Chapter 7
As Ravana heard Sundari speaking he was startled. Gods? Devils? He had just learned about them from his mother. As he was born in a secluded environment he didn’t really know the difference between them. Now he once again heard those terms. And judging by the tone of the woman, Gods seemed more popular than the devils among the people. But seeing the Sundari crying, he decided to put the task at the back of his mind and focus on the task at hand. He soothed her and she continued
"It all started seven years ago. We saw a ball of fire drop from the sky. The earth shook as this happened. Men from different villages went there. When they returned they were in daze. My husband and son had gone there as well. They told me that God had come. They said he was bathed in gold and had great powers. They said that he would help the villagers grow and prosper. All of us and the neighboring villagers were happy hearing this. For a while good things happened. The crops started growing faster and our lives became better. The attacks of the beasts from the forest stopped as well. Then a year later things changed. Three people who called themselves the messengers of god came and told us to bring three strong men from each village to serve the god. We were happy to show our devotion and gratitude to the god. My husband was selected to go as well. They were sent to the place where the meteor first fell. The place was then made off limits to other normal peoples. Three months later, the same people came for three more men. At first the people were happy, but those sent never returned. More people were sent and men started lessening in the village. We asked those messenger but no answers were to be found. After three years more than half the men of the villages had disappeared. Seeing this, the villages decided to band together. There were thirteen villages in total. All the men and women gathered and carried weapons. We went to the place where the meteor fell which had totally changed. No more was a meteor there, instead a huge palace of gold stood there. We stood there dazed for a while and then attacked the palace. Before we could even reach the doors of the palace, the earth opened up to swallow the people. Many fell into the chasms created after the earth broke apart. None died though."
"The men were captured and the elders were brought to the fore. The gates opened and a young man covered in blazing flame came forward. He had an otherworldly glow about him. This was enhanced by the armors he wore which seemed to grow red due to the flames burning them. Just by staring at him, one would know he was a god. But instead of being merciful he killed the elders and village heads of the thirteen villages just by waving his hand. Balls of fire formed which burned them alive. He said nothing and just returned back followed by those messengers. The gates closed and we terrified of what we saw returned back. When we were calm and sane again, we found that only some of the men remained whereas most had never returned. My son was taken as well. We wanted to do something, but we knew we wouldn't be able to do anything. We've been living like this ever since." The old woman concluded her story.
Hearing the story he sighed and just patted her head like a child. After a while the sobbing stopped and she wiped her face. she then said" Come child, you must be getting hungry. I have made some food for you." Saying this she started pouring the soup and some fruit into a bowl.
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Suddenly the door of the hut was flung open and a young girl of fifteen stepped into the hut. She had a little sun burnt brownish face which looked really pretty and she was laughing quite innocently as if happy about something. She said "Grandma, I brought you some….". She stopped speaking. Seeing Ravana she said "Oh!" she then blushed and ran out the door dropping all the fruits she had on the floor. Ravana curiously looked at Sundari and she replied" she's the one who carried you from the forest to this hut." His eyes widened a little as he heard this and he continued looking at Sundari. Sundari in turn snorted and said" Hmph, you think an old woman like me with skin and bones would be able to carry a lad like you?" Ravana was a bit embarrassed as he heard this.
As she brought him the food Ravana asked" Oh! What's the name of this village?" she nonchalantly replied" the name of this village is Bisrakh."
Ravana nodded his head and didn’t think about it too much. Only later would he realize the importance of the village and the girl for him.
As Ravana started eating the third plate of food which was given to him by the dumbfounded Sundari, sounds of horses moving and neighing could be heard. Ravana ignored it and kept on eating but the facial color of Sundari started getting pale. She suddenly dashed out the door. Ravana seeing this knew something was amiss and followed her. Once outside, he saw a group of men in black clothing with different weapons in their hand standing at the centre of the village. There were probably about fifty of them in total.
Seeing this he frowned. He then looked on as Sundari gritted her teeth and spoke" It's those damn bandits again." As Ravana was about to ask what they were doing around here, Sundari saw his curious look. She said " The bandits didn’t use to be around much before the men and warriors of the villages were taken away. but once they were taken, those bandits came around frequently. Before, there were only about twenty to thirty bandits. Then the scum of our societies started joining them as well. Now they are about fifty in total in this group. They march from village to village taking the foods and threatening the people. Lately they have started getting even bolder. They started taking liberties with the women of our village. Many of the women of our village were taken advantage of. Many were taken away by them as well. Last time they came here, they nearly took one of the young children away. she was only about fifteen. If the villagers hadn’t banded together and stopped them from taking her, who knows what would have happened to her." Saying this she sighed and shook her head.
The bandits then started ransacking the place. They started going to each and every house and started taking food and other valuables out from there. Yet none of the villagers did anything at all to stop this. This was because the last time the bandits had fewer numbers. However, that was not the case right then. There must have been about fifty bandits in total that were in the village. Seeing this the bandits had gotten even bolder and even started eyeing the women lecherously.
Suddenly a scream was heard. Ravana hearing the scream turned and saw one of the bandits catching a girl and dragging her by the hair. The girl was none other than the one whom he had seen at the hut and who had carried him there. The villagers seeing this started fighting back against the bandits.
However the bandits put an end to this by stabbing an old man. Fearing for their lives many of the villager retreated. But some like Sundari and others kept on struggling to get to the girl. Despair and helplessness could be seen on the face of the girl as she was dragged by the hair. But sudden she felt the bandit stop. Gaining some hope and courage she turned her head to see the cause of the bandit stopping.