(Recap– In the previous part of the story, it was described, how young Alchemist longed to relate about his new invention to his wife. But along with he intended that for some days to come his wife should keep this secret to herself only ….)
Young Alchemist too had knowledge of the feminine psychology. He knew, a woman always desire to become better half of a man who owns a huge wealth, big property and enormous repute. He too had inkling that his new invention (mirror) was going to create a huge sensation of its own kind and in lieu of that he was to be rewarded greatly in all aspects by the great king Montana. It was possible if this news was given a break through in a proper channel and with proper manipulation. All this, in return was to make him enormous rich person. This was the angle he worked upon in dealing with his wife to take her into the confidence. He elaborately manifested her about the outcome of his new invention in shape of huge wealth and repute, provided she keeps the secret to herself only. Even she was warned not to relate about the invention to her mother.
Alchemist’s this enticing trick made his wife to assent with. In case of his wife, he already had prepared her mentally by describing the properties of the new invention. For she should not be scared at the first moment of being encountered with the mirror. It was essential for her, hence he had cited her about the psychologically and miraculous impacts as well which she could experience on encountering the mirror for the first time in the life. His wife too displayed a balanced deportment on encountering with mirror at the first occasion in life.
At the first, it was awful and dazzling with the same feelings on noticing some strange young woman confined inside the mirror. But when husband assured and proved her, this beautiful woman was she in her self. It all made her rapturous and she fell in love with herself. She was transported to the acme. The effects this new invention made upon her were majorly of two kinds but both correlative. Firstly, now she began to pass her most of quality time in the workshop of her husband. Naturally, her this time almost be spent before the mirror. Secondly, in akin to the new habit of her husband, her mannerism of sprucing up and dressing up now began to come up in a refined and elegant manner without any external support. The helping role of the mirror without doubt was utmost in this all.
How it was possible that all these changes in her appearance and mannerism be gone unnoticed through the eyes of her mother. Meant her mother, in other words the mother-in- law of the young Alchemist. Besides, women are fraught with element of jealous in intrinsic way. It’s innate in them. In women, even a mother becomes envious to her own daughter. The same phenomenon took place here as well. In past, the make up and dressing code of daughter was looked into and maintained with the help of the domestic female attendants. “How come daughter was doing all by herself ?” This was a nagging question like a riddle to mother.
When her anxiety rose beyond the limits; constrained she queried the daughter, how she was doing all this without the help of attendants. Till this time, daughter too had become “possessive” about the mirror and intended not to disclose the secret . She coquettishly responded, her husband helps her in doing all that. This was the kind of answer that could not be digested even by a fool and she was her mother who had wombed her. She too knew about her son- in-law’s propensities. He was a kind of philosopher, who ever remained lost in ruminating by his side and knew nothing about the sprucing up and dressing sense of women. Mother intelligently accepted the answer silently but her “curiosity’ was not pacified. She decided to find the answer of the riddle by her own secret personal efforts.
Now she keenly began to notice the time of going and exiting of her daughter in the workshop. She found, her daughter entered the workshop late in the morning and come out after noon. She decided to watch her moves secretly. As it has already been mentioned in previous part of the story, the present premise of the “workshop,” in past had been the abode of the family of the feudal Lord Magatee. It was natural, as the master lady of the house, she was well acquainted with every nook and corner of the old house. In old period of time, such sort of mansion used to have some secret doors passages to take an escape in emergency. The old lady took resort to one of those secret passages to enter the workshop.
On a mid day, she silently crept through such a secret passage inside the workshop and kept on watching secretly every movement there. There from behind the door she found her son-in-law, the Alchemist engrossed in his research work. Her daughter was not there. She now moved to other rooms to find her. In her secret search operation, she found her in the retiring room of the Alchemist. She kept a constant eye on her from behind the doors of adjacent room. It was the room where Alchemist happened to take rest and have his paper work. This chamber contained a bed stead and a writing table added with sitting chair. In the same room , she found her daughter sitting on a stool facing the wall. On the side of the wall, upon a small table stood a “solid sheet” of some thing.
By looking in that solid sheet, she was applying make up to her face. The position of the old lady by virtue of her being in the adjacent room was obscured from the vision of the daughter. Even, old lady knew not, before what kind of “thing” her daughter was sitting. Mother tip toed silently onto the back side of the daughter and suddenly her image emerged up into the mirror. There old lady found the “clone” of her daughter in side the “solid sheet” (mirror) and an old lady standing behind her ( her own image.) This was a shuddering, terrifying experience for old mother on encountering the mirror for the first time in the life. She was flabbergasted the ditto image of her daughter inside the “solid sheet.”
How it could be possible? Besides, there was an another old lady! This all occurred in seconds and in horror the expressions of old lady’s face became distorted. She now looked like a hag in the mirror. The same expressions reflected in the mirror. It all was enough to shake her in fear to the extinction. On the same, her daughter never anticipated the mother arrival as such. She too was engrossed in her self. The sudden reflection of a lady like mother also scared her. She sprung to her feet. The same action was reflected in the mirror to the mother. Trembling in fear, a chilled wave ran into the spine of the old lady. Aghast she shrilled with a mournful wail and collapsed down on the floor. On the same, when daughter found the mother in the room, she also cried with a loud shrill and began to weep over the mother.
This wailing uproar made Alchemist to rush into the retiring room. Finding mother-in- law unconscious on the floor dumbfounded him. It was an out of the box riddle to him, “who helped mother-in-law to approach his new invention?” His wife at once noticed the suspicious looks in the eyes of the husband. Imploringly, with a sincerer effort she cleared her position. She knew not, how mother happened to appear there. Now first priority was to provide medical treatment to the old lady. But, if she was given a treatment there inside the workshop, that could make other people to enter and know about the new invention. Secondly, they too could badly be effected, as mother-in-law had fallen prey to. Hence, couple decided to take mother back to the present abode. Alchemist instructed wife to shut all doors safely and then carried the mother in arms through the connecting entry doors in the house. (End of the Part 11th. Cont’d.) Penned by — Vinay Pharasi —–