Test your punctuation!

A punctuation less excerpt from Kamas Last Sutra by Trisha Das

I met Kala Devi two months ago She came up behind me while I was studying some carvings in the Kandariya temple We started talking and she told me some really interesting things about the temple and its history I figured she must be a lonely widow from the village nearby and  on the infrequent occasions we met  I made sure to exchange some pleasantries with her  Until the last time I ran into her  two weeks ago  when she told me she was a time-travelling yogini from a thousand years ago Thats when I realized she was batshit crazy

Namaste Kala Devi  I eyed her warily  Her eyes seared into me as she came closer   Youre fighting with yourself again  beti   I mentally rolled my eyes at the soothsayer-ish comment  She smiled   Its better to let go and leave yourself open to all that comes your way  Hurt might come  but so will possibility   After my flirting debacle with Hari the day before  I wasnt in the mood for a lecture from a lunatic   Thanks  Ill keep that in mind   I half-turned to walk away   I am telling you the truth  Tara  I am who I say I am  I can prove it   I wanted to walk away but an inherent respect for elderly people made me reluctantly reply   You don t need to  Its fine  I believe you  Okay    No  you dont  Open your mind  What have you got to lose  Let me prove it to you   That was the thing about Kala Devi – she didnt sound insane  Had she twitched and rambled  had her eyes seemed shifty or glazed over in confusion  I might have offered sympathy and dismissed what she said as some form of dementia  But her gaze was steady  her body radiated energy

and confidence  and her voice sounded perfectly rational and even astute  Especially when it said crazy things like  Ive travelled through time from a thousand years ago    I have  you know   She grinned as she read my thoughts   Im one of the very few who can  Others have tried  but the secrets of the Scorpion Bearer are not so easily understood    The Scorpion Bearer   She waved her hand at the Kandariya temple behind us   The one you all think lives there  People of my age call him the Mahesvara  You call him Shiva   Right  So God is into time travel  I sighed   Look  you don t need to prove anything to me  It doesnt matter whether I believe you or not  Ive got to get back to work now   It does matter  It matters more than you can imagine  You dont understand right now  beti  but you will  Soon

Get your copy of the fully punctuated Kama’s Last Sutra by Trisha Das here