The Tumulus

“Tell me again why are we doing this?”

Paresh stopped under the shade of a tree. The tiring trek under the relentless heat had sapped away his motivation.

“Why do you keep asking the same question?”

His wife, Rachna, stood right under the sun. Her floppy hat partly hid her face but she still made it a point to let Paresh know that she was silently judging his weakness.

“I could have stayed in a five-star hotel, sipping drinks and simply relaxing,” Paresh sighed. “You dragged me here. And for what? In pursuit of something that you had only seen in a dream! What kind of nonsense is that?”

Rachna scowled. She hated repeating stuff. It had been a constant triggering point for her. If someone made her repeat something, she would get really upset. She had inherited it from her father, who always lost his temper if he had to say something twice.

“We have already discussed that,” she replied curtly.

“Let me summarize that 'discussion' for your benefit,” Paresh did the quote-unquote gesture when he uttered the word 'discussion'. Rachna felt the first stirrings of anger in her guts. That was her cue to start focussing on her breathing, to move herself away from whatever was bothering her, but Paresh wasn't about to relent soon.

“You saw a dream,” he persisted. “A dream! A fu**ing dream!”

“Don't swear!” Rachna couldn't stop herself from raising her voice.

Paresh's tone became shriller.

“Three times you saw that dream! And you began to believe that it was a divine suggestion to make you look for that tumulus! How bizarre is that! No rational person would ever believe in that stuff! You saw a mound in your dream and you believe it to be a tumulus! Do you even know what a tumulus is? An ancient grave mound, that's what it is!”

“Done?” Rachna tilted her head a little to jut her chin forward.

Paresh knew that gesture. She was in a combative mood now. She was going to start screaming any moment now. If he were arguing with her in their apartment, that would have been his cue to back down. Then she would have simply lashed at him for two or three minutes and then would have headed to her room to cool down. Out there in the boondocks, tired from trekking in the forest, Paresh decided to confront his abusive wife. He considered Rachna abusive, while she considered herself as the steady hand who guided the gullible, foolish Paresh with firmness to make him amount to something.

“You dragged me here! You and your foolish dream! Didn't I tell you that you won't find anything here? We travelled more than 1000 kilometers to get here! Because you claimed that the hillock over there looked similar to what you saw standing atop the tumulus! Then you won't listen to my request to hire a guide! Your plan is keep running in the forest till you find what you seek! On top of that, you have kept making left or right turns as per your whims. As of now, we don't even know where we are. We are lost in this forest and it is all your fault! You are stupid, that's what you are!”

“And you are a wuss!” She lashed out. “Scared of moving out of your comfort zone! Tired from walking not even ten kilometers! You are a coward who hides behind others.”

“Don't call me names!” Paresh was hurt.

Rachna knew very well that Paresh hated being called a wuss. It was true that he had a gentle temperament, and that was something Rachna could tolerate, but the fact that Paresh shied away from conflicts made her brand her husband a coward.

“I am just stating the truth! You don't have the courage to go after your dreams. Is it not true that you wanted to become a computer engineer? Then, why did you decide to become a chartered accountant? Just because your father asked you to! You couldn't even stand up for yourself. Now, look at me! I have always gone after what I wanted. Even when my parents were forcing me to get married, it was I who decided on the groom. I have the guts to start something and I have the motivation to see it through. I am not like you, who gives up at the first sign of adversity. Yes, it is true that I wanted to check this place out. I still believe that I can find that tumulus here. There is a sword that needs to find its way out of the grave and it has chosen me as its owner.”

“Are you even hearing what you are saying?” Paresh was aghast. “You ran here on a whim. That's what it is. A whim! And don't call yourself motivated. Your whims and desires make you run hither and tither.”

“Now don't use high sounding words as if you are an intellectual!”

“Hither-tither! You are taking offence at that! Haven't you read any good books? Did you even go to a school?”

That was a low blow. Paresh knew that Rachna had no interest in the world of books. She could barely pass her exams and had not even completed her graduation. After all, if one were too busy making castles in the air, then one wouldn't have time to actually do something concrete on the ground.

“We did a favour to you,” Paresh delivered the coup-da-grace. “Your father begged my father. Heck, he even touched my father's feet!”

Rachna's face clouded over. Her eyes got moist. Even if it were true that she had finalized her groom, her father had to use every ounce of his persuasive skills to get the groom's family on board. Her lips trembled and she bit her lips hard to make them stop.

“Awww! Are you gonna cry?”

“I know that we don't like each other,” Rachna tried to appeal to Paresh, “but stop for a moment. Take a deep breath. Can't you feel this rhythmic throbbing? This pulse that emanates from the grave hidden in that mound?”

Paresh sighed in exasperation. He was certain now that his wife was insane. He should have never agreed to her plan to find the tumulus. It would have been better if she would have gone on her crazy trip with her father.

“Of course, you can't feel it!” She shook her head. “You are incapable of feeling it. You are stupid. You will never be able to see things that make me wonder. Your mind is closed. You live hiding from your thoughts, running away from your problems. A coward like you will never be able to touch the sword of the warrior who got buried in that tumulus. You can't even sense it. How pathetic you are!”

“Stop this crazy talk! Look at the sun. It will set soon. Then it would be very difficult for us to make our way back to the hotel. We can always come tomorrow.” Paresh said the last part without any conviction. He was not going to return the next day in the futile search.

“Awww! Do you really care for me? Or are you scared of the dark, you wuss?”

Paresh closed his eyes in frustration. He didn't want to have another round of arguments with his wife.

“I am not going back now!” Rachna declared. “I will dig the sword out by my own hands. The sword deserves that. It should not be touched by third-class people like you or some crass labourer. It will get tainted! Its aura has to be protected. It has chosen me! I will wield it.”

“And do what?”

“I will have to kill some people,” Rachna shrugged. “Blood has to be spilled at the birth of a new kingdom.”

“Kill some people? Birth of a new kingdom? What are you talking about? Do you know what will happen to you if you kill someone? You will go to jail, that's what will happen.”

“I won't go to jail. No power in this world will be able to stop me. Aren't you listening to me? Using that sword, I will carve out a new kingdom. I will be its first ruler. People will flock to my kingdom to live under my protection.”

“I can't do this anymore. I am leaving now. I will return tomorrow with some people. Try to stay alive till then.”

“Ha! Run away, you pig! Nah! I am wrong. You are beneath contempt. I should call you an insect or a mangy dog. Yes, a dog! Live like a dog! Wag your tail in front of your dad! You will die like a mongrel. No one will weep at your death. No one will miss you. Oi! You coward! You listening to me?”

Paresh lunged towards her, mad at her words, but she presumed that she had finally awakened his fighting spirit and that he was about to attack her, so she swung her backpack at him. The blow knocked him to the ground. His nose broke at the impact with the ground and the nosebleed stained his collar in no time at all. He lay on the ground and pinched his nose to make the bleeding stop. Rachna never came to check on him. She turned around and ran away.

Paresh decided to head back. The marriage was as good as over at that point in time. He had to take her back home and then start the divorce proceedings. He would no longer listen to his father. He wouldn't yield now. His earning was more than enough to let him live alone in his own rented apartment. Resolving to break free from all his chains the moment he returned from the stupid trip, he tried to find his way back to the hotel. It took him about an hour before he was able to find the familiar trail that led him to civilization.

By the time he reached the hotel, dusk had begun to give way to night. He put the bag near the reception desk and sought out the manager. The gist of his account was that his wife had got into a tiff with him and then run away. He couldn't find her in the forest and when it got dark, he returned to the hotel to form a search party. The manager seemed to believe his story but he informed his close friend, the police constable. It took the constable about an hour to reach them and he seemed very suspicious of Paresh, who soon understood that his story was not being accepted in good faith, primarily because of the blood stains on his clothes.

Around 11 PM, the search party finally started on their way toward the spot where Paresh claimed he saw Rachna run away. There were about 11 men and 4 women who scoured the jungle. With their powerful torches, they made short work of the hike that had fatigued Paresh. However, they ran into a huge problem when they finally reached the spot where Rachna was last seen. They had no idea of which direction she took, so they went around in circles, screaming Rachna's name and urging each other to keep a sharp lookout.

Fortuitously, they found the tumulus. Paresh was very tired and he stopped thinking after some time, focusing on the toes of his shoes. For some reason, he kept moving in a particular direction. He never paid any attention to where he was being led to. He simply moved his feet and stumbled upon the tumulus. His wristwatch read 3:21 AM at that time. There was no sign of Rachna near the tumulus although they found her bag underneath a tree. An empty water flask lay besides the bag.

The police constable caught Paresh's left hand and dragged him to the middle of the group. The search party members surrounded him.

“This mound?” The manager gestured to the tumulus. “Was she looking for this mound? Did she really want to dig into it? What did she expect to find in there?”

“She believed it to be the grave of an ancient warrior who was buried with his sword!”

“Well, I be damned!” A woman spoke up. She stood behind Paresh. “I never heard of such baloney. A grave! A warrior! What are you talking about?”

“She believed in it. That's why she came all the way here.”

“So she found it! So then where did she go after leaving her backpack?”

“I didn't kill her!” Paresh replied with as much dignity as he could muster.

“Lo! Now he talks about killing!” The constable clapped his hands in glee. “No one here accused of you murdering your wife! So why this talk of killing her?”

Before Paresh could reply, a man standing quite close to the tumulus screamed and stepped away hurriedly from it. He shone his light on a spot and the light reflected on the nails of a bloodied hand that was jutting out of the tumulus. It was as if someone buried inside the mound was trying to make her way out. The women screamed in terror. Many men began to recite some mantra for courage. Paresh rushed towards the mound and sank to his knees when he recognized Rachna's nails.

“You bastard!” The constable grabbed Paresh's collar and dragged him to his feet. “You monster! You buried your wife in there and now you pretend to look for her.”

“Help her out, please!” Paresh begged him. “If she is alive, she needs urgent help.”

Paresh was pushed aside as the men went to work on the area where the hand was jutting out. The women helped move the debris and kept shining the light. Initially, the progress was slow but by and by Rachna's head became visible. Another half an hour of furious digging enabled them to grab her shoulders and pull her out.

Paresh looked at Rachna's bloodied face and shuddered. If Rachna never opened her eyes, he would be marked as a murderer. The mere thought terrified him.

“How did you do that?” One of the men shone his light on Paresh's face.

“What do you mean?”

“How did you bury her so deep? Recently dug earth should be soft but this earth here is hard and well-settled.”

“I don't know!”

“Take a look at her, Ghani!” The constable pushed a man ahead. “You have worked as a doctor's assistant. Check her if she is alive.”

Ghani, a young man with curly hair, sat beside Rachna and soon confirmed that she was alive.

The group carried her gently back to the hotel where a doctor awaited their arrival for the constable had the presence of mind to send two people ahead. Rachna was administered first aid. With the help of some women, the doctor confirmed that there was no injury mark on Rachna.

“Not even a bump on her head!” The doctor whispered to the constable but Paresh was able to overhear him.

“Drunk? Drugged?”

“She looks perfectly healthy. She is just sleeping.”

The doctor then went away. The members of the search party disbanded and went to their homes with a very strange tale of a woman found half-buried in a mound.

The constable was committed to finding out what truly happened in the forest. He stayed outside the room where Rachna slept and he kept a sharp eye on Paresh.

At around 10 AM the next day, Rachna finally woke up. The constable immediately made his way to her bed. She asked him to get Paresh inside the room. Even though the constable didn't want Paresh to be there, he had to give in to Rachna's request. The three women who had tended to Rachna while she had been unconscious stayed put in the room. They were astonished to hear from Rachna about how she assaulted her husband.

“When Paresh left me, I ran around for a bit and then found the tumulus,” she spoke softly. “Elated, I went to work with my spade to dig the sword out. I had never used a spade before and I got tired very soon. I sat under a tree and drank from my waterflask, and then I looked back at the tumulus and I saw him.”

“Saw whom?” The constable was listening intently.

“Someone clad in a red kurta and yellow dhoti stepped out from behind the tumulus. His eyes were red and his gaunt face scared me. He looked at me once and it was enough to petrify me. He didn't move his lips but I could hear him quite clearly in my head. I don't know how he did it. Was it magic? Telepathy? I am not sure but I could hear him clearly. Or maybe I understood what he was saying.”

“Not important!” The constable hissed. “What happened next?”

The three women around the bed huddled together in fright. Paresh moved closer to the bed.

“That man told me that he was sure that I would come. It seems that every three years or so, he gets hungry and so he springs his net. He sends an invitation to visit his abode and somehow, I didn't get it how but, he sort of broadcasts it to all the living humans. Every time he does so, he gets an overwhelming number of replies. There are too many people out there who want to visit him. I was reeled in by the prospect of finding a great sword buried in the tumulus. I always wanted to become a great person, someone whom the world would kowtow to, someone whose writ would run large. He chose me as his intended victim. I didn't choose to come here. He made me come here. My choice, my will, they are immaterial. He was able to influence my thoughts. He licked his lips with his tongue and grinned at me. I have never felt so much fear as at that moment. Then my world went black. The next thing I realized was that I was buried inside the mound. One moment I was out there feeling the breeze on my arms and face, and the next I was trapped inside the mound, unable to even move or scream. I tried so hard to move but I couldn't even wiggle my toes. The monster fed something off my back. I couldn't see it but I could feel his long, cold fingers digging into my back and I could hear the sound of his chewing.”

“Hold on!” The constable pleaded. He then asked the three women present in the room to confirm if any injury mark was there on Rachna's back. The men were sent out of the room and after a couple of minutes, they were called back inside the room.

“Nothing on the back! Not even a scratch!”

“I don't know,” Rachna was confused. “He definitely hurt me there.”

“What happened then?”

“I don't remember anything at all. All I could see was that I was trapped in a dark room that had no doors or windows. It was very cold! I shivered all the time I was there. There were so many people trapped there. I could sense them but I couldn't see them. All of them were in great pain. Then someone touched me. When I opened my eyes, I was here in this room.”

“So Paresh didn't hurt you?” The constable asked for the last time.

He got an earful for his stupidity from the three women who dragged him out, leaving Paresh alone with Rachna.

“I am just glad that you are alive!” Paresh spoke after an awkward pause.

“Aww! You were really scared, weren't you? You poor wuss!” Rachna sneered.

“Stop saying that!” Paresh's face hardened. “I am letting you know that I am going to file for divorce the moment we return home. We are done!”

“Glad to hear that!” Rachna spoke after a moment. “At least, try and be a man this time around.”

She got up on her feet and collapsed. Then she tried to get up again but her legs failed to move.

“The monster paralyzed me!” She cried out.

Rachna's story created a sensation in the village. Most of the villagers believed her but some of the intrepid ones called bullsh*t and decided to check the so-called tumulus. Unfortunately, they couldn't find the mound where Rachna was found. After two days of non-stop search, the villagers gave up, but their failure to find the mound added to the myth.

An old man claimed that his grandfather had witnessed something similar about seventy years ago. A demon used to dwell in the forest who could control his victim's mind and make them seek him. Once the victim made his or her way to the demon, they were killed brutally and their remains were never found. Once again, his story was hotly contested and many people refused to believe in his story. However, all of them were amenable to having a big 'puja' to ward off the demon.

Rachna could never move her legs again. She had to use a wheelchair to move about. The doctors were unable to figure out the cause of her paralysis. No one would believe her story of a monster living in a tumulus who ate something off her back causing her to get paralyzed. She got increasingly tired of repeating her story and frustrated at no one believing her. The final proverbial straw on the camel's back turned out to be the divorce papers served by Paresh who never heeded her request for a second chance. After about three months of her encounter with the demon, she committed suicide, leaving behind a note blaming it for her plight. Her pipe dream of becoming a queen who ruled using her great sword remained unfulfilled.

The demon sensed Rachna's death and smiled pitilessly. She was not the first one to escape the mound of death though she paid a horrible price for her blind pursuit of a nonsensical dream. The demon let out a contented sigh. The dream of wielding a great sword was still not past its sell-by-date.

“Why work on new dreams when the old ones still work in reeling in the prey?” It guffawed. The world and its inhabitants had not changed at all. It could rest easy, knowing that more victims were on their way. A cloud flitted across the sky. The demon watched it with half-closed eyes.