THE MELTING MAN

NOTE: This story is based on Author’s fiction. It doesn’t apply to any historical references or real-life incidents.

1971

KIZHAVANPUDUR, POLLACHI

A farmer was walking alone in a mud road between the forest at night. When he was walking, suddenly he felt that someone is watching him. So he looked around him. But there was no movements of animals or humans. The forest was so silent. The farmer thought that there was no one and started walking and went towards his house.

But his sense said that someone is following him. So he started walking faster, and after walking for a while, he saw his village. He walked fast thinking that he will reach his home soon. But the one who or which is watching him, he thought that it is going to attack him. So he started running and finally he came to his room.

In fear, the farmer jumped through his window and locked all the doors and felt a bit relaxed thinking that he is safe and there is no more danger. Now his house was fully dark. But even after he came inside the house, he felt that someone was watching him. It started getting high.

The one who or which is watching him, was standing near the window he came in and he can sense that completely. Now, he gradually turned towards his window. When he turned back and looked, his sense was correct.

FEW HOURS BEFORE

MARCH 7, 1971

BODIPALAYAM, POLLACHI

All the people in the rural area of Kizhavanpudur, will go to the nearby town Meenakshipuram(Tamil Nadu-Kerala borders) for two days. Since, it’s Holi festival and everyone will participate in it. Also, March 8^th will be an auspicious day for Lord Shiva. But one person didn’t go to the Holi festival. And that is 44 years old Karuppusamy. He is a farmer and has five children. He is a calm person who doesn’t like festivals. Specifically he doesn’t like dances.

Instead of spending his free time like this, he will go to the forest and enjoy the nature. On the day of the festival, his family went to join in the festival. But he and his best friend Gopal took a horse and went into the forest near Azhiyar river. They spent time in fishing the whole day and enjoyed the calm nature. They spent the whole day happily and now it started getting dark.

Since forest are danger at night, before it get dark they packed everything and left for home. After a while, Gopal went in a different direction. Since his house was there. Hence, Karuppusamy started walking alone.

PRESENT

At present, Karuppusamy started to feel that someone is watching him after recalling about that day. He ran faster in fear and saw his village. But there was no one in the village. Everyone went to the nearby town for the festival. Since it is 1971, the area was not fully developed. 

There will be no water, current or phone and there was no way to go to the next village. Karuppusamy, who was born and raised in that village heard a lot of stories of Demons, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita. According to that, there was a mine in the corner of the village and there was a demon inside it and the people believed that the demon will come out and roam at night.

What the other thing that old people say is, “There is a big ancient demon snake called Virupaksha in the village and it will come out at night and roam in the forest.” They also said that if it sees any human, it will spray fire on them. When he was walking everything came in his mind. So he was looking behind and ran faster and finally, he ran to his house. But he knows that no one is in house now.

So in fear jumped through the window and got inside the house. When he got inside he felt relaxed. But he still had a feeling that someone is watching him. He can sense that it was standing near the window. Now, Karuppusamy turned towards the window.

When he was turning he thought, “What was it? Is it a person or a Jaguar? Or is it some other animal which followed me home?” Like this Karuppusamy had a lot of thoughts running in him while he was turning. But when he saw through the window, made him to go to the peak of fear.

In fact, he couldn’t even move after seeing it. Suddenly he tried to run. But, it’s too late. In a few minutes Karuppusamy was running out of his house shouting. He covered his body with a big shawl and started running here and there without knowing, and it looked like a mad man running.

He started running throughout the village shouting. Now he didn’t even wear a shoe. He was running on stones and glasses now. In that his legs was damaged and blood was coming. But when he was shouting and running no one was there in that village. Now only Karuppusamy was running and screaming in the village and there was no one to save him.

At one stage he saw a light at one house and it was his sister Ranjitham’s house. Now he started running towards her house. She also stayed at home. Since, she didn’t like the festival. When she was in her kitchen she heard a loud screaming noise and before she came out to see what it is, she heard a noise that something hit on her door.

To see what it is Ranjitham looked the door from the window and for a while, she didn’t know what is happening. Because that was her brother Karuppusamy. But he was covered fully by a shawl and his feet was bleeding. At the same time, he was screaming loudly.

Before she went to help her brother she noticed another thing. Karuppusamy’s face was completely different. His eyes came out and he looked like an alien. Ranjitham was frightened and thought that it was not her brother. She waited for a while and opened the door thinking that what if he is her brother and Karuppusamy was crawling inside the door.

He was continuously screaming inside the house.

Looking at that Ranjitham asked Karuppusamy: “Brother. Why are you screaming?”  

Before she tried to stop him, he stopped screaming and looked at Ranjitham. When he tried to talk, his mouth opened widely but he couldn’t talk. Now his sister went near his face. Then Karuppusamy said burns in a husky voice.

Now Ranjitham removed the shawls and looked his body for burns. But there was no burns in his body and only his feet was bleeding. Otherwise his body was fine. She looked at Karuppusamy’s face and asked, “What happened?”

Since,

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there was no wounds in his body. When she was waiting for him to say, she noticed something strange in his face. His face began to change. His face turned into purple and started bulging.

Now Ranjitham realized that she cannot handle this. So she stood up and moved back and Karuppusamy’s mouth was still wide open. Ranjitham opened the door and went out and started running towards Meenakshipuram. She knows that there was doctors and police and she went there to tell everything that happened and took them with her.

It took thirty minutes for their return and still Karuppusamy was screaming in pain in the same place. But now his chest and hands has turned purple. Now the police officer went near him and asked, “What has happened?”

Karuppusamy said that, he was walking alone in the forest. And after he returned home something burnt him. When the police asked him who burnt him, he said that he doesn’t know that. Immediately, the police officers went to Karuppuswamy’s house and started searching there. But there was no evidence of burns. Everything was normal and had no evidence of what happened to him. Again now the police came to him. But his body started changing worse.

His skin started blowing like a small balloons and in that place his bones started to be visible. It looked like he was boiled. When you boil chicken or mutton it’s skin will come out of it’s bone, like that it happened to Karuppusamy.

Looking at that, the doctor said: “Karuppu must be moved to the hospital.” Now all three of them took him outside the house, and in a small truck they started going to the hospital. At the backside of the truck, Karuppu and doctor was sitting.

Since it was a road with ups and downs, each time when the truck went up and down Karuppusamy screamed in pain. Not only that, every time the truck went up and down. The doctor was shocked to see Karuppu’s skin shedding.

Now Karuppu was taken to the hospital and no one had idea of how to treat him. In fact they didn’t even know where to start. They have not seen these kind of wounds in their life time. So they thought Karuppu is going to die. How it looked means, when Karuppu was alive, his body was decomposing. Even though they gave him painkiller since he was in so much pain.

Now the painkillers took his pain down. Now Karuppu was relieved from pain and lied in bed. But the bones were visible in his left side of the body. There was no skin. Everything was shed. Now the doctor asked what happened to him. Since he was given painkillers without knowing the pain, he told everything to the doctor from fishing to his burns.

When he was returning after fishing, he felt someone was watching him. So he came home faster and locked all the door. After that he thought that everything was normal. But he had the feeling that still someone is watching him. And that too he could sense that it was near the window. When Karuppusamy looked at the window, he saw a big black figure standing there.

Not only that, the figure kept staring at Karuppusamy. He was frightened and raised his hands. Suddenly a beam of light came from the figure through the window and fall on him. After that he couldn’t see anything for a while. Now Karuppusamy’s body started burning heavily.

What Karuppu thought is, “His body was burning.” That’s why he covered his body with a shawl and ran here and there.

But the truth is he didn’t catch fire. And after Karuppusamy ran to his sister’s house the burning began to become high. That’s when his skin began to shed. Then the doctor asked him, “Who you think did this to you?”

And when he asked who was that black figure, Karuppusamy’s eyes began to bulge and he came to the doctor. He said that he was sure that it was not from this world. While he was saying his cheek skin began to shed. Now the bones and teeth became visible. At the same time, he was thirsty.

Now they asked the nurse to bring some water and hearing all this the doctor was sitting and looking at him. When Karuppusamy was drinking water, half of the water came out through the holes in his face. From this after four hours, Karuppu died. No one could give a possible explanation of what happened to him.

At that time his cause of death was mentioned as cardiac arrest and burns by the doctors. A few days later, few theories of what might have happened to Karuppusamy that night, started spreading all over Tamil Nadu and India.

Theory 1: What Karuppusamy’s family thought is, the reason for his death was definitely Virupaksha and they totally believed that the ancient snake might have sprayed fire on him that night. At the same time, the rest of the people in the village like the old ones said, they believed that it is because of the demon in the mine outside the village.

Theory 2: Hearing this people from other villages, thought that it might be a secret weapon for Kargil War. This weapon with the highest radiation was tested in Karuppusamy, they said. Without scattering sending the light ray, in a particular place was not possible at that time. Within one hour, when he was exposed to light, all his skin was shed and the radiation was that high, and they don’t have such technology. Even if the government has prepared such a weapon, will they choose Karuppusamy to test it? And it is a logical question that will they try that weapon on him at night.

Theory 3: This is the most possible theory among all. Karuppusamy was not the only one who was affected by the mysterious light. After 30 years since he died, a lot of people from different places in India, said that they have seen this bright light. And when that happened their skin has also turned purple like Karuppusamy and started shedding skin and died. Since most of them died, a new theory was told what may have happened to him. It is said that they were all attacked by UFO. What Karuppusamy saw from his window is nothing but, it was a UFO and the light ray from that attacked him. That’s why Karuppu and others died. A lot of people said that.

It was so famous that, the Indian government involved military in that and named it as Operation saucer. But the report said that it has nothing to do with UFO. Even though they had made it official, that night on March 4, 1971, the one who watched and attacked Karuppusamy was walking alone in the forest, the one who watched and attacked him. And after one hour the reason why his skin began to shed and died, the case remains unsolved…

EPILOGUE

So, readers. Who do you think it is? Comment your opinions on the theory without forgetting.