EK THI DAAYAN

“For a moment, he thought he heard a woman’s voice..the wisdom of the ages..whispering up from the chasms of the earth”

“Brilliant”, I exclaimed as I turned the last page of the book over.

“Next station is Patel Nagar”, the voice informed the passengers and reflexively, I put the book back in my bag and steered through the crowd, finding my way to the magical portal that would transport me to a different dimension, a dimension unsupplied with the not-so-pleasant humanly scent (no pun intended), one with plentiful air to give my lungs a good treat. With God’s grace, I was able to get through the chakravyuh..alive. Phew.

Like always, I plugged my earphones in and walked down the stairs, discovering each step unconsciously, as though out of rehearsal. The daily 17 minute metro journey was a mundane one, with my not-yet-completely-failed attempts at making it a tad bit more interesting.(God bless the papyrus makers!)

Shit. I’m broke. Might as well pull off the puppy dog eyes tonight, I thought to myself when the exit gate screen shoved into my face, the harsh reality of my current finances.

I walked over to the elevator, the very enticing beats of When the Levee Breaks thumping into my eardrums now, and pushed the button.

Oh, the genius of Led Zeppelin, I thought to myself as I saw a lady approaching the elevator. The lady was well in her sixties, grey hair and withered skin. Her eye line was significantly enhanced by the dark smudge of kohl that she had probably worn like seven hours ago. She was wearing a black saree..a plain black saree and was carrying a simple bag that was resting its weight on her stout (yes, stout) shoulder. I’ve gotta admit, I hadn’t noticed her approaching in a conscious state, for metro travellers and elevator mates are strangers who either sometimes pass you by like a gentle blow of air, or stand right next to you awkwardly waiting for the seven second journey to get over so that they can get to their routines seven seconds early, or sometimes (if you’re lucky) pass you a smile..OR if you’re having a bad day, annoy the shit out of  you (No, really! That happens!). But there was something about her, that kept my gaze frozen at her sharp features.

Anyway, the elevator was now at our service. The doors opened and I offered her the first step into the ferry, thinking I was being courteous, only to get a straight, unthankful gesture in return which also reeked of a sense of arrogance and implied responsibility..my responsibility. Won’t lie, it was sort of a bummer. It’s situations like these when you feel like saying “Bhalai ka to zamaana hi nahi hai”.

Ignoring what had just happened, I walked into the elevator after her and faced the doors as they shut. What I then realized was that the lady that had just walked in was facing the other side of the elevator, her back striking a gaze with mine, which to me, was sort of..odd. And no, she wasn’t staring at the mirror. In fact, I could feel her very strong gaze set on my shoulder. She was looking at me from the corner of her eyes.

Anyway, I chose to ignore the bizarre behaviour, focusing my mind on the beats of the song again, not letting the thoughts of how unusually uncomfortable I felt in her presence, wander about in my mind. I felt my weight going against the gravity as the elevator picked up pace and ferried us to the ground floor. I breathed in a sigh of relief as the elevator came to a halt. It was weird how I felt a little comforted with the thought of the doors opening, with the thought of my home sweet home. I waited for the doors to open..for a couple of seconds, but to my utter disappointment, the doors were acting like a stubborn girlfriend. I pushed the button that stimulated the opening of the doors and waited for a couple of seconds more. Nothing.

Huh. This is weird. I thought, trying to contemplate as to what might have happened for the doors to get so angry with me. I looked behind me to look at the lady, for in situations like these, “such” people get very impatient and annoyed, to look for any signs of tenseness, but what my eyes set sight at was far more disturbing..

Nothing. NOBODY.

WHAT THE BLOODY HELL! SHE WAS RIGHT HERE! WHERE DID SHE GO?!, my mind was going a thousand thoughts a second, trying to figure out whatever the hell it was that had just happened. And paranoid, like we all are, I thought of something that I had never in the wildest of my dreams, imagined (okay, in the wildest of my dreams, maybe, but that’s not the point). My brain suddenly popped up the image of her black saree, thick grey hair, dark kohl and a smudge of red lipstick on the corner of her lips.

“Daayan..”, I murmured under my breath. All the childhood stories, all the legends, all the movies, and all the TV shows consequentially coming to an end with a real life experience. I froze for a second. I could feel the adrenaline rushing in to my arms and legs, giving rise to intense goose bumps. I did not know how to react. I wanted to break open the door and rush into my daddy’s arms, where I knew I’d be safe. I wanted to scream, I wanted to shout, I wanted to cry. But I just stood there..frozen when a little part of my brain reiterated an earlier said advice, “They thrive on your fear. Don’t fear them”. And it worked like fuel to the fire in my belly that had been ignited due to a whole lot of other reasons but had finally found its way to the torch. I took a deep breath, turned around and chanted one of the Goddess’ name and exclaimed, “What is it that you want from me? I have done you no harm. Let me go” I could feel the power in my tone and the energy in my voice. There was a sudden wave of confidence that had rushed through my veins. I felt..powerful. And I gave one last shot at the button and pushed it again and boy, did it work like a charm. The doors swung open. I sighed. I smiled. I walked out of the doomed elevator, feeling like a warrior, right out of the field after being coroneted with the throne of victory. I thanked God and walked over to the long queue of chariot runners, waiting to ferry the victorious to her castle, where her kingdom awaited her presence.

I thought that was the end of it..but fate had planned otherwise. What I could see from a distance was a silhouette walking towards one of the chariots, the silhouette was retracing the features of the very lady. I looked at her for a moment..and burst out laughing, giving my fellow passengers a reason to laugh as well.

P.S.- It was a two side opening elevator.