Serpents stir the forest mire
as they twist through the bamboo grove.
Tick, tick tita’pa’t,
the ground pulls at your heels
each step deeper into the earth,
closer to fire and brimstone.
And somewhere
beneath the mushroom’s shadow
she waits – watching sagaciously,
her breath held too long, waiting.

A motley little crowd of men
have arrived and slipped away.
They never hear it –
her quiet laughter, light as spores
it dances, whirls, spirals,
twists and slips past their ears until –
there it is.
Closer this time.

A phantom’s feet do not touch the earth,
it frolics through the clay.
You feel her tap, but when you look,
there’s nothing but the air.
A tingle climbs up your spine,
But wait!
It all slips away.
Good night.

You wake, tangled in mud,
not knowing where you ended
or how the day began.
Somewhere, faintly, a titter –
but when you turn,
she’s gone.
You never really met her.
But you know she was there.
And you know you’ll never be the same.


Alakhani is a female spirit that lives in a bamboo grove, hiding under a small plant about 8 inches high. This plant is called "alakhani bah" in Assamese, meaning the cell of Alakhani. She is a playful spirit who loves to go on adventures. Whenever she comes across a man, she possesses him.