The venom

That was a stormy winter evening and I was enjoying hospitality of a strange host in a small village, surrounded by sky-kissing mountains from all sides. Screaming wind was hitting the broken windows letting the chilly air inside the hut. The clutter of the lose-hinged door was enough to freeze blood in my veins. Hoos of stranded owls outside in the wood pierced through my ears, creating ripples of fear in my already fainting heart. The fireplace in the corner was dimly aflame with hay wood which sprinkled burning meteors on its sides after intervals.

While I had finished my early dinner an hour ago, I had yet to meet the host whose promised appearance in this so-called guest room was due shortly. And then the door of the hut was pushed by someone very slowly and I noticed somebody like nobody entering inside. A tall figure wearing a dark color shawl and holding a swinging lantern in his hand was standing a few feet away from me. "Welcome and good evening my friend", a faint but firm voice greeted me whose body was hung on a pair of crutches. I turned my face and returned his greetings in the same tone but could not see through his robe which hanged around his forehead like an arch. "Well, have a seat my friend" he murmured again and sat himself in a couch lying next to the fireplace with a clear uncomfortable move of his body.

"I am a blogger" trying to speak a bit louder, I started introducing myself "and travel to far flung areas to meet people like you and listen to their life stories". He pushed the door with the stick in his hand, closing it with a bang, making the groaning wind outside more scary. By then, the twittering bats had settled in their nests and I could imagine movement of other nocturnal creatures in the fields outside with my mind's eyes.

"What do you want to hear from me gentleman?" asked my host. "In fact, I have already narrated what I had seen and experienced to people like you", he continued like a penniless person, unable to help further. His words could not satisfy me and I requested him to recall a tale to tell the word and be remembered for ever. "Hum, would you like to have a cup of hot coffee as the room is still not warm and your dream is yet to come true." Then he showed me things for making my coffee and took a deep sigh as if he was trying to recall something.

"We embarked upon a journey to solve the mystery of a fallen cherub in the Desert of Katwi Chara." Finally he started. He spoke, changing voice tones, sitting patterns and giving vent to his emotions at times during our sitting. I will narrate rest of the story in his words.

According to him, after facing a number of adventures amid hostile conditions during their unfathomable long journey, eventually they reached their destination - the Desert of Katwi Chara. The desert didn't look like a place of this earth but an erupted piece of land created into ugly looking heaps of sand and dust without food and water or burning air all around.

After an year of a nightmarish adventure, we finally reached to the Temple of the Fallen Cherub. However, before we could enter the heaven's gate of the temple, a strong wind-storm, filled with sand struck the temple from all sides. We tried out best to keep together but the storm shattered all our belongings and dispersed us all.

The storm subsided after few hours and the dust settled. I found myself all alone in a place where I could neither see the temple nor my companions. Perhaps Heavens were unhappy with our intentions and we were all punished.

I composed myself with a hope to leave the place and try to return home from a place about which I had no idea, even of its location on the face of earth. I walked directionless, surviving with a meager amount of water and food I had. Days were hot like hell and nights were freezing cold. I did not see even a single bird in the air or a creature on the ground. I was the only being on that lost planet.

One day, I saw a mound on my right side in that wide wide desert which gave me some hope. I rushed in that direction and was astonished to see my dear camel Zazu sitting on the burning sand. Zazu was really a ship of the desert for me during my expeditions in the past.

After seeing his master, running in his direction, Zazu grumbled loudly in an unusual manner. I had never seen Zazu so angry in my life. I leaned down to hold Zazu's halter and get him ready for the ride. But instead of bowing to his master, Zazu stretched out his neck like a serpent towards me with fiery eyes. By the time I tried to evaluate the situation, Zazu attached me but missed. All that happened within a light's speed.

And there was no way out but to run from that monster. Zazu had lost his mind and was no more his friend. Seeing Zazu’s intentions, I started running in a blind direction. At that moment, I first priority was to run as far away as possible from Zazu.

After running for more than an hour, I had lost breath and fell down into a deep dry well. While it was not a favourable situation, I found it a blessing in disguise. By the time I wanted to compose himself, I suddenly saw Zazu reaching edge of the well. Due to depth of the well, he could not stretch his neck more than few feet inside. Zazu roared with dismay and sat down. I could see his feet from inside the well as if he was having rest. After few minutes, I heard rustling of something on the other side of the dry ground of the well which was nothing else but a scorpion, hellish black in colour and big enough to wrap around my neck. That was a horrible situation – I was caught between the devil and the sea. The scorpion had sensed my blood and Zazu was after my life. I had no power to push them away.

It was difficult for me to keep an eye on both my enemies as they were bent upon taking my life. The scorpion started moving slowly in my direction and I started to think about unthinkable thoughts. The sun had reached on top of my head and I could see everything inside the well. At that moment, I saw a long wooden stick on my left side which gave me an idea. I picked up the stick and threw it toward the scorpion. The scorpion slowly mounted and moved few inches on the stick. It was the moment for me to move the stick upwards with full force. I did the same and in the next few seconds, the scorpion was thrown out of the well. I took a sigh of relief by cleaning sweat from my forehead.

Ten, twenty and then thirty minutes passed but I did not hear Zazu whose legs were not visible to me from inside the well. That meant that he had left in despair and it was time for me to try to go out of the well. After some struggle, I was able to reach to the neck of the well and took out my head carefully to see the situation outside. To my surprise, Zazu was still around but a little away from the well fast asleep. It was a great opportunity for me to take advantage of his slumber soft.

I came out of the well and walked noiselessly in my right direction. Then I stopped immediately and turned back. I was still very angry with Zazu whom I considered very unfaithful. I went near him, shouted at him and kicked him in his belly with full force. And the sky fell down, all the hell went open at me and I found my leg pierced deep into Zazu’s belly as if it was a heap of mud.

What happened next, I didn’t know at that moment. Later I was told by one my companion that after the storm subsided, they tried to look for me in the desert and finally found me lying unconscious near the dead body of Zazu. They brought me back home in a very critical condition. The doctors found a very deadly poison in my body and there was no way out but to sever my leg.

Now I recall the reason, it was my pride which punished me, I could have left the place peacefully but venting my displeasure to an animal became the cause of my life-long disability. It was me who threw the scorpion outside which fell over the camel and instantly killed him. The poison changed Zazu’s body into a rotten cotton-flake. I was also not spared and got punished as well.