It was past 11 in the night and Sumit still hadn't returned from work. Neeti was tired of waiting. He was probably still stuck in the meeting or the Mumbai traffic. He was not even taking her calls.There was nothing on TV. And there was no point cooking either. He had been to a dinner, which was more or less a business meeting and she was not hungry. Reading a magazine in bed, she slowly drifted off to sleep. Hadn't been long, when she felt someone snuggling up beside her, stroking her hair gently and holding her hand.
"Back from work", Neeti smiled to herself.
Just the loving touch of his hand made her feel so relaxed. She had been through a lot at work that day. Couldn't have asked for anything more than his warm comforting presence beside her. She just wanted to be held the entire night.
Neeti wanted to turn to face Sumit. Somehow....she couldn't. She couldn't move. As if her whole body was paralysed. And why was Sumit holding her hand so tight? She felt like complaining. Between all this, she had begun to wonder if she had really been sleeping at all. Was it a sound she'd heard? It was consistently coming from a distance. Clicking of mouse. Sound of fingers furiously at work on the keyboard. With great effort she opened her eyes. Whatever she saw made her break into cold sweat.
It was Sumit. Sitting at the table with his laptop in front of him and his back to Neeti. The monitor spread a soft glow in the room.
When did he come in? Who was beside her if it wasn't Sumit?? Neeti felt her heartbeat quickening.Chills ran down her spine. Her skin crawled. Her hand was numb and it was hurting now. She tried to jerk it free but she couldn't. Whoever was beside her, she wasn't able to see. But the presence was unmistakable. Her heart was thumping so loudly that she could feel it in the tips of her fingers. Horrified, she tried to move again but it was as if she was bound by ropes. Even her eyeballs couldn't move. Her gaze was fixed on Sumit.
"Please Sumit TURN. Turn..turn ...turn." A feeling of utter despair ran through her. She tried to yell.All she wanted was to be shaken awake so that she would get out of this horrible dream. If it was one.
"Sumit. Sumiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitt". Her lungs suddenly felt devoid of air. She needed air.
Not even sure if she had heard her own voice, she tried again. Her voice was a whisper in her own ear. Nothing came out.With all her might she tried again. Nothing.
The grip on her hand had suddenly loosened. Gathering all her strength, she tried one last time. She sat up choking and wheezing. Hearing her, Sumit stood up with a surprised look on his face.
The grip on her hand had suddenly loosened. Gathering all her strength, she tried one last time. She sat up choking and wheezing. Hearing her, Sumit stood up with a surprised look on his face.
"What happened? Neeti..Neeti are you okey?" looking worried he handed her a glass of water.
She drank half ...spilled half and hid her face in her hands. He heard she was sobbing and pulled her close.
"Shhhhhh....bad dream...bad dream."
"It was not...... a dream. There was....someone. Some..one", Neeti managed to say between sobs, still clinging on to him.
"Just a nightmare baby. Don't cry Neeti. Calm down. I'm here right next to you. You were sleeping so I didn't wake you up", stroking her hair gently he tried to soothe her.
"Acha look at me now. Don't cry baby. You are my strong girl hmm??", he held her face up.
She looked up at him and froze. Her eyes widened with horror. Letting out a shrill cry, she pushed him and started crawling back towards the edge of the bed. Suddenly she felt her body levitate, held by some unseen force, which threw her right into the ceiling.
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There was a crowd outside flat 205. A young woman was found murdered under mysterious circumstances. In the morning, finding no answer to her constant bell ringing and door banging, the maid had alerted the neighbors. Police broke open the door. It was locked on the inside. When they got in they cudn't let anyone else follow in after them. The scene inside was unusually horrifying for common man's eye, the policemen being no exception to that. The ceiling fan was spinning slowly. Half of the woman's body still hung on it with one of the fan blades sticking through it.The other half lay on the bed. Walls were splattered with blood.
Sumit was distraught with grief. He had been in police custody all night. He was speeding home and accidentally ran over a man. He was pulled over by police patrol and arrested on hit and run charge. All night he'd been trying to call Neeti but couldn't get through. Her cell was switched off. The man he'd run over had succumbed to injuries and Sumit was left to wonder if he'd been punished for what he'd done, by the powers that be. Natural or supernatural.
Sumit was distraught with grief. He had been in police custody all night. He was speeding home and accidentally ran over a man. He was pulled over by police patrol and arrested on hit and run charge. All night he'd been trying to call Neeti but couldn't get through. Her cell was switched off. The man he'd run over had succumbed to injuries and Sumit was left to wonder if he'd been punished for what he'd done, by the powers that be. Natural or supernatural.
5 comments:
Karthik said...
Damn! This was fabulous! :-)
It was very effective indeed. When it comes to the narration, this is your best. It really created a tremendous gravity before the terrifying truth was revealed. Spooky!
Thoroughly enjoyed it. :-)
MADHU RAO | (INDImag.COM) said...
A very gripping story ! It started good, kept the pace and did not lose steam or digress. Good work :-)
April said...
Karthik:glad i could spook you :D
Madhu: hey thanks.i tried. hope u'd come by again :)
Arpita said...
Hi! Got your blog link from Sunsilk Gang of Girls. Nice gripping story! Really liked it!! Great!
April said...
Arpita: thanks a lot. i'm glad u liked it :)