Deborah's Past

6

London

The past month had witnessed an unexpected turn of events in Dawson murder case. Thomas Edwards, from the Anglican Church, strangely, decided to represent Deborah in the court. Deborah accepted it despite her being a catholic. 

Participation of a high ranking church official in a murder case, as advocate for the suspect ,increased the controversy surrounding the case. The Archbishop himself was under a heavy stress regarding his decision. Every time he thought on reversing the decision, he somehow opened the same page on the bible instructing him to go on.

The first day of the hearing was rather uneventful. 

The persecutor dominated the scene throughout the hearing. Thomas had picked up the wrong thread, He tried to prove that Deborah could not have had sex with his uncle, and the idea of her being involved in the murder was far fetched. It made a weak point, naturally.

The second argument that Thomas gave was that Deborah was at his friend Cicely’s home all the night. This was a considerably strong point, but lacked enough proof; as Cicely had traveled that night to her boyfriend's home after leaving Deborah.

By the end of the first hearing itself, both Deborah and Thomas saw darkness at the end of the tunnel. It had become a difficult case to tackle.

Thomas usually took the bus to Harrow after supper and discussed the case with Deborah. He usually stayed there longer to make notes and study the case in greater detail before taking the bus back.

As the case had become rather difficult to handle, he missed the supper and reached at Deborah’s place a little early.

Thomas asked Deborah as he sat in her living room, recording into his chip-set, the proceedings of the day:

  “Deborah, could you relate to me when, exactly, can you say, that your relations with your uncle were ‘not fine’? I remember you saying that your relations were good except a couple of minor episodes that are always there in all relations.”

“Reverend, why do you want to ask about this? You know these episodes are not worth remembering, especially for a deceased individual.” Deborah was mild in her words.

“Deborah, this has no longer remained Dawson murder case. The reputation of the church is at stake. This is the most talked about thing in Britain these days. I don’t know what the God wants, but the things are getting really complicated and you have to be as clear to me as possible.” Thomas explained.

“Reverend, do we really have to talk about this? It is a really uncomfortable topic.” Deborah said.

“Yes, I would insist.” Thomas replied.

Deborah started, “It was when I was fourteen years old, before I went to Portugal that..”

“Was your trip to Portugal an important turn of your life?” Thomas interrupted.

“It wasn’t a trip reverend. I stayed there for five years.” Deborah answered.

“Lisbon?” Thomas asked.

“Fatima, at Sanctuario de Fatima. Basilica de Nossa Senhora do Rosario.” Deborah said.

“You stayed at Fatima for five years and you didn’t tell me?” Thomas appeared annoyed.

“I thought you knew when you knew of other things.” Deborah replied.

 “This is amazing!” Thomas sounded a bit irritated. “Anyhow, continue with what you were saying.”

Deborah resumed, “After father died, I lived with uncle. Everything was fine. He was really caring. I cried sometimes, but now that I reflect on my past, I realize that he never actually let the void seem so big. With aunt it was a different story. I used to share my friends, my problems and my joys with her."

She continued, "One day, things changed. I was a young girl. Like all others, I was curious about the changes in my body. After bath I often used to watch myself in the mirror - my newly grown womanhood. I had left the room door unbolted by chance.” Deborah stopped. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room.

After some time Thomas cleared his throat and tried to break the silence. “Was it your uncle?”

Deborah answered, “It was my aunt.”

“Oh…” Thomas said. “Did it occur again?”

Deborah nodded. “Every day.”

“You felt guilty about it?”

“No.” Deborah answered. “I feel sorry for her.”

“One day, when we were in……uncle dropped in. 

The problems for my aunt stared from that day. The relationship between him and aunt deteriorated. He would not talk to her, neither to me. He would often rebuke her and shame her. Aunt started becoming more and more miserable day by day. She would cry alone. There was no doubt that she was a good wife. She loved uncle. I tried to approach her and talk to her, but all I could get from her was tears. She just stared at me whenever I went to her. All I could feel was hatred.

One day, I went to uncle, and I told him that he was wrong. He remained silent for sometime and then said – ‘I know little girl. The mistake is not yours.’ I burst in tears and hugged him. He patted my head.

After a few days, he told me that we are going to Portugal. We went to Lisbon and then took a cab to Fatima. He handed me over to Sister Clara at Fatima. This was to be my home for next five years and Sr. Clara, my mentor. Uncle mailed me often and talked to me. I never talked to my aunt, nor about her.

It was when I returned to Britain that I came to know that the relationship between both of them had become really turbulent. One day, she went to the riverbanks; or so goes the story – and committed suicide. She was never seen again.”

There was silence. It was broken again by her sighs and sobs – tears rolled down her cheeks. Thomas came around and held his hands gently.

“It’s alright Deborah. It’s ok. The god is with you.” He said.

He waited for her to stop. As she normalized, he spoke to her softly – “Don’t worry Deborah, lets pray to the god. He held her hands and closed his eyes. She followed Thomas. He spoke:

Our Father, who art in heaven.

She followed in Latin:

Pater noster, qui es in caelis:

Hallowed be thy Name.

sanctificetur Nomen Tuum;

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

adveniat Regnum Tuum;

fiat voluntas Tua,

sicut in caelo, et in terra.

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us.

Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie;

et dimitte nobis debita nostra,

sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris;

And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.

    et ne nos inducas in tentationem;

    sed libera nos a Malo.

Amen.

Amen.

They opened their eyes. There was peace.

Deborah & Kali

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.