Grandfather used to tell riddles.
“Eight legs, sixteen knees,
Latu goes fishing with ease.
Spreads its net across the sky,
Catching fish as days go by.
Tell me—what is it?”
Sitting on her grandfather’s lap, Parmita would think deeply. The sky meant emptiness to her. It was the home of clouds. Dust drifted there endlessly. Birds flew through it, insects buzzed across it.
After her grandfather passed away, her mother used to say that he had become a star in the sky.
But then who cast a net across that vast sky and caught fish there?
Was it God?
Grandfather would laugh, his toothless gums showing.
“No, my little girl,” he would say. “Those are spiders.”
“Spiders!” Parmita would burst into laughter. “Eight legs and sixteen knees! I thought it was God!”
She laughed every time.
Yet somewhere deep inside her mind, the spiders slowly began weaving their webs—almost like another image of God itself.
As she grew older, catching spiders became her obsession.
She would capture countless spiders and keep them imprisoned inside little containers. After graduating in Zoology, the hobby only grew stronger.
She eventually turned a large hall in the corner of their house into something like a spider zoo.
Parmita collected spiders from all over—local species, rare species, even foreign ones. Each container had a label pasted on it: the spider’s name and its scientific classification.
For the species that hadn’t yet been identified, she invented names herself.
Her friends would joke with her.
“You’re Linnaeus’s successor.”
Time passed. Youth blossomed in her body, but love never entered her life.
During college, her closest friend was Sayani. She was the only person Parmita truly bonded with. The other boys and girls kept their distance.
The boys would say,
“Who would dare date a dangerous girl like her?”
And the girls would whisper,
“You’re really strange.”
Both labels fit her quite well—dangerous and strange.
Because the spiders Parmita kept were not always harmless.
Some of them were as venomous as cobras.
Yet she adored them.
Once she was even bitten by one. Fortunately it wasn’t highly poisonous, so she survived without serious harm.
Sayani had scolded her badly that day.
“You’ll see,” she had warned, “one day you’ll die from a spider bite.”
Although love never entered Parmita’s life, she could not escape the greedy stares of men who lusted after her body.
She had a slightly careless, wandering nature. She never paid much attention to her clothing or appearance. Because of that, the boys who sat around the neighborhood street corner sometimes passed crude remarks at her.
Usually she ignored them.
But today was different.
Today Rohit stopped her in the middle of the road.
At the neighborhood intersection there was a tea stall where Rohit and his friends spent their time hanging out. Teasing passing girls was their favorite pastime.
None of them came from small families.
One had a businessman father, another a doctor, another the son of a powerful political leader.
And Rohit was their leader.
If they called out to a girl, most girls stopped—either out of fear or out of pressure. The boys would joke around, have their fun, and eventually let the girl go.
They had never crossed the ultimate line.
But Parmita had never been someone’s puppet.
The day Rohit called out to her and told her to stop, she ignored him and walked away.
Was today his revenge?
Parmita’s heart began to pound.
Chewing betel leaf lazily, Rohit asked,
“What’s your name?”
In a low voice Parmita replied,
“My name is Parmita. Why are you blocking my way? Let me go.”
Rohit smirked.
“Looks like you’ve grown wings on your back. You don’t even acknowledge me anymore. Today we’ll strip you right here and watch you dance naked.”
A sudden blaze of anger shot through Parmita.
“You animal! Don’t you have a mother or a sister at home?”
Rohit laughed loudly.
“Shame! Shame! Who watches such things with their mother or sister? That’s what wives are for. Come on, sweetheart—give me a kiss.”
He leaned forward and presented his cheek mockingly.
Parmita couldn’t control herself anymore.
With a loud smack, she slapped him across the face.
Rohit’s eyes turned red.
“You dare slap me? And you still think you can escape us?”
He grabbed her roughly.
With the last strength she had, Parmita kicked him hard in the lower abdomen.
Rohit let out a choking sound and collapsed.
Parmita didn’t wait.
She ran.
Parmita ran all the way home.
Her father looked startled when he saw her.
“What happened? Why are you panting like that?”
Catching her breath, Parmita said,
“Rohit stopped me on the road today.”
Her father’s face immediately turned pale.
“Oh no… those boys never let girls live in peace. They didn’t do anything to you, did they?”
“No,” Parmita replied. “I didn’t give them the chance. I kicked him and ran.”
Her father looked horrified.
“What have you done! Do you know how dangerous those boys are? They can ruin us in every possible way. Tomorrow you must go and apologize to them.”
Parmita stared at him in disbelief.
“What are you saying, Baba? I didn’t do anything wrong. Why should I apologize? And that too to those filthy boys?”
Her father spoke helplessly.
“Listen, child… the party, the administration—everything is on their side now. We have no choice but to tolerate them. I don’t want to lose you. Please… go and apologize tomorrow.”
Without replying, Parmita walked into her room.
People like her father were the reason those boys had grown so powerful. Even her own father suddenly seemed like a coward to her.
She called Sayani and told her everything.
Sayani sighed.
“You shouldn’t have picked a fight with them. Haven’t you heard? In the last three months, three girls from this area have gone missing after clashes with those boys.”
Parmita remained silent.
“Not a single investigation has happened,” Sayani continued. “Even the Chief Minister dismissed those incidents as trivial or fabricated. After all that, how could you still provoke them? I’m honestly shocked.”
She paused for a moment.
“Listen. Leave the area for a few days. Come back when things cool down.”
After hanging up, Parmita sat quietly for a long time.
No. She wouldn’t leave her own neighborhood.
Whatever had to happen would happen.
Perhaps she should at least inform the police.
The next afternoon she went to the police station.
After hearing her story, the officer-in-charge asked,
“Are you sure those boys stopped you for no reason? You must have done something.”
Parmita stared at him.
“You’re blaming me, sir? They told me to stop one day and I didn’t. Is that my fault?”
The officer shrugged.
“Why didn’t you stop? Would it have harmed you that much?”
Anger flared inside Parmita.
“They wanted to have fun with me, and I’m supposed to tolerate that? If I were your daughter, would you still say the same thing?”
The officer replied calmly,
“There are procedures before filing an FIR. Even if it were my daughter, I would still have to ask these questions.”
Parmita snapped.
“Forget the nonsense. Can you help protect me or not? If you can, say so. Otherwise I’ll find another way.”
The officer lowered his head.
“I can’t help you. I can’t even protect myself. Last month they stormed into this station and smashed my head open. I couldn’t do anything. How do you expect me to protect you?”
“I see. Thank you,” Parmita said quietly and left.
She felt utterly helpless.
Maybe confronting Rohit had truly been a mistake.
So many other girls quietly tolerated these things. Why had she needed to protest?
For the next few days she didn’t leave the house.
Instead she spent time with her spiders.
A few days earlier, an agent had brought her a strange, unidentified species. It resembled the Brazilian Phoneutria spiders.
Parmita named the species Phonesuria.
Possibly the most venomous spider in the world.
She named the individual specimen Tiger.
For the past few days she had been trying to tame it.
Her plan had been to stay hidden at home until Rohit assumed she had left the area.
But today she had no choice.
It was Sayani’s birthday.
Sayani had invited her personally and threatened never to speak to her again if she didn’t come.
Parmita got dressed.
Then she placed Tiger inside a small container and carried it with her.
By the time she left the birthday party it was already ten at night.
Sayani had repeatedly insisted she stay over, but Parmita refused.
The moment she stepped onto the road she realized she had made a terrible mistake.
The streets were silent.
As she walked, her heart pounded loudly in her chest.
After passing the temple she reached an abandoned house near the intersection.
Suddenly she froze.
It felt like someone was following her.
Three… maybe four men.
Fear gripped her.
She started running.
But she didn’t get far.
Someone suddenly emerged from the darkness and shoved her hard.
She fell violently to the ground. Her head slammed against the earth.
In the faint moonlight she saw Rohit standing before her.
He spat out a curse.
“So you’ve grown quite arrogant, haven’t you? Kicking me, going to the police. Tonight I’ll show you how arrogance is cured.”
Parmita’s voice trembled.
“Please, Rohit… let me go…”
Rohit laughed softly.
“Oh, I will. After I finish settling my humiliation.”
Parmita said weakly,
“Don’t touch me. If you do, you’ll pay for it with your life.”
Rohit kicked her brutally in the stomach.
“You’ll take my life? I’ll kill you first. Tonight no power on earth can save you.”
Parmita gasped in pain.
By then the other four men had arrived.
Together they lifted her and carried her into the abandoned building.
Her body had already gone numb with fear.
With great effort she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small container.
Rohit stuffed cloth into her mouth.
She couldn’t scream.
With a knife he cut open her jeans.
Her lower body was completely exposed.
Her trembling hands tried to open the container.
Finally it opened.
The spider crawled into her palm.
Should she throw it at Rohit?
But what if it didn’t bite him?
And even if it did, the others might still continue.
At that moment she felt Rohit forcing himself inside her.
Pain surged through her body.
Her hand clenched instinctively.
And suddenly she felt a sharp sting in her palm.
The spider had bitten her.
Parmita understood that she did not have long left.
She stopped resisting.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Just before losing consciousness, a strange calm filled her mind.
The next morning a small news report appeared in the newspaper:
“A young woman’s naked body was recovered this morning from an abandoned house near the intersection. Initial reports suggest she was raped and murdered.
Several members of the ruling political party have been accused of involvement.
Protest marches and candlelight vigils have erupted across the state.
However, the Chief Minister has dismissed the incident as a conspiracy by the opposition and ordered the arrest of several opposition workers.
The body has been sent for post-mortem examination.”
Dr. Sen stepped out of the autopsy room with a faint smile.
For the first time in a long while, he felt peace.
This was the third rape case in which he had been forced to write a false suicide report.
Every time he did it, he felt as if he were betraying his own integrity.
But he had no choice.
His superior—the Health Minister, Dr. Pal—had been pressuring him.
He would still have to falsify the report.
Yet today he felt strangely satisfied.
Dr. Pal asked,
“Post-mortem done? Girls like these couldn’t have expected a better fate. I assume you know what to write in the report.”
Dr. Sen nodded.
Then he said quietly,
“But the victim wasn’t foolish, sir. She was extraordinarily intelligent.”
Dr. Pal frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“She didn’t die from excessive bleeding,” Dr. Sen replied. “She allowed the assault.”
Dr. Pal stared at him.
“Then how did she die?”
“From a spider bite.”
Dr. Pal was stunned.
“A spider? Where did that come from?”
Dr. Sen replied,
“According to the police report, a small container was found beside her body. The spider was likely inside it. She deliberately allowed it to bite her.”
He paused.
“By sacrificing her own life, she set a trap.”
Dr. Pal looked confused.
“I don’t understand.”
Dr. Sen smiled faintly.
“I’ve been researching a rare Brazilian species from the Phoneutria family. These spiders can produce radioactive biochemical compounds.”
“They don’t just kill their victims. Their venom causes genetic mutations.”
“If someone bitten by it has blood contact—or sexual contact—the mutation spreads.”
Dr. Pal whispered,
“My God…”
Dr. Sen continued calmly.
“The five men who raped her have no idea what has already begun inside their bodies.”
“Slowly, a deadly form of cancer will grow within them.”
“A cancer for which no cure exists on Earth.”
Dr. Pal nearly collapsed.
Just then his phone rang.
He answered it.
His wife’s frightened voice came through the line.
“Rohit suddenly fell very sick… he was fine this morning… we’re taking him to the hospital… please come quickly…”
End
