He Who Lived Thrice

Ghate was hastily walking home. He lived in a village which was situated at the edge of the forest. From the bus stand the villagers had to walk at least 2 km to their homes. Ghate had gone to a nearby town to purchase some farming equipment. Then he visited his relative’s house. By the time he came to the bus stand, it was already evening. Now, it was past 8:30 at night.

“Jai Hanuman, Jai Bajarangbali...” Ghate chanted mantras and shlokas to gather his courage.

For the last few weeks, some beast had been attacking the livestock of the villagers. Two villagers had also lost their lives. They were living under constant fear. No one would dare go out after sunset. Some said it was a tiger, some said it was a jaguar. Even the forest officials couldn’t come to a conclusion because, on some carcasses, there were bite marks and scratches. But the rest of them were horribly mauled. The only common thing was, they were eaten.

Ghate looked at the surroundings, and saw the huge banyan tree. He realized he had to walk thirty minutes more to reach his village. He increased his pace a bit more, almost running. Then, he felt like someone or something was following him. He turned back in fear, but saw nothing. With a relieved sigh, he turned just to see a dark figure with a pair of glowing eyes, standing in front of him. Though it looked like a human, something was off.

Ghate was startled for a moment, then gathered his courage, and asked, “What?”

“Do you have a beedi?” That dark figure asked in a demonic voice. Ghate was about to collapse in fear, but somehow managed to reply, “No!”

“Do you have any food? I'm ravenous.” This time that voice seemed vicious.

“I don’t have any. Go in that direction. You may find some food. Don’t bother me.” Ghate left as soon as he finished his sentence. He didn’t look back, just kept walking. Finally, he reached home, safe and sound.

“Ghate bhau! O, Ghate bhau!” A neighbor knocked on his door in the morning. As soon as Ghate opened the door, the neighbor said in a single breath, “Did you hear?! The tiger which had been hunting our livestock has been killed. But the weird thing is, no one knows what killed it. Even the forest officials don’t know.”

“What?! How’s it possible? Maybe another tiger killed it.” Ghate was puzzled.

“No way. If that was the case, there would have been bite marks or scratches on the carcass. But there were none. However, the mysterious thing is, it was horribly mauled, and was eaten.” The neighbor replied as if he was the expert.

“Where did they find the tiger’s carcass?” Ghate asked with dread.

“Just a few meters away from that banyan tree.” The neighbor replied.

“What?!” Ghate mumbled, and last night’s incident flashed in his mind. Holding his chest, he collapsed in a chair nearby. He was sweating.

“Are you ok, bhau?” The neighbor was worried.

“I’m ok... don’t worry. Still tired from the journey, that’s all.” Ghate joined his hands, and thanked Shri Hanuman in reverence.