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The Present
Rahul and Elisa followed Dansh toward the village. A broad smile on Elisa’s face was the proof she was excited to discover the beauty of the village and the surrounding desert, and Rahul was glad of it. He was pleased to see Elisa happy, even if it was with the creepy stranger, Dansh.
If Dansh is an evildoer, I hope I have the courage to fight him, he thought.
His footsteps slowed, and his hand made its way into his pants’ pocket, where he kept the locket secured.
Dansh kept walking without glancing back.
Elisa was busy shooting a video of the beautiful desert, following the sand as it migrated from one place to another with a wave of smooth wind. She did not notice that Rahul was left behind.
With every step slowing down in the storm of his dubious thoughts, Rahul’s grip tightened on the locket.
When Elisa finally stopped the recording and turned to her left, expecting to see her boyfriend, she halted and looked back. She narrowed her eyes, wondering why he had slowed down, and impatiently waited for him to catch up.
But he then stopped, about three feet away from her, looking at her as she gazed back at him.
“What’re you doing?” she asked.
With his hands in the pocket, he said, “I’m sorry. I was just having some nightmarish thoughts—like what if he’s a wicked tantrik who might transfer a ghost or something into my body?”
“What’re you talking about, boy?” Elisa chuckled.
“I’m not joking.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“How do you want me to explain to you?”
“I think you need rest. Please keep walking, babe. Then we’ll find somewhere to sleep for the night,” said Elisa. She looked at Dansh who still hadn’t noticed they had slowed down. “Let’s go, before he goes out of sight.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I need rest. Let’s go,” said Rahul. “I just hope it’s a nice place to spend the night, and that he’s a good guy.”
Elisa held Rahul’s hand, and then they began walking again, slowly increasing their pace.
“Why are you keeping one hand in your pocket?” asked Elisa. “Are you comfortable walking like this?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“Oh! I remember,” she said. “The locket’s in there! Right?”
“Yes. It is.”
“If it’s that important to you, why haven’t I seen you wearing it before?”
Rahul coughed, observing the distance between them and Dansh. When he believed their voices would be completely out of earshot, he chose to tell the story linked to the locket.
“We can survive with my grandma’s locket,” he said.
Astonished, she asked, “How?” Then she quickly said, before Rahul could continue, “I mean, I remember you told me the locket could protect you from ghosts and spirits. But that was just superstition, right?”
“If we somehow convince an evil to wear this locket, or somehow manage to direct the locket onto an evil’s neck, the locket will burn that evil in fire.”
Elisa narrowed her eyes. He couldn’t tell if this was in bewilderment or because she didn’t believe what Rahul had just said.
“Do you really think the locket will kill any evil?” she asked.
“There are two stories. One is associated with a churel, and one with a daayan,” said Rahul. “My grandma told me these stories when she gave me this. Something happened to her when she was young,” Rahul took a short pause. “She was living in a village, and her college was two hours away in a city. One night, while waiting at the bus stop ready to go home, she encountered a girl, a gorgeous girl, who was crying. She asked for help, saying her husband left her on this deserted road to die, and so grandma brought her home.
“When they reached the house, the girl remained at the door staring at the Swastika symbol on the floor. FYU, Swastika symbol in India is used as a symbol of divinity and spirituality, not as a representation of Nazi Germany.”
“I know that. My history teacher from High School was American Indian. She told us about it.”
Rahul hummed. Then he said, “Good. Back to the story, Grandma asked her the reason for halting at the door.
“The girl didn’t react; she just stood there like a statue. After a moment, grandma tried to pull her inside the house. But as her leg touched the Swastika, she screamed, and she stepped back, stumbling. It was the Swastika that forced her out of the house.
“Grandma looked down in horror to check whether the girl had been injured but was surprised to see her ankles in front and feet positioned completely backward. Grandma hadn’t noticed at first as she was walking completely fine, like a normal person.
“She gaped at the girl’s feet for a moment, then her eyes and her long ponytail turned green. Grandma yelled, ‘Daayan!’”
“Wait! So, this story is linked to the daayan,” Elisa asked. “What’s the difference between them? I mean, between the daayan and the churel?”
“The daayan is much stronger than the churel. The daayan and the churel both have their feet turned backward and wear their hair in a long ponytail,” said Rahul. “The main difference is that the daayan targets young handsome men only, whereas the churel will attack anyone, but starting with pregnant women and children.
“But the daayan incident happened to your grandma?”
“Indeed. But the daayan likes to bring a doom on entire family. She first somehow manages to get a place in someone’s house, then possesses any man, married or single, living in that house. When she believes the man is completely under her possession, she marries him and begins the destruction of that family, killing a family member one after one, and at the end, the man she married. She does this only to increase her powers and stay young forever.”
“OMG! Daayan sounds much more powerful and crueler than the churel.”
“Indeed, she is. Anyway. Back to the story. The daayan, the wicked witch, tried to vanish, but before she could, grandma jerked this locket from her own neck and threw it on the daayan, where it stuck to her neck. She was unable to touch the locket, its divine powers sensed her wicked powers. It heated up, and the daayan burned in minutes.”
“So that’s the story of this locket!” said Elisa, gazing at Rahul. “Interesting! But no worries. You won’t encounter any daayan or churel here. And if you do, I won’t let her marry you.” She laughed.
Rahul’s mouth twitched with a quick laugh at her last words. Then he said, “You tease me so much, girl.”
“Just because I love you,” she said, smiling.
“I know, and that’s how I can keep you happy,” said Rahul. “I love you, too.”
They stopped. Their eyes remained locked for a moment, but then, realizing that Dansh could go out of sight and they might lose the path, Elisa broke the eye contact.
“We shall proceed!” she said.
Rahul looked at Dansh, and then continued walking with Elisa, hurrying to catch up. Both held each other’s hands as they moved.
