There was something about afternoons by the countryside ghats.

Mrinalini closed her eyes, and drew in a deep breath. The cool water of the lily pond lapped her feet as she sat on the last step of the ghat. 

The hardworking men and women of the village had retired for an afternoon siesta. The children were yet to hit the grounds for their daily game of cricket or football. Not a soul was around. 

This must be what peace feels like. 

Tears escaped her eyelids. Peace was what she had been frantically looking for in the last few months… the agony, the taunts and jeers she had held in herself, finally seemed to be oozing out through her tears. 

“You know what these water lilies symbolize?” A sing-song voice brought Mrinalini back to earth. 

She knew who it was even without turning her head…the last person she wanted to see right now. She quickly patted her cheeks dry with her dupatta. 

“Don’t hide your tears from me. Let them flow free, ” The owner of the annoying sing-song voice came and sat herself beside Mrinalini. 

“Huh! You know nothing about me!” Mrinalini could not keep the disdain out from her voice. 

“Come on! I’m your mother, Lini.”

Every cell in Mrinalini’s body began to burn at these words. 

“How dare you call yourself a mother?”

The woman hung her head low for a while. 

“I… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to-”

“-to run away and leave baba with a little daughter?” Mrinalini hissed. She remembered nothing about her mother, except for this story that she had heard growing up. 

“Mrinalini!” the sing-song voice suddenly turned cold, as its owner grabbed Mrinalini’s hand. 

For the first time in years, she turned to look into her mother’s eyes. They were green, like hers. No one in her family had green eyes except for this woman. And right now, they reflected the pain she had been hiding herself. A memory clicked itself back into Mrinalini’s head, perhaps from another lifetime, where she had looked into a similar pair of green eyes, and felt as safe as a newborn feels with its mother. And with this, her heart unclenched. 

But then, her whole life flashed before her eyes… 

“So the daughter takes after the mother, huh? I hope she hasn’t got her character.”

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“Why don’t you get married again and have children of your own?”

“Have you seen her face? She knows how to lure them men, that witch!”

She wanted to yell at this woman who called herself her mother. And like every other teenage girl, she wanted to blame her mother for everything that went wrong with her life. 

But… Rahul… she remembered his handsome face, his beautiful smile… his strong frame, lying face up on the road, his smile turned into a grotesque frown, his eyes rolled upwards, blood and white foam coming out from his mouth… 

It wasn’t her mother’s fault… the blame was hers, and hers alone. 

Mrinalini shuddered and let go of her mother’s hands. 

“I know about that thing that lives inside you,” her mother leaned towards her and whispered into her ear. 

“You! You…!”

Mrinalini fumbled for words. Of all the things she had expected her mother to say… 

“My child, it’s not your fault. It’s a gift from Maa Manasha,” the woman smiled, with pain in her eyes. 

“A gift? You call this a… a gift!” Mrinalini’s voice choked.

“Let me tell you the story then…”

“I’m not here to listen to you make up stories. Did baba tell you I’ve been seeing a psychiatrist? Did he tell you about Rahul? Did he… did he tell you how I murdered him? Did he tell you he’s sending me over to hide from the police for a while, huh? Did he…”

Mrinalini broke down completely. 

“Oh dear! My poor girl!”

Mandori hugged her daughter and began to rock her back and forth. This was a pain that was all too familiar. 

Mrinalini sobbed into her mother’s arms. It felt like home. She didn’t want to leave the embrace. Her mother was not letting go either. 

“Your father and I… we haven’t talked in ages. And I assume you came here yourself, looking for answers.”

I have come looking for you, mother. Who else does a child go looking for when she’s in trouble? 

Mrinalini wanted to say this out loud. But she kept sobbing in her mother’s arms. 

Mandori was now running her fingers through her daughter’s hair.

“I was sixteen when it happened to me.”

Mrinalini broke the embrace. 

“It… it happened to you?” She stared in disbelief. 

“Yes.”

“But I haven’t told you what happened with me…”

“Rahul’s death was all over the news. And when your name came up amidst everything, I knew.”

“You… you knew what?”

“That he deserved it!”

“Nooo… oo!” Mrinalini howled. 

Mandori let her daughter calm down. 

“What was Rahul doing when he died?”

“I… don’t remember…”

“But you have to... tell me everything. I will help you understand.”

“Well…I…”

“Tell me the truth. No one will know. Did you fight over something?”

“Yes… I mean no. We… were not friends… he was a classmate in our college, and all the girls had a thing for him, myself included… because, well… he was handsome. Rahul rarely talked with the girls, and that made him all the more irresistible.”

Mrinalini paused for a while before starting again, “That night, I was in the lab finishing up a research project. By the time I was done, everyone had left. I was hungry, so I decided to take a short-cut from behind the laboratory building to pick up a burger on my way back home. This alley is usually secluded and not well-lit. I was rounding a corner when I spotted Rahul. He… he was pinning a girl against the building wall. I… I immediately hid myself and watched. I recognized the girl. She was from my class. She… she was whimpering. She… she said something about letting everyone know his true colors… but Rahul… he… threatened to kill her! My feet… they were stuck to the ground. The girl was laughing hysterically at his threats… 

‘I have to tell your parents at least… you don’t think they ought to know the truth about their darling boy!’

Rahul was now choking the girl! 

‘You won’t get away with this… I will let the professors know tomorrow…’ the girl was practically wheezing. 

I did not know what to do. I… I liked Rahul. I did not want him to get into trouble. But… this… 

At this point, my stomach rumbled. I thought it was the hunger. But no… it seemed my innards were uncoiling… and… and a snake was raising it’s head inside me. Its slimy scaly body was trying to glide past my food pipe to come out…”

Mrinalini suddenly retched. Mandori patted her back. 

“I don’t remember what happened… I… well… the next thing I remember, I was lying on the ground… There was Rahul beside me, frothing at the mouth. He… he was… dead. The girl from my class… she looked horrified. Her little eyes darted between Rahul’s body and mine. I… I don’t remember well but I think I asked her to leave… because she ran, and never looked back.”

Mother and daughter did not speak for a while after this. Mrinalini felt drained. She had finally emptied her heart out to someone. Mandori was thinking how to tell her daughter the truth… 

“For days, I kept grilling myself… did I kill Rahul? But how? Or was it a snake? Was the snake inside me? Or was I the snake? I tried to talk to the girl who was there that night. She refused to speak to me. But she talked to the police. She mentioned my name. She mentioned a snake. But apparently she said nothing coherent. I… I thought I had gone mad. Everyone thought so. So they took me to a shrink. No one believed me.”

“Lini… I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, and… I believe you.”

“You…you believe me?”

“The thing that lives inside you…” Mandori suddenly lowered her voice, “it’s inside me too, waiting patiently to bare its fangs…”

Mrinalini looked at her mother in horror. 

“They say it’s the curse of Maa Manasha. I call it a gift… a blessing in disguise,” Mandori sighed, “Our ancestors were great devotees of Manasha Devi, the goddess of serpents. The temple you see here in this village, was built by our forefathers. Legend goes, many moons ago, one of our ancestors married a Brahmin girl of his own choice.”

“You mean he married into a higher caste? ”

“Yes. They were in love. But the marriage was not a happy one. Because the groom was a lousy good-for-nothing alcoholic. When the wife tried to speak up, he raised his hands on her. It did not help that his mother envied the daughter-in-law. Often, she would keep mum as his son beat up the wife. The poor girl had no one to turn to, as she had already been denounced by her parents for marrying against their wish. Helpless, she fell on the feet of Manasha Devi. The goddess, who is easily pleased, felt pity for the Brahmin girl, who sought refuge at her feet. But the family was her devotee too. So the goddess appeared in the dreams of the mother and warned her to put a leash on her son! The mother, blinded by love for his son, did nothing. One day, her son ended up killing his wife, and there was nothing the mother could do. An enraged Manasha Devi sent an offspring of her trusted aide, Kalnagin to finish him off. But as a punishment for her sin, she placed the snake inside the mother. The mother had to now kill her own son. And she did, dying soon after in shame and regret. It is said, Maa Manasha then cursed all the women who would be born into the family, with the same fate. The snake would not harm the woman. It would sleep inside her and only wake up, when a man would be performing atrocities on herself or a fellow woman... But once awake, it would cause her immense pain… something close to death…a punishment for not speaking up! ”

Mrinalini did not realize she had been holding her breath. So this was it? 

“Yes, ”Mandori continued, as if she’d read her mind, “this is the curse you and I have been gifted with. In the last three generations, I was the only girl born to this family. And now you are here… I heard there was a great-great-grandmother of mine, who well…”she shrugged. “Ever wondered why the people of the village avoided you when you came here last week?”

“I thought it was because they didn’t like you.”

“Haha…well they are scared of me. But they are scared of you too.”

“What happened to you at sixteen?” Mrinalini inched closer to her mother. 

“I fell in love with a married man. I did not know he was married though. Foolish, stupid, naïve me… when I found out from others, I refused to believe it. I snuck out of my house to meet him at his home, and found out he indeed has a wife! The wife was old and ailing, and the man did not want her anymore. When the wife made a fuss, he tried to kill her… in front of me! I… I did not know what I was thinking… but I sure did nothing to stop him. You know what happened next…” Mandori sighed, “When you were two years old, your father had to stay away from home for work. Your uncle… used his absence and… and made lewd advances at me… Things were getting out of hand when he… he touched me inappropriately once… I could hold it in no longer… I knew what was coming… and so, before he could force himself on me, I told everyone about him, and left! And…”

“-they all blamed you, right? No one believed you!”

“Yes, not even your father… so you see, it is a blessing from Maa Manasha. You can say I should have let the curse take over. But I loved your father. I loved his family. I couldn’t do it to them. I wanted to take you away with me. But they wouldn’t let me.”

“But uncle got his comeuppance. He’s behind the bars now for assault of… ”

“I heard.”

“You should hear the rumors… some say I’m not even my father’s child!”

“I do not care anymore. I’m just happy that you know the truth now.”

Silence filled the air again. 

“Count it as a blessing my child. I missed you all these years. I yearned to see you so much… but I was never worried about you. I knew Devi Manasha would keep you safe.”

Mrinalini nodded, her eyes staring faraway, “The girl was pregnant. Rahul was threatening her for an abortion!”

“He has got his punishment. The police has ruled out foul play. Now don’t you waste a moment for him.”

“Alright…”

“Leave everything behind you, Lini. Stay here with me and start afresh… Remember, what I was telling you about the water lilies? They symbolize rebirth…”

A few years later… 

“I…IthinkIhavefalleninlovewithyou!” Vivek blurted out in one breath, his eyes fixated on the water of the pond. 

“What?” Mrinalini pretended to sound nonchalant. 

But Vivek noticed she had stopped sipping on her juice. Girl, you’ve heard me alright! 

As if on cue, Mrinalini slurped on her juice with unnecessary flourish. She hoped her heart, which was now beating a violent tattoo in her chest, would not give her away! 

“I’m in love with you…”

A touch of crimson quickly spread from Mrinalini’s cheeks and settled on the tip of her nose. She cast her head down. These words from his lips were music to her ears. How long she had yearned to hear these very words, but from his mouth! 

“What do you say? I mean there’s no pressure. I was just letting you know how…” Vivek went on blabbering. He felt his anxiety ebbing away. Because, for a brief moment, he had looked into Mrinalini’s eyes, and there was no mistaking what he had seen there. 

A smile crept onto her lips. Yes, yes, yes! She wanted to yell aloud. But all she managed to do was tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and nod her head once, her eyes still downcast.

Vivek, on the other hand, eased into a his crooked smile that the ladies were crazy about. But right now, he had his eyes only for Mrinalini. He inched closer and weaved his fingers into hers. 

“Can you bring me one more glass of juice please?” Mrinalini giggled mischievously. 

“Now? Alright,” Vivek sighed and got up. He felt a bit irked to be getting away from the warmth of her body so soon. He jogged up the steps of the ghat in a hurry. The man selling sugarcane juice must not have gone far. He made a run for it. 

“Hey… your phone!” Mrinalini shouted. 

But Vivek had left. 

Her heart fluttered as she drew circles with her feet in the water. She had known Vivek for the last two years, and she had liked him from the start. And now he had professed his love for her… she could hug herself right now! 

Tring-a-ring-a-ding! 

A barrage of notifications on Vivek’s phone broke her chain of thoughts. She picked it up. It was a series of messages from his friends on a WhatsApp group. 

“Did you do it yet? Did you kiss her?”

“No way, he doesn’t have the balls!”

“Come on brother! My 500 bucks are at stake!”

“Haha! Prepare to lose the bet!”

“This is crazy. What about Riya?”

“She doesn’t need to know about Vivek’s village sidechick.”

“LOL! What if this sidechick creates trouble?”

“Who cares?”

“Oye Vivek where are you?”

“Pictures or it never happened…”

Mrinalini’s smile disappeared. She threw the phone into the pond. Her blood boiled. 

Will men ever stop disappointing her? 

“Hey… you ok?” Vivek was already there, with a glass of fresh juice. He was panting. 

Mrinalini kept mum. 

Vivek approached her in confident strides. 

“No! Stay away from me,” Mrinalini was stern. This couldn’t be happening again! Not with him! 

Vivek ignored her and swept her off the ground, sealing her lips with his. Mrinalini balled up her fist and rained punches on him but that seemed to make no difference. A surge of heat rushed from her toes to the tips of her hair. It wasn’t the warmth of pleasure… it singed her. And for the first time, she welcomed it. She saw an ugly serpentine head rising inside her. She opened her mouth to speak, but her tongue was slit in two!

She had no control over herself. 

That night, people discovered Vivek’s body on the ghat of the village pond. He was bitten by a snake.