A Terrible Time Travel

Utso Bhattacharyya

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I heard the ‘slosh’ sound again, even closer this time. I felt a cold breath on the back of my neck, as if something icy was paralyzing my entire body with fear. I lost the courage to turn around and look behind me.

It was on that day that I encountered such an unknown danger. The terror I faced that evening still haunts me like a nightmare. But who knows better than I do that it wasn’t a nightmare? Even today, when I remember that incident, my entire body shivers in fear. In school, I had learned about mimicry and coloration in Biology—the way creatures hide themselves for protection or to catch prey. But I never realized that some unknowable past entities, zonal characteristics, and events could lie in wait to devour the present ones. My thoughts are jumbled due to the overwhelming fear. Let me start from the beginning.

It was about three years ago. The sky had been gloomy all day, and it was raining continuously in torrents. Occasionally, the sky would split open with flashes of lightning, followed by deafening thunder, as if Indra, the god of rain, was furiously striking down with his thunderbolt to destroy Vritrasura. After several days of continuous rain, there seemed to be a brief pause in the downpour. On that day, an aunt and uncle of distant relation came to our house. Their only son’s wedding was approaching, and they had come to invite us. We hadn’t seen each other for a long time, though we had once been quite close. The afternoon passed in conversation, reminiscing about old times. When you start talking about the joys and sorrows of the past, time seems to stand still in the warmth of intimacy.

Just as they were about to leave, it started raining heavily again. They hurried to leave as soon as the rain let up a bit, and I offered to walk them to the auto stand nearby. Our house is tucked away deep within an old neighborhood filled with narrow, winding lanes. After getting them into an auto, I started walking back. Suddenly, all the streetlights went out. Load shedding, I thought. In this kind of weather, such things happen. I had my mobile phone with me, which had a torch, so I wasn’t too worried. But when I pulled out my phone, I was shocked to see it flash a low battery warning a few times before it died! I was surprised, as I hadn’t used the phone much during the day. It shouldn’t have switched off like that.

Though the roads were familiar, the sudden darkness disoriented me. I had never seen such pitch darkness at dusk before! Though the rain had eased up, the dense, dark clouds seemed to have absorbed all the light from the world. Not a single star was visible in the sky. I somehow adjusted my eyes to the darkness and began to make my way home. Birds usually seek safe shelter during the rainy season, but suddenly, an unknown bird screeched harshly three times. I don’t know what it was, but that sound filled me with a growing sense of unease.

The rain had left waterlogged areas everywhere, and the frogs had begun their chorus. There was also the fear of snakes, so I moved cautiously. But as I proceeded into the thick darkness, the familiar streets began to feel completely unfamiliar. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could make out the old, palatial houses lining the road on both sides. From those houses, I felt as if unseen eyes were watching me. Those burning coal-like gazes felt like they were piercing me, as if ancient, hungry eyes were trying to devour me. Occasionally, lightning flashed, and in its blue light, I saw skeletal figures. These figures seemed out of place among the grand old houses. The juxtaposition of poverty and grandeur was beyond my imagination. Those skeletal, famished figures extended a bowl towards me, chanting something in a monotonous tone. At first, I couldn’t understand what they were saying. I felt like I had become a statue, petrified by Medusa’s gaze. I couldn’t move forward, but my senses were still functioning. I could hear the hissing of Medusa’s hair-snakes vividly. Slowly, their words became clear to me. They were pleading in a pitiful, hoarse voice like machines, “A little rice starch, please… a little…”

The moment I heard those words, it was as if a jolt of electricity ran through my body. Where was I? What time was this? How did I end up in a place where even begging was so difficult? A thousand questions were racing through my mind, but there was no way to get answers.

I mustered up the courage to break free from the inexplicable charm of that mysterious black hole in time. Without looking anywhere else, I started moving forward. But where was I to go? Everything felt so unfamiliar! The deafening noise was becoming unbearable. Despite my unwillingness, my eyes were drawn to the source of the commotion. But what I saw would have been better left unseen. A group of armed men were slaughtering defenseless men and women with naked swords, playing a gruesome game of bloodshed. Innocent people were being sacrificed in this ghastly ritual. Even the innocent children were not spared. But what was their sin? In the flash of lightning, the scene remained unchanged, but the human forms turned into terrifying non-human skeletal shapes. As I kept witnessing these otherworldly scenes, my head began to spin. I still shudder at the thought of what might have happened if I had lost consciousness there and then—if I would have ever returned to this world. I don’t know what good fortune allowed me to remain conscious despite everything. Somehow, I staggered past those demonic beings’ frenzied celebration and the pitiful cries of the victims.

And just then, I heard the ‘slosh’ sound of someone trudging through water and mud, coming towards me with an inescapable force. Was it my turn now? Would I too meet a terrible end? And that too, in such an unknown place at such an ungodly hour? Though I initially froze with fear, I started moving quickly, chanting the name of God. That ominous presence seemed to be getting closer to me. I felt its icy breath on my neck. The lightning was splitting the sky open; was it about to do the same to my flesh? The thought made my blood run cold. I had felt fear many times before, but this was the first time I truly experienced the helplessness of mortal fear up close!

I glanced at the radium dial of my wristwatch and saw that it had stopped at six o’clock. My time had apparently stopped long ago! Was I even alive? Or had I died long before…

Suddenly, the sound of the evening prayers from the temple reached my ears. With the sound of the temple bells, that strange world seemed to retreat once more behind a cosmic curtain. Something had again been hidden, something that would never be lost through the ages and would strike again, one day, at any time, in search of its prey. The path to salvation is undefined—so is the terror.

For the time being, the temple bells brought me some relief, and just then, the streetlights came back on. It was as if I had returned to the light of life from the darkness of death. The fear remained, though—it will stay with me for life. Perhaps the curtain will rise again, and they will return, in search of prey.

Dr. Utso Bhattacharyya, a renowned author, researcher, and educationist from West Bengal, India, earned his postgraduate degree from IIT Bombay and conducted acclaimed cancer research at IISc Bangalore. His scientific work, honored with Vasudevamurthy Sundararajan Award, is published in top journals. A celebrated writer, he authored Sanspandan, Nishiddha Avisar, and Atonker Utso-Kotha, and edited numerous anthologies. His works have aired on Akashvani Kolkata and Sunday Suspense, gaining global recognition in magazines across all continents. Recipient of the International Excellence Award, R.N. Tagore Literary Award, and World Book Record, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate for contributions to literature and science.