Devil on Kusum's Bed

Shashwat and Kusum recently got married. Both are educated. Shashwat is a software engineer at a multinational company, while Kusum is a homemaker.

Kusum's father runs a tiffin centre in the city. It is renowned for its delicious tiffins. People placed online orders from across the city. Shashwat's parents reside near the tiffin centre. They purchase tiffins from here. In the process, Shashwat's father and Kusum's father became good friends.

Kusum was 5ft 4 in. tall, white, with a long, straight nose and bright, wide eyes. She had a well-structured body for her height. The boys and girls of the college considered her the most beautiful. Boys wanted to catch a glimpse of her beauty, and girls envied her.  

*

Ranga was her classmate in UG. Ranga's parents were from another State. They sold sofas, chairs, and other items from a roadside tented shop. 

Ranga gets breakfast for his parents from the tiffin centre. Kusum packed the breakfast items for the take-home customers and online delivery boys. Hence, Kusum knew Ranga from the tiffin centre and as her classmate.

Ranga was deeply attracted to Kusum and was crazy about her. But she never cared for him.

*

Kusum's parents were looking for marriage proposals. Ranga  was eager to marry her and always followed her. Her father noticed and warned him.

Ranga said to her father, "If you permit, I will marry your daughter."

Kusum and her father were furious about his behaviour. Kusum's father warned him to concentrate on his work; otherwise, he would face serious consequences. Ranga, in his youth, did not consider the warning seriously and told everyone he would marry Kusum. This way, he foiled Kusum's marriage proposals.

Kusum's father was vexed with his behaviour and thought of a solution. 

*

Shashwat's parents were looking for a girl. Since Shashwat's father knew Kusum at the tiffin centre and her father as well, he approached Kusum's parents. They agreed. Shashwat was captivated by Kusum's beauty, and Shashwat's mother approved of the girl.

Kusum's parents were happy to have a Software Engineer as their son-in-law. The marriage was celebrated on a grand scale. 

Immediately after their marriage, they went on a honeymoon to Kerala, where they trekked in the Munnar hills and houseboated on the Alleppey backwaters. During these honeymoon days, Kusum wore a short gown, which made her look even more attractive to Shashwat. Wearing a T-shirt and shorts, Shashwat revealed his thick, masculine hair on his thighs and legs, making him look even more handsome to Kusum. The honeymoon trip strengthened their love for each other.

To date, they have been staying at Shashwat's parents' and visiting Kusum's parents'.

*

Shashwat and Kusum considered living separately, so they rented an independent house between their parents' homes. Kusum's father was reluctant because it had been abandoned for a few months. Shashwat and Kusum thought the house was an independent one, with a backyard, to enjoy after the initial days of their marriage. Kusum decorated the bedroom as she wished. They enjoyed each other's company.

*

It was late Friday night. Kusum saw a figure dressed in loose white clothing enter and try to sit beside her. She was afraid, screamed, woke up, and began to cry. Shashwat was at her bedside. He woke to her screaming, gave her water, then asked what the problem was.

She said, "She found a devil sitting beside her bed and was afraid."

Shashwat put on the lights, checked the entire house, and found none. He said, "You saw a ghost cinema on TV and slept with that in mind. Hence, you have a devil in dreams."

Don't be afraid. I am by your side; nothing will happen to you. He consoled her, hugged her, patted her back and told her to take deep breaths and pray to God. With his consoling, she slept that night.

After that night, Shashwat kept an eye on her; she was normal in all her activities.

*

It was the following Friday. They slept happily together. There was the devil again in white loose robes, sitting on the corner table, looking at Kusum with eyes wide open. When the devil moved aside, the water bottle on the table fell with a loud noise. Shashwat and Kusum got out of bed and wanted to find out how the bottle had fallen. Kusum was holding Shashwat out of fear. She saw the same white robed devil on the table. She was terrified and fell on the bed. The devil was not visible to Shashwat. As she fell, a dove flew away through the window grill. Shashwat blamed the dove for the water bottle's fall. He thought of installing bird netting on the windows. He cleaned the floor with a cloth, consoled his wife, and they slept.

*

The rest of the week went off peacefully. Shashwat and Kusum were enjoying each other's company. This Friday, a new picture of his favourite hero was released, and Shashwat booked two tickets online for the second show. Shashwat and Kusum went to the picture and returned by 2.00 am the next day.

Shashwat unlocked the door, and they went inside the house. Kusum went to her bathroom to change her dress. As she switched on the light and entered, she cried aloud and fell on the floor. Shashwat heard her cry and the sound of her falling. He went into the bathroom, lifted her, and placed her on the bed. By this time, she awoke.

Shashwat asked her what the problem was.

She said, "She saw the same devil in the bathroom. The devil wanted to catch hold of me, and I was afraid and fell."

Shashwat said to her, "In these days of the 21st century, when technology is advancing at an enormous speed, you are thinking of devils. There are no devils. Your mind created the devil. The devil is of your imagination. Don't be afraid, pray to God and sleep.

*

Shashwat contacted his father-in-law and informed him of the developments.

Kusum's father said, "I advised you earlier not to take that house, as people believed it was haunted by a devil."

Shashwat was very much confused. As a Computer Science engineer, he did not believe in ghosts or devils. On Monday, he discussed the matter with his friends. They advised him to get a dog. He brought a dog home on Friday. Kusum asked him what the dog was for.

He said, "We humans imagine devils and ghosts, as we have imagination power. Animals cannot think, so they do not know of any devil or ghost. This dog will bark at any new entrant, whether it is a devil or human, and threaten the devil with his barking and remove your fear." 

Shashwat made the dog sniff and recognise Kusum. She was fascinated by the dog as it moved through the house, sniffing.

*

Shashwat and Kusum slept that night as usual. At about 1.00 am, the devil entered the house through the window grill and sat on Kusum's bedside. It tried to put its hand on her. Kusum was afraid and rose to touch. She found the same devil in white robes on the bed. With fear in her eyes and her body shivering, she wanted to shout but could not get a sound out of her throat. At that moment, the dog barked and jumped on the devil. The devil fell flat on the floor, and the dog sat on it.

Kusum sat on the bed, shivering. Shashwat got up from the bed and observed the devil lying flat on the floor, motionless and the ferocious dog on it.

Shashwat was also afraid, not knowing what to do. Kusum came to her senses, called her father, and asked him to come immediately. He came in worried, only to see the white-robed devil lie on the floor.

*

Kusum's father said, "The devil was that of Ranga, who was craving for Kusum, and I killed him and buried him in the backyard of this house, as it was vacant then."

As Kusum's father told how he killed Ranga, the white-robed devil vanished into the air, and an 8-foot-long cobra, hissing with anger, appeared, wrapped around Kusum's father's two legs and bit his two hands as he tried to force it off.

Kusum's father fell to the floor, froth from his mouth. Shashwat took him to the nearest hospital, where he was declared dead. That way Ranga took his revenge.

The cobra danced with its hood up, and the dog caught it below the hood and pierced its teeth into it. The cobra lost its blood and breath and died. The dog was barking at a high pitch.

Kusum started weeping for her father.

Shashwat called the exorcist and completed the cobra's funeral rites.

*

Shashwat shifted to a 2BHK apartment. After eleven days of completing all the formalities of her father's death, Kusum took a head bath. Her fears of the devil were gone. She looked fresh and beautiful as usual, and they both started enjoying their new life in the flat from that night.

***The End***