had stepped into freezing water. Her foot was soaked all the way up to her ankle.
“OH!” She gasped and drew back her foot immediately. Mushika’s eyes glowed brighter. Tara saw a large, black, underground lake stretched out in front of her. The water had an oily surface with barely a ripple on it.
“What should we do?” asked Tara, not liking the look of the water at all. Who knew how long this water had lain and what kind of dark, slimy creatures lurked in its turgid waters? She stood there chewing her lip, running a trembling hand through her hair.
“Surely there is another way to the other side,” she said to Mushika, hope in her trembling voice.
Mushika shook his head.
“This is the only way. If we go any other way we may get lost, or encounter a danger far greater. We have to go on. Remember, time is running out. You have twenty-four hours to save Ananth. We do not have the luxury of a detour.”
Tara closed her eyes as her imagination took over. What if there were water-snakes, or crocodiles with powerful jaws, or slimy monsters waiting to suck her down to the watery depths? What if the lake was endless and her strength gave way before she reached the other side? What if she drowned?
“Lord Ganesh, help me! I can’t do this, I can’t,” she said as she sat down at the edge of the lake and sobbed.
“Don’t cry, Tara. It’s not that bad. Do you really want to try another way?” asked Mushika, moved by Tara’s evident fear of the water.
She looked up hopefully. To their right, she could see a tunnel branching off upwards, toward light, toward air, toward freedom. She would go up and ask Lord Yama to spare Ananth’s life. She would beg for his forgiveness at not having brought the water, but at least she would not be here, faced with the prospect of living out one of her worst nightmares. She looked back and forth between the black water and the path to freedom. The voice inside screamed RUN, but images of Ananth kept popping up in her head. Lord Yama’s next piece of advice swam into her fatigued brain:
“Sometimes the right way is the most difficult, while the wrong way the most easy and tempting. Make your choice wisely.”
Tears slid down her cheek as the familiar downward-spiralling feeling of panic started, and she was powerless to stop it. She knew what she had to do. Time was running out; she had to go across the lake. Mushika snuggled up to her, squeaking encouragement. He, too, was worried, but trying not to show it. His little body shivered, and Tara could feel mini vibrations in her palm.
Tara saw a faint movement in the centre of that oily blackness and large ripples tiptoed lazily to shore. She stood up, shook her head, and straightened her shoulders.
“Lord Ganesh ... please look after us,” she muttered, her heart thumping loudly in her ears.
She stepped into the water, which inched up her legs with icy fingers. It reached her ankles, then her knees. She forced herself to keep moving. She could already feel slimy things swirling around her, rubbing against her legs through the soaked cotton of her pyjamas. Every nerve was taut and frozen, but she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other, refusing to let panic take over. In she went, deeper and deeper, till the water was past her waist and creeping up to her neck and shoulders.
“Brave girl,” squeaked Mushika, who was perched on Tara’s shoulder. He was shivering so much in the icy air that rose from the surface of the lake that it seemed he might topple over. Finally, he decided to say no more. He dug his teeth into the collar of Tara’s kurta and hung on. Mushika’s eyes were like twin beams of faint light in that complete darkness. Tara’s teeth were chattering as the intense cold seeped through her wet clothes and sucked out all the warmth from her body. Around her, the water swirled and churned. She heard splashes, gurgles, hisses. Something intertwined her legs and then slithered away. Bile rose in her mouth, but she clamped it shut and forced herself to keep going.
“Be ready to hop onto my head as soon as the water reaches my shoulders,” she told Mushika through clenched teeth.
Mushika squeaked.
The water reached Tara’s shoulders and then it went no higher. Tara kept walking, expecting the ground to fall out from under her feet at any moment, but it never did. She had reached the deepest part of the lake and she realized she would not have to swim after all. She let out a deep, shaky breath. Sometimes imagined horrors are so much scarier than the real thing, she thought. She would have to remember this the next time.
The water was getting shallower. Without any warning, a huge, shapeless mass rose in front of her and a deep, dark smell of something malevolent took her breath away. In complete shock, she took a step backward, lost her balance and fell over. The murky, black water closed over her head. She blubbered in panic as she felt scaly things brush past her face and long, slimy creatures entwine themselves in her hair. The viscous water entered her mouth and nose, threatening to choke her. The foul taste made her gag. The world spun blackly. Ananth’s body swam through her panicked mind and, with a Herculean effort, she stood up. She spit out the water, trying to control her heaving stomach.
Where was Mushika? He was no longer on her shoulder.
“Mushika!” she called out in a choked voice, fearful of losing her one companion and lifeline to sanity.
There was no answering squeak. And no light.
The darkness was so complete that she stood paralyzed for a moment, not knowing which direction to take. Suddenly, she was smothered in a wet, stinking blanket that was squeezing her so tightly she had difficulty breathing. She flailed her arms and legs, trying to get free. She tried to yell, but every time she opened her mouth she tasted rotten eggs and decayed fish. Tara decided to keep her mouth shut and concentrate on kicking free before she passed out completely.
It seemed useless. The blanket was getting snugger around her and the last of the air was disappearing. The blanket seemed heavier all of a sudden and Tara realized that it was slowly forcing her underwater. She sobbed as the water inched up her neck to her face, and she felt the last of the air vanish. She kicked with all her strength as her lungs cried out for air and panic surged through her body. Her foot connected with the blanket and then went through it — a hole. She dug her toe in and with all her strength pulled down. She heard a muffled ripping sound. She swam toward the rip, arms outstretched, black spots dancing in front of her eyes. She had a few seconds of consciousness left.
Swim ... swim through the tear, a voice told her, and she swam. Tara slipped easily through the tear and swam hard. Behind her, the shapeless mass thrashed wildly, searching for her. Tara surfaced and opened her mouth a moment too soon. The slimy water slid down her throat and, retching loudly, she vomited. Instantly, the shapeless mass drifted in her direction and she felt its edge curl around her foot. She stumbled away, hoping she was headed for shore.
The water level dropped at every step and she sobbed with relief. A long, scaly body wrapped itself around her foot, biting through the thin cotton. She kicked hard, and galloped out of the water.
Once on shore, Tara scrambled on all fours away from the water’s edge and lay on the mud, panting. Then she remembered that Mushika was gone. A sob rose in her throat and her heart quailed at the thought of being lost in this darkness and finally going mad.
Sudden movements near her chest made her sit up with fear. Horrified, she tore at her kurta. She reached inside, grabbed the moving thing, and pulled it out.
“It’s
