THE CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS ARE THE WORKS OF AN ORIGINAL FICTION.
Immortality: Tales of the Undead- Blood and Spice
Vijay Sharma had seen the wonders of the world. But nothing like this. He had been prepared for this moment of discovery in a lifetime. In fact, he never thought of seeing it for the first time in his life. Being an archaeologist was tough enough to find things, even when someone like his mother always called him for marriage proposals. Unfortunately, Vijay never had the chance to meet that kind of woman. Always busy at work, and no prospects of being a future husband or even a father.
His mother had recently called on his phone, several times lately. There were days that he didn't want to talk to her about his future family. He was even too busy to talk about it.
His assistant, Mary Houston who hailed from America, have been helping him in his line of work. They were both surprised to see a coffin, which was laid in the burial grounds of an ancient palace. And Vijay have confirmed its origin that happened about 12,000 years ago. All the details were there. He even described it fluently as he worked on it.
"What a lovely sight, Professor," Mary said. "I've never seen anything like it."
"I know what you mean," Vijay said, excitingly. "This coffin... It's like anything I've never seen before. Let's see what's inside."
He ordered his work men to open the lid, and it took a couple of minutes to make it happen. And then...
"What a beauty," Vijay said. He was mesmerized by her appearance. But the fact remains clear that she was only made of granite stone. Nothing more than that.
"I say she's beautiful, alright," Mary agreed. "But what does a statue doing inside the coffin?" Vijay didn't seem to listen to her. He only stared at the statue.
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The next day, Vijay brought his latest discovery to his laboratory and examined her. "What a beauty," he said again. He wished that the statue came back to life. But that was only wishful thinking on his part. A 12,000 year old statue wouldn't be dreamed of coming alive, especially for a bachelor like Vijay Sharma. He sighed and continued working...
There was a phone call again, and this time, Vijay picked it up, knowing that he would have to speak to his mother, regarding the marriage proposals.
"Yes, mother..."
"Vijay... Have you seen the picture of the woman that I've sent it to you?"
"Yes, mother..."
"Well, Vijay. You need to take this seriously. I know you're a hard-working man, but you need a family life. Your father and I are growing old. And your brother is already married. Isn't it time for you to do the same?"
"Yes, mother..."
"Yes, Yes, Yes... When will you do it, Vijay? This is very important. Ashok has two kids now. And..."
"Yes, mother. I know. Okay? I'm just too... focused right now."
"I was afraid you would say that. Listen, Vijay... It's okay that you're busy working on your... project. But try not to work too hard in the future. Okay? Your future wife expects you to come home."
"Yes, mother..." He hanged up the call, once their serious conversation was over. He looked at the statue and thought, Please do come alive. You're the only one I care about. And it was true. Vijay didn't care about any Indian woman in Calcutta other than the granite statue.
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It was midnight, and Vijay had trouble sleeping... He had an apartment, which was located a couple of blocks away from his own workplace. Usually, Mary comes down there often and have a friendly chat with Vijay, alone. In this day and age, Mary understood the Indian culture, ever since she moved to Calcutta to begin to work as an archeological assistant. Vijay thought she should be married by now. But she had said that she wasn't ready yet. He recalled their conversation.
"I'm not sure about this marriage that my mother is proposing for me. I'm... too afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"You know what I mean. I'm too busy examining artifacts and lecturing my students. There are times that I might not come home. You know..."
"Ah, I see. I know what you mean."
"Exactly. A man with a career ahead of him... How do you think one can manage as a husband and father. It seems... impossible. Am I right?"
"I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."
"That's what I'm afraid of. Nothing to worry about. Back then, you said you hanged out with a boyfriend. And now, he dumped you."
"Because he wasn't the right guy." They had both laughed and then looked at each other. Vijay remembered it alright. But he didn't think that Mary became attractive to him. How long had it been since she lived in Calcutta? He couldn't even remember. He got up from the spare bed and walked toward his lab. There she was, still lying inside the coffin. It looked as if she were alive. Her eyes closed... and her beauty. She might have been a princess, Vijay thought.
He poured some leftover coffee while he worked on the statue. He didn't mind drinking it cold. Thinking about what his mother had said earlier, he thought of meeting that woman from the picture. He even had it on his phone. He checked it again.
She isn't that bad, he thought. A registered nurse... But career wasn't everything that it turned out to be. There were times that he and his future wife would have to spend quality time together, other than focusing in their careers. And he was afraid of making that sort of commitment. He sighed at the thought of it, and continued sipping...
Then he heard a sound... It felt like something was moving, something hard enough that a person would have a hard time, pushing it, or picking it up. Then he looked at the coffin.
What the... He came back closer to the coffin, and saw her eyes opening...
I must be dreaming here... The woman woke up, and stared at Vijay Sharma. Then she got up slowly...
Oh, my god. He dropped the coffee, and that it spilled all over the floor. He cared less about it, since the statue came back to life. She wore ancient jewelry and her lips were blood red. She still stared at him, and smiled.
"Hi there. My name is Sita. How do you do?"
"Um... Hi... I'm... Vijay Sharma. Am I dreaming?"
The woman laughed and shook her head. "No, you are not dreaming. You wished me. Remember?"
"Oh... I see. Then it is true. It's real. You're real."
"I know you, Vijay. I know what you want. I have heard everything."
"Everything? But you... you were only sleeping."
"Yes and no. I heard about your troubles. But don't worry. I'll take good care of you. I swear upon it." Then she took off her jewels and her clothing off. She stood there entirely naked in front of the young archaeologist. Vijay gulped.
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It was the best sensation that Vijay ever had. He didn't think at the age of 30, that he would able to have sex with a woman like this. After all, he had been a virgin before that age. Now, he knew what sex was really like. He wished that his parents would often talk about it. But his mother said it was too forbidden, and pornographic. And both he and Ashok laughed about it, since they were teenagers.
He looked at Sita, who still stared at him on the bed. He touched all over her body. Then he kissed her red lips. "Sita... You're so beautiful."
"You want me to stay like this forever?"
"Yes, Sita. Yes... I do want you." He kissed her again. And this time, Sita kissed him back. She even bit him.
"Ow!" Vijay said painfully. "What... What are you doing?"
"Relax... I know what you want, Vijay. I am sure no other Indian woman would do something like this. Am I right?"
"Well... I don't know about that. Marriages are private... and there are possibilities."
Sita laughed.
"What's so funny?" Vijay said, sounding confused.
"Here I thought you were naive about having sex with a woman."
"That's because I never had one before I met you."
"I see... Tell me, then. Are you planning to marry that woman of yours?"
"What woman?"
"The woman in the picture..."
"Oh... that. Um... I haven't decided yet."
"But you're going to marry..."
"Listen, Sita. Let's talk about something else. Okay?" A phone call interrupted their conversation. He checked the number and sighed. It was his mother again.
Oh, no. Now what? He even looked at the time on the clock. At 10 pm? Doesn't she know that I'm sleeping? He looked at Sita. "Let me get this..." He picked it up and replied, "Yes, mother..."
"Vijay... Have you talked to that woman yet?"
"No, mother. I haven't talk to her yet." He felt something down there, and realized that Sita was holding his manhood. He gulped.
"Vijay, are you okay?"
"Yes, mother... Um, I'm sleepy right now."
"You don't sound asleep. Are you working late? You know that it's not good for you health, especially when your future wife..."
"Yes, mother. I know."
"Alright, Vijay. Good night. But talk to her, please. Okay?"
"Yes, mother." The phone call ended.
"Your mother is very demanding," Sita said.
"She's my mother. What you do expect?"
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The next day, Mary came back to the lab and noticed something strange about the coffin. She looked at it and gasped.
"Vijay?" Mary called out to him. But there was no reply. She even looked around the laboratory. There was no sign or any indication of where the statue might be. When she went to the bedroom, she gasped again.
"Vijay?" Vijay was sleeping naked. The statue was also there.
Mary couldn't believe it. Why would Vijay bring this statue all the way here? There's no way that he could do it alone, unless he ordered...
Oh, that's preposterous. That would make the men think that Vijay was crazy. "Vijay..." She called out to him again. Vijay finally woke up and gasped.
"Mary?" He quickly covered his naked form with the blanket and looked back at the statue. "Um... What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? I came here to work... and then I find you and..." She even looked at Sita.
"Mary... this is not what it looks like. I can explain."
"Oh, you don't have to explain to me. I didn't think you had some sort of fetish with... statues."
Vijay sighed. "Okay, Mary. Let me get dressed."
"What about her?"
"You mean Sita?"
"Sita? That's her name? Or... did you give her one?"
"Um... Yes, I gave it to her."
Mary became quiet.
"Look, Mary. Let me get dressed. Okay?" Mary turned around and walked outside the bedroom.
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After working in silence, Mary said, "I'll be going out for lunch. Wanna come?"
"No, thanks. My brother is at the tea store. He just called me to have a brotherly chat."
"Oh, I see." Mary wanted to talk about the strangest events that happened in his bedroom. In fact, she didn't think Vijay would act so strangely, regarding the granite statue of an ancient princess. He must be working too hard, she thought. She left for lunch, and Vijay went to the tea store.
There, Ashok Sharma had just sat on a seat besides a small white table, waiting for his younger brother. He was well-dressed in a business sense. Being the manager of a car company wasn't what he had expected for. But he certainly got that chance.
"Hey Ashok. I hope I'm not too late."
"No, you're not. But I'll be late coming back to work." Vijay laughed and sat on the opposite side of his older brother. A servant came by and Vijay asked for tea.
"So, Vijay..." Ashok sounded serious, sipping his own drink. "How are things with you?"
"Pretty busy, I guess."
"Uh Huh. You know that Mom called."
"Yes, I know. She's been pushing me ever since..."
"Listen, Vijay... I wanted to ask you, and I know it's not my business to pry on things, especially when you have a private life. Believe me, I sometimes wished I was like you."
"Really? Come on, Ashok. You don't mean that. You have a good wife and two wonderful kids. What more do you want?"
"See, that's the thing." He looked around to see if anyone else was hearing their adult conversation. Then he looked back at his brother. "I've asked Priya to... you know... do something different."
"Different?" Vijay said, sounding confused. "How so?" The servant brought his tea.
"Ahem... You know what I mean."
"Oh that. I see. Okay."
"Yeah."
"So... did she do it?"
"Frankly, no."
"Oh, okay."
"She wouldn't agree to it. She said it's an American thing."
"I see."
"Yeah."
"Hmm... You know... Oh, never mind."
"What is it? Come on, tell me."
"If I were to tell you, you wouldn't believe me."
"Just spill it, bro."
Vijay sighed. "There's this woman..."
"Is she American?"
"Um..."
"I knew it! It's Mary. Isn't it? Man, Vijay. You sure have wonderful tastes."
"Hey! Don't jump to conclusions. Okay? She's just my assistant. It's strictly professional."
"Come on, Vijay. You think I don't know?"
"I swear upon my grave, Ashok. I'm..." He paused and looked around. Then he stared back at his older brother. "I'm not sleeping with her."
"Okay."
"Do you believe me?"
"Sure, bro. I do believe you. But..."
"But what?"
"Mom wouldn't like it if she were to find out about... You know."
Vijay sighed again. "I wouldn't do that. That would certainly upset her. Even Papa for the most part. You know how he is."
"Yeah, I know."
There was a moment of silence. Then Vijay finally sipped his tea and spoke, "I'm in love."
"With Mary?"
"No. Not her. It's someone else."
"The woman in the picture that Mom send it to you?"
"Nope."
"Then, who is it?"
"Like I said, you wouldn't believe me."
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Vijay finally contacted the woman that he was supposed to talk with. At first, he was kinda nervous to tell about the wonderful things that he was, and what he had been doing for all these past years. But it was only natural, and therefore he told her everything. The woman named Rani Sanjana had certainly liked the way he talked. But she wasn't sure about his commitment to real marriage.
"I want to ask you something about your work. How often do you stay up late?"
Vijay gulped at the question. He knew this was something that he couldn't answer. Because there was no way of telling how often he had to work due to his profession. After all, archaeologists have a way of discovering things across the globe, while a poor wife kept waiting for her husband. Not to mention, the cheating...
There's that possibility, Vijay thought. While I'm gone, she might be sleeping with someone else. Do I really want that? Could I blame her? Most women were demanding these days, and this was related to her mother's case, except she wouldn't cheat on her husband. No. That would affect his family life, entirely. And now, Vijay didn't know what else to say to Rani.
"I'm not sure if I can answer that question."
"I see..." And that was it. The conversation was over. The next couple of days, Vijay hadn't heard from her since. He thought, Mother will be disappointed.
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There were several calls on his phone, but Vijay decided to not to take them. He was having sex with Sita on his bed. Sita said, "Aren't you going to get that, my lovely prince?"
"Um... No."
"It's your mother. Isn't it?"
"Yes..."
"I could tell that your future wife wasn't happy."
"How do you know all these things? Can you read my mind?"
"I don't have to. You could say..." She paused.
"What are you, anyways? I mean..." Vijay wanted to laugh at this question, because he should have asked her a long time ago, ever since she had woken up from her ancient sleep. "What are you?"
"Do you really want to know?"
"I have that right. I'm an archaeologist." This time, Sita laughed.
"It's not funny, Sita. My mother wanted me to have a happy life. Not..." He looked around his workplace and then continued, "Not like this."
"I see. Then perhaps you should quit your job and do something else."
"How could I do such a thing? What else would I be doing?" He was angry now and then got up from the bed.
"Hey! I don't mean to be rude. I was only suggesting..."
"You don't have to suggest anything. You know..." He paused and thought of his older brother. "My brother... You know him."
"Yes, I do know. You told me about him."
"Yes. I would say he's really lucky. He has a good family. Sometimes, I envied him. You know? I wish I had that kind of life."
"But you have me. You don't need anyone else."
"That's the problem. Don't you see? My parents don't know you. Not even my brother. And you... you're not even real."
"I am real." There was a moment of silence, and then Vijay said, "I think you should go back to your sleep."
"What? You... You don't want me?"
"Not anymore. It's time for me to find a real woman. I don't think my parents would approve of whatever is happening here."
"But... I thought you wanted me."
"That's what I thought too. Ever since I met you, I... I didn't know what to say."
"How... How dare you!" Sita fumed as she raised her voice that not even anyone could hear. Vijay stepped back, almost dropping on the floor. Sita came closer toward him and snarled. Vijay Sharma screamed.
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The next day, Vijay Sharma was found dead in his own laboratory. The authorities couldn't identify the cause of death, but one doctor had said there were bite marks on the victim's throat. Mary couldn't believe it, even after finding out that the statue mysteriously disappeared.
As for Vijay's parents and brother, they had no words to describe about the dreadful event, and yet the mother always blamed herself for pushing Vijay too far for his own good.
Next story- Dark Agent.
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