Laughter in Darkness
A suspense, romantic and psychological thriller
By
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“We have got a patient Sapphire in our hospital. At first we have thought that she was suffering from split-personality.” Then Rose explained to Neeraja the story of Sapphire completely.
(The book ‘Enna (Her life…her love…her struggle) contains the story of Sapphire.)
“There is no surprise in your believing in paranormal then” after hearing Rose completely, Neeraja said. “This story is very much convincing that there is paranormal.”
Rose was about to say something more but then Emily entered into that room and said “How long you both confine yourself in this room? Come out and see the outside world also.”
“Oh, sure we do.” Neeraja laughed and got off from the chair she sat and looked into the face of Rose meaningfully. Rose nodded her head and she also got off from the chair she sat. Then they both came out of that room.
&&&
“We are all assembled here again. It seems it is the best time-pass to all of us to gather here and talk in ourselves.” Looking at the audience around him sat in the chairs there, Rajesh said. “I am very sorry if you people feel bore. We cannot do more than this here.”
“In my opinion it is the best time-pass” Rose said. “You may not believe but I am saying this with whole of my heart. Atleast a day in a year we have to confine ourselves in a place like this far away from our routine residences and work places. Then we sure do get a sort of relaxation.”
“I am feeling very happy that you are thinking like that” looking thankfully into her face, Rajesh said. “I don’t know all the people here are thinking in the same way. Sometimes I am thinking that I did a mistake by forcing them to come here.” Looking into the faces of the people there, Rajesh said.
At that time except Aravind and Sameera everyone else was present in the hall including the small children. Madhuri was with her parents Anand and Sunanda playing with them and Arjun sat in the chair beside his grandmother Tanuja.
“Why uncle, why do you think like that?” looking into the face of Rajesh, Sunanda said while making her daughter sit straight in her lap. “We all have come here with our own volition. You have just proposed but you did not compel any of us. Moreover….” She paused for a moment and said “We are all enjoying our stay here.”
“Yes, we must say we are all enjoying our stay here.” Vinod said. “Despite what we are, we all do have an odd feeling in staying a place like this but staying in an odd place like this also will be quite enjoyable.”
“Why you are saying this is an odd place?” Sunanda asked him looking into his face.
“Is it is not so?” Vinod confused a little. “This house this big, ancient, constructed in an old style, situated in the corner of a faraway village. Is it is wrong call this place odd?”
“But uncle invested a lot and made it comfortable and enjoyable.” Sunanda said.
“Still this house is odd and anyone who stays in this house does have an odd feeling. Your dad is not wrong.” Rajesh said.
“Your dad does not allow anyone contradicts his friend” Tanuja said.
Rajesh and Vinod both laughed on hearing that.
“Anyhow I have some questions. If you don’t mind I want to ask them.” Neeraja suddenly said looking into the face of Rajesh.
“Feel free to ask anything. What is there to mind in it?” Rajesh smiled and said.
“I have read in the book ‘A Mansion of Illusions’ that the dead bodies of Semanthakam and Nagaraju might be kept in the room upstairs. Did you bother to open that room and verify whether it is true or not?”
“No, I did not” Rajesh said. “Even while I was repairing and renovating this house also, I did not allow that to happen. That room is still under locked condition.”
“Why it is so? Why did not you have chosen to open that room and look inside? It sure would have cleared whether there were bodies of the old woman’s husband and lover are in it or not.” Neeraja’s voice was like an accusation.
Suddenly a cold wave rushed onto the people there and they heard a violent thunderclap. For few seconds they felt that their ears were split and they became deaf. Instantly a small drizzle has started.
“No, I don’t know” Rajesh’s voice shivered. “I cannot say why but I could not choose to open that room. In fact I just could not dare….”
“You could not dare? I just cannot understand…”Neeraja tried to say something.
“It can be understandable Neeraja” Rose interrupted her and said. “That old woman is grandmother of Dr.Rajesh. He has certain feelings towards her. He might have thought that opening that room would be defiling his grandmother’s feelings. His grandmother preferred to leave that room under locked condition all that time.”
“You may be right. That Rajeswari is very peculiar woman.” Neeraja smiled and said “Anyhow I want to know one thing Rajesh, are you feeling not right discussing about your grandmother and her matters? If it is so we do stop discussing about her here itself.”
“If I felt like that I would not have let a book published” Rajesh laughed and said. “In fact our hearts and lives were opened wide in that book. We want how great our children have thought. None of us do feel awkward by whatever you want to discuss in that book with us.” Then Rajesh looked into the face of Vinod and Vinod shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
Rose and Neeraja looked into each other’s faces and there were smiles on them. Really these people dared a lot. No one generally wants to make public such issues which these people allowed to be narrated in that book.
“My god! Why the climate turned this gloomy all of a sudden? The clouds in the sky are thickened to the maximum I think.” Looking at the small drizzle and dark climate there, Anand said.
“You are right. I also don’t like this gloomy environment. Everything is just like last time we have visited this place.” Sunanda said and her voice was like a whisper. But in that silent environment it has been heard clearly by everyone there.
“But everything was alright last time, what loss we have got?” Tanuja asked her.
“Grandma expired at our last time visit” Sunanda said
“She was aged more than hundred years I think. What that much surprising in her death?”
“Have you forgotten about the strange experiences we have got here on that day?”
“But your dad, the reputed psychologist Vinod convinced all of us that those were only our hallucinations and imaginations.”
“It was absolutely so. There is no paranormal in this house either then or now.” With firm voice Vinod said.
“But grandma’s death was not mentioned in that book, so far I can remember.” Rose interfered and said.
“I have asked the writer not to write about it in the book. I don’t know why but I could not think my grandmother was dead.” Rajesh voice shivered a little while saying that.
There was an ear-deafening thunderclap once again outside giving way to a downpour. The sound of it was so loud that they could not hear one other’s words anymore. It was just like someone shouting something sinister.
“My god! We cannot sit here anymore.” Getting off from the chair he sat Rajesh said considering the rain water throwing onto them with the powerfully waving wind. “It is better that we do go into rooms now.”
“You are right” by that time Rose also got off from the chair.
Just in seconds all the other people there also came out of their chairs moving towards rooms. Neeraja and Rose went into their room and Vinod, Anand, Sunanda, Madhuri and Arjun into the middle room.
“We can go upstairs and settle in the rooms there once this downpour is over.” Sunanda said.
“We sure do so” Anand nodded his head.
“Where are Aravind and Sameera?” suddenly finding their absence there before stepping into their room, Rajesh asked
“They are in the upstairs room. I saw them going into upstairs.”
“Alright” Rajesh said. Tanuja and Rajesh were about to go into their room but then Emily came there and started looking into the face of Rajesh.
“Psychologist Rose’s daughter.” Looking into his face with a smile, Tanuja said.
“Yes, I know” Rajesh also smiled. “Do you want to say anything to me dear?” while looking at her with an amicable expression in his face, Rajesh asked.
“You just don’t know what you did. You take us to a place where good and evil have been fighting everyday. Our going away safe from here depends on the point who overpowers who between that good and evil now.” With firm voice looking straight into the face of Rajesh, Emily said.
Rajesh and Tanuja exchanged anxious glances. “What you are trying to say to me dear?” with a shivering tone Rajesh asked her.
“Don’t take her words seriously.” Rose came out as Emily did not come with them into their room and found her with Rajesh, came near to them and heard clearly what her daughter said. Her heart also missed a beat but she did not show her uneasiness in her face. “She sometimes talks like that. Don’t take her seriously.” She put her both hands on Emily’s shoulders, made her turned towards her and jerked her strongly. “Emily, stop this nonsense behavior.” She said looking into the face of her daughter.
“Mom, what is happening?” with lot of confusion in her face, Emily asked her mother.
“Nothing is happening. Go into your room. There is Neeraja and you need not feel fear. I just come on the back of you.” Rose said with her usual voice.
“I never feel worry. You may come at any moment you want.” Running away from that place Emily said.
“I am so sorry. My daughter’s talking like that might upset you both a lot.” Looking apologetically into the faces of Rajesh and Tanuja, Rose said.
“But…but…Why she talked like that?” still there was lot of fear in the face of Tanuja.
It was becoming difficult to them to hear each other’s voices in the sound of that down- pouring rain.
“She is suffering from a problem. I explain that thing to you people later. First go and take some rest.” After saying this Rose did not stay at that place. She moved fast from there and came into her room.
Rajesh and Tanuja once again exchanged glances before moving into their room.
&&&
“It is all just like the last time. We came into the upstairs room while it was down pouring just like this.” While looking at the rain which was falling like sheets in the open place through the entrance, Sameera said.
“But we came here in the evening time but it is still morning.” Aravind said.
Sameera did not say anything to that but remained staring at the rain. There was an uneasy expression in her face.
“But you don’t remember the most important thing that took place in this room at that time on that day.” Observing her minutely Aravind said.
Sameera sat on the bed looking through the entrance and Aravind sat in a chair just opposite to her.
“That has been in my mind from the moment I entered into this room.” Sameera turned her head and looked into Aravind’s face and smiled. “I broke your resolve and made you do that to me. It was quite hasty and we both were quite inexperienced then.”
“But we enjoyed it a lot, did not we?” leaned back in the chair, still covering her with his gaze, Aravind asked her.
“Yes, we did.” Sameera nodded her head and once again started looking through the entrance at the downpour. “However much inexperienced, however much hasty, the first experience between the couple always would be more enjoyable and memorable.”
(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.)
