Trembling Shadows
A romantic, psychological thriller
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“How can you say with that much conformity that it is Sasank?” keeping his sight straight into her eyes Rajesh asked her. “What that peculiar behavior in him made you to come to that opinion?”
“Only he……only he……… used to kiss me like that!” Even in that condition also her cheeks were blushed with shame while saying that.
Rajesh did not know whether to laugh or weep on hearing that. But he said “Its alright. Whoever it may be he left. Don’t worry about him now at all”
She nodded her head with agreement.
“I have a doubt in me. Here is Tanuja available. Why did he prefer to enter into the body of Sunanda then?” Anand asked.
“I already said. There is no Sasank at all. It is just subconscious behavior of Sunanda. I cannot say why she behaved like that.” Aravind said.
“What about the devil that entered into Sunanda’s body in the afternoon?” Sameera asked Aravind.
“I already said, don’t you hear? Then itself I made that clear. It was just a simple psychological disorder” Aravind said.
“But….but…Sunanda kissed me just like Sasank kissed in those days. How could she know about it?” Tanuja asked. By then she came out of her fear.
“She might have come to know about it somehow or other. Or her kissing like that was just coincident. But it is not Sasank. It was just like split-personality in Sunanda.” Aravind said.
“What you are going to make out all of this?” Rajesh asked Vinod.
“Aravind is absolutely right. It is all nothing but a psychological phenomenon.” Vinod said. “I have to say the same thing again and again. That is….”
“Please stop, I shall say that for you. Mind is a most complex thing in the whole universe. It makes us people do things like that we never can believe we do. Is it is not?” Malathi said. All of them burst into laughter then.
“You may laugh. But that is the truth. This shadow world, devils, freezing and unfreezing sea are all nothing but myth. There was no devil came into my daughter’s body at any time. She was just subjected to some psychological complexity. Aravind gave the best explanation to these.” Vinod said firmly.
“Tell me one thing then” Tanuja said. “How did she come to know about Sasank? It is such a private matter to me.”
“I said somehow or other she came to know about him.” Aravind said. “It is not an impossible thing.”
Vinod looked into his daughter’s face and asked her. “Did not you hear about Sasank at all before?”
“I heard about him while Tanu aunty and Rajesh uncle were discussing about him. I came to know about the story” with an uneasy expression in her face, Sunanda said.
“What do you say to it then?” looking into Tanuja’s face with a smile, Vinod asked her.
“I cannot say anything. It is all a canondrum to me. But that Sasank used to kiss me just like that.” Tanuja’s cheeks were blushed to the maximum.
“That was just a coincidenc.” Continuing the same smile, Vinod said. “Aravind already said that to you.”
“To you both everything is either imagination or coincidence” Tanuja said and laid herself again on the floor to sleep. “That Aravind is unfit for paranormal. He may better become a psychologist like you.”
Everyone around laughed loud hearing that.
“My god I also have to sleep now.” Vinod also laid his back on the blanket there. “It becomes morning soon and I cannot have enough sleep if I don’t sleep atleast now.”
Aravind also was about to do the same but then he heard the voice of Sunanda “Aravind”
“Tell me” he asked her while looking at her with an inquiring look.
“Thank you very much.” She said with a grateful expression in her face.
“For what?” Aravind knitted his brows together.
“I know that you were behind the change in Anand. You talked to him and got the change in him.”
“I talked to him of course.” Aravind nodded his head. “I caused the change in him. I made him to think. But I was not the only reason for his complete change.” While looking at Anand who was sleeping peacefully there on the floor, Aravind said.
“Anyhow you were the main reason. Not just that…” she paused for a moment and said again. “You saved me from the devil in the afternoon and now also.” She said.
“There is no devil at all in you at any time and I made that quite clear already” with an irritating tone Aravind said. “I am thinking that we are all friends. We have to help one another whenever there is a necessity. There may times come that you too need to help me. Just sleep peacefully for the present.” After saying so without hearing anymore, Anand laid himself on the floor and started sleeping.
Sunanda hissed out heavily and adjusted herself beside her mother. Within seconds she also fell asleep.
&&&
Aravind came out onto the verandah and started looking into the open place. There was no rain then. Still his mind was quite disturbed. He could not think of that such events would take place. He was trying to put his thoughts into some order.
He sensed a hand firmly on his shoulder. He turned back and found Rajesh there.
“What you are doing standing here?” Rajesh asked him.
“Nothing” Aravind nodded his head in negation. His heart again filled with guilty feeling.
“I know that you are worrying a lot for what happened in the upstairs room, are not you?” looking into the eyes of Aravind, Rajesh asked him.
Aravind did not say anything but he hung his head in agony and shame.
“Don’t feel about it anymore. There is a remedy to it you know. You are going to marry my daughter” Rajesh said.
Aravind perched his head up and looked into the eyes of Rajesh. Suddenly he felt quite happy. He could not expect it this fast.
“I and my wife like you a lot Aravind. We have no objection to give our daughter’s hand to you. But there is only one objectionable thing in you to us.”
“I know what it is” Aravind said “It is my interest in the shadow world”
“Cannot you leave it forever for our sake?” Rajesh asked him pleadingly. “Especially Tanuja doesn’t like it at all.”
Aravind did not say anything immediately. It was started so early in his life. He worked so hard on that. He developed himself so much in that as well. His aunt helped him a lot in developing the skill. If there was no practice, no follow up all that would be lost. Already he lost a lot of it because of his father’s adamancy that he should not follow it. It was indeed unthinkable to him to forsake the shadow world completely forever.
“You are in love with Sameera a lot, are not you?” Rajesh asked him again.
“She is my life and heart. I give even my life as well to her” he heard himself his voice strange.
“Then you certainly leave your shadow world forever as she too wish you to do that” it appeared to Rajesh that Aravind loosened himself from his hold on black world.
“I think so uncle.” He turned and looked into the eyes of Rajesh. “Yes sir. I love that black world. But I love Sameera even more. It is certainly possible to me to forget about the black world for Sameera if it pleases her. It is difficult, hard and painful to me to do so. But not impossible. Especially for Sameera I leave it forever.” Aravind struggled hard but could not stop his tears.
“You need not Aravind” he heard the voice of Sameera and turned back.
“You heard me right. You need not forsake that most important and interesting thing to you.” Then she looked at his father. “Dad, I gave him the word not to ask him to leave his favorite shadow world. You too please don’t compel him to do that. Not just he, I am also loving him back in equal measure dad. If we coerce him to abandon what he loves most it would become painful to him. I cannot make him suffer at all.”
As they were talking like that Tanuja came there “What you people are talking?” she asked.
Sameera explained what was going among them.
“What Sameera said is true” Tanuja said. “If there is no particular loss to us, why should we compel him to leave his most loving and interesting thing?”
“Tanoo.. is it is you talking like this?” there was lot of surprise in the face of Rajesh.
“Yes it is I” her lips parted with a beautiful smile. “Once he is loving that paranormal as much as he is loving our daughter, how can we ask him ruthlessly to leave all that? As long as he looks after our daughter well and keeps her happy, why do we bother about his interest in the shadow world?” She said.
“I just cannot believe this! I am feeling very happy.” Aravind’s face was beaming with happiness. He could not expect that at all.
“It should be only a part of your life. Not full. You should not give yourself completely to the shadow world” looking cautiously into his eyes, Tanuja said.
“It never would be so. You have allowed me to keep it with me. That is enough.” Aravind never felt that much happy in his life ever before.
Rajesh looked at his watch. “It would become morning soon. I shall try to get some sleep” saying so he went into Vinod’s room again.
“I too could not sleep properly upto now. Seeing you people coming here I came. I too have to have some sleep.” saying so Tanuja too retired into that room. There remained only Sameera and Aravind.
She slowly took his hand into hers. In the electric bulb lighting there he could see a sort of happiness in her face. Her hands were so smooth and good. She slowly took his hand to her mouth and kissed on that.
“If you really want to kiss, it is not the proper place to do that” smiling with his eyes Aravind said.
“Oh, Aravind” she hugged him strongly. Then he gripped her so strong with his hands around her that her breasts crushed savagely by his chest.
He perched her head up with his index finger. With the gold ring on her left nostril she appeared even more beautiful to him. Then she kissed on his lips and said “It is the place I need to kiss, is it is not?” she smiled.
“You are right” Aravind nodded his head and asked “You know one thing?”
“Tell me” her voice was husky.
“You are so beautiful with this gold nose ring” touching that yellow nose ring with his index finger he said.
“Really?” her lips parted once again with a small beautiful smile.
“Really” he said. “Have you felt any pain while you have got pierced your nostril for this purpose”
“A lot in fact” she said looking into his eyes.
“It worths that pain” then he slowly placed his lips on hers once more. They were smooth and juicy as they were before. Soon his mouth felt the metallic touch of her teeth. He took her lower lip into his teeth. The kiss lasted almost half a minute and they savored every moment of it.
Then they both relieved from each other’s hold and went into Vinod’s room to get some sleep for themselves.
&&&
6.00 a.m.: 12th April, 2011
“Oh it is morning again, exactly the time we have entered into this house yesterday” yawning heavily Rajesh said.
“Yes. I did not think that the night would be over like this at all” Tanuja said wearily.
Rajesh laughed heartily. “Yes, especially Sasank in Sunanda. Really very funny episode, is it is not?”
“But how strange that is!” Tanuja said. “I never agree that it is just mental illness. It is true in my opinion. That Sasank promised that he would never return and I hope that he would never return.”
“We hope so. What would be the problem?” Rajesh laughed again.
“What you both are talking?” Vinod came near to them and asked.
Rajesh explained it to him. “Tanuja not at all agreeing it as some mental illness. She is feeling good taking it as real because Sasank promised not to return at all”
“Let it be so then” Vinod said.
All of them once again pooled into the verandah making themselves comfortable in the chairs there.
“Oh, I really like a cup of hot coffee now” Sunanda said. “When can I get it?”
“You need to wait a little more time madam. Until Ratnam comes, we cannot get things like that at all” Anand said.
“But I doubt will Ratnam do everything on this day also as he did on yesterday” Rajesh said.
“Rajesh” with a small voice Tanuja reminded him. “You have said we do think what to do on this day.”
“Yes, of course. That is what I am thinking now. I cannot come to an opinion yet.” Rajesh said.
“How it would be if we all go into grandmother’s room and have a look at her now?” Vinod suggested.
All of them entered into the grandmother’s room. There was no change in her at all. She was just as she was on yesterday morning by that time. It had become difficult to say whether even breathing process was going on in her body or not. Rajesh went near to her body and made the examination.
“No change at all” he said “She is still alive. That much I can say”
Malathi did the same, nodded her head in affirmation and said. “You are right”
“It is very difficult to leave her like this and go away from here” Rajesh said.
“Think Rajesh. We are not going to compel you to leave your grandmother and come away” Malathi said.
“But how long we can stay in this house? We have got our responsibilities to be fulfilled somewhere else.” Tanuja did not like staying there anymore.
All of them came onto the verandah again. The sky slowly started crowded with black clouds again.
“Damn. Heavy downpour may start soon” looking at the lour sky Vinod said.
Everyone then looked at the sky. The black lore sky was appearing ominously once again.
“If it rains heavily now, we cannot expect Ratnam to come here” Rajesh said.
“Don’t say like that. Even it rains dogs and cats, Ratnam would come. He has got such gratitude on grandma” Malathi said.
Rajesh did not say anything at all to that.
“What you are still thinking?” looking into his face she asked.
“We may better stay in this house on this day also. We cannot go away from here leaving grandma in such a condition. If she is in the same condition by tomorrow also, we do think what to do then.”
None of them around him say anything to it then but by the expressions on their faces it was understood they did not like that idea much.
&&&
The End
As you are here, I hope that you read the novel. Thank you very much that you preferred to read my novel. If you bother to rate it and write a review also, I shall be so much grateful and thankful to you.
