As I stepped outside,
all I could see was the grey mist brought from the fog that had swept over my village
There was a certain eeriness roaming in the cool air. But the gloominess was nothing too
out of the ordinary during this time of the year.
The silence was deafening as my neighbors were safe at home.
Not a single soul dared roam around once the sun set.
The adults in the village warned their children not to go near the lake.
There had been numerous stories of victims falling into the nearby lake and drowning,
believed to have been caused by the Baak.
Krish, my classmate, was missing for two weeks now.
I lived with my dad at the time.
He was a fisherman. Before my dad left for work, he set some traps in
the lake behind our house to catch fish and told me to check on it as soon as I finished school.
Three hours later, I had completely forgotten and knew he would be upset when he got back.
So, I went out to check on the traps. I slowly walked towards the lake.
Once I reached the water, I searched for the traps.
Suddenly, I saw something poking out of the lake. A boy around my age. Krish.
He was crying.
I walked closer to him to get a better look and so that I could ask him a whole bunch of questions.
But as I got closer, he slowly submerged his head under water.
At first, I thought it must have been my imagination,
but then I thought he was drowning, so I dived in.
There was no sign of him. I didn’t know what the heck was going on, but I needed to leave.
But when I was getting out of the lake, my hand was grabbed and my body was pulled back in.
I couldn’t even scream as it happened so fast.
When I checked what had grabbed me, I saw that Krish had changed.
In his place was this grotesque, muddy looking creature.
And its skin felt slippery and cold.
Luckily my hand managed to slip away. I kicked it and got out of the water.
When I looked back, the dark silhouette had already climbed out
and was now standing there, just staring at me.
The creature jumped towards me, grabbed my leg, and started pulling me.
I tried to fight it off. I was covered in mud and the ground was slippery.
Then, the creature jumped into the water and tried to drag me in with it. But
it got caught by one of the traps my dad had set up.
My dad ran out the back door.
The creature managed to escape and dive back into the water.
My dad confirmed that it was the baak. He was trying to catch and destroy it.
It was the day of Diwali, and my village was decorated for this elegant festival of light.
It’s the day to remember that light triumphs over darkness, and good over evil.
In the evening, the women of the village lit up the oil lamps,
while children ran around with huge grins.
“Mom I told you, I’m not interested in celebrating
such an absurd idea of good and evil and demons and Gods. I’m not going.”
I told my mom.
She looked very disappointed.
They didn’t understand. All they knew was this village life, when the world out there is huge.
“You shouldn’t talk to me like that. I know what’s best for you.”
She replied to me.
I ran to my room and slammed the door shut.
There was this fair in my village that takes place on Diwali.
My family has gone every year, but I’m grown now. I would much rather stay home and be productive.
My mom lit the oil lamps around the house while my family got ready for the fair.
I looked at the time, it was 9pm.
I turned on music and scrolled through my phone.
My mom knocked on my door.
“Honey, we’re going to the fair. Stay safe. Lock the door and don’t
open it for anyone… even if you hear us. We have the keys.”
“Yes, mom. Don’t worry.”
I could hear their footsteps fade away.
I looked out my window. It was luminous where the fair took place.
Other than that, the oil lamps in the village started to die down.
I looked at the oil lamp outside my house.
Only three of them were burning and it looked like they were about to go out.
I watched as one went out, only two left.
I could hear the eerie evening breeze.
The second light went out and as the outside got darker, the rustling of the wind became louder.
The last oil lamp was almost burning out now. I could see the flame flickering.
I was concentrating on the flame when I saw the shadow of a hand cover and extinguished it.
My mind must’ve been playing tricks on me, I thought to myself,
and went to bed. I took out my phone and started scrolling nervously.
Then I heard a noise come from the kitchen. The sound of stuff falling on the floor.
I tried to ignore it. And it stopped.
After about twenty minutes, I had forgotten about the noise and was back to scrolling on my phone
until I heard another noise come from the kitchen.
“Mom, is that you?”
No one answered.
Then I heard someone say my name. “Pooja...”
“Mom??”
I walked towards the kitchen but no one was there and nothing was on the floor.
I saw that the front door was left open.
I went over to close it and I saw a figure resembling my mom standing near the trees.
“Mom, what are you doing there?”
She slowly walked away.
“Mom, stop!”
I ran towards her as she walked towards the trees.
I thought, maybe it was someone else...
“Pooja…”
“Mom, what’s going on? Where is everyone?”
She kept walking away as I followed her until we were in the middle of the forest
and with no one around.
Then she stopped and slowly turned around.
I looked at her and saw that her feet didn’t touch the ground.
As I slowly looked up, I got a good look at her. She wasn’t my mom.
Her skin, grey and ashy with bulging white eyes.
I fell on my back as I tried to run away and she flew towards me.
I started screaming and closed my eyes and prayed as it got closer to me.
I heard footsteps running towards me, and as I opened my eyes, I saw that it had disappeared.
A few of my neighbors surrounded me, holding their lit up lamps, and praying.
They must’ve returned from the fair, heard me screaming, and came to the rescue.
“I saw it. It was flying towards her. It was Nishi Dak.”
One of the villagers said.
They took me home and waited for my family to return since I was petrified.
I learnt a big lesson from my mistake: that I should listen to my parents. Culture and
beliefs in our society are there for a reason and we shouldn’t ignore or disrespect them.
There is good and evil and light and darkness in everything.
Aadesh lived with his grandmother in a village in Kollam.
His grandmother was old school and superstitious.
Aadesh tried to convince his grandmother to join him in the city.
Moving there would mean a life that was much better for the two of them.
He tried to urge her but she kept saying no.
Her reasoning was because this was the place she grew up in. There was history there.
He could never convince his grandmother who was so emotionally and spiritually
connected to the village. She even said he could go on his own.
But he could never leave his grandmother. She raised
him after his parents passed away when he was just a kid.
Aadesh gave up on trying to convince her. He knew it wasn’t going to work
and he’d have to stay here with her.
Defeated, he headed to work. He was already running late
and told her to take care of herself while he was gone.
He walked towards the front door and headed to work.
And his grandmother urged him not to work too hard or too long. It wasn’t safe out there.
“I'll try.”
He had to work long hours due to lack of employees in his office.
And it took about an hour to drive to work.
After his shift was over, Aadesh walked out of his office
exhausted. He looked at his watch and noticed that it was already 10 o’clock.
He got in his car and drove back home.
It was pouring as he drove on the very empty street that night.
And as he drove, the scent of fresh jasmine loomed in the air.
He stopped all of a sudden, when he saw a gorgeous lady
walking in beautiful traditional attire in the middle of the road.
She was dressed in a white Saree and almost looked like a bride.
He got out of the car and asked if she was okay.
She told him she needed help walking home because her dress and shoes were soaked.
Aadeesh didn’t hesitate and walked her home. She lured him towards a tree.
She excitedly said she would make him dinner for his help. And asked for lime.
Aadesh felt in his heart that something was wrong but he was too tempted.
She stood in front of him and he reached his hand out to try and grab her face.
All of a sudden, her teeth grew into long, sharp fangs.
She jumped on him and tried to bite his neck.
But when her fangs touched his skin, she hissed and jumped onto one of the palm trees.
He immediately rushed back home and told his grandma everything.
His grandmother was calm and told him that no one can touch her grandson.
She said as she pointed towards the necklace he always wore around his neck.
She gave it to him years ago, and that is what saved him from the ghost ‘Yakshi’