An untellable secret
(Some secrets may better remain secrets for ever)
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“You did it quite nice. There shall be result. You don’t worry.” Niranjan said.
“It appeared quite useless to me. She did not appear at all that she was listening to my hypnotic suggestions.”
“No, she listened. They went deep into her psyche I think.” Niranjan nodded his head. “don’t worry too much about this.”
“But she appeared unusually enthusiastic. Why she felt so happy I could not understand. In fact I spoiled her happiness unnecessarily by broaching about her daughter. It appeared to me that she did not like my questioning about her daughter so.”
“That means deep inside her she knows the truth.”
“But Ranga uncle found her behaving like that in the house?”
“That is what puzzling me also.” Niranjan said. “Her madness may be changing time to time. She has to be observed carefully.”
Menaka came to Niranjan’s home at 10 in the morning to report him what she did and how it worked. Niranjan listened very patiently to whatever Menaka said to him.
“I cannot understand one thing here. Why suddenly she appeared that much happy?” Menaka knitted her brows together.
“For few seconds or so the imagination of her daughter has become reality to her. That means her whole mind thought that Nirupama came back to her and that made her happy. Madness takes several types of turns.”
“May be you are right.” Menaka nodded her head and said.
“You are doing it alright. Just go in the way you are doing.”
“Okay then.” Menaka nodded her head ocne again. “I think I have told you everything. I shall go now.”
“In fact I want to say something to you.” Niranjan suddenly said
“What is that?” Menaka frowned.
“Whether you want it or not I don’t know.” He said “But if you like you can become a good psychiatrist or psychologist.”
Menaka laughed and said. “But psychology is not one of my subjects till now.”
“No problem. You can do your post-graduation with psychology major.”
“Alright. I think about that. Anyhow I am going now. I meet you again after one or two days when there is something to report.”
“Please come as often as possible. It is indeed a pleasure talking with you like this.” Niranjan said.
Then Menaka left that place.
***
“Bittoo, what you are doing? I did not see you recently at all. Where have you been?” really Menaka did not see Bittoo for the few days. She wanted to talk to him again about Nirupama and the particular day he had seen her different.
“I went to my uncle’s place. I returned home only yesterday.” Bittoo replied.
“Why don’t you come into my home? We talk again for sometime.” Bittoo said again.
“I have come to your home last time. Is it is not better that you do come to our home now?”
“Alright then. I am coming.” He entered into her house.
“We both go into my room upstairs. There we can have a cool talk.” She started leading him upstairs.
“Oh, Bittoo. It is indeed after a very long time you have come to our house.” Looking at him Nirmala said. “You and Nirupama are such friends.”
“Yes, aunty. Because of my heavy school work I could not manage to come to your home.” There was a pathetic note in his voice.
“Never mind. Niru is asking about you sometimes.”
Bittoo quickly looked into the face of Menaka and there was confusion in his face.
Menaka quickly closed and opened her eyes giving him an indication not to say anything on that.
Then Menaka and Bittoo entered into the upstairs room. Once they got into it he straight went to the photograph there.
“Oh, how pathetic! I never have expected that I do see Niru sister like this on the wall.” Observing that photograph with the garland he said.
“No one expected to that matter. I did not see this girl while she was alive. But I have heard she was so intelligent and active.”
“Beautiful too.” Bittoo said. “What a nice girl she is! We used to have long discussions over many a thing in those days.”
Menaka was listening. She did not say anything at all.
“I rather shocked on knowing that she committed suicide. Have you got even a vaguest idea why she had committed suicide? I think you were here particularly on that mission.”
“No Bittoo…nothing so far.” Menaka hissed out heavily. “There is only one week or so time left to us to solve this mystery. Twenty days passed without any progress at all. I am losing hope.”
“Don’t lose hope. You may get some lead and solve the mystery before time.” Bittoo said.
“Thank you very much. Anyhow, have you remembered anything important? Particularly of that day when you have seen Nirupama like that?”
“No. Sorry sister. I have tried a lot but could not remember anything at all other than that. That was all whatever I have said to you already, I remembered.”
“Its alright. What we can do then? Forget.” Hissing out heavily again Menaka said.
“I know that you asked me to come again only to ask about that.”
“You are right.” Menaka nodded her head.
“Sorry. I disappointed you.” Bittoo said.
“Its alright. Never mind.”
“I go home now. There is lot of home work I have to do.”
“Sorry, I disturbed you.” Menaka said.
“It’s a pleasure talking with you.” Saying so Bittoo started towards the door and suddenly stopped. He looked at Menaka and said. “I don’t know whether it is important or not. But I remembered something.”
“Tell me Bittoo… What it is?” Menaka asked him eagerly.
“But it is not about Nirupama.”
“First tell me what it is?” Menaka became impatient.
“After Nirupama left on that day….after thirty minutes or so afte her leaving….. Niranjan uncle came out of that house.”
Menaka at once became alert. Very important piece of information!
“Is it is true?” there was excitement in the voice of Menaka.
“Hundred percent true.”
“Ranganath uncle was not in his home then?”
“I don’t know. But I clearly remember seeing Niranjan uncle.”
“Why that particularly you remembered him seeing on that day?”
“There is no particular reason but I remembered that.” Bittoo said. “I knew him. Nirupama sister said about him and she liked him a lot. She said that he is a psychology professor and being impressed by him she joined in psychology postgraduation. ”
“I see.” Menaka nodded her head thoughtfully. She suddenly remembered “Did he wear his black spectacles then too?”
“Yes. He is. I never have seen him without those black spectacles. Why he wears them always? Now a day very few people wear those type of spectacles.”
“I too feel wonder about it.” Menaka said.
***
“It is indeed very important piece of information Menaka.” Smaran said. “Niranjan came out of that house on the day the boy saw Nirupama left it with tearful eyes.”
“Exactly.” Menaka excitingly said. “Why he was in it on that day?”
“Niranjan is a family friend and relative to that family. There is no surprise of his presence in that house. But his presence like that in that house then might have something to do with Nirupama’s depression.”
“I am also feeling in the same way.” Menaka said. “But I just don’t know how can we find that out.” Suddenly there was despair in her face.
“Don’t lose hope. We are going to unravel this mystery.” Smaran laughed.
“You do say this even at the last minute also. Are you going to ask for any time extension?” she irritated indeed.
“Not at all.” Niranjan nodded his head in negation and said. “Just wait and see what happens. Tell me now how your hypnotism is going with that old woman?”
“Not very bad and not very good.” Menaka explained to him how it was going.
“Good. Keep going on. It gives you the result.”
“Niranjan also said the same thing to me.”
“I think we both think on the same line on some matters.”
***
On that day in the afternoon Menaka went to Sukanya’s house and they both were engaged in talking themselves. Menaka said what Ranganath and Niranjan asked her to do and how she was hypnotizing Nirmala and then Menaka said. “Anyhow you have become an expert in hypnotism. I too want to be hypnotized by you.”
Menaka frowned and said. “What you are talking? I am not an expert at all in hypnotism. Don’t come to conclusions like that just because I have become successful in hypnotizing that Nirmala.”
“Anyhow, how your treatment is going on? Could you be successful in that?”
“I cannot say anything about that. I am giving suggestions but I don’t know whether her subconscious is accepting them or not.”
“How complicated all these! Conscious, subconscious. What we are between all these?”
“Strange question indeed! Who is having these conscious and subconscious brains?”
“Me.” Sukanya frowned and said.
“Who is this me?”
“This question never can be answered”. Sukanya said. They both laughed.
“I just don’t know time while talking with you. You have become such a good friend to me.” Menaka said to Sukanya.
“The irony in this is Nirupama’s death made us both friends. If Nirupama is alive on this day we both may never have met.” Sukanya said.
“You are right.” Menaka nodded her head. “But I wish Nirupama to be alive on this day rather than our friendship.”
“I also wish in the same way.” Sukanya said. “But nothing is in our hands. We are all puppets in the hands of fate.”
“But it is not something done by fate. Nirupama brought it herself on her. If she thought atleast a little……….”
“Will you please stop that?” Sukanya angrily said. “You too very well know that there would be no use whatsoever in thinking like that. We don’t know but something, something quite forceful made her committed that. We just cannot blame Nirupama that she committed suicide without knowing what exactly compelled her to do that.”
“I agree.” Menaka nodded her head. “We are trying our level best to know about the reason. But I am losing hope. I am not confident that we can know the reason within the time limit.”
“The main thing here to notice is ……….” Sukanya started “ ……….many times we have said about this in ourselves and I am saying again. Nirupama did not like that reason to be known to anyone. She wanted it to be buried deep with her in her grave.”
“May be you are right. But when her dad is adamant to know about it, there is no option to us. We have to do something with the clues she left.” Menaka hissed out and said.
“Are those clues at all? We cannot go anyhwere with the help of them.” Sukanya said
“I cannot bear this.’ and ‘I want to pluck my eyes out’ these both are the sentences she left willfully or un-willfully. Cannot we make anything out of these?” Menaka said. “Just try and see once again.”
“I cannot bear’. What she cannot bear? Is it is some pain? Some insult? What that she cannot share even with her own parents?” Sukanya puzzled.
“I have to say the same thing again. Was she raped or gang raped? Was that she could not share even with her own parents?”
“Considering the same things again and again may be necessary.” Sukanya sighed heavily. “But her post mortem report revealed nothing like that has happened on her.” She paused a moment and before Menaka saying again she said “Oh, I forgot. You said if something like that has happened some fifteen days or so before she committed suiside, it could not be revealed in post mortem.”
“Then was she raped or gang-raped by someone and as she could not bear the feeling committed suiside like that after fifteen days?” Menaka knitted her brows together.
“I already said this and I have no objection in saying again.” Menaka said sighing heavily “Non one knows Nirupama well than I. Of course if something like that has happened on her, it hurts her very much. But I don’t think that she would commit suiside like that. She sure would let those rascals to be hanged before committing suiside. Even it is such type of a thing she sure would discuss that with me. No it is not something like that made her so.”
(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.)
