‘No. Nobody will keep it,’ I shouted, pushing her away from the chest.
‘Oooofff!’ she retorted, stumbling back. And then she stood stock-still. All ferocity was wiped from her eyes that were wide with horror. Her sight was locked on something on the floor behind the chest. ‘Oooo….Maaaa! What’s this? O Maaa! O Maaa! O Maa…!’ she whispered, both hands covering her mouth.
‘Ma! Ma! Are you all right?’ shouted her son from above.
Quickly, I scrambled up, scanning the floor. ‘What…what is it?’ My voice quavered. Was it a snake?
Lokkhi mashi only shook her head, pointing downwards with a trembling finger. What the heck?
I hurried to her side. Guided by her finger, I looked down, and my throat dried up.
With back against the chest, knees drawn up, head lolling downwards was a skeleton. It was small as if it belonged to a child. I was numb, my eyes frozen on the spot.
Lokkhi mashi was the first to break the awful hush. ‘Yaksha…yaksha…,’ she whispered. Choking on the words, she uttered, ‘Poor, poor Shurjo…this is where the devil buried him. Poor, poor boy…poor, poor Kona….’
‘Shurjo…?’ I murmured. Doesn’t that sound like the name of the boy…or…or whatever he was?
‘Yes, yes. That is Shurjo,’ the woman confirmed, wiping her eyes. ‘Kona’s son…the one who went missing. We blamed the goons, but now I know. It was Karta Babu…that brute…who had kidnapped him. He must have lured the boy in here.’
‘How are you sure that this is Shurjo?’ I asked.
Lokkhi mashi pointed a finger to the bony ribs. A thin gold string sparkled in the half-light. A small round pendant hung from it.
The boy…the boy who visited me…didn’t he wear something like this? Was he Shurjo…? Crazy speculations crowded my head. I recalled how my boy visitor had persuaded me to seek the clues…removed hurdles…propelled me towards this moment… Did he want me to find this?…find him?
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