At the dinner table that night, Bhatnagar Ji's wife and son had a lively conversation. However, Bhatnagar Ji kept avoiding his wife's gaze. The redness in her eyes that he'd noticed when handing her the earthen cup of rabdi earlier in the evening had left him shaken inside. But until something unusual or untoward happened, he didn’t want to say anything for no reason. There was no point in worrying his son unnecessarily with suspicions or fears.
Still, Bhatnagar Ji took a small precaution. He felt there might be some supernatural occurrence that night, so he decided not to sleep. What if he fell into a deep sleep and his wife was troubled by some ghostly presence? Moreover, his son was only home for a few days during his holidays; if he saw such nonsense, it would distract him from his studies when he returned.
However, after dinner, sleep is inevitable, so he kept his wife and son engaged in conversation while merely pretending to eat. He didn’t actually consume anything. He didn’t even touch the rabdi. Whenever he got the chance, he discreetly threw the puri, vegetables, and raita to the side, chewing and pretending to eat, making it seem like he was eating. Soon, they would all head to the bedroom. How would his wife ever know? By morning, he could make all sorts of excuses.
"Oh, what's all this mess here? Who dropped the puri? Oh, how did the rabdi spoon end up here? Maybe the cat came in last night."
But as long as he stayed awake, at least he could handle things if some spirit tried to cause trouble! His wife’s eyes were still red. Bhatnagar Ji felt sure that the sinister face of that old beggar woman would cause some mischief. Hadn’t he seen how she boldly stretched out her hand to beg after glaring at him with her eyebrows raised? She had jumped at the sight of loose change. Even yesterday, how shamelessly she had slurped down the leftover rabdi—whether in a dream or in reality. For these ghosts, what’s the difference between dreams and reality? They can come and go anywhere. Their souls are restless because of their own deeds, and they trouble others.
It was natural for Bhatnagar Ji to feel angry. A hungry man is bound to think all sorts of irrational things. But tonight, he didn’t want to take any chances. He had heard that ghosts and other such forces fear fire. So he secretly searched for matches, a lighter, and a torch, and hid them under his pillow. He even found an old candle leftover from last Diwali and carefully placed it under his bed.
Even though divine forces don’t fear worldly objects like sticks, knives, or daggers, he thought it was better to be prepared. Why be careless when you know something? His safety was in his own hands. So, he gathered whatever objects he could find and hid them in a corner.
Meanwhile, his wife and son were so engrossed in their conversation that they had no idea what sort of scheme Bhatnagar Ji was cooking up.
When Bhatnagar Ji came back to the room after changing into his nightclothes from the washroom, he saw that his son was using a small bottle to put some medicine in his mother's eyes.
Seeing him, his son said, "Papa, did you know? While we were sitting in the lawn this evening, a mosquito flew into Mom’s eye. It got really red. I got the mosquito out immediately, but now a little eye drop will fix the irritation completely."
“Oh!” said Bhatnagar Ji, stunned. Suddenly, he felt pangs of hunger.
(Continued…)
