Trembling Shadows
A romantic, psychological thriller
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“Even shocked, guessing Nagaraju’s intention, another servant along with the one who opened the doors went across him to stop. Without mercy, without even a second thought, Nagaraju hacked them both with the sword. They both unarmed, could not give much of a fight. They died instantly. After killing them so, Nagaraju again started walking towards grandmother’s room through the blood flowing on the floor from the sword in his hands. By then grandmother’s parents as well woke up. However shocked they might be, they could understand everything in minutes. They did what the servants did before. They met with the same fate the servants met.”
He breathed deeply and relaxed himself. But there was no relaxation around. In fact they could not bear the gaps in between like these. The only person who was getting irritated by all this was Rajesh. He did not like at all the vivid description of his grandmother’s story in such a way. He was feeling more fear than irritation thiking what would be the effect of this story especially on the young girls at night times in a place like this.
“Enough commotion has been made that woke up Rajeswari, our grandmother and her husband Semanthakam. They could not understand what was happening and without thinking much opened the doors of their room wide and came out”
There was another agonizing pause. Ratnam breathed again deeply.
“Nagaraju tried to make a straight stab into grandma’s stomach with the sword in his hand. But her husband, Semanthakam came in between to protect her. The sword dug deep into his stomach.
With the activity until then, Nagaraju exhausted a lot. His grip on the sword loosened a little and he paused few seconds. He might be with the intention to draw it back and pierce the grandmother with it.
In those little minutes of time, Semanthakam threw back Nagaraju forcibly. Nagaraju was unguarded and without expectation, so he had fallen heavily on his back. Before he realized what happened and came to his full sense, Semanthakam yelled and pulled out the sword from his stomach and using every ounce of power in his body he thrust the same straight into the stomach of Nagaraju. In such a way both of their lives came to an end.”
Everyone there breathed deeply including Rajesh and relaxed “what a ghastly story!” Anand said “Was it all true?”
“My father was the direct eye witness to it”
“How much aged your father was then? How he could have escaped?” Aravind asked.
“Might be seven or eight years, I cannot say clearly” Ratnam continued. “Nagaraju might not intend to kill every one there. His only aim was grandma and her husband. So he killed only those whoever tried to stop him from going to them. My father was sleeping in this hall on a mat on that night. He woke up because of the commotion, stood in a corner and witnessed whatever was happening. He saw everything with his own eyes and heard everything so clearly.”
There were no questions from anyone. The excitement and thrilling in their faces lessened considerably since the story came to an end. But Ratnam still wanted something to add to stir the interest again around the people there.
“While dying what Semanthakam and Nagaraju had talked heard by my father quite clearly. He often says that to us. Now, even in his madness too sometimes he says that”
The required affect had come once again. “Oh, I have said not to put us in suspense. Tell about that fast” with a frown Sameera irritatingly said.
In whatever angle looking at her, in whatever mood she was, Sameera was immensely attractive to Ratnam. It was becoming quite difficult to him to talk while looking at her but he did.
“Nagaraju said ‘I never leave you Rajeswari. I never forget how you have cheated me. I always stay with you and make your life miserable.”
Then Semanthakam said ‘I never let you do anything bad to my wife Nagaraju. I shall also always be with her and save her. No one ever can do any harm to my wife.’ Then they both were dead”
The gruesome silence prevailed again. Intermittently the helpless growls of sky were being heard.
“Where all these murders were took place?” Anand asked.
“Did not I say? In this very place where we are all now. This place would be quite comfortable in summer to lay cots and sleep. Except grandma and her husband everyone else was sleeping here.”
After that no one did say anything. In fact no one could think of anything to say. By that time all of them finished their tiffin and Ratnam’s assistant distributed coffee pouring in the cups to those who did not have it before.
“Your coffee also is as much tasty as your tiffin” While sipping her coffee Tanuja said.
“Thank you very much” Ratnam suddenly remembered something more which would create immense interest in the people there. He did not know whether these people knew about it or not. “I don’t know whether you people know about it or not but there is something very much interesting about this house.”
“You already have said enough interesting things. You need not say anymore.” Rajesh irritatingly said.
“Oh, dad please. Let him say what it is.” Sameera looked into her father’s face with an irritating expression and then looked into the face of Ratnam again. “Unless you say about it how can we say whether we know about it or not. Don’t maintain suspense and spit that out fast.”
“Grandma kept the dead bodies of that Semanthakam and Nagaraju in the upstairs last room. I don’t know how much true it is but there is a rumor like this among the villagers.” Ratnam said.
Suddenly there came horrifying expressions on the faces of the people there.
“You said very much interesting but it is very much disturbing.” Anand said while trying not to show his fear in his face.
“Dad, could it be true?” with a shocking expression in her face, Sameera asked Rajesh looking into his face.
“My god! I cannot believe it. Keeping the dead bodies in this very house itself!” Sunanda’s voice was like a whisper.
“Absolute trash! Don’t believe it at all.” with complete irritating expression in his face, Rajesh said.
“Grandma is queer enough to do such type of a thing. How you can say it is just trash?” Sameera asked him.
“I can say it is just trash. It is just a rumor. No one has seen her doing it.” then he looked into the face of Ratnam and asked him. “Has your father seen grandma keeping the dead bodies in the upstairs room? Was there any direct witness while she was keeping the dead bodies in this house? Is there any proof that those dead bodies are in this house now?”
“Of course, no. There is no direct witness to it. No one has seen her doing so. But…..” Ratnam tried to say something more.
“You have said enough. Please don’t try to say anything more disturbing.” Rajesh could not restrain his irritation in his voice.
“I am sorry. I think I made you people unnecessarily fearful.” Ratnam paused for a moment and then said again. “I shall come in the afternoon taking lunch to all you people. Now please grant leave to both of us”
No one talked anything. Rajesh was in irritation and the other people there were in a sort of fear after knowing that disturbing piece of information.
“Certainly. Don’t forget to take your father here. I shall try to find out the reason for his madness” Vinod said.
“Alright sir” saying so Ratnam and his assistant moved away from that place.
***
Sameera had seen Sunanda went into the upstairs room. She too wanted to go there and spend sometime with Sunanda. She decided to do this for not only to get rid of some of her boredom but to make amends to a mistake that she did earlier.
Even Sameera not much liked Sunanda’s mother that did not come across with her friendship with Sunanda. In fact, Sunanda was a very close friend to her. But on that day without thinking much she poured her anguish before her and hurt her feelings deeply. Now she was regretting thinking even however much truth was in her saying so she should not have said it like that to her then.
It happened fifteen days or so back. Sunanda came to the house of Sameera and Sameera was all alone, struggling in her room to understand some difficult matter in physics. She was studying her post graduation with physics, maths and science and now she was in final year. Seeing Sunanda coming into her room so, gave her great relief and joy.
“It always is quite amazing to me how you can show this type of interest in these books. I cannot bear with them even for half an hour” after making herself comfortable on the bed beside Sameera, Sunanda said.
“Don’t tell me stories. I know how much percentage you have got in your studies. I don’t think that you got that without studying hard” putting the book in her hands beside her on the bed Sameera said.
“Okay, I agree. I have studied hard and got the percentage. We are not going to quarrel on that.” smiling a little Sunanda said. “I have got bore with Anand and came here to spend some time with you joyfully”
“But I cannot do those things which Anand do to you” with a frown on her forehead mocking innocence Sameera said.
“I have come here got bored with those things in fact.” Sunanda said.
“Is it is so” they both have had a hearty laugh then. Sunanda was two or so years older to Sameera. But that age gap did not hamper their friendship or intimacy.
“Where is the hero?” Sunanda asked
“Hero who?” Sameera asked as she did not understand.
“Who else? Aravind. Where did he go?”
“Aravind, hero, don’t talk like that” steadying herself on the bed Sameera said.
“Why he is not a hero? I did not see such a handsome boy anywhere before. If you neglect him like that some fortunate one gets him.” Sunanda said
“I don’t want him. I just cannot bear him around. I hate him.” Sameera tried to show some hate expression in her face but failed.
“Hate him? But what that much bad he did?” the surprise in the face of Sunanda was not fake. She did not know Sameera’s true feelings on Aravind at all.
“Whatever my parents love I hate it. They both love and like Aravind a lot. So I hate him” the rage in her voice surprised Sunanda a lot.
“It seems that you hate your parents in the first place but why? Why should you hate your parents? What that much wrong they both did?” there was surprise in her voice. To some extent she also came to know Sameera’s different approach to her parents recently but she too did not know the reason and not asked her about it.
“They both are sinners” clenching her teeth as to control her anger Sameera spilled the words like bullets.
“What sins they have committed? In my opinion they are the best couple in the world”. Sunanda’s eyes became as much wider as possible with astonishment.
“Best couple! Only the unknown persons of the facts relating to them may say that.” She paused for a moment to give stress to what she was going to say then. “My mother got an abortion before her marriage”
There was not that much of a surprise in the face of Sunanda. In fact somehow she knew about this in before itself through her mother.
“What then…?” Sunanda looked into the eyes of Sameera. Her eyes were still filled with anger.
(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.)
