Murder At Lake Mohank - 6. Chapter 6. Making Ends Meet

We were seated at a table for two in the college cafeteria, by the huge glass window that overlooked the corridor and the center lawn beyond. It was raining, people scurrying towards the inner side of the single loaded corridor, trying to avoid the rain that lashed down relentlessly. The time was just past eight o'clock in the morning, but it was such a dull, dark morning, the lights had been turned on inside the cafeteria.

The rest of the hiking trip had been uneventful. We hadnt gotten the chance to talk much.

"Even if I were to believe all that you want me to," He was leaning forward, his elbows on the table - palms together, fingers entwined. He stretched his palms apart a little, as he said that, keeping the fingers entwined but raising his thumbs, "Whats the point of it all?"

"Lets try to proceed logically. Right from the start. Ok?" I suggested.

"Ok", he agreed.

"There are these strange rituals that I had been taught as a kid, by my dad." I began.

"- without any explanations as to what they were, or why u needed to perform them." he added.

"Right." As I said that, I glanced out the window and saw Alyssa coming across from the far corridor, with her usual group of friends.

"Ok, and so u have been doing it all this while. And presumably there was no way for you to find out anything about it?"

"Yes."

"Well there is that Mantra for starters. Its the exact same one that I was taught by my dad. Then, there is that thing about the no-moon nights and Mondays. The snake that attacked --- outside the cave. And that paper itself. Why would it end up in my hands, not anyone else's'?"

"Well even if thats all true and good, what does it imply? Its just some astrological mambo-jumbo......" he said, in not too dismissive a manner.

"Yes but there have been other things" I retorted.

"Like?"

"The last time I went to perform the ritual, I encountered this bizarre pair of eyes, staring at me from the woods." I hoped I didnt sound too fanciful.

"What eyes?" he questioned, sipping his coffee.

I briefly explained to him what had happened that night.

"Well, it could have been anything. Most likely, some nocturnal animal." he shrugged.

"- And all those symptoms regarding the curse - lack of mental peace, chaos and confusion, perpetual disturbance, poor relations with family members..."

"Come on, it could apply to anyone. Abstract stuff like, lack of mental peace, or generic things like poor relations. You would do well to throw it all out the window." He tried to sound assertive.

I nodded my head slightly.

"Promise?"

"Hmm."

"Should I take that as a YES?"

Rest in peace, my beloved Hmm.

"Yes."

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Like a magnificent dream - enthralling, enchanting, mesmerizing, absolutely spell bounding, yet with evanescence woven into the very fabric of its existence - the events of the trip, prior to the snake encounter, seemed to have faded into oblivion. In a way, that was the most concrete evidence that I was indeed cursed, if not to perish at the fangs of a fantasy serpent, then to the pangs of reclusion and detachment.

And just like the sweet, pleasant residue such dreams tend to leave - a vague feeling of having experienced something extremely desirable, without being able to recall what exactly it was - our relationship seemed to have taken on such a surreal quality. Of course, every single detail of it was etched in my memory never to be erased, I knew for sure. And perhaps, the same was true for him too. But there was no way for me to know about that. I had never been the one to express my emotions too well, expect perhaps those pertaining to contempt and anger; and now with the added burden of uncertainties regarding whether the feelings were mutual, I felt the balance tilting overwhelming in favor of sedation, torpor, and more than anything else - a deep inexplicable silence.

Of course, we met every day - in the bus, at the college, at all the places that we had started hanging out at. Things were all fine and hunky dory on the surface, but there was an iceberg that lay suspended beneath. And neither he, nor I seemed competent enough to be able to break the ice.

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Monday Afternoon

I had promised him that I wouldnt let myself get worked up about those bizarre incidents, and sure, I wasnt going to let that happen, but I decided there was no harm in being objective about it and trying to gather any REAL info that I could.

Next, I searched for "Brihat Horasaastra", and I found no info pertaining to it. I tried "Raghav Bhalan" and got 9630 results, but unfortunately none of those seemed to have anything to do with a 12th century astrologer.

I saw no point in trying to discuss anything with my dad.

Of course, I still had that old paper with me, I could go and try to find out more about it, perhaps at the Darbar Hall Meuseum, for authenticity if not anything else, and I could also go inquire at the public library for the book and its author. I decided to try the library first. And made a mental note of visiting it the next day. I messaged Alyssa, cancelling our usual Tuesday morning conference at the college cafeteria. She seemed surprised, and asked me if I was going out on a date. I told her not to be silly, and explained that I had some important stuff to do at the library.

In the meantime, I had nothing to do but wait.
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Rahil text'd me, if I wanted to go watch some movie that was running at one of the multiplex theatres. A superhero donning an iron suit, out to save the world. I told him I wasnt in the mood to go watch a movie.

I text'd Balbhadra, if he wanted to meet up at our regular hang out spot. He replied he would be there in five minutes.

He wasnt there.

When he didnt show up for a quarter of an hour, I called him. But he rejected my call. After a little while, I got his message on my cell, saying he had been busy helping some girl from college finish her project report, and that he was free now, and on his way. I waited on, it was getting dark, and the few shops that been open earlier, were closed now.

There was just one little store that was still open. It was on the first floor of the other wing of the complex, directly opposite to where I was standing, the two wings of the complex being separated by a narrow gully that ran off the main road, leading to a wide open plot of land behind the complex. I heard footsteps from across the corner. Finally ! I thought, but it turned out to be one of the many beggars that used to lie around, inside the complex during the daytime and the empty ground behind it after dark. I quickly got rid of him, indicating with my hand for him to move on.

Finally, my cell rang, I delved for a couple of seconds on whether to accept his call or to reject it.

"And what about after that? You had said later, that it was done and that you were on your way. Does it take you the better part of half an hour to reach here from your house?" I quipped.

"No, but, actually, I was at her house." he explained.

"Great. and how was I to know that? Did you intend to announce it on radio, or cable?" I said looking fiercely into his eyes.

"You could have tried that 'friend' of yours - whats her name? Ya, Alyssa." he said smiling, trying to make a joke out of it. Seemingly.

"You had said five minutes, not fifty fucking minutes." I was in no mood for jokes.

"Hey ! Get off my back. I told you sorry, twice already. What more do you want me to do, kneel down on my knees and beg?" he said, dryly. "Come. Lets get out of here."

He started walking off. I just stood where I was. He turned back after taking a couple of steps when he realized I wasnt moving. He was looking at me.

"Dont stare at me. Leave if you want to. I dont want to leave." and I meant that.

"Go to --- " he didnt quite finish it.

"Go on, say it. Its ok."

"Look, dont act like a kid" he tried to sound mature.

"Leave me alone. Will you?"

"Alright, alright. if you want it so." he said with contempt "Dont expect me to mollycoddle you every time."

Had I ever invited you to do that in the first place? The question remained in my eyes.

"You dont own me, you understand?" he said.

I couldnt speak anything, nor did I intend to. But my lips started quivering involuntarily at that instant, and I turned away from his gaze, to avoid letting him see the glint in my eyes.

He grabbed my hand.

"Please come. I cant leave you alone here, at this hour."

"Let go off my hand !" I snapped.

He didnt.

"The last time I am telling you this - Let... go... off... my... hand." I was contemplating whether I would be able to punch him hard enough, if he didnt release his grip. But he did, reluctantly.