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2024-10-29 19:42:56I ran down stairs hearing the calling bell ring. I could hardly wait to open the door. The delivery boy gave a broad smile and handed me the box. I looked at the thing neatly packed inside and sighed . 'Remember the days when we were young ?', my wife reminded, flashing her eyebrows.
My daughter's indulgence with dolls had taken on a high since she started going to school. She would be enchanted with a new doll for few months, then it would find a place in our store room along with the previous abandoned ones .The figurines of plastic and rubber - stripped of clothes and crippled with an arm or leg, with a missing eye, an ear plucked off, a 360 degree twisted head or body severed from the hip sat on the shelves like clowns leaving her in splits whenever she saw them.
She had had her tryst with dolls which came with home furniture and kitchen appliances - the ones which closed eyes when laid down and those big ones which simply looked at you with round eyes and wide smiles. This new one was different though. A pretty girl with a mischievous grin, she'd keep on crying if you didn't cuddle her in your arms and once she started she'd never stop giggling. She talked using monosyllables of exactly an eight year old. One had to just set the age and language. And her reactions would make you wonder if you're talking to a human girl or an inanimate doll .. It was the one-of-a-kind girl's toy in the market and I had read average five stars ratings on the website. Except just one drawback though. She couldn't walk and you've to always carry her with you. Of course elite features like those would've made her inaccessible to the flourishing toy market in the country.
No doubt it was my eight year daughter's latest fancy. Her most desired barbie doll! She had started throwing tantrums the day she saw the thing at the mall and we had tried means to pacify her, but to no avail. Then one day I saw the product on a mobile app - exactly the same one we had seen at the toyshop. And I wasted no time in ordering it. I could hardly wait for her to return from school .. to see her eyes widen in amazement, throw up her hands in excitement and hug me tight declaring me to be the best dad in the world.
Time flitted by with the new member in our family and Isha's tenth birthday was nearing. Yes. I had to treat her like my daughter .. I wasn't allowed to call her a doll. My daughter named her Nisha, to rhyme in with her name Isha. It didn't take long for Nisha to become her best friend, her sibling and they chatted and played around together. Isha even recorded a one-liner in its memory chip and the doll would keep on reciting it whenever Isha's spirits went down. It was commendable that she was programmed to recognize human emotions as well making her an adorable companion.
My daughter's bedroom had become her abode now and the first thing Isha did upon returning from school was to run and take Nisha in her arms. Which parents would'nt want to watch their daughters have fun and keep the entire house occupied ? So we had let Isha get her own way. Then suddenly some strange incidents started to occur.
Our daughter started saying things which we never told her and which she couldn't possibly have known at her age. When cornered by her mother she'd say that Nisha told her. We knew it was natural for a girl of her age to seek attention imagining things and we knew what an imp our daughter was, but this was absurd. I knew the doll could only speak the dialogues that had been installed in its memory.
We tried to engage Isha more into swimming, singing classes and other exterior activities which required her to take her mind away from Nisha. We fixed time she could spend with her doll. My wife started keeping tabs on her, but nothing came out of it. Isha's precocious behavior continued day by day, till one day we decided to put the doll into our store room. We knew it was difficult explaining to our stubborn child, but we tried telling her the exigencies of her nearing annuals .. the need to maintain her first rank in class in order to prevent being sneered at condescendingly by Rahul, her closest competitor. After all Nisha was not going anywhere. And it did the job.
I got my first shock when I touched the doll. It felt warm .. like the warmth of a living body. I had a similar feeling when I took my daughter in my arms, the first time when she was born. It was certainly heavier than a doll of its size, but less than my daughter's weight. And then a cold chill went down my spines. I thought I saw it's breasts heaving. I knew this was absurd again, so I called my wife, expecting her to awaken me from a nightmare. But she let out a wail instead. The doll looked exactly like Isha now!
Both of us looked out in horror. That same small face .. round eyes .. thick eyebrows .. high forehead .. plump cheeks .. heart-shaped lips .. flat depressed chin . Soon the differences started manifesting themselves .. dark circles under eyes .. dry, unkempt hairs. The pink dress gone, it was now wearing a silk frock similar to Isha's with the same embroidery and a big circular broach near the neck. A necklace of silver beads embraced it's neck, which actually belonged to Isha's mother. It seemed Isha had shrunk into a smaller size, just like Alice of Lewis Carroll's classic novel.
As I rang her school's number, my worst fears seemed to come true. The class teacher said that Isha had not turned up that day.
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Episode Thirty Eight - Creatures, Creatures!
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Now pronounced disability stood around him like the leafless trees smeared in darkness. Nobody was walking. Nobody was standing properly either. Nothing was moving anywhere. A subtle consciousness of mixed emotions - astonishment, sorrow and loneliness formed lumps inside the throat but wasn't able to manifest itself fully in the end. The divine revelation continued his speech above their heads. 'Those of you who have made it till here - the time for your final verdict has appeared. From here the path will divide into two. One goes towards heaven, the other towards hell. A sky-scraping wall separates the two. Positioned on the wall are my dedicated messengers since time immemorial. Judging the karma of your human births they will decide who chooses which path. The door of heaven would never open for those who've insulted me, been rude to others. But those who've never lost trust in me, have been honest throughout their lives, always cared for others shall always find place in heaven.
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Episode Thirty Five - The Gateway to Hell
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Episode Thirty Four - Lost
There was darkness all around. He strained his eyes but could hardly make out anything. Then slowly shapes of wild bushes and creepers appeared. He discovered himself lying on his back with no sky above his head. How long had he been lying there? He had no idea. He rose up and sat down on the ground with legs straightened before him. He turned his head around in the hope of finding a way around. He didn't feel any fatigue. As if a long period of sleep had rejuvenated his energy. But how strange the shrubs were here. There was no smell in them. He tried to touch them but couldn't. The branches were withered and dry without leaves. Is it winter here? How did he come to such a place? He tried to remember but in vain. Nobody was speaking around him. But there had been people even a little while ago, he could bet. He had felt their presence. Were they too sleeping like him ? Where are they now? He couldn't remember anything before or after that incident. He was feeling very lighter now. H
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Episode Thirty Three - Wait for me in your dreams
She heard Dad calling her mother. It was too cold outside. Dad had been calling her name since long. Why wasn't Mom getting up? Like previous times Dad had returned late from work. Even in her sleep she could feel his presence. He had knelt down before her bed and parted the strands of hair on her forehead. Then he had bent down and kissed her cheeks. The next morning when she had woken up Dad was gone again. How tired he must've been and to keep him waiting at such an hour of the night in the nail-biting cold was a crime. And then she realised that Mom had fallen asleep after a hard day's work. She hurried down from the bed and ran towards the main door. She knew immediately after getting in Dad would curse at Mom with 'Were you dead?'. Then he'd rush upstairs into his study and lock himself up. Despite knowing eavesdropping was wrong she had tiptoed up to her Dad's closed door many times. Anirban would be having a row with someone over phone. She could recall a few words like 'Tende
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Episode Thirty Two - Dad's Not The Same
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Episode Thirty One - The Chase
A man was walking leisurely down the road. When Arunava asked where the nearest bus stop was he measured him with a mixed expression of surprise and irritation. 'No buses ply in this road. You seem to be a newcomer to this area. What happened? Your car broke down? Hmmm .. there's a mechanic who lives three kilometres down here. I can give you his number. But I need ..'Arunava knew what he needed. At other times he would've slapped him twice. Once for seeking bribe from a police officer and twice for talking too much without listening; but now in a remote place several kilometres away from Kolkata, in a devastated condition; he needed help desperately. He had tried to reach railway enquiry on mobile but could not. The internet had also stopped working. The man seemed to be a local from his accent. His torn clothes, sewed at places and a large jute bag on his shoulders told him that he was a vagabond, probably a ragpicker.. 'I want to reach the nearest railway station quickly. How far i
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Episode Thirty - Vishnu's Sword
Suddenly he felt a hand pull him away and close a door behind. There was a flicker of light and it appeared someone had lit a candle. Then everything went black around him again. When he regained consciousness he found himself lying on a cot with a pillow tucked under his head. It was day and the sunlight was streaming through the openings in the white coloured walls around him. The fragrance of agarbattis filled the room. A fair, benign, saintly man in his mind sixties was caressing his forehead. The man had long, curly hairs, a tilak drawn on his forehead and a soothing smile. In his other hand he held a rudraksha garland. 'Where am I?' Arunava asked and tried to get up. But the man gently laid him down saying 'Not now, now, you are still weak, my son' Then looking at the inquisitive expression on his face took him into confidence. 'You are in safe hands now. Don't worry. Take some more rest. Come, have this glass of milk first. Then some breakfast. I'm sure you haven't had anythin
