THE HARBINGER OF NOR'WESTER

Wrath of the Goddess

Vaibhav stood inside the forest connecting Naxalbari and Hatighisa. He breathed in the fresh air and closed his eyes, remembering the day Sattu showed him mount Kanchenjunga. Then he folded his hands in front of his chest and prayed, he prayed earnestly.

The atmosphere started to dull down and the winds became wild. Black clouds began approaching directly over Vaibhav. Then the thunder crackled and the bolt fell in front of him, blue streaks descended from the skies into the ground and vanished into nothing, until she stood in front of him. Still dressed in a black robe, the hood up and the face covered in a veil. The harbinger looked straight at Vaibhav, massaging her ears over the hood.

"We still gonna have that and speak in  Sanskrit!?", Vaibhav made the gesture of the veil on her face.

The harbinger raised her hand and slid back her hood. The veil fell off on its own. Vaibhav looked at her face, appeared fresher since Vaibhav first saw her, she looked more fierce and soft at the same time.

"You sent Aishik to spy on me! Started various rumours in the naxal circle since my arrival", Vaibhav smiled, "was it a that good first impression!?"

"No! Just that you were different. Almost made me question if you were the answer to all this instead of me!", replied the harbinger.

"What is your actual name, anyway?"

"Kali!", replied Kali still massaging her ears, "short for Kalibaishaki Saha!", she said putting her hands down.

""Literal storm of the north!, What changed?", Vaibhav made a mocking gesture of a heartbreak.

"You. You were ready to help with mundane problems. But the moment, I came, you took up on destroying me! What was it, a city dweller's discomfort with the capability of an unremarkable village girl!? You thought, I was some noir femme fatale!", Kali mocked Vaibhav equally, raising her hands, looking at the sky.

"Your ears are burning because I prayed to you. You don't realise your godhood!", Vaibhav stepped forward and turned his lips, "you started out telling me stories, you knew I loved them. Favours like asking me to carry buckets and then asking me about my investigation. The moment I refuse, you withdraw your attention, refuse to quench my love for stories! I never doubted you, never suspected you, simply because you told me you're not her! You're a femme fatale but you're also a goddess! So, I pray to you, don't do this...!"

"How arrogant of you to think that change is so easy!", sparks crawled up to Kali's hands, "It is impossible as a human being to move forward without a struggle, war and destruction are the only universal principle, no matter how civilised you approach change......!"

Vaibhav stepped forward again, "you deploy the machines? Are they ready to receive your transmission!?"

"Yes!", stated Kali, "...and it's time for the reckoning!", she waved her hands, curling her fingers into an asamyuta mudra. The clouds got darker as Vaibhav saw the entire valley dotted with streaks of lightning. The rain projectors were working, Kali just created an artificial cyclone.

"Thus is the revelation of the divine! The unmesa that will bring the pralay!", Kali said shouting still waving her hands. It started raining, started raining heavily, "the dissolution will come, it'll wash away everything! all grief and all belonging! Can't you see Vaibhav, you can rebuild!"

Vaibhav raised his right leg and put his foot down hard on the ground. Immediately another rain projector sprung up, but this one had a violet aura. Kali arched her brows as the device kept humming and then it was gone. The rain stopped. Kali tried but couldn't conjure any thunder. She looked up to see the clouds still swirling above.

"I just created many nacreous clouds!", Vaibhav said pointing his finger towards the sky, "chemically whole clouds, often produces small thunder, but are incapable of rain!"

"I did it once", Kali warned, "I can still pick you up and throw you off this cliff!"

"Let's brawl!", Vaibhav made a ridiculous kung fu pose and ran towards Kali, aiming her face.

Kali ducked low, kicked off her shoes, and ran towards Vaibhav barefoot. They made contact and Kali caught Vaibhav's fist with her left hand. She rotated her right to the back to gain bodily momentum and used her bare feet to climb over Vaibhav. She then kicked him in the chest, making both of them fall back onto the ground.

Vaibhav crawled to stand, clutching his chest, "just clarify...", he said breathing heavily, "were you with the naxals? Because you fought them too at the Baka lohar bridge! So were you?"

Vaibhav staggered to again aim an untrained punch at Kali. Who easily grabbed him again into an interlock. Kali arched Vaibhav by his throat to make him look at her upturned, "I pledge allegiance to no propaganda! I stayed a naxal to only know the terrain better! There was no trauma, no shooting by Inspector Hansda at Mayatalav, not stories of Maya, nothing! I just wanted freedom...!

"The intentions must be good", Vaibhav spoke from the choke trying to punch Kali on the gut with his elbow, "or else the freedom earned is more horrifying than slavery!"

Kali threw away Vaibhav, who rolled, standing again, as Kali came charging once more.