Laughter in Darkness
A suspense, romantic and psychological thriller
By
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“My god! What is happening I cannot understand?” once she was sure that Neeraja and Emily were hearing distance away, Sameera said. “Why she has talked like that?”
“She is suffering from split-personality. Just because of that she talked like that.” Anand said.
“Did not you hear? She has been cured of that disorder completely.” With an irritating expression in her face, Sunanda said.
“Who knows? She may not. That split-personality disorder might be revived in her.” Anand said again.
“I am not thinking like that. Just consider careful what she has said. Good and evil. We are all thinking that there is good and evil forces in this house. If it is not for any paranormal here, why she talked like that?” Sunanda asked.
“You consider one more thing also. She read that book ‘A Mansion of Illusions’ completely. She has thorough knowledge of everything in this house. What motivated her to talk like that I cannot say but there is no surprise in her talking so.” Anand paused for a moment and said again “Another important point. Alright we agree that there is paranormal here. What is the necessity to that paranormal to make Emily talking like that? Why it does want suggestions to be given to us through Emily?”
Sameera and Sunanda looked into each other’s faces but did not say anything immediately.
“Anyhow why our great parapsychologist Aravind is not saying anything?” Looking into his face, Sunanda said.
“There is nothing to say.” Aravind said, leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.
&&&
“It is indeed a big house. Appears quite ancestral also. Very much care would have been taken while constructing this” Rose said.
At that time except Rajesh, Tanuja and Sameera all others were in upstairs middle room.
“I think dad told you already. This house is more than hundred years old. It has been constructed by father of my great grandma. In those days there used to be many people in this house. Grandma, her parents, servants, Semanthakam…..” Sameera tried to say something more.
“I read about that in ‘A Mansion Of Illusions.” Rose said. “Semanthakam used to be with grandma’s family?” she knitted her brows together.
“I don’t think so. Anyhow he was in this house itself on the day he was murdered along with grandma’s parents and two servants.” Sameera said.
“In fact those murderers were carried out only to kill grandma and Semanthakam.” Neeraja said.
“You are right.” Sameera laughed “By this I can understand you have read that book thoroughly.”
“I did of course.” Neeraja nodded her head. “The psychological angles of the characters in it attracted me a lot. The author got success in showing the inside out of the characters in that book.”
“I must appreciate all of you for your courage.” Rose said. “One has to have guts to let the outside world to know the inside secrets of them.”
There came an uneasy feeling and embarrassment in the face of Sameera. She has looked into the face of other people there but she could not detect any odd expressions in them.
“Everyone has secrets like that. Sharing them so with the outside world gave courage to the public to put out their wrongs and make amends to it. Most people do get courage and understanding that they are not the only ones doing such types of mistakes.” Rose said.
There was silence sometime until it was broken by Vinod. “In fact we have thought that it was a purgative of our inner guilty feeling at that time. We all did mistakes and the situation was like that we have to excuse one other’s mistakes. So we let it put all that so in that book.”
“How did you get an idea to put your one day experience in this house as a book like that?” Neeraja asked him.
“I know that author very well. On one day I explained him about our experience here to him. Then he proposed to write a book with that. He talked with everyone of us here. It just reflects us, our feelings and our experiences in this house on that day as they are including our lives and what we are.” Vinod said.
There was silence once again and the uneasiness in their hearts thickened even more while the outside climate has become even more gloomy because of the thick clouds on the sky.
“What about this village? Is it is a big one?” Rose asked.
“A small village. Our grandma used to be the richest woman here. She has lands also here which are ours now.” Sameera paused for a moment before continuing again. “Grandma used to be a dearest woman to all the village people. She helped them all in their necessities. Even now also all the villagers love and like our grandma.”
“But all the time she is a mystery………..” Sameera tried to say something.
“Not only to the villagers but even to you people also.” Neeraja said.
“Once again you are right.” Sameera laughed. “But why she was so no one can understand. She was a most unfortunate woman I agree. She lost her husband and parents at her very young age itself. But why she purposefully put her own son and own grandson away from her all the time and never allowed them to stay with her is not understandable.” With a fearful expression in her face, she said.
“Her lover Nagaraju was a warlock” Anand said. “He used to adore bad angels and practice witch-cult. Surely he was behind the strange behavior of grandma.”
“First thing you tell me are you believing in which-cult, black magic, bad angels etc.?” looking into his face, Neeraja asked him.
“You do first tell me don’t you believe hundred percent in those matters?” Anand asked her.
Neeraja smiled on hearing that. “I cannot say. Anyhow I am not a strong believer in those matters.”
“Aravind why you are silent? It is the topic of your field.” Looking into the face of Aravind, Sunanda asked him.
“I don’t want to influence anyone’s feeling with my talking. Let them have their feelings intact. Whether to believe in the paranormal or not is completely upto them.” Hissing out heavily, Aravind said.
“I formed an opinion on Aravind after reading the book ‘A Mansion Of Illusions.” Rose said. “Really I do want to hear what Aravind is going to say in this regard.”
“What all I want to say now just because of our inability to believe, paranormal is not a myth. It is not just imagination of the sick minds.”
“Only this much! I have expected a lot in fact.” With a disappointing expression in her face, Rose said.
“I cannot say more than this atleast for the present.” Aravind laughed.
“Anyhow you did not let your opinion known to me.” Looking into the face of Anand, Neeraja asked him.
“I do believe in paranormal.” Anand said.
&&&
“They are all in the upstairs middle room” Tanuja said to Rajesh.
“I know about that” Rajesh said. “That is the best place to spend time. Even with a king size bed in it, it is big enough to accommodate that much people.”
“That is the most mysterious room also. Sunanda has got strange experience in that room on that day. The devil possessed her on that day in that room itself. The bed itself is a mystery in that room.” Tanuja paused a moment and said again. “Not just that. She was raped by a devil also in that room.”
“Why are you thinking like that? Sunanda just imagined all that. It was not real. Behaving like possessed by a devil is just a psychological disorder and her rape by a devil also is just like that. Nothing more than that.” Rajesh said.
“I never agree with your opinions so.” With an irritating expression on her face Tanuja said.
“If you don’t agree with my opinion, tell me what is yours?” looking into her face, Rajesh asked her. “There is some devil like thing here which caused all that, is it is not?”
“Yes, that is my opinion. In fact more than one devil.” Tanuja nodded her head.
“Then why did you agree to my repairing and renovating this house? Why did you agree to our coming here like this?” Rajesh knitted his brows together.
“I cannot say Rajesh. We are discussing the same thing again I am afraid. You have asked this before and I told you. Surprisingly I have forgotten all about those experiences on that day until I enter into this house again.” Tanuja said with a helpless expression in her face.
“Alright, alright” Rajesh nodded his head. “No grievous mistake has happened. We protected our property by repairing and renovating it. We just enjoy our one day brief stay here and go away from here. If we want we come here again, otherwise not. Don’t think much unnecessarily.”
“But you have put too much investment on this house to leave it like that.” Looking into his face, Tanuja said.
“I can afford to lose it. You don’t worry too much during our brief stay here.”
“I try” Tanuja laughed and said “Anyhow why did you leave that bed in the upstairs middle room like that? It would have been better if you changed it. I am having a different feeling in me whenever I looked at that.” Once again with an uneasy expression in her face, Tanuja said.
“You are doing the same thing despite your saying that you try” Rajesh irritatingly said. “What is the problem if that bed is there? We have used that bed a lot when we came here the last time.”
“I cannot say. Then and now also I have the same feeling that it is meant for a particular person.” Tanuja said. As Rajesh was about to ask her something, she hurriedly interrupted him and said. “Don’t ask me who is that particular person. He may be that Semanthakam or Nagaraju or for both.”
“Alright, alright. We take it so.” Rajesh laughed and said. “Then is it is not better leave that bed so for that particular person? Would not that particular person get angry if it has been moved away from there?”
“You are making my fear even more rather than lessening it.” Tanuja angrily said. “Then we are using that bed that freely which is meant for some paranormal thing.”
“I am thinking that it is better let your fear reach its peak, to its maximum height. After that it may start coming down.”
“It may not happen like that. I may get a heart attack and die in the meanwhile with the overwhelming fear.” Tanuja said.
Rajesh was about to say something then Sameera entered into that room. “What you both are arguing like this?” she went near to the bed there and sat on it.
“We are not arguing. We are just talking.” Rajesh and Tanuja exchanged glances with surprise.
“But it appeared as an argument to me.”
“No surprise. Your mother is eating my brain away.” Then Rajesh explained to her the conversation went in between him and Tanuja.
“Mom, what is this? Why do you unnecessarily eat our brains like this?” there came an irritating expression in her face.
“Where I have eaten your brain? I just poured my feeling only to my husband.” Tanuja became angry.
“Alright. I agree.” Sameera nodded her head. “Anyhow I want to confirm one thing here to you. There is no devil like thing here. There is no paranormal. Just be sure of it.”
“How you can be sure of it this suddenly? There were times you too….” Tanuja tried to say something.
(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.)
