“what the hell is that smell!?”
I swore aloud. As soon as I opened the small back pack, the stench of a dead rat hit me. Unable to fathom what was it that was in store for me inside I reached into the bag and groped around and heard a tinkling sound. And grabbed a small cylindrical object and lifted it out. It was a vial, filled to the brim with a dark crimson liquid which glowed in a vicious manner. And in the bottom, a piece of paper stuck to it read “BAT”. I felt nauseated looking at it, thinking that those guys who were so cool and composed, in college leading a sober normal life had such a sinister secret within them.
Having the crimson liquid in my hand erased away the hopeful doubts that I had since noon. Though I had a reasonable attraction towards spirit contacting and a secret of my own, I knew enough to realize that blood, and that of a bat, was never associated with the normal contacting of spirits, rather the darker side of black magic. Wondering what more was there, I again reached in to the bag, something warm and soft grazed against my fingers, and I took it out. It was a shiny black feather of a raven. More evil omen.
The next time I reached into the bag to explore its contents, something sharp pricked my fingers, I took my hand out swearing in pain and saw a trickle of warm blood flowing from the tip of my finger, I reached in again and took out the knife that just cut me, it was sharp, so much that it could slice a piece of wood without much difficulty even though it was no bigger than a pocket knife, and oddly it looked as if it was made out of some soft white material, like ivory, rather than metal.
It had an evil looking carving at the handle which looked disgusting and yet mesmerizing, I tore my eyes away from it and again started going through the contents of the bag, a jar with a live black spider the size of my palm made its way out. It was a disgusting sight to hold, and I controlled the vomit that raised in my throat, and after that a roll of yellowed paper and a purple match box followed.
Soon I was sitting with all the required ingredients to perform a complex black magic right in front of me. I took the yellowed paper and held out in the light and read from it, it was a battered old paper and it was difficult to make out the words in it. I noticed that they were hand written and not typed. It explained the ritual to be followed using the contents that I had just discovered from the bag. I felt a sorrow building up within me. To think even Kavi was part of this.
And soon the thoughts of my father’s death and my mother’s illness swooped down upon me, and trapped me in more sadness. It is always so confusing and yet common, how sadness of one issue reminds you of totally unrelated issues and slowly you start feeling more and more miserable. I felt so let down, and then I noticed another small piece of paper inside the bag. In contrast to the other paper, it was white and new, and after reading the first few words I magically felt elated. It ran,
“Sunny, I know you would have felt disturbed after seeing the contents of this bag I gave you. I don’t blame you dear, but know this, I feel so bad that you have been dragged in to this, though it is not as bad as you think. The distance you go counts, than the destination. I can’t say more than this, I hope you do understand my state. And wait till we say what should be done with all this and where.
With love…”
Even though the short letter was not signed I knew it was Kavi that had written this, just for me, understanding my emotions even before I had thought about joining their circle. I re read the letter again and again, each time slowly, coming out of the sorrow that had trapped me. And suddenly I heard my cell phone ring, and was treated to more happiness, “KAVI” flashed on the screen. I attended after the first two rings,
“hi sunny, so saw the bag?”
“ya… I did…”
“am sorry dear, it is just that… I had to do this”
“hmmmm…”
“come on, it is not as bad as you think, listen I can’t talk long, I will explain later okay, just trust me wont you?”
“yes definitely, but I need to tell you something…”
“what? You are not into these things? I know, that, and you said okay for this only for me…”
“how in the ….?!?”
“I know you more than you do sunny… so don’t you worry alright…”
“Ok Kavi, am speechless, but there is something else I need to tell you…”
“I got to go, its dad… bye... good night…”
And before I could say anything else she cut the call. Before I could tell her the secret I prized the most. I wanted dearly to tell her, the girl who read me more than I could. And at the same time, I felt so confused with all the sudden twists and turns in just one day, to think a short lunch in a boring college in Chennai has become a portal for me in to a cult. I had half the mind to try and ask his advice now and my eyes strayed over to the long bag in the corner of the room, but I knew it was too late and decided to turn in for the day.
But there was one thing still left for me to do before I turned in. I pulled my small diary again from its hiding place and opened the pages. I had a few more weird details to add to the date, 27/9/2010… Slowly I slipped into sleep, a disturbed sleep, wondering what more there is to come
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