WARNING: If it is illegal for you to be reading these stories or you find them disgusting or immoral, please refrain from reading further. Must be 18+ to read! Any characters, places, or people depicted in this story is entirely in the fantasy and imagination of the writer and in no way reflects his/her personal morals or beliefs when relating to relationships between minors and adults. Any people, places, or actions depicted in this story that reflect real life events or situations is entirely by accident or coincidence.

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Chapter Six

We sat cross-legged facing the guru; a withered old man who looked almost as if he fit my true age better than did I. We'd been sat for over an hour and the old man had only stared at us until I began to feel this encounter was to be fruitless. Finally, as if coming out of a trance of some sort, he blinked and began to speak.

"Why is it that you men of the west are so opposed to the natural ebb and flow of things?" he asked. "Do you truly think kismet can be changed because you tame the cycle with your trinkets? Not so. Every so-called choice you make has been predetermined by Brahman. You never expected to be in the body of that old woman, that was kismet demonstrating to you how impotent you truly are."

I wondered to myself how this ancient sage could have possibly known about my hosts.

"You are transparent to me" he said, "the coin you carry around your neck projects your history so forcefully, I was enraptured in the vision it displayed. Just know that fate is still firmly in control; whether you had that thing or not, your road would have eventually led you to where you sit. It may have been sooner or later but it was preordained. All your talisman gives you is the illusion of choice, and the false promise of everlasting life. All men eventually are honed until they may rejoin the One; you are no different. Once you have travelled completely around the wheel, you will know it is time to move on and you will melt the medal and incarnate no longer."

I didn't know how to respond. I sat and contemplated his words for a long while. He simply smiled, then turned and addressed Aldo.

"Yes, my son. The bond you feel is far stronger than an amulet could ever create. Your instinct is correct, your souls are connected" he said.

I looked at Aldo and watched the tears stream from the corner of his eye making trails down his cheeks; only then did I notice my own tears. The old guru took his pot of sindur and decorated each of us with a bindi.

"Since you are sure to live for quite some time, make a point to learn as much as you can from all you encounter" he said, "every soul has some bit of knowledge of the whole to share. When you have learned it all, it will be time for you to break your cycle and move on. While you are in my country, I would suggest that you avoid other holy men. Few will be tolerant of the devices you have; some will wish you harm. Others wearing those devices have visited here before. Your amulets glow blue as do your auras. If you should encounter another bearer whose amulet glows amber, beware. If it glows red, simply get away as quickly as possible. The reds have been known to take over the bodies of wealthy for their money or simply to steal another's lover or spouse. Be careful in your travels my children."

Abruptly, he stood straight up. as if in no discomfort from the hours of sitting on the ground, and simply walked into the crowd. In seconds he was nowhere to be seen. Soon after, our little friend Ravi stepped out of the shadows of the nearby building.

"I thought you could not speak in Hindi?" he said puzzled.

"Not a word" I said.

"Nor I" said Aldo.

"But I just watched you both converse with the teacher most fluently" Ravi replied.

"Impossible" I said, "the old man was speaking perfect Russian."

"No, you are mistaken, love" Aldo said, "I heard him speaking flawless Italian."

"...and I heard you both answer the guru in flawless Hindi" Ravi said.

Cold chills went down my spine. How could this be, and how could an old man such as he jump up and literally disappear so quickly? My thoughts were interrupted as Ravi put out his arm to help me up and then in turn repeated the action for Aldo.

"I wonder that perhaps Lord Ganesh has visited you to impart his wisdom" our guide offered. We both shrugged as Ravi led us away down a side street to a beautiful café where we dined outside in a garden by a large fountain.

 

 

From the time of our encounter with the old man I had become uneasy. Aldo and I had decided to visit Varanasi as our little friend Ravi told us of his family there. We were exploring the Varanasi ghats when we first encountered the shadow beings. At first, I thought it was some trick of the light; shadows whose angles didn't match the position of the sun. Later, when we checked into our inn, we saw the shadows creeping down the hallway independent of the light from the lamps. They seemed to be following us everywhere we went. Even at night we saw them, they appeared just a little darker than the ambient darkness of the room. By the third day in Varanasi, we were becoming frantic. Ravi took us to a holy man his family knew. We were explaining to him what the problem was when one of the shadows appeared on the wall nearby. I pointed it out to the holy man and he turned pale.

"Those things are attracted to the foul magic you wear. You must leave this place at once" he said, "Cross a large body of water, they shouldn't be able to follow you across water."

We went back to the inn and gathered our things and fled to the port city, where we booked passage that very night. We were not very discriminating; we chose the first ship going in our general direction which was bound for Djibouti. When we disembarked, while waiting for our baggage to come down, we saw a black shadow on the wall of a nearby building, however it seemed intent on following someone else. Without seeking a place to stay we set about finding a ship to provide us passage north to Egypt. We had decided to return home until we could find out more about these creatures.

It was approaching early evening when we finally found a spice ship with a spare cabin willing to sell us passage. The light was getting dim and as our luggage was being hoisted onto the ship the shadows first noticed us. As soon as we were allowed to board, we went to our cabin and settled in. Sometime late in the night or early in the morning the ship set sail. We woke to the rocking of the water. I sat up and carefully examined the room for signs of the dark beasts; to my relief, I saw nothing out of the ordinary.

A few days later we arrived at the port in Egypt and arranged for our things to be ported to the Mediterranean side; the closer we got to home, the better I felt. We began the land travel portion in somewhat better spirits and remained so, at least until we reached Cairo. In Cairo, we began seeing the shadow figures again. On the journey between Cairo and Alexandria, Aldo heard whispers of dread among the porters for having to travel so near to the home of a powerful magician. We decided to make a side trip to visit this individual.

Meru lived rather simply for one so well known. His servant kept us waiting only a few minutes before showing us inside to his master. We explained to Meru our predicament since visiting India.

"You say that you talked with a holy man there" he asked.

"Yes, or perhaps I should say we listened, as he did most of the talking" I answered.

"Did the man touch you?" he asked.

I described the ceremony of the man giving us the bindi.

"Ah...then, that's it!" he said, "That is what has energized your auras. To one with the sight, you are beacons in the way lighthouses are to ships on the sea."

"Are you saying that what he did has marked us for those creatures?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so" Meru said, "he must have been quite unhappy to do such a thing to you."

"What can we do?" I asked urgently.

"We will have to find a way to trim your wicks, so to speak" he said, going to consult his books. He then began to concoct a potion of some sort. An hour or so later, the servant came to us bearing a tray with two steaming cups.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Possibly the answer to your dilemma" Meru replied.

Aldo and I turned the cups up and sipped the dark liquid. It tasted revolting, but we gagged it down. The next thing I remember was waking up aboard our ship headed for Venice. In my coin purse, I found several coins missing and a small note.

"As I write this, you lot have passed out, but even so I can see your auras fading back to a more normal intensity. I hope you don't mind me extracting my fee. Your servant was in quite the hurry to be sure you didn't miss your passage. Yours, Meru."

A while later we disembarked and made arrangements for our luggage to be delivered as we boarded a gondola back to Aldo's apartment building. As the boat pulled up to our landing, I paid the gondolier and we got out of the boat and into the courtyard. Upon hearing the gates open, Aldo's cousin Daniele came out to see what was going on. Aldo gave him instructions to wait for the luggage to arrive and we went inside and set about uncovering the furniture and making our apartment livable again. I stepped through the balcony doors and leaned on the railing; Venice was beautiful after dark, perhaps more so than during the day. I was admiring the lamplight reflections in the rippling water of the canal below when I felt an arm encircle my waist.

"Is everything all right my love?" Aldo asked softly.

"Yes. As much I love to travel, I am also very happy to be home again" I answered.

He took my chin in his hand and gently turned my face away from my view and toward him, then kissed me gently. Then released me and joined me in admiring the city. His head tilted and touched mine as we stood silently watching a gondola pass below carrying what appeared to be a noble couple.

"Ahem...ahem.." came a noise behind us. Daniele looked at us questioningly and said "I've left your bags in the bedroom, cousin. I wasn't sure where to put Signore Hans' bags, so they're in the hall."

"You can bring them in here Daniele, Signore Hans is a pea from our pod" Aldo told the youth, "he might as well be my marito, we are soulmates."

As if a light went on inside his head, Daniele nodded and dragged my baggage into our bedroom.

"Have you still not found a friend, Daniele?" Aldo asked in a slightly concerned tone.

"No cugino, sai che sono timido" he answered, looking at the floor.

"Shy? You must overcome it or be forever alone. Have you had any encounters?" Aldo asked.

"Only quick touches in the dark of the opera house, nothing satisfying" he answered, now red as an evening cloak.

"I want you to go tomorrow to the house of Maria Estella, I'll think of a reason, you must meet her son Giuseppe, he is your age or maybe younger and has already tried many times to molest me" Aldo chuckled. "For now, take your leave. We'll be turning in soon for the night."

Daniele nodded and gave a small bow, then turned to go to the room in which he'd been staying. Being exhausted from our trip, we did not entertain him with the sound of a squeaking bed as we otherwise may have. By the time my head sunk into the pillow I was out for the night[MV1] .

 

Lambodara 03/24/2021

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