The Intruder

He was sitting on the rocking chair facing the bed.  Until a moment ago, the chair was facing the large French window but was now directed towards Jimmy’s bed.  The lack of light in the room all set to lull a tired man to sleep cast a shadow over the man.  However, the silhouette clearly portrayed the figure of a tall and well-built man.  He sat with his left leg crossed over the other and his right elbow resting against the corresponding arm of the chair.  Jimmy could make out that his right fist was gently pushing against his chin.  Overall, it looked like the figure of a man who was intently looking at his subject.  

Then, the man dropped his arm and leg and leaned forward.  The moonlight through the window gently shone on his handsome face.  He had a pair of large and beautifully shaped calming eyes and an eagle nose.  The smile that broke through his red, lotus lips exposed his large, pearly white front and canine teeth, sending a chill through Jimmy’s spine, who sat still with his eyes transfixed on his uninvited guest who so comfortably took the liberty of sitting in his bedroom.  Jimmy could now see the man’s shoulder length wavy hair slightly fluttering in the breeze coming through the narrow parting between the two window shutters.  “How the hell did the window open? I was sure that I had secured them,” was the desperate passing thought that went through Jimmy’s mind.

“Hello Jag Mohan, how are you today?”  It was a soft, cold voice that somehow didn’t sound natural to Jimmy.  He was at the point of bursting.  He was breathing very softly until this point, lest he would attract unwanted attention.  But now since the attention was already drawn, the breathing turned long and loud, but not for long because it was just seconds before he pulled himself to ask his visitor who he was and what he wanted.  Natural formalities, but the only difference was this visitor had been paying him a visit everyday for the last twenty-one days.

The man looked puzzled, like an old friend who remembers you from the schooldays, but you seem to have erased him from your memory.  “You don’t know me, Jag Mohan? I am you and you are I.  There is no difference between us. ”

Jimmy was almost in tears.  He was sobbing, his contracted facial muscles deceiving his otherwise manly expression.

The man let out a soft and brief laugh, “sorry my friend, I seem to have confused you more.  Perhaps I should have introduced myself slightly more tactfully.  But don’t worry, things will fall into place very soon. ”

The man stood up and walked towards Jimmy’s desk.  His figure was much clearer now, at least from behind, because the moonlight shone on his full self now.  Jimmy thought he was around six or six and a half feet tall.  He was not good at guessing measurements anyway.  He was wearing a black woollen overcoat.  His dark jeans and heavy Doc Martens suggested that whoever or whatever he was, he was not a local.

“You want a drink, Jag Mohan, McDowell’s malt? I thought you would like it, being the childhood drink of yours. ” He turned his head and looked at Jimmy with a sarcastic smile. “ It might calm your nerves down a bit. ”

Jimmy gave the go ahead with a nod.  

“I always like to talk over a drink, no matter what time it is.  Its just an old habit of mine that I never seemed to get rid of. ” Although hearing the man speak, Jimmy was deep in his own thoughts as well.  He wondered what exactly he was doing by accepting a drink from this stranger who could very well be a ghost.  Why and how did this man come into his room and what on earth was he doing by offering him a drink at this ungodly hour? So many questions, “but why can’t I ask him anything? Why am I not asking him anything?”

As he was going through all these questions, an arm holding a glass suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, startling him in the process.  It was his guest holding out the drink for him.  “That glass is not mine.  Don’t tell me you came all prepared with glasses as well as the drink. ”

“Is that all you have to ask me Jag Mohan? I thought you had many much more important questions for me. ” He said as he took his seat on the rocking chair getting back to his old position.  His face was shadowed once more.

“Yes,” said Jimmy as he took a sip from the glass.  The drink was just as he liked it, a large whiskey with an inch of water and now everything felt very different to Jimmy.  With his words and his offer for a drink, the man seemed to wash away the fears that Jimmy had within him all this while.  In fact he felt comfortable, he had some company that would protect him against other fears.  The fear that he had some time back for this man now seemed to be a fear that he had for something else altogether.

“You will know everything at the right time my friend, just be patient.  In the meantime, I have a favour to ask from you. ”

“ A favour?” Thought Jimmy and then he exclaimed, “wait, hang on for a moment there.  I don’t even know who you are and how you came in here and you are already asking me for a favour. ” He put a genuine emphasis on the ‘you’ and ‘me’.  “I should ask you for a favour by asking you to get out of my house, but I am being extremely lenient here by asking you to introduce yourself first. ” Jimmy then also noticed that the man did not hold a glass in his hands, contrary to what he had said about his old habits a few moments ago.

“I am a friend, Jag Mohan.  It doesn’t matter who I am or where I come from, you will know all that in due course.  What matters to you at this moment is that I mean no harm to you and I am here to change your life for the better. ” His movements made the moonlight fall on his face time and again as he spoke and his voice still maintained its original soft and dignified tone.

“Change my life, now you want to change my life? I don’t want any bloody change in my life, I am happy and contradictory to maybe what you are thinking, that was until you came along way.  And mind you, I also think that it is very important that you introduce yourself to me. ”

“Remember the year 1985, Jag Mohan Singh, the year when you were appearing for the final year exams of your engineering course? You had bribed the college peon Ramprasad to get you the questions for the paper on ‘non-destructive testing and condition monitoring’. ” Jimmy was startled, but there was more to come.  “You got the paper Jimmy and you passed the exam.  You were very bad at that paper, because in spite of gaining access to the questions ten days before the exam, you still managed to score just the required pass mark. ” The last sentence was preceded by a sarcastic sneer.

The dropped jaw and wide-open eyes in front of him did not stop the man from talking, “you know you can lose your degree even now if your college finds out about this little disagreeable act of yours, don’t you Jag Mohan. ”

“How the hell do you know about that? Did Ramprasad open his big mouth to others in the college?” Although taking the interrogating stance, Jimmy was startled at what he heard.  He could slowly feel a strange fear creeping into him, the fear of being caught that a cheating student breeds in his heart while writing a closed book exam.  He dared not think of the consequences of this being leaked out to the authorities of his ex-college.  Not only would he lose his job and degree, but also his reputation.  And what about his wife and parents and the rest of the family? There were no bounds to what he could and would definitely lose.  There was a moment’s silence after the question, but Jimmy did not see his all-knowing guest in the dark smile.  

“Now tell me, how do you know all this?” This was said almost in a shout.

“Shhh…stay quiet Jag Mohan, you might wake up your servant and he may end up hearing our conversation.  Tell me, do you want this little secret of yours to be revealed to your college?”

Jimmy now knew what the intruder was getting at, blackmail.  But, he was not to be trapped so easily.  He realised that after all these years, the college would want to see proof to make any decision against the accused and that could only be offered in the form of witness by Ramprasad.  Jimmy was doubtful that the peon would risk his own job by taking such a step.  Confidently, he made this point to his adversary, who simply broke out into a soft and restrained laughter.

He leaned forward, the moonlight revealing his face again.  “Do you remember Ramprasad well Jag Mohan, or were your meetings with him simply too brief to make an impact on your memory?”

The moonlight revealed the relatively young face of this handsome man giving way to the lines and light wrinkles of a fifty eight year old.  His hair showed streaks of grey and tired eye bags appeared above those high cheekbones.  Within a second and for a second, the long lost and conveniently forgotten college peon made his appearance in front of Jimmy through this face.  As he jumped backwards, eyes blinking rapidly, breathing growing heavy and spilling some of his drink on the duvet, the intruder, who regained his original look, spoke again.  “Is it clear now Jag Mohan? I was Ramprasad and he was I that day.  You don’t want to know how I did that, but I suppose you realise that I can do it again. ” His face acquired a grim look as he said these words; his eyes drilling a hole right through Jimmy’s mind and soul, making him feel naked and helpless.  But it changed and the uncompromisingly overpowering look gave way to a smiling face that threw an invisible blanket of warmth around the meek lamb that now felt a peculiarly comfortable feeling under the mercy and control of the shepherd.