HER INVISIBLE PRESENCE

Rohit was not too keen to accept his friend’s suggestion to have a planchet session that evening. Srithik , a great believer, had been insistent, “What is your problem Rohit? Are you scared? Planchet is communicating with the spirits …. truly a remarkable psychic tool…believed and used through ages!! It will be something new which you have never experienced before. And it is not as dangerous as you think”.

Rohit shifted uneasily in his chair; he was in Srithik’s house, “But why do you want to venture into this unknown area and mumbo jumbo? What do you want to achieve?”

Srithik touched his arm, “Have you forgotten the mysterious death of Sushmita, last year? She had slipped from the top of the staircase and died… broke her spinal cord! Everyone even the police thought that it was an accident, but we suspect that it could have been murder! May be it is Rupam; you know he had threatened her since she didn’t accept his overtures? Don’t you want to get justice for her?”

“So how does planchet help …?” Rohit was not convinced.

With an exasperated tone Srithik retorted, ”We may be able to find out the truth by connecting with her… speaking to her…Robert also agrees with me”

Rohit became very quiet. Nobody knew about his true feelings for beautiful Sushmita! Nobody would know his profound love …. Her death had been a great shock … as if a part of him had withered and died … !! This was raking up his personal tragedy! Srithik’s words had reopened his deep mental wounds … his sensitiveness!! He had thought that time would be the healer… after all more than a year had passed … .

But he couldn’t say no to the insistence of Srithik.

Both agreed holding of planchet session in Rohit’s house that night. A special writing planchet device with three legs would be used. Harshwad and Robert, who were friends and knew Sushmita well, would come… thus constituting four friends. It was another issue that Harshwad didn’t believe, was unwilling and highly critical of planchet.

That night they assembled in the living room …it was 11.32 pm. The winter night with fog swirling around had reduced visibility and cast eerie lights and shadows in the streets; a mystifying environment also seemed to have seeped into the room.

They all put their hand finger tips lightly on the planchet device, closing their eyes, concentrating hard for Sushmita … remembering her … wanting her spirit to come… !!

The room was in semi darkness…..time elapsed… no one spoke…they concentrated.

Suddenly there was a slight movement of the device… they opened their eyes..

“She has come…” Srithik’s quivering voice announced. “ Ask the question…”

Robert leaned forward, spoke, “Is it you Sushmita?”

The writing began on the paper…very slowly. There was slight noise of the scratch of the pencil … it read, “YES”.

“Was your death normal?”

They all waited. The word “NO” appeared on the paper.

Robert whispered “Was it murder?“. Again the noise of writing , “ YES”.

All four of them looked at each other … their expressions in the dark and light of the room were incomprehensible!!

Robert cleared his throat and with a voice slightly more audible asked “ Who killed you ?” There was a long pause, nobody moved, all eyes were on the paper… the pencil moved, ever so slightly, then wrote “ ROH” .

Then there was no more movement !! They all waited with bated breath … gradually all could perceive that the spirit of Sushmita had left .. !!

Harshwad got up and switched the light on .. the planchet device appeared to lay lifeless on the table… the last word written on the paper seemed to scream at them!

Rohit’s mind began to be in turmoil … his power of thinking was disappearing bit by bit… he couldn’t understand why that incomplete word was written indicating his name… why…why? He did not kill Sushmita … he loved her.. he would have gladly laid down his life for her.. but she had implicated him …!! Impossible!! “ROH” did not mean “Rohit”.

Tears of fear, frustration and nervousness wracked his body.. he felt that his throat was drying…

He rose and went unsteadily to his bed room and his body collapsed .

He could still hear his friends speaking in the next room…

Harshwad was saying,“I can’t believe this…”

Robert’s voice could be heard , “I think this is a very serious matter of murder…. whether you believe in planchet is not material.. we have to bring it to the notice of the police tomorrow, they should reopen this case and make further inquiries, specifically against Rohit.”

Others seemed to agree!!

Rohit floated into blissful unconsciousness – superficially asleep!!.

Time passed. Suddenly his eyes opened, his mind seemed to be clear, he looked at the bed side clock, it showed – 2.43 am. He got up and looked around. The light in his room was burning, he went to the living room, all the lights were on, there was nobody in the house .. silence prevailed. All his friends had left.

He clearly remembered the planchet… that device was still lying on the table. Gradually his fears started to return.. he was made a murderer by non else than the spirit of Sushmita … his love… when he was absolutely innocent!

Even after her death she believed that he could murder her.. how could she ? And then his friends too believed that.. there would be a police investigation …how could he prove his innocence? But would the police believe in planchet ? Nevertheless his life would be a tortuous one .. due to whom … his dead lover ?

Rohit’s head started to throb in pain … an ever increasing veil of depression was descending upon him… he couldn’t hope to fight all these… it would be better to escape for ever!

Yes , as his mind refused to think any further his option of ending it all started gaining dominance. Yes , he would not live anymore now.. he would go to the ethereal world and confront Sushmita.. ask her why had she blamed him for her murder when she knew how much he loved her ……!!

He mind mesmerized… he went to the kitchen and took a knife and placed on his left wrist .. a cut would be sufficient to bleed him to death! He closed his eyes.. gritted his teeth .. the final hit on the wrist would come.

Then all of a sudden his weary depressed mind could take it no longer.. he collapsed on the floor!!

When his eyes opened again it was morning , the golden sunshine was filtering through the kitchen window.. he was lying on the floor. Getting up he found that with the arrival of the morning he felt more composed ; he felt that he could fight the world; after all he was innocent … he would go to the police and defend himself.

Rohit was sitting on the visitors’ bench in the police station, waiting for his turn to speak to the Inspector. He watched Robert, Srithik and Harshwad as they entered the station… surely to inform the last night’s incident.

After sometime Inspector Gokhale called Rohit inside; others accompanied him at Rohit’s request.

Inspector Gokhale looked at Rohit, “ Yes , what have you to say?”

Rohit, by then overcoming his last night’s travails, started to speak but Robert intervened, “Sir can I begin … before Rohit speaks? This will help you to understand the case better.”

Robert began “ Sir this relates to the death of one Ms Sushmita on 3rd March last year by falling down from the stairs… you had investigated the matter and found that it was an accident. You had closed the matter…”

Inspector Gokhale nodded again, he remembered the case.

“Sir” Robert continued, “Yesterday night we had done planchet to find out whether Sushmita met with an accident or her death was a murder as we suspected since long. We called her spirit last night …” He stopped as Inspector’s face showed disbelief.

Robert started again, ”…. from the planchet, Sir, we came to know that the murderer could be…….”

At that instant he was stopped midway by Harshwad.

Harshwad’s face was showing strange contortion… eyes were dilated, breath was uneven, sweat was forming on his brows..

He stood up, “Inspector, I am confessing now …” his words were slurred, “I am a killer… God Help me … I had murdered Sushmita last year… “, he turned towards Rohit pointing, “..he was near her when she lost her life but he was not responsible…..”

He went down on his knees before the Inspector… hands folded… blabbering the details of his heinous crime.

Rohit sat there stunned by the unexpected turn of events… this was providential !! What happened ? Was the spirit of Sushmita convinced last night that he was not her killer.. Was it that she realized then who had really killed her and intervened to save him? She made the killer confess ? Did she do all this to accept his love from the other world?

These questions would always haunt Rohit!!

–END–

AMITAV GANGULY

12th January 2016

AUTHOR’S NOTE:- Although this is a work of fiction but since it’s invention over 150 years ago, the planchet or planchette has remained the most compelling psychic tool ever conceived. There are however varied processes involved.