Valley of Death Page 13

  Abhay bought two cups of coffee and was shortly joined by Naresh, who was wearing Pilot’s uniform, with a peak cap. After they had sat on adjoining chairs, the latter asked, “I have been observing you lately that you look so gloomy and worried, Abhay; what’s the matter? I have been your friend for so long and we have never hidden anything from each other. If there is any problem confronting you, then you can discuss it with me; I am here to help and support you in every manner.”

  After looking at his friend for a while, Abhay asked, “Can I trust you, to keep anything I tell you to yourself?”

  “I give you my word!” Naresh said unsuspectingly.

  “I am beginning to feel that I have made a blunder by marrying Payal,” he announced.

  “What?” Naresh’s voice rose so loud in disbelief that they attracted the attention of the people around them.

  “I don’t blame you for introducing me to that Bengali woman; it was entirely my fault that I fell for her. Perhaps, if I have had more experience with women, I wouldn’t have behaved like an immature love-struck kid,” reasoned Abhay.

  “What’s got into you Abhay? You are such a fine man, a responsible, mature person; it simply does not go with your character. Did you have a fight with Payal?” Naresh asked. “Believe me, every marriage and relationship has its ups and downs; but that doesn’t mean that we ought to overreact in this manner,” he said trying to reason with him.

  “I haven’t made a decision as yet; but I am seriously considering my options, from a trial separation to a divorce.”

  “Good lord! What’s got into you, my brother? How can you even say, even think of such awful things?” Naresh was flabbergasted. “I have never imagined that things had worsened to such an extent between the two of you. I’ll call Payal and set this straight; even scold her like an elder brother if I have to, and tell her to make amends for whatever has made you angry with her.”

  “It will be of no use,” Abhay said firmly, stopping his friend from dialling the number of his house from his mobile. “There’s nothing she can say or do that will change anything between us.”

  “Or maybe the fault lies with you, is that it?”

  “How can you call it my fault? I didn’t drive her to the arms of another man!” Abhay said bitterly.

  “Are you out of your mind!? Payal is not that kind of girl!” Naresh emphasized.

  “Huh! How would you know? You are also under the illusion of her being a virtuous, religious, god fearing woman; like I was in the past.”

  “Do you suspect that she has been unfaithful to you?” Naresh asked in an alarming voice.

  “Ever since our marriage, I have found that strange calls come to our house; from places like Shimla or Kolkata, and the person promptly cuts the line, on hearing my voice. And once he had called the name of Payal, before he disconnected abruptly, when he realized that I had picked the phone.

  “That is no proof of the very serious charge of adultery you are accusing her of,” Naresh argued.

  “I was a fool in love; nor I had my parents, siblings or relatives, or for that matter any elder and experienced people around me that could have made inquiries about the girl I was getting married to. I saw a pretty face, fell for it and blindly and hastily married her,” he said speaking in Rudolf’s language.

  As if sensing it intuitively, Naresh said, “This is not you Abhay, but someone else is speaking through you. Who has poisoned your mind so much against your wife?”

  Abhay was tempted to tell him about his meeting with Rudolf, but thought better and said instead, “I am not blind anymore to what goes on behind my back. Though I have no concrete evidence as yet, I am sure that my wife has committed adultery and wants to get rid of me, to claim all my property and make merry with her lover.”

  “You are mad!” Naresh said, greatly angered by hearing that kind of nasty comments about Payal, who he treated as his younger sister. “I am surprised that you can harbour such delusions and ashamed that the man that I befriended for so long could stoop to such a level and has a sick mind. You idiot! You ought to be thankful to God almighty that he has blessed you with such a wonderful wife and a lovely angel as your daughter, instead of making such slanderous accusations about her. She could have found much better suitors than you, had she wanted; but she chose to marry you, for that you ought to be grateful to her for that!”

  “Who stopped her? None of them would have been as rich or a sucker likeme,” Abhay quipped.

  “You think Payal married you for your money?”

  “She has been an opportunist all her life, nothing but a bloody gold-digger, always looking for a bigger and better deal. And what makes her even worse and dangerous is her dabbling into occult, black-magic and hob-knobbing with tantriks. I didn’t tell you, but my accident a few months back was caused by the black-magic that Payal used on me.”

  “If I didn’t know you well, Abhay; I would have thought that you were mentally sick and needed psychiatric help,” Naresh said in a surprisingly calm and composed voice. “But that is clearly not the case here; I suspect that someone is misguiding you, feeding you with lies, systematically poisoning your mind against your wife. Either that or for some reason that I am unable to fathom, your mind is playing tricks on you. You are running away from the sunshine of love, trust, devotion and companionship and into a dark, cold and unending tunnel of hatred, mistrust, loneliness and irrational beliefs.”

  “Get a grip on yourself, my brother; I urge you on behalf of you and your loving family. Heed my advice and get off this course of destruction, before it is too late. If there are any problems, misgivings, complaints or suspicions; speak about them frankly with Payal. She is a good girl, educated, open-minded, truthful and understanding. And I am sure that the two of you would be able to sort out everything. No matter how much you may want to deny it; I know very well that you love Payal dearly and she also is devoted to you and loves you more than her life. And now that the God had blessed you with a daughter, the responsibility on your shoulders has been doubled. When you both will undertake a frank discussion in the spirit of love, respect and mutual trust, I am sure everything will work out. And don’t hesitate if you have to make small adjustments or compromises, they do not limit but only enhance the love of a couple.”

  His soothing words made a tremendous impact on Abhay, who temporarily came out of the Warlock’s evil spell and said with a choked throat, “You think that it is still possible? That the things can return to the way they were earlier?” It was as if part of him still yearned for the blissful life of love and happiness that he had enjoyed with his wife before the ghost of a dead man appeared in their house’s balcony as an omen of the trouble that future beckoned.

  “Don’t give up on the relationship you both have nurtured with so much effort that easily. I’ll talk to Payal from London and ask Shalini to do the same; we’ll both be coming here next month and if need be all four of us will sit down together and sort all this out.”

  Like a fly caught in a spider’s web, Abhay’s struggle to come out of lies, suspicions, and fears was only brief, before he fell back. Like a streak of lightning, Rudolf’s revelations about his wife struck in his psyche all over again and his stance hardened. Perhaps he found Rudolf much more persuasive than Naresh, or perhaps the former sang the song that he wanted to hear. “How can you talk sense into someone who betrays you; or tries to get you killed?”

  Before Naresh could answer him, his name was called on the public address system and he was asked to report immediately to the Airport counter of the British Airways. “I have to go to go Abhay,” he said rising from his chair and putting on it the coffee that had turned cold by then. “I’ll talk to you on phone; don’t do anything foolish in haste, which you’ll regret later; take care,” he said and after shaking hands with him went away.

  Naresh didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation or the extent to which Abhay’s mind had been corrupted by Rudolf’s vicious lies. In one sense Abhay was li
ke the hero of Greek tragedies; who were the victims of a situation that was neither of their making nor could they escape from it. They were resigned to their unalterable fate that Gods had condemned them to. Mortals! Ye helpless before Titans and will of Gods.

  CHAPTER 8: THE DARKNESS OF THE SOUL

  It was a week since the appearance of Bittoo’s ghost and, like that night, Payal was sitting all alone in the balcony of her bungalow. The soft light of the dawn was spreading, combined beautifully with the pleasant and refreshing air to create an atmosphere of hope and optimism. She sat on a chair with a cup of hot tea in her hand, looking far away at the wilderness beyond the road of her house.

  Spring had by that time fully arrived in the northern hemisphere: lush green trees, plants and blossoming flowers of colours like red, pink purple and white lay in silent testament to that. The season is like a reinforcing will of nature for survival; a new beginning from the ashes of the brutal past, a renewal of Nature’s pact of life with the plant kingdom. Out of death life is reborn; the beautiful spring season is in the vogue.

  Yet for Payal it was the sad season, the evil season; she mused as to how different were the circumstances in the human drama of life, so completely unlike the bloom in Nature? Her husband, Payal feared, was going insane, and worst still, she could do nothing to stop it. She felt completely isolated and alone; the strong pillar, which she thought her husband was in her life, had all but gone. And with it was gone the emotional security of life, of a long commitment and loving and trusting companionship. She wondered if life could ever become cruel than that?

  But if there was own remarkable thing about Payal, the lone woman who had fought single-handedly all through the long days of captivity in the estate of the evil man, that thing was her bold and unsurrendering spirit. It was that along with her courage and determination, which helped her escape unscathed from the den of evil. It was the same spirit, which brought out her determination to fight for herself, for her child, for her love, for her family, for their blissful life of togetherness.

  How much Abhay had changed, Payal thought ruefully, since the days she met him and fell in love with him, accepting his proposal for marriage. He was hardly recognizable as the same trusting, loving, emotional and upright man, which she retained the clear memories of. She could sense, feel in her gut the poisonous fire of Warlock and his revenge. How meanly the Bastard had struck back!

  Payal had no one but only herself to blame for; what a fool she was to believe that she could get him punished by a court of law! What was going through her mind – in hindsight, Payal could only wonder – when she naively believed that Colonel Narang or a blind Tantrik could team up together and get rid of Warlock for her. After all, she had the first-hand experience and knowledge of his cruelty and evil nature; not to mention his awesome array of supernatural powers, which if anything else, only made him infinitely more powerful and potently dangerous as an enemy.

  She left the chair absent-mindedly and walked towards the adjoining bedroom with the empty cup in her hand. She stopped briefly to look at her tired husband who was sleeping soundly after one more long and scary night. He looked the same innocent ‘boy’ in his sleep, which had won her heart and her hand in marriage. How different he looked and behaved when he was awake, Payal thought to herself sadly and walked away to the kitchen after slowly closing the door of the bedroom behind her, careful not to wake Abhay.

  She spent time playing with her beautiful two-month-old baby daughter. The little girl woke up early like her mother; she put her little hands at Payal’s cheeks and her chin, almost as if asking why she was so unhappy? Payal felt her heart pouring to the little Anshul; she kissed gently on her palm, holding her little hands. “Nothing my child, nothing, you don’t worry, mommy will set things right, the way they ought to be,” Payal said with iron determination in her voice.

  Her little daughter grinned and clapped her small hands together, almost as if she understood it all and fully believed in it. “At least I have got you, my little angel,” she said picking her up and putting her next to her bosom,” all is not lost, at least you are mine and forever will be. God may choose to take away happiness from a wife, but even he cannot dare to take away a child from her mother.” She kissed the face of Anshul repeatedly with as much affection and love as only a woman; only a mother can muster and selflessly give.

  After she had made Anshul sleep, Payal went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Those days Abhay preferred to eat his meals by himself; he showed no interest, much less a desire for Payal’s company and she too thought it prudent to give him his space. She placed the favourite breakfast of her husband: Lucchialoodom, the quintessential Bengali delicacy – something like Punjabi Aloo Poori – and hot tea on a tray and went to the bedroom.

  The noise of the television itself told Payal that Abhay was awake; she found him sitting on the bed watching a movie on the cable. She put down the tray on the bed before him and picking up the movies supplement, which came with the morning newspaper, she sat on a sofa chair beside the wall. She opened the paper and browsed through the contents; when she raised her face, Payal saw her husband eating the breakfast; she again shifted her attention to the paper.

  Abhay for his part was eating the food with a feeling of guilt and shame; here was his devoted, loving, caring and dutiful wife, who despite all that had happened and had been said to her; still cooked food for him. While he was a thoroughly ungrateful and shameless person who not just listened to the ravings and ranting of Rudolf, but for a time actually believed it. But what if Rudolf was telling the truth? The poisonous snake of suspicion again raised its ugly head in his mind; what if she is only playing the role of a dutiful wife to fool him and take him unsuspectingly to his death?

  After all, she was an actress, to begin with, was she not? Maybe she was a much better actress in real life, than in front of a camera. Maybe she really knew how to cast a spell on him, make him feel guilty and shameful and blind him from seeing her real ugly self, Abhay thought to himself while eating the breakfast. The circle indeed had come full length; Abhay was the same man but circumstances had brought about a revolutionary change in him and his outlook. Now he thought that his repeated visits at Payal’s locality were only a sign of his immaturity and foolish sentimentality.

  The woman, beyond whom his whole world seemed to have ended at one time in his life, now appeared increasingly to him to be like an albatross around his neck which was drowning him with it. In hindsight, his marriage appeared to him to be the single biggest mistake of his entire life. Time can change not just circumstances but also people beyond all recognition. He looked at Payal, whose long hair was falling all over her face as she sat hanging her head down while reading the paper. Was she trying to kill him?

  Payal caught him off guard when she lifted her face and caught him staring at her. He hurriedly looked away at the television screen and nervously ate the food he had in front of him.

  First Payal thought of asking him as to why was he looking so strangely at her, but then she decided against it. She could not lay her finger on it, but there was something strange about Abhay’s glance at her, which was disturbing her for no apparent reason. Maybe it was her woman’s intuition that sensed something which was out of the ordinary something uncomfortable, if not alarming, about the expression in her husband’s eyes when she had caught him staring at her.

  “You want the paper?” she asked lovingly.

  “No. Maybe later,” Abhay answered, avoiding looking into her eyes again.

  “I will go and read it in the living room; someone has to be near Anshul.”

  Abhay only nodded in response and Payal left the room, not forgetting to close the door behind her. When she came back after half an hour, she found the tray lying on the shelf of the bed, while Abhay had again gone to sleep. She took the tray with an empty plate and glass to the kitchen; she saw that she had at least one hour to rest before she had to prepare for lunch. She gently caressed her sleeping d
aughter on her forehead and then lay her down on the divan beside the cradle in the living room.

  In the afternoon Payal woke up, she gave Anshul to Abhay to look after her while she was busy in the kitchen and after cooking the lunch went to the bedroom. She saw Abhay lying listlessly in the bed. “Should I put it here?” She asked placing the tray on the bed.

  ‘What if this is poisoned’ – Abhay thought to himself looking at the food. ‘Once I am out of the way, she and her daughter can live happily ever after with the real man in their lives’. He looked apprehensively at the tray and then at the woman who was his wife.

  “It is not poisoned,” she said.

  “What!” he almost jumped out of his skin; he could not believe as to how accurately she had sensed his thoughts.

  “What’s the matter with you Abhay?” Payal asked in a voice of grave concern. “You have not been yourself lately; you have changed so much during these few days.”

  “I have told you about that ghost; how can you expect a man to remain normal after that?”

  “No, there is something more than that. Ever since you came back after meeting your mysterious friend the other day, you have been behaving very strangely. Both towards me and towards Anshul. Who is that friend of yours anyway?”

  “Nobody, it’s unimportant,” Abhay replied.

  “Then why do you have to hide his identity? You have not acted like this ever before, who is he anyway? Or is he a she?”

  “Don’t be stupid; there is no woman in my life.”

  “No woman?” Payal asked raising her eyebrows.

  “I mean none besides you.”