The Curse

         Shrill screech of tires against the wet pavement sounded too close. Ahantan did not have time to react, and the hit wasn’t easy on him. He flew a few feet away from the truck and banged his head against the nearby lamppost. Immobilized with shock, Ahantan felt warm blood surge down his neck. He never imagined his perpetual body would collapse just because of a truck hit. His breathing rasped and consciousness dwindled as blackness enveloped him. The last thing he remembered was the worried face of a man looming over him.

*******

         A strange chemical smell filled his nostrils. Ahantan pushed open his heavy eyelids.

         A motherly nurse rushed towards him. “Are you feeling alright?”

         Ahantan nodded and tried to brush away his grogginess.

         “You should sleep now. It’s a pretty nasty hit you have taken to your head,” she grimaced pointing at his heavily bandaged head. “But don’t worry. You will be up and about soon. Thanks to the kind man who brought you here on time, our doctors were able to save you.”

         “Where is he?” Ahantan’s voice sounded hoarse.

         “He left as soon as we started your treatment.”

         Ahantan has already decided to repay the man who saved his life. “Did he leave his name or address in the hospital register?”

         The elderly nurse creased her eyebrows in concentration. “I am afraid he did not. Anyways, I will check.” A concerned look came over her face, “You should sleep now. Press the buzzer if you need anything, young man. I am stationed just around the corner.”

         “Alright,” he said.

         The nurse walked out and closed the doors behind her. Ahantan looked around. Except for the table near his bed, the room was empty. His watch, wallet and other valuables were placed on the table. He glanced at the IV attached to his wrist. For the first time in his life he experienced mortality to this degree.

         He checked his watch and sighed. One more hour for the eclipse to complete… Nothing he can do till the hour ends. He sat upright and dismissed the wave of dizziness that followed. Ahantan took a deep breath and summoned patience. The puppies playing outside the window caught his attention. A smile tugged his lips as it reminded him of his childhood. He spent the next hour watching them play-fight, chase and tumble over each other.

         His watch beeped. Yes. The total solar eclipse has ended. Unstoppable energy coursed through his body. Ahantan smiled and flexed his fingers. For a mere mortal it would have taken months for this injury to heal but for Ahantan it took only few seconds. His head was alright with a tap of his finger on the injury. He swung his legs off the bed and came to his feet in one swift movement. After making sure he is not leaving behind any of his possessions, he strode out of the room. His quick interrogation with the receptionist turned out useless. He has to find the man on his own, daunting but not impossible. Ahantan slipped out of the hospital.

         He blanketed the town with infringement spell once more. Satisfied that he would be alerted to any crime taking place in any corner of the town, Ahantan devoted his last day in Sagalapuram to identify the man who saved him. The cool breeze caressed his face as he walked across the streets, carefully scanning the face of every by passer.

*******

         The sun faded away and with it went Ahantan’s hopes of finding the man. Ahantan walked in to a restaurant as his stomach rumbled. He ordered many unusual dishes of Sagalapuram for his last dinner in this flamboyant town. By tomorrow morning he would return to his homeland -- after a hundred years. The thought filled him with exuberant joy.

         Though he had been to all the towns in this nation, Sagalapuram would always be the place closest to his heart. This is where he will be freed of his curse. As he munched on the strange but delicious food, his infringement spell alerted him of crime in the richest household of Sagalapuram -- it is to take place around midnight. Ahantan frowned. An alert for crime in Sagalapuram? But he expected none. He stuffed what remained of his dinner in his mouth and strolled towards the house his spell had pointed out. Ahantan must eliminate crime before dawn, without which he cannot wave good bye to his curse.

         The curse. He clenched his fists. The curse had driven him away from his homeland. A hundred years back he disturbed a meditating sage by accident. He never expected to be cursed for such a trivial offense. But the sage, well known for his bad temper and peerless powers, wasted no time in cursing him. On every total solar eclipse Ahantan would lose his wizard powers and would be a mortal till the solar eclipse ended. The curse did not bother Ahantan but the father of his love was determined that Ahantan can marry his daughter only if he gets rid of this curse.

         Ahantan searched for the sage through wild jungles and scorching deserts. After two years of arduous search, Ahantan found the sage and pleaded him to remove his curse. But the sage replied that cosmic laws allowed no one to be freed from a curse without retribution. The sage’s words still echoed in Ahantan’s ears – “Ahanta! Eradicate crime in five-thousand towns of Yavanavartam within a century. If you succeed, the curse shall remove itself and you would reap the benefits of abolishing crime in the whole kingdom -- your powers will triple. If you fail, you will be under the curse for the rest of your life. ”

*******

         Ahantan estimated it would take the whole night to go through every room of this palatial house before the robber could locate the treasure room. Standing in the deserted street, Ahantan gazed at the house that is asleep. He shivered as the chill air ruffled his clothes. With a simple spell, Ahantan entered the house without arousing anyone. He located the robber in the first floor of the house. Ahantan stood in one corner of the long corridor and watched the silhouette of the robber peering into a huge vault.

         Ahantan guessed the robber should be new to this crime. His hands trembled as he bundled some cash and rolled them in a newspaper before dumping the package in a back bag. He kept glancing sideways. Ahantan’s body shuddered as he readied himself to chant the deadly spell to kill the robber. He sighed. In spite of so many kills in the last hundred years, he still hated the killing part in his otherwise enjoyable hunt for criminals. But killing has become necessary.

         During the earlier days of his criminal hunt, Ahantan had no problem in locating or stopping the crime with his magical powers. But the problem is the attempts at thieving and murdering by the criminals in the region never stopped. One particular night, Ahantan lost his temper and killed a rapist. The local police were baffled when they found the dead body. They couldn’t name the cause of death since Ahantan had used magic to kill him. From that day Ahantan decided to kill the criminals, for he learned nothing instilled fear in the minds of mortals like fear of death. He lurked in the shadows and never revealed his presence during the kill and left a local deity’s talisman near the dead body. This led people to believe that their Gods are punishing the offenders. Ahantan had to kill five to ten criminals in a town before the fear of death gripped the criminals in that region and changed their profession.

         Ahantan had already killed eight criminals in Sagalapuram and it had been three months since any crime took place. He clenched his teeth. Except for this one. Rage coursed through his body as he glanced towards the robber who is now looking for something in his bag. This one is posing serious threat to his freedom from the curse. Ahantan steadied himself once more to chant the complex spell to kill, but the words choked in his throat. As the robber switched on a small torch light, Ahantan saw the face of the man in the faint light. He is the one who saved Ahantan this morning.

         Perspiration dotted his forehead and Ahantan backed few paces away from the robber. He cannot kill someone who had saved his life. Ahantan had been searching for this man to reward him, not to do away with his life. He breathed deeply and analyzed his options. Either kill the man and go home happily or let the man live and endure the curse for the rest of his life, not to mention sacrificing his lady love. No. Ahantan has to kill the man. If he let this man walk out, next day people will learn that the richest household of the town has been robbed, yet no dead body. This will demolish the fear that Ahantan has induced in people’s mind and slowly criminals would gather their strength again. This might even reach other towns in the kingdom.

         Yes, killing this man is the best option. But he couldn’t bring himself to dispatch the person who rescued him from the clutches of near death. If he killed the robber today, his own conscience would kill Ahantan for the rest of his life. Now he has to choose between living with the curse and a guilty conscience for the rest of his life. The clock ticked and Ahantan bathed in his own sweat. The robber prepared to leave. It’s time to strike.

         “Don’t move,” Ahantan’s voice was barely audible, but the robber froze. Ahantan snatched the torch and the back bag from the robbers hand by chanting a spell under his breath.

         “Please forgive me, My Lord.” The robber fell on his knees and sobbed, “You know, I would have never stooped down to robbery if it’s not for the crisis.”

          Lord? Did the robber mistake Ahantan for the local deity? Maybe it’s his use of magic to snatch the robber’s things away from him. Perhaps, that has caused him to think that Ahantan is some powerful God of this town? He mused over these thoughts and played along. Standing in the darkest corner of the corridor where he would not be seen, Ahantan said, “No crisis gave you the rights to take something which is not yours.”

         “Yes, My Lord. Forgive me. Please forgive this poor man,” his body rocked as he sobbed. “There is nothing you don’t know of, My Lord. My five-year-old daughter is dying of a deadly disease but I don’t have the money to save her. No one is there to help me. That’s why….” The robber bawled, unable to continue.

         Relief flooded Ahantan’s heart. This man is not a robber, but he has been forced to rob by the circumstances. “I did not come to listen to your excuses. I am here to serve justice.” Ahantan sighed audibly and continued, “But you saved a life this morning and you are not a professional thief. Considering these, I might give you a reprieve if you agree to my terms.”

         The robber visibly relaxed. His eyes shined with expectation as he asked, “What should I do to earn the forgiveness of your kind heart, My Lord? I will do anything but please don’t kill me. Please have mercy.”

         “You may walk out of this place but you should never ever think of robbery or other crimes in your life and you should never speak of this encounter with anyone.” The torch and the back bag flew to the robber’s hand. Ahantan removed the stolen cash from the bag and returned it to the vault, all through magical means without exposing himself to the robber.

         “Thank you, My Lord.” Tears welled up in his eyes and streaked down his cheeks “I will never think of robbery and I will never mention of this to anyone. Not even to my wife.”

         “Your head would blast on its own the moment you break your word,” Ahantan said.

         “No. I wouldn’t dare, My Lord.” He clasped his hands together as if in prayer and said, “Thank you so much. I will live a life of gratitude in your service, My Lord.”

         “You may go,” Ahantan said.

         The robber hurried out of the house.

         Two hours later Ahantan was walking towards the only hospital in the town. After a quick search he found the robber in the general ward, holding the hand of a little girl lying in the bed. Ahantan performed a complex enchantment on the girl.

         The dawn saw the girl cured of her illness and Ahantan free of his curse. No more killing. Oh yes, Ahantan considered visiting other kingdoms to eradicate crime using his amplified powers, without bloodshed. Maybe later, but for now all he wanted was the smell of his homeland soil, food prepared by his mother and of course, the wedding with his love.

*******