Suspense Short Story – But the candles burnt
Photo Credit: www.cepolina.com
Soaked in sweat I couldn’t help but…
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It was a mid-July day last year with monsoon at its peak that this happened. I woke up in the morning to the clashing thunder with flash of lightning desperate enough to strike through the earth at its center. The morning was blue with darkness resembling a moonless night. No, I don’t recall seeing such a morning earlier. Still inside my thin yet cozy blanket, I felt the cold breeze that blew into my room and brushed through my hair. I don’t remember how long I kept staring across the window and admiring the day carried away with day-dreams before I slept off again.
I felt terribly hungry as I was finally out of bed. The clock marked well past two o’ clock. A quick search in the refrigerator didn’t help me as it was loaded with uncooked stuff and by no means was I in a mood to cook. I therefore made myself some coffee and slipped into the chair that hung from my balcony. I looked at the rain sloshed nature around me and deeply felt the pleasant petrichor of the post-rain.
The evening set in before it was expected and I being completely bored of being inside for an entire day, decided to take a stroll. Nature had a different plan though. A drizzle started all of a sudden with mild roaring clouds but heavy lightning. I was not very far from my home and so decided to rush back. I unlocked the door and before I made my way into the hall, the electricity went off…
******
The candles in all the rooms were lit. The windows were opened to let the room airy. Now that I felt voracious, I made some quick snacks for me in the candle light. Coffee was due again owing to the beautiful weather. The half-lighted-half-dark rooms seemed to play with the shadows of many objects that found place in the room. A smile flashed my lips as the food soothed my taste buds with occasional sip of the coffee. My thoughts were not consistent, not that I wanted them to be so at the moment. I walked down the hall indolently. The rain trickled down the windows. The darkness loomed and I suddenly felt someone at my door ready to enter. The shadows on the walls on a rainy day like this were enough to bring an uncanny feeling. I ignored the otherwise disturbing thought and stood at the window. The flickering headlights on the distant highway, the breeze mild now and the rain that had almost stopped lured me into a different world, far away from the daily life. I took the last sip of the coffee and after a few moments more by the window, I turned back to take away the empty dish and cup to the kitchen. A lightning suddenly flashed across the streets. As I was moving towards the room again, the electricity was restored.
******
I stood with my mouth wide open trying hard to believe what I saw. I could feel the eeriness still in my spine. My mind went blank and I could not find a rational explanation of the situation. I was still outside the door waiting to make my way to the hall. The clock said I had been standing there, at the same place for almost forty-five minutes.
…soaked in sweat I couldn’t help but rush towards the kitchen. Everything was in place just as they were before I left for the evening stroll. However, water dripped from a cup and a plate that hung from the utensil-case above the sink as if they have been recently washed. I sat down on the sofa trying hard to recall when I last washed the utensils. Fear-struck, I took another glimpse across the room which seemed perfect except the burning candles, the candles that I never lit.
The only feeling that made me realize that I still belong to a real world was that I still felt hungry.
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