Lemon Demon

Lemon Demon

After an intensive search of a job for six months, I got one in Bhopal. I was prepared for the change in place, but what I was not prepared to see the trust of people on demonic powers all around.

My first encounter happened within a month. There had been some recent recruitment in the office where one reasonably efficient girl was appointed in the corporate department. Her performance was being liked by the bosses and that might have caused some heartburn in another girl who was working for over nine months but was denied confirmation after due to performance issues. The new girl might have been suffering from a sore throat and had brought some cloves with her. In the office, she might have taken it during the day and a couple of them might have fallen and rolled over to her colleague’s desk. The other girl who had been denied the confirmation noticed cloves lying near her table and went straight to the boss. She complained that the new girl was doing black magic on her with the cloves and wanted her performance to go down so that she could fit herself as her replacement. The HR manager was called in to pacify the scene.

The second incident took place in the fourth month. At times I used to work late and either the HR Manager or some other senior person used to stay late. On such a day, I brought some lemon with me to have lemon water in the evening. I, with the IT Manager, was working on the systems of our assistants checking them for some internal compliance. I kept the lemon on the table of a girl, intending to have the juice after some time. The IT manager picked up the lemon, started making some drawing on that with his pen. The lemon fell on the floor, rolled over somewhere we did not bother.

After a week, I noticed a commotion on the floor from my cabin. Since it was increasing, I came out of my cabin. It was total mayhem. A girl had found the lemon near her table, with the drawing of a demon on it. With fungus and dirt of the week, the lemon was presenting an interesting picture. For that girl, it was a demon planted by her rivals in the office to harm her. The floor was divided into two groups, each alleging a higher level of black magic on others. The maid refused to clean the lemon, it would harm her. In the charged atmosphere, I decided not to disclose the history of the lemon. Just told the staff that I did not believe in what they were saying, picked up the lemon, and threw it in the garbage while the two groups sat on their desks promising revenge on each other. Thought the matter was over, but soon discovered I was wrong.

The next day, the girl came to my cabin with a leave application seeking leave for a full day on the coming Friday, to be clubbed with Saturday. Her adviser priestess had visualized someone casting a black shadow on her to bring sickness. To ward off that shadow or bad soul she will have to go to a particular mosque on Friday and a Kali Temple on Saturday, offer certain things as per advice. The priestess had even cautioned her about me saying the effect of 'lemon demon' will harm me unless I take her help. The 'Lemon demon' was very angry and spitting fire as I had thrown him in the garbage!!

Well, the demonic effect was that I started looking for a change in the job.  The 'Lemon Demon' got me a new job in Mumbai. 

And after years, it had also motivated me to put it in history. The Lemon Demon is still surviving! Yes, it wards off evils from all vehicles, shops, and whatnot with its friends, the green chilies.