Week 3 Story: Ahalya, the Witch

                                                                  Image Details: Ahalya, Source: Wikimedia

It was a dark, chilly night. Sam looked at Ram, “We’re going to be late!” Ram looked at Sam with an annoyed look. “It’s because of you that we’re in this mess. If we just took the highway, we would have been at the party by now.”

Sam averted his gaze away from Ram. He knew Ram was right, but he couldn’t let him have that satisfaction. He threw his hands up in the air, “I give up! I can’t get any cell reception so let’s just wait in the car till the rain stops. Then we can go and find someone who can help us.”

Ram nodded and turned the car off. He locked the doors and reclined his chair back, closing his eyes. Sam grabbed his bag, pulled out his book and began reading. An hour later, the rain stopped, hut Ram and Sam didn’t notice as they were asleep. Sam began to wake up and looked around his surroundings.

They were parked under a huge tree in the middle of the forest. It was dark and wet; the smell of wet grass perfumed the air. Sam breathed in the air, reminiscing the past. He used to take this route with his father when they would go on their camping trips. It was ten years ago when his father went to go grab wood for their campfire and didn’t return. The police searched for weeks, scavenging the ravine and nearby sites, but no one could find a trace of him.

Sam wiped a tear traveling across his cheek and started to pack his things into his bag. He was about to wake Ram up when he hear the sound of bells. Sam looked up and his gazed around the car. “There’s no way anyone is here. Especially not this late of night,” he thought to himself. Just as he was assuring himself, he heard the sound of the bells again, only louder and coming towards them. Sam began to shake Ram, “Ram! Ram! Wake up! I can hear something coming towards us!” Ram swatted Sam away, “Are you crazy? Why would there be anybody here?”

Ram rolled over in his seat and proceeded to go back to sleep. As he was about to close his eyes, he heard a voice, “Ram, Ram,” The voice sounded sweet, like the song of a nightingale bird. Ram opened his eyes and saw a mansion across from their car on the other side of the dirt road. “Sam, did you notice that house earlier?” Ram pointed towards the mansion. Sam followed his gaze and his eyes widened, “No, I didn’t. There was nothing here when the car got stuck.”

“Let’s go see if there is anybody living there. Maybe they can help us move the car.” Ram took off his seat belt as was about to open the door when Sam grabbed him, “Are you crazy? It looks abandoned. Let’s just wait in the car till there’s enough light for us to see where we are.” Ram rolled his eyes at Sam, “If it is was up to you, we would be here forever. I know you’re freaked out because of your dad, but as long as we’re together we’ll be fine. Also, if we don’t get home soon, our moms’ are going to kill us.”

Ram unlocked the door and stepped out of car, “Are you coming?” Sam looked up at Ram, “Yeah, I’m right behind you.” Ram locked the car and the boys walked towards to cottage slowly. “This place looks creepy” said Sam. Ram didn’t say anything, but Sam knew he agreed with him. They walked up to the house and Ram knocked on the door. They heard the same voice say “Come in.” Ram opened the door and walked into the house, while Ram followed his lead. The house was dark, with a few candles lit around the room. There was a huge staircase in the middle of the house, leading up to the second story. Sam heard the sound of the bells descending from the staircase and a figure slowly appeared before them. It was woman, dressed in a white sari with loose hair walked towards the boys.

“Please, come in.” The woman smiled at the boys and asked “How may I help you?” The boys looked at each other as they were terrified, yet in awe of the woman. She was beautiful and her voice was absolutely angelic. Ram was the first to speak, “Our car got stuck in the mud and we need someone to help us.”

“Well, I don’t think I can help you with that, but I can see maybe if I can call someone to help you. Why don’t you come with me and we can make a phone call?” She turned and walked up the stairs and Ram followed her. Sam walked around the house, moving in and out of the dimly lit rooms. He decided to return to the hall when he saw another room in the corner of his eye. It was guarded by a rosewood door with various carving on it. Sam opened the door and was shocked by what he saw. The room was filled with rows and rows of statues. Sam weaved through the never ending rows, observing the humanistic features of each statue. However, there was one statue that attracted Sam’s eye. He walked over to the statue and observed its’ features. For some reason the statue looked very familiar to Sam. “No way, it can’t be…DAD” cried Sam.

“Ah, I see you have found my collection. Quite impressive, isn’t it?” Sam turned around and saw the woman behind him. She smiled and walked towards Sam. “Don’t act surprised. I know you came here to see the witch who turns men into stone.” Sam glared at her, “Who are you? What you want?” The woman placed her hand on his chest and looked into his eyes, “My name is Ahalya and you know what I want.”

Authors Note: This story was inspired by the story of Ahalya from the Ramayana. I wanted to take the character of Ahalya and wanted to make it seem like she was taking revenge on Indra for causing her to turn into stone by turning other men into stone. The characters of Ram and Sam were slightly inspired by Ram and Lakshmana from the Ramayana. However, for the story, I just wanted Ram and Sam to seem like innocent victims of Ahalya's plan instead of being her saviors and changing her back into a human.

Bibliography: R.K. Narayan, "The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic" 1972.