{"id":110719,"date":"2023-03-19T17:01:31","date_gmt":"2023-03-19T17:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=110719"},"modified":"2023-03-19T17:02:29","modified_gmt":"2023-03-19T17:02:29","slug":"the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/","title":{"rendered":"The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Sri<\/p>\n

The village of Nelumpitiya was about ten miles down stream from the better-known town of Ruwanwella. They were both located on the same side of the Kelani River that crawled and meandered to the sea, barely fringing the two settlements. Ruwanwella was a more recognised town: well populated and had the civic administration of an Urban Council and a few other government offices such as a post office, a police station and a small tiled room to house the Assistant Government Agent. Nelumpitiya was different, just another dot on the map of Sri Lanka, a name of no worthy repute, a cluster of houses scattered on either side of the main road that passed through Nelumpitiya to bigger and better known places in the hills. The residents of Nelumpitiya too were like the place itself; run of the mill types, farmers and fishermen and the usual rabble of poverty whose mundane lives were as turgid and colourless as the waters of their Kelani River.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A few tradesmen also did count as residents of Nelumpitiya. They were mainly outsiders who had come and settled in the little village to run the gunnysack walled makeshift stores that were scattered around the open space where the buses stopped. The \u201cgunnysack-supermarket\u201d catered to the day to day needs of the village dwellers. Nelumpitiya was small and sleepy, poor and insignificant, mostly unknown for anything that was worthwhile remembering.<\/span><\/p>\n

All that was true, except for Rorbi, Nelumpitiye Rorbi Gurunanse, that\u2019s how he was known. Rorbi Gurunanse was infamously famous, notoriously reputed, feared and cursed; yet sought out often by many who believed in the powerful satanic black magic that he revelled in and so devilishly delivered.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rorbi Gurunanse was a Kattadiya,<\/em> a necromancer who dealt with the spirits. A Kattadiya<\/em> belonged to a diminishing clan, especially in the townships. These were the sixties, the world was shrouded with science and men were getting ready to kick dust in the moon. Yet in villages such as Nelumpitiya, a Kattadiya<\/em> was still almost like a demi-god, someone whom the village communities held in awe and apprehension. A local Kattadiya<\/em> was not a medicine man, nor a soothsayer. He was somewhat different. He strutted in the world of devils.\u00a0 A Kattadiya<\/em> was a feared individual who had the power to deal with the spirits; to make them dance to his will; someone who could cast spells on anyone and ruin them through diabolic powers. That was their prime occupation. They were also sought to cleanse evil tidings and cure sicknesses suffered by villagers who believed they were directly or indirectly connected to devils and their fiendish work among human beings. As such, a Kattadiya<\/em> was a very important man in the everyday rural life where spirits and gods played such decisive roles in the lives of the innocent and gullible.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fat and ugly, that was Rorbi; mid forties, unkempt oily hair, potbellied and a face as wicked as that of a bad mood witch.\u00a0 Dark skinned and sweaty, he most times donned a semi-dirty white cotton shirt that was crumpled in every possible place. Undoubtedly Rorbi was an unpleasant sight for any eye; he had very successfully projected his devilish image among his fellowmen, appearing fearful and menacing so that the poor denizens of the village communities around Nelumpitiya saw in him the very devil incarnate.\u00a0 Everyone walked soft around Rorbi, grinned at him like fools and spoke in whispers in his presence, lest the Kattadiya<\/em> would take notion of offence and cast a demonic spell devil on the innocent villager.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Such was the power Rorbi Gurunanse enjoyed among his lesser beings; the devil man, the one who had the power to make the devils dance to whatever his whims and fancies would be.<\/span><\/p>\n

Somi, his wife, was twenty years his junior. She was the daughter of a poor sharecropper farmer from the vicinity of Nelumpitiya.\u00a0 Rorbi had once seen the young girl at the village vegetable stall.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTell that man who fathered that woman I want her,\u201d such was Rorbi\u2019s instruction to his disciple. \u201cTell him I want her to be my woman.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That was that. No one would dare refuse the devil-man.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Somi was given in marriage to Rorbi Gurunanse.<\/span><\/p>\n

The marriage was dead from the day it was born, frigid and loveless as it possibly could be; a \u2018no communication\u2019 existence of a man and his slave. Everything that took place under the roof was totally one sided, including the occasional sex Rorbi indulged in to ease his lustful needs. The union was for the total convenience of the Kattadiya<\/em>. Somi was nothing but a servant in the devil-man\u2019s household running frightfully and timidly to answer Rorbi\u2019s every beck and call.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rorbi Gurunanse was a specialist. He was an expert thoile<\/em> man. A thoile was a chanting ceremony performed by a Kattadiya<\/em> who used manthara<\/em> to talk to devils; an all night satanic ritual, eerie by any morbid standard. It was performed by a Kattadiya<\/em> under torchlight, to the beat of muffled drums, in a room decorated with talcum yellow tender coconut leaves. If a person had some misfortune, the locals believed it was the devil\u2019s work and the devil had to be exorcised by doing a thoile<\/em>.\u00a0 On the same token, if a villager, for some perverted reason needed to harm another, he would call on a Kattadiya<\/em> to perform a thoile and cast a spell on the enemy and bring ruin to the unsuspecting unfortunate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thoile<\/em> in short was a macabre ceremony where a devil was called upon by a Kattadiya<\/em> to do some fiendish work for humans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rorbi Gurunanse was known to be the best. A thoile<\/em> performed by Rorbi was guaranteed to be a success. People paid dearly to acquire the services of Rorbi. He wasn\u2019t cheap; that meant the poor \u2018would-be\u2019 devil customer sold anything that was sellable or pawned everything that was pawnable to raise money. Such needs at times did drain the poor villagers and often they lost their very homes and the very land they cultivated, just to pay the devil\u2019s dues.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Whenever Rorbi Gurunanse accepted a contract to perform a thoile he had his set pattern. He came with his apprentice Kattadiyo<\/em> and drank arrack and ate spicy curry and rice and chanted through the whole night. The hideous highlight was at midnight. After much muttering of chants and manthara<\/em>, Rorbi would break the neck of a chicken, smearing its blood on his face and hands, and order demons to bend to his will and carry out whatever he commanded.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The devils always obeyed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 With all his expertise on satanic ways, Rorbi was a very successful devil-man who made the spirits humble. There was no better Kattadiya<\/em> around than Nelumpitiye Rorbi Gurunanse when dealing with anything connected to the ghostly world of spirits and demi-gods and spell-casting slave demons.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many were the nights Rorbi went away to distant villages to do his devil work which left Somi alone and frightened at home.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPlease Rorbi,\u201d Somi appealed many a time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI feel so alone here; can\u2019t we get a Boyi-kolla?\u201d She pleaded with Rorbi to find her a domestic servant to help around the house and to be Somi\u2019s companion to simmer her fears on eerie nights when Rorbi was out chasing devils.\u00a0 The pleadings turned to constant begging when she became pregnant.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One day Rorbi returned from a faraway trip with a youngish boy of about ten years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Woman, you are always grumbling. Here I have found a boy who will stay with us to do all the work,” the Kattadiya<\/em> boasted about the new addition he had brought to the house.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “I must warn you, don\u2019t treat him kindly. Don\u2019t be stupid and try to be nice to him,” Rorbi ordered, menacingly looking at the child slave.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Whatever you do, don\u2019t ever touch his head,” Rorbi insisted and repeated his warning many times.<\/span><\/p>\n

Days went by and the boyi-kolla<\/em> settled in the Kattadiya\u2019s<\/em> home. Somi got heavy with child and was relieved there was someone living under the same roof to assist in her work and ease the loneliness when Rorbi was away. She did notice at times certain peculiarities about the boy; his constant vague look and how he had very little to say in conversation. There was a strangeness too; the dog and the cat in Rorbi\u2019s house both hated the sight of him and scampered away whenever he came near them. All this was nothing serious, just passing observations that Somi soon forgot without further thought.<\/span><\/p>\n

One fateful day in November, the month of the dead, Rorbi Gurunanse had gone to a nearby village for an all night thoile.<\/em> It was evening time. Somi was lighting the lamps and the boy came in from the backyard scrub bushes carrying a bundle of firewood on his head.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Somi Akke, help me, something in these dry sticks is hurting my head,” lamented the boy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Come let me see,” Somi moved and helped the boy to unload the firewood.\u00a0 “Bend your head. Let me see what has happened.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The boy came close, and Somi felt his scalp and her fingers ran into something metallic that was embedded in the boy\u2019s head.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “It is a small nail, let me take it out,” Somi pacified the boy and dug her fingers deep for a grip and slowly pulled out a rusted round-capped tin-tack nail.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a nearby village, Rorbi Gurunanse was busy taming demons.\u00a0 Sweat pouring, skin glistening in the dim light; Rorbi chanted his manthara<\/em> with a contorted face, his mouth moving like a machine to spit words of venom at the devils. The assistant Kattadiyo<\/em> did the supporting work, like beating the muffled drum and shouting choruses, all part of learning the trade from the master devil-man himself. The occupants of the house and those who had come to see the thoile<\/em> kept vigil, seated on benches, watching every fiendish ritual that was taking place. The wind blew in spasms, moving the candle flames that cast slow swaying shadows on the pale surrounding walls. The silhouettes themselves looked almost devilish in appearance, adding a further uneasiness to the already demonic atmosphere that was present in the thoile<\/em> room.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A reddish brown chicken with its legs tied by a coir rope lay on the floor, waiting to lose its head and contribute in blood to satisfy the evil spirits.<\/span><\/p>\n

The instant Somi pulled the nail, the boy let out a murderous yell, frightening and ear splitting. His eyes grew red and enormous. His voice became hoarse and guttural and his mouth filled with clotted blood that came dripping down from open lips.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The devil-boy shivered and grabbed Somi.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The spell of the nail had been removed. The devil was set free.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 With claws like iron the devil-boy ripped Somi\u2019s stomach and wrenched the infant, pulling skin and intestines that spilled out from the torn open belly of the mother.\u00a0 He flung the baby away and as Somi fainted, the spirit transferred in to her and the boyi-kolla<\/em> fell lifeless by the broken-torn unborn child.<\/span><\/p>\n

The thoile<\/em> was going on. Rorbi, after many gulps of arrack, was slurring his chants. The string-tied reddish brown chicken awaited its fate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The bench-seated onlookers saw and froze.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Somi was standing by the entrance. Stomach ripped open, bloodied and torn. Her eyes were as big as saucers, menacingly staring at Rorbi.\u00a0 Her mouth opened and saliva dripped. The devil\u2019s voice resonated through Somi, hoarse and guttural.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “I have come for you.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rorbi Gurunanse froze; mid sentence in his chant.\u00a0 A spine chilling fear engulfed the Kattadiya\u2019s<\/em> mind and made him shiver. He stared in disbelief at the blood-soaked woman standing menacingly in front of him.\u00a0 The fear paralysed the room. Rorbi collected himself and raising the candle he had in his hand, whispered some manthara<\/em> and threw it at the slow advancing Somi.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Get away you bastard devil, get away from me!” screamed Rorbi.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Your nail is gone Rorbi, so is your power,” the guttural voice hissed out.\u00a0 “I am coming,” said the devil incarnated Somi as she took deliberate steps towards the Kattadiya<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Take somebody else,” Rorbi Gurunanse pleaded. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Take the chicken, take anybody! Leave me alone.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018Ahrrahhrra,\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018Hooooooo,\u2019\u00a0 \u2018Ahrrahhrra.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The blood-curdling shriek shattered the night as Somi reached for Rorbi and gorged his eyes out and snapped his head from the neck.\u00a0 The body crashed to the ground with spasms of dying heartbeats and sprouting blood like a maroon-red water tap. Somi threw the Kattadiya\u2019s<\/em> head out of the window and stared menacingly at the chicken.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The woman fell dead beside the body of her already dead husband.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rorbi\u2019s assistants, the apprentice Kattadiyo<\/em> and the onlookers who were at the thoile<\/em> were rooted like cast statues. Everything else froze too, including the swaying flames of the pandam<\/em>. The shadows on the walls remained pasted; motionless morbid black figures like the devils themselves. The headless body of Rorbi and the ripped stomach of Somi gaped at them in a grotesque masquerade.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The world stood still, both spirit and man.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The men at the thoile<\/em> slowly uncoiled and crawled back to life. They shuffled out of the room soft-stepping like zombies and mumbled meaningless words from mouths embalmed with fear.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A piece of loose coir rope remained where the sacrificial brown-red chicken had been tethered.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even today, some old folks in Nelumpitiya remember Rorbi Gurunanse and young Somi. Their horrifying story has been told and retold in typical village style, of course with expanded and exaggerated additions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Kattadiya\u2019s<\/em> house still remains, just as it stood before, though now dilapidated and wasted; the small garden grown wild with weed. The people of Nelumpitiya want no part of it, let alone occupy it. Nobody is bold enough to even lift a nail that is in the premises, lest they disturb some long-subdued devil.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Legend has it that sometimes at midnight, especially when the moon was full in the sky, some people in Nelumpitiya had seen a chicken shrieking and flying across the open fields; a chilling blood-curdling shriek.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 At such times, pregnant women were never left alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mini Glossary <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Kattadiya\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – one who dealt with spirits<\/span><\/p>\n

Thoile\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – a ceremony to deal with devils \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Manthara \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0– a spell \u2013 talking to devils<\/span><\/p>\n

Boyi-Kolla\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – servant boy\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pandam\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 –\u00a0 flaming torches<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena The village of Nelumpitiya was about ten miles down stream from the better-known town of Ruwanwella. They were both located on the same side of the Kelani River that crawled and meandered to the sea, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":108180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[687],"class_list":{"0":"post-110719","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-aside","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-sri-lanka","9":"post_format-post-format-aside"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Devil\u2019s Due a short story from "Rainbows in Braille" - A collection of short stories - By Elmo Jayawardena - eLanka<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The village of Nelumpitiya was about ten miles down stream from the better-known town of Ruwanwella. They were both located on the same\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from "Rainbows in Braille" - A collection of short stories - By Elmo Jayawardena\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The village of Nelumpitiya was about ten miles down stream from the better-known town of Ruwanwella. They were both located on the same\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eLanka\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-19T17:01:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-19T17:02:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Ssri-Lanka-e1675398094476.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"375\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\"},\"headline\":\"The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-19T17:01:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-19T17:02:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/\"},\"wordCount\":2450,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Ssri-Lanka-e1675398094476.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Sri Lanka\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/\",\"name\":\"The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from \\\"Rainbows in Braille\\\" - A collection of short stories - By Elmo Jayawardena - eLanka\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Ssri-Lanka-e1675398094476.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-19T17:01:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-19T17:02:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"The village of Nelumpitiya was about ten miles down stream from the better-known town of Ruwanwella. They were both located on the same\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Ssri-Lanka-e1675398094476.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Ssri-Lanka-e1675398094476.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":375,\"caption\":\"Sri Lanka flag waving on the flagpole on a sky background\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"description\":\"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"width\":192,\"height\":82,\"caption\":\"eLanka\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\",\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"eLanka admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from \"Rainbows in Braille\" - A collection of short stories - By Elmo Jayawardena - eLanka","description":"The village of Nelumpitiya was about ten miles down stream from the better-known town of Ruwanwella. They were both located on the same","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from \"Rainbows in Braille\" - A collection of short stories - By Elmo Jayawardena","og_description":"The village of Nelumpitiya was about ten miles down stream from the better-known town of Ruwanwella. They were both located on the same","og_url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/","og_site_name":"eLanka","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","article_published_time":"2023-03-19T17:01:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-19T17:02:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":375,"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Ssri-Lanka-e1675398094476.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"eLanka admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"eLanka admin","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/"},"author":{"name":"eLanka admin","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd"},"headline":"The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena","datePublished":"2023-03-19T17:01:31+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-19T17:02:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/"},"wordCount":2450,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Ssri-Lanka-e1675398094476.jpg","keywords":["Sri Lanka"],"articleSection":["Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/","name":"The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from \"Rainbows in Braille\" - A collection of short stories - By Elmo Jayawardena - eLanka","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Ssri-Lanka-e1675398094476.jpg","datePublished":"2023-03-19T17:01:31+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-19T17:02:29+00:00","description":"The village of Nelumpitiya was about ten miles down stream from the better-known town of Ruwanwella. They were both located on the same","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Ssri-Lanka-e1675398094476.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Ssri-Lanka-e1675398094476.jpg","width":600,"height":375,"caption":"Sri Lanka flag waving on the flagpole on a sky background"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-devils-due-a-short-story-from-rainbows-in-braille-a-collection-of-short-stories-by-elmo-jayawardena\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Devil\u2019s Due a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","name":"eLanka","description":"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization","name":"eLanka","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","width":192,"height":82,"caption":"eLanka"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd","name":"eLanka admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"eLanka admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew"],"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110719"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110721,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110719\/revisions\/110721"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}