Laughter in Darkness
A suspense, romantic and psychological thriller
By
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
Vinod went into the middle room upstairs and the bedding on it was ruffled. He understood that it has been used by someone and adjusted it smoothly. Then he laid his back on that and closed his eyes. Then he remembered his wife Malathi. His mind once again changed as soon as he remembered her. Memories of Malathi were always creating heavy feelings in him. He never has thought that he has to face loss like that and her loss so was really very much unbearable to him. Why it had happened like that in his life? He still could remember what Malathi has said in séance through Sameera. She said that he wanted to kill her. Ever he even could think like that! Certainly it was not Malathi and she never would talk like that. Malathi knew about him fully.
“No, Vinod. I am right. You always wanted me to die. You always wanted me to kill myself. That was why you encouraged me to go in that car then.”
Vinod snap opened his eyes and sat straight on the bed. Malathi sat on the bed on the other edge and looking at him angrily.
“Yes, Vinod. You wanted me to die. I told you so clearly that I did not want to go by that car on that day. But you did not listen to me. You forced me to go by that gar. You wanted me to meet with an accident and die! So it exactly happened like that.” Malathi’s voice was even, firm and angry.
“No, you are absolutely wrong. I never wanted you to die. You know me very well Malathi, how can you talk like this? How could I want you to die?” Vinod was yelling loudly.
“Then why did you force me to go by that car? Why did not you listen to me at all?” Malathi’s voice was still angry.
“But I did not know that you would die. I thought that you learnt driving enough. I have not thought that you would meet with an accident and die like that.” Vinod was still yelling.
“No, you just wanted me to die all the time. You never loved me and you never liked me.” Malathi was also angry and yelling.
“No, no, no. That is not true. That is not true.” Vinod was weeping and yelling loudly.
“Dad, what is happening? Why you are becoming like this?”
His loud yelling reached everyone in the house and in no time they all reached into the middle room upstairs. Sunanda’s heart missed a beat when she found her father like that there. She immediately ran towards him, put her both hands on his shoulders and jerked him strongly and said that.
Vinod looked into his daughter’s face and said “Your mom saying that I always wanted her to die. Only to get her killed in the accident, I forced her to take the car on that day.” Tears were flowing down on his cheeks.
“Mom died five years back. How can she say that to you now?” looking keenly into her father’s face, Sunanda asked him.
“She came here as a spirit. Just look at that.” Showing towards the side where he has seen his wife before, Vinod said.
“There is no one dad.” Looking at the side he has shown to her, Sunanda said.
“Till seconds back she was there abusing me. Where she has gone this fast I cannot understand.” With a shocking expression in his face, Vinod said.
“Mr.Viond, I can dare say that you have subjected to auditory and visual hallucination. It was nothing more than that.” Rose said.
“I am just waiting to see whether you say it or not.” Rajesh said with a smile. “But Vinod what Rose said is appearing absolutely true to me also.”
“No Rose. It cannot be my hallucination or something like that. I am sure.” But Vinod’s voice was faltered while saying that.
“Sir, you are an experienced and reputed psychologist. I need not stress this point much for you. Think logically yourself. Could that be true?” Neeraja asked him.
Vinod did not say anything but covered his face with both his palms.
“So far I understood something Mr.Vinod. You have encouraged your wife to take the car with all bonafide intentions. You thought she knew the driving well. She might know the driving well also. But quite unfortunately it happened like that then. Then subconsciously you were thinking that it was your fault that you have encouraged your wife to take the car on that day. So involuntarily you started blaming yourself. You might have expressed your feeling many a time at other people also and Sameera heard it. In that séance, quite involuntarily she imposed that Malathi onto her and talked like that. It gave even more strength to your thinking that you have caused the death of your wife. Now, without your intention, your subconscious subjected you to that auditory and visual hallucination.” Rose said.
“Yes, this is absolutely true. Even I am not a psychologist I also can say this.” Tanuja said.
“Come downstairs Vinod. Don’t stay here anymore. This room appears to be odd.” After few seconds pause Tanuja said again.
“Why do we feel fear every now and then? Last time and this time also we have spent most of our time in this room itself. Uncle came here to take rest. I shall be with uncle and he took rest here itself.” Anand said.
“Alright. We go down now.” All of them, except Sunanda, leave them both in that room and went downstairs.
“Dad, how you are feeling now?” sitting beside Vinod, Sunanda asked him.
“Little better darling” Vinod hissed out heavily. “Anyhow can you excuse me?” he asked her looking into her face.
“I just cannot understand what you are talking dad.” With confusion in her face, Sunanda said.
“Your mom is not absolutely wrong Sunanda. It is true that I have forced her to go in car on that day. If I have not forced her to go by car then, I am sure she would not have gone in that car on that day and died like that then.” With lot of depression in his face, Vinod said.
“Dad” Sunanda put her right hand on the right shoulder of Vinod and squeezed there. “On some occasions mom took me in car. She knew driving well and having license for that. I don’t know why mother did not show interest to go by car on that day but surely not because she did not feel confident on herself. It just has to happen like that and it happened so. Don’t blame yourself dad, please don’t blame yourself for all the time like this.” Sunanda said.
“How much you both loved and liked each other we all knew uncle. Even in our wildest dreams also we never imagine that you would wish that so. Just be relaxed and try to keep your daughter always happy. As far as I can say that is what aunt always wishes.” Anand said.
“Alright, alright” Vinod nodded his head. “You both indeed relieved me a lot.” He said.
“Now you sleep for sometime dad. We both sit here itself.” Making Vinod lying on the bed, Sunanda said. Vinod just did not know when he fell asleep.
Sunanda and Anand talked sometime in themselves sitting in the chairs nearby the bed.
&&&
“I am thinking something. It is very important..” Aravind said.
At that time Sameera, Rajesh and Tanuja were in the old woman’s room again. Arjun and Madhuri were once again with Emily in their room. Emily was indeed entertaining both those kids a lot by telling different stories to them.
“Tell me about it straight Aravind. You need not put us in suspense like this.” With an irritating expression in her face, Sameera said.
“Every dead body needs last rites. Until last rites performed the spirit of the dead body would not mix into universe. If the dead bodies left without last rites, the spirits of those dead bodies do suffer a lot.” Aravind said.
“I can understand with respect to whose dead bodies you said it.” Tanuja said irritatingly. “I don’t think that’s a possible thing at all.”
“Why not it is possible? Who stops us if we open the upstairs room and perform the last rites to the dead bodies there?” Aravind asked her.
“Grandma never thought to do so Aravind. If what you have said is true why grandma left those dead bodies like that? There may be some reason in her leaving those dead bodies without last rites.” Rajesh said.
“Grandma is not available with us now. Whatever might be her opinion in keeping those dead bodies without last rites we don’t know but in my opinion it is quite better to perform the last rites to the dead bodies of her husband and lover.” Aravind said.
“It was not in our program when we have started to this place. I cannot take sudden decisions. I need to think about it.” Rajesh said.
“Anyhow I am not sure that grandma kept the dead bodies of that Nagaraju and her husband in that room.” Sameera said yawning heavily.
“Then we may better open the doors of that room and see into it first.” Aravind said. “Why we have to feel fear even to look inside of that room?”
“I just don’t know and cannot say but cannot feel encouraged to open that room and look inside.” Rajesh said.
“Alright, alright. We don’t worry about it that much now” Tanuja said. After few seconds she said again as if to change the topic. “I just cannot understand why Vinod imagined like that there. I never have expected that psychologists and psychiatrists also would be subjected to hallucinations so.”
“Are not psychologists and psychiatrists human beings? What is that much surprise if they are subjected to imaginations and hallucinations?” Rajesh asked her.
“But psychologists and psychiatrists are supposed to have known more about minds and have more control over their minds.” Tanuja said.
“Sometimes they too cannot control their emotions. Vinod was very much affected by his wife’s death. He was subjected to a guilty feeling all the time as Malathi went out in the car only because of him on that day. Only because of his overwhelming guilty feeling his subconscious forced him to imagine so.” Rose said.
“But dad, Vinod uncle never subjected to this type of hallucination in these five years. Why he imagined like that only in this house I cannot understand.” Sameera said.
“The gloomy and odd environment here and your talking like that in séance forced his subconscious to imagine so.” Aravind said. “We should not have conducted that séance at all. I did not expect at all that it would happen so.”
“I already said that there is no mistake of you in this. We all have encouraged you to conduct that séance.” Rajesh said.
None of them talked anything. As they were thinking in themselves so, they heard a thunderclap nearby.
&&&
Tanuja came out of that room yawning heavily as she could not spend time in that any longer. As soon as she came out of that room, she saw the kitchen. She immediately remembered the last time when Malathi and she went into the kitchen and observed the things inside there. She has shown interest in making their own cooking but Malathi did not show any interest in that. Last time there were rice, pickles and other things also in the kitchen and all of them have been removed from it now. There was only gas stove now in it.
(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.)
