The Uncanny Vampire

Searnajit lived with his parents in Malda. As a child, he had great hatred towards bats. The reason for his hatred was their weird features. They are other birds not animals but a mixture of both which made them more spooky and don’t forget their habit of hanging upside down from trees. Once he found a bat hanging from his ceiling he screamed in fear and ordered his bell boy Abu Bakar to get the bat removed immediately.

 

Today he was given a project to write about old terracotta temples of Bengal so he went to Ankit's uncle’s house. Ankit's uncle was a friend of his father and had an apartment in Shiuri. Ankit told him he could stay the if he did not mind living in an old apartment and also told Searnajit that he would not have to pay as the apartment usually stayed vacant for years.

 

Searnajit entered his room and was greeted by a bat hanging on his ceiling. He called the caretaker to ask if the bat was a permanent resident of the apartment and asked him to get the bat removed. Omlan with a long broom got rid of the bat and told Searnajit that the ground in this room hadn’t been open for months and could be a little dusty. Swarnajit’s main concern was of the bat would return and asked Omlan to which he replied “probably not”. Swarnajit wanted to get over the job quickly so after his lunch he went out with his camera, tripod, stationary, snacks and his diary where he was planning to write about the structures. His first mission was to discover the village which he found rather small. Only the house he was staying in was a three-storey building while all the other houses had only a ground floor. He went to a nearby general store named “Devrajessentials “it was a store with all kinds of groceries available. 

 

He purchased a bottle of water because he forgot to get his bottle from the apartment. He made an overlook of the village from all directions. On the northern side there was a bamboo forest and beyond it stretched a vast sea of rice fields on the western side of the village there was a mango grove and beyond it was an old church. The sun could be seen setting behind the church through the mango grove. The church Swarnajit’s attention and he decided to visit it before going home. By the time he reached the church it was already dark He took out his torch to examine the place. After strolling here and there he reached behind the church. Swarnajit then found several tombstones lying around and realised that it was a centenary. The light from his torch fell on a human-like figure with a shawl covering his upper body the man then swiftly turned around to look at Searnajit. 

 

The first words that came out of the stranger were “you do not as bats do you?” Then without giving Searnajit a chance to reply he said “You must be wondering how I found out. Very easy when you were telling that caretaker to drive the bat away this morning, I happened to hear your conversation”. The only words that came out of Searnajit were “oh I see”. The mystery man then introduces himself “I am Rounak. My family has been living in Shiuri for a long time. I like to visit the church after evening I feel at home you see”. The night was getting darker, Searnajit could only see the man’s eyes, they looked peculiar and strange at the same time so he decided to head back to his house but the man also started following him. Just then the torch started flickering and finally went off. Swarnajit was sweating not because it was hot but because he was scared. He then remembered that it was an old model torch and worked on batteries which he has not changed for the past few months, he should have bought some batteries from the store from where he had bought the bottle of water. The man then said, “Don’t worry about the torch I am used to moving in the dark. I see quite well, Oh careful there is a pothole there”. The man pulled Searnajit to his side. He then asked a strange question “Do you know what a vampire is”. 

 

Swarnajit went silent. “Oh, who believes in those things these days, forget it, Let me escort you to your house”. Swarnajit was scared and relieved at the same time. As there was not much he could do without the torch. After a few minutes of walking the house was in sight after crossing the mango grove. The man then stopped abruptly and said “it’s been a pleasure meeting you. You’re going to stay here for some time aren’t you”? “Yes maybe”. “Good then we shall certainly meet again usually in the evening. Tomorrow I will introduce you to the other graves”. Swarnajit after reaching his house looked through the window to where the man was previously standing but to his surprise, the man had already disappeared. The Jackals had started their chorus beyond the rice fields. Swarnajit could not sleep with the lights off. He was also feeling unusually hot for the month of October. 

 

So he got down from his bed opened the window, switched on the lights and then fell fast asleep. He saw a dream where he saw the same man peering through the window, this time his shawl was not covering his mouth. His eyes were bright green and his teeth sharp and narrow. The man then took a step back raised his hands and leapt through the window. This woke him up and he was sweating. He realised it was already morning and asked Omlan for a cup of tea. Omlan served tea but looked a little preoccupied. “What’s the matter,” asked Swarnajit. To which Omlan replied, “I am fine but my calf. It was only a week old. Something bit its throat. God knows if it was a cobra”. Swarnajit went deep in thought “Bitten on the throat, what it could be, now that else could it be if not a vampire bat! Indeed they suck blood from animals, especially through their throat”. This made him feel uneasy. “But it could still be a cobra. Why am I connecting the death of a calf to a vampire bat, am I going insane”. 

 

Swarnajit wanted to wrap things up and leave the village as quickly as possible. His eyes then went to the ceiling the bat was back! “It was my mistake to open the windows, I will keep the windows closed tonight no matter what ”.Swarnajit stepped out of his house today he wanted to collect all the necessary information for his project and leave Shiuri tomorrow. He got on a rickshaw and went to all the historical monuments in the village and took pictures and notes in his diary. It was 6 pm all his notes were done and he was going back to his house when he saw the same man he met in the church standing in the road. He did not move an inch and was staring at Searnajit. They stopped or it would have collided with the man. The man then asks Searnajit “did you sleep well last night. Well you see I have a strange habit I cannot sleep at night so I sleep during the day I am like a nocturnal animal”. 

 

Searnajit knew the man would not let him pass so he decided to get down from the rickshaw and run home on foot. But again like the last time as he starts running the man also starts running behind him. This time it was too much for Searnajit he was irritated with the man’s presence he look back and faces the man “i know you want somebody to accompany you but I cannot help it. I came here in Shiuri for some work not to gossip with some stranger you better find someone else”. With this Searnajit ran back to his house. After entering his room he realises what he had said so he thinks of going back to the church and apologising for his hast words. Swarnajit leaves his home at 8:30 and heads for the church. He meets the man staring and giggling at the graves. He greets him and apologizes for his mistake but the man asks him yet another question “what do you think about the people who are buried here in this graveyard”. Swarnajit was never asked such a question so he replied with “no clue”. The man then starts “Oh I love to walk around during the night. I can feel people who are buried here have unfulfilled wishes. You can hear them starching the lid of the coffin from beneath the ground. Crying, shouting some even trying to break through, but not everyone knows the secret of getting out.

 

So they stay prisoners forever. I can hear them crying you see I have very sharp eyes and ears just like a bat”. Hearing this Searnajit felt chills run through his body and he immediately leaves. While heading back he thinks of asking Omlan about the weird man he meets in the church. He reaches home and sees the clock it's 10:10 he wasted a lot of time. He finds Omlan who was about to go to bed. Swarnajit then asks Omlan about the man to which Omlan replies “Oh that man he is crazy. He is often seen at the church after evening but nowhere to be found during the day. You should stay away from him, he is mad. Now you better go to sleep”. Swarnajit lies on his bed and decides to leave the village by tomorrow as he got all the necessary information for his project. He then quickly falls asleep. The next day he is woken up by the chirping of birds Searnajit looks above at the ceiling there was no bat today and no nightmares too. 

 

He is happy and relieved to leave the village. He leaves the apartment with his bag after having his breakfast. After crossing a few houses he turns around and sees a group of people standing near the mango grove. He thinks of paying a visit just one last time. He could not get past the crowd there were about thirty people gathered in a circular formation. He then sees two people carry the man he met at the church on a stretcher .ado of bamboo. He thinks of asking one of the people for the news. By sheer coincidence, he sees the shopkeeper from whom he had bought the bottle of water. 

 

Swarnajit asks “Devraj uncle what happened to that man”. Devraj started laughing “Fell down from a tree maybe you wouldn’t know you are new to the village”. Swarnajit asked “Fell down from a tree? What could he be doing on top of a tree? Devraj answered “You do not know he was a mad man, he seemed to have made recovery lately. But before that, every evening as soon as it got dark he used to go and hang upside down from trees. Just like a bat”.