Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay The cab pulled up to the one and only house for miles around. It was evening and the sky was slowly giving way to nightfall.
“Are you sure you’re going in there?” the driver eyed the house suspiciously. “I start my new job here,” Kavi said. “You must be from out of town if you haven’t heard the stories,” the driver’s voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. Kavi wasn’t sure he wanted to hear these so-called “stories.” “They say a woman lives there who killed her fiance during the night of the full moon. I heard they were fighting over a secret book, probably one that contained spells and such. The woman turned into a monster and murdered him, then threw his body into the well. The body was never found. And to this day, everyone that values their life avoids that house.” A shiver ran down Kavi’s spine. “I don’t pay you to gossip,” Kavi remarked. The driver shook his head slowly, as if Kavi were in grave danger and would never be seen again. After the cab left, Kavi walked up to the porch, glad the long drive was finally over. And thank goodness his employer had paid the taxi fare. All he could hear was a crow which sounded like it was laughing. Laughing at him. Suddenly something scurried near his feet. Kavi let out a yell and leaped a few steps back, startled. It was only a lizard. He took a deep breath to calm himself. Gosh, he hated lizards. Kavi was afraid of the dark as well. The darkness always felt to him like the cold embrace of uncertainty. The fear of the unknown was the worst fear he could name. He’d responded to the job ad for a translator of dead languages, and after a brief email correspondence with the employer, he’d been hired and given directions to the house. He’d never met the employer before. Kavi scratched his head. He hadn’t realized the house would be in the middle of nowhere. The home looked a bit like a home you’d find on the haunted list. Now Kavi wondered if he was making the right choice, in taking on an unknown client. For all he knew, he could be walking into a trap. What if the client turned out to be a murderer, just waiting for him… Kavi shook himself of the awful thoughts. It didn’t do any good to make up these stories. He took a deep breath, picked up his bag of reference books, and proceeded to the front door. Before he’d even knocked, a woman wearing dark clothes answered the door. She was in shadow, as if having come from a dim room. Actually the entire house was dark. Kavi wondered how the house could be so dark. Was the house so old it didn’t have electricity? “I’m not interested,” the woman said, eyeing the bag of books Kavi carried, and then started to close the door. “Wait! I’m not a salesman!” Kavi said quickly. The woman halted her action but kept the door ajar. “Who are you and what business do you have here?” she said, her dark brown eyes glaring. “I am Kavi,” he said, extending his hand. The woman didn’t shake his hand. “You hired me to translate some of your Sanskrit books. The books I have here are my reference materials,” Kavi stammered, hoping she didn’t shut the door in his face and leave him stranded at night in the middle of nowhere. “Understood,” said the woman, opening the door the rest of the way. “You’d be surprised at how many book sellers make surprise visits to my house to try and sell me false ancient manuscripts. My name is Amana. Come inside and I’ll show you around.” Kavi was relieved. At least she had stopped glaring at him. He followed Amana down the hall. The clang of the door startled him when it closed behind him. “Why is it so dark?” Kavi managed. “Sorry about that,” Amana said, flipping on the light switch. The hallway immediately illuminated. “I sometimes get headaches and the light hurts my eyes. But I’m feeling better now.” Kavi studied his new employer as they walked down the hall. She was the same height as him and had sleek black hair. He guessed she was in her twenties, like him. The dark clothes reminded him of a vampire and he hoped Amana didn’t have a vampire’s personality to match. Amana stopped walking and Kavi almost bumped into her. “You know, I hadn’t realized you would be so…young,” she said. “I was expecting an elderly scholar.” “I get that a lot,” Kavi assured her. “Though I’m only 27 years old, I assure you I’m well versed in the Indo-Aryan languages. I’ve studied both Vedic Sanskrit and Classical Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Pali.” “Very impressive. I applaud your hard work,” Amana said with a hint of a smile. She resumed walking down the hall and they came to a large library. “Here is where you’ll be working,” she said. Kavi looked around in excitement. The entire room had floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Many books looked dusty and like they hadn’t been touched in ages. Kavi knew Amana was a collector of rare and ancient books. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the rare volumes! “Don’t get too excited,” Amana studied him. “You seem like you’ve just laid eyes on a grand feast.” Kavi grinned. “Well, that’s what books are to me, food for the soul and the mind. The older the better. They’re like buried treasure.” At that last line, Amana fixed him with a strange look, then turned towards the door. Kavi hoped he hadn’t offended her. “I’ll show you to your quarters,” Amana said. “Follow me.” They exited another doorway and climbed the stairs to the second floor. “The room was just remodeled, and I hope it’s to your liking,” Amana said. They entered the bedroom and Kavi looked around in awe. It was like a modern room with an antique style. There was an empty bookcase, a large bed with a nightstand, a dark wooden desk, and a dresser. “This is wonderful! Thank you!” Kavi said. “Make yourself at home. Also, the bathroom is down that way, and the kitchen is downstairs. There’s a garden in the back. Have you had dinner yet?” “Yes, I had dinner before coming here,” he said. “Then I will leave you to settle in,” Amana replied. “Thanks again,” Kavi said as Amana left the room. Now alone, Kavi closed the door and placed his reference books in the bookcase. After bringing his suitcase in and getting situated, he lay down to take a much needed nap after the long journey. * It was always a strange experience sleeping in a different bed and in a different house. Kavi hoped he’d get used to the sounds of the unusual home. He woke up in the middle of the night and immediately had a craving for a snack. Kavi listened at the door and heard silence, then turned on a few lights and made his way down the stairs. He found the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. Amana was sitting at the kitchen table, putting ketchup on a sandwich. Kavi stared, wondering why in the world she was putting ketchup on bread. “I get weird cravings sometimes,” Amana said, as if reading his mind. “By the way, help yourself to anything in the kitchen.” She picked up the sandwich and bit into it. Then she reached for her glass and took a sip. Kavi noted that her glass was filled with a dark red liquid. Could it be some kind of fruit juice? “Oh, um, thank you,” Kavi said. He made himself a quick sandwich, devoid of any ketchup, and then hurried back to his room as fast as he could.
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