Trembling Shadows
A romantic, psychological thriller
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
None of them talked afterwards. In fact they did not know what to talk then either. Aravind and Anand both reclined in the chairs and closed their eyes relaxing themselves. Aravind felt a little relieved. He was not feeling that much of fear now but he was still feeling uncomfortable to face Tanuja and Rajesh.
“On this very bed I had got that bad dream” Sunanda said. “I have decided not to come here at all after the dream but I have come as you both are here. I know a little speech of me is necessary now.” She closed her eyes and leaned back on to the wall.
“When?” opening his eyes and looking at his wife Anand asked. “You have got that dream and what it is?”
“Very bad dream. You just cannot think of how much of fear I have felt then.” she opened her eyes. Her face filled with fear again as she remembered the dream.
“You did not tell us what that dream yet” Anand asked.
Then Sunanda explained to him that dream briefly. “But I felt very much fear. It was not at all like a dream. I was raped that brutally”
“Why did not you tell me about this before itself?” slitting his eyes Anand asked.
“I have forgotten. We both have indulged in that which made me forget everything.” with a smug smile on her lips she said.
Remembering what happened Anand nodded his head. He could feel a gentle stirring in himself again. He never did that type of sex before and he never had that much of pleasure either before. Looking at them both Aravind guessed something and smiled in himself.
“When you have got that dream? Before Vinod uncle hypnotizing Rajesh uncle?” Aravind asked her.
“I have got that dreadful dream before hypnotizing episode.” Sunanda said.
“Then it is not real that you have won over your fear and came here for my sake. You and Anand were here while that hypnotism was going on.” Aravind said.
“You are right.” Sunanda laughed. “Anyhow I am still feeling fear to this room. I won over that fear and came here only for you.”
“If it is so better we all go downstairs now. It becomes dark soon. I am also feeling a sort of fear now to stay here.” Anand said.
“I never have taken you as a fear feeling type” looking at Anand, Aravind said.
“Anyhow I am not like you. What is wrong in feeling fear?” looking at Aravind oddly Anand said.
“I have not said it is wrong. I just said….” Aravind wanted to say something more but he suddenly stopped looking at Sunanda. There was a change in her. She gritted her teeth and her both palms were turned into fists like stones. Her eyes opened but they are blank. There was no particular expression in her face.
Then Anand surprised why Aravind suddenly stopped and he looked at him first. As Aravind looking at Sunanda in surprise so, he too looked at her. After their marriage, it was very first time, that he found his wife in such a way.
“Sunoo dear. What happened to you?” quite agitatingly he reached her and placed his both hands on her shoulders and shook her violently looking into her eyes. “What happened to you, tell me?” he forcibly jerked her again and asked.
“Go away from me” her voice was different. It was not at all her voice. It was difficult to say whether that voice was of male or female.
“Sunanda please. Wake up. What happened to you?” Anand’s heart suddenly filled with a sort of tension.
“I said to you to go away. Don’t try to stay near to me. Go away. Go away from this room. From this house”
There was lot of tension pooled up in Anand. He did not know what he was doing. His body started shivering violently.
“Anand please come back. I shall deal with it. I have seen these types of situations before” Aravind suddenly got up from the chair and coming near to Sunanda said. He too was excited seeing what was happening before them.
“But Aravind, what is this suddenly? Why she is talking like this?” there was a lot of change in Anand. He was completely shaken.
Without bothering what he was saying Aravind went near to Sunanda and looked into her blank eyes.
“Who are you?” he asked without moving his gaze from her eyes.
“Do I need to tell that to you? I am what I am. Go away from this place. It is mine. Rajeswari is mine. The whole house is mine. Why did you people come here?” her voice was croaking.
“What the hell she is talking?” Anand shrieked. “I cannot understand even a little bit of it.”
“Please keep quite. Ler her talk.” Aravind said.
“What the bloody hell she is talking and why should we hear it?” the shivering and fearing in Anand’s tone intensified even more.
“It is a sort of some split-personality. Sunanda is imposing a character onto her. We have to be patient to know what it is.” And then he looked into the eyes of Sunanda again.
“Tell me who are you? Why did you have come into this body?” Aravind asked firmly.
“You are asking who I am?” they could hear the hoarse laughter. “It was I who raped her in the afternoon”
The darkness which slowly enveloping the place mingled with the silence was creating untellable fear in their hearts.
“My God! What she is talking?” with a weeping tone Anand asked. “Is something going to happen to my wife?”
“Nothing. I said I have dealt with these types of cases before. Let me deal with it fully” He looked at Sunanda again “You have understood my question. Who are you?”
“You guessed who I am. Why still you are asking?” then sudden violent spasms take over her body. “My god something bad happening to my wife” Anand ran downstairs. Just in minutes all those people pooled in that room.
“Darling. What happened to you? Why did you have come into this room? You told me that you never would come here.” Taking her daughter into her hold and looking excitingly into her eyes Malathi asked.
By that time the spasms in her body subsided and Sunanda became normal suddenly. She sat up like a bolt on the bed and looked into the faces of the people there “I am normal. Quite normal. Why you people are worrying like this?” looking surprisingly into their faces she asked.
“When we have entered into this room you have not been like this at all” Vinod said. There was anxiety in his voice as well. “What happened to you?”
“She talked quite differently. She talked several things” Anand said trying to remember what she has said.
“Did I talk without knowing what I have talked? What I did talk then?” Sunanda’s eyes were turned to slits. She did not remember anything what happened ten minutes or so before.
“Yes, you have talked. But it is not you at all” Anand said.
“But who it was then? In your opinion someone else entered into my body?” while trying to control herself, with a fearful voice Sunanda asked.
“That is what exactly I mean” Anand said. “If you don’t believe me ask Aravind. He asked questions to you. You answered them to him”
“Aravind what it is? I cannot understand any of this at all” Vinod said with fear and irritation.
Then Aravind explained to him what happened. After hearing everything “What you are making up out of this then?” looking into the face of Aravind, Vinod asked.
“She imposed a character on her. She was disturbed too much with the dream she has got. It is just like split-personality.” Aravind said.
“Shut your bloody mouth” Malathi yelled. “Don’t try to say such type of bad things about my daughter at all”
“I am telling the truth. If you people get angry I cannot help that” Aravind said.
“What Aravind said is true. I am also thinking just like that.” Vinod said.
“So, you also came to an opinion that our daughter is suffering from a psychological disorder?” Malathi angrily said.
“Yes, of course. I am telling you the truth. It is certainly a psychological disorder and it is curable.” Aravind said.
“What truth you are telling? We have got vexed with your behavior. You are trying to make us people believe in devils and extraordinary things. Cannot you stop behaving like this?” Tanuja asked him even more angrily.
“Tanuja please try to understand. He is not trying to make us believe in paranormal now. What he has said about Sunanda is hundred percent true. It just some simple psychological disorder.” Vinod said.
“If we allow him he says anything. He came to understand that we don’t believe in his paranormal matters anymore. So he said like that about Sunanda.” Tanuja angrily said.
“I am sorry. I did not think of that you people feel like this?” Aravind said with a small voice.
“Yes there is no wrong with him. Don’t blame him at all” Anand said.
“None of us are blaming him. I am just telling the truth.” Tanuja said. Her voice was fully forceful and angrier. The only thing prevented her from outbursting on him then was, the thing she was suspecting has not been confirmed by her daughter yet.
“Aunt please. Don’t get angry with him. He did nothing wrong.” Sunanda said. “I can say nothing happened to me and I am quite happy.” Coming herself out of the bed she said.
“You said that you would not come into this room but why did you come into this again? Have you come over your fear completely?” looking at her daughter Malathi asked her.
“I won over my fear because of Anand and came into this room then itself while dad hypnotizing Rajesh uncle.” Sunanda said. “Now once again I am feeling fear in this room.” She said with a voice like whisper.
“We may better go downstairs and not to come here at all” Malathi said. “I am also feeling a sort of fear to stay in this room.”
“Then why late? Make a move out of this room” walking towards the doorpost Rajesh said. All the other people silently followed him.
&&&
All of them were settled in the verandah downstairs. It had become completely dark by then and they were all feeling a lot different. They were all feeling a sort of fear in this place from morning itself but by then a different sort of fear entered into all of their hearts.
“When we can manage to go out of this house I cannot understand” Rajesh said. “This place is creating in me lot of fear” with a very little voice he said to Malathi.
“Rajesh this is your grandmother’s house. You are more related with this house than any of us. If you yourself talk like this, it would have a very negative affect on all of us” Malathi said looking into his eyes.
“Of course, you are right. That is why I am telling this only to you” saying so he looked around and found his wife seated in a nearby chair. She leaned back and closed her eyes but she was still serious. Her seriousness was creating fear in Rajesh too. In fact he wanted to go near to her and alleviate her anger. But he had feared that her anger might become even more if he go near to her and try to do or say anything.
“What you are thinking Rajesh? Why you are looking at your wife so? She is just relaxing herself” Malathi said with a frown.
“She has got disturbed a lot” continuing in that small voice Rajesh said.
“Why she has got disturbed?” taking care that her voice would not to be carried upto Tanuja, Malathi asked.
“I shall tell you later” Rajesh said.
“Why not now?”
Rajesh paused a moment closing his eyes tightly. When he opened them he felt a little bit relaxed. “While it was raining heavily Sameera and Aravind were trapped in the upstairs room. Tanuja did not like that at all”
(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.)
