London (continued from previous)
John
was her best known relative since childhood. He always
loved her like a daughter. After the sudden death of her parents in car crash
when she studied in London, John had been her guardian and father figure. She
always made a point to meet him every fortnight when she visited Coventry. Lately, on her
insistence John had started dating Jennifer Brown, an upcoming pop singer. She
wanted him to marry and have a life. Even though John was a bit reluctant in
the beginning, but both of them had turned to have a good understanding. The
relationship had clicked. Deborah was really happy!
“She is a
bitch,” Deborah thought in her mind. “I never thought she could ever do this.”
Just as she
entered the fast tube station at Paddington, she could clearly see that this
had become big news. There were small groups of people standing by the TVs
watching the news. She saw the news flash on the TV.
Dawson Case:
Girlfriend Jennifer Brown found dead at her home.
Everything
seemed so stunning. She couldn’t understand how the things were moving.
“Did she
commit suicide? Stupid girl! She never
had her head right.” Deborah thought as she boarded the zero gravity tube.
In next ten
minutes she would be at Coventry
at the helm of affairs.
3
Bangalore
At the crematorium, as Rajat’s
head lay by the sacrificial pit; his body was hung by the hook and his skin was removed.
Vikas used the skin as his seat as his team members cut off the rest of body
into pieces and chopped the bones off further so that they could be cooked.
They gathered the blood in the cooking bowl in which they started cooking him.
As the meat was ready, Vikas took a bowlful of cooked meat and with chants
introduced it in the fire. As fire engulfed the meat, smoke appeared. The smoke
increased till nothing, but a white blanket of smoke was visible. And then she
appeared –
Around her neck
was a garland of chopped heads, all drenched in blood. She looked fearful –
completely black in color, with a shining skin. Her sharp teeth projected
externally and invoked fear. She was the one who, thus, lived in cremation grounds,
wandering with untied hair.
She carried
heads of decapitated men and also, a sharp sickle-sword in her hands. She was
smiling with blood drenched lips. On the whole she inspired fear, but at the
same time she looked pretty in an unusual way.
She wore
ornaments, ear rings, armlets and girdles made up of dismembered parts of
corpses. Her hair was long and beautiful. Sitting on a corpse, she shone like a
sun and made fearful sound that rocked all the directions with fear.
Trembling with
fear, Vikas and his team prostrated in front of her. She was looking all around
in extreme anger, ready to devour the earth. Her shrieks deafened the ears of
the sinners. In a single stroke, she decapitated Vijay, a member of the team
standing to the left and drenched his blood in her pot. As she drank, blood
drenched her hair as it flew from the corners of her mouth. Vikas and all
others were trembling. It was the first time that they had invoked Kali. They
never knew what would happen. Demigoddesses were comparatively more benevolent,
but Kali was the ultimate power. No one could stand in front of her. As she
finished the meal, she threw Vijay’s head on the ground and crushed into pieces
.His decapitated body lay, still trembling on ground some distance ahead. She
gave it a single blow of foot and it was gone. It lay there – still and dead.
She roared like a lioness and then said – “The sinner could not control his
senses. He was already dead when he tasted the meat before it could be given to
the fire!”
“Goddess, please
forgive us.” Vikas prayed. His hands folded and his lips shivring in fear. “You
know about everything in the minds of the people.”
“This isn’t a
business Vikas.” Kali roared. “There are things that you don’t know. Everything
happens for a reason. I don’t appear on the earth without a deeper cause. Never
in this age have I stepped on the alter to taste flesh – but when I come, it’s
an indication of great changes. Tell me why you killed this man?” She stopped
abruptly.
“Goddess, I
want to restore him with Pankaj’s soul.” Vikas answered meekly.
“Did you get
paid for it?” Kali said in a loud serious tone.
Vikas knew that
these are going to be the last words from his throat. He knew that this was not
a business. How did he even think that he would escape the goddess with this?
He had been a fool.
“Yes Goddess”
He answered, just ready to be slain.
“Let this be a
lesson for you. I told you that this is not a business. Your Guru took a word
from you for this before teaching you this science. Tantra is to be used only
for a greater benefit of humankind. Not for greed. Though there is a reason
behind everything, but you won’t know that. You would get what you want, but
there would be a price that you would have to pay. You will lose two people who
are closest to your heart in return of this so that you never repeat this
again.”
Kali
immediately took Rajat’s fallen head and blew a whiff of air, and there he was,
complete with all his limbs – just as he was before. The only difference was
that of soul. He now had Pankaj’s soul in his body.
Kali Turned to
Vibhu. “Give me your hand.”
Vibhu moved
forward. Kali took his hand and immediately dug a black iron nail in his palm.
Vibhu cried in pain.
“Don’t worry.
You won’t die. I have tied Rajat’s soul with you. He will be with you forever.
He was a good man. His soul would be free from all the sufferings. You would be
the one who would suffer for him. As for this pain in your palm it would never
go away.” Kali roared, rocking the directions and into the smoke from which she
had materialized, she vanished.
Vikas looked at
the horizon. The night had ended. It was the dawn.
