Trembling Shadows
A romantic, psychological thriller
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
She carefully took the book into her hands and opened that. At first she thought it might be an entertaining book. But as she was going through it page after page, the pictures in it created a disgusting feeling in her. Naked women with beards, wolves and several other pictures which were creating fear also in her. There were some writings also under the picutures which she could not understand. She closed that book impatiently as she could not see the pictures in it for long. Very soon she had realized that it was a book relating to black magic! Why Aravind had taken that book here along with him, she could not understand. First of all why he had got interest in such type of matters, she wondered and worried in herself. ‘This too needs to be changed in him’ she had decided in herself. Sooner or later he was going to be her man. She would look after this and make him abandon all this black magic, etc., then he would become fully normal and she decided in herself strongly, ‘I would mould him as I want’.
She wanted to go through the book even more but felt fear. Aravind might come at any moment and if she has been found by him it would create trouble to her. She put back that book carefully in that suitcase again. It had taken indeed an effort to arrange all the dresses and toiletries again in that suitcase as usual. Once she had arranged everything as they were before she closed the suitcase, locked it and left it there along with keys in the usual way.
The situation there was making her get bore. There was no entertainment available in that house. Not even television was there. Fortunately there was current supply to that house. Sunanda as well was not available then to talk with her. She wished very strongly that Aravind should come down and talk to her. It seemed that there was a long conversation going on between that Aravind and Sunanda on the upstairs room. What might be that Sunanda was telling Aravind, Sameera surprised. She knew her nature very well. Sometimes she would not bother with what she was talking. She would behave in the same way sometimes with strangers too.
For one moment Sameera thought to go upstairs and spend some more time there with Aravind and Sunanda but she had decided against that. She closed her eyes and laid herself on the carpet there. Not more than few minutes were passed that she felt a cold touch on her body. It was just like some cold hand touched on her arm. She snapped open her eyes and sat up at once. She thought that someone really entered into that room and touched her with his hand. But there was no one around. Then why she had got such type of a feeling? Who touched her and why? If someone touched her so where he had gone then? She looked thoroughly the entire room to find if there was anyone who might have touched her. It was quite impossible to disappear to anyone in such a short span of time.
Or was it just her imagination, she thought in herself. It could not be her imagination at all, she reasoned out. Imagining in such a realistic way was quite impossible. It could not be in a dream either because she did not fall asleep by the time she had got the touch so. Her mouth turned dry and she became alert. There was something odd in this house she thought. She was already feeling a little bad and uneasy when she had seen the awkward pictures in Aravind’s book. This incident made her uneasiness even more and turned it into some sort of fear.
“Oh, what you are doing here?” she did not notice when Aravind entered into that room. She startled hearing his voice that sudden.
“Nothing, I am just trying to get a wink of sleep and you have come like this” she felt happy seeing Aravind in that room.
“You are trying to get some sleep here? But you are sitting like this and thinking seriously about something.” Aravind surprisingly said.
“I am indeed trying to sleep in this room on the floor itself.” She said with a small voice. “But Aravind something strange happened then.”
He looked surprisingly at her for a few seconds, then came near to her and sat beside her. “Tell me what it is?” there was curiosity in his voice. Sameera explained to him what happened to her in that room. He listened without a murmur while she was saying that.
“Was it true?” he asked in the end looking into her eyes.
“There is no necessity to me to make false stories sitting idly in this room” she said angrily.
“Don’t think otherwise. But what you have said is appearing quite surprising to me. If someone really came into the room and touched you, where he has come from and where he has gone after that act. You said you immediately sat up and looked four sides. It is not possible to move away from this room that fast.” He said.
“I agree with you. But hundred percent I did not imagine that. It was real.” She firmly said.
“Who did touch you like that then? Was it a devil in your opinion?” he suppressed the giggle with an effort which was trying to force itself up.
“It could be so then. If it could not be a human being, it is certainly a paranormal thing.” Leaning herself on to the nearby wall Sameera said.
“Why it was not just your imagination? It would be quite easier to take it so.”
“It was not my imagination at all. I am not that weak to imagine things like this.” she firmly said.
He nodded his head and said “But settle yourself so for this time. If this type of a thing happens to you again, then we shall take it a little seriously” his lips were still sagged with a little smile.
“Alright, only for this time I fix my mind as you have said. But if this type of a thing happens again we should do as you have said but not little, more seriously” she said strongly.
“Alright, I shall look into it myself then. So forget about that episode and be relaxed.”
She did not say anything for some time. Then looking at him she asked “What you have been doing in the upstairs room?”
“I have talked with your friend Sunanda. She has almost eaten my brain away.” Rubbing his forehead with his right hand fingers Aravind said.
“Yes, she has got a habit like that. She would not worry much to think what should be talked. She doesn’t care much with whom she is talking either.”
“But she appears intelligent and beautiful”
“Yes, she is intelligent and beautiful. But that is the problem with her. If one can tolerate with her weakness she would become a very good friend.”
“I really agree with that.”
There was silence again between two of them for some time. The drizzle completely diminished. There were no particular sounds then. They could hear that Tanuja and Rajesh were talking something in between themselves outside. They could not hear any sound from Malathi or Vinod. They might have gone into the upstairs room.
“Your friend is suffering with a problem. She asked me to see to get it solved.” breaking the silence Aravind said.
“Did she say what it is?” with a surprising expression in her face Sameera asked him. She could guess what Sunanda might have said to Aravind. But she did not think that her friend would be opened up before Aravind where she did not open up before her even she was such a close friend to her.
“She has been facing a problem with her husband Anand.”
“Did she say what that problem is?” Sameera knitted her brows together.
“No. She wants me to know about that myself.”
Sameera laughed out. “How it would be possible?”
“I just did not know what to say to her then. I could not say ‘no’ to her.” Aravind nodded his head helplessly. “Do you know what that problem is? You are her best friend. You certainly know what it is” looking into her eyes hopefully Aravind asked. “If you know, you can relieve half my burden”
Sameera nodded her head in negation and said. “I don’t know.” He understood that she was lying. But he did not want to press her for that atleast then.
***
It was boring to Malathi as much it was boring to the other people in that house. She felt a little bad as she has to come to that house in that way. But she knew she could not manage not to come here at all. Rajesh asked her to come. He insisted on her coming with him to this house. They both were such good friends and Rajesh was always quite helpful to her. Now also she was having beautiful income juse because working in his hospital. It would be indeed a difficult thing to her to establish her own practice or get a job like that which she was doing in Rajesh’ hospital.
Why did he insist her to come to this house with him? She surprised for a moment. Why did he think that there would be a necessity of her in this place? Could he know in before itself that there would be necessity of her here? Could he foresee himself that the old woman here was ill? she could not understand. What all he said to her was that he wanted to come to this place only because of his strong feeling to come here. She did not argue with him much what that feeling was exactly. Since she too want a change as she clinged herself to the hospital so for a long time, she agreed to it immediately. They thought that it would be only one or two days trip at the most. At first she did not want to take her family with her. But once Vinod came to know where she was going, he had shown interest to come along with them. She said the same to Rajesh and he felt happy. Then Sunanda and Anand also had shown interest to come with them and they were as well added to the list with the permission of Rajesh. In fact Rajesh, Sameera and Tanuja encouraged and requested Vinod, Sunanda and Anand to come with them.
Then Malathi expressed her fear to Rajesh how the grandma’s reaction would be to their coming like that to this house. She very well knew about the relationship between Rajesh and his grandma.
“We shall see. If she does not like our staying there we immediately return from that place, no problem. But I am strongly feeling it would not happen like that.” Rajesh hissed out heavily and said.
“Why should not you phone to her or to the people there and let her know about your arrival?” she asked him.
“Grandma does not have phone facility. I don’t have the phone numbers of the people who are working with her. I have not been in contact with my grandma for a long time and I just don’t how that Ratnakar is now. Atleast we do have a to and fro trip which gives some change to us.” He paused for a moment and then said again “But it is my strong feeling that we may have to stay there for some days.”
Ratnam, Ratnakar’s son was in the house of old woman when they entered into it and he felt lot of surprise seeing them so. For the last three days grandma was in a coma like state and he did not know what to do. He did not have the phone number of Rajesh. He said as his father became too old, he was looking after the affairs of old woman then. He did not say anything about his father’s madness at that time.
(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.)
