An Eerie Necklace

“SARALA, HOW IS YOUR SON STUDYING?” Ramya said, as she was folding the dried clothes. Both were sitting on the couch and watching the TV, a tamil serial was running in it. They lived in an eight floor apartment in the center of the clustered and bustling Chennai city.

“No, Ramya. He is very dull and not getting good marks. Last week I and my husband went to the parents meeting in school. You know what happened? The principal called Kowsalya’s son to his room and said ‘your son should learn from this boy’. I was shocked,” Sarala said. She was a clerk in the private bank in Nungambakkam and whenever she found a leisure time, she wanted to discuss the family matters with her neighborhood friend.

“Why?” Ramya asked. She suddenly lowered the white skirt she was holding in her hands.

“Because he is a dalit son, how could he become a topper in the class? I don’t know,” Sarala frowned and slapped her head twice with her left hand.

“I tell you the reason. Even I have one more doubt about how his color is brown though her parents are starker like flying crows,” Ramya giggled as cupped her both fat hands over her mouth. Her large oblong face became bounced up and down as she enraptured with her criticism about Kowsalya.

Sarala giggled too, clutching her stomach with her both hands. Her green silk saree would have been worth ten thousand, she had bought it on her wedding day in Chennai silks, last month.

“I wonder how it is possible?” Sarala questioned.

Ramya thrust her face near her ears and said in a whispering voice, “I have a doubt on Kowsalya, because we didn’t know where she is going after her husband has gone to his office.”

“Really?” Sarala’s mouth widened.

“Of course. Because did you ever see she is staying in home after lunch in between 3-5 pm. I think she is going down the street and catch an auto to meet her boyfriend in secret,” Ramya said, as she placed the neatly folded skirt on the table behind the couch.

“Oh, God, how can she behave like that? You mean, she is a slut to live in our apartment?” Sarala asked, shaking her round face with difficulty.

“Yes, that’s what I meant. Did you ever notice people are coming and going in her houses at noon time? I had seen through my both eyes, a man was wrapping his hand around her waist and going down the road,” Ramya said. Her anticipation to speak malicious things about Kowsalya was growing bigger and bigger now.

“My goodness. I had doubted her before, but now it is very clear to my lazy mind. I had seen on last Sunday from the roof of the building, she was whisking her hand at someone, you know. But I couldn’t quite get that time,” Sarala puckered her dry lips and bit it.

“We should be very careful with her. We shouldn’t send our children to her house; otherwise they will learn every bit of evil things from them. What do you say about it?” Ramya said. She rolled her eyes left and right as she looked at Sarala.

A serial was running in the TV, where the mother-in-law of the house had scolded her daughter-in-law to get out of her home, sighting her sly behavior with her friend in the office.

“See, even in the TV serials showing the same. The world is changed drastically, and people are unpredictable and cunning at the moment,” Sarala said.

“The media is all about the pulse of what people are doing or expecting, isn’t?” Ramya said, smiling. Her upper incisor was crooked and chipped at the front.

“Rightly said,” Sarala accentuated with her opinion.

“Ok, wait here, I forgot to show you a necklace which I bought on dasara festival,” Ramya said, and started walking down to her bed room in left side. She returned with a blue square box, and sprinted down again to her seat. Sarala looked at it with an awe spirit and opened her eyes fully.

“Here it is,” Ramya said, as snapped open the jewel box.

“Wow, that’s wonderful, this is very sleek design and the studded diamonds look fabulous, you know,” Sarala said.

“Thank you, do you guess the price of it?” Ramya said.

“Forty thousand or fifty thousand?”

“No, it is one lakh, I have been asking my husband to buy it for more than five years, but finally it is mine,” Ramya said, as she held the necklace to her thick neck and showed it to Sarala, who went in trance mode looking at it.

“Such a beautiful gift, I haven’t seen in my life. Let me right away go home and ask my husband to purchase it. I won’t get sleep if I don’t wear it in wedding ceremony of my cousin in next week,” Sarala said, as her both hands went wreathing her head.

The door was knocked now. Ramya scurried across to open the door and her husband had stood with a leather bag slinging in his hands.

“Ok Ramya, I will meet you tomorrow, I have some work,” Sarala said and departed to her house, down under second floor. Her husband had already come to home and reading a newspaper as crisscrossed his ankles sitting in the couch. Her son was playing car racing video game in the desktop computer in the bed room.

“So where have you been until now?” her husband asked, looked up from the Hindu newspaper.

“I just went to Ramya’s house and chat with her for some time,” Sarala said, as her face taunted immediately, “C’mon we should go out now.”

“Where?” he said, and was quite sullen with her frantic request.

“To jewel shop to buy a necklace,” Sarala flashed an effervescent smile.

“Are you crazy or what, to buy a necklace now,” he demanded with a croaking voice.

“Oh dear, I have seen a fabulous diamond necklace which Ramya had bought on dasara festival, it should be very good for me to wear on my cousin’s marriage ceremony on coming week. Let’s come, don’t ask any more questions,” she said, crackled like fire crackers.

“C’mon, don’t be silly. It is not a chocolate to buy immediately. Let’s sit down we will buy it later, may be next year?” he said.

“Are you coming or not? I won’t talk with you anymore if you won’t buy it today and gift me,” Sarala held a moaning face as folded her hands across her bosom.

“My goodness, I can’t deal with you. Come let’s go,” he slapped the newspaper on the table and hurried to change his dress.

A few minutes later, they three were in the Hyundai i20 car and travelling down the city to the big jewelry shop. The FM was roaring inside the car, as chill AC air was soaking their bodies. Her son was playing ninja game in the mobile and he sat on the back seat. The vehicle past the busy shopping malls down the long and wide road and stopped at the intersection of the signals. Sarala casually turned her head on the left side and had seen Kowsalya was wrapping her hand around a man’s waist and going down the pedestal path. A thick lump formed under her throat now. But slowly her face had turned pale and grey, the tendon on her back of neck stood up and flicking in and out. She couldn’t believe her eyes about what she had seen now. Yes, Kowsalya was helping a handicapped fellow to cross the road, he didn’t have one leg and he was fumbling as maneuvered himself. Kowsalya was tucking her hand on his waist and guiding him smoothly to cross the intersection without any hurt. Tears knocked her eyes now after seeing this incident. Her eyes were stalled without flickering, and enormous amount of embarrassment had swept her soul. She just wanted to rush out of this place. Should I judge her character with this single incident? No, I shouldn’t. Fool, then do you think Ramya had lied with you? No, I don’t think so. Then, do you think whatever is happening at the moment in front of your eyes is dream or something? She thought. Oh, God help me to understand the truth, she prayed now mentally, as closed her eyes.

“Mahesh, I want to go home, I am not feeling like shopping now,” she said to her husband.

The green signal was flashed in front of them, there were few vehicles already started blaring the horns in the back to squeeze out of the traffic. Her husband panicked suddenly and words were jammed in his throat as he fumbled to clench the gear with his left hand.

“Are you mad or something to tell this in the middle of traffic? What happened now?” he said, as he pressed his legs on the throttle without putting the car into gear. The car was roaring with noise but not moving an inch.

“C’mon, I said I don’t feel like shopping. Please get out of here,” she shouted, as held her both hands on her head and squeezing it harder.

He shook his head in an angry grip and pulled the vehicle in the right direction abruptly and went straight to his house. He slapped his shoes in the shoe rack as slammed shut the main door with surging vehemence. Sarala followed her husband slowly and she was surprisingly stopped by few men in front of her. She was jerked back suddenly. She was couple of feet away from her flat and standing just opposite to the Kowsalya’s flat.

“Who are you?” she asked bluntly, but her voice was quivering with mounting fear.

“Mam, we are from child health foundation and came here to meet Kowsalya madam,” a tall man said, who was aged about thirty five.

Her back of the spine squeaked down to her waist upon hearing them, and a lump forming under her throat as she nodded them in a furious shock, “Oh, shall I know what Kowsalya does with this?” she asked, already she was clenching her heart with speculating thoughts.

“Sure. She is a volunteer and visits our foundation daily in the afternoon to meet the abandoned children. She nurse and caress them with her novelty hands,” they both said in a baritone.

She felt like her head was smashed into pieces now. She was completely paled and lifeless as if her heart had been exploded like an atom bomb. Oh, how stupid I to decide that Kowsalya is a witch? How easily I relented to the accusing thoughts of Ramya? I should be punished for my snobbish character, she thought. Her head came low as she walked down to her flat slowly like a maniacal person.