Angels and Demons

This is the story of AJ from the city Kani. Although, AJ was from the city, his ancestral home is in a village a few miles away from the city. His grandparents had lived there for over fifty years. Once his grandfather passed away, his grandmother decided to move into the city. The ancestral house remained locked for 20 years.

One hot and humid summer afternoon, a few years ago, his aging grandmother remembered an old photograph that she had in that house and wanted him to fetch it. He was in his twenties now and hadn’t been to that ancestral home since he was 5 or 6. He remembered the beautiful flower garden his grandmother kept with love and affection; he remembered the giant tamarind tree to one corner of the garden and the welcoming swing that hung from that tree; he also remembered how as a kid he sat on that swing repeating his abc’s while his grandfather pushed him to and fro.

So he thought that this would be a good opportunity to go back to that house and look at how things are and fetch the photograph for his grandmother. He set out on that journey which took him a few hours through a lush green countryside finally reaching that old lonely house on top of a hill. The road up the hill was narrow, steep and unpaved, lined with thick vegetation on either side. Once he reached the front gate, through the horizontal iron bars, he saw that the garden was no longer a garden. The roses and hibiscus had withered away and exotic wild flowers grew in their place. Where once was a well trimmed lawn, now lay a medley of weeds and plants he could not identify. The tamarind tree still stood there albeit without the swing.

He unlocked the gate and walked up to the front door. As a kid he remembered how he had to take his shoes off before entering. His grandparents were very strict about that. By instinct he found himself taking off his shoes and socks. He opened the door and stepped in. He felt the uncomfortable feeling of dust beneath his bare feet and saw the foot prints left behind as he walked. The air was thick and musty.

As he walked to the center of the house, he felt the presence of something else in that room. He felt his heart stop and then it raced. A cold shiver swept across his body. He felt his fist clinch. A sudden urge to turn back and run overcame him.

But he couldn’t. He felt as if his feet were chained tightly to a peg on the floor. After a couple of seconds that felt like eternity, a different feeling came to him. Now he felt like sitting on the floor and weeping. The feeling was not fear, nor was it comfort. The tears were not of sorrow, nor of joy. His life of twenty years flashed before his eye. He became aware of his failures and successes. He became aware of the people he loved and hurt and how they were usually the same.

While he sat there words of the the following poem came to him

In my mind he was born, a man who seldom’s worn;
With shining eyes and evil face, he grasped me by his deadly gaze,
Talked of ancient wisdom, been forgotten
He had me in his web so wide.

Angels weep and demons delight!
When he walks, or scriptures write.
Covered in gold and studded in thorn,
His words were vipers vile!

“Come with me”, he said;
“I’ll take you to thy bed!
Of what purpose is your day?
Of what purpose is this way?

Cowering, slithering, glimmering nil;
You live your life by someone’s will!
Where’s the glory, where’s the fame?
Soon you’ll find your head in frame!

Friends and foes will wait for none;
And then you’ll see you’re on your own.
Wasted are your days gone by!
Of what purpose is today?”

So I sat me down in thought,
(And these words here I wrote).
Then I saw at once he never spoke,
Of beauty, purpose or of hope!

Here’s the glory, here’s the fame!
In my mind, in my dream!

Then he realized with absolute truth that the angels and demons are inside his own head! He realized without a doubt that the presence he felt while he was in that room was a manifestation of his own thoughts. He realized that he could project his thoughts as if he were an angel or a demon. And he finally understood that he always had that choice. So he decided to leave the photograph behind, knowing well that the demon was by his side.