Karma is a Witch
He woke up with a start,
sweating. His heart
was beating like the noise of a malfunctioning engine.
A dream or a hypnosis, could
it have been his ghost?
Could it have been
his imagination, the sound, or is it his host?
He sprang up
from the bed. Again, the sound was familiar, disturbing. Sure, it's the strange
being again, this time troubling. Something glided past
the window; it looked real. Could it be him, or were they up to a dozen? A cold
sweat ran down his spine, as he stood frozen
'Caleb, are you okay?' a calm voice interjected the tense atmosphere, jerking him back to reality.
He swerved
round and grabbed
his host ' I saw him! He has a murderous
intention! He wants to make me a causality'
'Who?'
queried his Sister, alarmed.
'Kareem!', he blurted out, shivering and frantically looking
around him. ' I swear I did!'
'But that's not possible. Kareem
is dead', Sarah replied, astonished.
'Listen, Sarah, I saw him holding his neck, blood
all over him.' He seems to be seeking revenge.'
Then dropping to his knees, holding her hand, he pleaded, 'Don't let him
kill me, Sarah, do all you can to save me from him'.
'Why would he seek your life when you were acquitted of his murder?'
'Acquitted by man but not by conscience Sarah. Since Kareem's
demise, I have lived under a
morbid fear that he's coming back'. He replied sweating profusely.
'There you go again',
she snapped
at him, withdrawing her hands from his hold. 'it's just not possible; this
guy is dead and cannot in any way come to life again, or do the dead live among the living?'. She demanded
as she lowered herself in the chair next to her.
Caleb
stood up and walked cautiously to the window as if expecting to see someone
there. He raised the curtain, poked his head outside, looked at both sides, and
retreated. 'I bet I saw him', he muttered aloud.
Sarah watched
him like a man going senile. Her brother had been a dignified cop until he
retired last year. He had won many laurels in Sharpville District as a gallant police officer. But the issue of Kareem Khalid's murder, a public
protester, nearly soiled his garment of professionalism.
The
prosecution could not prove that Inspector Caleb Johnson's manhandling of Kareem ultimately led to the poor teenager's death. Though
the court upheld
the fact that Kareem was asthmatic, it found no correlation between his
manhandling and the cause of his death. The coroner's report showed Kareem
died of exhaustion. The prosecution could not even prove a manslaughter case.
But Kareem's
mother, Katherine, could not be swayed. She just couldn't separate her only child's
death from the brutality of the mean officer.
She walked up to the grinning cop after the infamous court judgment.
'You have
nothing to fear if you ain't got a hand in my baby's death', she stressed
with an obvious rage. 'but brace up for the consequences of your actions if you did. Kareem's ghost
will haunt you and yours like a witch until karma is extracted!'
It appeared the woman's threat
began to work.
Two weeks later
the Officer lost his only daughter in
a bizarre circumstance. His wife had left the baby in their car to purchase
groceries at a nearby shop when a teenager rammed a car into the stationary
car. The toddler died instantly. It was alleged a brake failure. The mother couldn't
survive the shock. She gave up a week later in the hospital while under
intensive care.
"It's him, the witch!'
muttered Caleb as he glanced
over his wife's body
in the hospital. He consequently lost his mind. After months in the infirmary,
Caleb was released to Sarah, his younger sibling, and has since lived under her
watchful eye.
'Are you now certain
there is no one there?'
inquired Sarah, feeling sorry for his troubled brother.
Caleb stood
in the middle of the room and ran his hand through his hair as if contemplating what to say. His present
challenge had taken its toil on his frame. His once
tall, imposing figure has been reduced him to a dull, ponderous, pachyderm
appearance.
He pulled a chair and sat facing his
sister. 'Listen, Sarah, I'm dealing with a stubborn
witch.' His mother cursed me right in the court premises, don't you understand?'
'No, I don't', returned
Sarah, looking straight
into his eyes. 'Now let me tell you what I understand: A
gallant officer falsely accused of murder,
completely acquitted
by the court but fell to the cheap blackmail
of the victim's mother. This
is a mind game, Caleb. How could you have been so conscientious of that woman's
bluff? You lost your dignity, your charisma, your peace!'
Rising from his seat, Caleb moved to the window again. He turned and
shook his head.
'If only you
know what I'm going through,' he submitted gravely, 'but I think you know
that this is beyond anyone!'. Then, moving close to her
and raising his voice, he said, 'I was cursed by that woman. She believed
I killed her son!'.
You didn't kill him, did you?' inquired Sarah, perusing her brother's
face.
'Did I ?', returned Caleb thoughtfully. 'I didn't. I only hit his nape'.
'But you never said once you hit him. Rather, you have always admitted
you never beat him.
He shifted
his gaze from his sister,
reflected for some time, and looked
into space as if he were trying to recollect the moment.
'Yeah, I did hit him'. He confessed. 'He was struggling violently
to break free from my grip and I needed to keep him in check.
It was a fatal blow to his neck.
'But the coroner's report....' Sarah hazarded, alarmed.
'Yeah...I had to speak
to Carlos', he interposed solemnly. 'Understand Sarah...I needed a bailout; it's all that I had, all that I worked for
Sarah rose from her chair too stunned
to speak. She had resolutely
defended her brother in several
fora and interviews, asserting his innocence
Suddenly
Caleb rose, with a fixed gaze towards
the window, almost transfixed.
"There he is!', he exclaimed, retreating, pointing at the window.
'can't you see him? Look at him holding his neck!'
Sarah glanced at the window but saw nothing.
'I told you he
wants my life!', resumed Caleb, in a
perplexing state. Then, addressing the invisible object,
he blurted, 'You ain't gonna kill
me as you killed my wife and daughter. I didn't kill you! I only hit you
on the nape
and that's not the cause
of your death. Get off me now, or else I will break your skull!'
He grabbed the teacup on the table and aimed at his invisible adversary. The cup hit the window glass
and the whole thing came crashing down.
His bewildered sister could only gasp in horror as she watched
her frenzied brother addressing an invisible creature animatedly.
'Here
he comes, Sarah!
Don't worry, I'm no longer
afraid of him. Come on, witch, I'll send you back to where
you sprang from!' And with that, he
thrust out his hands like someone wrestling with an opponent till Sarah nearly
believed there was someone else indeed in the room.
'Stop! Stop
that!!' Sarah cried as she tried to separate her helpless brother who appeared to be struggling with an invisible
enemy. Caleb now rolled on the floor, struggling to get
up but held down by the witch.
'Get him off me Sarah!, he's holding my neck!' he shouted
'I can't see anyone!'
Sarah returned
hysterically as as tried to drag up her brother from the floor.
'Call the police!
Call 911! He's suffocating me!'
Sarah scrambled
into her bag for her phone and dialed 911. She managed
to explain to the receiver the situation and was assured the paramedics
would be available soon. By the time she got back
to her brother, she noticed he was gasping for breath, his eyes dilated and he
struggled to speak.
'Caleb!, 'Caleb!!' she screamed
as she held his face to her chest, her voice shattering through the night.
'No!, stay with me, the police
are almost here'.
But he looked drowsily at her and gently closed his eyes. The paramedics later confirmed him dead.
Better: 'Listen, Sarah, I saw him holding his neck, blood
all over him. He seems to be seeking revenge.' He dropped
to his knees and took her hand.'Don't let him kill me, Sarah, do all you can to save
me from him'.
