Scripted in Sanity

E - EVIL EYE DELIVERANCE

Monday, 3rd April 2017, 10:33 p.m.
The Nadar household, Rameswaram (India)

Our Father, Who Art In Heaven

Hallowed Be Thy Name

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Will Be Done

On Earth, As It Is In Heaven

Give Us This Day

Our Daily Bread

And Forgive Us Our Trespasses

As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us

And Lead Us Not Into Temptation

But Deliver Us From All Evil...

AMEN.

It was an unwritten rule at Little Timmy's house to say the Lord's Prayer every night before going to bed. His eyes would usually stay half open throughout the routine, but over the past week he had been reciting the prayer like a zealot. A bully from the 6th grade had been making lunch breaks a nightmare for him over the past month.

He had heard quite a bit about 'bad boys' from friends in his colony and from cousins, about how they would usually be tall and hefty and mean-looking. This guy though, didn't quite fit the bill. Nagesh was at least an inch shorter, almost wafer-thin, and to an outsider he would easily come across like an average Joe...until he opened his uncouth mouth. Timmy himself did not think much of him until he had a run-in with him one March afternoon over a stolen pen. Since then, life at school had been miserable.

Since then Nagesh would rough him up everyday - sometimes tripping him in the corridors, sometimes snatching his meals away, sometimes yanking his bag off his back and dropping it on the floor, and on really bad days being knocked on the head by Nagesh's clenched fist. Tim had tried everything to make this stop - prayers, avoiding been seen in the school corridors during breaks and after school, making sure he hung around teachers and elders - but nothing seemed to be working. Of course, the only thing he didn't dare to do was complain to his teachers or his parents. He was certain he'd get killed if he did that. He was terribly shaken on the inside.

Tuesday, 4th April 2017, 1:03 p.m.,
Lunch Time at Vikas Public School, Rameswaram (India)

Timmy picks himself and his lunchbox up, pats the dust off of himself, and goes to the wash basin to clear any evidence of a scuffle. He then goes back to the canteen table where Ronit was waiting for him. He begins eating without saying a word; Ronit doesn't bother him either.

Five minutes later, Ronit decides to break the silence.

"Did you try speaking to your mum?"

"No."

"How long will you tolerate this?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe you should speak to the Principal?"

"Who wants to get killed?"

"But you WON'T get killed"

"Yeah, right."

Both boys went back to completing their meals.

Nagesh never picked on Ronit. Beating Punjabi stereotypes, he was weak and skinny. Even the girls could beat him to pulp if they tried. Timmy wondered how he had managed to stay safe. The fact was that Ronit's dad happened to be Nagesh's boss at work. Knowing his ways, and unknown to the world, Nagesh's parents had strictly instructed him to steer clear of Ronit. Of course, Timmy didn't know this, and he was disappointed with his luck.

Timmy was almost done with hie lunch when he finally saw the badge on Ronit's bag.

"What is this?"

"I don't know much...but Maa calls it Nazar Battu."

"Nazar Battu...it looks kinda scary. Is it a demon?"

"Not quite...Maa says it wards off evil."

"I've seen this somewhere else."

"On trucks and lorries? Maybe on walls? We all have seen it somewhere."

"Can I keep it for a day or two?"

"Umm...Okay."

They walked back to class.

He tapped Romit on his saw it on his their Nagesh would rough him up everyday - sometimes tripping him in the corridors, sometimes snatching his meals away, sometimes yanking his bag off his back and dropping it on the floor, and on really bad days being knocked on the head by Nagesh's clenched fist. Tim had tried everything to make this stop - prayers, avoiding been seen in the school corridors during breaks and after school, making sure he hung around teachers and elders - but nothing seemed to be working. Of course, the only thing he

Tuesday, 4th April 2017, 10:28 p.m.,

The Nadar household, Rameswaram (India)

Our Father, Who Art In Heaven

Hallowed Be Thy Name

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Will Be Done

On Earth, As It Is In Heaven...

Timmy's mom was observing his every move. She was having mixed feelings. On one hand, she was concerned about her son's sudden change in behaviour. On the other hand, his dedication to prayer filled her with a sense of pride about the quality of her upbringing.

...Give Us This Day

Our Daily Bread

And Forgive Us Our Trespasses

As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us...

'Aww'...she sighed in her mind, 'My Son's such an innocent Angel'.

...And Lead Us Not Into Temptation

She was now imagining her son in a priest's cassock. 'Now, now...Maybe he'll be better as a Doctor or an Engineer.'

...But Deliver Us From All Evil...

AMEN.

To his mom's horror, Timmy then pulled the Nazar Battu badge out of his shirt pocket and kissed it.

Please feel free to leave comments, whether or not you liked what you read. It's a great way to start a conversation or a dialogue. I might be pretty boring in real life, but I promise I'm a lot more fun in this avatar.

Here's thanking Mumbai-based blogger and Instagrammer Arti S for the image of the Nazar Battu. For the uninitiated, the Nazar Battu is a charm that is largely used in North Indian and in Pakistan to ward off the 'evil eye' - it is used to deliberately add blemish or imperfection so as to prevent envy or jealousy, or even evil of the netherworld. Arti and I have been following each other on Instagram since a couple of months now. I only recently discovered that she is a blogger. As her blog url and pics on her Instagram, page would suggest, she loves travelling and discovering new places, with her father. In her words, she considers her trips as continuous learning journeys within, where she seeks to discover and experience the real treasures of life. She blogs at www.myyatradiary.com and her Instagram URL is www.instagram.com/artisdiary/

Previous posts in the A to Z Challenge - April 2017:-

A - All Apologies

B - Baptism
C - Chains
D - Door To My Heart

D - DOOR TO MY HOUSE

When I was a child, my folks would always make sure they looked after my house. I rarely had to worry about keeping the house in order while they had my back. Therefore, at that age, I wouldn't care whether the door was left carelessly open, or whether it was kept securely shut. I knew there were people around to ensure my house was safe at all times. Those were the best days of my life.

A few years down the line, when I was old enough, I got a chance to manage my own house independently. I somehow felt my house was always empty. I then decided that I wouldn't keep the doors shut. So I left the door wide open, and soon enough, hordes of people began entering and leaving my house at will. Some of them stayed for a long time, some left in a hurry, but most of them (barring a few kind souls) made sure they took something along with them while on their way out. As a result, my house was left ravaged and broken down within no time.

I then realised it would be wise to be a little more careful with the safety of my house. Therefore, I decided to keep the door shut at all times, and to open it only when someone trustworthy made an attempt to arrive at the door and to knock on it. This approach didn't help much though. Not many showed up at the door. The few people who did were those who had come by to sell their wares. Because I hadn't gotten a peephole made for the door then, it was hard for me to identify who had come calling. As a result, I was invariably forced to welcome even unwanted guests and intruders whenever I opened the door. Consequently, I ended up giving away all that I ever had in return for things that I didn't need. To make matters worse, sometimes people would knock at the door and scoot as soon as I would open it, leaving me deeply frustrated.

At this juncture, I decided to get a peephole installed. It felt like my best decision ever. I could finally see who was at the door. It helped me get rid of the menace of unwanted guests and pranksters. I realised I could now also decide whether or not to open the door when loved ones and friends came by, especially at times when I wanted to be alone. The peephole gave me a great sense of control. Never before had I felt so powerful.

And so for years together, I exercised my power and control to my heart's content. I could now decide who could enter my house. My loved ones and friends saw the power I yielded, and could do nothing about it. I was finally happy. Life was finally good...or so it seemed.

Till one day, many years later, people stopped coming at all, Friends avoided me, loved ones kept to themselves. Even the pranksters stayed away. I began to felt terribly lonely again. I was slowly sinking into depression. I craved some sort of human interaction.

I had to get rid of my loneliness quickly.

So I finally pulled the door down. I sat myself down on a chair, at the exact spot where the door once stood, and waited for people to show up so I could welcome them.

No one came.

So this was about the door to my HOUSE, right? Or was this about the door to my HEART?

A big thank you to Ashima Raizada for the wonderful image. Started following her only recently. She's an engineer by training with a keen interest in art and photography. She firmly believes that indulging in the arts helps a person overcome his/her limitations and explore new realms of his/her personality. She has a massive fan following on Instagram. Take a look at her photography skills and you'll know why she has more than 28,000 followers. Her Instagram URL is https://www.instagram.com/ashimaraizada

Previous posts in the A to Z Challenge - April 2017:-

A - All Apologies

B - Baptism
C - Chains

C – CHAINED

Kajal gazed deeply into the mirror. Her eyes stayed transfixed on her reflection in the mirror. Her kohl-rimmed eyes left her spellbound. The soft curves of her high cheekbones added a diva-like aura to her angelic face. Her sharp and slightly upturned nose made her look like a fairy. Her lips were full and seductive. Her skin was almost flawless now, barring a few eruptions here and there. Her shoulder-length hair was well-oiled and brushed back on one side.

Kajal liked what she saw. Everything was seemingly perfect. Yet, something was missing. Everything was missing.

She went back to her bed and lay herself down to rest. Her eyes darted towards the wall-clock – it was 8 pm already. Parth would usually come home from work by 7 everyday; he was very particular about his priorities. She had been his priority, ever since they had begun seeing each other at the workplace five years ago. She remembered how he’d promised her that if they’d ever get married, he’d keep her in his well-furnished house, that he’d let her groom herself like a princess, that he’d let her lie all day in bed and not need to as much as even lift a finger, and that he’d spent most of their life in each other’s company; there’d be no one else between them.

She nodded to herself. Indeed, he had kept his promise for all for years of their married life. She shouldn’t be having any complaints.

She had almost fallen asleep when she heard the keys making their way into the key hole. It took only a couple of seconds for the door to swing open, and her handsome husband to walk in. She quickly sat up in her bed.

“Hey Sweety”, he smiled, “Are you feeling sleepy already?”

She merely nodded her head. She could only muster half a smile.

“Here’s something I got you. I’m pretty sure you’ll love it.”

He pulled out a velvet box from his bag and placed it gently in her outstretched hands. She opened it and saw beautiful anklets.

“Silver”, he continued, “They’ll make your beautiful feet look even more heavenly.”

She nodded in agreement and proceeded to put them on. He was right, they added grace to her feet.

“Beautiful”, he said as he got up.

“Paaarthhh…” she blurted out in a whimper, “Can I go visit my mom once? She….”

He turned to look at her, the calm smile now having made way for a snarl, “We’ve had this conversation before!”, he took two quick steps towards her bed and raised his finger, “I’ve told you a million times now, it’s just you and me from here on…NOBODY ELSE!”

He then turned back and walked out of the room in anger.

Kajal put her head down, almost as if she had submitted to her fate…again.

She looked at her anklets and thought to herself, ‘What beautiful chains for a prisoner.’

A special word of thanks to Ashwini Sharma for the image. I have been following her on Instagram since a couple of months now. She is an IT Engineer based in Bangalore. As she would like to describe herself, she likes to take a little interest in everything under the sun. She believes in enjoying the simple things in life, loves travelling and loves experimenting with her looks. As her Instagram handle suggests, her everyday inspiration is the L'il girl living inside her! Her Instagram URL is https://www.instagram.com/ashlilgurlatheart/

Previous posts in the A to Z Challenge - April 2017:-

A - All Apologies

B - Baptism