Category: My life

Posted in Fiction, Published

The Bracelet: Part 2

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Author’s note: This is second installment of the title story from my latest book: The Bracelet and the other short stories. I would recommend reading Part 1 once again to gather the momentum of memories that led you to this point. You can find it here: The Bracelet: Part 1.

He is here. But why has he brought so many others along? Has his family arrived for our marriage as he had promised? But their faces are not friendly. In fact, they are downright angry. Why are they carrying pitch forks?

My familiars rush to meet him at the door, but he scowls and pushes them back inside. He motions at me to come out with him. I comply.

As I step out, someone grabs my hands from behind and I cry in pain. My love…he speaks something that I can’t understand. It is English, but so different from the way he usually talks. He asks me about the father of our unborn child. Flustered at the implication, my voice shaking, I shout, “It’s you!”

“And that,” he says, “is my confession.”

I can’t understand where this is going. He had come to me two weeks back, and I told him about the baby. He was surprised, but he had never questioned the father of the baby. That day, I had reminded him of his promise to marry me as soon as his family comes, and he had agreed.

Now, he holds a book and quotes questions from it. He asks about witchcraft…I tell him he already knows I’m a healer. I had treated him when he was dying of fever. I say I love him. But he shouts me down and asks me to answer only in ‘Yes’ and ‘No’.

The questions blame me of witchcraft and of forcing him to impregnate me. No matter whether my answer is a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, they incriminate me of being a witch either way. So, I try to remain silent, but it earns me his knee in the stomach, every time…

I writhe in pain, while my mind is on the baby. At this rate, he’ll kill our child! I beg him to have mercy on the unborn. For a second, I see guilt in his eyes. Then, he pushes me inside the cottage and closes the door.

Hope surges through me. Have I been spared?

I hear a lock click outside. Smoke fills my nostrils—they have set my cottage on fire! Out of the window, I see them waiting with pitchforks with bloodlust in their eyes. If I get out somehow, they will simply slice me in pieces and throw back in here. There is no hope for me.

My familiars are scared and freaking out—clawing down the door and the now‑closed windows, all on fire.

With shaking hands, I go to the miniscule back window meant for the pets to go out when needed. I hastily pull out the bracelet from my hand—the little effigies I had carved out of cat’s‑eye stone to tie the familiars to me. They don’t have to die with me. I try to throw my bracelet with all my strength out of the tiny hole. But the smoke has blinded me, and I can’t get a clear shot. It falls back in.

I am on all fours, gasping for breath and coughing. I order the cat to grab the bracelet and get out. I tell them all to leave. Ordinarily, they would have complied.

But they don’t. They have covered me from all sides the best they can. They are trying to protect me with their power, but they aren’t strong enough. I feel their frustration, their heartache, their loyalty, their friendship, their love…

…their never‑wavering devotion while the raging fire consumes us all. I can hear my familiars think of the man who deceived us into loving him; trusting him; giving him our all…

Their pain is my own as our lungs burn and hearts heave. How could death be so slow or so tormenting? I can’t find my knife to kill us. Someone had already removed it while they questioned me.

We burn together and I feel the crippling pain inch by inch…our hair, our fur, our feather…

Burning rage fills me as I feel my babies of magic die one by one just as clearly as I feel my unborn baby die within me…

My hollowed‑out heart lets go of that thread that ties me to life. I wish to die here and now. I beg the Gods for death…

Too slowly, I feel life leave me… Deep down, I know that when they find my body tomorrow in the museum, I’ll have one burn scar—on the wrist that now wears the bracelet…

END

Photo by Manpreet Kaur

If you would rather read it all together in the book, The Bracelet and other short stories is available for free download here: Link

Posted in Fiction, Published

The Bracelet: Part 1

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Author’s note: This is first installment of the title story from my latest book: The Bracelet and the other short stories. You can find the second part here: The Bracelet: Part 2

I pick up the bracelet in my gloved hands gingerly and try to brush off the weirdness that fills me.

Yes, this is a museum. Yes, it houses curios from across the history. But these are just things, not people…

Then why am I getting goosebumps?

All summer, I have been working behind the scenes in this small museum to restore old artifacts. Most people would consider it charity work, considering the payment in peanuts, but the experience would help me secure a job in a bigger and better museum once I get my degree. So far, I had worked during the day. It is my first night at the museum, thanks to the set of recently acquired medieval jewellery I am restoring. It goes on display tomorrow on the first day of holidays.

It is a small place in a safe community, and lock and key are considered enough security—so, there are no guards. Since it would take a couple of hours, I have locked the place from inside. It should make me feel secure, but I am rather queasy instead…

Museums are rather stuffy at night since it is filled with so many lost memories—children’s playthings, items used for life and magic, ritual sacrifices buried alongside the bones of long‑dead people (hopefully, not my ancestors) and the likes. During the day, open doors and windows, the din of the staff and visitors keeps away the prickly feeling. But at night, without these sounds and sights to distract me, the sensation of not being alone is overwhelming.

I had been putting off working on this bracelet for similar reasons. Up close, it makes me feel uncomfortable. It was donated by a rich old family with a history of housing curios. While its origin is unclear, it is famed that it originally belonged to a ‘witch’. According to the legend, she was a tribal woman accused of using witchcraft to allure the local priest, ‘forcing’ him to impregnate her. The woman was burnt alive. The priest was, of course, absolved of all charges. He had picked the bracelet from her ashes and worn it. He died the same night of unknown causes with just a slight burn mark around his wrist. His successor at the church declared that the bracelet is cursed and kills the wearer. Later, he sold the same cursed item to a private collector at an exorbitant price to raise money for God’s work.

Not that I believe any of it. Anyone working in the restoration field in museums would know better. But it is such a waste because no one would wear it—and the bracelet is breathtaking…

I stroke the bracelet delicately…reverentially…

The delicate silver chains are intertwined to form a couple of entwined snakes who kiss each other when the clasp is done. The intricate dangling animal figurines, famous as witch’s familiars, are carved out of Cat’s‑eye stones—a crow, a cat, a toad, an owl, a bat and a spider. They look so real that my fingers itch to touch them…

Not sure when I took my gloves off…

Stroking the owl, I could clearly imagine a barn owl sitting on the windowsill of my cottage against the dark night outside. The wooden walls were adorned with herbs collected from the forest. The cauldron in the fireplace was cooking cough medicine for the villagers. The air was thick with the incense of the cooking flowers and burning candles…

Where did that come from? I don’t have a cottage, I live in an apartment…but the owl looks so real, its feathers are ruffling in the wind.

The toad sitting atop the work‑table croaks, asking for his treat, and moves close to the crystal jar in which my spider is weaving her web as usual. I tell the toad to leave her alone. There are plenty of other insects to eat around the many candles…

But I own no toad nor spider…The little bat remains unbothered by them, flying around the roof to tease the cat who is now tired of chasing him around and jumps on my lap to take her rightful place.

I sit on the floor cross‑legged stitching the beaver skin together to form another set of little shoes for the soon‑to‑arrive. I blush and smile at the thought as I stroke the cat and remind her that she only has five more months until someone else claims my lap. The old crow sleeps on his perch, oblivious to it all.

Suddenly, the door of the cottage opens with a loud thud.

Author’s note: To be continued…

Photo by Manpreet Kaur

If you would rather read it all together in the book, The Bracelet and other short stories is available for free download here: Link

Posted in Fiction, My life

Relatively a King

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Our conditions are relative. We just need to compare ourselves with the right person.

Say, for example, ‘he’ is a king.

He is around twelve. His back is ramrod straight, eyes determined and voice strong as he dissipates the dense fog around his face when he calls out his wares, “Chalees ke barah kele.” (“Bananas: a dozen for 40”)

It is an extremely foggy day in winters. My eyes stray to his bare feet as he stands on freezing concrete. He must be in pain. A bunch of kids on school holidays are mimicking his call, making fun of him. I want to smack them all for being unfeeling.

But his eyes betray nothing as he continues calling. He is a king captured by the enemies jeering at him while he is being taken for execution. He would not show his pain.

My eyes are still stuck at those bare feet. Nothing I own would fit him, and if I offer money, he would be offended. I can see it in his proud eyes.

So, I do the only thing I can. I buy bananas—enough to make me wonder what I would do with them. Surely, I could find some use: pudding, fruit salad, fruit custard, share with neighbouring families?

It is the market day. If he makes enough profits…

I hope he buys a pair. I pray he buys a pair so I can get out of this weird feeling in my stomach—like I have too much but still not enough.

I dare not mention the idea to him though. I dare not allude to his bare feet…

He is a proud king I dare not insult.

Posted in Fiction, Published

The Museum: Part 3

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Author’s note: This is second installment of a short story from my latest book: The Bracelet and the other short stories. You can find the previous parts here: The Museum: Part 1 and The Museum: Part 2.

When begging for an entry got me nowhere, I decided to change tactics.

I had noticed a small hole in the wall on the backside of the museum on my walks with Cleo around the place. It can serve as a foothold to jump inside the courtyard. There was also an emergency exit of the main building, which was always open. So, I walked around the wall and used the foothold. It was too small, and I could only get a toe in, so I left my shoes behind and jumped in barefoot. The emergency exit was open. With all the staff out, I was free to explore.

The place felt weird and darker, probably because of the lack of the usual staff. And once the adrenaline wore off, I was slightly scared to be alone in the huge, dark place. I could smell incense in the air along with many other smells I could not understand. A different sense of dread clutched my heart—I shouldn’t be here! I should have waited outside along with the guard!

I wished Cleo was here alongside me to fill the silence with his chatter.

As I walked down the darkened stairs to the Egyptian display room, I could feel my feet shaking slightly. With every step, I wondered if I should go back and wait outside. But even though everything in me screamed to run, I couldn’t give up now. Cleo was so close, I could almost smell him, or was it the aroma of an incense stick? The fragrance was stronger closer to the Egyptian display and so was the sense of dread.

*****

I opened the door to the Egyptian display hall just a sliver and peeped in. The room had a pile of large moving boxes packed on one side. The two Egyptian caskets lay open. A fire burned in the middle of the room. On one side of the fire, a man in an ancient robe was reading a book aloud. Several people wearing ancient Egyptian dresses were sitting on one knee with their heads down, listening. Cleo was there too, not hiding like me but out front in the ancient dress. His face was just as desolate as the last time.

My heart constricted at the sight. All I wanted to do was fling the door open and rush to Cleo’s side. As if he knew I was there, he suddenly looked at me and gave a wan smile.

A book closed with a low thump and my eyes moved to the reading man. He was now walking to the other side with a crown in his hands. I shifted a little to see clearly.

Cleo’s friend was sitting on the Egyptian throne in a regal dress. Once the crown was placed on his head, everyone bowed with their noses on the floor. Cleo did too.

Nothing made sense.

The man with the book spoke a few versus again and looked expectantly at the “king”.

He nodded regally.

Suddenly, his face and hands started to shrivel. Horrified, I wanted to tear my eyes off him, but fear held me still. Before my very eyes, the handsome face turned into a mask of death and bandages replaced his royal garb. He went limp. One of the men in the congregation picked him up gingerly and laid him in his casket.

Unable to comprehend, I looked at Cleo for some kind of explanation, but someone had picked him up too and placed him in the casket next to the king.

END

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

If you would rather get the book, The Bracelet and other short stories is available for free download here: Link

Posted in Fiction, Published

The Museum: Part 2

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Author’s note: This is second installment of a short story from my latest book: The Bracelet and the other short stories. You can find the previous part here: The Museum: Part 1

I knew nothing about him, his job, his life back in Egypt or his family, but I knew it wasn’t just a holiday romance. We had barely touched each-other and yet, I could feel my heart breaking over the news.

That day, the love in his eyes had said everything even if he wouldn’t put it in words. Even as he spoke of the different layers in the society, of commoners, of priests, of nobles, of princes and kings of divine origin and of slaves who worked under them and were buried alongside their master to serve them in afterlife, I saw in his eyes something akin of a desperation—a burning question, as if he was seeking permission to say something.

I had asked him what it was, but he had simply shrugged. I could see he was still holding back.

I couldn’t bear his silence now because we were running out of time. He would leave for Egypt, and I would never see him again. I wondered if I should propose him instead, but so far I had only guessed his intentions. I had no clarity. What if I was wrong and I didn’t mean as much to him as he did to me?

What if he had a wife waiting on the other side of the sea?

He still wouldn’t talk about his family and friends or what he thought of our future together. I suggested a short walk outside the museum but he declined even that little request with an apology that he couldn’t leave the place! Angry, I had walked out that day. He had stood at the gate looking at me with desolate eyes, but he hadn’t stopped me.

*****

It had been a difficult fortnight. I couldn’t eat or drink. Sleep defied me, no matter what I did. I even went on a date to take my mind off the matter. But it felt like cheating even though we had never been together—just a few friendly meetings at the museum.

But all I could think of was of Cleo’s fingers wrapped around mine; and how I was about to lose him forever.

*****

The eve of the day of movement arrived with the announcement of the big news on television and newspapers. They had called it an act of international goodwill; an Egyptian king and his treasure being returned to his people.

It would bring a lot of tourism and, in turn, employment to the cities around the tomb where he will be placed back. Cleo will probably play the tour guide there or whatever he did for a living. The thought alleviated the ache in my heart so much that I could scarcely breath.

He was leaving…

Without me…

My manager sent me home that day, stating that being mentally absent at work was dangerous. So, I sat huddled in my bed all day—not eating, not sleeping, not responding when my roommate asked if I wanted to go out and grab lunch. I just wanted to be left alone, so she complied. But the loneliness pricked more than ever. He didn’t have a phone, but he had my number. He could have called.

He chose not to.

He was leaving…

Without me…

Maybe it is better this way. I wouldn’t be able to afford the tickets, passport and visa to Egypt. God knows whether Cleo has enough money for the two of us. May be that’s why he…

He was leaving…

Without me…

*****

I am not sure how I reached the museum. I don’t remember deciding where to go. But my feet ached as if I had walked all the way. I only realised I was there when the guard at the main gate stopped me. Apparently, the museum was closed earlier than usual because there were certain Egyptian rites to re-coronate the mummified king before the big movement the next day. The coronation in our country was obviously a marketing strategy to raise the excitement and, in turn, tourism to the tomb in Egypt.

The museum staff has been given the day off and only a select few Egyptians were allowed inside. A dread settled in my gut along with hope—dread that I wouldn’t be able to meet Cleo. Hope that he must be here. There is no way he would miss such a rare Egyptian event. He must have found a way to get in.

I was completely awake now. I had to get in too, somehow.

Author’s note: To be continued…

If you would rather read it all together in the book, The Bracelet and other short stories is available for free download here: Link

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

Posted in Fiction, Published

The Museum: Part 1

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Author’s note: This is first installment of a short story from my latest book: The Bracelet and the other short stories.

Not sure why I went inside the museum that day. Was it loneliness?

Boredom?

Morbid curiosity?

Or was it just the hope of seeing Cleo again?

*****

It would be fair to say that he was neck deep in Egypt…or may be deeper still. He was absolutely in love with his birthplace. In fact, the first time I had met him was inside city museum’s underground Egyptian section.

That day, I was bored, had no plans and went alone. I was admiring the gold throne when Cleo had approached me and offered a tour of the section. He hadn’t even introduced his friend, who had simply smiled and left us alone.

He seemed quite well informed on the subject of ancient Egypt and his enthusiasm was contagious. He talked like a thirteen-year-old on a trip to a football match. Soon, I was skipping along his side from display to display. He had stories about each piece—the pottery and the potters; the carving and the carvers; the two sarcophagus (the elaborately carved ancient Egyptian caskets) and the mummies hidden inside—the king and one of his slaves.

He was intelligent and witty and had a quirky sense of humour. He was chivalrous but not overbearing. He treated me like a queen, and no woman can ignore that kind of attention. When at the end of visiting hours, he had asked me to visit again, I could not help but promise to return the next weekend.

So, for seven weekends, we met at the museum. We laughed and talked. I told him about my life at college, my dorm room and my crazy roommate. He told me about his childhood antics, crocodiles on the Nile, pyramids and Egypt. He was holding back his present life though, as if he wasn’t ready to share it yet. He didn’t tell me what he did for a living and if he had a family back in Egypt.

It worried me a little, but I wasn’t the one to probe.

And we had time.

His interest in me felt genuine though. When we held hands as we walked through the museum discussing different displays, I could feel that he was as reluctant to let go of my hand as I. Sometimes, he would look into my eyes with the look that made me wonder if he was going to get down on one knee and ask me to marry him.

I would have said “Yes” without doubt, even if it meant moving to Egypt with him.

But he never asked the question in words, and I didn’t know how to begin that conversation, especially since we were never alone—he wouldn’t leave the museum. He lived on the campus, or so he said. He wouldn’t come out with me for dinner, lunch or even coffee. He always had something to do, something to show, something to talk about, which was not his present life or our future. He didn’t even have a mobile phone number, so we couldn’t connect unless I visited the museum.

*****

Two weeks back, he told me he was moving to Egypt; and it seems that he had known the fact for a long time. Apparently, a certain part of the Egyptian display at the museum—including the mummies of the king and his slave—had come from a private collector whose family had acquired it from the black market several centuries ago without the consent of the Egyptian government, as was the norm in those days. But a team of Egyptian researchers had traced them back to the correct tomb a few years back. They had discussed the matter between the two countries and were moving the collection back to where it belonged. Cleo was leaving with it, back to where he belonged.

And I wanted to go with him.

Author’s note: To be continued…

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

If you would rather read it all together in the book, The Bracelet and other short stories is available for free download here: Link

Posted in Fiction, Published

Broken: Part 3

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Author’s note: This is third installment of a short story from my latest book: The Bracelet and the other short stories. You can find the other parts here: Broken: Part 1 and Broken: Part 2.

On the morning of the fourth day, I gathered wildflowers that grew within the temple yard. A tiger was manning the boundary. It gave me hope that my ‘friends’ wouldn’t be able to come tomorrow, and I wouldn’t have to go back. I could stay here forever, seeing her every day. I held the flowers lovingly in my arms until she came, afraid to put them down lest they’d get dirty.

When she came, I all but jumped up. She placed the basket in the same place and looked at me. I meekly held out the flowers. She accepted them quietly with a smile that almost made me swoon. She turned to leave. I couldn’t hold back anymore. I might have to leave soon. How could I go without knowing her name? Or rather, how could I go at all?

“Please don’t go,” I begged her.

“Do you need anything else from me?” her voice was teasing.

“I…I don’t even know your name,” I blushed to the roots of my hair like a schoolboy.

“I thought you’ll never ask. People call me Kyarr,” she replied.

“Oh! I thought Kyarr was the deity here.”

She kept smiling.

“I…My ‘friends’ are due to return tomorrow. I was wondering…thinking that…I…Would you…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. What if she says no? What if she considers it an insult? I know nothing about her. She could be married. She looks young but people marry early in this part of the world.

Heck, even I’m married! What was I even thinking?

She waited for a few seconds. Then, probably realised I wasn’t going to finish. So, she simply said, “I know your friends come tomorrow morning. I guess, it is the last time we meet.” She was still smiling.

“Would you like to come with me?” I blurted out, then lost all the courage and looked at my feet.

“I can’t. I’m needed here. But thank you for asking.”

It hurt to see that there was no pain in her eyes. She was smiling as always while my own heart was ripping up in pieces. “Will you at least stay the night? I just want to look at you until I leave,” I knew I was transgressing some social boundary, but I couldn’t remember what…

“I can but you might not like how I look. That’s why I haven’t been staying here for the past three nights.”

I could hear the warning in her voice, but I was past caring now. If it was the last time I was looking at her, I didn’t care if a few hair came out of her bun as she slept. Now that I think of it, I can’t remember how she wore her hair—Was it a bun? Pig tails? Or did she leave them loose over her shoulders? She’d still be the only one I love.

“I insist.”

She shook her head, giving up, and sat on the stone throne on the pedestal. Then she gave me that smile that melted my knees…

…and turned to stone—a magnificent stone Tigress.

*****

My helpers returned the next day and told me the goat was still very much alive. I told them about Kyarr, but they didn’t believe me. They said Kyarr, the stone Tigress, has always been there on the pedestal. She was the temple deity.

They said the curse was turning me mad like all those before me.

*****

I would like to believe them and forget all about her, but how can I?

Even though I have returned home, my dreams are full of tiger calls, and my every waking moment is spent thinking about her. Somehow, her being a tigress makes no difference to me. She’s still the one I love.

Often, I see her walk away from me. I call her. I beg her to stop, but she just gives me a smile that would make me follow her anywhere. And then, she keeps walking until I can walk no more. Once I fall, I crawl behind her until I faint. And when I wake up, I find her gone.

My bleeding feet and knees don’t hurt. My heart bleeds knowing I’ll never see her again. I tried booking a flight to return to my Kyarr, but my wife—I can’t recall her name now—she won’t let me go. I think she’s jealous. Could you please make her understand, Doctor? You do believe me, don’t you?

The doctor looks up at me with eyes filled with pity. He stops the recorder and makes some notes in his pad. He signals a male nurse to escort me to my padded cell—my cage from where I can’t escape and walk until my feet hurt and crawl until my knees bleed…

End

Author’s note: You can find the free PDF version of my latest book: The Bracelet and the other short stories here: Link.

Photo by Mike Marrah on Unsplash

Posted in Fiction, Published

Broken: Part 2

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Author’s note: This is second installment of a short story from my latest book: The Bracelet and the other short stories. You can find the other parts here: Broken: Part 1 and Broken: Part 3.

I settled on the platform on the tree, hid behind the leaves with the gun in position and waited. It wasn’t long when the goat started bleating. A tiger walked in. I guess, it wasn’t hungry because it wasn’t stealthy. It just sniffed the goat, the goat bleated, and the tiger looked straight at the place I sat.

Somehow, it knew I was there.

I had a clear shot, but the intensity of its stare made my hands shake. I fired but missed.

That’s when all hell broke loose.

All of a sudden, sixteen tigers rushed out of the bushes around me, roaring and tearing at my tree. The tree was rather sturdy and impossible for an animal to climb but, in my bones, I knew it can’t last against so many tigers. I fired several rounds of bullets but, weirdly enough, they hit none of the sixteen.

Soon, I was out of ammunition.

After a few minutes—it felt like an eternity—of scratching away the tree bark, the tigers began to return to the shadows of the forest. But one of them remained stationed beneath the tree. I had a suspicion that he’s waiting for me to get drowsy and fall down. After a couple of hours, as the rush of adrenalin subsided, I started getting sleepy. Meanwhile, crazy as it sounds, another tiger had come in and relieved the first one from its ‘duty’, which means they were working as a team.

It was weird and scary in extreme. Three days from now, one of them would still be here, meaning that my help would never arrive.

I wondered whether the ‘help’ had reached home safely. I wondered when he will return. I had travelled across the world to be here, but now I couldn’t wait to return to my family. I clung to a branch fiercely and prayed to see my wife and daughter one more time.

*****

Dusk arrived and the last rays of light fell on a piece of metal shining on the top of the trees—the pinnacle of the ancient temple of Kyarr. The wise words returned to me: “If the situation gets out of hand…” Well, the situation was certainly out of hand. I couldn’t stay the night here. Maybe, the temple could offer a better shelter. I could hide in the inner sanctum and close the doors. Other people had survived there, hadn’t they?

There was no point waiting to die here. I would rather do something.

I couldn’t carry my baggage. It would slow me down. My guns were all useless without the bullets. So, I used them to create a diversion. I dropped my bag down first, threw my heavier gun as far as it would go in my opposite direction, and then my lighter gun ahead of it. In the end, I threw my skinning knife as far as it would go in the trees. The tiger took the bait and ran towards it.

I jumped down and dashed towards the temple. I didn’t hear any tigers behind me, but I didn’t stop to check too.

I reached the temple in one mad dash. It had no boundary so entering was rather easy. I ran inside the prayer hall and turned to close the doors. There were none.

“Don’t worry. They won’t hurt you here. You aren’t carrying weapons,” a pleasant female voice made me turn around. She was sitting on the stone throne on the pedestal.

“But I had shot several rounds at them a few hours back.”

“But you can’t anymore.” It wasn’t a question. She smiled dazzling me. “Please make yourself comfortable until your friends return for you. If you are hungry, you can have these fruits,” she pointed towards a basket at her feet. With those words, she left the room.

*****

I hid there for four nights until help arrived.

The first night, I could neither eat, nor sleep. Occasionally, I heard the tigers roar just outside the periphery of the temple. Not sure what kept them out though—the temple had no doors to close.

It wasn’t the fear that kept me up though. It was the woman—I kept thinking about her smile, her face, her grace, her voice…

*****

The next day stretched before me with nothing to do. My smartphone had stopped working the moment I had entered the deeper forest, as expected. Now the battery was dead as well. I tried missing my wife and daughter, but I couldn’t. All I thought about was ‘her’. I craved for her with the intensity of a man dying of thirst in the desert. But no matter how I tried, I could not recall the colour of her clothes. I had been so taken in by her face.

At dusk, she returned with a fruit basket. I think, she was wearing something orange. I can’t be too sure. All I could remember was her face and dazzling smile. She asked me if I was well. I wanted to say that I was dying to see her again. But all I could manage was a nod. She left the basket in the same place and left with the dazzling smile.

I wanted to stop her and ask her name. I wanted to ask her how she knew my language and about my friends; where she lived and why she returned only at dusk and only to deliver the basket; why she never said a prayer in the temple; and where was the deity anyway.

But the words stayed lodged firmly in my throat. All I could manage was to look like a thunderstruck tree.

The next two nights were spent pretty much the same way. I tried sleeping but kept dreaming of her. But as soon as I would lift my hand to touch her face, tiger roars would wake me up. I could hardly remember my wife’s name. Heck, I couldn’t remember my own name if I didn’t have my ID in my pocket. Both days, mornings were spent waiting for the dusk to arrive so that I could see her again; and evenings thinking of what I could have and should have said to her.

The roars didn’t bother me anymore. I might not even have noticed if the tigers had eaten me.

Author’s note: To be continued…

Photo by Mike Marrah on Unsplash

Posted in Fiction, Published

Broken: Part 1

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Author’s note: This is first installment of a short story from my latest book: The Bracelet and the other short stories. You can find the other parts here: Broken: Part 2 and Broken: Part 3.

I had never hunted in this area before, but I was dying to get a tiger’s head for my collection for years now and an eco‑tourism website had mentioned this place. It had boasted of a uniquely high tiger‑per‑kilometre ratio as compared to the rest of the world. Tigers are revered here, so, local poachers don’t touch them. There’s no law against hunting the endangered species in this country though. Just my luck! So, I got a quick tourist Visa, gathered my hunting gear and flew here.

*****

In a country where tigers are revered, I couldn’t directly ask people where I could find a tiger to kill. So, I went around the long route. After the first day of sight‑seeing with a local tourist guide, I tipped him heavily. Then, I said, “I just wish it was a little more exciting than that!” I talked about my hunting trips. He immediately promised to find someone to help me, which he did within the hour.

The ‘help’ was a small shrewd man who offered his services based on a hefty fee per day. We started small—hunting foxes, then, gazelle and wild boars. I tipped him generously each day, increasing the amount with the size of the game, nudging him to find something even more exciting. He gradually warmed up to me and suggested bigger cats—serval, cheetah, leopard…

I told him, “I’ve done them all in. The only big cats I’d be interested in now would be a lion or a tiger.” I knew well that there were no lions here. So, he would show me tigers.

He hesitated. A long pregnant pause had me wondering if I had gone a little too fast and whether I should have waited a few more days. But hunting tigers could take several attempts ranging between several days to weeks. I could not afford to tick off more days from my one‑month visa.

After what felt like an eternity, he admitted reluctantly, “There’s a place in the forest where tigers throng. That is the only place where you are sure to find them. Mind you, we never hunt them. There is a curse in that place. Anybody who goes hunting tigers in that place ends up as either dead or raving mad.”

Old wives’ tales, of course! “I’m not afraid.”

He looked at me with the resignation of a parent who knew his child was beyond hope. “Okay! But this time, I won’t stay with you for the hunt. I have a family to provide for, so, I can’t afford to be cursed.”

It took immense effort to stop me from rolling my eyes. “Sure, but you can show me where it is, right?”

He nodded quietly, “Yes, but it will cost a lot more—I’m risking a curse and a possible death. I’ll take the money in advance today, so that I can hand it over to my family in case I die.”

I knew he was exaggerating to hike up the amount. He wasn’t even going to be on the hunt. But I hadn’t travelled across the world to save pennies. If the website was to be believed, the number of tigers in the area guaranteed a trophy.

*****

The next morning, he came back with supplies for four-five days, a goat, two labourers and tools to create a hunting platform. The labourers looked apprehensively at my gun, muttering in native language. The ‘help’ translated, “They want you to promise that you wouldn’t fire it until we’ve safely returned from the place. Firing the gun draws the tigers in.”

I could not help rolling my eyes this time. “Come on, the sound of gunfire scares animals away…”

“In other places, gunfire might do that, but it is different here. The tigers kill anyone firing a gun in the area. You’ll see soon enough.”

*****

We travelled as far as we could in an old jeep. Then, we walked on a well‑beaten trail. Apparently, a lot of people walked through that part of the forest without any weapons. So much for risking life!

We left the trail and entered deeper into the forest. After an hour, we stopped near a tall and sturdy tree with high and strong branches that gave me enough cover without obscuring my view. The ‘help’ ensured it was impossible for a tiger to climb it. I knew the last precaution was unnecessary, but he insisted, “You will thank us later.”

While the labourers built the hunting platform and the ‘help’ arranged goat’s fodder, I smoked a cigarette relishing in the tiger calls. The website was right. Too many tigers live in this area. Not sure how though. Tigers are rather territorial. Usually, there is no more than one tiger in several kilometres. But in this place, it sounds as if there is a huge ‘pride’ living in close vicinity—only, tigers don’t live in prides. The biggest group could be a mother with one or two cubs. Then, how could it be that…

By noon, the platform was mounted, and the ‘help’ asked, “Are you sure you want to do it, Sir?”

Mentally, I laughed at the superstition. Overtly, I just nodded.

“Alright,” he pointed towards north. “There is the temple of Kyarr over there. The only survivors from a hunting trip in this area were found hiding there. They were completely mad, mind you, but alive. So, if the situation gets out of hand, try to make a dash for it. I’ll return in the four days and collect whatever is left of you.”

With those parting words, they left.

Author’s note: To be continued…

Photo by Mike Marrah on Unsplash