The Man-eater
( Short Story by Menonimus)
The Man-eater
The Man-eater
Enjoying the encaged snakes, birds, monkeys, deer, hippopotamus, gorilla,s and other animals with wild and slimy scenery we have arrived at the over-bridge and standing on it at Guwahati zoo, my friend Alakesh asks me, pointing to a tiger under the bridge, “Have you seen the tiger? I then cast my melancholic eyes lower to the over-bridge and say, “Yes, I have seen. It is a leopard.” Suddenly Alakesh seems to be emotional and says to me, “It is a man-eater. Taking heed of our presence, the tiger walks up to the down post of the bridge and begins to growl surly.
“How it becomes a man-eater?” I asked and walk on. Then he pulls me back and says, “Don’t be afraid of it. It cannot eat you.” My curiosities increase and ask again, “How does it become a man-eater?” He then begins to tell:
I was then a student at Guwahati Commerce College. In our college, there was a girl student who had been reading in H. S. first year. Her name was Miss Gitika. She was a mediocre student. Physically she was charming, alluring and amicable. Her father was a businessman staying at Paltan Bazar. She was a very lively girl who liked to fly with the wind. Almost all the students knew her. Many boy students philandered after her to win her love. But none succeeded. But the sense of love for the opposite sex is not only a mental feeling but also a physical need. Once she came to close contact with a very handsome smart boy from the college whose name was Babul Chaudhary. She fell in love with him. Their intimacy deepened and they began to love each other wildly. Babul Chaudhary was the son of a big businessman. He had come from upper Assam. He was very fond of fashion and comfort. Later on, we came to know that he was addicted to the drug also. Babul promised to marry her after passing B. Com. The boys seem to be interested more in the girls for having physical contact. Babul was not an exception. He did not take patience. But girls are the toys in the hands of boys. They become the victims of the boys’ lust easily. They generally hesitate to repudiate the offer of the boy whom a girl loves. Many times she denied having physical contact with him but at last one day she could not but gave her away under his arms. Since then they began to grow indifferent to their studies and began to ramble to and fro together keeping themselves absent from their classes. They walked hand in hand in the less frequented spots of Guwahati. They also visited the zoo and spent hours after hours not enjoying the zoo but enjoying walking hand in hand. In other words, to say, they became like wild birds. Thus some months passed. One day Gitika came to college in a gloomy mood and calling on Babul aside, she sorrowfully declared that she had gotten pregnant by him. As soon as he heard the news, he choked up, but after some time he said, “Don’t mind, I will be the father and you will be the mother of the child.”
Would our society support us? – Gitika said.
“We will be married soon. I shall take you as my dearest life partner.” Babul Chaudhary saying so showed a light of hope in the darkness. Then they left for their respective classes.
The next day Gitika came to the college and searched for Babul. But Babul was not at the college. She secretly searched for him here and there, but she saw him nowhere.
Babul had been staying at Pan Bazar with his two classmates. Miss Gitika being anxious about Babul, ran to his mess and enquired of him. But there he had not found him. Asking a boy who had been Babul’s friend she came to know that Babul had left the mess yesternight paying off all his dues. The cook of the mess happened to come and said that Babul had left Assam for south India by plane yesternight.
Gitika went home with a heavier heart. She felt that the world was full of darkness. Nothing seemed visible to her eyes. Wherever she looked at she saw only the dark spirit of the Devil. She began to shock after her own existence. Going home she lay long on her bed and closed her eyes. She did not take her meal and spoke lie to her mother that she was ill. The whole night she spent vigilant stirring to and fro on her bed.
The next day though she felt nervous, yet she went to college but did not attend the class. She entered the college compound and searched for Babul in vain. Then coming out of college she went to a nearby friend’s home. Namita was the name of her friend. She was one of her faithful girlfriends. Going to her home she revealed all her secrets. First, her friend was shocked at her case but eventually, she advised her to take an abortion and then encouraged her to begin life anew.
Days began to pass and the embryo in her womb had begun to grow. Soon her parents became aware of her uneasiness. Her father became blind in anger and fury. The blood on his feet soared up to his head. In shame and insult her father rushed at her and began to chide her. A noisy uproar suddenly broke forth in that house. His neighbour ran to their home and consequently, the news reached every ear of that locality.
She could not make out what to do. The morning sun reclined to noon. Already Gitika’s weeping and sobbing had ceased outwardly. Because she had already lost all her spirit even to weep. Only tears have been coming out of her eyes. Being closed up in her room she prayed to God for death. But death does not come to anyone after his will.
The next day morning she got up from her sleepless bed and stealthily came out of her home. At about ten o’clock in the morning she entered the zoo and stopping at nowhere she came straight to this overbridge and threw a piece of stone at this tiger which was lying at the corner of the den. The tiger jumped up in anger and began to howl. Then she held up her two arms and jumped down suddenly. The tiger first seemed to be startled but soon attacked her and tore her into limbs and ate up her flesh greedily. Thus the tiger became a man-eater. 0 0 0
The Man-eater
N.B. The short story ‘The Man-eater’ originally belongs to the book ‘The Prostitute and Other Stories‘ by Menonim Menonimus. The Man-eater
The Man-eater
Books of Composition by M. Menonimus:
- Advertisement Writing
- Amplification Writing
- Note Making
- Paragraph Writing
- Notice Writing
- Passage Comprehension
- The Art of Poster Writing
- The Art of Letter Writing
- Report Writing
- Story Writing
- Substance Writing
- School Essays Part-I
- School Essays Part-II
- School English Grammar Part-I
- School English Grammar Part-II..
Books of S. Story by M. Menonimus:
Related Search:
- Indian English Short Story in English
- Short Stories with the Theme of Love
- The 12 Best Short Stories Ever Written
- Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant
- The Best Short Stories of the 21st Century
- The Greatest Short Stories of Anton Chekhov
- Short Stories by O’Henry
- The Greatest Short Stories of Leo Tolstoy ..
