Tibili and her Goblin – Isaac Bashavis Singer
Saim Nosan and Tibili Sabar lived in the town of Lashnik, near Lublin. They have no heir. Infertility is not the cause. She gave birth to a son and two daughters for her Thaibli husband. All three were healed: one for whooping cough, one for typhoid fever, and one for a blocked throat. After that the uterine eye of Tibili closed. Prayers, mantras, potions have no effect. Tragedy kept Saim Nosan away from worldly life. He left his wife. Pulal refused. He did not come home at night and slept on the board in Japatalam. Tibili had her own dry goods grocery that her parents gave her. She sat there all day. On the right side was a yardstick, on the left was a pair of scissors, and on the front was a Hindi version of a women's prayer book. Saeem Nosan Nettai, Ollie. Black eye. He is a short-tempered person. He is cheerful even on good days. Taibili is a small akriti with ruddy complexion, blue eyes and a round face. The cheekbones of the girl who suddenly laughs despite the tyranny given by the Lord are beautiful. Even though she didn't have to cook for anyone else, she used to gather the stove or triangular stones and cook gruel or porridge. She did various types of stitching like socks, underwear and flower embroidery on white cloth. It is not her nature to cry out for fate or to wallow in grief.
One day Saim Nosan left home with his japa top, dholpa with mantra leaves, single change of underwear and rotis in his bag. When the neighbor asked him where he was going, he replied, 'I am going in the direction of the eye.'
Taibili was too late to find out about her husband's departure and could not catch him. He had already crossed the shore. It was reported that a bullock cart had been arranged to go to Lublin. Tibili sent a messenger to fetch him. But neither the husband nor the messenger ever came back. At the age of thirty-three, Taibili became an abandoned wife.
After searching for some time she realized that there was nothing to look forward to. God took the husband as He took the children. She can never remarry. To live alone. She has nothing but house, shop and possessions. The people of the city took pity on her because she was calm, good-hearted and an honest trader. Many people asked why such atrocities should happen to her. God's accounts are hidden from man.
Many of the beautiful women living in the city are Tibili's childhood friends. Busily busy with pottery during the day, they sit down to chat in the evening. In the summer they sat on the board outside the house and chatted and shared many stories.
On a pitch-black summer evening, Taibili sat on the board with her friends and told a story she had read in a book she had bought from a street vendor. The story of a young Jewish girl. The goblin in it gave her permission. Both lived as husband and wife. Taibili narrated the story in detail. The women sat close together, holding hands, spitting to ward off the evil spirit and laughing in fear.
One of them said, 'Why didn't she show the amulet and chase the goblin away?' she asked.
'Not all goblins are afraid of amulets,' replied Taibili.
'Why don't you go and see Saint Rabi?'
'The goblin had warned her that she would be beheaded if she revealed the secret.'
'May God save us. No one has ever heard anything like it!' One screamed in panic.
'I'm afraid to go home now,' said another.
'I will come with you,' comforted the third woman.
As they spoke, the teacher's assistant, Alkonan, passed by. His goal is to become a clown at the wedding. Losing his wife of five years, he was known to be a con man, a con artist and a bit of a brainiac. His sandals were worn out so no one could hear his footsteps. When Taibili told the story, he also stopped and listened. The concentration of darkness obscured his presence as the women mesmerized and listened to the story. Alkonan is the creator of chaos. He has many tricks up his sleeve. Suddenly a mischievous plan formed in his mind.
After all the women had gone, Algonan sneaked into the courtyard of Tibili. Hiding behind a tree, he looked in through the window. He entered the house when he saw that Taibili had extinguished the candle and gone to the couch. Tibili did not knock on the door. No one had ever heard of theft in that town. As he stood in the hall he undid his loose tunic. He loosened the hem and took off the shirt inside. He took off his trousers and stood like a man. He tiptoed to Thibili's couch. As she began to sleep, she saw a figure wandering in the darkness before her. She was afraid to raise her voice.
'Who?' she asked.
Alkonan replied in a voice that cut through the air. 'Don't shout, Tibili. I will kill you if you scream. I am Armisa the goblin. The king who rules darkness and hail and thunder and wild animals. Tell the story about the spirit who fell in love with the Jewish girl tonight, that's it. You roused me from the underworld by telling that story with great passion. After hearing that, I had a great lust for your mane. Don't try to resist me. If I will, I will drag those who oppose me beyond the darkness of the mountains of this earth to the top of the mountain of Sayir and solve the lust. There was no human footprint there. Animals are afraid to come. The earth will be made of iron and the sky will be made of copper. I will roll it in thorns and fire and grind the body to powder in the place where scorpions and gnats live and dissolve it in the underworld. But if you obey my will I will keep even a hair of your head from falling. I will give you success and prosperity at every step.'
On hearing this, Taibili lay motionless as if she had fainted. The beating heart seemed to stop. She thought she was near death. After a few seconds she mustered up some courage and moaned. 'What do you expect from me? I am smelly!'
'Your husband is dead. I followed him to his funeral.' The teacher's assistant raised his voice. 'I cannot go to Robbie and testify that you are fit for remarriage. The rabbis don't trust us. Besides, I don't have the courage to cross the door of Robbie's room. I fear the holy leaves. But I'm not lying. Your husband died of cholera. Worms ate the nostrils of his dead body. Even if he's alive, there's no stopping you from sleeping with me. The law of Sulkhan Aruch does not apply to us.'
Armisa continued his persuasion with sweet talk and threats. The gods called all the names of the devils and listed the terrible animals and vampires. Asmodeus, the king of the goblins, affirmed that he was his half-uncle. He said that Lilith, the queen of evil spirits, danced for him on one leg and performed many tricks to please him. He said Shipta, a demon who steals babies from women, made poppy seed cakes in the furnace of hell and boiled the fat of sorcerers and dogs and spread it on them and gave them to her. He talked for a long time, using anecdotes and proverbs, until Taibili agreed to smile. Armisa vows to love Tibili for a long time. He described the clothes and tops she wore last year and the year before. He pointed out the secret thoughts that rose up inside her while kneading the dough, cooking the Saturday meal, washing herself in the bathtub, and going to the toilet. He recalled waking up one morning to see black and blue marks on his breast that he assumed were from a demon's bite. But they were actually the kiss marks from Armisa's lips, he said.
After a while the goblin sits on Thybili's bed and gets her consent. He said he would visit her twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Those two nights are suitable for evil spirits to roam the earth. He warned her that she would be severely punished if she revealed what had happened to her or showed the slightest hint. He grabbed her hair, gouged out her eyes and threatened to bite her. He said that he would push her away in the deadly loneliness of Alar. There dung is the bread and the sacrifice is the blood. There the Olam of Salmavet is heard day and night. He asked Tybili to pledge his mother's remains to keep this secret for the rest of his life. There was no way to escape to Tbilisi. She put her hand on his thigh and reassured him. She did everything the demon told her.
Being a non-human goblin, Armisa gave her a long passionate kiss before pulling away. Her tears wet the goblin's beard as she kissed him back. Despite being an evil soul, the goblin treated her with kindness.
After Armisa left, Taibili fell on a pillow and cried until dawn.
Armisa came regularly on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Taibili feared that she would be born as an elf child who sprouted horns and a tail. Armisa promises to save her from humiliation. When she asked whether she could continue to perform the holy bath on impure days, he said that no Vidai laws apply to a person who worships an impure demonic being.
There is a saying that God will protect us from anything we are used to. That's exactly what Tibili did. Initially she feared that the night visitor might hurt her. She was afraid that she might get blisters, grow ingrown hairs, be made to bark like a dog and drink urine, humiliate herself. But Armizao did not whip her, pinch her, or spit on her. Instead he caressed her, nibbled her ear with kind words, told jokes and sang softly. Sometimes he made her laugh by playing games and pranks on ghosts. He folded the earlobe and placed love bites on the shoulder. In the morning she found his teeth marks on her skin. He said that if he grows a lot of hair, he will braid it. He taught her mantras and incantations. He described flying with his nocturnal friends over the frog-infested ruins, the salt marshes of Sodom, and the wastes of the icy seas. He did not hide the fact that he had other wives. But they are all demons. Tibili is his only human wife. When Taibili asked for their names, he listed them on the spot: Nama, Meklath, Of, Sulta, Lucha, Nafka, Seima. Seven people in total.
Nama is dark and shy. When she fights him, she spits out fire and smokes through her nose.
McLath's face is like a card. Those touched by her tongue are permanently marked.
Auf has a penchant for silver, emerald and diamond teams. She braids her hair with gold coils. She wears beads and bracelets on her ankles. Bells ring throughout the desert as she dances.
Sulta is cat-shaped. She meows while talking. She has gooseberry green eyes. She chews the bear's liver when she is pregnant.
The groom, the women's enemy Lucha. She steals the virility of newly married men. If the bride comes alone at night to receive blessings, if the sulta comes singing, the woman will lose her speech or have convulsions.
Nafka is sensual. She always evades him and mixes with other trolls. He still keeps her from chasing her only because it pleases him to talk rudely and meanly.
Seima must be more brutal than Nama as the name suggests. But actually the opposite. Plug-in Arakhi. She does many good deeds such as kneading dough for sick housewives and taking bread to the homes of the poor.
Thus Armisa described his wives. He told Tibili how he lived happily with them, playing hide and seek on the roofs and doing various hide and seek games. A woman gets jealous when she learns that her husband is having affairs with other women. But how could a human girl be jealous of demons? What happened here was different. Armisa's stories inspired Tbilisi. She asked him many questions. Sometimes he also told many secrets that should not be told to mortals. He spoke about God, the Jinn, the Gandharvas, the heavenly mansions, and all the seven realms. He told how the black angels in hell would torture male and female sinners by putting them in cages and roasting them in coals, lying in ice pits and nail beds and beating them with hot metal rods.
Armisa said that the greatest of the torments of hell is tickling. There is an elf called Lakesh. It echoed all the way to the island of Madagascar when he chuckled at the feet and armpits of a prostitute.
In this way Armisa entertained Tibili all night long. When he was gone, Tibili started longing for him. Summer nights seemed very short to her.
Agalwan Armisa when the crow dissolves. Even the winter nights were not enough for her. She loved Armisa. Even when a woman felt it was wrong to fall in love with a goblin, Allum Pagal looked forward to his arrival.
After living without a wife for many years, the brokers tried to remarry Alkonan. All the women they presented were low-class housewives, maids, and prostitutes. A girl gets the same salary as a teacher's assistant. Apart from that, Algonon also has the unique feature of being a non-helpful critter. Algonnon shunned the women for various reasons. He said that one was very ugly, one had a long tongue, and one looked like a street vulture. The brokers wondered how a teacher's assistant earning nine kroner a week could be so selective and ignored. How long can a man live alone? But no one can be forced into marriage.
Alconan is simply walking around the city. He is tall and lean. Red haired bald head. A crumpled shirt. Often the larynx bounces up and down. The wedding clown was waiting for Reb Sekili to die. Only then, he reckoned, would he be able to grab the job. But Reb Sekili was in no rush to die. As alive as he was in his youth, never-ending jokes and witticisms flowed fluently from him. When he tried to become a teacher of primary school students himself, no one believed him and offered to send the child. He took the boys to Seder in the mornings and evenings. During the day the teacher sat in Reb Ichili's yard and sharpened the wood chisels. Or he would cut sheets of paper or make figures in clay to help decorate the Pentecostal church once a year. Keni, who was near Tibili's shop, used to go several times a day to drink wet water or to fill the barrel. Every now and then he would quickly return to see Tbilisi. Why is the man doing so much work alone, Taibili feels sorry for him. Every time Alkonan said to himself 'Taibili, sinner! If only you knew the truth!' He will say.
Alconan lived in a warehouse behind an old maid's house. The old woman, who was deaf and half-blind, often kept him, who did not go to Jabatalam like other Jews. It is his habit to come home as soon as he leaves the children at home and say evening prayers and go to bed. The old woman felt that sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and goes somewhere. When asked where she was wandering at night, Alkonan replied that she was not and that what she saw was probably a dream. The old woman started the rumor that Alkonan turns into a half-beast in the middle of the night as he sews his socks in the evening chatter of women sitting on the board. Someone said he was having sex with a female demon named Sacumbus. Otherwise how can one live alone for so long without a wife? None of the wealthy trust him and send their children. He now takes only the children of the poor to the Seder. He rarely found peace. He spent many pastimes eating dry nuts and seeds.
Algonan grew thinner and thinner. But his feet were as active as ever. He glides through the streets with his slender long legs and looks as if he is playing on false feet. He often comes to that kani whenever he feels thirsty. Sometimes he would show water to a merchant or a resident's horse. One day Tibili saw from a distance that his coat was torn and tattered. She invited him to her shop. He panicked. Face pale.
'Your cloak is torn,' said Taibili. 'I'll give you some clothes if you want. It's enough to pay back five cents a week slowly.'
'Don't.'
'Why not?' Taibili asked in surprise. 'Even if it's late, I won't embarrass you by asking in front of you. Give when you can.'
'Don't.' Fearing that she might recognize his voice, he hurried away.
It was easy to visit Tbilisi on summer midnights. He entered the backyard and was able to walk naked holding his robe behind his body. It was difficult to dress and undress standing in the hall of Tbilisi in winter. The deadliest are the nights after a fresh snowfall. Worried that Tibili or her neighbors might notice her footprints. He caught a cold and coughed. One night he sat on the couch of Thibili with chattering teeth. He was not warm for a long time. He made many explanations and new excuses because she might find out about his philandering. But Tibili never suspected or scrutinized him. She had always believed that goblins had human habits and weaknesses. Armisa was sweating. He sneezed, wheezed, and yawned. Sometimes his breath smelled of onion stalks and sometimes garlic stalks. His body, like her husband's, was bony, full of hair, larynx and larynx. Sometimes Armisa is in a funny mood. Other times a sigh comes from him. His feet were clawed and blistered like human feet, not duck feet. Once Tybili asked about them, he said, 'Whoever of us lies with a human woman will have the appearance of a human man. Otherwise she will die of panic', he explained.
Tibili has become well acquainted with him. She loved him. His monstrous antics are not feared as before. She noticed inconsistencies in the endless stories he told. Like all liars, he had a memory lapse. Earlier he had told her that goblins are sagavarams. But one night he asked her 'What will you do if I die?' He asked.
'The goblins never die.'
'Yes. But they are irretrievably falling into the abyss of ruin.'
During that winter an epidemic broke out in the city. Bad wind from river, forest and swamp. Not only children but also adults shivered with cold. It rained. There was hail. The flood broke the dam. The hurricane snapped one arm of the windmill. One Wednesday night, when Armisa came to Tibili's couch, she felt his body on fire. Feet were frozen. He shivered and moaned. He wanted to entertain her by telling stories of demons. He told how they would seduce the youth and how they would play with other monsters for pleasure. They splash water in the ritual bath tub. In the beards of old men there is a fine luster that cannot be seen by the eye. They have no strength to reach her even if they are lustful. She had never seen him in such a pitiable state. She was upset. 'Shall we mix raspberries with milk?' she asked.
'All such remedies are not suitable for our race,' replied Armisa. 'What would you do if you got sick?'
'Let's bite it.'
He spoke less after that. His breath soured as he kissed Taibili. He who was always with her until the crow crowed left very early that day. Thibili was lying quietly listening to his movements in the hall. He was saying that even if the window was locked, he could get in and fly away. But that day I heard the sound of the door being opened. She knows that it is sinful to pray to evil beings and that it is right to curse them and erase their memories. But that day she prayed to God for Armisa.
She screamed in her sleep. 'There are many ghosts. Let this one go with them.'
Taibili waited for Armisa all through the next Saturday night until dawn. He never came. She called him chanting the mantras he uttered in her mind. But the hall remained silent. She lay there as if she had fallen asleep. Armisa previously boasted that he had danced for Tubal Cain and Enoch, sat in Noah's ark, licked the salt from Lot's wife's nose, and pulled the beard of Ahasuerus. He prophesied that after hundreds of years she would be born a princess and that he would abduct her accompanied by his slaves Chittim and Dachim to the house of Esau's wife Bezmet. But now he lay sick somewhere, an orphan with no one to help, no father, no mother, no honest wife to serve. She thought about how uneven his breathing had been the last time he went to her. Nasal breath made a hissing sound. From Sunday to Wednesday, Tibili spent her days like she was living in a dream. She didn't have a balance until midnight on Wednesday. Armisa still did not appear. Taibili turned her face to the wall.
The day started as dark as evening. Snow fell like dust from the dark sky. Smoke could not escape from the bogies. The roofs were spread like rags. The testicles dissolved violently. The dogs barked. Tibili doesn't feel like going shopping after a miserable night. However, she got dressed and left. She saw four people carrying a song. The corpse's blue feet protruded beyond the snowy shroud. Only one priest followed the corpse. When Taibili asked him who had died, he replied, 'Alkonan, the teacher's assistant.'
Tibili had the strange idea of following the funeral procession of Algonan, who had lived irresponsibly and died alone. Who will come to the shop today? What worries her about business? Tbilisi lost everything. She thought it would be best to do at least one good deed. She followed along the long road leading to Idugath. She waited for the gravedigger to clear the snow and dig a hole in the frozen ground. Alkonan, the teacher's assistant, was wrapped in a shroud and a sackcloth. They put chips in the eyes. A sprig of myrtle was placed between the fingers. The belief is that the deceased will dig a grave with it and meet him when the copper comes. They covered the pit and chanted Katish. Taibili broke down and cried. This Alkonan lived alone like her. Like her, he had no heirs. Alkonan, the teacher's assistant, danced his final dance. Taibili knew from Armisa's stories that the dead do not go directly to heaven. Every sin creates a demon. After his death those ghosts roam around as his children. They will return for their share. Calling the dead man his father, he chases and rolls him in the forest until his punishment is over. After that he will be sent to hell.
Since then, Taibili lived in seclusion. Abandoned twice – by a monk and a goon. She aged quickly. Nothing of the past was left to her, except a secret that could never be told, and could not be trusted even if told. Inner lips have secrets that cannot be told. To bear their burden till the grave. Alarinirai will hum them. The ravens will chat them up. The tombstones speak silently about it in the language of stones. The dead will wake up one day. But the Lord knows all their secrets. They will remain with him until the Day of Judgment, after all the generations have lived and settled.
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Teibele and her demon by Isaac Bashevis Singer , The Collected Stories: A Library of America Boxed Set, November 2015 Edition.