….Near to her close and consecrated bower, while she was in her dull and sleeping hour…. (A Midsummer Nights Dream – William Shakespeare)
It seems the wind in Shillong is favouring the thieves around this time of the year. And this has been witnessed on several occasions where their presences have been felt at almost every nook and corner of the city.
Shillongites have witnessed several theft cases in the recent days when criminals would barge into peoples’ homes and rob their belongings.
But no case rings the bell in your head as much as the report about a mysterious man who has now become famous, or rather infamous, for his ‘massaging acts’ (Yes you read it right).
Khasis call him U Bah Jyllud.
Stories about the mystery man have now begun to spread far and wide and every time people come up with different versions about encounters with the mystery man.
Our mystery man (we’ll call him thus since no one has a clue about his antecedents or his appearance) has a peculiar liking for ladies.
People have claimed that the mystery man enters their homes in the dead of the night and would look around for food after which he would get down to business — massaging a female’s body — after which he promptly and quietly makes good his escape.
A lady while narrating the incident said, “I heard he barges inside people’s house and hides in a safe place and then when the opportune moment comes, he come out slowly and enters a lady’s room and massages her body after which he leaves.”
Similar stories have been doing the rounds in several localities. These stories, or rather rumours (none has been authenticated so far), have undoubtedly created a sense of fear among the young women.
However, among all the different versions of the story about the mystery man which this scribe came across, this one deserves the first prize, for its sheer ingenuity.
A woman alleged that she was recently taken to the terrace of her house by the mystery man who massaged her body and then left her in the cold and near-freezing weather.
“It’s hard to believe such rumours. I haven’t seen it or experienced it. But the case of the mystery man is akin to some psychopaths portrayed in movies, who stalk their victims and cause undue physical and psychological stress,” an elderly woman stated.
Whether the tales of the mystery man proves to be true or not, one thing is certain. People, especially womenfolk, have pulled up their socks and already begun taking all precautions to avoid any close encounter of the third kind (physical one) with the mystery man.
As they say, caution is not cowardly, carelessness is not courage. (By Ibankyntiew Mawrie)