Laughter in Darkness
A suspense, romantic and psychological thriller
By
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
Sunanda and Sameera looked into each other’s faces with surprising expressions.
“I cannot say that you are wrong. I have seen those Exorcist and Evil Dead movies. Sunanda and I went together to horror movies sometimes in the past when the smart phones were not this rampant.” Sameera said.
“Yes, I am also interested in watching those horror movies. We both have seen some horror movies together.” Sunanda nodded her head and said.
“Your talking is not much interesting to me. I do go downstairs.” Madhuri climbed down from her mother’s lap and said.
“What best time-pass you do have downstairs?” looking into her face, Sunanda asked her.
“There is Arjun to play with. Grandpa tells me many stories.” Trying to release herself from Sunanda’s hold, Madhuri said. “In addition to this, that Emily is very interesting! She knows many amusing matters.”
“Yes, Emily is just like that. I know her a lot.” Neeraja smiled and said.
“Alright. Let her go. Otherwise that Arjun also comes here to eat away our brains.” Samarrea said.
In the meanwhile Madhuri herself released from her mother’s hold and ran away from that place.
“Where is your son and what he is doing now?” looking into Sameera’s face, Sunanda asked her.
“I think he is with Anand himself. Anand is the best person to deal with the children than Aravind also. I don’t know why Madhuri preferred to come here like this but most of the time both these children wanted to spend time with him.” Sameera said.
“Yes, you are right.” Neeraja said. “Emily also said about Anand. I think she said that she could have best time-pass with Anand.”
“That guy is my husband” with proud expression in her face, Sunanda said.
“I know about that” with a smile on her lips Neeraja said.
“To that matter, my husband Aravind also is a very much interesting personality. He knows a lot about paranormal. He will be very much thrilled to hear the story you have said to us.” Sameera said.
“Yes, what Sameera said is true.” Sunanda said. “Aravind is a very intelligent guy, studied M.B.A. and doing a business independently. But his knowledge in paranormal is really very much fascinating!”
“I knew about him through that book. None you tell about yourself particularly to that person who read the book ‘A Mansion of Illusions.’ I have seen him but did not talk with him much. I really want to make conversation with him.” Neeraja said.
“Then you please make one thing clear to us. Do you have belief in paranormal?” looking into her face, Sameera asked her.
“Of course, I do have belief in paranormal.” With firm voice Neeraja said. “It may be surprising to you despite being a psychiatrist how I do believe in paranormal but I do believe in it.”
Sameera and Sunanda exchanged glances on hearing that.
“I just don’t know whether to feel happy or sorrow knowing that you do also believe in paranormal.” Sameera said.
“Why it is like that?” with a surprising expression in her face, Neeraja asked her.
“My subconscious is giving me the feeling that there is something paranormal in this house and I am convincing myself that there is no paranormal in the entire world itself as such there is no chance that it is present in this house. But now you are saying that you do also believe in paranormal. I just don’t know what to do.” With a fearful expression, Sameera said.
Neeraja laughed on hearing that. “We do leave this house on tomorrow itself. What is the problem to us whether there is some paranormal here in this place or not?”
“You are right.” Sunanda nodded her head and looked into the face of Sameera. “You just stop feeling fear unnecessarily Sameera. Our stay here is brief. Moreover, even there is paranormal in the world, it is not sure that there is paranormal in this house.”
“Alright, alright. I try not to feel fear anymore.” Sameera nodded her head and said.
There was some silence among them three as they did not know what to say immediately. Outside the environment was calm as there was no rain but the climate was still gloomy.
“There is one more incident in my life I can say to you both which shall be even more interesting!” Neeraja said.
“Oh, please. Tell about it also to us. We also do try to say to you most interesting things and pay your debt back.” Sameera said.
Then Neeraja told them both about her friend Sarika, how she has thought that Neeraja and her parents were murdered and buried in their own house, how she has developed a psychological disorder in herself and how she has been cured once she saw Neeraja and came to know about the truth.
(The story of Neeraja can be known in the book ‘Just Relax!’)
“What an interesting story it is!” Sameera exclaimed after she heard it completely from Neeraja. “I never have heard there are such type of friends also on this earth!”
“You are really fortunate to have a friend like her.” Sunanda said. “Sameera and I are good friends. But I don’t think our friendship also is not equal to your friendship.”
“I am also thinking in the same way.” Neeraja said. “We both took a vow to meet each other and spend time together as often as possible. We phone to each other many a time and talk a lot.”
“Very best thing indeed! What she is doing now?” Sunanda got off from the bed, dragged a chair there near to Neeraja’s chair and slumped herself in it.
“She married a guy in the nearby town and living with him there. In fact it was her parents who repaired and renovated our house as it was just opposite to their house.” Neeraja said.
“I see” Sunanda said.
The three of them remained silent once again as they did not know what to say. Sameera suddenly got off from the bed and said “I want to go downstairs and see what my son is doing.”
“We both also come with you then” Sunanda also got off from the chair while looking into the face of Neeraja. Neeraja also nodded her head and freed her chair.
The three of them came out of that room and were about to go downstairs. Then Neeraja said “Just a moment” and went near to the room beside that room. That room was padlocked.
“Why this room is locked like this?” taking that big lock into her hands, Neeraja asked them.
Sameera and Sunanda looked into each other faces and there were uneasy expressions in them.
“I think you said that you have read the book ‘A Mansion Of Illusions.” Sameera said.
“Yes, I did” Neeraja left that lock, looked into their both faces and nodded her head.
“Then cannot you guess what room this is?” this time Sunanda asked her.
“I cannot understand. What room this is then?” with a confusing expression in her face, Neeraja asked her.
“This is the very room where the dead bodies of Semanthakam and Nagaraju are kept.” With a small voice Sunanda said. Unintentionally her voice was shivered while saying that.
Neeraja nodded her head and without saying anything the three of them started from there.
Once again there was an ear shuttering thunderclap and a small drizzle started again.
&&&
They were all except Aravind, Anand and Sunanda presented in the verandah again. Aravind was in the upstairs left side beginning room where Vinod spent his time with his grandson. Anand and Sunanda were in the middle room in the upstairs. Half an hour or so after coming down from upstairs, Anand asked Sunanda to come upstairs again. In fact Sunanda did not want to go upstairs again but the serious expression in the face of Anand prevented her from saying a no to him. For a long time she did not see such a savage and serious expression in his face.
“Tell me dear, what you really do want now?” yawning heavily Sunanda slumped herself on the bed. “In fact I have spent time herein in this room till half an hour or so back and I don’t want to come here again. But as you asked me, I could not say no.”
“It seemed that you have lost interest on me completely.” Looking accusingly into his wife’s face, Anand said.
“What you are talking?” with a surprising expression in her face Sunanda said. “If I lost my interest in you why do I come here respecting your words? Anyhow why do you get such doubts?”
“Just you are acting.” With a sadistic expression in his face Anand said. “You want someone else in my place now.”
“What the bloody hell you are talking?” there came a shocking expression in the face of Sunanda. “How can you talk like this?”
“Why cannot I say it like this?” the sadistic expression was just so in the face of Anand. “You have many boyfriends in your life, did not you?”
“But that was a long time back when I could not understand life at all. I did not conceal anything at you and you excused all my faults. We understood each other and excused each other’s wrongs.” With a helpless expression in her face, Sunanda said.
“That does not mean the overwhelming desire in you diminished completely.”
“There is no such overwhelming desire in me now.”
“If you do have such overwhelming desire again in you, do you prefer to have more and more boyfriends again?”
“Hold your tongue Mr.Anand. This is not the way that you talk to your wife.” Sunanda yelled. “Just remember that you too did not spend a holiest life. An innocent woman committed suicide because of you.”
“I agree. I never have tried to conceal my sins. Not just that woman, there were other women also in my life.” Anand laughed and said.
“How unabashedly you are saying! I am feeling disgust hearing you like this.” With a disgusting expression in her face, Sunanda said.
“How unabashedly that you maintained that many boyfriends! Why do you never feel disgust on that?” Anand angrily said.
“That was a long time back and you too very well know about it. Why are you torturing me saying the same thing again and again to me?” breaking herself into weeping, Sunanda said.
“Because you are not as pure as you are acting! I am strongly feeling that you are having it with other guys now also.”
“Shut up. You have become the meanest and worst! I just cannot stay anymore here.” Sunanda said and tried to move fast from that place.
“Stop. I want to have it from you now.” Looking with desire filled eyes into her face, Anand said.
“What? You have the audacity to ask me for it after saying such things? I never allow you to lay your hands on me in my whole life.” Sunanda angrily yelled.
“Just try to escape this time. Then you think about the rest of your life.”
Then he pounced on Sunanda as a tiger pounced on a deer in a forest. He pinned her to the bed with force and the more she tried to escape from him the more his strength and rage became. Not even for a moment she cooperated with him and in the end it was a brutal rape to her in his hands. She was wounded and hurt at many places in her body by the time it was finished.
“You rascal, scoundrel! I never forgive you for what you did to me on this day.” Once she freed herself from him, she got off from the bed and said. She adjusted her dress, made herself as normal as possible, for the last time threw a disgusting, hate filled look towards him and went away from that room.
(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.)
