Rashee

Rashee curled up on the bed with a copy of ‘An Interview with a Vampire’. Down in the hallway, the grandfather clock was ticking hastily now showing 1:30 am. Night was crawling silently and Rashee was deeply engrossed in the novel. ‘The vampire rose from the grave…’ she read ‘and sniffed at the air. He could smell blood. There was a prey somewhere nearby and he must hunt it down.’

Inadvertently, Rashee pressed her nose against the book and felt a jerk in her navel. With a shock, she found herself falling head first into the deep crevices of the pages. Darkness and silence swooped down upon her. She blinked and found herself standing in a still graveyard. Everything looked still and serene. There was not a soul in sight. Rashee shuddered. Perplexed and apprehensive, she fished out her cell phone from the pocket of her jeans and hurriedly dialed her husband’s number,

“Sujal, I am feeling scared. I don’t know how I arrived at this place. I am surrounded with graves. Please come quickly.”            

“Rashee, you try to find your way out. I am coming,” her husband uttered some words of assurance before the line got disconnected.         

Rashee replaced her phone back in her jeans and began to take tentative steps in the darkness. There was a fresh breeze and clouds drifted away revealing the refulgent moon. In the ghostly moonlight, Rashee inspected her surroundings. There were graves all around and the path was strewn with pebbles. And then she heard something. She turned and saw a figure rising from one of the graves. The moon shone upon its face and Rashee felt a hint of recognition. The figure stood up and began to walk clumsily towards her. Rashee could hardly move a muscle and waited with breathless anticipation.

The figure moved closer and with a jolt of excitement, Rashee realized it was her husband Sujal. Panic and fear took possession of her and Rashee found herself standing rooted to the spot. Sujal moved closer still. There was a deep cut mark across one of his eyes and his face looked battered and grotesque. To her horror, Rashee saw him sprouting fangs as he moved closer still. And before she knew, he was upon her and had dug his bare fangs into her inviting neck. Hot blood gushed out of her neck and she screamed and woke up with a start.

She blinked and found herself in her bed. The copy of ‘An Interview with a Vampire’ was lying on her stomach. Her husband was sleeping serenely by her side. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was only a dream. She had evidently fallen asleep while reading.  She felt a tinge of pain and looked into the mirror. There were deep teeth marks on her neck and warm blood was oozing out of it.