Live Evil

 

 Live Evil

                                                         By  Savi Wickramaarachchi

I pulled the covers up to my chin. Geez! My feet are out! Curling up into a ball I secured my feet under the sheets from the unknown beasts I thought were lurking at the foot of my bed. The lightening storm outside was wailing in the darkness. But the silence inside the house was still more deafening.

A sudden boom shook the whole house and all street lamps went out submerging my room in complete darkness. Without the dim light that was streaking in through the curtains a second ago I could not even figure whether my eyes were opened or closed. And a little rap on the front door followed!

I was alone. All alone. And my room was far away from the front door of the house. And it was dark. Dark as in pitch black. And I was sure if I stepped out of the bed the unknown monster would grab my feet from under the bed.

The knock became louder!

“Ignore it” I told myself. Whoever it is would go away if I don’t answer, wouldn’t they? I mean nobody knows I’m inside. However, I have no idea how I knew it, but the knock had a certain sureness in it. As if the person who was knocking knew I was in here all covered up in comfy sheets shivering like a stricken pitchfork with cold yet sweating like a melting iceberg with fear.

And the knock became deafening!

Any second now the door would break. I must go. I must go and see. With mustered up courage I was sure wouldn’t second to that of a bungi jumper, I stepped out of the bed and with all my sheets dragging behind me for company I slowly approached the front door. By now the knock had become so deafening that with each knock the whole house shook making the thunderstorm outside sound as if it was a mere whine of a pup. I reached out my hand to touch the door handle which felt soothingly warm under my fingers numb with cold. I turned the handle.

A gush of icy cold wind stunned me and numbed me of all my senses. As my eyes adjusted to the murkier darkness outside I searched for the person who dragged me out of bed while feeling so heroic for coming this far away from the safety of my closed room.

But no one was there.

Surely no person can run away that fast after banging on my door just a second ago. I was getting annoyed and scared, so I made to shut the door.

And just then I saw it.

A book. Lying innocently on the doorstep getting battered by the storming rain. I picked it up. It looked ancient. Surely this book couldn’t have knocked. You need limbs to knock. Anyhow I took the book inside closing the door behind me.

Curling up on the bed once again, now with a lit candle by my bedside, I turned the pages of the book and started reading.

“Sfaqushevilkodgjabevilhahbypjevilnenlukje…….”

What nonsense! All through the pages of the book it read the same kind of letterings which made no sense. The pages were all battered, and moth eaten. The ancient leather cover had engraved markings all around the edges. And the writings inside the book was nothing but gobbledygook.

However nonsensical it was, I kept on reading the absurd writings until the very end of the book. Suddenly without warning a cold wind rose inside my room as soon as I read the last syllable and the candle went out. I was once again immersed in pitch black darkness clutching the book for company while a cold shiver ran down my spine.

I heard bloodcurdling screams, and thudding footsteps from every direction. I smelled musty odor of stale breaths, and a blinding light flashed every few seconds casting eerie shadows on the walls of my room.

My worst fears of unknown monsters which were mere thoughts and fancies inside my head before were coming true. And to add to my horror I felt hairs sprouting all over my face hand and feet. My nails grew about half a foot long and I could feel my teeth turning into fangs. My eyes watered when they popped to the size of tennis balls and my nose grew to match my fangs which were now touching my chest.

I was a monster. The book had been cursed. That much I knew. But how to undo it; Alas, I did not know! I frantically grabbed the book back when I heard the other evil creatures in the dark closing on me and my body underwent more changes. I fumbled through the pages desperately looking to undo the curse. Obviously, the nonsense I read must have been some sort of an ancient spell.

Then I saw it.

After every seventh letter the word “evil” was camouflaged within the pages of the book until the very end. How did I miss it? And like an idiot I read the whole thing too. And now I’m a goner.

But wait. Can’t I really undo it? What if I read it backwards? “Evil” spelled “live” when reversed. Is that an indication? Well, I didn’t have much time to ponder upon the idea. With the blinding flashes of light, I started reading the book backwards, shakily pronouncing every syllable with all my might.

As soon as I finished reading the first letter of the book a sudden flash and a thundering growl pierced my ears and the book slipped from my hands breaking a half a foot-long nail of my hand. And everything went dark and silent and still at once.

***

I opened my eyes. I was peacefully sleeping on my bed and sunlight was beaming through the curtains. It was morning. No signs of monsters or ancient spell books were anywhere to be seen. And no sign of a stormy night either. Even my sheets were unruffled. Did I fall asleep? The events of the night flashed through my eyes. With shivering fingers, I touched myself to feel if I was back to normal. Yes, I was! The book? It was nowhere to be seen. And the door was not opened at all. Also, there was no candle by my bedside, nor any sign of monsters in my room. So, it was all a dream?

I chuckled. Of course. I was stupid. How can something like that be real? A book of spell? Oh please. And monsters? Oh, give me a break. They don’t exist. Grinning to myself for being fooled by a dream and with immense relief that it was only a nightmare, I made to step out of the bed.

And I stepped on a sharp half a foot-long nail!