A Fire within The Cold

It was raining that night. Everyone was scurrying back to their homes and people without umbrellas, were taking shelter here and there, Niloy was one of them. He had chosen an unfinished building. It had been an hour and the storm was still raging. He glanced at his watch; eight o'clock! And home was still a mile away.

The skies bore the wrath of the Rain God. It became difficult to keep the umbrellas steady. It seemed as though the tree tops would touch the ground. Niloy know that it would be sheer idiocy to go out now.

The principle noise consisted of the howling whistling winds,of the rain falling heavily on the asbestos and of the sporadic thunder. Now and then, the muffled thud of a branch on the ground would be heard and maybe, if one was all ears, even a weird whisper !

Niloy looked around. The walls were yet to be made. Water was dripping from the ceiling at places. Here are there were heaps of sand, bricks and stone chips. A shovel and other tools lay scattered nearby. There was a tube for the elevator a few feet away from where he was standing. It was overflowing with rainwater. Niloy did not trouble himself with checking its depth. A little while later the surroundings registered in his head.

Facing his back, was the vague silhouette of a small shed in the distance surrounded by a thick undergrowth and a few coconut trees. To his left was a narrow street next to which was a brimming pond. To his right was the yellow wall of a bungalow and in front of him was the same narrow street which had taken a turn round the corner of the edifice,across which was an unkempt garden and a semi-pukka hut. He could see it clearly in the bright streetlight. It had a slate roof, a broken wooden door and two windows with bars similar to that in pri... In a flash, the entire locality was engulfed by Darkness.

"Wonderful! What could be more fascinating than this on a stormy night?!"

He sat down on a brick. How he hated the rains! It used to be one of her favorites. He thanked himself for his dead wife. It had been a year but it hardly mattered to him now. Being a bachelor was much easier and comfortable than being a husband to an ailing wife who had had three miscarriages in four years. 

Minutes rolled by. He looked in the direction of the hut... Nothing but a dark wall all around him. Then he heard something through the sound of rain,winds and thunder! The muffled sound of water splashing, as though someone was wading through the knee high water. After what seemed to be a long while, Niloy heard shoes on cement and then, all was quiet, except for the turbulence outside and inside.

At last a companion!  ,  Niloy thought.

He was curious,delighted and spooked. 

Who would be out in such a rainstorm?!

But then, he shook off his fear and said aloud 

"Hello. I have been stuck here for quite a while now. Thank goodness I found you!"

A disembodied female voice said,

"I have been stuck for quiet a while too. Thank goodness I found you !"

What's her name? Niloy thought. Should I ask her?

Almost immediately reading his mind she answered,

"Nityasree"

A chill spread through his spine.

How did she know what I was thinking?

Almost mockingly a grating  laughter echoed through the air. It seemed to come from far away. Niloy chose to keep quiet. Situations did not seem to be all right.

"I am thirsty", the voice said.

"I am sorry. I don't have water."

"I don't want water. I need something else."

"What?"

"You know that very well", Nityasree replied in a singsong voice.

Suddenly he understood and synchronously there were mild eruptions all over his skin. No, it wasn't fear. It was an intention of a darker shade. He started groping in the dark and a couple of minutes later his fingers felt the smooth of silk.

"Here you are! I was waiting so long for a companion!" he said in his honeyed voice.

Again the same laughter. Niloy sensed that he was sweating now, but that was unimportant. This was more important. He carefully slid his fingers down. As soon as his fingertips touched her skin, his blood went cold.  Her skin was cold as dead. He skipped a heartbeat,took a few steps backward,tripped on a brick and drowned in the water that had accumulated in the tube made for the elevator.

***

The surface felt hard. He opened his eyes. Mud floor. His kurta-pajama were dry. He was perplexed. 

What just happened?

It was dark where he was standing. Suddenly two candles burst into life. Niloy started quaking in his boots. Trembling, he looked around- two windows with bars similar to that in prisons and a broken wooden door. He immediately looked up. Slate roof! He was at his wit's end. He rushed to the door and saw that it was latched on the inside.

How did I get here?

But there was no time for stupid questions. Niloy thought that every second was bringing him closer to something horrifying. He was already sweating. He opened the latch and pushed the door but nothing happened. He tried again but the door did not move an inch.  He sat down weeping.

"Let me go. Please, let me go" 

A voice echoed in the hut.

"I will, soon"  the female voice spoke.

Niloy had almost forgotten. His wife's nickname was Nityasree. He froze. He couldn't speak.

"Do you remember what you did to me?"

He did. He also recalled how he had enjoyed torturing his wife to death, how he had enjoyed her begging him to stop. Now, he was begging her.

"So you do"

The candles flickered out. He shuddered with terror, not knowing what awaited him.

"Revenge is the answer to your last question. You were wrong again, husband"

He begged her to stop.

The voice laughed at him. 

"Scores settled husband"

And then everything was calm again.

***

-A week later-

It was a bright Saturday morning. A boy was walking down the same street. As he neared the place , an unpleasant smell entered his nose. Out of curiosity, he followed it and found himself standing in front of a semi-pukka hut. The stench was stronger here. He pushed open the door and a very foul smell of rotting meat hit him hard in the face. He put a hand on his nose and looked around. His heart skipped a beat. 

On the floor, in a pool of blood lay a maggot infested swollen corpse.

THE END