged into a voluptuous full size woman and standing at the entrance of the house with spread out hands to receive me into her arms. I started running for the blissful union.
Horror Of Yakshini Page 5
