Laughter in Darkness
A suspense, romantic and psychological thriller
By
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“You might have forgotten what Rose said before. Sometimes people do become mad late in their lives. It is called as Paraphrenia.” Neeraja said.
“Anyhow if we examine that Ratnam carefully and closely observe his family history, we sure do know the reasons for it.” Sunanda suggested.
“I cannot agree to this at all.” Rajesh said. “In the brief period of our stay here we cannot do that much. I don’t think that his family members also would agree to it.”
“That is also true” Vinod nodded his head.
“One important thing Dr.Rajesh. I suddenly remembered it.” Rose said. “Ratnakar was alive on the day of grandma’s death and her cremation.”
“Yes, he became completely mad I think but he was alive at that time.” Rajesh said.
“Did he come here to see grandma then?”
“No, he did not come.” Rajesh nodded his head in negation. “Ratnam said they have to put him in a room and locked him and not to allow him to come out even for a brief period of time. Ratnam said his father’s madness reached its peak on that day and there was no option to them then except that. And we leave this place without seeing him at all after grandma’s death.”
“Was he informed atleast that grandma was dead?” with a whisper like voice, Rose asked.
“I cannot say. After few years of that incident he also died.” There was uneasiness in Rajesh’s voice. “But I fear that Ratnakar could know about grandma’s death without being told by anyone and that was what made his madness reached its peak.”
All of them were startled at once as there was an ear-deafening thunderclap nearby and a heavy downpour started once again.
&&&
Anand was all alone relaxing himself on the bed in the upstairs first room. He felt little fear to spend time all alone in the middle room there after Sunanda has got such an experience in it. However much it was appearing as the imagination of Sunanda or some hallucination as said by those psychiatrists, she has got it in the same room on the same bed two times. Anand could not completely disbelieve spirits. Even that ghost could not do such an atrocity on him, there was a chance that it would trouble him in some other way.
The incidents that were taking place making him quite uneasy. Sameera saw the same black snake, it has been said by the grandmother in the séance that they all should leave the house immediately then itself and Sunanda has got an experience like that! He was thinking that it would be quite better to go away from that place immediately but he knew it was not easily possible. He was remembering all the horror movies he saw in which all the characters in it were dead overnight. ‘Is it going to happen here also like that?’ his heart beat increased. He closed his eyes inviting sleep. Then the ear-splitting thunderclap and the heavy downpour took place once again. The sound of the downpour was very much disturbing and it was appearing impossible to sleep at that time.
“First you have me against my wish and then made me commit suicide.”
Anand felt as if he received an electric shock! He opened his eyes and sat straight on the bed. He heard it in the sound of that rain and it was so clear. Mallika! She was talking with him.
“You bastard! You murdered me in fact. If you did not do it to me, I would not have committed suicide at all.” Mallika was weeping then.
“But it is not only with me you did that mistake.” Anand’s voice shivered.
“Scoundrel! Rascal! I did not feel guilty when I did it with that other man. But when I did it with you, such a young boy and brother of my close friend, I could not bear that guilty feeling. You got it from me again and again.” Mallika was terribly weeping.
“I am sorry….I am sorry…” Anand mumbled. “I should not have compelled you so. Please pardon me.”
“You sure do suffer for what you did. You cannot escape.” Still Mallika was saying and weeping.
She was saying the same thing again and again weeping loudly. He was hearing her voice so clearly and it could not be his imagination.
Anand covered his face with both of his palms and slumped himself in the chair there as he could not tolerate those accusations anymore. His heart filled with an uncontrollable guilty feeling. He started weeping bitterly. He just did not know how much of time was passed.
“Brother what happened?”
Aanand heard the voice of Aravind and turned back. Aravind stood on the back of Anand and squeezed his right shoulder with his right hand.
“What happened you are bursting yourself like this?” Aravind also slumped in a chair after dragging it opposite to Anand.
“My god! She is here now in this place.” Controlling his weeping Anand said with a voice like whisper.
“Who is she and why she is here?” Aravind knitted his brows together.
“Mallika! She committed suicide because of me.” Anand leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.
“She committed suicide because of you? I just cannot understand anything at all.” with a shocking expression in his face Aravind said.
“Telling this to you may unburden me a little.” Then with an uneasy expression in his face Anand told Aravind how he managed to have Mallika and why she committed suicide later.
“I never can support what you did, Anand. I never can support.” Aravind said. “You did such a ghastly thing and caused death of her!”
“But she was not that much of a good woman. She did that mistake….” Anand tried to say something more.
“Don’t try to support yourself so. That makes you feel even more guilty. Just accept the fact! You did a grievous wrong. There is no doubt at all. There is reason in her feeling anguish so.” Aravind severely said.
Anand did not say anything. His face filled with a distressing expression.
“She has the feeling that you were the brother of her close friend. She tried to stop you but you did not listen.” Aravind said. “There was a reason for her doing that mistake with that other man. But she was conscious all the time that you were so young and brother of her close friend. She felt it was very bad doing a mistake like that with you and killed herself.”
“You are right. I agree with you. She never excuses me. It is surprising that she has come here also.” Anand’s voice also was with deep depress.
“In the rainy sound we imagine voices like that. Subconsciously your mind is always with the guilty feeling that you caused death of her. It is seeing just for an opportunity like this to outpour. So now you have imagined the voice of Mallika in the sound of this heavy downpour just as Sunanda imagined her mother’s voice.” Aravind said. “If you say this to your father in law or to those two psychiatrists, they do say it is auditory hallucination.”
“There was downpour in before also. Why I have not imagined like this then? Why suddenly now?”
“We just cannot say why our mind behaves in a specific way. We never can understand our mind completely. It is the most complex thing in the entire universe.” Aravind said.
“What should I do? What would be the reparation to the wrong I committed?” Anand asked Aravind looking with lot of worry in his face.
“See yourself that you would never do such a mistake again. No other person, either male or female, should suffer because of you in future.”
Anand remained silent for sometime. “But how can I make Mallika peaceful? It is appearing that she is very much angry with me.”
“There is no Mallika either here or anywhere. You have imagined her voice like that in the sound of the rain. If Mallika is here…” Aravind paused for a moment and said. “She sure would have contacted us in that séance.”
&&&
“Would you both remain calm or do we have to through you out of this house?” Sameera asked Arjun and Madhuri angrily as they were creating lot of clamor in the room of Rajesh and Tanuja.
“Let them go to their fathers. Now let it be their turn as we have suffered with these both till now.” Sunanda said.
“Both of them are upstairs now. In this heavy downpour how we can send these two devils there?” Sameera irritatingly said.
“I never have thought that I do feel fear to rain also.” Tanuja said. “I must tell both of you girls, it is just like this rain is trying to say something to us.”
“Then listen carefully and tell us what it is saying.” With the same irritation Sameera said. “We all are already feeling fear. You need not make it more talking like that.”
“You just stop feeling fear to each and everything Samee.” Sunanda said. “Aunty expressed just her feeling.”
“Oh, when you have become this much courageous?” Sameera laughed looking into the face of Sunanda.
“We are getting bore staying here with you people doing nothing. You don’t know even any stories to tell us.” Madhuri said.
“That Emily sister is so much better. She told us lot many good stories. May we both go to her now?” Arjun asked his mother looking into her face.
Sameera and Sunanda looked into each other’s faces.
“That girl is in their room with her mother and that Neeraja. They sure would be felt disturbed if we send our wards into their room now.” Sameera said.
“Moreover I am not thinking that it is wise that we let these both spend more time with her. She is appearing different.” Tanuja said.
“No, Emily, Neeraja and Rajesh are in the verandahh itself. They are talking in themselves. I saw them when I went into the bathroom and coming back. Send these both to them no problem.” Sunanda said.
“Then go. Just stay with your grandpa and that Emily”
Arjun and Madhuri ran away from that place as soon as they have been left by Sameera.
“Now I am feeling very much peaceful whatever you may say.” Hissing out heavily, Sameera said.
“You don’t remember but you both also used to eat us just like this.” Tanuja laughed. “Your children just resembled you in all respects.”
“That séance, I just cannot say whether it was a success or failure.” Sunanda said. “Are you really thinking that we behaved so just because of some psychological disturbance in us?”
“Did you start this once again? It was a mistake that we have allowed that séance so. If there was no such thing conducted, we would have been so peaceful now.” Sighing heavily Sameera said.
Then Sunanda looked into the face of Tanuja. “What you are thinking aunty?”
“I am thinking not to broach that subject at all. Please don’t talk about it. I am feeling quite uneasy.” Tanuja said.
There was ominous silence among them then until it was broken by Sameera.
“Mom, if you don’t think I am making you feel more and more fear, I want to ask you something.” Sameera said.
“I am already feeling maximum fear and I don’t think by anything it can become more. Just tell me straight whatever you want to say without any hesitation.” Sighing heavily Tanuja said.
“Was grandma completely dead by the time fire was put to her body? Did not we by mistake cremated her while she was alive?”
The three of them startled at once not just by that thought but by a ferocious thunderclap nearby also. But this time there was only a drizzle.
(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.)
