The Abandoned Temple

Late one evening, after the Sun had set Mathuradas hurried down a flight of an abandoned temple staircase. Behind him, the magnificent stone temple loomed like a mysterious beast. It drank in the growing darkness and appeared even more unnerving against the purple skies. Beside it stood a tall, wide Banyan tree whose roots hung in clusters finding their way deep into the ground. It stared ominously at a terrified Mathuradas, who had now broken into a sweat. All he could think of was getting to the riverbank, which lay at the end of the long flight of stairs. Across the still waters of the river, appeared the outskirts of a village.

That afternoon when Mathuradas had decided to venture out to the forbidden temple, he had been promised by a ferryman to be taken to and fro across the river for a whole rupee and twelve aanas. This kind of a fee definitely warranted for a better service than a missing man in the hour of need.

Mathuradas was only a visitor in the village and had come that morning solely for the purpose of studying the architecture of this abandoned temple. Despite rumors about the temple being possessed by mysterious powers, Maturadas had chosen to ignore them. And the villagers had chosen to believe that he was a rebellious fool from the city who deserved to be punished for his audacity.

Nearing the end of the damp, cracked staircase Mathuradas held the loose end of his dhoti in one hand and straightened the strap of his bag with the other. The staircase merged defiantly with the moist sands of the riverbank, bringing the prodigal fool to a sudden halt. Too jolted to utter a word he desperately looked for his savior. But he knew deep within that the ferryman and his ferry were long gone.

Mathuradas turned around one more time to look at the temple. Last bits of the orange skies were dissolving now. Menacing silence crawled under his skin, rippling down his spine. Just then a creaking sound echoed from one of the wooden windows. Then a flurry of footsteps moved swiftly towards the banyan tree. Without waiting another second he dashed along the riverbank, running for as long as his lungs were emptied. Then he clutched his stomach and waited for his lungs to fill up. He was about to start running again when all of a sudden he heard a splash in the water. To his utter surprise he saw a man starting to row away in his boat. Without another thought Mathuradas jumped into the river and began to swim towards the boat.

When Mathuradas resurfaced from the water, he found the boat bobbing in water, its sailor gaping at the water dumbstruck. Without waiting for an invitation Mathuradas climbed the boat. He rocked the boat enough to frighten the boatman but at this point he did not care. Shivering slightly Mathuradas thanked the boatman. Without any response the boatman gasped and began to row frantically.

Darkness had set in and visibility low. Mathuradas conjectured that the poor boatman had probably gone through a spooky experience as well.

“Did you have see something in the temple as well my good man?” asked Mathuradas.

The boatman only widened his eyes in horror, not speaking a word.

“Too scared to speak of it, aren’t you? I know…I am too…When I came here this afternoon I had no idea how scary this experience would be. The ferryman left me near about where I found you. He promised to be there to pick me up at sunset but he didn’t show up. Anyway…When I walked into the temple I had no idea of its magnificence. The carved stones, the glistening marbles, the radiance of dappled sunlight bouncing off patchy metal ornaments…architecture in all its glory…there was such a sense of mystery in there. I cannot even begin to tell you how detailed the layout there was…”, Maturadas ranted with excitement. He paused briefly to look at the boatman, who was breathing anxiously and rowing swiftly.

Unaffected by his audience’s state Mathuradas continued, “You know when it got really exciting but scary…when I entered the secret compartment. It was well hidden but not well enough to escape my eye. It took me only a minute to realise the door opened sideways. The tunnel was so narrow I could hardly move my arms. But I carried on for a while. And then my man…just when I thought of turning back I saw something that took my breath away. It was a statue of a woman…in glistening gold. There were heaps of gold and silver ornaments everywhere, the most beautiful I have seen. I stood there for a bit to admire the art. But I don’t know what began to happen. There was movement and then a few ornaments rolled towards me. I thought I saw the statue move. I rushed out from there…” Mathuradas suddenly stopped speaking and stared at something in the boat. Then he pointed at it and said, “to think of it, that pot there looks very similar to what I saw in the temple…”

Without paying any heed to Mathuradas, the boatman stuck his oar in the soft mud at the riverbank. Realizing that they were at village entrance, Mathuradas picked up his bag and climbed down, rocking the boat a fair bit. The boatman stared in horror for a second and then in a swift chain of motions got off, tied the boat to a pole, picked up his sack and began to hurry away.

Mathuradas called out to him, “Aye Babu…take this money. Let me thank you for your kindness…”

The man refused to turn around and walked on until he met two other men who seemed to be awaiting his return. Mathuradas sighed and began to walk away, hearing fading words from the men, “You fool…all you could gather was these silvers? I knew you were a coward…”

That evening Mathuradas sat at the dining table of an inn, just having narrated his story to the owner.

The inn owner gaped at Mathuradas for a few seconds and then said, “Well…you know the rumors aren’t all wrong my man. I had warned you that its not safe to visit a temple even through it is abandoned. You cannot trust the humans you know. They could be anywhere…But it’s a good lesson for you. Now you know you can’t mess with them…”