Name - Diwakar Narayan
Author Introduction - A former teacher of English Grammar (though I have started forgetting the basics now) and a great admirer of English Language, I took on blogging to show my skills to the virtual world and nick-named myself as Infected Mind. However, having stepped in, I found that I deserved less than the place of a fish in the ocean. Since then, I have been trying to polish my skills to attain the position of a fish. I have no great job and high education to boast of. Philosophically, a God hater who wants to see how life could be, not believing in Him at all.
Story - The Doomed Night
The sharp and distant sounds of night creatures echoed continuously. The cold breeze made it worse when it passed through my wounded body. Escaping from the prison through the thorny bushes had exhausted us. We were gasping and could run no longer, badly needing some shelter to hide and spend the night. We saw a building then, a giant one. Though, in the darkness, it looked more like a shadow. The cloudy sky and dim moonlight made it more unclear, but darkness was our true companion. We decided to move inside the building. Our legs were could hold us no longer and wanted to rest now.
We stepped up the porch and found that the main gate was locked and there was a rusty old lock hanging there. On the ground, there was an earthen pot. I lifted it and saw that the pot was covered with a red cloth. It was torn and ragged, though. It seemed as no one came here, but we had no option but to move inside. Breaking the lock seemed easy but our tools were not with us. I looked around and saw stones scattered on the ground. I picked up a big one and hit the lock. The spank was alarming. It could make people from the nearby village doubtful and come towards the building, I thought. I took off my shirt and rolled it over the lock and hit it again. It made less sound now. In some time, the lock broke open. I picked up the broken piece and put my shirt on.
It was a heavy iron gate, and had to be opened. We looked at each other and pushed the massive structure with all the might we had. It opened and we moved inside. It was an abandoned fort and a good place to hide. The hall was huge. I went back and latched the door from inside. Then I realized that someone, in the morning, might see the lock missing and suspect that anyone was inside, I took the broken lock, stretched my right hand outside and managed to put the lock back. I tore a part of my shirt and rolled over the lock and tied it. Now, it would look like it was never opened. I had made the place safer now.
I looked around the hall and could see nothing except some dim moonlight, which came from the small holes on those huge walls. We walked towards a corner and sat on the floor. My whole body was paining. I wanted to sleep and hence closed my eyes.
Suddenly, I felt something moving up my body. I stood up and hurried away from the corner. I could see nothing but him. What was it? The very thought of something hostile made me nervous. A chill ran through my spine. There was something not right about this place. I shook my friend, who seemed to have gone into deep slumber by now, and he got up bewildered and said –
‘What happened?’
‘Let’s go out from here. I don’t think we should stay here.’
‘Are you crazy? We have no other place to go hide’ He asked disbelievingly, his eyes wide open.
‘I don’t know. I just don’t want to stay here.’
‘Wait’, he said and looked around. There were stairs going up, as if to the first floor. ‘Can we go up and sleep in the terrace under the sky?’ I asked.
I then saw something above the stairs, on the wall. There was a big mirror there. Something long, like a rope, hung there, on the middle of the mirror. There was a picture in the mirror too. I fixed my eyes on it for some time and figured out that it was a picture of some king. How can a picture be inside a mirror? I thought. I looked at the opposite direction. The picture, I had seen in the mirror, hung above the main door, on the wall. I sensed that the picture in the mirror could also be seen from outside, for the main gate was made of giant iron rods and could allow dispersed view to outsiders. Suddenly, I saw the rope-like thing moving on the mirror. There were two of them now. No, there were many. What were they? I looked at my companion expectantly. He, too, was looking at the same thing.
‘No, we won’t go up the stairs’; he said and pointed to another direction, ‘Look, there is a small door. Come, we’ll go there.’
I looked in that direction. It was a small door made of iron rods and wooden frame, similar to the one in the jail. We moved there and saw that there was a bigger lock. There were insects creeping all over the door, some small ones and some big ones. It seemed like something precious was kept inside and the door was meant never to be opened. Inside, there was a long passage that disappeared in the darkness after some distance. It wasn't a safer place to be at but a secret one. It made us curious to go inside.
I scanned the door and found that the frame was weakened by wood worms. It must not have been touched for long, I thought. I could see many tiny holes in the wooden frame. I asked him, ‘can you break this door?’
I didn’t want to dirty my hands touching those insects and killing them.
He stood up. Breaking such doors was easy for him, for he was a built man. After a few heavy pushes, the door fell towards inside. We stepped in; and he said to me, ‘I’ll lift the door and place it as it was before so no one can notice it being broken. I don’t want to be caught again and sent back to jail’.
It was a tunnel-like passage, round and long. Till now, our eyes had adjusted to see more things in the dark. We kept walking till we reached another door. It was closed with a latch but with no lock. I opened it and moved in. He accompanied me. This was a small room. Suddenly, I felt a strong smell entering my nose. The room smelt like rotten dead bodies. I stepped back, but he grabbed my hand and whispered to me, ‘there is something there, I’ll go see’.
There were some trunks kept, covered with heavy cloths. They were royal but too dirty. It seemed like a secret place. He went near one of the trunks, removed the sheet and opened it, then spoke in a low voice,
‘Hey, come here, look what is inside.’
I went there and looked inside the trunk. It was full of boxes. There were some small and some big ones.
The design on them glittered and enabled us to see them clearly. I lifted one of them and opened it. Alas! There were gold ornaments in it.
He grabbed the box from my hand and held it close to his eyes. He kept looking at it for some time. I took another box and opened it. There were many gold rings in it. I could not believe it. We had found a hidden treasure!
Suddenly, he screamed as if in pain and succumbed to the ground. I rushed to him and held him. He was trembling. I asked, ‘hey, what happened?’ He raised his hand and pointed in a direction and when I saw there, I found a big snake slinking away from us.
‘Please take me out of here’, he pleaded, holding his left thigh where the snake had bitten.
‘No. I cannot move till I take all this jewelry with me’. I said instantly.
‘Why don’t you see that we’ll die here?’
‘And, why can’t you see that we've got so much of wealth? It will make us rich! We would steal no more’.
‘Rich? My foot! I am going out.’
He got up and limped away towards the door of the passage. I rushed ahead of him and blocked his way, and said, ‘Listen, my friend, we’ll take some of these boxes out and come back later. Why don’t you help me do this?’
Suddenly, I heard loud rattling noise coming out of the open trunk. I rushed back to it and when I saw inside, there were many snakes coming out. They were thick and long. They flicked their tongues out, as if hungry; but I did not want to let go of those boxes. I put my hands inside and grabbed a big box. I hadn't even taken my hand out completely, when I felt something moving up my leg. Freak! It was a snake, wanting to attack me. I jerked it away. Then, I saw another one moving towards me. No, there were many moving towards me. I turned back and what I saw in front of me was stunning.
The snakes, by now, had spread. They were everywhere, slithering in all directions. I felt dryness in my throat. I tried to run back into the chamber and hit hard against the wall. The box fell off my hand and bounced away. I turned back. It was gold, I could not leave it. I went back to the trunk and picked another big box. Then, I felt two strokes against my palm. The snakes had bitten me, too? I quivered and turned back. I did not want to die. I turned and slipped, but got up and ran into the tunnel. Suddenly, I stepped on something round and fleshy. I looked down, and found that it was the hand of my friend. Why was he lying there? I shouted,‘hey, run!’
He did not get up. I started dragging him and realized that he had fainted. I had to lift him up and run again. He was heavy. I had taken only a few steps when he fell off my hands. His head hit the ground and he gained consciousness. ‘Get up, run!’ I yelled at him again.
He managed to get up and started lumbering with me, holding my hand. We staggered as fast as we could, but the tunnel was long. His fingers slipped my palm and he fell again. I left him and ran towards the door and bumped into it. My head hit those rusty rods and I felt a severe pain. I collapsed on the ground; then got up in haste and ran back towards the small room again. I wanted to seize another box but when I reached the entrance of the room, I saw those snakes slithering in the chamber. I ran back fast, to the wooden gate and crashed against the rods again. He was lying there, too. I stepped backwards and dragged him away from the door. I tried to pull open the door myself, and knew immediately that those insects were moving up my hands towards my body. I looked back and saw that those hungry creatures were moving towards me. I tried again and the door fell on him; I did not care, I moved out and ran towards the main gate.
It was locked from outside and tied up. I held my hand out and tried to reach the lock, but felt weak and dizzy. I felt my head whirling in all directions; and then I realized that blood was all over my face. They were dripping from my head and had reached till my neck. I was losing my consciousness now, but had to get out of the building. I gathered my strength and tried to get up again to reach the lock. Till now, those snakes had neared me. I had little time to get out. I tried again but failed. Suddenly, I remembered about the stairs going up to the first floor. A new wave of energy ran through me. I got up and sprinted towards the stairs. I only wanted to get out of this place, no matter what. When I reached there and looked up, there was a door there, too. I sprinted up the stairs, and confronted the vast mirror, which reflected the King’s portrait. I stopped dead. The eyes were directly looking at me in a strange and vengeful manner. I decided not to look at it and bolted towards the door which, to my surprise, was not locked. I slammed against it with all I had left in me. The door forced open and I plunged into complete darkness once more. It took my eyes a couple of minutes to adjust. A deep passage was waiting for me. I could see faint footprints on the wooden floor. It looked like someone had walked the tunnel not too long ago. A cold draft of air hit me from nowhere within the passage. If there was air, there had to be a way out. I had to find it, anyhow. I started tracing the footsteps, on my all four, hoping it would help me get out of the place. I traced the footsteps for two or three minutes; when another cold draft of air hit me from somewhere ahead. The blood on my face had started to clot all over and it made my eyelids heavy. With whatever vision, I crawled ahead. After a few more steps, I felt as if I was being watched. But I crawled forward. Soon, I found myself staring at a two way; each going in opposite directions. I took the left turn. The sound of footsteps ahead of me startled me. Was I going to end up confronting the person whose footsteps I was tracing so far? I did not want to meet anyone right now; I shivered with the fear of the cold jail bars. The trail looked as if it was gradually going downwards.
Suddenly, I tripped and fell face first on to the floor. A box lay on the floor, similar to the ones I saw in the room. I grabbed the box and scrambled towards the direction of the footsteps which I had heard, but I was stopped midway by a short iron door, which seemed to be solid. After trying for a minute or so, I managed to pry it open and to my surprise I found myself back on the ground floor with those venomous serpents. I had to get out of the place so I hurried towards the main door.
I reached the door and tried to get to the lock. I managed do so this time. I tore apart the piece of cloth that I had tied the lock with. It fell open. I tried to open the door, so heavy it was, I struggled with it. I had no strength left in me, but I had to open it. The snakes were already converging from all sides now. I tried again and managed to move the door a bit. The narrow space was enough for me to slip through. I slumped on the ground and crawled away with much effort. I intuited that something was moving up my leg from behind. I crawled fast and reached the front porch. Now, many of them seemed to be moving up my body. I crawled faster and fell off the stairs on to the grass below. I felt something cold beneath me. They were grasses. It was soothing. Suddenly, I felt multiple needles being punched in my body at once. Something started to burn inside. By and by, I was losing my consciousness. The heat inside challenged the chilliness outside. The poison was taking control of my body. It seemed to be the end of me, lonely and hungry; then suddenly, I heard a familiar voice call out my name. I opened my eyes and saw my friend leaning over me. Am I seeing the dead? I thought until he held out his hand to drag me on to my feet. I was feeling better than before and seeing him renewed my energy to some extent. All of what happened seemed a distant dream until I saw the wooden box that I carried with me outside.
What was this place? I need not know. Whose was it? The answer seemed to be known only to the person whose portrait I saw inside. Whose were those footprints? I need not bother. All I know that we were lucky to be under the blue sky; the clouds seemed to have vanished, as if a bad nightmare. The poison seemed to have worn off its worst. The years of hardship and tolerance of the jail had made us immune to even snake bites. We were glad to be alive and more so with the wooden box, full of gold coins, that seemed to be asking us not to delve in the past, as to how or what happened; but look forward to a life of a normal human being.
