The Terrible Demoness of the Black Meadow

A very, very long time ago, in a distant place, there was a large field named 'Black Meadow'. It was said that a terrible demoness lived there, who had taken the form of an old grandmother.Many travelers walking along that path used to go missing. Sitting around the fire in the evening, the elders would talk about terrifying things, and so would the girls who went to fill water at the well in the morning. They would say, "That demoness coaxes people, takes them to her small hut, and eats them."No one dared to go there after the sun had set. Even during the day, people walked by avoiding that place. Everyone used to warn each other about that terrifying place.One day as the sun was about to set, a holy man arrived at that meadow.He had been walking from very far away to worship God. While walking, he had lost his way. Since it had already become late, there was no one to show him the way or tell him about the danger of that place.Having walked all day long, he was very tired and he felt hungry too. It was the autumn season, so it had started to become very cold in the evening. He felt as if it would be great if he could stay somewhere. He looked around but did not see any human house anywhere.After wandering here and there for a few hours, he saw some trees in the distance. A faint light was shining from between those trees. He said happily, "Oh! Surely there is some small house there. I will stay right there tonight."Looking at that light, dragging his aching feet, he moved forward quickly. There was an old and dilapidated hut there. The fences of the hut were broken and weeds had grown everywhere.The pillars of that house had become old and crooked. The door of the hut was open. Inside, in the illumination of a small lamp, an old grandmother was sitting, spinning thread on a spinning wheel.The holy man called out from the outside, "Grandmother, namaskar! I am a traveler. I lost my way and I have no place to spend the night. Can I stay at your house tonight?"The old grandmother stopped spinning the wheel, came near the holy man, and said, "I feel sorry seeing your condition. How difficult it must have been for you to lose your way in such a lonely place! But I have no room to keep you. In this small hut, there is neither a bed to sleep on nor a place to sit."The holy man pleaded, saying, "Grandmother, I do not need anything. It is enough for me just to have a roof to hide my head. Even if I am allowed to sleep right on the kitchen floor, I would be very happy. I am very tired, otherwise I will have to sleep outside in this cold meadow itself."The old grandmother did not agree at first, but finally she said, "Alright then, you can stay here. I cannot really host you well, but come inside. It is cold outside, I will light a fire."The holy man entered inside happily. He took off his shoes right outside.The grandmother lit some firewood to start a fire and told the holy man to warm himself. She said, "You must be hungry, I will cook some food for you." Saying this much, she went towards the kitchen.After the holy man finished eating his food, they talked for a long time. The holy man felt that he was so lucky to have met such a kind grandmother. Gradually the firewood ran out and the fire was about to go out. The holy man started to feel cold again.The grandmother said, "It seems you are feeling cold. I will go outside and bring some more firewood. Take care of the house until I return."The holy man said, "No grandmother, I will go instead. You are old, I cannot send you to fetch firewood on such a cold night."But the grandmother did not agree. She said, "You are my guest, you sit quietly right here." Saying this much, she stepped outside.In a short moment, she came back again and said, "Listen to one thing carefully! You stay right here, do not move anywhere. No matter what happens, do not go near that inner room and do not look inside. Remember what I said, okay!"The holy man was a bit confused but he said, "Since you told me not to, I won't go, rest assured." The grandmother went outside again and the holy man was left alone.The fire had already gone out and only a faint lamp was burning in the hut. The holy man suddenly started to feel a bit scared. He became very curious about what the grandmother said about "not looking into the inner room".What could be hidden in that room that the grandmother did not want to show? For some time, he restrained himself remembering his promise, but in the end, he could not control his mind at all.He stood up slowly and took steps toward that inner room. In between, he also felt scared that if the grandmother found out, she would get angry. But he reached near the room again.Even though a lot of time had passed, the grandmother did not return. The holy man's mind started to panic more and more. He felt that he must find out the truth. He said to himself, "She won't find out that I looked. I will look for just a moment and return immediately."He moved quietly toward the door of the inner room. With trembling hands, he opened the door a little bit and looked inside. What he saw took his breath away! His body shuddered with fear.That room was filled with human bones! There were splatters of blood all over the walls and blood was smeared on the floor. In one corner, there was a pile of nothing but skulls. In another corner, arm and leg bones were piled up.The smell of that place made him feel nauseous. Due to fear, he collapsed to the floor. He began to tremble severely and his teeth started chattering. He somehow crawled away from that terrifying place."How terrifying!" he began to scream, crying. "What kind of place have I arrived at? God save me! That kind-looking grandmother turns out to be a real human-eating demoness. Once she returns, she will surely eat me!"As soon as he thought this, strength came to him from somewhere and taking his stick, he ran out of the hut. He ran as fast as possible to save his life in the dark night.He had not gone very far when he heard the sound of someone chasing from behind. A voice screamed and said, "Wait! Wait!"Acting as if he did not hear, he ran even faster. But that voice started to come closer and closer. He recognized it, it was the voice of that very same old grandmother, which now sounded very loud."Wait! You sinful man! Why did you look inside that room?" she came even closer.The holy man forgot all his tiredness. Fear gave him a lot of strength. He knew that if the demoness caught him, his condition would also be just like those bones. He began to pray in his mind, calling out to God.Behind him, that terrifying demoness was running. Her hair was flying in the air and her face had become horrifying due to anger. In her hand was a large blood-stained knife and she was still screaming, "Wait!"Just when the holy man reached a state where he felt he could run no more, the morning light began to break. As soon as the first ray of the sun was seen, that demoness vanished. The holy man was safe now.He finally understood that he had escaped from the 'Demoness of the Black Meadow', whose story he always used to hear but never believed. He thanked God who saved him.He took out his chanting beads and bowed to the rising sun while praying. After that, leaving that terrifying meadow happily, he went on his way.