Sacred and Cursed
The street was hushed and deserted.
She could only hold back the sense of unease for a short while.
It felt wrong, as if she was doing something she shouldn't. Perhaps such feelings were normal when wandering lonely streets past midnight.
Dhriti tried to estimate the time. They had argued at 12:10 am, so it had to be after 12:45 am. Just before her outburst, her eyes had fallen on the wall clock.
The night chill crawled up from her feet to her bare legs. She regretted leaving the house wearing knee-length pajamas and flip-flops.
When Dhriti left the house in a huff, she didn’t care either about the time or her clothes. All she wanted was to get away from her husband.
She raised her chin. The stars were remote pinpricks.
A sound reached her alert ears. A low engine rumble.
A lone headlight rolled toward her from ahead. The instant shot of relief at its sight faded as soon as it passed her, and the street fell silent again. Dhriti couldn’t help wondering who the rider was—an overworked father? An emotionally detached husband?
An emotionally detached husband, like hers?
Dhriti’s gaze scavenged her surroundings for any soul, but found none. What did she expect from that God-awful hour? All sane humans must be sleeping in their beds and dreaming.
The view persisted as she moved along. A house, then patches of vegetation, another house, then patches of vegetation, and so on, occasionally transitioning to rows of small houses crammed side by side, sharing common boundary walls.
Dhriti wanted to cry angry tears, but they wouldn’t come, so she scowled at the yellow streetlight she was passing by.
After two minutes, she halted. On one side, there was a vacant piece of land, and on the other, a bunch of houses spread out. This part of the neighborhood was unfamiliar to her.
She rubbed her cold hands together to warm them up.
The strange chill in the June night felt wrong.
The unnatural stillness of the street felt wrong.
The old amber glow of the streetlight felt wrong.
It felt wrong, just like her marriage!
Dhriti continued on.
A tiny, bug-like creature zipped a few inches above her, bringing to mind her husband's deep aversion to insects. What must he be doing at the time? Was he still slumped in his favourite chair, sipping another drink, or had he gone to bed after she left the house?
She shook her head. She didn’t wish to think about him. After all, she was out on the street to get away from what had happened.
Dhriti halted yet again as the street came to an end, leading into a road. She looked both ways; the left was poorly lit, while the right side beamed with streetlights. She turned right, crossed the road, and, after a short walk, felt that the surroundings seemed a bit familiar.
Not too far off the road, a dense, dark silhouette of tall trees huddled together.
She remembered.
Sacred and cursed. That’s what her husband called the place.
A damp feeling trickled from her nostril to her lip. She swiped her hand under her nose.
A seed of regret for being out at that hour began to germinate in her.
Then, another surge of rage at her husband struck her. Wasn’t it his fault that she was now wandering outside aimlessly?
Given his hectic schedule, she didn’t think much when he barely said anything after coming home from work. She had been seeing signs and so readily agreed to his plan to relocate to this town five months ago. A change of place might do him good. However, dashing her hope, the new location failed to spritz its charm on him.
Dhriti had considered speaking to someone close, like her elder sister, but recalling her sister's peculiar tendency to laugh at nearly everything, even serious matters, she dismissed the idea. And what could she possibly tell her sister, anyway? That her husband barely acknowledged her presence and hadn’t properly spoken to her for over two months?
Dhriti kicked a stone in her path, sending it rolling to the side of the road.
Was it work pressure? She had inquired just a week ago.
He glanced up from his phone, staring at her in clear confusion as if she had spoken a foreign language. “What?”
She moved closer, studying his face, unsure if his skin had taken on a sickly hue or if she was just seeing things. The soft amber light from the wall lamp made it difficult to say.
She asked him again if his workload was too much. Did he regret his decision to move?
He looked away.
Dhriti waited.
No response came.
Her lips pinched.
Then her husband snorted, leaving her unsure if he was dismissing her question as unworthy of an answer.
It continued day after day until she felt as if she was living with a stranger in her home.
Was this going to be her new life?
…...
Dhriti stared at the thick darkness.
Nestled among the trees sat a house largely in shadow, save for two dim glows emanating from the top corner. Yes, she remembered seeing the house in daylight. Based on what she could see, the house’s weathered look left her with an impression of utter dereliction.
A hooting call echoed from the dark outlines of the trees. Her skin prickled.
An owl?
A nagging urge to scan her surroundings took hold.
She took a quick look around before gazing at the house.
She frowned. A shadow was visible on a lit wall.
Was the house not vacant as she thought? Could that be a balcony, with someone standing there? That person might see her watching the house.
She turned and continued down the road, shivering as a cold wind brushed by.
Was her outburst too much earlier? It definitely wasn't unreasonable, but…
Dhriti shook her head.
No, there was no but. Was her husband’s quietness justified? Did he not see that his life partner was also living in the house? If there was a problem, why not share it with her, instead of wallowing in silence?
Something dark flitted across the streetlight’s glow.
A bat? Dhriti thought, slowing down.
She wasn’t sure how her instincts worked, but a sudden fluttering in her heart compelled her to look over her shoulder at the house.
Dhriti stopped cold in her tracks.
Another part of the house now facing her was lit up, revealing four dark silhouettes standing still. Dhriti blinked twice and stepped back.
Maybe it wasn't what she thought.
Or, maybe they were indeed looking in her direction, watching her.
Her mind screamed at her to turn around and run home immediately, but Dhriti had forgotten to breathe, let alone move her feet.
A gasp escaped her lips as a fifth shadow materialized right before her eyes.
Dhriti blinked, and just like that, the house was dark once more.
A droning silence buzzed her ears.
Could she… could she have really imagined all that? Was it all conjured up by her sleep-deprived brain, which had been awake night after night, worrying about her life? Her marriage!
Rather than turning back, she continued on with a quicker step. She had no desire to go home and see her husband snoring in bed, oblivious to the turmoil he caused her.
Relief unexpectedly flooded her as she spotted two figures coming from the opposite direction. Clad in dark clothing and black hoodies, they halted suddenly a short distance away, pivoting their bodies toward her in an eerie, robotic way.
Her heart thundered and her feet took off.
To reassure herself that she wasn't being followed, she glanced behind her.
The figures were moving away from her, their shapes receding into the distance, leaving a surprisingly large space between them and her.
How is that possible? Did she walk that fast?
Her eyes pricked, and Dhriti felt like bawling like a kid.
How long was she supposed to be patient before another outburst threatened to do some serious damage to their relationship?
Why do the fears we run from eventually catch up with us?
She was confident that her marriage would not end up like her parents' bland, loveless one.
After all, unlike her parents’ arranged marriage, she married someone she knew and liked in the hopes of preventing her marriage from meeting the same fate.
How wrong she was!
Is the initial warmth between partners destined to fade with time? Is it nearly impossible for a married couple to keep their love alive until death?
She blinked back tears as she thought of their last conversation.
“What is going on? Why are you being so quiet?”
Her husband had looked up from his phone with a disinterested expression. She had a feeling that whatever he was doing with the device, his mind was elsewhere.
Where were his thoughts? Where could she possibly look for them?
Her husband closed his eyes and sank deeper into the sofa chair, clutching a glass of wine in one hand and his phone in the other.
“Hiten, what's the matter? Are there any issues at work? You didn't say much about your new colleagues. Are they… nice? How are they?”
Dhriti was aiming for a tone of sincere curiosity, but it came across as a desperate attempt to engage her partner in conversation.
Hiten opened his eyes and shot her a bored look before looking down at his wine. Dhriti fought against the urge to knock the glass out of his hand.
“They're humans just like me.”
Dhriti waited. And waited.
Why on earth would he say that? Wasn't her question just a normal and generic one to ask a partner?
Her eyes moved to the large, partially covered windows that overlooked the garden softly lit by a garden lamp. How lucky they were to get such a perfect house!
“Hiten?”
“What?” She had his attention now.
“What is going on?”
He straightened up in his seat, crossing his legs.
“Nothing. Why do you keep asking that?”
“You have been so quiet lately. You… you don't talk much–
“What is wrong with that?”
She looked at his almost empty glass. What would happen if she slammed that thing off his grasp?
There was only six feet between them, yet it seemed like a whole world sat between the two.
“What is wrong with that? Is that normal, Hiten? Is such–
“Why is being quiet not ‘normal’? Who decides what is normal and what's not?”
Frustration bubbled in her but Dhriti managed to clamp it down.
“Hiten, if there is a problem at work, then you can share it with me.” She spoke in the gentlest tone possible.
“Oh yeah? I spent the whole day listening to my boss and colleagues, and meeting clients and talking to them, and you want me to spend my remaining peaceful hours chatting with you?”
She stared motionless, feeling akin to being slapped.
The words came out of him, but they felt wrong.
She was still processing it when he added, “You won't understand sitting at home all day.”
Something unfurled in her. “Well, I'm not sitting here idling! I'm also working from home. Yes, I don't have to talk to clients constantly, or deal with a boss or colleague, but that doesn't mean my freelance work is not work.”
He scoffed. Instinctively she inched closer to him.
“When was the last time you went out alone? I haven't seen you interacting with any human being here. Do you know any of our neighbors? And despite sitting at home—oh, sorry—working from home, you won't even step out for groceries, expecting me to do it instead!”
She felt something in the pit of her stomach, then a tingle radiated toward her face and ears.
“Don't say nonsense! I do go out. If you have problem getting groceries, then—
“Then you'll get it from now on? Do it! Instead of rotting at home all day.”
On her next exhale, a warm rush of air left her nostrils. Then came the outburst.
…...
She felt no regret about it.
Dhriti wrapped her arms around herself. Yes, she rarely stepped out of the house. What would she gain by roaming the unfamiliar town? She wasn't much of an explorer. So what if she found comfort within the secure confines of her home?
A series of loud wails interrupted her thoughts.
Her skin buzzed.
Dhriti hated the ambulance siren. She couldn't understand why it was blaring, given the road was utterly deserted.
The ambulance sped down the road and was gone from sight.
The eerie calm returned, reclaiming the atmosphere. And Dhriti's thoughts scurried toward marriage.
Was it even possible to fully understand another soul? Or was the abyss between two individuals too vast and deep to cross successfully?
What was the point of marriage then? Why bother living together under one roof?
A sneeze came from behind her.
Dhriti screamed and spun around.
And she found herself alone.
Goosebumps stippled her body as her husband's words echoed in her mind.
“Something bad happened here.” Her husband gestured at the house hidden among the trees. He then looked around at the wild, untamed groves. “The whole area is—
He fell quiet.
“The whole area is?” Dhriti prodded, following his gaze to the house.
He appeared to be grappling with the right word.
“Haunted?”
Hiten shook his head, took her hand, and walked to their car. However, he didn't unlock the car door.
“Not haunted. Not really. I… I don't know how to —
“How did you find out about this place? Who told you?”
“My colleagues,” came the shift reply. “This house and the surrounding area are quite notorious in the town.”
Dhriti tugged his hand. “Why?” she asked.
He looked at her, his gaze lingering on her mouth, but not romantically. Then his attention was back at the house.
“People have vanished in this area,” He said, his voice lowering to a near whisper.
“Vanished? Like real people?” When Hiten gave her a strange look, she quickly added, “Of course real people. I meant to ask, how?”
“Didn't I tell you this place was cursed too?”
Dhriti let out a small chuckle to ease her growing unease.
“Then how do people live here?” she said, gesturing around.
Hiten glanced across the road. “No one does.”
Dhriti scanned the area. There were no other homes nearby.
“How can something be sacred and cursed at the same time?”
“Well, that’s how the story goes. It was once sacred, and then a tragedy struck, resulting in a series of misfortunes, and now this place is believed to be cursed.”
“Wow!” Dhriti couldn't hide her sarcasm. Hiten caught it and tossed a smile her way.
“If you want a bit longer version, listen, even before this town was a town, this land was considered sacred. Some said the land was alive. The land was never to be touched. This house shouldn’t have been built here. Humans should have left this place alone,” Hiten paused.
Dhriti suddenly realised how utterly alone they were! Despite it being midday, not a single person or vehicle had passed by on the road.
“Now, look, the land has reclaimed itself,” Hiten remarked with a smirk.
Indeed. It hadn’t escaped her notice that this area, particularly the area around the house, was teeming with dense trees with lush, intensely dark green foliage.
Hiten turned and opened the driver's side door.
“Come, sit.”
Once settled into the passenger seat, Dhriti couldn't help but wonder aloud, “Do you really believe in it? And who are the people who vanished?”
Hiten fired up the engine, a small grin on his face as he glanced at her.
“How would I know who those people were? Let's go to a nice restaurant. I'm craving warm thali.”
Dhriti was now more than ready to go home. She crossed the road rather than walk along the side of that house. She also refused to look in that direction.
Despite her best efforts, she was acutely aware of her proximity to the house as she passed by.
Dhriti shut her eyes and almost immediately, her husband’s enchanted look as he gazed at the house flickered in her mind.
Her eyes flew open.
A haunting chill took hold of her, urging her to take another look at the house.
Just one last look.
No lights beamed from the house. The darkness was so intense that someone new to the location might not even suspect a crumbling, empty house standing in the shadows of the surrounding trees.
Dhriti broke into a jog, retracing her steps back home, grateful for the streetlights and even smiling at some.
***
