The Village Witch ( Part 8)

It had been 2 days since Anjali was missing. The police hadn’t come up with any information. Shankar decided he had to take matters in his own hands before he lost his daughter forever. He realized that the only people who could guide and help him would be the sadhus, the tantriks and the aghoris of the village, who usually meditated in unknown and quiet places, away from the city.


With the help of some old and knowledgeable village folks , Shankar was able to get together a team of individuals who would help him in his quest. A sadhu who owned an ashram on a hill, a tantrik famous in the nearby village for his 6th sense and an aghori meditating in the village crematorium grounds, some village folks who wandered in the country side and knew the hills and the plains well, the inspector and his assistant. Upon discussing the issue and checking out the map of the area, leaving out the places which were already searched by the police, Shankar zeroed down his search to 3 places, all in 3 opposite corners of the village, some far, some close by.

1 was a thick forest, a national park , the core area of which was hardly ever touched.

The second area was the mountain behind the Ashram of the Sadhu. The sadhu said that area was perfect for hiding, meditation and other private activities. Smuggling and poaching went on freely in those areas.

The 3rd was an underwater cave formed near the river. The cave was accessible only during low tides, at other times the river water blocked the entrance. The possibilities of anybody staying or hiding there for more than a day were negligible. But nobody could say for sure how deep the cave was, and whether there was an opening from the other side.



The Sadhu and some of his students volunteered to head into the mountains. Since they were closer to the area and had a better idea.

The inspector headed to the national park.

Shankar with his brothers and the Aghori headed to the cave.

Time was of utmost importance; whatever they thought, decided and acted upon had to be done at lightning speed.



Anjali felt her heart being pressed by some force.....her entire body was being controlled by some powerful energy...so much so that she couldn’t even breath on her own, her breath was controlled by someone else.

She couldn’t open her eyes, couldn’t move her legs and hands, she couldn’t speak but her mind was alert.

Suddenly she felt the force over her eyes loosen a bit and so she opened her eyes.

The 1st thing she saw were Meghna’s bright brown eyes that looked at her with a piercing gaze.

After having committed the mistake of approaching Meghna at night alone , this was her 2nd biggest mistake...to look into a witch’s eyes!

This was what Meghna was working at all the time. Everything was absolutely working as per the plan. If Anjali had looked anywhere else, getting her focus would have been difficult. Meghna would have to repeat the whole process of putting her under a spell and keeping her stable in that condition.

Anjali realized that Meghna was naked, she sat straight in front of her while Anjali, also naked was lying on some sort of a platform. Meghna breathed heavily, forcefully and Anjali realized that she too was breathing at the same rhythm...her breath was no more hers....it was Meghna’s.



Outside the cave, Shankar and the team prepared to dive into the water to enter the cave.



In her breathing and her meditations, Meghna realized that she had very little time to attain what she wanted...she had senses as sharp as a snake that picked up on heat and ground vibrations. Her sight was as piercing as that of an eagle, and her movements were as swift and graceful like a wild cat.



Anjali had only three strengths with which she could save herself-

1. Her eyesight,

2. 2nd: Her thought process or her brain and

3. her ears, she could hear everything that went on.



Her eyes were halfway under Meghna’s spell , and they were giving her away very quickly.....The eyes are the doors to one’s soul and that’s what Meghna was pushing in for....her soul! Anjali thought, with all her heart, with all the kindness that she had, she tried to plead with Meghna to spare her life. Meghna retorted back, “Be thankful that I’m not wishing you the same fate as mine....”

Anjali tried hard to free herself in every way.... but it was too difficult....Meghna’s breath and eyes had locked her down completely. After Anjali’s eyes were stable, Meghna got up from her seat and came close to Anjali. She calmly closed Anjali’s eyelids, as another of her senses closed down ,.....Anjali’s soul screamed for help, Anjali screamed for mercy.....At this point Anjali’s mind raced through every bit of her memory, every bit of emotion.

She remembered her father sitting with the wise man and the wise man had said Anjali will always be attracted towards the dark arts, she has the making of a powerful witch, but there is someone more sharper than her lurking besides her who is capable of taking away Anjali’s future, for better or worse!

She remembered some of Meghna’s last mails, she had cried for help, she pleaded Anjali to somehow come back and take her out of this hell, that her life and dreams were falling apart, that she is losing herself too soon...and her only hope was Anjali........ “This is the reason I am being punished? But I was only a child, I’m able to deal with it now, and I came back for you....I’m sorry I was late....please Meghna, I am innocent, I always wanted to help you.”



Meghna took a deep breath and touched Anjali’s feet.....Anjali felt a sensation , quite unknown to her......her legs were going numb and cold....as if dead! Then Meghna took another deep breath and moved both her hands upwards towards Anjali’s knees...everything Meghna touched was going numb and cold......Anjali realized this was the final assault...she was dying.....and she couldn’t do anything to stop the witch! Meghna took a third deeper breath and moved her hands over Anjali’s legs till they were dead!

Tears rolled down Anjali’s face..... “stop it please...please ...noooo.....God....please...help me, please!”

Meghna threw back her head and took a deeper breath and moved her hands over Anjali’s pelvis.



With the help of diving equipment , Shankar, 1 diver and the aghori made their way into the dark, untouched cave! After around 15 minutes of swimming, they reached a large rock that looked like the end of the cave. The diver went around the area to see if there was any opening anywhere, but there was none.



Meghna was breathing so heavy, Anjali could hear her breath, as Meghna started her journey towards Anjali’s heart and lungs....Anjali realized that her time was almost up and there was no point in praying. She thought about all the beautiful times she had with her parents and at college, but more than anybody else she thought about her father the most and realized that all this time, he had tried to protect her and save her from this day...and now all his efforts were in vein! She felt sorry for her parents....



Shankar saw a small iron rod fallen at the floor of the cave. He pointed it out to the diver. When the diver tried to pick it up, he realized that it was stuck and heavy. It wasn’t just any rod....



Meghna realized she was almost done when she felt Anjali’s last breath settling down. Meghna felt like a python, gulping its prey slowly and choking down the victim till the last breath...Her hands moved upwards towards Anjali’s neck and her face to complete the act!

Anjali..though had breathed her last, was still alive. She heard foot steps, she heard her father’s voice calling out to her...That was the last she heard, a few moments later she felt silence! Pure silence!



When Shankar ran into the cave, he saw Meghna lying on a platform and another woman bent on her, holding Meghna’s forehead.

When he approached the other woman, she looked up “Papa...” she said faintly and collapsed in his arms. Shankar covered his daughter with a shawl which was lying around....he was so happy and glad that he had found his daughter!

The Village Witch The Concluding part