Trembling Shadows
A romantic, psychological thriller
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
As Malathi and Vinod were discussing in themselves so, the remaining people fixed themselves in the upstairs middle room. Some of them sat on the bed there and the remaining settled in the chairs. They took some of the chairs from downstairs into there.
“For whom this beautiful bed laid here like this” Rajesh said in a curious tone “is indeed a puzzle to me”
“If it is a puzzle to you yourself who is a grandmother’s direct relative” his own daughter said “who else can be expected to know the answer for it?”
“What our daughter said is right Raj” his wife said “As her own grandson you are supposed to be known more about our grandmother and her house than others”
“To other persons it may be so” Rajesh said in a helpless tone. “But she kept me as alien as anyone else to her matters. How can I know then?”
“That needs to be considered. We cannot blame our dearest uncle then” Sunanda said. She had been seated in the nearest chair to the bed.
“When did you have come here last” Anand asked him. He was seated just beside Rajesh on the bed.
“Nearly twenty years or so back all alone” Rajesh said. “Before that visit, I had come here with my parents. I was four years or so old then. That time was more remarkable than the latter”
“Why it was so?” Anand asked him again.
“In the return journey my parents were died in an accident. Only I could escape.”
That jolted everyone there. Even Tanuja too shuddered and felt pity towards her husband on hearing that then even she knew about it in before itself. Sameera too felt uneasy and pity even she too knew about it before.
“How it had happened like that?” Aravind asked breaking the fearsome silence there.
“Some lorry hit the car which was driven by my father” there was some change in his voice quite conspicuous to all those there.
“I cannot understand. How did you have escaped? Were not you travelling with your parents in that car then?”
“Yes, of course. But just before that terrific incident happened, I came out of the car.”
“How that had happened?”
“I may have to explain a little from the beginning” looking into the little verandah before the room where a little drizzle started again Rajesh said.
“My parents along with me came to this house on that day. It has happened more than fifty years or so back. I was just four or five years aged then I already said. I cannot remember everything in detail. But whatever I remember still put creeps to my spine.
Grandmother, my parents and that Ratnakar stood in the downstairs varandah for a longtime. I could not understand and remember whatever had gone in between my grandma and my father but mostly it seemed like an argument. My mother did not do any talking as far as I can remember. That Ratnakar hold me in his hands for some time. I still remember that my grandmother wept in between. It all had gone like that one or two hours. Then we left this place and went out. We have started in our car towards our place.
Then I remember a severe argument started between my parents. We had gone a long way from this village by then. While that severe argument was continuing like that, on the tar road, our car stopped suddenly. I had seen my father’s struggling to start it again. After trying sometime, he came out of the car, checked the engine and other things. Then he came into the car once again and settled before the steering wheel again. What had happened I could not understand, but the car was not started just like before.”
Suddenly there was a big thunder deafening their ears as giving them a warning and the small drizzle turned into a violent rain. No one talked for some time. Except of the rain, there was no other sound either.
“What had happened then?” Aravind asked as Rajesh remained in silence.
“I cannot understand why I did that but for a moment I came out of the car opening the door and went a good distance away from it. There was some argument going in between my parents then too. That time, that scene I still can remember very vividly.” There was a shiver in his voice. His tone changed. “That big lorry, that big thing came from front side. It was very big indeed. It seemed that thing had come there only for that purpose. I had seen that hit our car from front. I had seen our car crushed like some paper plate. I could hear the pathetic cries of my parents amidst the big crashing sounds.”
The rain was falling so violently, it was not stopping at all. The sound of it was muffling almost all the other sounds. He had to talk loudly to be heard beyond the sound of the rain.
“My God, was that happened so? How terrific? How horrible? How did you cope with the situation then? You were such a small boy.” It was her daughter who came forward and clutched his right arm with her both hands. She knew all about this in before itself. But when she had heard it so from her father himself she could not control. For a moment she had completely forgotten the differences she had got with him because of the scene she had seen on that day. Such type of incidents should not have happened in anyone’s life especially at such a tender age.
“I could not remember anything afterwards. But I still can remember the crushed and mutilated bodies of my parents. When I had looked at them I forgot completely that they were of my parents. The pieces of those bodies had created only fear in me. Those memories haunted me for a long time. Still now, sometimes those memories make me shudder.”
The rain turned into drizzle again. It was as if the ghastly part was over and the violent rain turned again into drizzle.
“How and where from that lorry came and hit your car so then? Did anyone try to know about that?” Anand asked
“It is difficult to say how and why it had happened like that. More than fifty years have passed after that incident” the intensity and sorrow in Rajesh’s voice was diminished. “Some follow up has been made with the accident but so far I can remember the offending lorry has not been found.”
“You are very much right. If it was not such a terrific thing you would not have remembered any of that now.” Aravind agreed. ”But still I want to ask some questions. If you can answer me, answer. Otherwise just forget. May I ask?”
“Ask no problem” with a smile Rajesh said. “We are troubling ourselves to pass time here. It seemed like a good time pass to us talking in this way here.”
“But Raj, are not those memories creating pain in you now? If it is so please tell us. We stop this topic here itself” Tanuja said.
“Not at all dear. Fifty years or so is not a short time. I am not feeling any pain at all now. I can remember those things as I remember any other thing.” Rajesh said and looked at Aravind “Just go on. I can guess what you would ask.” A small smile flashed on his lips.
“You said just before the accident you had come out of the car. Why did you do so?”
“I said I cannot remember any of that now. Why I did so then I cannot say now.”
“I can understand that. But try and tell me. Try to go on to that day, to that particular time and recollect why did you do so. There might be a strong reason for your doing so.” looking into the eyes of Rajesh, Aravind said.
Aravind’s asking so irritated Tanuja. It seemed he was trying to make her husband remember those ghastly and unwanted incidents again.
Rajesh closed his eyes and went back fifty years in his memories. There were several frowns gathered up on his forehead as he concentrated too much to remember what happened in that particular moment. Nearly after one minute he opened his eyes.
“Yes, now I can remember vaguely. It was a strong urge. As if someone asked me to go out of the car. I can remember. Yes, there was no mistaking. It was an uncontrollable urge.” Rajesh face lit with pleasure as he had come up with such an answer.
“So it was not because you had got bored by sitting in the car so?” Aravind queries appeared unstopped.
“No. In fact I feared a lot to leave my parents and go away unto that moment. I still could remember. It was only because of that strong urge I had come out of the car so at that fateful moment.” Rajesh paused for a moment and asked “You have got at something, are not you?”
Aravind nodded his head. “Of course, I am” he thoughtfully said.
“Tell us, what it is? We cannot cope with this suspense” Sunanda said.
“It was not an accident. At the same time it was not a preplanned murder either. It was an evil power got that thing happen.” Looking into the faces of the people around there he said again “At the same time some other power got that strong urge in our uncle to make him to come out of that car and saved his life.”
“What you are talking is complete nonsense. Why you concoct such type of things?” Tanuja almost yelled.
“What I have said is true. Why the car stopped on the road so? Why did our uncle come out of the car just before the accident? Why a big lorry hit a stationary car? If we look into everything, we get the answer what I have said just now” he said with the same calm voice.
“It is not at all so. Why a car should not be stopped so on the road? Every day so many cars stopped like that. Why an accident should not happen like that? It is not unusual that lorrys hit the stationary vehicles.” There was lot of irritation in the voice of Tanuja. This boy was trying to create unnecessary ideas.
“What Tanuja said is right. There was no evil power behind that. It had happened just like that. God had saved me so by creating an urge in me like that then” Rajesh said.
“What is wrong in Aravind’s saying so? It seems to me that his explanation as well is reasonable” Sameera said.
Tanuja and Rajesh looked at her unbelievingly before looking at each other. It was indeed very first time they had seen that their daughter supporting Aravind. What even more surprising to them was she was looking at Aravind at that time and there was no animosity either in her face or eyes.
“One thing I want to ask here” Tanuja said “You are saying that some power created an urge in Rajesh, made him come out of the car and saved his life. But why did not that power created such an urge in his parents also, made them come out of the car and saved their lives? Why did it bother only with Rajesh’s life?” she was looking straight at Aravind and there was a questioning expression in it.
“Both his parents were arguing and their minds wee occupied strongly with something as per our uncle’s saying. That power might have created such an urge in them also but they were not in a position to notice it.” Aravind said.
“Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! I don’t believe any of this.” Tanuja irritatingly said.
“I am saying that was what exactly happened. If people here don’t believe it, I cannot do anything.” With a helpless expression in his face, Aravind said. “Just tell me, why uncle has to feel an urge suddenly like that then and came out of the car? This also proves that there was something paranormal in that.”
“Alright, I agree with your argument. But what we can do now? More than fifty years have passed” yawning heavily Rajesh said for the moment without bothering with the change in his daughter “Saying all this, I am feeling sleepy”
(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.)
