Trembling Shadows
A romantic, psychological thriller
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
Tanuja and Sameera became silent trying to their level best to hear that laughter then but they could not. Both their faces blushed with shame.
“Sorry. We both have disturbed you people unnecessarily” Tanuja said.
“It is all right. It seems we people here are subjecting to mass imagination.” Vinod said.
“What is this mass imagination?” Sameera asked him
“Most people imagine in the same way it is just like mass hysteria” Vinod explained.
“But here only we two imagined like this” Sameera smiled. But her smile could not be seen in that semi darkness. “That term may not be applicable here”
“Then at least partial mass imagination” yawning heavily Vinod said.
“Your psychologists are happy things on the earth. You don’t believe anything paranormal and you would not be subjected to any imaginations.” Rajesh said.
“That much may be true” before settling himself into his usual comfortable sleeping position Vinod said.
“Mom. What we both are going to do now?” Sameera asked her mother.
“The same we did before we got subjected to this imagination. This time even we hear anything we are not going to care at all. Tell ourselves strongly that it is just our imagination” Tanuja said.
Sameera laughed and made herself as comfortable as possible on the blanket spread there while putting her hand around her mother. She closed her eyes tightly to slip herself into sleep. She decided strongly not to care even she heard that laughter sound again. But she did not hear any laughing sound afterwards.
&&&
Suddenly Rajesh awaken. The heavy rain completely slackened and there was only small drizzle then. Why he had got waken up like that he thought. He would wake up from his sleep even for slight sounds as well. He remembered that he heard something so he had waken up. He erected his ears to hear whatever sounds there may be.
At first he could not hear anything at all. He thought that it was all his imagination. But he never illusioned in this way before. Why it was happening like this? Then he heard something quite disturbing. The sounds were from upstairs room. Someone was moving in it with heavy steps. After hearing that sound he was not able to sleep peacefully. He first sat up, then stood up and then came onto the verandah.
He thought that it would have been better if he could have a cigar then. But there was no chance to get one at that time. His wife did not allow him to take cigars with him. That was one thing causing disagreement between them both for some time. In her opinion smoking was more injurious to health than drinking wine.
He looked ahead. The climate was so calm. It seemed that the clouds cleared a little and there was small lighting. After they had entered into that house the climate was not cleared fully even for once. It was gloomy. Always gloomy. As if insinuating something bad.
As he was thinking so, he heard it again from the upstairs room. As if someone was walking with heavy footsteps. He did not feel fear at all. Who it might be in that night time? What he was doing in the upstairs room while all of them were in downstairs itself? Grandmother was in her room in that condition. There was no chance that anyone could go into the upstairs room without their notice to walk or do something. He felt very much curious to know who it was. There were so many unanswered questions. If he could find someone there, he might get some answers from him. He had decided to go upstairs and see what was happening there. He looked at his watch. It was exactly 12’ o clock in the midnight. He breathed deeply and decided to go upstairs.
There was not even the small drizzle. He went into the open place and looked at the sky. The black clouds were cleared a little but still it appeared lore. The sounds from upstairs did not stop. Suddenly he heard another sound that someone was laughing. It was the laughter of a male person. He was hearing the sounds quite clearly from upstairs. Who could be that? His forehead creased.
He could see only faintly the stair case. He put his foot on the first step of the stair case. He knew it was quite dangerous if he slipped on the stairs. If the current had gone by the time he reached the upstairs it would have become even more cumbersome. But luckily it did not happen like that. In the room he had got a torchlight in his bag. But he did not want to go back and get that. He felt quite lazy to do that. Moreover someone might wake up and stop him from going upstairs. So he had decided to go just like that into the upstairs.
Very carefully clutching the balustrade all the time he went upstairs. He looked in the first room there but could not find anything in it. Then he went near to the room in which they all spent much of their day time. The doors were closed nearly. Before opening them wide he paused for a moment. He could not think of whether he was doing a good thing or bad thing by entering into that room then. But he was hearing the sounds still from that room. Without thinking much he opened the doors wide and entered into it.
The room was fully dark. He expected that it would be so. He remembered where he had seen the switch board and groped on the wall to switch on to that. The room filled with bright light instantly when he switched on. All the sounds were stopped at once.
Then he looked at the bed. The cloth on that was fully rumpled. He did not remember how it was when they last left it. Was it so because that someone used it until that moment? Or the people in the house did it like that? There was no way to guess. He heard the sounds of heavy footsteps and laughter from this room until just seconds before. But he could not find anyone in the room. Then who walked here and who laughed so? Was it all just his imagination? He was a matured fifty five years aged person. Moreover a doctor! How he would imagine things like that? It all seemed quite surprising.
Slowly he reached the bed and adjusted the clothing on that. He sat on the bed but he did not want to sleep. He leaned on the wall nearby and closed his eyes. For whom this bed was put here like this? was the question haunting them from the beginning. Certainly it was not for the grandmother as there was another bed like this in the downstairs room for her. When he heard about the dream of Sunanda he felt lot of surprise. Why she had got such a dream? Why they were all subjecting themselves to such types of imaginations? There were so many questions but no answers at all.
“You are very courageous Rajesh” he heard the voice of Vinod and opened his eyes. Vinod stood at the door post.
“Oh, you! Please come in” Rajesh invited him inside.
“Why did you have come all alone upstairs? If the downstairs women folk know about this they make the house upside down” coming near to the bed and sat beside him Vinod said.
“I know about that” Rajesh laughed. “But I could not refrain myself from coming here. I heard some strange sounds. So I have decided to come here and see myself”
“What sounds you have heard?” there was curiosity in the voice of Vinod. “There is no surprise that women folk imagined things. But you too”
“Yes I too. Whatever you may think of” Rajesh said getting himself out of the bed. “I heard sounds of some heavy footsteps. I heard someone laughing. It is a male person. I have decided to come here and see who it is. But by the time I have entered into this room and switched on the electric light no one is present here.”
Vinod laughed loudly “Why it is so? It is just because you have come over your fear and decided to see the matter what it is, all the sounds stopped and there is no one! This is what would happen if you decide to go beyond your fear. There are no devils. No paranormal things.”
“Are you sure like that? You don’t talk every time so. Sometimes you say that there is paranormal.” Knitting his brows together Rajesh said.
“Yes, I myself not sure whether there is paranormal or not.” Vinod said.
“Why I have heard so?” Rajesh said. “Does that mean there is a devil here.”
“It may not be so Rajesh” Vinod said. “Our mind would do lot of tricks. You never can understand your mind in full. It is one complex thing in the whole universe to be understood fully. It was just one of the tricks of your mind.”
Rajesh nodded his head and fall into deep thought. He looked into the face of Vinod. There was no change. He was as he was every time. It seemed quite surprising how he remained like that even after he knew that he laid his wife. How he had developed such a tolerance in himself? He might have expected something between his wife and him before the marriage of her with Vinod but how he managed remained cool after knowing that it continued even after the marriage too.
Rajesh and Vinod studied in the same school and the same college. Even they have separated afterwards because of their studies, their friendship continued. All the time Vinod was a strange person to Rajesh. He was not thinking that he ever could understand Vinod fully.
“What you are thinking Rajesh?” Vinod asked him
“Nothing” Rajesh nodded his head in negation.
“You are wondering how I remain like this even after I knew that you have slept with my wife, is it is not?”
Rajesh startled at once. It was the most embarassing topic he did not want to be broached between them. He did not know how to deal with it now.
“Vinod. I am very sorry. I really should not…” his voice shivered.
Vinod placed his right hand firmly on the right shoulder of Rajesh. “I am a psychologist Rajesh. I can understand human mind better than others. Human being is an animal. Sometimes more worst to an animal too. There is no difference of man and woman when it comes to satisfying their sexual urge. On many occasions marriage cannot restrain them to a single mate. Human being sometimes does not shrink from doing very bad things as well to satisfy its sexual urge.”
Rajesh did not talk anything immediately. “What you have said appears true. But I cannot excuse myself for what I have done. I want to say something here. There is enough wrong doing of your wife as well in this.” After few seconds silence he said.
“I said to you Rajesh. There is no difference of male and female. It sometimes just happens like that. Cleverest thing is forget what has happened and lead a happy life.”
The ominous silence took its part again. Rajesh imagined how he would feel his wife in the hands of Vinod. He did not feel any anger. He felt only a sort of thrill.
&&&
“You must come with me” Sasank said.
“No I cannot. Please leave me. Don’t ask me the same thing again and again” there was fear and anguish in Tanuja’s voice.
“You loved me so much. Is it is not true?” there was accuse in his voice.
“Yes I did. I agree. But I cannot come with you now”
“Why cannot you come with me now?”
“I have already told you. I am a married woman now. I have got a husband and daughter to look after. Why cannot you understand?” her voice was filled with anguish.
“Your daughter has grown up. You have spent more than twenty years with your husband. You have given enough love and affection to them. But I could not get any. In fact all that should be given to me” he said the same thing what he said before.
(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.)
