Trembling Shadows
A romantic, psychological thriller
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
He applied the same understandable mentality towards his daughter too. He did not say anything to her when she brought her boyfriends to home. Malathi quarreled with him on that point.
“If we ask her not to bring boyfriends to home, we cannot be known who are her boyfriends. In this way at least we can know who are they.”
“Don’t talk foolishly. Ask her, demand her, not to make friendship with boys. Insist on her to cut her friendship with them immediately. I am asking you to say to her not just bring boyfriends to home. She has to cut her friendship completely with them. You very well know what happens between them at this age.” she angrily said to him.
“Would she hear me if I say so?” he questioned her keeping her face in his gaze.
“Why would not she? She is your daughter. She must hear” Malathi almost screamed.
“When it comes to a thing like that she would not. Anyhow I shall try to dissuade her from continuing her friendship with boys”
He said in the same way whenever she broached that subject with him but never made a serious talk with Sunanda. That was the only one thing she could not agree with him. She could not feel the same comfortability which she felt with his liberality towards her when it was extended to her daughter too.
&&&
“How it would be if we see the whole house for once? We did not see some of it yet.” Tanuja said.
“Good idea. There is kitchen we have to see. I think only the kitchen we did not explore yet. Almost all the other parts of house we have seen” Malathi said.
“Then come, we shall see the kitchen too. We can see what our grandma stored in the kitchen to eat.” Going towards the kitchen Tanuja said.
Tanuja and Malathi went into the kitchen and it was indeed a very big hall. There was little ventilation in the kitchen and Malathi found electric switch board on the wall somewhere and pressed the switches in it. Three forty waltz bulbs lighted on and they did not provide much lighting to see everything clearly in that kitchen.
“A nice thing! But why did not grandmother prefer to have some high voltage electricity bulbs in this hall?” trying to look things clearly in the kitchen Malathi said.
“Best known to grandma herself” Tanuja as well busied herself in observing the kitchen. “I really wonder whether really our grandma did cooking in this kitchen. She is not appearing like a cooking type woman to me.”
“Here the rice stored in this bag. There are some tins. I think she might have stored some pickles in them.” Putting her hand in the nearby bag and taking some rice out of it and looking yonder at some tins Malathi said.
“Yes, it is mango pickle. Who prepared this? I cannot think of that this is prepared by our grandma herself.” Opening one of the tin and looking into it Tanuja said.”If we want, we can happily make our cooking here itself.”
“Better we don’t try it now. That Ratnam promised to take us lunch.” Malathi said. She never liked things like cooking, making clean the house, etc. She always interested and could do work wholeheartedly only in her profession.
Tanuja nodded her head but she was disappointed a little. She in fact very much interested in cooking. She knew very well to prepare several types of dishes. But she well remembered Ratnam’s saying that he would take lunch to them. So there was no chance to prove her cooking skill here.
“What you are thinking Tanoo.. You have got disappointed that you cannot get a chance to cook here, is it is not?” smiling lightly Malathi said.
Tanuja nodded her head. “You know my likes very well. If that Ratnam did not say so, I really tried some cooking here”
“And it would be very delicious as well” Malathi said. “Many a time I have tasted your dishes. They were really very much delicious. I never can cook in the way you do”
“There is no necessity to you to do that. Moreover you always be busy with your professional work. How can you engage yourself in these types of things as well? At the same time doctors would not waste their time in trivial matters like these. Their time need to be spent in doing or learning something for saving lives.”
Tanuja still remember the day when Malathi performed the operation and saved her life. She talked so encouragingly to Tanuja. While Tanuja was weeping uncontrollably she consoled her a lot. It was not unusual that doctors show sympathy and behave cordially with patients. But Tanuja could understand that Malathi had shown particular interest and sympathy towards her then. In fact with her soothing and encouragement she got her spirits back.
Tanuja would not have agreed that quickly to marry Rajesh. But when Malathi came to know about Rajesh’s proposal she came to Tanuja and asked her to agree to that.
“I loved Sasank a lot. I cannot forget him in this life. I cannot cheat him. It is impossible to me to marry and love anyone else.” Tanuja was very firm when she said that.
“Your Sasank was dead and he would not come back. Marrying Rajesh is not at all cheating Tanuja dear. In fact your Sasank would feel quite happy if you marry someone else and lead a happy marital life since he loved you sincerely. Please listen to me. You may not get this type of chance again if you leave it now”
Tanuja immediately not agreed but Malathi worked out a lot to make her agreed to that. But all the time it was not out of notice to Tanuja a small distress in the voice of Malathi. By the time she came to know that Malathi as well unmarried and she could marry Rajesh if they both wanted that. It seemed to her Malathi was willing to marry Rajesh and it was only because Rajesh proposed to marry Tanuja she was persuading her to marry him.
“Alright then. But you have to answer some of my questions. Then only I shall agree to marry him” looking into the face of Malathi, Tanuja said on that day.
“Ask then, no problem” Malathi said.
“You are also unmarried. Why don’t you marry Rajesh yourself instead of me?” the straightness of the question so, baffled Malathi. She appeared could not know what to say immediately to that.
“He is interested in marrying you, Tanu” in a small voice Malathi said.
“If I don’t come here he might be interested only in you. You are as much beautiful as I am and a well qualified doctor. Rajesh would be more comfortable and good with you than with me.”
“It would not happen like that. He is not interested in marrying a doctor. He doesn’t want a medical life at home too. He would not at all choose to marry me even you have not been known to him at all.” trying to suppress the distress in her voice Malathi said.
“Then I shall talk with him. I shall tell him how foolish it is to marry me instead of you. It is only because of my beauty that he wanted to marry me and his love would not last long. If he marries you…” Tanuja tried to say even more.
“It is not just your beauty that made him take the decision to marry you, Tanu” Malathi interrupted her “Rajesh is not an immature teenager to fell prey to beauty and glamour. He is seeing more than glamour in you. He is hell bent upon marrying you. If you don’t agree to marry him he will become completely upset.”
“But …” Tanuja did not know what to say then but tried to say something.
“Listen this as well quite carefully” Malathi interrupted her again. “I have already put my heart on someone else once I came to know Rajesh’s interests. His name is Vinod, he is a psychologist and we both are going to marry very soon. We came a long way as well in our love journey and there is no going back or altering our decisions now. So there is no question of my marrying Rajesh. Don’t develop unnecessary thoughts in you. If you want I shall bring that Vinod to you and make him say about that.”
“That much is not necessary at all” Tanuja said. In such a way, working that much hard on her, Malathi made her agreed to marry Rajesh. If it was not for Malathi she would not have agreed to marry Rajesh at all.
“It seems that you have fallen in heavy thinking” Malathi said. “What caught your mind that much now?”
“Not very important” taking a deep breath Tanuja said. “Is there anything more that we can see in this kitchen?”
“What there would be in a kitchen to see? Whatever we expect in a kitchen to see we have seen almost all of that here. Here is salt, here are pickles and there is rice and gas stove, we have to conform whether it is working properly or not if we want to make any cooking on that” Malathi said.
“Appearing good.” Tanuja said. “It works better I think”
“If it is so” Malathi said “Shall we venture our own cooking on tomorrow? Anyhow I am also feeling interested in it as there is nothing else to us to do now.”
Tanuja nodded her head “Agreeable to me. But it would be quite depressing to me if we have to stay in this house on tomorrow as well.”
“Don’t think that we can move away from this place that fast at all.” Malathi said to Tanuja. “I am thinking that we have to stay here at least two or three days in minimum. Until grandma comes to her senses we cannot go away from here.”
“Oh, God” Tanuja hissed. “How we can manage that much of time in this dreary place?”
“Why you are thinking so? This whole house is appearing quite beautiful and neat. We are not facing any problem in staying here.” knitting her brows together Malathi said.
“I agree with you. But I am getting an ominous feeling here. My subconscious is saying to me that it would be quite better if we move out of this place as soon as possible” there was strange fearful expression on the face of Tanuja and uneasiness in her heart.
In fact Malathi’s inner feeling as well was so. But she did not like to put her feeling out as it was. “It is not at all so to me. I am feeling quite alright here. In my opinion your subconscious is sending wrong signals to you.”
“Is it is just like that?” Tanuja asked her doubtfully.
“It is nothing more than that at all” Malathi laughed and said “Being the wife of a psychologist I have got half of his knowledge as well in mind related matters.”
“So there is nothing evilsome or ominous in this place” giving an expression of relief in her face Tanuja said.
“Hundred percent. Do you want it in writing?”
“Oh, not necessary” sighing in relief Tanuja said. “I am feeling quite happy as you have assured me that there is no devilish or evil some in this place. If it is so I am also ready to stay here as many days as it is required.”
They both remained in silence thereafter observing the kitchen for the last time before moving away from there.
(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.)
