I AM YOU
-
Anushka Mitra (India)
Music boomed in the hall. Isha felt
nauseated and manoeuvred her way out of the sweaty, probably drunk, crowd. It
was her first-ever Halloween party. As much as she admired the idea of letting
herself loose at her college party while being protected by a dark-haired,
blue-eyed guy from afar, who apparently had eyes for her and only her, the
reality was quite the opposite. She went to a women’s college. Huh! That was
her fate. Eight years of education in an all-female school and a rigid family
on top made her desperate for a co-ed institution. Not to mention, Tina, her
nemesis and school rival since 5th grade, now has a very handsome
boyfriend.
How could she land such a hot
boyfriend? It had only been a few months since the semester started. Jealousy
laced her thoughts. She spat out the juice she had taken a sip of. It tasted
pungent and metallic. She looked into the paper cup and the red liquid it
contained. Red as blood. Her mouth looked gory complementing her devil’s
costume.
“My goodness, they’ve taken this
Halloween seriously.” Isha groaned placing the cup back on the counter. Not
sure what the drink was, she denied herself a refill.
“Should have invited some hot male
‘vampires’, no?” Winked Tina joining her at the corner. Isha rolled her eyes
knowing her expression couldn’t be read in the dark set up of the auditorium as
‘Hell’.
“You already have a boyfriend.” Isha
said, as a matter of fact. Her face darkened with contempt.
“The more the merrier.” Isha winced at
those words. And you let these kinds of people experience love, God? Silently
shooting the question towards the divinity that controlled the matchmaking
department, she heaved a sigh of exasperation.
“Listen, I’ll leave now. Can’t take
this anymore.” Before moving past Tina, she threw one last sly remark, “These
seniors look rather pretty in their ghost outfits today. In this college, every
day is Halloween.”
“Why do you bear so much resentment
towards the world?” Isha turned back glaring. The answer lingered at the tip of
her tongue, but it would have brought tears to Tina’s pathetic attempt at the
Harley Quinn face.
“Later, Tina. Bye.” She spun on her
heels and left.
_
Isha puffed out thick smoke following a
long drag from her cigarette. She was waiting at a nearby bus-stop. It started
to rain so suddenly that she couldn’t even return to campus. She regretted not
moving in some hostel like others. As if her parents would have allowed her. It
was growing chilly too. Her skimpy devil dress hugged her chest and flowed till
mid-thigh. The casual jeans and top she came wearing were left in washroom. She
regretted that, too. All of it seemed a waste since there was no male
attention. For some reason she grew jittery with every passing minute and
constantly rocked back and forth on the bench. The metallic taste hadn’t yet
washed away, no matter how many times she spat it out.
“I should’ve answered Tina back then.”
She told herself. The loud thunder took her mind back to past.
She was five when her parents gifted
her a brother. A ‘gift’ she didn’t want after a while, when she perceived that
it had more privileges. She struggled with studies to remain an ace throughout
her school but hardly ever missed a rebuking session from her parents every
time Tina was a hairline ahead. Isha grew desperate in 11th grade.
She couldn’t let her rival win in the remaining two years of school. There was
something about a teenage grudge. It tended to be rawer and more inexperienced,
often reckless. The whole institution hailed Tina for topping the 10th
grade boards and making it to the television. No one seemed to have noticed the
powerful position her father held in school. Isha was determined to beat Tina
by hook or by crook.
She broke out of her reverie abruptly
when her stomach lurched. She vomited before she had a chance to comprehend
what was wrong. Red. Blood. Looking around for any help was useless, she was
deserted in rain. Her weak arms tried to reach her bag for phone, but another
retch forced her down on knees. More blood came out of her nose and mouth. The
next thing she saw, knocked all the air out of her. The pooling blood
congealed, turning into a full figure. The word ‘ugly’ would not have sufficed
to describe the diabolical entity. It looked slimy, its eyes were deeply
hollowed, and its mouth had an evil grin. Isha fell back and crept backwards in
shock until her back hit the bench. A terror gripped her heart. She screamed
for help running away from the gory creature but slipped.
“I am you.” A frosty voice came out of
the figure. It stretched a long knifey tongue out to lick Isha around her neck
leaving a burning trail. A blood-curdling shriek left her, “Help me
somebody…help!”
“Don’t be afraid of me. I am you.” The
nefarious tongue travelled all over her body slitting her skin. The rain lashed
down and opened her wounds further. Isha kept writhing in pain.
“I am your greed.” In a moment,
memories of past flashed before her eyes which were blind-folded by over
ambition. In her hindsight, she had even questioned herself if going that far
to appease her drive was right or not. Did she not get lost halfway through her
mission? Did she not forget her reasons midway and embrace the thrill of
committing the actions? Was it only the beaming faces of her parents who
overlooked her brother for once or was it also the tormented face of her prey
she felt exulted observing? And last of all, was it at all necessary?
The serrated tongue snaked around her
waist drawing its filthy body towards her until it engulfed her completely. A
terrifying cry of pain. Everything fell silent. The heavy shower continued.
_
The next morning police, ambulance,
college authority, and Isha’s family gathered around the tragic spot. A
strangely burnt body of hers was found in middle of the road. It was suspected
that she was struck by lightning.
Tina stood at a little distance with
her boyfriend.
“I hope your spiked drink didn’t kill
her.” He said.
“Not possible, it was supposed to make
her intoxicated only. I had planned everything so perfectly.” Tina frowned, “This
drug was supposed to cause her act crazy and either the authority would have
expelled her or definitely her insufferably suspicious parents would have taken
some drastic step against her. They don’t trust her at all.”
“Seems like the nature was with you.”
He remarked.
“I have to agree. She was a desperate
psycho. She stalked my dad, and threatened him with pictures of him and his
girlfriend having sex on mom’s bed. All because of the top position in school.
Can you believe it? Mom recently found the pictures in his old file, and he
confessed afterwards. She has filed a divorce. It’s been such a mess at home.
All because of that bitch.”
“But did she deserve to die…” He
trailed off when Tina looked daggers at him. “That is her Karma. Let’s go
back.”
They started walking away when Tina
sneezed. A short trail of blood trickled down her nose onto the ground.
“This damn cold.” She wiped and resumed
walking.
The seemingly insignificant droplets of
blood blended together into one, unnoticed by any mortal gaze. It slowly
congealed into two small hollowed eyes, a little evil grin and a tiny serrated
tongue that came out hissing.
****