The morning mist was lifting slowly from the jungle floor. The lush green vegetation looked vibrant and full of life. When the first shafts of sunlight hit the floor, they leaves gleamed with the remnants of last nights dew. For a moment, it looked like the very air was sewn with emeralds andpeace reigned supreme. The predators of the night had retired, the bustle of the jungle had yet to commence. The rushing of all those little creatures that wanted to be about their business before ‘breakfast/them’ would be on the menu.

  A small trail, well trodden with generations of footsteps led straight to the wooden palisade that surrounded a sleepy little settlement. A small hunting village that woke up with the forest, and bedded down with it. Over time it had attuned its daily rhythms to that of the forest. Just like a living organism. A birds eye view would show about two to three dozen straw and wood huts, with roofs made of tough leaves, that surrounded a small square in the centre. The women woke up, started preparing the daily meals for the men who hunted. There was a stream that flowed through the village and so on one needed to go out and brave the jungle in the dark hours of early morning. The stream was called “Jeru” in the local dialect. Jeru meant ‘source of life’ in their language.

  Lore had it that the village was founded by a deity of the jungle who was named Jeru. To honor the gift of life, the village had small shrine under a Peepal tree in the middle of the village.

  Everyday, the hunters would assemble in front of the tree and ask for Jeru’s guidance and blessing. They prayed for success in their hunt and more prudently, asked for forgiveness from whatever creature who would give up its life for them. Like everyday, Kettan stood at the back of the pack. He was in his early thirties. His body bore signs of a hard life. Kettan was a singularly unambitious person. He was content with bagging enough game to contribute to the common store with some surplus enough left over for his own family. The family consisted of only his wife Kanni as no children had blessed their humble home in two decades of marriage.

  Kettan wasn’t the best hunter in the village, far from it. He was an excellent tracker but his archery skills left a lot to be said. He would miss seven out of ten shots he fired and that was a good day! The others made fun of him, good humoredly of course, in such a close knit community as theirs, where communal survival depended on harmony only someone who was out of their mind would push things too far.

  “Bring back a nice pheasent today. Don’t come back empty handed!. I cannot ask for some meat again from that sow Miri.” Kanni’s warning rang in his ears. Kanni was a pleasent enough woman to live with. Plain as can be with all the expected demands and desires a woman her age could have in the situation they were in. Being childless, Kanni had more time to devote to her desired activities. She was an expert weaver and could do wonders with the dried Rattī grass stalks they used as fibre. Her other favourite activity was comparing how poor they were compared to other more successful hunter families.

  Before setting out, Kattan gave a namaskar to his only friend in the village, the old and wise Mara?. His tutor in tracking, the older man always had a smile, showing his paan blackened teeth and blood red tongue. Mara? always said ,”The strongest hunter isn’t the one who knows how to fire, it is the one who knows IF to fire’.

  Kattan bore it as well as he could, day after day. Somedays he would bag something, on other days he would miss so often that he had to resort to foraging for roots and fruits to feed them both. Over time Kattan had taken to hunting alone, his tracking skills were second to none, but the other hunters resented his lack of archery. He tended to scare away the game with his botched shots so much that he was being called “Vedu Kattan” or “Unlucky Kattan” behind his back.

  Today Kattan decided to go further into the forest than he usually did. Just to get a few hours of peace if nothing else. As he was walking along a small unused trail, he noticed something. There was a small landslide and one of the more prominent mounds in that area now had half of it’s side sloughed off into a muddy mess. But what was strange was that the newly exposed face of the mound wasn’t all mud and rock, it looked like something built by somone. A perfect square cut into the rock that resembled a window and next to it, the hint of an doorway perhaps?

  Intrigued Kattan crept closer and the closer he got the more excited he became. This was definitely something artificial. Halfway into the muck, something poked him in the thigh. Startled he looked down to see a strangely curved shape of wood sticking out of the muck. He pulled it out on instinct and exclaimed in surprise. It was a shape he was intimately familiar with. It was a bow!

  What was strange was the material. It definitely wasn’t any wood he was familiar with. It had no string and the wood grain was strange. It felt oddly ridged as he passed his palm along the body of the bow. Curious he took out the spare bowstring from his pack and strung this bow. It was midday by now and he the noonday sun was beating down on him. In the bright sunlight, he wasn’t sure but he saw a gleam of light pass along the length of the bow. The gleam seemed to outline some of the shapes that the ridges outlined on the wood.

  Shrugging he knocked an arrow and decided to shoot it just to see the balance. He picked a stalk of a young banana tree about 10 meters away. Chuckling nervously to himself (he knew how bad he was at this), he drew the string back. And then, something happened, for a single instant, his world narrowed to that of a line of sight. He was so surprised that he let go of the arrow. With a small “thunk” the arrow hit something. Kattan was staring agape at the black arrow thrumming in the centre of the stalk.

  Hunting duties forgotten, he rushed to get his arrow back. And tried again, and again, and again. A few minutes later he chose a smaller target, an unripe mango hanging in the branches of a tree. The arrow flew true. Now as if possessed he tried another target, this time a small red berry he could see in a bush knee high. Thwack! The berry was hit perfectly. He let out a whoop of laughter. It must be the bow! It had to be!

  He spent the better part of the daylight hours playing with his new toy. When he came to his senses it was dangerously close to evening. Kattan realised that his game bag was completely empty, he bit back a curse at this revelation. There was no time even to forage a small meal for him and Kanni. His mind conjured up images of the nagging that awaited him. His nieghbours would all hear, they would do their best to hide the snide smiles the next morning, but they would all know, how he failed, yet again.

  As he closed his eyes to stem the tide of shame that was rose up, his sharp ears heard a rustling sound. He stilled momentarily and there it was again, it had to be a rabbit, running about the undergrowth. He had an arrow nocked on his bow, he turned and released it out of instinct. He heard the soft “shlick” of an arrow entering flesh and the rustiling stopped. He whirled towards where he had fired, he had forgtten the bow he had! This was magic! He was sure of it. His problems were over!

  Over the next few days a gradual change in Kattan was visible to everyone. He had started brining in more game than he ever had. He wasn’t the best hunter they had, but he almost always brought down small prey. Mara? started joking with him “See! You finally started following my advice eh? The strongest hunter is…” Kattan would smile and wearily finish the sentence in mock resignation. Then they would both laugh. Seeing Kattan being happies, Kanni became a happy woman as well.

  The village chief had taken notice and had publicly told Kattan that she was glad he was finally pulling his own weight. Kanni was also happier than she had been in days. Kattan spent his days hunting, but nights often obsessing over his bow, talking to it like it was his favourite child. Treating it with tenderness that even Kanni was rare to receive. One day, Kanni was tidying up the house and she saw the bow slung on to a wooden peg in the wall. Curious, she leant close to see what was so special. It was just his regular, the same hide wrapping, the same laquer, maybe the laquer look a bit new but that wasn’t a surprise. All the hunters took good care of their equipment regularly.

  It was then that Kattan entered and saw her studying the bow. “Get away form there woman!” Kattan bellowed. He rushed to her side and roughly pushed her away. Kanni’s eyes were wide with shock. Kattan had never raised his hand to her like that, not even once.. For a moment, she saw a faint gleam of madness in Kattan’s eyes. But he recovered himself, “Sorry I just think that it will be a bad omen… our run of good luck will end. I don’t want things to go back..” Kattan’s eyes had fallen to the floor, his voice had lowered to a whisper. Something inside of Kanni softened at this, she knew how hard it had been for him, for both of them. She relented and gave him a sweet shy smile. “Well… you could make it up to me…”, with a hint of invitation. Kattan’s eyes jerked up to meet hers and he needed no more encouragement.

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  The days passed in a blur, their suddenly improved cirumcstances and status brought with joy. Kattan and Kanni were happier than they had ever been. Kattan could now spend more time at home with her, he was now being consulted for his expertise in nagivating the jungle by other more experienced hunting teams. Through the happiness one thing that nagged Kanni was her constant lack of pregnancy. She yearned for motherhood, as all women her age did. It was a cruel joke indeed that Jeru had played with her..

  “Could there be something wrong with Kattan and not me?” This question nagged her constantly. She felt a bit embarrased at this, everything in that department worked as it should be working. They tried often enough, and now more often with real pleasure involved rather than a dreary sort of due diligence that had settled in to their lovemaking before.

  Kanni had also noticed that she was the target or more than one roving eyes. She supposed that the fact that she was childless made her somewhat attractive to other men. Her figure was still very close to what it used to be. While not a beauty in any sense of the word, she did stand out from other women. After multiple childbirths, any woman would not remain in the same physical form she was in her prime. Kanni’s new found good fortune had made her more outgoing and confident as well. Miri, the hated Miri had also come around asking for a serving of meat when HER man had come back empty handed but Kattan hadn’t.

  Kattan had take to returning later than usual now, he claimed he was going further into the forest now. But in reality Kattan was suspicious, he doubled back, hid his tracks and made sure he was always the last hunter to return. He was convinced that some of the other hunters had started to notice his bow. He deliberately failed a few times a month for appearance’s sake but the secret in his belly was nagging at him. The very fact that he had a bow that was magic was eating at him. He wanted to tell someone this exciting secret, before someone else found out about the half buried ruin. But he was afraid that he would have to let go of that bow, and he would be back to being plain old Vedu Kattan again.

  As days passed, at home, Kattan was oblivious to all but the bow. Kanni had noticed this increasing obsession, it worried her. When pressed about it, Kattan denied anything like that was the issue. He just grumbled about not being a father, this cut Kanni deep. What blow would be more cruel to a woman who yearned for mother hood? Arguements escalated into fights, and then prolonged silences, painfully polite conversations and all the awkwardness that came with it.

  Mara? in the meanwhile had noticed something wrong with the young Kattan. The man would be muttering to himself, looking around worriedly and often seemed to be clutching hos bow tightly. Old age brought with it a lot of free time, plus Mara? had a sharp mind. He was the only one apart from Kanni who cared about Kattan. And he ws getting worried. He tried to broach the subject with Kanni, who told him demurely that Kattan was worried about them being childless. She confessed as to how their married life now was strained.

  “Give him some space and time, he will come to his senses. He always does, young Kattan. Have you ever seen him not to do so? He never even drinks like the other idiots he grew up with! I will speak with him.” Kanni had to acknowledge that Mara? was correct. Kattan may be prosaic, stolid even, but he wasn’t irrational. He always came around. This was something else, but what else could she do?

  But Kattan didn’t rally, he would come home extremely late, covered in mud and muck, he would draw strange designs on the floor of the house and stare at them for hours. In the rainy days, when most of the hunters didn’t venture out, Kattan could not be convinced to stay indoors. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  This was no mere sadness due to being childless. Kanni took her troubles to the chief of the village, a kind yet firm old lady who ruled with an iron fist, and with the help of a lot of burly grandsons. The chief strenly warned Kattan to mend his ways or esle. But what was he doing wrong? Ignoring his wife? Surely that was a domestic problem. Was he harming her? Berating her? He did his best to keep her happy, he always did his job without complaint and did it in an exemplary manner.

  Kanni was at her wits end. A few months later, Miri was with child and was carefully escorted to her mother’s village a few leagues over by her loving husband. Her husband Upath was a morally loose man.. He wasn’t a hunter but the village craftsman. He spent a lot of the time in the village and was a much younger man. With Miri gone, Upath had a lot of free time when not working. Upath started secretly lavishing Kanni with gifts and slowly they grew closer. Over the course of a the next few weeks, they were even sleepling together. Kanni who had only ever know the advances of the prosaic Kattan and now being in a vulnerable state of mind, was over the moon at being wooed by a handsome. Their affair was in full swing and Miri wasn’t scheduled back for at least 5 more months. Kanni was determined to milk this time for all it was worth.

  Mara? tried to speak with Kattan. “ I think I know what is bother you.” He said to Kattan one day. To which Kattan had whipped his head around and was staring at Mara? in shock. “You have found something in the forest haven’t you? Some gold perhapes? Or something equally precious? You are trying to dig it out and are failing isn’t it? Why not share it with the village?”

  Kattan laughed at that. Relief ws apparent in his voice, and Mara? took it as a sign that he had hit the nail on the head. “I will share it when I have the gold with me, you know how they are. I will not let those guys take the credit for MY discoery.” “But look at what has heppened to you and Kanni? Your marriage is fallign apart! This is no way to live, who will take care of you when you get old?” Mara? said in a kindly manner. He had no desire to offend Kattan. Kattan retorted ,” She doesn’t know that I am doing this for her. I am aiming at the moon, I will become the strongest hunter in this jungle and she will live like a queen! I just need to be left alone”. Kattan the unassuming, quiet Kattan had discovered ambition. All because he had a magic bow that would never miss.

  Mara? had sighed in sadness, alas this was one thing he had no answer to. Kattan had started to drink alcohol regularly now. Earlier a teetotaller of a man, now he seemed to be drowing his sorrows in it. Kattan wouldn’t get violent, and their improved cirumstances allowed him the induelgence. Kattan would get incoherent, paranoid and then pass out.

  An affair was almost impossible to keep a secret in such a close knit community. But it was winter with long dark nights. And Kanni and Upath knew the best places to sneak out of the village palisade at night. With Kattan sprawled out unconscious on the floor of their hut 4 nights out of 6, Miri had stopped being extra careful about her nightly jaunts.

  One such night, she was sneaking back to their hut from behind, where the back door was. And there in the feeble lamplight that shone out of the open door she saw Kattan, staring at the sky, relieving himself. The sight was so unexpected that Kanni shuffled to a stop. This caused her foot to brush against a few earthen pots that were placed in a heap on the ground. One toppled over with a jarring crash of breaking pottery. Kattan’s head whipped around. “Who is there? Who is there snooping around me house? Kanni wake up! Someone is here.” Kattan was still slurring his words but he seemed sober enough to reach a reaspman;e conclusion.

  Kanni stopped in her tracks, put her hands to her mouth and tried to back away. She wanted to get to the front of the house, away from him, also so that she could pretend that she had come running from the hut via the other door. But fate had decided to play a different hand that day. There were twigs stacked along the wall of the hut, they served as kindling. Her bumping into he pots had disturbed one bundle and it now lay squarely in her path. Her foot fell on it with a sharp “crack”.

  An increasingly sober Kattan was now alarmed. He had not just been digging in the dirt around the ruin he discoverd, he had been practising with his bow. He had learnt to shoot with his hearing alone. And he was guarunteed a hit. Roaring in anger, Kattan said “I’ll show you how I really hunt”.. The bow was in his hands in a moment. He had taken the sleeping with the bow on him now, to never let it out of his sight. And he let loose the arrow in the direction he had heard the noise coming from.

  For the barest instant, he thought heard a faint whimper “No…” and then a sickening “Thwack” followed by a wet gurgle. The bow had done its job wonderfully. It never missed…

  He went in to get a torch, wake up Kanni so that he could gloat about his bravery. He got the torch but the hut was empty. He rushed outside and found his beloved Kanni sprawled in the dirt, the arrow had pierces her cleanly through the heart. For a moment Kattan ws silent, aghast at what had happened. Then he let lose a scream like a madman. And he wouldn’t stop…

  $ Days later, Mara? was walking to the spot where Kattan had discovered the ruin. He had the bow wrapped in ceremonial cloth and it was tied shut with a string. Kattan had told all, he had let all the things he had bottled up inside himself for the past 4 months out. He confessed to Mara?. The wise old man decided to keep the bow a secret, only the village chief knew about it. As far as everyoen else ws concerned, Kattan thought he ws killing an intruder and by a stroke of fate had shot his wife. Kanni’s affair to Upath came to light as well and no one blamed Kattan for what happeend. He spent the rest of his days a sad and broken man, too afraid to leave the village again.

  Mara? laid the bow to rest in the partially excavated ruin. If there was anyone else to hear him speak,they would have heard, “Kattan you fool! How many times have I told you, the strongest hunter isn’t the one who knows how to shoot, but IF to shoot. Asura could see in the dark and this bow was meant for them. They were the strongest hunters”