Laughter in Darkness
A suspense, romantic and psychological thriller
By
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“What is the general interval to you both for that?” Neeraja asked her again.
“Two or three days.” Rose’s cheeks were blushed while saying that. “As I said, I did not feel for it at all in this one month.”
“Consciously you are not but subconsciously you are a lot.” Neeraja said. “Subconsciously your mind wanted it a lot. We just don’t know many of our subconscious desires and they result in experiences like these. At the same time your body also is deprived of it for a long time. The combined force of your subconscious desire and body desire was resulted in this way. Your experience in that bathroom was nothing but what I have said, a tactile hallucination.”
“May be you are right.” Rose still did not want to agree with Neeraja completely.
“If I say my experience in this room just you come, you can believe it then.” Neeraja explained to her about her feeling with Aravind in that room just before Rose entered into it. “I am thinking I felt like that only because of my unknowing strong urge for sex subconsciously.”
“You are right” Rose nodded her head. “But it is not unusual that I have long intervals in having sex. But I never felt in this way before.”
“To me also. Strong sexual urges are not unusual. But I never have imagined in this way that too immorally with the husband of some other woman.” Neeraja’s cheeks were blushed while saying that.
“Why did not we were subjected to these hallucinations at any time before? Why it has happened to us only in this house?” Rose said. “That means…”
“You know very well. I need not say this also to you. You just cannot give any specific reason why your mind behaves in a specific way in a specific place. Don’t try to reason yourself why did not it behave like that at any other place. Mind is a very complex thing. I hundred percent can say there is no paranormal either behind your experience or my experience.” With firmness in her voice, Neeraja said.
Rose put her right hand around her shoulders and kissed on her right cheek. “That is why I do often say that you do become a great psychiatrist than me also.”
&&&
“Its lunch time now.” Rajesh said. “That Ratnam and his assistant may come at any moment. We may better not to talk much with that Ratnam.”
“It is difficult to me to think like that. Alright, we do so.” Tanuja nodded her head.
All those were in the downstairs verandah expecting lunch then. All of them were feeling hungry. It was exactly one in the afternoon.
“What we can do if that Ratnam does not come now?” Tanuja said suddenly.
“Oh, don’t say like that.” Rajesh angrily said. “He never failed in providing us with food and making other facilities. Last time also he looked after our necessities so nicely.”
“Last time is different and this time is different.” Tanuja said. “That Raju said he has become mad. How can we expect services in the best way from a mad person?”
“We shall see another half an hour. If he does not come by that time also, we shall decide what to do.” With an irritating expression in his face, Rajesh said. “Anyhow even Ratnam does not bother, Raju would bother about us.”
Then all of them heard tapping sounds on the doors.
“No, doubt it is Ratnam and his assistant.” Rajesh looked into his wife’s face with a smile on his lips and then got off from the chair.
“Please come in. We are just waiting for you people.” As soon as he opened the doors, Rajesh found Ratnam and Raju at the entrance. There were huge packets and glasses in their hands.
“Did we become late? We are sorry.” Entering into that house, Ratnam said.
“Not too late. We are just waiting for you.” Rajesh led them to the people there.
Ratnam opened the bundles of those big packets. He already arranged the food into several packets. While Ratnam was distributing those food packets among the people there, Raju took out the disposable glasses he brought with them, filled them with the water in the nearby water can and gave them to the people who were taking their lunch then.
“Now you preferred to take only vegetarian food and it is so nice.” While eating his food, Rajesh said with a satisfying expression in his face.
There were similar expressions in the other people also who were taking their lunch then.
“If you want I take non-vegetarian food to you people for dinner.” Ratnam said.
“No, this vegetarian food is so good to all of us. Please take this type of food as our dinner also.” Vinod said.
There were no dissenting expressions in the people around then. With the opinion not to engage him in any more talking, all of them were eating their food silently. Vinod, Rose and Neeraja were observing him carefully in sideways.
“Grandma also liked only vegetarian food. She never preferred to eat non-vegetarian things.” Ratnam said.
Ratnam and Raju stood among them while all those were taking their lunch sitting in the chairs. They were actively helping in pouring water in the glasses to whomever want taking it from the can nearby with a glass. Those packets were made with enough rice and items and none of them need anymore.
“There are still three packets left. Why don’t you both also take your lunch here?” while taking his lunch, Rajesh asked him.
“We have taken our lunch before coming here. We don’t need anymore.” Looking into the face of Rajesh, Raju said. The caution in his eyes did not go unnoticed by Rajesh.
There Sameera and Sunanda were troubling to feed their children while taking their own lunch.
“How all you people are feeling here now?” suddenly Ratnam asked them looking into their faces.
The people there exchanged furtive glances on hearing that. In before never Ratnam has shown such an interest on their feelings here.
“We are all feeling just fine.” Rajesh said.
Once again the climate there became quite gloomy and a small drizzle started again.
“The climate in this village has become like this only on this day. For a long time it was only sunshine. Something changed the climate in this way.” Ratnam said again.
None of the people there said anything. Anyhow they understood one thing. Ratnam wanted to say something even without their encouragement also.
“Something made the climate here in this way! Something paranormal! It does not want any good of us. It killed my father. It first made my father mad and then killed him.” With a depressive expression in his face, Ratnam said.
“I see” Rajesh said simply. He did not want to say anything more than that then.
“In the last days of my father, he mumbled something. By that somehow I understood why he has become mad.”
Hearing that there has come eagerness in all of them.
“What is the reason then?” Rajesh could not remain without asking that even Raju was cautioning him with his eyes.
This time Ratnam was serious and he was not trying to look at the women there at all.
“On one day he came into this house when grandma was in the upstairs room in which the dead bodies of her husband and lover were put. He went into that room also then. What happened in that room I cannot understand but his going into that room was the reason for his madness.” Ratnam said.
“My god! What he would have seen in that room?” while her heart beat was increasing, Sameera asked him. It has become indeed difficult to her to feed her daughter while she was taking her own lunch.
“What else? The dead bodies of her husband and lover.” Ratnam said even without looking at her. At other times he just wanted for an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the women there.
“How they would have been after this long time? I think only skeletons would be in that room.” Vinod said.
“If they have been preserved under special conditions just like the mummies in Egypt, they do remain unspoiled and undamaged for long time also.” Anand said.
“I am not thinking that it is true at all. Grandma could not do that much to preserve those bodies. Anyhow what about the other people in the village? Would they agree if grandma intended to do something like that?” Rajesh asked.
“You don’t know about your grandma. At that time, even she lost her husband, parents and all alone, she was very much powerful and rich! She could do anything.” Ratnam said.
“What is the necessity of keeping those dead bodies so?” Anand asked.
“As per the popular belief among people as long as the bodies of the dead are kept without being burnt or buried, without being performed the last rites, the spirits of the same remain in this world itself. Grandma always wanted her husband and Nagaraju with her. So she kept the bodies of them both like that.”
The climate there was stilled and there was no sound whatsoever. All their hearts at once filled with thick fear. Whether Ratnam was mad or not, those people were seeing a point in what he was saying.
“What is the necessity of keeping that Nagaraju’s body also?” trying to control her increasing heart beat with deep breathing, Sunanda asked him. Her position also was just like Sameera. Madhuri also was troubling her as much as Arjun was troubling Sameera to take his lunch.
“In fact grandma loved only Nagaraju. Till the last moment she loved only him. Her marriage with Semanthakam was against her will. So she kept his body also in the upstairs room.” Ratnam slowly put himself in a chair there and said while adjusting himself in that. Raju still preferred to stand there looking after the needs of those people. The anxiousness in Raju’s face was not unnoticed by the people there.
“Then why she has kept her husband’s body also in the upstairs room? She has no love on him.” Sunanada said.
“But she married him and he is her husband. Moreover I cannot say that she has no love on Semanthakam. It was he who took the vow in the end to save grandma from Nagaraju. So his body also was kept like that.”
There was ominous silence once again and none of them could know what to talk. Vinod, Rose and Neeraja were still observing Ratnam carefully.
“Despite being her grandson you did a very grave mistake to your grandma! A very grave mistake indeed! An unpardonable one!” looking into the face of Rajesh, Ratnam said suddenly.
“What that is?” with surprise in his face, Rajesh asked him.
“You have cremated the body of your grandmother while she was still with life. If you have waited just one or two days more, her soul sure would have returned into her body.” Ratnam said this as he has said all the other things until that moment. The serious expression in his face has become even more intensified.
It took three or so seconds’ time to Rajesh to digest what Ratnam said. Once he understood what he has heard, he yelled.“No, Never. It never has taken place like that. Only after we have confirmed hundred percent that grandma was dead, we have cremated her.” There was shock and bewilderment in his face. He did not expect at all that Ratnam would say like that.
(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.)
