Portals

Everyday we live peacefully, ignorant of any macabre universe alongside us. A world where something else exists, something beyond our rational beliefs. An old house which experienced deaths, a street where someone got hit, graveyards, these all are common doors to the portal of paranormal universe. But are they all? Are all such doors between our world and world of spirits so obviously located? No, not at all. But I realised this the hard way. 

I was a young kid at that time, 14 years old. I had a very common habit of idly doodling around while doing something boring. I used to draw meaningless patterns and complicated designs on the last few pages of my notebook, anything that crossed my mind. That day in my History class, yawning, I wished that I could stay awake through the period. Raindrops pattered the windows, everything was grey and gloomy. I was fondling with random figures in my diary when I came up with a quaint and extremely intricate symbol. It was so symmetrically perfect that in next five minutes, I filled up my full page with it, unaware of the biggest blunder of my life. Slowly something in the air changed. A frisson ran down from the back of my neck to all over my body. I started feeling odd, my stomach wriggling with agony. I stood up and immediately ran off to the washroom, while everyone stared at me with surprise. I looked up in the mirror. My face was swollen and red. The eyes were mere black pupil amidst a red pool of dark blood. I started rubbing my chest with extreme anxiety and fear. After several failed but painful attempts, a sudden pang forced me to puke.

The residue was viscous, deep red blood with an unbearable stink. My head started turning dizzy, tears rolling down my cheek incessantly. 'Will I die? Is this some sort of cancer? What was the last thing I ate?' My chest was pounding like my heart would burst any moment now and I was breathing heavily. Unable to understand anything, I allowed sleep to overpower me as my legs turned to jelly. When I woke up I realised my head was feeling groggy as if I was in a state of reverie. Turning my head sideways, I noticed kids from my class, standing petrified just outside the washroom gazing at me with pure horror. Immediately embarrassed, I tried to stand up but anything apart from my head refused to move. It felt like all my limbs were detached and numb. With extreme force, I lifted my head to look at my body. Tears pooled in my eyes with horror, to find myself twisted and knotted like a rubber toy. My legs were wrapped around each other and my arms around my back as if the bones were turned to ashes. I felt nothing, no pain but the sight was enough to make me lose my senses again. 

I remember waking up the next day in my bed. For me it was the next day. My mom told me it had been a month since that incident and last night was the first one when I finally slept. Something possessed me, something diabolical. They were sure it wasn't a single poltergeist. I stared at her with disbelief, opened my mouth to object but couldn't say a word. I had no better explanation. Everyone who could possibly help me, be it Priests or Doctors, refused even to touch me, my appearance was repulsive enough and recovery was out of question. Everyday, my family fought for me to help me stay alive for one more day, to avoid my sudden violent jerks from breaking anymore bones and causing haemorrhage. They tried everything to feed me even a grain of food, but all was in vain. I couldn't believe how the helI did I even survive for a month in such conditions. When they had lost all hopes and started wishing that may God allow me to die swiftly and without pain, I simply woke up. They were so elated, my mom couldn't stop herself from crying. She kissed my forehead and said, "It's over darling, see I've always told you. Good triumphs, God always wins. Now no one can touch you, you're here with us. Take some rest." My eyelids drooped with a smile on my face. Thank you God. 

I'm 18 now, It's been 4 years since the day. My mom kissed me on my forehead and sent me to school. Not even a day passes by when she doesn't thank God. But I am tired, so tired of carrying this burden, even death seems a welcome wish. Everyone's unaware that those demons never left my body. They just learned and mimicked how I acted, how I behaved. It burns me, to see my mom kissing them everyday turn by turn whereas I lie deep below the pile of those ghouls, experiencing excruciating misery every moment. I woke up that day not to win, but to say a final goodbye. Whatever entered through those portals, neither left nor allowed me to leave. I wish one day at least they'll let me die peacefully. With tears rolling down my cheek, I screamed down below, "Mom stop praying, please stop. You are wrong. There isn't always a fairy-tale ending."