Laughter in Darkness
A suspense, romantic and psychological thriller
By
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“This is too much Emily. How do you don’t remember any of that? You appeared all normal all that time. Suddenly why did you become like that and talked like that? You did it willfully. You wanted to make him feeling fear by talking like that, are not you?” looking straight into the face of Emily, Neeraja said.
“No, I have no intention whatsoever like that” Emily said with firmness in her voice. “Whatever you may say, I can say only one thing to you. I did not do that intentionally. In fact I did not know what I have talked. It was just like something entered into me and made me talked so.”
Rose looked anxiously into the face of Neeraja. “That means….” Rose tried to say something.
“You stop thinking like that.” Neeraja said and looked into the face of Emily. “Emi, from now on you are going to spend your whole time only with us both. You are not going to talk anything with anyone. If you feel oddly anywhere, just let us know and we come into this room immediately.”
“Alright. I have no objection whatsoever to that.” Emily nodded her head and said.
&&&
As soon as the three entered into that room Vinod laid his back on the bed there while Anand and Aravind slumped themselves in the chairs.
“This room also as much good as the other room now. This bed also very much comfortable.” Enjoying the smoothness of the bed Vinod said.
“Don’t talk loud.” Anand said. “Your granddaughter and Aravind’s son are in the next room itself eating away the minds of their respective mothers. If they hear us they come into this room and start eating ours.”
“Impossible guys!” Aravind laughed and said. “They ate away my brain about the snake which Sameera saw and I said to them it is in middle room upstairs. So they went straight there.”
“They might have found it out that there is no snake in that room by now and come into this room at anytime for it. They both are very much interested in seeing it. If they have seen it instead of Sameera, the response would have definitely different.” Anand said.
“Why Sameera imagined a snake in that kitchen not understood to me.” After some silence, Anand said. “She always appears quite healthy physically and mentally also.”
“By the time when she entered into that kitchen I am hundred percent sure that she was thinking about the snake which has seen on that day. Her mind was with full of that snake’s memory. So quite involuntarily she imagined a snake entered into that kitchen once again through the window.” Aravind said.
Vinod said. “She was subjected to visual hallucination.”
“I think you have said something like this on that day also. You said something more too but I cannot remember that now.” Aravind said.
“Visual hallucination means seeing the things which are not actually there. When she entered into the kitchen and looked at the same place, her subconscious forced that memory onto the surface and caused that visual hallucination to her.” Vinod said.
“You psychologists and psychiatrists do have an explanation like this with everything that relates to our experiences.” Anand irritatingly said.
“I know you people feel like that. That is why I don’t try to interfere and tell the reasons behind your experiences so far.” Vinod laughed.
There was some silence until it was broken by Anand. “Anyhow I came to know about a wonderful meditation technique from Aravind.” he said.
“What that is?” Vinod sat straight on the bed and looked into the faces of both of them. Anand explained to him the meditation technique he learnt from Aravind while Aravind observing them both with a smile on his lips.
“It indeed appears like a peculiar meditation technique! I also sure do try to put this technique into use.” Vinod said.
“Every meditation is mainly concerns with controlling of the mind I think.” Anand said.
“No, meditation mainly concerns with understanding of mind. Not controlling the mind. If you try to control the mind it becomes even more restive.” Vinod said.
“I cannot understand this. What is understanding of the mind? What exactly this mind is?” Anand asked.
“You asked a very pertinent question.” With an appreciative look Aravind said.
“Then why don’t you explain that? You can do it better than I, I am thinking.” Vinod said.
“No sir. You have to do that. I just want to listen this time.” With a smile on his lips, Aravind said.
“Alright, Anand ever you have heard anywhere what mind is?” Vinod asked him.
“I heard the famous saying mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts. Thoughts do mean a continuous inner conversation in our mother tongue all the time.” Anand said.
“If it is so, mind is more than thoughts. Because there are imaginations, feelings also in us besides inner continuous conversation. Se we have to take these imaginations, feelings and inner conversation under the word thought.” Vinod said.
“You are absolutely right.” Anand nodded his head and said.
“Collectively these imaginations, feelings and inner conversations are taken as mind. Mind comprise all these. Just like our body, our mind also has specific characteristics. Just like our body, our mind also follows its nature without fail. As we never can make our body stop from following its nature, we cannot stop our mind also from following its nature.” Vinod said.
“Why cannot we stop our mind from following its nature?” Anand asked him.
“Can you stop your palm perceiving the heat of a burning charcoal when it has been put on it? Can you stop your bottom perceiving the hardness or smoothness of the place you sit? Can you stop your body from perceiving the coolness or hotness in the environment? Can you stop your ears from hearing the sounds around? Can you stop your eyes from seeing the things before them when they are opened?” Vinod asked him.
“No that is impossible.” Anand nodded his head and said. “We never can stop the body from doing its duty or following its nature.”
“In the same way feeling envy, jealousy, anger, fear, happiness, frustration, joy, etc. are the nature of your mind. Whatever you may do you just cannot stop your mind from having those feelings. Certain incidents sure do create anger in you, you cannot stop your mind from feeling anger then. Your mind feels envy, jealousy, fear, happiness, frustration, joy, etc. depending upon the situation then. You sure do feel envy if your neighbor has become very much rich overnight. Suddenly if a tiger appears before you, you feel fear. In this way you cannot escape from the other feelings depending upon the situation.” Vinod said and paused for a moment before continuing as if to reiterate what he was going to say.
“That means you cannot control your mind. You cannot make your mind not to feel anger, envy or any other negative or positive feeling. It follows its nature just like our body follows its nature. But you can understand mind. When you become angry and you can understand it is just a natural emotion of your mind, it gradually goes away. When you understand anger as one of the nature of mind, you don’t act basing on that. It is just like with other feelings also. When you understand envy, jealousy, anger, frustration, etc. are part of nature of your mind, you don’t act basing on them however much they demand you to do so. You just act in the required manner. Yes, meditation does help in understanding the mind and not to react in haste basing on the several feelings it would get. But it does not stop the mind entirely from having the feelings and it does not control or discipline the mind.” Vinod said.
“I think I understood it in full. It is indeed very useful thing in my opinion. I have not thought in this way ever before.” With an appreciative look in his face, Anand said.
“What Anand said is absolutely true.” Aravind also nodded his head and said.
Anand was about to say something more and then Sameera, Sunanda, Arjun and Madhuri entered into that room.
“What you three are doing here?” looking at them three, Sunanda asked.
“What else? Chitchatting in between ourselves.” Looking at them Anand said.
“Have you found the snake in that room?” looking into the face of Arjun, Aravind asked him.
“You cheated me. There was no snake in that room.” Arjun said.
“So it is you who said to them so and sent them into our room.” Looking at them angrily, Sameera said.
“We have waited in that room for that snake to come but it did not.” Madhuri said.
“If you people are waiting for it like that, it never does come.” Anand said. “It comes into the lonely places where there are no people.”
“Then we search in the lonely places of this house for that snake.” Madhuri said.
“I myself not sure that I have seen a snake in that kitchen. Why do you both obsessed this much to find that out?” Sameera asked them.
“You are not sure that you have seen a real snake there?” looking into his mother’s face, Arjun asked her.
“That is what I am saying. I am thinking that I have imagined that snake.”
“Then dad, how did you say you have seen the snake going into upstairs?” then looking into his father’s face, Arjun asked him.
“I am afraid that I also imagined it just like your mom.” Aravind said keeping a serious expression in his face.
“Then all our efforts to find that snake in this house are waste. We may better stop them from now on itself.” Madhuri said.
“That is the wisest idea I am thinking.” Arjun said.
“We are going downstairs.” Saying so Sameera moved away from that place. Sunanda and their children also just followed them.
When Anand and Aravind looked at Vinod, he laid his back on the bed, closed his and was trying to sleep. Anand and Aravind also leaned back in the chairs and closed their eyes. They three did not know when they fell asleep.
&&&
When Rajesh entered into their room Tanuja was sleeping on the bed. In fact Rajesh has an idea to put his back on the bed but seeing his wife so, he slumped himself in the chair nearby, leaned back and closed his eyes. However hard he tried he was remembering what Emily has said. He just could not understand why she talked like that. A fifteen years aged girl talked that perfectly was surprising to him.
Suddenly he remembered his hospital. In his three days absence or so, it would be totally on the mercy of Padmaja there. She was efficient and she could monitor the nurses and look after the patients also in the best way but he always felt fear to leave the hospital in her hands so. He wanted to contact her and talk with her but signal was not available in the phones there. He has no mood to go out and call on her.
“When you came?”
Hearing his wife’s voice, Rajesh opened his eyes and looked at that side. Tanuja sat straight and looking at the side of Rajesh.
“Just now. You may continue your sleeping.” Hissing out heavily Rajesh said.
“Enough sleep for me.” Tanuja came out of the bed and dragged a chair opposite to Rajesh and slumped herself in it. “You are appearing little distressed.” Observing his face keenly, she said.
(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.)
