Trembling Shadows
A romantic, psychological thriller
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
Even she had got all the beautiful features, Sameera was like a skeleton until her thirteenth year or so and even her mother made her eat more she could not be put on weight and became stout. She got her puberty on her thirteenth year and then slowly change started in her.
She had noticed that on her almost flatten chest, the small breasts started bulging and just in one year or so they became proportionately big. Surprisingly she had started putting on weight and by the time she reached her sixteenth year she became enough tall and her body became enough stout too. She never considered herself beautiful but when everyone in the school and in other places too started saying that she was glamorous, she started thinking about it. In the beginning she felt awkward as her breasts becoming big like that but later on she came to know that they were the main attraction in any woman’s body. Her hips were not very slim but enough narrow. She surprisingly found that the fat gathered in her buttocks changed them from their former shape into beautiful and luring without her much notice. Her eyes were not very big but active and little sexy, with an enough big mouth and clean teethline she was a stunning beauty in many people’s opinion. This all transformation has come into her just by her sixteenth year or so.
She was restless in the downstairs middle room then. She did not why but sometimes she was feeling to come into that room and take rest rather than anywhere else. She laid her back on the carpet on the floor in that room. Very unnecessary thoughts were creeping into her mind and she did not know how to get rid of them. Her mind never had become a prey like this to the unwanted thoughts as it had become now. Her futility in attracting Aravind towards her causing these unwanted thoughts in her she thought. Even she was trying to be close with Aravind he was not showing much interest in her. It was annoying and irritating to her that the beauty and glamour of her which was an attraction to many a one could not have any influence on him. She was getting a fear that he was already in love with some other girl. Even it was so, she was not in a position to lose him now. Her mind was that much besotted in him.
As she was undulating restless on the blanket, she had seen once again Aravind’s suitcase there. She remembered the book she had seen in it before. The obscene pictures in it made her disgusted on that day. But to divert her mind from the painful thoughts she had decided to take that book out and see it once more. She was all alone in that room and there was no one in the verandah either. She thought that there would be no problem in taking that book out again and going through it.
As she guessed, this time also the keys of the suitcase were with it itself. Aravind was too much confident that no one would open his suit case. She unlocked the suitcase and did not waste much time as she had known where the book was in it. Very carefully she had taken that out. Her hands were shivering a little and her heart beat increased. She knew very well that if Aravind found her with the book he would be undoubtedly infuriate with her. It might have serious impact on the relation she had with him now. But she could not decide against the strong urge to go through the book once again. It was the only way then to escape from the unwanted and unnecessary thoughts and kill the time.
She started slowly turning the pages. The pictures in it were creating as much disgust as they did in the past. She tried to read the description under the pictures but she could not understand it much even she read that carefully and slowly.
There was a picture of a woman and her hair veiled her face and her breasts and her tongue was lolling out unto her breasts from the opened mouth. There were two big teeth on the left and right side of her upper mouth. She was fully naked and the picture was so disgusting, she turned the page as she could not stare at that longer. In the next page there was another picture. This time it was a man and there was dog’s head on his shoulders. Here too the tongue was lolling out. There was no clothing at all on his body as in the previous picture. As she could not stare at that picture either for longer she turned to another page. There was a black snake with a female head. She wondered whether they were the bad angels and gods. She could understand why Aravind kept a book like that with him. It surely related to black magic! It was a strong proof that he had connections with shadow world and he was worshipping bad angels.
Why he was interested in the shadow world? What he really wanted to get by adoring these bad angels or gods? She could not understand. She was not much known about his past but she knew that it was not very much happier. She knew the sudden tragic death of his parents shocked him a lot and she had profound sympathy for him for that. But what made him exactly to go after things like these however hard she thought she could not understand.
“What you are looking at?” hearing the voice of Aravind she startled and perched her head up. Aravind was looking furiously at her. She never had seen him that angry and she closed the book with a thud. He snatched the book from her roughly before she handed it over to him. She felt fear the pages of it might be torn from that old and dilapidated book.
“I am just going through it for some time-pass” with a stammering voice Sameera said. “I am so sorry if you feel bad as I have gone through this in this way without your permission.”
“Who has given the authority to you to go through my belongings?” as if he did not hear what she had said Aravind asked her again. The angry expression in his face was making her quite uneasy.
“I am your friend, am not I?” she was feeling lot of fear. She thought Aravind would get irritation if he found her with that book so but she could not think of that he would become this much angrier with her.
“This is too much Sameera. Even a friend too should not go through his friend’s personal belongings without his permission. We are not that much close friends either.” putting the back into his suitcase again, Aravind said. His anger not diminished even a little.
Tears were rolling down on the cheeks of Sameera. She did not expect this much of ire in him at all. She could not find any way at all to alleviate his anger.
“I never will do like this again. Please forgive me for this time” trying to look into his face Sameera said. But he turned his face away.
“Then tell me what should I do to alleviate your anger? Don’t be that much angry with me. I cannot bear at all.” while tears were flowing down on her cheeks, Sameera pleaded with him.
He did not say anything at all but after throwing a last glance at her quite angrily, stormed out of that room.
Then Sameera started weeping slowly.
&&&
“You and Malathi searched the kitchen a lot. What you have found in it?” Rajesh asked Tanuja. They both were in grandmother’s room then.
“Not that very much interesting. The usual things that we would find in any kitchen. There are rice, some pickles, gas stove, etc.” leaning back in her chair Tanuja said.
“I see.” Rajesh said thoughtfully. He opened his mouth to say something more but Tanuja interrupted him.
“Raj, have you noticed our daughter’s behavior towards Aravind?”
“Yes, I have noticed.” Rajesh said. “She used to be quite angry with him. Now it seems to me that she is trying to be friendly with him.”
“It is not just friendliness Raj, it is more than that. I am afraid that she is falling in love with him”
“Then too, what is there to be worried about it? Aravind is a handsome guy, an educated person and intelligent too.” Rajesh thoughtfully said.
“And a little queer as well.” Tanuja said looking into the face of Rajesh. “When it comes to his interest in witch-cult, I cannot like him much”
“I too don’t like such type of things. But except that, there are no odd things in him at all.” Rajesh firmly said.
“That is enough to spoil one’s life. I don’t think our daughter would lead a happy life with a man who is quite besotted with such type of things.”
“I agree with you but you certainly assuming things yourself. Our daughter may be just trying to be friendly with him. She may not be interested in marrying him. We know our daughter type. She has particular interest in those who lead a very fashionable life. Aravind would not at all fit in the type which she likes.”
“We should not be compromised ourselves thinking like that Rajesh. We have to see nothing like that develop in between them. I really very much like Aravind’s parents. I know very well how much help Aravind’s father provided to you when you were in dire need of it. I am too not much aversed to this boy. But I don’t like giving my daughter’s hand to him.” The firmness in her voice put him in thought. He too, however much fond of that boy, did not like his interest in witch-cult. “She deserves a better boy than him in my opinion.”
“Then you and I both should see into that.” Rajesh said. He wanted to say something more but stopped as Sameera entered into that room. Her face was quite serious and eyes were reddened as she was wept unto that moment. Rajesh and his wife never found her daughter in such shape before. They understood something serious had happened to make their daughter look like that.
“Sameera dear, why are you so? Your eyes are so red, what happened?” looking into the face of Sameera, Tanuja asked.
“Nothing mom, nothing serious. I could not sleep well in the night and now too, so my eyes have become red like this” but Sameera knew whatever she might say would not be much convincing to her parents.
“You don’t know the art of lying much better, Sameera. Please tell me what happened?” Rajesh asked her after making her sit beside him in another chair in the room and putting his right hand on her right shoulder.
This was another occasion that Sameera forgot about her animosity towards her parents.
“In fact it is completely my mistake. Without his permission I should not go through his belongings so” Sameera said as if saying to herself.
“What belongings and through which you have gone? I cannot understand what you are talking” looking into the eyes of her daughter Tanuja said. Then Sameera explained to her what she did and how Aravind got angry with her.
Then Tanuja looked thoughtfully into the face of Rajesh. “What you are thinking of all of this?” she asked. Even she lowered her voice there was intensity in it.
Rajesh closed his eyes and inhaled deeply while the expression on his face changed to one of distress. “It is a thing we need to think more. It is not appearing anyhow good to me. Why the bloody hell he kept a book like that with him?” his irritation and distress were quite evident in his voice. Aravind was a favorite boy to Rajesh and that any negative attitude in that boy would make him suffer.
(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.)
