The miraculous ritual | Sneha Srinivas

I'm Alex, and this is the tale of a "miracle" human sacrifice case that I handled in Mathur village. The night constable called me at 3 a.m. about a sacrifice. Over the phone, he sounded frightened. I was already neck-deep in animal sacrifice cases as a result of this backward and superstitious community, and I didn't want to add another one. But I was completely incorrect. I thought I'd seen it all in my ten years of duty, but this case shook me to my core. The officers on night patrol waited outside for my arrival. They were all scared to come in with me. I had no idea what all the fuss was about until I saw her. It took me 5 minutes to comprehend what I was witnessing. A little girl was coated in blood from head to toe. She sat with her head down and her knee to her bosom. As I neared, she looked up, her hands in the air, searching for a hold. Her eyes were as white as snow. It made my stomach turn to see a 13-year-old blind girl in such bad condition.

"Mani, what the hell is this?". What happened to this child, and who is she?" I shouted angrily.

Rani, a blind girl, came running for help, claiming to have witnessed a human sacrifice at her home. Subinspector Mani had nothing else to say about the incident. He was too afraid to go inside the village and investigate. It is believed that outsiders would suffer deadly consequences if they trespass on the night of the sacrifice. My predecessor advised me not to interfere with their religious practices. But this was murder, and I resolved to put a stop to this barbarism. I notified the forensic section and child protective services about Rani. Even after rinsing it all away, some of the blood remained in her hair, under her nails, and feet. The station had an odd odor, and the air tasted metallic. I requested her to sleep while I investigated the crime scene.

As the forensic squad collected evidence from Rani's house, Zamindar Rudhran appeared agitated. Rudhran was a powerful man, and the 16 villages that surrounded Mathur bowed to him. His family vowed to defend and preserve the purity of village life. In short, they denied the villagers access to schooling, medical care, and technological advancements. People were superstitious and engaged in various forms of religious extremism. Rudhran used his money to either buy or murder any government officials who dared to challenge their methods.

We discovered a female corpse at Rani's home. Because Rani and her twin sister were not identical, an older man recognized the dead girl as Vani, the dumb sibling. We were still looking for their parents, Kothai and Raman. Rudhran and his men declined to assist us with our search. They looked at us as if they were planning something terrible. They had no idea that this lawsuit was about to destroy them. And I have every intention of using Rani to bring down Rudhran. But there were still so many unanswered questions. I was curious as to how a blind girl lived while the dumb one did not. So I went to the station to meet Rani.

My stupid coworkers were relaxing outside, too afraid to be in the same room as Rani. I threatened our writer with accompanying me to the interrogation. Rani sipped the dosas and tea I had brought her.

"Rani, your sister Vani was discovered dead at your house. I'm sorry; I understand how little those words mean to you right now. Your folks are still missing. Zamindar Rudhran must be protecting them. But rest assured, we'll catch them shortly. Before I go any further, could you please tell me everything that occurred last night?" I said.

"Vani," she said her sister's name in pain, taking a deep breath before telling the horror tale.

My folks are village Ghostbusters, but they were Rudhran assassins. Zamindar forced victims to consume mad poison and then brought them to my parents for a brutal exorcism. The rite can sometimes result in death. My parents were adamant that they were fighting evil and that the killings were their sacred mission as Ghostbusters. They refused to believe anything else. For a long time, I felt the same way. I believed my parents could move the earth's core. Vani and I were as thick as thieves, but we never concurred on these rituals. My twin was the wise one, enough to see straight through their ruse. She accepted her disability and desired to continue her education and dreamt to lead a normal life.

Rudhran had intended to murder Officer Alex. However, when he discovered that Vani had overheard their discussion, he changed his target. He encouraged my parents to conduct a resurrection ritual and suggested testing it on us. I felt honored to partake even though I had no idea what the ritual meant. My father told me not to tell Vani because she was a buzz kill. If I had warned her, she would have been with us.

My mother said Vani would be participating first and asked me to remain in the room. We were never permitted to see these rituals, and now that we were volunteering, I hated being locked away. So my curiosity drove me to find out what was going on. I lay on the floor, pressing my ear against the floor. Eventually, I could make out my parents' chanting and a muffled cry. I was puzzled. The chanting eventually became more intense and loud, as did the rustling of the plastic bag. There was banging and shouting in an attempt to be set free. I was taken aback. Vani was choking as she cried out. The rustling faded gradually, and the room went silent.

I jumped to my feet and dashed to the far corner of the room. I covered my mouth and trapped my scream in my throat. It was not a holy rite. It was murder. I couldn't believe my folks had murdered Vani, their flesh and blood. Vani was correct from the start, and I ignored her. I made a huge mistake by failing to tell her about the ritual. I begged God for a miracle because I knew I was next. After an hour of loud chanting, Mother opened the door and dragged me out. Vani was found dead Next to the square, fire Kunda.

“Vani has let us down. You must now die and bring back your sister to life. Rani, don't you want your sibling back?" Father asked

I became terrified. I couldn't believe my parents believed they could bring the dead back to life. I had to do something as it was a matter of life and death when my father went inside to get another plastic bag. I took a burning wood from the fire Kunda and spun widely. Mother took a hit, and it gave her a nasty burn. I rushed to my neighbors and banged on many doors for help, but no one answered. The locals were well aware of the ramifications of disrupting a ritual. Later, I took refuge inside an abandoned hospital.

I hated to interrupt Rani, but my search team had called. I moved away from her to answer the phone.

"Did you find Kothai and Raman, guys?" I inquired without delay. I wished to arrest the couple right away.

When I found out how Vani died, my rage knew no bounds. I secretly hoped their parents had died. And that is exactly what the staff told me. The couple's bodies were discovered at the abandoned hospital. Kothai's throat had been slit, and Raman had been stabbed numerous times in the back with blunt force trauma. Every cell in my body was tingling with horror. I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of Rani murdering her parents. I didn't want to scare her by revealing my information. So I took my seat quietly and waited for Rani to complete her story.

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My parents were hell-bent on completing the ceremony. In a matter of minutes, they found my hideout. Mother went to the ground level, while Father went to the first floor to find me. I was inside the generator room. Being born disabled in a superstitious community was not easy. The name-calling, casting us as evil toddlers and cruel pranksters, traumatized us. Vani, on the other hand, possessed the ability to bounce back quickly and strongly. And With her, I felt safe and strong. She kept me on my grounds. I felt lost without her, like a frightened mouse hiding in the dirt from the wild cats.

I didn't have time to weep. My killers were close by. To calm myself, I kept silently repeating my sister's name. My fears gradually faded, my body started to strengthen, my vision darkened, and my other senses became more sensitive. I realized the miracle I prayed for was taking place. I began to think like Vani. To get through the night, killing my folks seemed to like the only option. I calculated my chances of victory in this fight. The fact that they had split up to look for me and that no one would come to their assistance at this witching hour was encouraging. So I sat on the ground level with a sharp glass piece, waiting for my mother. She hauled me out when she noticed me. With all my power, I grabbed her arm and twisted her towards me. I slit her throat without hesitation when we came face to face.

My father was the next beast to be slain. He dashed down to save Mother. But she'd already gone to hell. In a fit of anger, my father screamed my name and threw things. I prepared for my defense by creeping into the shadows. When the time was right, I quickly wrapped a rag over his head and gave a hard blow to his head with a hammer. He fell to the ground. I sat on his back and stabbed him until his breathing stopped. Our parents were meant to protect us. It crushed my heart to learn that we were merely guinea pigs.

Rani was taken into custody by Child Services after she provided us with additional information about Rudhran's crimes. After hearing Rani's tale, everyone at the station became heavy-hearted. Two young girls had their entire life ahead of them. It was heartbreaking that no one stepped forward in their hour of need. Vani was too young to die. Rani was sentenced to detention until she reached the age of 18. The investigative team established that Kothai and Raman murdered Vani, and Rani murdered her parents in self-defense. But I couldn't shake the idea of a blind child killing two adults on her own. However, there was no proof or witness to back it up.

I obtained a warrant for Rudhran based on Rani's evidence. We took him to the station to interrogate him.

“Impossible! Officer, you're lying." Rudhran was enraged. "You want me to believe that Rani, a dumb girl, told you I was responsible for the ceremonies and murders."

“Vani is the dumb girl. Rani, unfortunately, can not see, but she spoke very highly of you, Mr. Rudhran.” I responded with sarcasm.

“What? No. You're mistaken, officer. Vani is deaf, and Rani is mute. Inquire with anyone in the town." Rudhran begged.

"However, the old man confirmed..." I was interrupted by Rudhran.

"The old man must have made a mistake, officer," Rudhran exclaimed.

It felt unnecessary, but I verified with the villagers and some of the girls' distant relatives. My coworkers and I were astounded to learn that Rani was born deaf. I quickly checked with the child service officer, who informed me that Rani was blind. My world was spinning. I forgot about the murders because I had a new issue to deal with. The court will call Rani's testimony into question. I landed on the chair with my palms on my head. My colleagues and Zamindar stayed silent and shared an eerie look while I wrestled with my exhausted brain about Rani's disability. Nobody dared to say anything, but I knew what their stare meant.

Was the ritual successful? Is Vani back?

Sneha Srinivas

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