The rise of a modern knight
Part 1: The beginning
Standing at my window, I looked on, as the dark night swallowed up the shadow; the shadow that had followed me as I walked through the deserted alley earlier that night. Although there was no definitive evidence, I had an inkling of the identity of the mysterious shadowy figure prowling around in the night.
Permit me to start at the beginning of my curious tale.
I lived in the city that never sleeps, Mumbai. A sworn bachelor, I lived alone in a 2 room flat on the mezzanine of a little house. My landlady, a non-interfering elderly widow, Mrs. Puthran, let me live on there, provided I didn’t get any girls home at night. Little did she know, friendship was the last thing on my mind. All I needed was a safe haven from the dangers that walk the streets. Since I didn’t have any ‘friends’ and paid my rent on time, Mrs. Puthran and me got along just fine. She would occasionally give me a cup of tea and a couple of her famous dosas, which I would gratefully accept. Cooking was not my strong point.
Since I had no family to turn to, I kept to myself, earning a living by working as an accountant at a small office. The payment was not much, but it kept me afloat and allowed me an occasional treat at my favorite restaurant downtown. I kept myself busy during the day, but the nights were cruel. Most nights I was up, listening to the sounds of the darkness, the nocturnal cries of the hunting owl and the scurrying feet of the rats as they hunted for leftovers. Like them, I am a creature of the night too, but I cannot reveal it to the world, for I am being hunted.
My plight began back in the days when I lived at the orphanage in a remote corner of Bengal. The warden was a strict man and did not allow us to play out after dark. One night, together with another boy, Roy, I sneaked out of the back door and ran into the adjoining woods. Laughing merrily at the way we tricked the warden, we ran deeper into the woods. Suddenly we heard a howl — deep and deadly. Our laughter changed to utter dread. We heard something approaching us, something large, slithering over the leaves. The birds nesting in the trees rose up in unison at the sound. Scared to death,Roy and me clung to each other, tears leaking from our eyes and terror etched on our faces. Slowly the creature emerged from the shadows — a hideous being with red eyes, dressed in a long black robe, with a hood covering its head. Those terrible red eyes peering into the darkness, marking us with its deadly glance was the last thing I remember seeing before falling into a dead faint.
The next thing I remember was waking; sweating and terrified, in a bleak hospital room, the warden sitting beside me, a combination of anger and fear written over his dark features. Seeing me awake, he took hold on my scrawny shoulders and shook me till my teeth rattled, “Tell me what happened last night”, he screamed, “And where is Roy?”
I was shocked. Wasn’t Roy beside me last night? I know I clung to him when I saw ‘that monster’. With tears running down my cheeks, I related my story to the warden. “I swear he was with me sir,” I cried piteously. He just looked down at me with a mix of fear and contempt and just then the inspector walked in. “He’s awake, I see,” he said, sitting down at the edge of my bed and peering into my eyes. “Hmm, tell me, boy, where were you last night?”
Swallowing hard, I repeated my bleak story. He said nothing, but just continued staring at me as if he could see right into my soul. Finally he looked up and spoke to the warden, “Could you give us 10 minutes?” The warden nodded and walked out of the room.
Turning back to me, he asked, “Boy, this is important. Do you know what attacked you last night?” I was dumbfounded and just managed to shake my head to convey my ignorance. The inspector continued, “The woods outside your orphanage are guarded by a strange creature; the one that you saw. No one knows what it is, just that anyone who sees it, is never found again. Like Roy, he has just disappeared. We tried looking for him today, but there’s no trace. You, on the other hand, seemed to have come out unscathed and I want to know why.”
“But I don’t know why,” I stammered. He looked at me, eyes full of doubt, turned and walked out of the room. I stayed on my bed till the warden came back and when he did, he spoke words that shook my world.
“You will no longer live at the orphanage. The inspector will take you to his home. You are never to step into the orphanage again, do you understand? I will send your things over to the inspector’s house this evening and you will go there directly after you are discharged from the hospital.” Saying this, he turned and left without another glance at me.
The turn of events, the guilt that I felt about Roy and the fact that I was going to stay with the inspector from now on was too much for me to handle. I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably into the hard pillow. No one came to comfort me and I cried myself to sleep.
The inspector was back later that day. Ruffling my hair, he asked, “Warden told you that I was to take you home?” Scared, I nodded. “Great. You ready?” Again, all I could do was nod.
I went with the inspector, little knowing how my life would change. He took me in and treated me like a son. He had no family of his own, soon we became a family. I grew to love the man who dedicated his life for the good of the people. The years passed quickly and I grew up healthy and strong, yet not a day passed when I didn’t think of that fateful night that changed my life. The inspector however, never brought up the topic and I assumed he had forgotten all about it.
One day, when I returned from college, I saw the inspector (I called him baba), going through some papers, muttering away to himself. He did not see me, so I stood at the doorway and watched him for a while. Then I said, “Baba, what’s going on?” He stopped as if he had been shot. Slowly, he turned around and said, “Son, the time has come to tell you the truth.” Instinctively I knew this was something to do with my night in the forest. I rushed in and sat beside him, “Tell me everything I need to know, baba. I need closure.” Hearing this he laughed, “Closure,” he said, still chuckling, “this is just the beginning my son,” he added, shaking his head.
“Never mind, tell me, now!” I demanded. And so, sighing deeply, he began his story. “I was an orphan boy, just like you. I grew up in the same orphanage and had a friend just like you did. We used to sneak out into the forest at night to eat berries and guavas. One day, we met the creature. You remember it? Those deadly red eyes. Ronak, my friend died that night, but I survived, like you. But I was marked, my son, with the mark of the ‘shadow’.”
“What do you mean mark of the shadow?” I asked quietly, dreading the answer. “You know it”, he replied, “You’ve had your share of nightmares, didn’t you?” “Yea”, I replied, “I just didn’t want to admit it and that’s the reason you adopted me, is it not?”
“Yes, my boy. You got that right. Now listen carefully to what I have to say. You must leave tonight. Go far away. The shadow is gaining power and I wont let it ruin your life, like it has ruined mine. Run away son, spare yourself. My end is near, but your time is just beginning.”
“Dad, you cannot be serious baba. I cannot leave you and what do you mean spare yourself. Whom am running from?” I asked fearfully.
“You, my son,” he sighed, “are running from the shadow of the evil one. The one who marked you to be his own. One day you will have to find a way to end this misery. Till you find a way, all you need to do is keep running.”
Having said this, he took me in his arms and cried. Then he rose, took me to his room and opened an old trunk. “In this you will find all you need to know. It took me years of research to gather this information. Now its yours. Go to Mumbai by the train that leaves tonight. Your destiny awaits. Promise me that you will never return, nor try to contact me again.” With these words, he patted my back and walked straight out of the house and into the woods.
…to be continued
-Christabelle
