"WE'RE NOT ALONE"

The temple in that village was said to be over 500 years old. I am a descendant of the founder of the temple and now look after it. Adjacent to the temple is the old mansion which had belonged to the founder. It was crumbling and I decided to demolish it and rebuild. I got a team of workers to demolish the old house. It was done in just two days. I dug up the foundation and was surprised to find a rusted box of iron buried in the ground. I took it out opened it and found a manuscript within it. It had writing of the local Tamil language on it. I very carefully took out the crumbling sheets and read the matter using a magnifier. It was a message from the founder of the temple. I translated it into English and reproduce the contents below:

I am not a writer and am leaving behind this document as I have something to relate. I have two wives Komala and Raji. I have a child through Komala. While Komala was dark, big made and unattractive, Raji was very fair beautiful and shapely. Ever since Raji entered my house I have had no peace of mind. I would receive complaints from both women who would fight every day. One day Komala hit Raji pulled off all her clothes, and pushed her out of the house stark naked. I rushed out and got Raji covered up. This infuriated Komala who abused me using coarse terms, as she was unrefined.  

To ensure peace in the family I bought Raji a separate house near mine and moved her there. She had a live in cook and a woman to keep house. These ‘perks’ further angered Komala. She was dead set against my visiting Raji.

She would say to me “Your labor with her has been fruitless as she has been unable to produce a child. Why do you keep going to bed with her? Am I not enough? What has she got that I haven’t? And don’t I allow you to do whatever you want with me? Can she offer you something more? Don’t visit her so often.”  However I said to myself Raji is your wife and it is your duty to visit her.

Komala took her vengeance against Raji too far. She got a spy to watch and report on goings on in Raji’s house. It was reported a man was seen visiting Raji.

Komala said “You must do away with Raji. She has found a lover who probably does better what you do with her.”

The spy wasn’t sure. I decided to snoop on Raji myself.  I spent three nights watching Raji’s house. No one was sighted. I asked Raji herself. She said she had no caller. She said “None of my kin come to see me. If at all a couple of women relatives have dropped in to talk to me.”

I wasn’t satisfied and questioned the cook. She swore that Raji had no visitors apart from me. I cross examined the woman housekeeper. She also swore that no male had visited Raji. I went and examined the surroundings of Raji’s house. I saw the lake which supplied water to our village. It was a big one. Perhaps the fellow came by boat? But there was no boat in sight! Could he have swum across I asked myself. It was a big lake said to be deep and I ruled out a swimmer reaching Raji’s house.

Realizing my deep rooted suspicion Raji said “Komala is mischievous. One way to prevent you from visiting me would be to create a suspicion in your mind and she has done it successfully. All I can say in my defense is that subsequent to your suspicion I had a dream of a stranger coming on a mythical airship of flowers if that were to be feasible. You may stay away from me.”

I was unwilling to let go of my wife merely based on suspicion. I said “Move back to our house. I’ll provide you a separate wing to stay in.”

Despite my having given separate wings to the warring wives, the battles continued with Komala being the aggressor. Raji would take her bath drawing water from the well. She would use the adjoining empty cow shed to change. That day she shouted for help and I went running.

Raji said “I saw a man hiding in the cow shed watching me change into dry clothes and shouted.”

I scoured the entire garden even looking into dry hay stacks in vain. I was lucky to have escaped a snake bite as a big snake which had been hiding came at me.

Komala immediately spread the news that Raji had made a false alarm call so that during the search I would die of snake bite.

I asked Raji “Can you describe the man who was hiding in the cow shed?”

She said “I saw a man momentarily who had his hair in a pigtail knot. He must have escaped through the back door of the cow shed.”

Komala said laughing “The fellow was surely lying in wait to see Raji nude. That done he has escaped.”

I was very angry as I said “Komala I’ve tolerated you long enough. It was due to you that Raji gave up the common bathroom and started using the well. I don’t want your comments and jibes any more.”

She challenged me and asked “What will you do?”

I said “I can murder you for creating domestic unrest.”

She noted my determined tone and quietly withdrew from further battles.

 The voyeur offender - a teenager - was soon caught. He had been at it in the neighborhood and confessed. He was given a hiding by three people whose women he had watched. I didn’t join.

There was peace in my home as Komala had totally quieted down.  That night I was awake wondering about someone wandering around in my premises in the night. Could it be a ghost? Raji was by my side when we momentarily saw a powerful light through the window. I thought I saw a tall man go across the window. Seizing a stout stick I opened the bolted doors and rushed out when I saw something floating away in the sky. Where was a man hiding in my premises? It wasn’t the pigtail tufted voyeur.  What was the thing that had floated away towards the sky? What was the intense light which had momentarily lit up the darkness? May be this was the man sighted by Komala’s spy! I was puzzled and confused.

I said “Raji we’re not alone.” I added “I want to forget it all. Give me a good time.” She did.

END