“God is happy today” Jackie thought.
It was very rare to see a girl of such features in this part of the village. Amidst a Black crowd stood a girl with blue eyes & British skin. Her little nose flirted with her lips. Black hair flowed on her curvy back.
“She surely belongs to the North, somewhere near the Himalayas” Jackie guessed.
“What a beauty…!” It was Jagan with open jaws.
"Shes different. Look at her charm buddy. Look her moves." wondered jackie.
"Shes hot man!!" Jagan purged.
Jackie rolled his eyes.
"Hey you stop dreaming now. Lets move."
"No Man let see where she is from. A different breed in town. We should keep ourselves updated, isnt it?"
As always Jagan won on this. They followed her like Tweeters.
They made it a point to note every small detail of the blue eyed lady.
Jagan, be it partially, realised his dream of touching her when the wind blowed and an edge of her skirt touched Jagan. His joy knew no bounds. He shivered with that feather touch.
"Wow!! Shes electric man!!" he exclaimed.
They once overheard her haggles at the grocery shop in Hindi.“She is a foreigner who bargains.”
"How do you know shes a Foreigner?
"Cross Breed maybe."
“Let’s see where she goes”
Two shadows followed her & she noticed it.
She entered a small solitary abandoned lane.
They followed. Buildings were painted black on both the sides of the road. “Strange”, they thought. At the end of the road was knee-high grass. Yellow grass. She continued her way and so did the boys.
“Where is she going? She is a bit strange.” Jackie whispered.
“Eminem."
“Eminem? Maybe you mean Enigma. Idiot."
"Whatever it is. A riddle I mean."
"Jagan I'm in no mood ok. I'm fuckin serious."
"Ok. Ok. I think she is a witch. Even her skirt is long like the witches’” Jagan murmured back.
"As if you see them in you school. Now stop your Fairy Tales Jagan. “
“She is not even looking for the road as if she knows this place. I sense some dark secret here.”
“Maybe she is not new to this knee-high-groin-itching-grass place.”
“We need to know the truth Jagan. Follow me.”
Jagan was not there. “Jagan? Jagan where are you?” Jackie whispered a bit louder.
He was nowhere. Jackie rolled his eyes around but there was no Jagan. He got afraid for the geek.
“Stupid Jagan. Where is he lost now?” Jackie panicked. He felt the stream flowing under his left chest. He thought of calling his name aloud but “that will attract the evils” thought rational Jackie.
Rustling sounds filled his ears. He sensed a crawl up his leg. He shook it and the crawling stopped but the rustling didnt. It continued to haunt him. The emptiness of the grass field and the dark clouds above added to the horror.
He saw a shadow rising in front. He heard his pounding heart. A hand on his shoulder & his heart skipped a beat. He slowly turned back and a sweat bead rolled down his neck.
Jagan gave his geeky smile, showing off his braces.
“Where, the hell, were you? You asshole.” Jackie poured out his furious fear on clenched teeth.
“I was tying my lace. These long laces always intrude. I should replace them I think.” Jagan explained plainly. “What happened? Why are you sweating in this cool weather?” he asked.
Looking at the small, now timid face of Jackie, Jagan sensed fear. He couldn’t stop laughing. “You are scared!! The knee-high-groin-itching grass scared you!” Jagan couldn’t control. Embarrassed Jackie tried to ignore but couldn’t.
“Shut up & look for the girl now.”
Jagan was still smiling. “Hey look, there she is. She is going into that hut. The mud hut.”
“Let’s go in there.” Jackie suggested.
“No. No!”
“What no no? What happened?”
“What if that’s a witch’s hut?”
“Lets go Mr. Coward.”
It was getting dark. Jagan checked his digital wrist watch. It was showing 2:26 PM. “Weird. Even the weather is being Jagan.” he said to himself. They saw the black silhouette entering the hut from a distance.
Somehow they reached the hut, struggling through the grass. They heard three thuds. Thud. Thud. Thud. They looked at each other and remained silent. Thud. Thud. Thud. They heard it again. Thrice. They tried in vain to decipher the sound. Slowly they peeped into the hut from outside.
The hut was opaque. They were puzzled when they didn’t see anyone in there. Jackie dared to step in. Jagan proved it again how lily-livered he was.
Jackie stepped into the hut. It was all dark and void but the dark hut was calm. He heard a murmur in the corner. He took his cellphone out from his jeans, switched on the torch & Thud Thud Thud.
Jagan called for Jackie from outside. He was terrified and so, escaped from the scene hearing the next three thuds, bewildered.
Thirty Four Bodies were found, lying one on the other, making a huge pile of human debris, in the grass field next day. Reason of death was not known. No scar. No cuts.
Surprisingly, all the bodies were that of men. No women.
“This boy is saying he saw a mud hut here yesterday. Hey you, speak out.” A police constable informed his senior on the walkie talkie.
“The hut was here yesterday. Verily here. Real hut. I peeped into it. But…but there is nothing here now. A blue eyed girl entered the hut. Jackie followed.” Jagan bursted out on the walkie talkie.
“Recollect where it was, exactly. Thirty four bodies is not a joke. There is something surely mysterious down there. I will reach in 10 minutes. Look around if you see any hut of any shape. The hut is the clue.” Senior police man ordered.
No. The hut was not there.
Few months later, Jagan followed a blue eyed girl wearing a black skirt and went through the same lane, again. Same black buildings, same knee-high grass. He looked for some hints of his previous visit. But he didn’t find any. Lo!! There was the hut standing amidst grass. He ran to the hut with a racing heart. He touched it. It was verily there. He peeped inside, the same opaque view. He thought of going in. He didn’t. Instead he took out his cell phone and tapped three buttons and then one. Thud. Thud. Thud.
“Hello Jagan. What’s the matter? Did you get any hint? Did you see any hut? Hey Jagan speak out. Where are you? Jagan? Jagan?” The voice on the other side kept querying while the cell phone was still lying on the grass.
Thud Thud Thud was all he heard.
