Laughter in Darkness
A suspense, romantic and psychological thriller
By
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“Not just single incident. There were so many incidents in my life which made me believe in paranormal. It may take time to explain all that to you.” Rose said.
“I have enough time to spend for that. Please tell me all about that if you don’t mind.” Sameera said with a requesting expression.
Then Rose started explaining to Sameera about her past experiences which forced her to believe in paranormal. While she was explaining that, not just Sameera, Neeraja also listened all that with lot of interest even she knew most of it in before itself. It took nearly half an hour or so to Rose to explain all those experiences briefly to Sameera.
“Surprising! No one can remain without believing in paranormal after having these types of experiences.” With a surprising expression in her face Sameera said.
“Still I also struggle most of the time to believe in paranormal. But sometimes I become helpless and have to believe in them.” Rose hissed out heavily.
&&&
Madhuri came running towards Arjun and Emily as soon as she saw them. “I am very happy you are here again! I am just waiting for you to tell me one more new story.” Madhuri said.
“I am feeling even more happy to shift my burden to you. Take her with you and please don’t let her come to me atleast for an hour. I try to put my extremely disturbed mind in some order in the mean time.” Looking at Emily who stopped at few distance to her, Sunanda said.
“Before you come here, I was the favourite to our children. But you have changed that and took my position completely.” Anand said.
“We three go into upstairs room and pass our time there.” Emily said.
“No, problem you may go. Aravind and Vinod uncle are there now.” Anand said.
Then Emily, Arjun and Madhuir moved towards the staircase to go to upstairs.
“Soon it becomes night.” Sunanda said. “I am feeling even more uneasy as it is becoming night.”
“Whether it is day or night, we are not all alone here. Why do you feel unnecessary fear?”
“I cannot say. I just cannot explain.” Sunanda said.
As they both were talking like that, Rajesh and Tanuja came out of their room and sat in the nearby chairs of Sunanda and Anand.
“So from now on we can put into use the last room in the upstairs also. It has been proved that there are no dead bodies in it.” Anand said looking into the face of Rajesh.
“It has been proved that there are no dead bodies in it. But is it proved that there is nothing at all in it?” Sunanda asked.
There came startling expressions in the faces of Rajesh, Tanuja and Anand.
“What do you mean?” Anand asked her irritatingly.
“Just because there are no bodies in it, we cannot say there is nothing else. Something we cannot sense with our five senses may be in it still.” Sunanda said.
Anand was about to say something more with the same irritation but then Sameera, Rose and Neeraja came there.
“It seems that you four are in some discussion.” Rose said.
These three dragged chairs near to those four and sat in them.
“Sunanda is talking something absurd.” This was what Anand wanted to say before Sameera, Rose and Neeraja came there.
“Everyone entitled his or her opinion Anand.” Rajesh said. “She expressed what she is feeling.”
“What she is feeling anyhow?” Neeraja asked.
Sunanda said to her what she has said. “And I can say what do you say. That room also just like all the other rooms and there is nothing paranormal in it.”
“I am also feeing in the same way.” Rose smiled and said. “and there is no problem whatsoever if someone feels like you.”
“You three have come here for some relaxation in this house but got very disturbing experiences. We are very sorry for that.” With a sorrowful expression in his face, Rajesh said.
“It is never so.” Rose said. “In fact I found a new angle in human psychology. I can understand how human mind feels in lonely and odd places like these. Our experiences here are not just entertaining to us but useful also.”
“What Rose said is true.” Neeraja said. “Even however much I disbelieve in paranormal, I too have strange feeling and experience here. So I understood our conscious beliefs do not prevent our involuntary feelings.”
“Do you both have any particular strange experiences here?” looking into their faces Tanuja asked them.
Rose and Neeraja looked into each other’s faces.
“Yes, we have. But we are not thinking that they were because of any paranormal.”
“Can we know what those strange experiences were?” Rajesh asked them.
“I have strange touch experience in the bathroom. It was so lifelike and I could not take it as my imagination. Still I can say it was hallucination but nothing more.” Neeraja said after few seconds’ silence.
“My daughter also has such strange touch experiences, don’t you?” looking into the face of Sameera, Tanuja asked her.
“Absolutely I have. But I am also thinking just like Neeraja. They might be just my imagination.” Sameera said. “And my seeing snake also just my imagination even however much Arjun and Madhuri want it to be real.” She laughed.
“Did you have any such strange experience?” Tanuja asked Rose.
“I was raped in the bathroom.” Rose said with a small voice.
There came shocking expressions in the faces of the people there. Neeraja also surprised on hearing that as she did not expect Rose would say it so there.
“But it was by an unseen creature. I could not see anything but everything has been done to me. It was a perfect rape by an unseen entity. But as I also not believe in paranormal, I am thinking it was just a hallucination.” Rose’s cheeks were blushed while saying that.
“My god! Horrible! We are feeling very sorry for it.” Tanuja said.
“It has happened just like in my case. I was raped in the upstairs middle room on the bed and Rose gave a wonderful explanation to it and I satisfied. The same may apply to Rose’s experience also.” Sunanda said
“But I could not see anything at all, anything! I was immobile all the time while it was happening on me. I could move my body only when it was completely over in all respects.” Rose paused for few seconds and said “Anyhow the explanation I gave to you applies in my case also. It is nothing but……” Rose tried to say something more.
“I can say what you are going to say. It is a tactile hallucination.” Sameera said.
“Sunanda’s experience was almost like a dream in both the occasions.” Sameera said again. “But your experience is appearing quite different.”
“Both Sunanda’s and Rose’s experiences are just hallucinations. Nothing more than that. There is no necessity to worry about them at all.” Neeraja said.
“I am also not an exception to this. You people know how I did feel Sasank….” Tanuja tried to say something more.
“Oh, just forget about that mom.” Sameera irritatingly said. “Yes, all of us were subjected to some sort of imagination here. Oh, sorry. In these psychiatrists opinion we are subjected to hallucinations.”
Rose and Neeraja laughed on hearing that.
“Not all of us are. I did not have any strange experience here. I think Vinod also did not subject to any strange experience so far.” Rajesh said
“Mostly ladies are prone to the strange experiences here it seems.” Anand said. He remembered about his hearing the voice of Mallika but did not want to say about it.
On hearing that the cheeks of the women there were blushed. “Don’t talk like that. What about Vinod? It is not so he has no strange experience. How he imagined Malathi?” Tanuja yelled angrily.
“My mom is right. Aravind also has some strange imagination. It relates to his shadow world I think” Sameera said. Aravind said about his imagining his aunt Mulki and bad angel Mukinni to Sameera. Momentarily she did not want to believe what Aravind said about his imagination.
“Alright, alright. I am sorry.” Anand felt guilty while he was trying to appear as he did not have any strange experience there.
“We wish that we can pass this night without any hallucinations like these.” Neeraja said.
“Considering our day experiences here, I am not hoping it like that. We may have to be disturbed to some extent in the night time also.” Sameera said.
“Alright we shall be prepared to that.” Rose smiled. “Anyhow we did not have any damage with our experiences in the day time. First we should stop feeling fear.” Rose said.
“It is the best decision I can say.” Tanuja said.
“If you know the strange experiences that Dr.Rose has in her life, you don’t feel surprise at all at her attitude. They made her courageous like this.” Sameera said. “Just before in her room she shared those experiences with me.”
“She shared her experiences with me and Rajesh also.” Tanuja smiled and said.
“Oh, Sameera. I am not more courageous than any of you. Even after having such experiences, none of the women here felt fear. I real feel very much surprise for it.” Rose said.
“What Rose said was true. The women here are really courageous. I never have expected that these people do become ready again to come here after having such experiences in our last visit here.” Anand said.
“Please don’t say like that. If you say so I lost the right to feel fear. In fact I am feeling fear now.” Sunanda said.
“How many times I have to say to you Sunanda. You are not alone here. What happens to you among this many number of people?” with an irritating expression in his face, Anand asked her.
“Most of you people were with me on our last visit also. But none of you could prevent me from having strange experiences here. None of you could save me from the brutal rape. None of you could save from being possessed by that Sasank.” Sunanda said.
“What you have said? What is that you possessed by Sasank?” with a surprising expression on her face, Rose asked her.
“Have you forgotten? It also has been written in the book ‘A Mansion of Illusions’.” Sameera said.
As they were talking like that, Aravind came there and slumped himself in a nearby chair to them. He asked Sameera what they were talking then and Sameera briefed him.
“Yes, you are right. Now I remembered that incident. Aravind did that job of exorcising that devil from you then.” Rose smiled and said.
“I did not do any exorcising just because Sunanda was not possessed by any devil at that time.” Aravind smiled and said. “It is just a technique used by people like me when other people imagine themselves as possessed by devils and behave like possessed by devils.”
“That means in your opinion I have not been possessed by any devil at that time but imagined all that.” Sunanda angrily said.
“Even you get angry that is the truth in my opinion.” Still smiling Aravind said.
“If Aravind himself said like this there is no necessity to doubt it.” Tanuja said.
As they were all talking like that Viond has become all alone on the upstairs middle room. Aravind did not like Vinod being all alone on the upstairs room. He remembered how he imagined Malathi there. He slowly got off from the chair and went onto the upstairs again.
(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.)
