Blood Moon Prophecy Part-4
Tucked in the blanket, Sharon was staring blankly at her brightly lit phone screen. The light emitted by the screen cast an eerie glow in the dark room. It was past midnight but sleep evaded Sharon. The irrationality of her family has left her baffled. No one was ready to listen to her, even her dad who had always encouraged her to speak her mind, had asked her to stop her 'nonsense'. Sharon was hurt, incensed, outraged but most importantly determined to prove them wrong.
Sharon was fervently hoping for her phone to catch network and let her access to internet. She had been trying since 1 hour but to no avail. She decided to give it a last try and hence refreshed the web page once again. Miraculously, a page propped up before her with the text:
"A total lunar eclipse is sometimes called a Blood Moon, because of the reddish tinge the Full Moon takes on when fully eclipsed. The term is also frequently used to describe four total lunar eclipses that occur in a row."
Sharon quickly took a screenshot of that page and kept the phone on her bedside table. Finally, she could sleep peacefully.
Next morning at breakfast, Sharon switched on her phone and clicked opened the screenshot which she took last night. With a defiant expression, she shoved the phone towards the elders.
"Go on, read it. I hope all your superstitions and irrationality will be dispelled once you read that a blood moon is nothing but a total lunar eclipse with no power to call forth the dead 'sacrificed' to the Devil and therefore none of us is in any mortal danger of being recruited to Devil's army." sneered Sharon.
Martha, seeing the impetuosity of her daughter, shouted at once, "Have you forgotten how to talk to your elders? What you need is a good thrashi....."
"Enough Martha, this is no way to talk to your daughter." Martha's chiding was cut short by this sudden interruption by granny.
Granny continued, "It's alright if we don't see eye to eye. We ought to respect her opinion, just as" she turned towards Sharon, "She ought to respect ours. I appreciate your scientific acumen, but I cannot accept what you are trying to shove down our throat. Blood Moon Prophecy is an ancient knowledge handed down to us by our ancestors. And I, for one have full faith in the ancient teachings of our revered ancestors. Since time immemorial we have observed this ceremony to protect ourselves from danger and bad luck. All this may seem a joke to you but this is a matter of faith for us. Neither of us have any right to undermine each other's beliefs." Granny turned towards the elders, "If she does not want to participate in this ceremony, no one will coerce her into joining it. Respecting one's free will is one of the precepts of our ancestors. Moreover, I don't want any sceptic to join our ancient rituals."
For the rest of the day everyone seemed to avoid Sharon. The ceremony was supposed to take place at night in the village community hall. Sharon's family left for the community hall at around 9 p.m. No one asked Sharon to join them, only Esther before leaving asked, "You sure you won't come?"
Sharon smiled feebly and said, "Sure."
Actually, Sharon was feeling quite uneasy. She hadn't expected the situation to escalate so quickly. All she wanted was to point out the absurdity of their rituals, she had no intention of hurting their sentiments or isolating herself. Now that she was alone in the house with nothing to engage herself with, she found her mind wandering to the 'sacrifice' of Samuel and the Blood Moon Prophecy which her granny mentioned.
What if the dead really come back to claim the living? Will Samuel come back tonight? She thought to herself. And then she shook her head as if to ward away these illogical thoughts against which she fought so hard and ended up hurting her loved ones. She couldn't believe that she was capable of thinking such absurd thoughts. Feeling frustrated with her wayward thoughts she went to bed. But it seems that the absurd, superstitious thoughts were in no mood of leaving her, they accompanied her to bed.
Samuel, his sacrifice, dead coming back, Devil, blood moon prophecy, rituals and a ceaseless stream of thoughts wrapped around her mind. She couldn't think of anything else. Ironically, her mind was fettered by those very superstitious thoughts which she abhorred so much. Frustrated, she switched on her mobile and read the definition of blood moon from that screenshot. The rational explanation of the phenomenon somewhat soothed her mind.
She felt thirsty. As she reached for the glass by her bedside, she found it empty. She did not want to get out of her bed but she felt a compulsive need to quench her thirst. Reluctantly, she got out of her cosy blanket and went to the kitchen. As she was about to open the kitchen door she thought she heard a faint rustling sound issuing from the kitchen as if someone is dragging their feet on the wooden floor. She strained her ear. Nothing. Everything was still. Shrugging, she opened the door. And let out an ear splitting shriek for she saw a dark silhouette standing near the kitchen sink. It was a silhouette of a teenage boy, not much different from the stature of Samuel as Sharon had last seen him five years ago. Sharon stood petrified at the kitchen threshold.
Suddenly she heard a voice inside her own head, "I had always known that I would find you by my side even when everyone else would abandon me. I had always known this, Sharon. It feels depressingly lonely here. But not anymore. I had always enjoyed your company and I am so glad that now I will have you for the eternity. Don't worry Sharon, it's not as bad as people say rather this place sometimes feel better than the living world. Let's not waste any more time, I am fed up of being alone, rejected, abandoned. Without any further ado come to me Sharon."
Sharon saw the silhouette inching towards her. She ran fast as she could, bumping into furniture and crashing things. She heard a sound as if someone was banging the wooden chairs. The banging was continuous and it kept growing louder and louder until it became unbearable.
Sharon woke up with a start, she was sitting on her bed. She was drenched in a cold sweat. She reached out for the glass on her bedside table and to her relief found it full. She gulped down the water and sat staring at the ceiling. She could hear her heart pounding against her chest. It was an awful dream nevertheless, she was thankful that it had ended. She resolved never to dismiss the beliefs and rituals of her granny, however stupid it may seem.
And then suddenly she heard a loud banging on the door.
Sharon was fervently hoping for her phone to catch network and let her access to internet. She had been trying since 1 hour but to no avail. She decided to give it a last try and hence refreshed the web page once again. Miraculously, a page propped up before her with the text:
"A total lunar eclipse is sometimes called a Blood Moon, because of the reddish tinge the Full Moon takes on when fully eclipsed. The term is also frequently used to describe four total lunar eclipses that occur in a row."
Sharon quickly took a screenshot of that page and kept the phone on her bedside table. Finally, she could sleep peacefully.
Next morning at breakfast, Sharon switched on her phone and clicked opened the screenshot which she took last night. With a defiant expression, she shoved the phone towards the elders.
"Go on, read it. I hope all your superstitions and irrationality will be dispelled once you read that a blood moon is nothing but a total lunar eclipse with no power to call forth the dead 'sacrificed' to the Devil and therefore none of us is in any mortal danger of being recruited to Devil's army." sneered Sharon.
Martha, seeing the impetuosity of her daughter, shouted at once, "Have you forgotten how to talk to your elders? What you need is a good thrashi....."
"Enough Martha, this is no way to talk to your daughter." Martha's chiding was cut short by this sudden interruption by granny.
Granny continued, "It's alright if we don't see eye to eye. We ought to respect her opinion, just as" she turned towards Sharon, "She ought to respect ours. I appreciate your scientific acumen, but I cannot accept what you are trying to shove down our throat. Blood Moon Prophecy is an ancient knowledge handed down to us by our ancestors. And I, for one have full faith in the ancient teachings of our revered ancestors. Since time immemorial we have observed this ceremony to protect ourselves from danger and bad luck. All this may seem a joke to you but this is a matter of faith for us. Neither of us have any right to undermine each other's beliefs." Granny turned towards the elders, "If she does not want to participate in this ceremony, no one will coerce her into joining it. Respecting one's free will is one of the precepts of our ancestors. Moreover, I don't want any sceptic to join our ancient rituals."
For the rest of the day everyone seemed to avoid Sharon. The ceremony was supposed to take place at night in the village community hall. Sharon's family left for the community hall at around 9 p.m. No one asked Sharon to join them, only Esther before leaving asked, "You sure you won't come?"
Sharon smiled feebly and said, "Sure."
Actually, Sharon was feeling quite uneasy. She hadn't expected the situation to escalate so quickly. All she wanted was to point out the absurdity of their rituals, she had no intention of hurting their sentiments or isolating herself. Now that she was alone in the house with nothing to engage herself with, she found her mind wandering to the 'sacrifice' of Samuel and the Blood Moon Prophecy which her granny mentioned.
What if the dead really come back to claim the living? Will Samuel come back tonight? She thought to herself. And then she shook her head as if to ward away these illogical thoughts against which she fought so hard and ended up hurting her loved ones. She couldn't believe that she was capable of thinking such absurd thoughts. Feeling frustrated with her wayward thoughts she went to bed. But it seems that the absurd, superstitious thoughts were in no mood of leaving her, they accompanied her to bed.
Samuel, his sacrifice, dead coming back, Devil, blood moon prophecy, rituals and a ceaseless stream of thoughts wrapped around her mind. She couldn't think of anything else. Ironically, her mind was fettered by those very superstitious thoughts which she abhorred so much. Frustrated, she switched on her mobile and read the definition of blood moon from that screenshot. The rational explanation of the phenomenon somewhat soothed her mind.
She felt thirsty. As she reached for the glass by her bedside, she found it empty. She did not want to get out of her bed but she felt a compulsive need to quench her thirst. Reluctantly, she got out of her cosy blanket and went to the kitchen. As she was about to open the kitchen door she thought she heard a faint rustling sound issuing from the kitchen as if someone is dragging their feet on the wooden floor. She strained her ear. Nothing. Everything was still. Shrugging, she opened the door. And let out an ear splitting shriek for she saw a dark silhouette standing near the kitchen sink. It was a silhouette of a teenage boy, not much different from the stature of Samuel as Sharon had last seen him five years ago. Sharon stood petrified at the kitchen threshold.
Suddenly she heard a voice inside her own head, "I had always known that I would find you by my side even when everyone else would abandon me. I had always known this, Sharon. It feels depressingly lonely here. But not anymore. I had always enjoyed your company and I am so glad that now I will have you for the eternity. Don't worry Sharon, it's not as bad as people say rather this place sometimes feel better than the living world. Let's not waste any more time, I am fed up of being alone, rejected, abandoned. Without any further ado come to me Sharon."
Sharon saw the silhouette inching towards her. She ran fast as she could, bumping into furniture and crashing things. She heard a sound as if someone was banging the wooden chairs. The banging was continuous and it kept growing louder and louder until it became unbearable.
Sharon woke up with a start, she was sitting on her bed. She was drenched in a cold sweat. She reached out for the glass on her bedside table and to her relief found it full. She gulped down the water and sat staring at the ceiling. She could hear her heart pounding against her chest. It was an awful dream nevertheless, she was thankful that it had ended. She resolved never to dismiss the beliefs and rituals of her granny, however stupid it may seem.
And then suddenly she heard a loud banging on the door.
......... To be continued
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