Shon Mehta

  Full moon above, I was sitting in a desolate cremation site deep in the valley, waiting for midnight. A bunch of dogs were howling at a distance, occasionally joined by shrieks of owls from the banyan trees above. I was cold, and a little scared. I am not afraid of living souls, but ghosts scare me -- they say that at full moon, ghosts can possess the living. I was carrying Sarvabhu's talisman in my hand. I was sure that it would protect me. Sarvabhu is the supreme god of all living, dead, and in-betweeners. I clutched hard at the talisman as I reached for the three pots I had brought with me. They were still warm. Sarvabhu would be pleased. You must be wondering what I was doing here, all alone in the dark, if I am so afraid of ghosts. This all started late one night almost two months back, when Rakha came looking for me. This was surprising, for he had never even talked to me earlier. I work as an executioner for the city and, like everybody else, Rakha considered me an outcast...