An untellable secret
(Some secrets may better remain secrets for ever)
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“It is also completely your imagination. Why you are imagining like this time and again?” looking straight at Menaka, Smaran asked her after Menaka explained to him about her experience in Nirupama’s room.
“No, it was not my imagination at all. I can see the difference between imagination and reality. I felt her breathing on my neck. I heard her words. I am not a child to imagine.” Menaka angrily said.
“So in your opinion Nirupama is really in that room now.”
Menaka did not say anything but breathed deeply and hissed out.
“I want to know what you are thinking. Is it your opinion that Nirupama is in that room?”
“May be or may not be. I cannot say it for sure.”
“Then how do you say it was not your imagination?”
“Oh, you don’t leave anyone easily. Alright it was my imagination. But it was so real to me.”
“This not first time that you imagined so and we already discussed. There is no surprise if you feel like that in that room. That girl committed suicide in that very room. I make the same suggestion again. If you don’t want to stay in that house you need not stay in it at all. Come out of it. You will be given another room in that house and you can go to your home also.”
“No uncle. It is not so.” Menaka smiled and said. “I say the same thing what I said then. Even I feel fear, I do stay in that house, in that very room until we know that secret. You quite often say that we have to disregard our negative feelings and emotions.”
“That’s the spirit!” Smaran smiled and said “Alright then.”
“Tell me now. What that new thing you have found out.”
“No telling. I do show this to you.” He opened the book where Nirupama wrote that and showed it to Menaka.
Menaka took that book into her hands and looked at the writing carefully. “ ‘I want to pluck my eyes out’. Why the hell she wanted to pluck her eyes out?”
“Another puzzle to us to solve.” Smaran laughed.
“My God!” Menaka nodded her head helplessly. “We did not come even half way through our first puzzle and another one came up like this.”
“It is part of our assignment.” Smaran got up from the chair and said. “I think if we can find the answer to this, we can find the answer to her first writing and to our main assignment also.”
“But how can we know why she wanted to pluck her eyes out?” Menaka irritatingly said.
“We shall see. We do try to know about that.” Smaran said. “Anyhow we shall come to the square one. What that might be compelled her to commit suicide?”
Menaka laughed. “We have thought about that a hundred times before. We could not know the answer.”
“Just try to guess. What that makes some girl keep something not to let her parents, friends to know about. What matter that can be?”
Menaka remembered her discussion with Sukanya on the first day she met her. “A rape or gang-rape. Are not they enough to make a girl deeply depressed and commit suiside?”
“I agree. Those atrocities are something to make a girl deeply depressed and commit suiside. But…..” he paused for a moment before saying again. “………as per all the people reports, Nirupama is not appearing like a girl to commit suicide for that. Of course, she also sure would be depressed to the maximum if such a thing happens on her but would not commit suicide. She tries to get those criminals punishment before doing anything like that.”
“Sukanya also expressed similar opinion when I said it like this to her.” Menaka laughed.
“What other type of things you don’t want your mother to know, you don’t want me to know, yout don’t want your friends to know. Just make a wild guess and tell me.”
“Oh!....” Menaka said and heavily hissed out. “What type of things….indeed difficult to assume or guess when I don’t have even one atleast like that…..If am in live with someone………..”
“What is the necessity to conceal it so? In the beginning it may be. But sooner or later you do tell about it to your mother. Because it is your mother who has to perform your marriage. And certainly…..” he sighed heavily “…..it is not something to make a girl to commit suiside.”
“Of course. You are right.” Menaka nodded her head. “If I lose my virginity at will. It is immoral to share the body with anyone else before marriage, is it is not?” Menaka’s cheeks blushed while saying that.
“You did it at your will. Even it creates some guilty feeling in you, don’t compel you to commit suiside. ”
Smaran was about to ask something but then Sukanya came there. Menaka’s face was indeed brightened as soon as she saw her there. “How wonderful it is, that you came here in this way?” Menaka went near to her and hugged her.
“I just want to see how your uncle’s office is, so I have come.” While relinquishing Menaka’s grip around her, Sukanya said.
“It is very good that you came here now. We have been discussing an important matter now and your presence will be very much advantageous.” Smaran said.
“Is that so?” Sukanya came and sat in the left side chair opposite Smaran while Menaka sitting in the right side chair. “I am very much curious to participate in this discussion, may I know what it is?”
Then Menaka explained to Sukanya what they were discussing and discussed till then and Sukanya nodded her head.
“You already expressed this at me on that day. She was not raped or gang-raped. Post mortem was conducted on her body and that proved it.” Sukanya said thoughtfully.
As Menaka was trying to say something more Sukanya said even before “I remembered what you have said on that day. Rape or gang-rape cannot be detected after fifteen days or so in post mortem. Still in my opinion Nirupama was not subjected to something like that.”
Then Menaka said to her what she has learnt from Nagesh. “I have no doubt that Nirupama came to your home on the same day. Considering the way she was before going into the house, she was quite alright till that moment. So whatever has taken place to make her that much has taken place only inside of that house on that day itself.” Menaka said.
“You are absolutely right.” Sukanya nodded her head.
“Not just that.” Frowns gathered on the forehead of Menaka. “She had spent only half an our or so inside of that house. Nagesh saw her coming out of that house just in an half an hour in all different way. So whatever that much depressing happened to her has happened in that half an hour.”
“So what that much depressing can happen just in half an hour?” Sukanya knitted her brows and looked into the face of Smaran.
“That is what needs to be found out.” Smaran smiled and said. “Even before that we have to decide who were present in the house at that time. As per Ranganath’s saying he was out of station for few days on some work just fifteen days or so before Nirupama’s suicide. She he was not in the house at that time.”
“Moreover….” Menaka said “…..if he was inside of that house then he surely would have known what happened and he need not request us to investigate into that.”
“You are right.” Smaran nodded his head.
“So inside of that house was her mother. Some argument with her mother about something which her mother did not like and depressed Nirupama to that much?” Menaka said.
“I just cannot guess anything that her mother did not like” Sukanya said with knitted brows.
“About some love affair. She loved someone and said the same thing to her mother and she did not like it.”
“I already made you people quite clear.” With firmness Sukanya said. “There were no love affairs to Nirupama and if there were anything like that I sure would have known about it. And another important thing; If Nirupama loved someone and wanted to marry him, whoever he might be her mother never would say a no to it. So there is no question an argument could be raised for that between them.”
“You just cannot guess everything on your own. How do you say how her mother would react on certain things?” with little irritation Menaka said.
“What all we can do are assumptions” Smaran said. “There is always a possibility for everything a rape or gang-rape or a failed love avair which led her to commit suiside.”
“Of course assumptions I agree.” Menaka nodded her head. “And we have to take everything into consideration. She was in love with someone, her parents did not agree to that and she concealed the same from you also.”
“No chance at all.” With the same firmness Sukanya said. “I am not assuming and it is my firm belief. If Nirumpama was in love with anyone and wanted to marry him, who ever it may be her mom and dad sure would have agreed to it. There was no chance that either parent made her daughter worried that much about it.”
“One moment….one moment….” Smaran intervened. “One important point you both girls are forgetting here. In our firm assumption, whatever that may be which made her that much depressed and led her to commit suiside has happened just in half an hour lenth time only on that day. There was no chance that she would have had an argument with her mother for some love affair or so in just that half an hour or so depressed to the maximum, worried fifteen days for it and then commit suiside.”
“Then for what other thing she would have argued with her mother? In our thinking only her mother was present in that house then. Can we presume that her dad also was present and she made the argument with them both then?” with knitted her brows Menaka looked into the face of Smaran.
“Indeed absurd thinking Menaka, I must say.” Sukanya irritatingly said.
“Why should we think that her depression was because of her argument with her parents or some strong denial from them? Why should not it be some-thing else?” Smaran asked.
“If you promise you don’t kill me once I say this, I do make another absurd guess.” Looking fearfully into the face of Sukanya, Menaka said.
“I cannot afford to lose the only close friend I have by killing you.” Sukanya hissed out heavily and said. “Venture yourself.”
“Nirupama respected her mother a lot just like all of us. Just like all of us she has a very high opinion on her. On that day, when she came suddenly home, she found her with someone having sex. How any girl will feel if she finds her mom having sex with someone other than her dad? Is it is not something……….. ”
“Will you please shut your mouth? How you can think like that I just cannot think!” Sukanya shouted and got off from the chair angrily. “My god! Nirmala aunty……”
“I am sorry. I should not have said it like that.” Menaka said with a regretful expression in her face.
“You detectives are impossible things!” Sukanya nodded her head helplessly and slumped in her chair again. “I am hundred percent sure. There is never such a possibility either with her mother or father.”
“Moreover….” Smaran said “Nirupama could not have controlled herself and behaved in a usual way if she witnessed such type of a thing. It is my firm opinion also something like that was not the reason for her depression.”
(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.)
