The Shadow - Chapter One
The car came to a screeching halt in the middle of a bramble covered path. The rain had reached a relentless crescendo, and was now mercilessly drumming at the windscreen of the small car. Beside the rain, there was a thick fog encompassing the surroundings.
Through the rain-flecked glass, 30-year-old Dr Sita Canodia, the driver of the errant car, gazed despondently outside. Just imagine, she thought, if there was a prize for having the maximum amount of rotten luck, she was sure to get it.
…It had all started the previous morning. The sky was clear; a vibrant silvery blue without any trace of the rumbling dark grey clouds threatening to burst at its seams and envelop the city in cascading rain. And though the cuckoo, the harbinger of rain, was incessantly singing a melodious note, there was still no sign of the famous fierce monsoon that had a date with the city every year, this time.
“Thank God!” thought Sita, things were going clockwork smooth. She would be leaving for the Kalighat temple in the evening. It was just a preliminary site visit and would be completed within two days.
However, she acknowledged, it had taken her longer to convince her boss Dr Sam Makhija though. An ordinary wooden box, according to him, didn’t merit a second, third or fourth look. Not even the torn map of the ancient Kalighat temple hidden within its secret crevice made a difference. These days, thanks to ‘The Da Vince Code’, the small archaeology department was barraged by anonymous tips, letters and strange maps. Every old temple, mosque, church building, excavation area were being examined by armchair sleuths. “And, Sita, we are not Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon please,” said Dr Sam, dismissively.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBF9rHEuVy1
But Sita being Sita refused to concede defeat. She counter-argued that the archaeology department couldn’t bypass any clue. And that she would pay for her own journey and it would anyways just be for two days. If there was nothing in it, she’d come back. The department had nothing to lose.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡql2WcGqQZc
And in the face of such a passionate plea that too from such a pretty girl, Dr Sam, at last, relented. Though he did end the argument with a sarcastic, ‘Don’t prance around in those very unsuitable shoes in the wilderness. You’d shock the tribals and the people out there would think the Indian archaeology department is filled with fashion plates’. 412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlFzFyp1ED
Recalling that jibe rather nonchalantly, Sita crossed her legs and for an instant, stared admiringly at her pretty feet encased in her favourite red Jimmy Choo shoes. This was her one and only vanity and however, insane it may sound, Sita wore them 24x7, no matter what. “Why do archaeologists need to look like frumps to be taken seriously?” She frowned, as she adjusted her glasses perched comfortably on her pert nose?412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3aiaiRiCd
And then suddenly, there was mayhem. The telephones screeched almost in unison. The security siren hooted noisily. People started rushing halter-skelter panic stricken. Suddenly, the lights went off. And in the pitch dark, Sita screamed panic-stricken ‘What’s wrong? But all she could hear was hysterical screaming and shouting.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡex2mDmDoYV
Thick smoke was billowing from the first floor, and Sita recoiled in horror. That was the inventory room where all the evidence was kept - there was a treasure trove up there. Someone had to save it. She raced up the stairs taking two steps at a go, tottering a bit on her high heels in the dark. But the smoke was too thick and as she coughed her way up, somebody suddenly picked her up on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Though Sita resisted by hitting his stone like back with her flaying fists, she was no match for his brute strength. And as he dumped her unceremoniously down the steps, she blinked rapidly to acclimatize her eyes to the dark. All she could see was a tall shadow. She pointed her cell phone at him so that the sliver of light would help her recognize him. But the shadow slipped away and all she managed to catch was a pair of cold grey eyes.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtku2pR55fM
Suddenly, there was a cacophony of clanging bells of fire engines, screaming police and ambulance sirens, and noisy, hysterical screaming that diverted Sita’s attention. “What happened?” yelled she. A moment later, Rob, Dr Sam Makhija’s assistant, started screaming hysterically. ‘It’s horrible! An intruder just shot Dr Makhija and his secretary Ina. He’s dying. Hurry! He’s asking for you!”412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxsRExMFgZ
Not pausing for a moment, Sita rushed to Dr Makhija’s room, only to find her boss covered in blood, gasping desperately for breath, “Sita… Kalighat Temple… go… don’t trust anybody. Ask for the prince’, And as he crumpled down onto the floor, a completely shocked Sita rushed to his side but was pushed aside by the emergency ambulance men who had just rushed in. Sita and Rob too clambered into the ambulance, Inside it, Dr Sam Makhija, lay bathed in blood. He had been shot at thrice and was plugged to life support. His secretary Ina was shrouded in a white sheet. She had died on the spot and was being taken to the morgue for postmortem.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68CKragZid
And as the ambulance with its screeching siren, raced on the smooth tarmac to the suburban hospital, a shell-shocked, Sita wrapped her arms around her legs, and mused. It was so unreal! The archaeology department was a sleepy little obscure department. Except for a very old security guard, they didn’t have any security. Anybody could walk in or walk out of the place. So why would anybody want to commit murder? Why Ina and Dr Makhija? Who was the shadow with grey eyes? And why would Dr Makhija insist on me going to Kalighat temple? What was happening here? …So many questions… Sita thought determinedly, “I need to go to that temple immediately and get some answers. This must be about the temple otherwise why would Dr Makhija insist on me going there especially when, in the first place, he had dismissed it off as rubbish?”412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHwyhiqArF
Anyways, after dealing with the preliminary police questioning at the hospital, Sita rushed home in a tearing hurry. Hastily packed an overnight suitcase, she revved through the crowd to cover several kilometers in just a few hours. She had crossed beyond the jungle outside the city limits. “Far, far from the madding crowd, with no snarling traffic jams…,” Sita had thought sardonically. But still, she admitted, city slicker that she was, driving through the dark jungle was creeping her out especially the eerie stillness of the night. The rains too had started from a gentle drizzle to a maddening onslaught – it almost seemed as the heavens had opened up to unleash sheer havoc on earth. Driving at a breakneck speed, she sped through the jungles into a small valley. Until almost immediately, she braked to a jarring halt. Damn, she had taken the wrong turning – the map with its intricate red and black lines confused her totally. Was this the right turn? If so, why did it look as if she was in the middle of nowhere? Wasn’t the hotel supposed to be here? Instead all she could see was acres and acres of … Nothing!412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvlAtW0MzP
“Okay, let’s face it;” she grumbled aloud, “I’m lost! What is it with us women and maps? And, anyways why are maps made so complex in the first place? And, if that wasn’t enough, after a grudging cough, the engine of her car died midway with a dismal phut and even with much cajoling, refused to come alive.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6G2mSz2Sc
So here she was stranded in the middle of nowhere, sitting in a car which was floating around like a raft in almost knee-deep water. It was at that point that she lost her cool and started muttering all those horrendous expletives she had heard the locals mouth. But after 15 minutes of ‘cussing like a sailor’, good sense prevailed. …And she thought instead of sitting around like a stupefied moaning and groaning mummy, she might as well as get out of the car and look for some shelter until the rain stopped.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFzTNu8QtVA
Cursing some more choicest swear words, she stepped out of her uncooperative car. To be honest, just the sound of her voice made her feel better.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0u2Il8sTjS
And as her very unsuitable Jimmy Choo shoes sank deeper and deeper into the squishy mud, she thought gloomily, “This is definitely the worst day of my life. Things really can’t get worse?” And to top it, she thought incongruously, nobody will ever believe that I wore a pair of Jimmy Choos in the mud. But the gorgeous red Jimmy Choos were a muddy mess. So shrugging her shoulders, she slipped them off her feet, wiped them comfortably and placed them safely inside the car.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUs3Sm3hfVS
Then securely locking her little car, she gingerly took her first unsteady steps in the squishy mud. It was catastrophic! She was sinking into the soggy mud and if she didn’t move pronto, she would definitely be swept away, she thought.
“Where am I?” Sita asked aloud, more to hear a human sound in that eerie quiet. She looked around. It looked as if she were in the outskirts of a small town or village. Just a few meters away, she could see an old temple atop a little hill. By now, the rain, thankfully, had started to clear up and she could see the sky wondrously turning from a somber blackish blue, to a peach-auburn speckled heaven.
“Well, things really aren’t all that bad,” Sita consoled herself. She could have been stranded in the middle of that dense, dark jungle she had passed some time back instead of here, where at least, some stirrings of life could be seen. This was indeed a sign from the heavens above; of all the good things yet to come. Things would indeed get better… Undoubtedly!
Anyway she decided to clamber up the hill to the temple above and ask the resident pujari (priest) for help. Taking the car up was useless, she thought. It wasn’t starting now and who knows if it did start, she may end up having to push her temperamental car uphill. And that would be trouble with a capital ‘T’.
She’d trudge up the hill on foot instead, she decided. “I am sure to scare the pujariji,” Sita thought. Imagine early in the morning, the first thing you see at the temple doorstep is a mud-splattered zombie asking you for directions. …Wicked, absolutely wicked.” She chuckled aloud. …Her first hearty laugh after the previous day’s catastrophe happenings.
I hope Dr Makhija is fine, she thought somberly, as she clambered up the slope of the hill, panting loudly, thinking wryly of all the expensive yoga classes and fitness regimens she had spent big money on. For all those hours on the treadmill, here she was - a typical city-slicker - totally out of breath, trudging up at a pace that would put a snail to shame.412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7M2R4KrDgz
But still, she could appreciate the glorious morning. The air was cool and briskly rejuvenating. Somewhere in the vicinity, a cuckoo melodiously called out to her mate and a mischievous sparrow kept interrupting her harmonious call, by chirruping merrily. There were small azure flowers growing amok all around the foothill, looking from far like a regal purple carpet spread out on a rich emerald floor. Indeed, things will get better, thought Sita positively.
…Little did she know that a few minutes later, her life would soon be battle-ridden and start resembling a battering roller-coaster ride. …For suddenly, the serenity of the morning was abruptly shattered as a piercing scream rent the air. It was a cry of acute anguish, a sound which sliced through every pore of Sita’s body. 412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT367c6woqH
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