The Invisible Monster

She stood there, frozen, staring straight ahead of her at the horrible monster. Her whole body had gone rigid, her heart pounding in her ears; she suddenly got out of her trance and screamed at the top of her voice. Her father ran towards her room, climbing two stairs at a time. There she was, standing in front of her bathroom door, trembling from head to foot, tears running down her face.
"What happened Sara?", asked Mr. Ali apprehensively.
"It was right there", she answered, pointing a trembling finger before her.
" Where?", asked her father, confused. He looked where she was pointing, but couldn't see anything there.
"Right there, father, I don't know where it went when I screamed", she sobbed.
"Don't worry dear, everything will be fine, just relax", he tried to console her, his brow furrowed with a worried expression.
It was not for the first time that Sara had behaved in such a weird manner. Since the beginning of Summer that year, she had been behaving in this bizarre way. It had never happened before. Naturally, her parents were extremely apprehensive about their only child's mental condition. This was their first Summer in one of the hottest cities of Pakistan: Lahore. They had spent most of their life in the United Kingdom. Sara had been born there. As she grew older, they decided to shift to Pakistan in order to find a suitable proposal for her. The Winters had been fine. They were glad that their foreign bred daughter had so easily adapted herself to the customs of Pakistani society. But all of a sudden their peace was disturbed with the arrival of Summers.
One day they were sitting in the TV lounge, watching television, when all of a sudden the air was rent with Sara's horrified screams. They ran towards the lawn where she had been watering the flower beds. As they reached her, they found her in a tongue-tied condition, trembling violently, drenched in sweat. She was fixedly staring at the opposite wall with a horrified expression on her face. When she saw her mother, she threw herself at her shoulder and started sobbing uncontrollably. They tried their best to ask her what she had seen, but she was apparently too frightened to speak about it. After some time she became normal again, so her parents thought she had just got frightened of something and forgot about it.
A few days passed peacefully when a similar incident happened in the lawn again. This time her condition was even worse than before. So her parents thought that the trees in the lawn were haunted. They prohibited her from going there alone. After a few days, however, a similar scene was repeated in the kitchen. After that, Sara started having these fits in all parts of the house. Mr and Mrs. Ali seriously started thinking that the house was haunted. They decided to consult a learned saint (peer) to check for any traces of dark magic, evil eye, or a spirit. They got an appointment with a very reputed Peer Sahab.
On the day of appointment, they reached the saint's abode on time. Peer Sahab's place was quite magnificent and well decorated. Probably an interior designer had been hired to do the job. There was a large number of people waiting to meet Peer Sahab to seek solutions for their various problems. Some of them seemed quite well off, some looked poor, some were educated, while others were illiterate. They also sat down in the large room, waiting for their turn.
Finally, half an hour beyond the appointed time, they got the chance to enter Peer Sahab's private room. The room was as impressive as the rest of the house. They sat down on the white quilt on the ground. Peer Sahab asked what had brought them to his "ghareeb khana" (poor abode). They explained in detail about Sara's problem. Peer Sahab asked Sara to come nearer so he could examine her. She got up and sat down next to Peer Sahab.
" Is it really scary dear?", he asked kindly, examining her face and eyes closely.
"Yes, it is horrible", replied Sara, apparently not wanting to think about it.
"Hmmm..What colour is it?"
"Sometimes brown, sometimes grey, and once it was nearly black."
"I see", said Peer Sahab, looking apprehensive. "At what times have you been seeing it, my dear?".
"Mostly in the evening and at night".
"Where have you seen it most often?"
"In the washrooms, the lawn and the kitchen".
"Has anyone else been seeing it too?"
"No, before they can, it simply vanishes, or may be hides somewhere".
"Hmmmmm....Well, I am afraid Mr. Ali, there certainly is something fishy here", said Peer Sahab."To determine whether its black magic, evil eye, or a spirit, I will have to perform a very complicated Chilla (a series of prayers meant to be done in a specific way, supposed to achieve certain desired results). It will take all my energies and time to perform this task. I will have to employ all my powers and resources, specially the spirits in my power."
"Its OK Peer Sahab, I am ready to pay any amount of money for my daughter. Please don't worry about the expenses, I want to see my daughter normal again", Mr. Ali desperately assured Peer Sahab.
" I am a poor man, serving the cause of The Almighty God by helping his helpless people. I don't want money for myself. But I hope you understand that I have to look after my family, and the time I spend in these services cannot be utilized to earn a living. Besides, I have to pay those who work for me", Peer Sahab humbly explained.
"I can't even dream of accusing you of earning money through your services. Its our duty to present you with what little we can afford", Mr. Ali hastily explained himself.
"Well, then, my Chilla(read as in chilly) will take about a week to finish",continued Peer Sahab." In the meantime, I am giving you this Taaweez(amulet) that you need to dissolve in enough water for seven days, and give the girl a glass to drink everyday. And here is this gold tablet with the Holy verses on it. You will have to bury it under the oldest tree in your garden",explained Peer Sahab, handing them the amulets.
"Thank you very much Peer Sahab', said Mrs. Ali, taking the things from him.
"How much will these things cost?", asked Mr. Ali hesitatingly.
"I don't charge my services. I will only ask fair amount for the gold tablet, which I will have to pay for",replied Peer Sahab carelessly."It cost me 30,000 Rupees, and thats all I ask you to pay, as I am a poor man who can't afford to pay for it himself."
"Don't embarrass me with your explanations, Peer Sahab. Here you are", Mr. Ali handed him the money,"And please accept these extra 5,000 Rupees as a gift for your valuable time."
"Well, if you insist, I will take it. May God bless you for it!", said Peer Sahab, accepting the money graciously.
During the ensuing week, Sara's condition didn't improve in the least, despite regular use of the 'holy' water. After a week, Peer Sahab broke the sad news to them that it was a complicated case of evil eye and spirit possession. He would have to use all his energies to fight against the spirit, which could even threaten his life. Mr. and Mrs. Ali spent money like water for their daughter's sake, meeting all Peer Sahab's expenses, but to no avail. Finally, after two months, Peer Sahab accepted his defeat and referred them to another Peer.But Mr. Ali had had enough of 'Peers'.He was an educated person, but his daughter's condition had forced him to seek solutions where he would never have under other circumstances.So he decided to consult a psychiatrist this time.
Today's incident was one of a series of daily happenings. It had been a few days since Peer Sahab had washed his hands off Sara's case. Mr. Ali decided to immediately take an appointment with a reputed psychiatrist.
The very next day they were sitting in the psychiatrist's office, explaining Sara's condition to her. The psychiatrist asked Mr. and Mrs. Ali to leave the office so she could talk with Sara in private. They went outside, waiting impatiently for the doctor to call them back in. Suddenly the air was rent with Sara's loud, horrified screams. Both her parents ran inside the doctor's office.
"What is it?", asked Mr. Ali.
Sara didn't answer. She was staring fixedly at the opposite wall, just near the ceiling. The doctor was also looking at the same spot, amazed. Mr. and Mrs. Ali followed their gaze and gasped in amazement.
"A l l l lizard?", stammered Mr. Ali, looking back at his daughter.
She nodded.
"Why didn't you tell us before?", he asked, astonished.
"You never asked", replied Sara simply.