Laughter in Darkness
A suspense, romantic and psychological thriller
By
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
Everyone there was looking surprisingly at them both then. Rose was feeling too much shame and embarrassment to stay there anymore.
“Come with me.” Dragging Emily angrily from there Rose went away fast from that place.
“Emily is suffering from a psychological problem. Don’t care what she has said.” Neeraja said with a troubling expression in her face. “If you people don’t mind, I meet you people later.” Neeraja also felt embarrassed to stay there. She also slowly went away from that place.
&&&
“It seems that you are still worrying about the thing why there were no dead bodies in that room” once they were entered into their room, Rajesh asked Tanuja.
“What is there to worry about it? It is indeed a very good news.” Slumping herself in one of the chairs near to the bed Tanuja said. “I am worrying about with what that Emily has said.”
By then Sameera settled on the bed with her son Arjun and Rajesh dragged a chair near to his wife and sat in it. “We have decided that we are not going to worry about whatever that Emily has said. Why you are still thinking about it?”
“I still cannot understand why she has suddenly talked like that. It is so much disturbing to me.” The fearful expression in Tanuja’s face was intensified even more.
“Her mother herself agreed that Emily is suffering from some psychological disorder. Why still you are worrying about what she has said?” Sameera asked her mother.
“I cannot say. I cannot take that Emily’s words easily.” Sighing heavily, Tanuja said.
“You are talking about that Emily sister?” looking into his mother’s face, Arjun asked her.
“Yes, we are talking about her.” Looking into his son’s face keenly Sameera said.
“She is very clever and nice. She knows lot many things.” Arjun said.
“Yes, we are also of the same opinion.” With an irritating expression, Sameera said.
“She never says lies. If she says something about something, it would be hundred percent true.” Arjun said.
“I did not ask for your opinion” Sameera looked into her mother’s face with a smile. “Did my son make your fear even more?”
“Indeed he did.” Tanuja said. “He is talking as perfect as that Emily did! He is not appearing as a five years boy to me.”
“Mommy, please” Sameera laughed. ‘I just don’t know how to make you understand!” she said with a helpless expression in her face.
“Tanu, it is almost dusk. How long we are going to stay here? We do leave this place before eight tomorrow morning. Do you need to worry this much for this single night?” there was an irritating expression in Rajesh’s face.
“Alright, alright, I am not going to worry about it anymore at all.” Tanuja forced a smile onto her lips.”Now we think about the main issue. Really we have been relieved from a big problem! All these days we have just been unnecessarily worried thinking that there were dead bodies in that room.”
“Might be there were dead bodies in that room at one time.” Rajesh said. “Otherwise why did my grandma obstruct my father from opening the upstairs room on that day? They would have been changed from there to some other place or cremated or burned on a later day.”
“You are right dad.” Sameera nodded her head. “I am also not thinking that the dead bodies in that room was not just a rumor.”
As they were talking like that Aravind entered into that room.
“We are all feeling very much relieved as we did not find any dead bodies in that room.” Sameera said. “How you are feeling about it?”
“Just in the same way” Aravind smiled and said.
“Are not you feeling fear with what that Emily has said?” looking surprisingly into his face, Tanuja asked him.
“What her mother said about her is true. She is suffering from a psychological disorder. We need not worry about much with what she has said.” Aravind said.
“Oh, you relieved me from another great worry.” With lot of relief in her face, Tanuja said.
“What is the necessity to feel that much worry? We are going to leave this place early morning tomorrow. At the most we are going to stay in this house for another fourteen hours or so.” Aravind said.
“Even seconds are enough to put our lives into danger.” Tanuja really did not want to say like that but the words have come out just like that from her mouth.
Then they heard another earsplitting thunderclap nearby and sound of drizzle.
&&&
“Oh, Rose. Don’t ask Emily anything now. Just don’t care with whatever she has said. Whatever she may talk, just don’t worry about it at all. We are all going to start from here early morning tomorrow.” Once they three entered into their room, before Rose pounced on Emily with outrage, Neeraja stopped her and said.
“But….but…why the bloody hell she said it like that? I just could not look into any of their faces. This girl just did not know in how much of embarrassment she put me in.” with anguish in her face, Rose said.
“I am sorry mom. I really did not have any intention to put you in embarrassment.” With deep worrying expression in her face, Emily said. Weeping was only less to her.
“Emily you agree I love you a lot.” Looking into her face straight, Rose asked her suddenly.
“Yes, I agree.” Emily nodded her head.
“You also love me that much.” Without changing her gaze, knitting her brows together, Rose asked her again.
“You need no doubt mom.” Emily said with firmness.
“Then you tell me something. Are not you doing all this for fun? Are not you doing it to get some sort of thrill?” Rose asked her straightly.
“No, mom. Never.” Emily almost yelled. “Are you thinking that I do get any sort of thrill by making my mom anxious like this?’
“Oh, my god!” Rose slumped herself in the chair there and said. “If you said that you did all that for fun, I would have felt happy.”
“I can say with what you are worrying now.” Neeraja said. “You are feeling fear that Emily is started suffering from another sort of psychological disorder.”
“Exactly!” Rose hissed out anxiously. “That is what I am thinking and feeling fear.”
“Can any problem be solved by feeling fear Rose? What would be the use in making yourself anxious like this?” looking into her face, Neeraja asked her.
Rose nodded her head helplessly. “I just don’t know what to say.”
“But I know what to do.” Neeraja said. “Become that famous reputed psychiatrist again. Stop thinking that Emily is your daughter. Look at her problem as a psychiatrist look at.”
Rose involuntarily smiled and looked into the face of Emily.
“Oh, mom, you are smiling!” Emily laughed. “You are so beautiful when you are smiling.”
“That means I am not beautiful when I am not smiling.” Mocking a serious expression on her face, Rose said.
“My mom is always charming!” Emily got off from the bed, put her both hands around Rose’s neck and kissed on her right cheek.
“That is the power of smile Rose. A small smile on lips changes a lot.” Neeraja said.
“You are absolutely right Neeraja.” Rose nodded her head. “Not just in what you have said now, but in what you previously said also. Yes, I am now a psychiatrist Rose again.”
“Am I your patient again then?” Emily looked into her face.
“Yes, you are, my dear.” Rose said. “If what you have said is true, you did not talk all that just for fun, you have to be my patient again.”
“Mom” Emily took Rose’s right hand into her hands and said “With whatever position I may be with you, certainly I can enjoy that.”
“No psychological disorder lasts long” Neeraja said. “if there is a good relationship like this between the psychiatrist and her patient.”
Rose was about to say something more, then Sameera entered into that room along with Arjun.
“I am very sorry that I have entered into your room like this.” Looking into the faces of the three there Sameera said. “Arjun insisted on seeing Emily. So I have to come like this.”
“My mom, dad and grandparents are just unfit in giving me some entertainment.” Arjun said “They don’t know even half the stories that Emily knows.”
All of them laughed on hearing that. “Come with me. I tell you as many stories as you want once again. Where is that Madhuri?”
“She is just in the verandah eating her mother’s brain away. Sunanda would feel just too glad to handover her to you.” Sameera said.
“Alright then.” Emily nodded her head and took Arjun out of that room.
“Your daughter is really very much cute.” Settling herself in the chair there which was vacated by Rose as she went onto the bed there, Sameera said. “Moreover she became a great help to us in entertaining our kids. If your daughter has not been here, I just don’t know how much my son and that Madhuri ate our brains away.”
“Emily is talkative and sociable. She loves kids and plays with them a lot.” Rose said. “Anyhow I am very sorry for the way she talked in that room. I just don’t know why she talked like that.”
“Just forget about that.” Sameera said. “Sometimes our subconscious forces us to talk like that. How that Sunanda and I talked in that séance? In Emily’s matter also it just has happened so.”
Rose and Neeraja looked into each other’s faces. “Are not you thinking that those spirits have talked through you both in that séance?” Neeraja asked her.
There came a troubling expression on the face of Sameera. “Even it appears just like that, I am unable to believe in spirits. Still my consciousness is troubling to believe in them.”
“Alright Samee. It is better we don’t talk about it much.” Neeraja said. “It may lead to contradicting views.”
“Everyone has a right to have his own view and express them. I know that you don’t believe in any paranormal and I respect it.” she paused for a moment and said. “In fact I too don’t have any belief in paranormal for a long time. But some incidents in my life forced me to believe in paranormal.” Sameera said.
“Just like in my in case.” Rose sighed heavily.
“That means you do believe in paranormal!” with a surprising expression in her face Sameera said. “Even you have participated in séance, I did not think you do believe in any of them.”
“Atleast I can’t disbelieve paranormal completely.” Rose said. “Just like in your case, I am also forced to believe in paranormal.”
“I want to know what exactly made you believe in paranormal Samee.” Neeraja asked her.
“To be frank, not very much convincing incidents happened. That is why I am still having trouble in believing in paranormal.” Sameera said. “For example, my seeing the snake in the kitchen. If it was a real snake how that fast it could move away. I have seen the same snake in our room also. I have got the strange touch experience in the middle room. Moreover, I cannot say that our talking like that in that séance completely some subconscious nonsense. We have had some experiences like these in this place at our last time visit also nine years back.”
“I agree with you. The present state of your feeling towards paranormal is quite reasonable.” Rose said.
“Now may I know what that was forced you to believe in paranormal?”adjusting herself in her chair, Sameera asked.
(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.)
