UNEXPECTED

7 pm, Friday 2013

The thick, viscous fluid was merging with the liquid in the circular tub like thing. Slowly turning and twisting like a snake. I felt the stickiness and sliminess of the fluid on my fingertips. Yes, it was blood. Blood was oozing out of their bodies. Painfully I realized the naked truth.

‘I killed them.’

XXX

Flashback…

11.30 pm, Thursday 1960

‘Is your sister asleep?’

‘Yes, almost’ replied Lisa.

‘Ok, fine. Get me that sedative drug and that small dark brown glass bottle.’

Lisa went into the lab and returned with the drug and small bottle within five minutes.

‘But doctor she is already asleep, then why do you need that sedative? And what’s that small bottle?’

Without giving heed to Lisa’s query, Dr.Thomson Smith kept shaking the two small glass bottles in his hand. He noticed the perplexed expression on Lisa’s face.

‘So, didn’t you read what’s written on this?’

‘No doctor’.

He turned the dark brown small bottle between two fingers, showing her the white label on it.

‘Cyanide? Oh god, what are you up to? ‘ She asked with a tensed face.

‘What? Querying like you don’t know anything. Don’t you want to bid goodbye to your elder sister forever? Neither you want your sweet sister, nor do I want my loving wife, to suffer a painful, tragic death. Right?

Lisa’s tensed face changed into a wicked smile and with tongue in cheek she said,’Sure. I want that witch to sleep forever.’

‘Evelyn uses sedative drug often to get sound sleep post that fatal car accident. At times she wakes up in the middle of the night screaming. Which even you have heard several times. The visuals of her car ramming into the mile stone losing control and falling down, skidding off the cliff haunts her often.’

He walked to the arch shaped tall glass window moist with mist and facing the long empty street that led to their mansion.

With hands inside the pockets of his black cloak he talked to himself, taking a deep breath and fogging the glass window.

‘God was kind on her and retained her life, but with a scarred, distorted, ugly face that people fear to look. A fearsome reminder of the tragic accident, whenever she sees the mirror. I should’ve done something more with the car instead of just removing the brakes.’

‘Yes you should have’ said Lisa.

‘That’s exactly why I don’t want to make a mistake this time’ replied Dr.Thomson Smith turning around.

‘Evelyn lost interest in her traumatic life with a devilish face that people fear too look and choose to avoid looking at. And that’s going to continue till her end. So she decided to end the suffering committing suicide. Evelyn mixed cyanide with her sedative injection, leaving no room of doubt for her loving husband and caring sister and bade goodbye to them. Tomorrow this will be box news in the papers.’

Looking at him in joy and surprise Lisa exclaimed,’ You are a born criminal Dr.Death.’

He tightly held her close to him wrapping his arm around her waist.

Sliding his finger from her temple through her cheek and down to her chin, he asked.

‘If I am Dr.Death.Don’t you want to get the hug of this ‘death’ till your end?’

‘Yes I want.’

‘Then go get the syringe baby.’

After collecting the sedative drug in the syringe he inserted it into the dark bottle. Slowly he pulled the plunger and the poison entered the cylindrical chamber of the syringe. Raising the syringe above his head against the pale brown light of the hanging chandelier he pressed the plunger. Few tiny drops of the liquid ejected out through the minute hole of the needle of death and shined in the light. All of a sudden both looked at the wall in unison as they heard a noise.

The cuckoo clock struck 12.00 am.

‘The concoction is ready. Now it’s just a matter of minutes and Evelyn will become dearer to God. And she’ll be rotting deep inside the earth in a coffin. Let’s pray for her soul Lisa.’

‘Yes doctor. And I will light candles for her in the church and place roses on her graveyard stone this day every year’.

They smiled at each other.

The light pink curtains in the corridor leading to the bed room moved freely in the fan’s wind. Sleeping peacefully in the bed room in a white night gown, on a soft satin mattress was Evelyn. Least expecting a meeting with god soon and unaware of the plan hatched by her sister and her husband whom she loved more than her.

Slowly and stealthily he entered the bedroom with Lisa without making a noise. The syringe held carefully between his right hand fingers. They approached the bed.

‘Come on let’s bid her goodbye.’

‘Yes doctor. I wish my sister rest in peace.’

‘Now get on the bed and clutch her left hand.’

Lisa got onto the bed and got hold of Evelyn’s left hand tightly. The tight grip woke up Evelyn.

‘Hey, Lisa what are you up to? Leave me. It’s paining. Doctor, ask her to leave me. What is she doing?’

He pressed Evelyn’s right hand firmly and forcefully on the small table adjacent to the bed and the table lamp fell down.

‘No Doctor, no. I am perfectly alright.I don’t need the sedative. Please, please don’t inject it. It’s painful. Please.’

Ignoring his wife’s plea he injected the needle into the pale bluish green vein of her slender arm. Evelyn wailed in pain turning her head left and right violently and making continuous movements with her legs on the bed.

‘Smother her with the pillow, fast, else someone will come hearing her cry.’

Following Dr.Thomson’s instruction, Lisa pressed the pillow on her sister’s face asphyxiating her.

He mercilessly pressed the plunger applying maximum pressure with his thumb and inflicting excruciating pain to the poor harmless soul. Within few seconds the wailing died down and there was absolute silence in the palacious mansion. Lisa removed the pillow and he pulled the syringe from Evelyn’s vein and blood spurted out. He wiped the few drops of blood that splashed on his oval reading glasses with his thumb.

Gently he closed Evelyn’s wide open standstill eyes with his palm.

‘The job is done. Today is Friday. Sorry Evelyn wish you a happy death day and unhappy birth day’

He said wiping the blood from the tip of the syringe needle with his kerchief.

Lisa gave a sigh of relief and laughed heartily looking at her sister’s corpse.

‘Now, what’s left to do is some number crunching and give what is required to the post-mortem people and the local police to twist the reason for this murder.’

‘Yes doctor.’

Raising his wide open arms Dr.Thomson kneeled down in front of the photo of Jesus Christ on the wall.

‘Oh god, this is my holy sacrifice for you. Kindly accept this poor soul from this Abel.’

As he finished saying a church bell rang in the distance.

XXX

11.30pm, two days later.

Lisa arranged the silver cutlery on the black table in the long dining hall of their mansion. She tilted the dark green glossy glass bottle and poured red wine into the two wine glasses. Holding the two wine glasses between two fingers of both her hands, she walked to Dr.Thomson Smith, who was standing in front of Evelyn’s large oil painting hanging on the wall.

‘She was indeed a beauty, wasn’t she? Alas, the accident destroyed her face’ He said taking a sip from the glass.

‘Are you feeling guilty doctor?’

‘No Lisa, not at all. See what’s written under the painting, Mrs. Evelyn Smith, 1930-1960.I was thinking it shouldn’t have been 1960, that witch should’ve died much earlier.’

He placed his left arm over Lisa’s shoulder and held her close to him.

‘Sorry Evelyn, I love your riches and your sister more than you. Thanks a lot for leaving with us this mansion and your wealth.’

‘This is a toast to your soul. May you rest in peace under the soil, with the worms and insects infesting on your decayed body.’ And they raised the wine glasses.

‘But doctor we forgot one thing.’

‘What?’

‘Don’t you remember the expensive ruby ring in Evelyn’s finger? We forgot to take it.’

‘Don’t worry about what has gone under the earth darling. I’ll get you another one.’

Suddenly deafening thunder shook the mansion, vibrating the window pane. The wine glass fell from his hand and broke into tiny glass pieces. An electric blue streak of lighting plunged into the earth. It started raining heavily. The tall windows opened and closed continuously with a shattering sound. The chandelier oscillated in the wind. It blinked, emitting a burning sound and the power went off. The whole mansion was soaked in darkness, except lighting illuminating it at regular intervals.

‘Doctor, you wait here and please don’t move. I’ll go and get the candles.’

‘Okay dear.’

Lisa went upstairs to get the candles.

There was a knock on the front door. After a minute the frequency of the knock increased.

‘Who is this during this heavy rain and unearthly hour?’ Uttering these questions in mind Dr.Thomson opened the front door.

XXX

After few minutes Lisa returned with two lit candles in her hand. The candle light flickered in the wind.

‘Doctor, are you there? Where are you? ’

‘Hey, how come the front door is open? And where has he gone? Has he gone outside?’

Lisa pushed the door close resisting the heavy wind and rain. Slowly, taking each step precariously she made her way to the bedroom looking for Dr.Thomson.She raised the candle to look for him, but saw a stranger sitting in the chair facing the wall.

Lisa pulled back in fear.

‘Who? Who are you? How did you get inside?

The lady got up and turned showing her white complexion face. She was drenched in the rain with water dripping down through her untied jet black locks. She wrapped up her body with her arms, but was still shivering.

‘Madam, I was on my way home. All of a sudden it started raining heavily and I lost my way. I knocked on your door and Mr. Thomson let me in. I will not cause you any inconvenience. Kindly allow me to stay here tonight. I’ll leave early morning. Please.’

Reluctantly Lisa agreed the lady’s request.

‘Okay, fine. But where’s Thomson?’ Queried Lisa.

‘He just went outside to park the car in the shed as it’s raining. ‘ The lady replied.

Lisa turned and walked to the front door to call Dr.Thomson, but stopped immediately as something strange caught her eyes. Shifting her gaze to the wall she looked closely at Evelyn’s oil painting. She lifted the candle to the painting and read clearly what’s written below the painting frame.

Fear crept into her senses and she got goose bumps all over her body. It was written,

“Mrs. EVELYN SMITH, 1930 –       “

Evelyn’s death year was missing. A thunder blasted in the night sky.

Lisa felt an ice cold, wet grasp on her shoulder. She dared not to turn back and see. A cold sweat crawled down her temples.

The lady spoke,’ Madam, I want to give this back to you.’

Trembling, through the corner of her eyes Lisa saw something on her shoulder in the lady’s hand.

‘Oh, it’s Evelyn’s ‘ruby’ ring.’

Consumed in fear and confusion Lisa noticed something weird. The candle light cast only her shadow on the wall.

Mustering courage Lisa turned back and saw the fearsome scarred and distorted face of the lady.

A loud cry of fear echoed in the mansion.

X—————X

Present day…

6 pm, Friday 2013

I reached the fenced palace like building standing majestically in a one acre plot far away from other houses in the area. The gate had a wooden rectangular board, broken at it’s ends and half eaten by termites. I moved closer and wiped the dust on the board with my kerchief and read.

‘Evelyn Villa.’

XXX

Father had got transferred to this place, which required immediate shifting and we did not get any rented house. That’s how we came to know about this mansion from father’s friend Mr.Martin.This sprawling building was his ancestral property and he was trying to renovate it. As part of  renovation one or two rooms upstairs were refurbished though the rest of them were dusty and in ruins. Thus we decided to stay her for a week till we get a rented house.

It had been three days since we were in this house. But from the first day, we had been hearing stories and myths from local people, newspaper boy and everyone we met on the road. All repeatedly said one thing in common, this house is not fit for living. It’s vaastu is not correct. But we did not notice anything unusual in the house.

XXX

6.15 pm, Friday 2013

I entered the house and pushed open the tall front door that opened into two halves with a creaking sound. The moving doors dropped dust on my hair and face and I started sneezing. My sneeze echoed in the hall. We were put up upstairs and reached there through stairs outside, thus we had not yet explored the ground floor and other rooms there.

I studied the drawing room and the long dining room that followed it. The whole place was grubby and cobwebs covered the walls, corners and the chandelier that hung in the drawing room.

‘Sir’

Someone called me from behind.

It was Ramu, a 50 year old skinny man whom Mr.Martin had deployed to help us. Ramu stayed nearby and was one among those local people who was fond of spreading stories about this house.

‘Can I be of any help sir?

‘No, thanks.’

I moved around examining the showcase and other articles in the rooms, which were all in a dilapidated state.

After a pause Ramu asked me,’ Don’t you feel afraid to stay here Sir? ’.

‘Why? Are you going to repeat the vaastu thing and blah, blah?

‘No sir. But there’s another story related to this place, which Martin sir probably may not have told you.’

‘What story?’.I was inquisitive to hear that story Mr.Martin failed to tell us .

‘Many years back a doctor named Thomson Smith, his wife Evelyn Smith and her sister Lisa lived here. Thomson Smith is Martin’s sir’s ancestral uncle. This building belonged to Evelyn. But on a Friday night doctor and Lisa killed Evelyn in the bed room injecting poison.It was a cold blooded murder. Two days later doctor went missing.’

‘What about Lisa?’

‘She got admitted to a mental hospital after some time. Two days after Evelyn’s murder Lisa saw something at night that scared her. The shock left her mentally derailed. After few months Lisa was also missing. Some say she was staying in this mansion alone and they even heard maniacal laughter and howls when they passed by the road adjacent to this building.’

‘What did Lisa see that night?’

Ramu came near me and whispered in my ear in a low voice.

‘Evelyn. Back from the dead. Evelyn’s spirit.’

‘People have heard her voice too, especially on Fridays. Like ‘don’t kill me’,’ It’s painful’ etc.’

I did not believe what Ramu said , but he did evoke fear in me.

‘Today is Friday sir, please take good care of yourself. Ok, I’m leaving sir.’

Having said that Ramu left leaving me alone in the big hall.

XXX

6.30 pm, Friday 2013

Few minutes after Ramu left it started raining and darkness penetrated into the house. I walked to the wall and saw a tilted, broken oil painting covered with dust. The face of the person in it was damaged. I saw the person’s name on it.

“Mrs.Evelyn Smith, 1930-      “

‘Oh,so you are the one. But why is your death year missing Mrs. Evelyn Smith ? ’

I heard a noise behind me. I ran to the room near the dining hall, which was once a kitchen and  saw a black cat jumping   out of the window. Before jumping the cat turned and cried at me showing it’s shining green eyes.

‘Strange.’ I thought.

I explored the other rooms for next few minutes. I walked and my foot hit something on the floor. With fear I saw what it was.

A black viper crawled fast into a gap between the kitchen door.

‘Oh Gosh.The creature just missed me. This is not a house, it’s a forest.’

I started hearing a continuous irritating sound in my ears. It gave me headache.

‘Am I really hearing something . Is it a hallucination? Or is it a maniacal cry? ’

Fear overpowered me. I felt I was not alone in that house. Someone was following me, rather stalking me. Walking fast I entered a bed room, only to be welcomed by two ‘people’.

They were waiting there to inject me with that ‘needle’ like thing.I was not alone.

They advanced swiftly to get me. I ran for my life from the bed room, pushing and stamping  the articles, table and everything that came my way and reached the drawing room. I stood there panting. But they disappeared.

I closed the door and reached our room upstairs.

‘Was it a dream? Did I really see something?’

By the time I reached upstairs it had stopped raining and there was pindrop silence and pitch darkness. Even  sound of a rain drop dripping down the sunshade and  falling on a leaf was audible clearly. Amber light from the sodium vapour lamp in the street was creeping into my room through the light pink curtains.

I sat on the sofa in the white painted room lit by the dull light from the single CFL lamp above the television and switched on the TV. A slow violin music was playing an exotic raaga in the TV. But there was something strange happening. There was no wind nor rain, but the curtains were slowly rising, revealing the wet leaves of the tree through the window .The wet dark green leaves glistened in the amber light. I thought I saw someone’s shadow in the window. I turned back in fear and saw no one.The curtains kept rising again. A lizard chirped breaking the silence. I trembled.

‘No, enough is enough. I’m going overboard speculating things and hallucinating. I must get out of this.’

I opened the pipe in the washbasin to wash my face.With a hissing sound warm  air escaped through the pipe nozzle and resonated in the basin cavity.

‘Oh, God. No water.’

The old rear view mirror of our car that I had placed in the wash basin showed me  I had two ‘people’ for company in the mirror view.

‘OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR’ was written in the mirror.

Recoiling in horror I turned and saw them inches away,ready to stab me with that pointed thing.

They fell into that circular tub like thing owing to my blow. By then it was 7 pm.

XXX

7.05 pm, Friday 2013

‘They are dead. I killed them. Should I cover it up?’

Footsteps of a person approaching me from behind alerted me. The next moment a cold, wet hand was on my shoulder. Shadow of a tall figure was in front of me. It was her.

She looked into the circular thing and the viscous fluid with drops of  blood in it. She fumed with anger.

‘What were you doing after coming from the playground? It’s almost 7.15 pm and you haven’t had your soup. It’s rainy season and you should have hot soup, as you are having cold. To hell with, you have killed two mosquitos and put in the soup.You look tensed.Were you trying to cover it up? Did they bite? Dengue fever is back again and don’t get mosquito bites, it could be deadly. Light that mosquito repellent coil in the evening as soon as you come. Were you trying to drain the soup from bowl in wash basin and lie that you had it?

‘Sorry Mom.’ I said.

‘Okay, now finish your homework before your father comes.’

__END__