Trembling Shadows
A romantic, psychological thriller
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
She made her hair as two plaits and preferred one back and one front. She was as much taller as she has to be for her twenty one years of age. There was a gold nose ring to her left nostril. But it was not conspicuous easily as its color mixed with the color of her skin. She and Sunanda got their nostrils pinched on one day to put nose rings. In fact it was Sameera’s idea that a nose ring would give more glamour to their faces and Sunanda approved immediately. That was done when Sameera was in her eighteenth year. Her ear rings were making gentle movements with the movements of her body. In fact Sunanda was beautiful only when she was not beside Sameera.
What surprised Ratnam then was, even Sameera was more beautiful than Sunanda there was strong resemblance between them both. Even at the first glance itself, one could think that they both were sisters.
“It was because of the vengeance of her lover Nagaraju, her husband, parents, two servants were died. The person who murdered all these people as well murdered in the end by grandmother’s husband Semanthakam. The irony is, it is still ambiguous whether grandmother loved Nagaraju or not” Ratnam did manage to say that escaping from the influence of the beauty of Sameera with an effort.
Then the silence followed there was unbearable. Except the sound of the drizzle and the waving air, there were no other sounds. That horrible silence was broken by Sameera herself. She could not think of her father’s grandmother would have such a dreadful but interesting past.
“Five murders! My god! Who was that person murdered the five and being murdered himself in the end?” rolling her eyes beautifully in their sockets she asked. Ratnam indeed had to make an effort not to concentrate on her to talk. His heart was not at all agreeing to avert his eyes from seeing her beauty. However hard he was trying his eyes more and more glued to her body.
“Nagaraju, her lover. I said that. He loved grandmother so much. He wanted to marry her. But when grandmother married Semanthakam instead of him, he could tolerate that only for a few days. In the beginning he acted as if he had not been affected at all by grandmother’s act of marrying Semanthakam. But suddenly he burst out so. He entered into this house on one midnight with a big sword and murdered five people and got himself killed in the end” It was becoming quite difficult to Ratnam to talk while looking at Sameera. Even he has a habit of enjoying beauty like this, he knew the feeling that Rajesh had on him would be spoiled if he found his observing the girls so there. But here the beauty of the girls had become too much to him for not to do so. Especially this girl, how anyone could be this much beautiful!
“Did grandmother love Nagaraju?” knitting her brows together Sameera asked.
“That is not known for sure as I have said in the beginning. But there is a talking among people that grandmother loved Nagaraju unto the end. My father is also of the same opinion. There is no one else in this world than my father knows more about grandmother and her matters. Why she had got changed her mind and married Semanthakam is a mystery.”
The tight tee-shirt she wore was even restricting the movements of her big breasts it could not keep them exposed completely and one could see the nipples of them also. They thrust up and it was appearing so that they had got their fullest growth.
No one could think of what to say. Except Rajesh they were all contemplating on what Ratnam said until that moment. Rajesh was worrying what type of affect these murders would have once the night fall. He was worrying about Sameera and Sunanda especially. Even they were appearing interested and getting thrilled on hearing the story so then, they would feel fear remember this all at night.
“There is one peculiar thing here to notice.” Dragging all their attention once again towards him Ratnam said. As Ratnam was going on like this, his assistant had busied himself in observing the women and girls there. As they all immersed in what Ratnam was telling, they completely unconcerned with his assistant’s furtive looks. The situation had become quite advantageous to him. While listening with rapt attention the women folk were not that much concerned with their clothing. He was staring greedily at whatever youth parts available in the women to him to see.
“What is that? Don’t try to maintain suspense. It irritates us” Sunanda snapped.
Ratnam nodded his head and said “Nagaraju was a warlock. He practiced witchcult. He very well knew about black magic.”
“This I did not expect at all” as soon as Ratnam finished Sunanda said. “Black magic is a very interesting thing to me.” Her eyes were started glistening with interest.
“For me too.” Sameera exclaimed. “My father’s grandmother herself was loved by a warlock and her husband killed by him is so much exiting, so much interesting!” observing the people around her she said. For the first time it appeared that she was enjoying there.
“There is no necessity to show that much of interest in these black magic, etc. matters. There are no such things at all” Rajesh disgustingly said. In fact he wanted that discussion to be stopped there.
“How you can say that there are no such types of things? Have you any concrete proof with you to show such types of things are nothing but creations of immature minds?” turning himself completely towards Rajesh, Vinod said.
“Vinod, my God! You are a responsible psychologist! You should not say those type of things are real.” Astonishingly and unbelievingly Rajesh said.
“Are psychologists barred to use their brains rationally?”
“Are you agreeing with the existence of black magic, witchcult with your rational thinking? Supporting that black magic and shadow world is rational thinking?” Rajesh frowned with surprise.
Unbearable and painful silence ensued again. It was not at all expected by anyone there that Vinod believed in such matters.
“I cannot hundred percent prove their reality. At the same time I cannot completely rule them out either” going back to a chair, slumping his body into that and leaning back relaxingly Vinod said. “I have heard and seen things which almost convinced me that they are true sometimes. Not coming to the conclsion that the things which we cannot perceive with our five senses are not real is rational thinking in my opinion.”
Then Ratnam’s assistant poured the coffee in the flasks in the cups and distributed it to those who finished their tiffins and they gladly received those cups from him.
“Aravind, why not you are talking anything at all? This is your area of interest” Tanuja did not like the boy keeping himself in silence. In fact, Rajesh and Tanuja loved and liked the boy even more they loved their own daughter. After his parents tragic death the boy preferred to be more and more reticent and reclusive which they did not like at all. They were always trying to make him again the cheerful, active boy he used to be before his parents death. That was why even Tanuja did not like the things like black magic, tried to enthuse the boy by mentioning them so to him.
“There is no confusion or doubt to me in this regard. I can say hundred percent surely that this black magic, witchcult are real and effective” the firmness in his voice made it clear to all of them that he believed completely what he had said.
“How can you are that much sure about it?” with lot of surprise and interest in his eyes Anand asked him. Aravind was a surprise to Anand. From the time he saw him, Anand was feeling an unknown bond between him and Aravind. Why it was so he could not understand. He was trying all the time to make friendship and talk with him.
“Those are his favorite subjects. If they were available in studies, he would have done P.Hd. in them. Since unfortunately it is not so, he studied something else.” The sarcastic note in Sameera’s voice pinched Rajesh and Tanuja’s hearts.
In fact Sameera was struggling a lot. She was trying as usual to hate Aravind as she would hate everything that her parents like. But her heart was not co-operating with her. Aravind was very handsome and attractive to her. She was trying at her utmost best that her heart not fell after him but she could not stop that. Aravind was not just handsome but there was untellable attractiveness in him. If he was not a favorite one to her parents, she would have picked on him at the first sight itself. She cursed herself as she could not control her feelings. Why her bloody heart wanted him so? She had seen handsome guys before but it was a fact that she did not see more handsome and intelligent guy than Aravind.
“If I put forward my opinions as I did now, I know you people would not like much. So I did not say anything”. Aravind was hurt. It was just because of the Sameera’s comment.
The usual silence sneaked again.
“Oh, my god, where the story stopped first of all? We are completely deviated from the main subject” Sunanda said.
“Nagaraju was a warlock. He knew black magic.” Vinod said reminding them where from the story should start again.
“You are so attentive to the story, dad.” Sunanda threw a glance at Vinod before she turned to Ratnam again and said “Please continue it from there then” Unfortunately Ratnam started struggling again. Sunanda did not notice but her sari on her blouse moved aside and he just could not avert his gaze from the big breasts and the cleavage visible on the top of her blouse.
“There is not much to say.” Ratnam in fact not liked to conclude the story. He wanted to continue it so to get the attention of those two beautiful girls as much as possible. He was thinking furiously to add something to the story.
“One important thing here is my father was the direct eye witness to those murders” Ratnam suddenly remembered and felt quite happy that he could add an important piece like that to it.
The effect he had expected in those people came instantly. There was sudden surprise and thrill in their faces again.
“Is that so? How it had happened like that?” Sunanda asked.
“The intimacy between my father and grandmother is not just yesterday or today’s. My father was a distant relative to grandmother. He used to call her as sister and stay in this house all the time.” looking into the faces of them Ratnam said. It seemed that the story going on was interesting to his assistant as well. He stopped enjoying the women’ beauty stealthily and started hearing carefully.
“My father used to be with grandmother most of the time. On that fateful day also he was in this very house. On that day in the middle of the night Nagaraju tapped on the front doors of this house. The doors opened by a servant. After entering inside of this house, Nagaraju withdrew a big sword from his clothes. With that firmly in his hand, he tried to go towards the room in which grandmother and her husband Semanthakam were sleeping. That was the very room in which grandmother is sleeping now.” He felt a lot happy as he could narrate the story so. He did not know that he could say something like that then.
Another pause intensifying the interest and excitement in the people around. It was like Ratnam was a well known story teller.
(I hope that you enjoyed upto here. I shall publish the next chapter as soon as possible. Please don’t forget to rate and review.)
