WARNING: READ PART ONE AND TWO FIRST
Shiv and Pari’s grandmother ran the house with a solid hand. Having lost a household helper, the despotic grandmother assigned chores to little Pari. Shiv watched Pari morph from an innocent sweetness to an overworked, neglected young girl. Her vacant eyes carried her through the days which turned into months and years. Her clothes hung on her like a rag doll.
One day Shiv saw her walk across the courtyard carrying a basket of clean clothes. He noticed her face change colors and scrunched as if in pain. He walked up to her and touched her shoulder lightly. She winced as he asked if she was okay. He offered to carry the basket for her while she walked slowly behind him. Since he was a boy, he was not allowed to do any household chores. She sat on the bed and started to fold the clothes. Each movement seemed an effort until she could carry on no longer. She allowed herself to fall on the bed and her eyes closed.
Shiv let her rest and walked away. A few minutes later he heard screams. He ran in to see Pari waving her arms in the air frantically as if fighting unseen demons. His grandmother walked in and exclaimed, “She’s got the devil in her.” Next think he knew Pari had been moved to a remote corner of the house. Over the next few weeks he witnessed the comings and goings of various sadhus, priests, exorcists. They carried feathers of unusual birds, red hot peppers in bunches, smoking clays bowls and various other unidentifiable objects. He heard shrieks all through the days and nights.
One night he sneaked in to her room and saw her face by the glow of a diya clay lamp. Her eyes stared up at the ceiling as if in a trance. He noticed her sunken-in cheeks on her ghost white face. Even though she was under blankets, her body shivered. The howling wind outside travelled in to whisper terror in her ears. Her feeble voice called out, “don’t snatch me, no… make the pain go away.”
The next morning they found her stiff body cold as the Himalayan mountain peak. The image of her sparkling and later glassy green eyes stayed with Shiv. He also could never forget the tragic and short life his angelic cousin had endured. If only he had the strength or the intellect to help her. Years later he learned that his Pari had in fact been possessed with a demon and that demon had a name – Cancer.
- THE END -
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