She had
just got up from the dinner table when a sudden gust of wind blew off the lamp.
The battery of the radio also went dead simultaneously and a hush descended
over the cozy environment of her small cottage. A sudden chill ran through her.
She hastily went near the dressing table and opened the first drawer. It was
filled with paper cuttings, allpins, gum, punching machine, etc. One of the
allpins pierced the tip of her index finger and she pulled back her hand
quickly. She could sense a drop of blood appearing on the hurt surface. Still
she just wiped it off and continued searching for the candle and the matchbox.
Finally she found it and breathed a sigh of relief. She lit all the five candles and
made the room all calm and comfortable once again. The ambience was so soft
that she could hear the candles speak amongst themselves. After washing the
plates and setting everything in place, she went into her bedroom and started
searching for the book she had planned to read. Hush. All the candles were blown
off. This time she was really scared, for never before had she experienced such
a thing. She reached for the kitchen and took hold over a small knife and paced
towards the main door to check what was going on.
The door
was locked. From inside or outside- she did not know. Perhaps there was no time
to think upon that. She ran towards the window in the kitchen. To her horror,
the window had blood stains. Somehow, she managed to overlook them and tried to
open it, but failed. She again lit another candle, but it was blown off too.
All her efforts for rescue were going in vain. But she did not lose hope. The
weather was getting worse as well. Thunder storms and torrential rain added on
to the gloomy atmosphere.
It was
getting cold. She grabbed her shawl and pulled a chair near the window. The
chain of thoughts was running fiercely through her mind when the sound of an
opening cabinet, stole all her attention. She was terrified. Who could be
there? Was someone playing a prank on her? What if there was a thief or a
murderer or.... Ghost? All these questions made her feel weaker. Gathering all
her left strength, she moved towards the sound source. Lighting a candle she
saw tiny carpet beetles coming out from the half open drawer of the cabinet.
These creatures were marching in a line as if preparing for a great battle. She
stomped and killed most of them. But more and more started coming out. The wax
of the candle had started falling on her cold soft skin. But she could bear
that. What was unbearable was the sight of these ugly creatures. She kept the
candle on the shelf and ran to get a broom. Not long before she had gone, when
the sound suddenly stopped. Again there was complete silence. But her conscious
was not ready to accept this. She felt uneasy and frightened. There was more to
come. She stood still at one place and constantly stared at the cabinet.
Nothing moved and there was no sound. The only sound that was audible, was that
of her heart throbbing at a fastest pace.
Her chair
was placed a few centimeters away from the cabinet that had an attached mirror.
The light from the street enabled her to see a vision of herself in the mirror.
She grabbed a bottle and drank water. She looked up again to in the mirror and
the sight made her blood run cold. It was not herself that she saw on the other
side. But it was someone else. She rubbed her eyes to ensure what she saw was
right, but all in vain. The person or creature or whatever it was, on the other
side of the mirror, started making obnoxious sounds. It felt as if something bad
was about to happen.
For some
time there was stillness. She, somehow, managed to ask, " Who are
you?"
"Grrr....
Grrrr.... I am Dybbuk. "
Before
she could speak anything else, the spirit broke the mirror and started coming
out from the other side. With a loud thud he jumped towards her. Meanwhile the
candle blew off and there was complete darkness. She shouted for help but it
felt as if her cottage was filled with vacuum. With a blurred vision, she saw
long, pointed fingernails moving towards her neck. She moved back but got
obstructed by the window pane. Dybbuk moved more hastily towards her and
grabbed her neck. It tore apart the skin on her right hand and she yelled with
pain and terror. She still retaliated and struck the spirit with the small
knife. But all efforts were futile. Dybbuk was thrice as powerful as her.
It lifted her over its shoulders and tossed her over on the floor. By this time
she had almost given up the hope. A bone or two was broken and she was not even
able to get up or run. The spirit was blinded by the darkness for some time and
in the meantime she crawled and hid inside the almirah. The loud howling sound of
the spirit made her shiver. All she could do was pray for her life. She tried
to remain calm and avoid making any noise. She remembered what she had read
about Dybbuk, being a spirit of a dead person who tries to take possession of a
new body. She remembered how she was warned a thousand times, before moving
into this cottage. She remembered how she had had a pitiful life and that she
thought may be she would find peace here. She had been having ill premonitions
lately but had not paid attention to them. Finally the dreadful end was there
infront of her.
There was
complete silence. She thought that may be luck had favoured her and the spirit
had gone. She tried to peep through the small keyhole and saw nothing but
complete darkness. She moved closer to the keyhole to take a look again.
Nothing. A sigh of relief for her. Just then she heard a heavy breathing sound.
She tried to take small breaths so that the sound diminishes. But the sound
became more lucid and enhanced. She started sweating. Suddenly she felt a presence
in the almirah itself. She turned and was appalled. Dybbuk stood right behind
her. It stretched out its hands and she fled in full speed. This time she could
not find a better place to hide. There was no time left. She stood behind the
kitchen door.
She was
gasping for breath and unfortunately, in the total stillness, Dyubbuk
heard her presence. It moved towards her and lowered itself towards her face.
She tried to hit dyubbuk but her hands went right past the body. It was a
spirit indeed. A snide laugh escaped the face of the spirit and it was ready to
take possession of her body. Just then, she opened her eyes and realized that
the entire terrifying ordeal had been a dream.
