Lucifer
Updated: 6 days ago
I: The Truth
Just like every morning, my alarm rang, and I wanted to wake up to switch it off, but I couldn’t. Fortunately, a few seconds later, it stopped on its own. At 7:15, I woke up after a long sleep, still lying in bed.
Meanwhile, my mom entered my room to say, “Wake up, kiddo! You are going to be late for college.”
Forcing myself, I got out of my bed and freshened up before walking into my living room to find my breakfast already served. Around 8 am, I reached my bus stop and found a few friends waiting for the bus. A few minutes later, I got into the bus following them and sat in my spot.
All my friends were enjoying themselves as usual without me. By 9 am, I reached my college and sat beside Rohan, my best friend. From the moment I sat until the classes got completed, Rohan, who just sat beside me, didn’t even greet, talk or even respond.
By 3 pm, our classes were over, and I returned home. This routine continued for two days. Even though everything seemed alright, I noticed some changes over the past two days that I have never experienced before.
I could see that no one around me was responding. My mom was the only one who used to say every morning, “Wake up, kiddo! You are going to be late for college.”
My dad, on the other hand, reads a document all day, and my younger brother stands in front of our home every evening and cries for a few minutes. After that, he went to my uncle’s house, which was just beside ours, and all of these actions totally confused me. I could not understand why my family members were behaving differently.
The next day, when I woke up, I noticed that the date card showed 14th February 2015. Since the present date was 17th February, I tried changing it, but I was unable to. When I wanted to tell my mother, I couldn’t find her. Neither she nor my father was present at home. I thought of going to Rohan’s house to talk to him.
I reached his home within 10 minutes, since it was just around the next corner, and as I walked, I saw him speaking to our classmates. Though I shouted to greet him, they didn’t respond as usual, but when I walked near him, I could hear him saying, “It was unfortunate, but three days ago while Vimal was travelling to a hill station, he died in an accident. Except for his brother, who is currently in his uncle’s care, everyone has been killed.”
It took me a while to realise that I was no longer alive. I was now a part of the void yet filled with desire.
II: The Punishment
When I returned home dejected, I noticed that my parents were still unaware of what had happened. Not wanting them to live in a lie, I wanted to tell them the truth. For the first time, my father heard me, and while I spoke to them, I noticed my uncle coming to our house. For the first time in my life, I loved him for taking care of my little brother.
Looking at our family portrait, he confessed, “My dear brother. Thank you for making me rich. I don’t know how I can repay you for what you have given me power.”
My uncle’s words shocked us. Not even for a minute could one of us believe it. Unable to control his anger, my father tried punching my uncle, but he couldn’t.
As my uncle walked around our home, I told my parents that we were killed by our uncle. I also told them that my brother was only being cared for because he would be the heir. As soon as he became an adult, my uncle might be planning to take the estates from him and end him as well. However, to our surprise, my uncle and aunt were taking too much care of him right now and showering him with too much love.
Days passed by as we wondered what could be done. A couple of days later, I saw my uncle and aunt arguing about raising another kid in their home. With each passing day, my aunt began to reveal her true colours. She stated straightforwardly that she cannot afford to love another child besides her own.
Though my uncle explained his plan earlier, it didn’t make much difference to her. He pleaded with her, assuring them that this burden would only last a few months. When asked what would happen in a few months, my uncle just smiled.
With this incident, all three of us became restless. We tried our best to communicate with my brother, but our efforts failed. I could observe that my brother changed so much after our death. He started learning more and more about souls and devils, and, on his side, he was desperately trying to contact us too.
Though both of us lived in the same room all the time, we couldn’t talk. One day, I found him reading a book called “Dark Shade,” which had been suggested to him as the best book for finding answers about souls and the afterlife. After completing the preface, we started the chapter named “Lucifer: The Ultimate Master.”
The chapter was about Lucifer, the representative of demons. It was mentioned that it was his responsibility to send away all those souls with desires to hell for proper judgment. As to where he lived, it was mentioned that he lived in a graveyard, waiting for people to be either cremated or burnt in order to seek their souls.
After reading the chapter, I was curious whether Lucifer could be of any help. So when the moon took its turn, I went to the graveyard along with my parents. Before we entered, many other souls asked us to leave. These souls were as bright as the sun, and we couldn’t stand near them. However, we went inside without heeding their words.
As we entered, we could see many black souls waiting around burnt bodies. As we walked towards them, we could see a young boy flying above the flames of burning bodies. Noticing all the souls around us, we could understand that this boy was Lucifer.
As I approached him, he asked, “Tell me why I shouldn’t cease you but rather help you?”
Observing his smile, I replied, “Because I seek to help my brother, after which I would surrender.”
Looking at me, Lucifer replied, “I shouldn’t indulge myself in mortal affairs, child. I appreciate your concern, but there is nothing any of us could do.”
Approaching Lucifer, my father pleaded, “My child is innocent, and his life is in harm’s way. Please help us!”
Thinking about it for a moment, Lucifer replied, “If I help you, you shall have to pay a price for it, but even if you agree, tell me how you can be certain of your child’s future?”
Controlling myself, I said, “You want us to give up on helping my brother, but we can’t.”
As his eyes turned dark, Lucifer explained, “The dead are no longer participants, child. It is beyond you to dictate your brother’s future. Even if you talk to him and send him away, his destiny shall dictate his end.”
As my father said, “Let’s leave!”
A cage formed around each of us, and when we touched the cage, the pain we experienced was as if our soul was ripped into two halves. Closing his eyes, Lucifer said, “You shall be presented for judgment, children and within a short span, your brother will join you too. Worry not, as your uncle will receive his due in time too.”
Credits
This story was written by P. C. Ravuri, edited by R. K. Chamarla & Tarun Chintam and illustrated by Shailusha Anugu.
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