01 March, 06
‘Creak’ the door opened slowly and Arvind and his wife Aparna entered the old house in Jubilee Hills, road no. 75. ‘Sir, this is the house, a very old one. The owner is residing in US of A and he’s not planning to come to India. So he’s selling the plot at a throw away price. Four crores for 500 sq. yards’ the seller said.
‘Four crores and a giveaway price…’ Arvind smiled sarcastically. Aparna walked across the rooms and in the mean while Arvind was bargaining with the seller. ‘Appu lets go’, Arvind called his wife and they came out of the house.
‘Appu, you liked the house darling?’ Arvind said. ‘This is a very old house, I think we need to pull it down and get a new one constructed….’ Even before she finished, there was a wind which blew the dried leaves off path to the gate.
The house is in a rectangular plot of 400 sq. yards with trees all around it. The plaster came off at certain places exposing the reinforced steel. And there were cracks and blisters all around. The house was in an almost dilapidated condition as it was built some 70-80 years back.
‘We are losing on 100 sq. yards because of this narrow passageway to the 400 sq. yard area. Of course a car can pass through it, but we are paying simply for that as we wouldn't be living on that.’ Arvind told the seller.
‘Sir, according to the land rate here, you should have been buying 500 sq. yards for five crores. But the owner is considerate enough to sell it for 3.75 crores, your quoted price’
‘Arvind, what are we gonna do with that banyan tree’ Aparna pointed to a huge banyan tree at the gate. ‘Hmm… if that’s a hindrance, we’ll pull that down.’ He said even as he put his hand over her shoulder and pulled her close to him.
Nobody knew that a pair of eyes was watching them closely.
‘What’s this on the tree…’ Aparna asked Arvind. She paused for a while. ‘Looks scary..’ she said. ‘Must be that somebody wanted to bring down this tree and this looks like an axe mark’ he said.
‘Arvindddd…. Aparna screamed’, and Arvind looked at her, ’What happened?’ ‘I saw a woman sitting on the top of the tree with a lamp on her head’ she said pointing to the top. He looked in the direction of her finger and, ‘Ha ha.. that’s a street lamp darling… how many times have I told you not to read those Stephen King’s novels.’ And they started to move across.
‘It’s a deal, we are getting the house. I will contact my engineer and contractor, and they will decide whether we need to pull down the house or not’ Arvind told the seller and they got into their car even as Aparna looked at the tree. She did see something. ‘Was it my illusion?’ she thought and they left the place.
‘We’ll start moving into the house a week afterwards’ Arvind told his wife.
07 March, 05
A lorry slowly pulled over near to the house and Ramu and Somu alighted from the lorry and started to move the packed items one by one into the house. ‘Sir and madam would be joining us the following week, and so we are supposed to take care of this place well’ Somu said and Ramu nodded.
They have reached at dusk and it’s almost dawn before they moved the items into the house. ‘Bhoomika has cleaned the place very well, by the way where is she’ Ramu had a question mark on his face. ‘I don’t know’ was the prompt answer from Somu. And both of them rested their backs against a wall after the hard day’s work.
Just then he heard the sound of an anklet and turned towards the direction of the sound. And then there was a fait laugh. ‘Ramu, I am frightened of ghosts…’ Somu said even as he approached Ramu and grabbed his hand under fright. ‘I don’t believe in ghosts, that must be Bhoomika’ he said. Somu seemed to have heard a distinct laugh and he squirmed under fright.
‘Anyways call the master and inform that we are done with the stuff Somu’ Ramu said looking at him. ‘Ramu, where are you…?’ he shouted but he wasn’t seen anywhere.
08 March, 06
Arvind stretched his hands as he woke up, when his mobile started to ring. ‘What….’ Arvind screamed even as he rushed to the house at road no.75 in his car. ‘Sir, we found this body during our routine patrolling and on his mobile, yours was the last dialed number. So we called you up’ the police officer said even as he removed the cloth off the face of the dead man.
‘Yes, that’s him’ Arvind confirmed. ‘How did he die?’ Arvind asked the officer. ‘We don’t know sir…. He was killed brutally by somebody….’ He said, even as Arvind looked at the tree.
‘Can I see the body?’ Arvind said as he approached the body lying on the ground covered entirely with a white cloth. The officer pulled out the white cloth and what Arvind saw freaked him out and he trembled in fear.
The body of the man was lying down ahead of him. Till the chest part it was intact and below that, the abdominal part was forced open and all the organs including the intestines, liver and spleen, stomach were strewn apart as if some wild animal has preyed on his abdomen. There was blood everywhere. Perhaps he was under attack when he ran away from the place before he was hunted down and mauled.
The enviroment was so nauseating that he ran away from the place vomiting. ‘Are you fine sir’, the policeman asked Arvind. ‘Yes…. very much…’
14 March, 05
An old Contessa slowly stopped before the house. He parked the car beyond the gate and got down from it. He looked behind and there was no one else but the tree. He slowly proceeded to walk to the rear of his car and opened the hood. He slowly started to drag a body which was carefully wrapped in a polythene cover and he started to drag it along to the garden in front of his house.
‘I am sorry but this had to be done darling and the reason.....' he started to dig a pit in his garden. And he slowly lowered the body into the pit. Afterwards he filled the pit with the dugout soil and then placed the lawn slabs on the soil so that nobody would doubt that something was buried there.
Rubbing the sweat off his forehead, he looked at the gate and his eyes caught something unfamiliar. There was a light on the banyan tree. And it looked like a lamp. He went a little closer it before the intensity went on reducing before becoming 0.
He slowly opened the house and went into his living room, opened a wine bottle and started to drink. Within a few minutes he lay on his chair with the bottle in his hand and his hand off the chair.
15 March, 06
‘Mr. Arvind… Arvind….’ There was a commotion at the door. ‘Please open the door, you are arrested for killing your wife in cold blood’ a policeman was standing at the door even as Arvind opened the door. ‘Following a tip-off from your servant’ we reached your home and found the body in your garden.
Arvind was shell shocked. He dint know what to say. And his legs trembled under fear. Even as he reached outside the door, he saw the body of his wife lying outside in the garden and he rushed to the body falling onto it and started to cry.
‘Aparna… who has done this to you… why did you leave me and go….?’ even before the police pulled him away from the place.
It was a shock for the police too, as it was one of the most brutal murders ever seen. Her body was ripped apart at the abdominal part and she lay with her hands inside the ripped open part. All her organs were strewn all over the polythene cover in which she was supposedly wrapped and buried into the ground.
‘I killed my wife, I admit to that fact, but I haven’t killed her so brutally. I strangulated her with a piece of wire… ‘Arvind cried. ‘Anything you have to say, you can say it in the court of law’ and they whisked him away.
20 March, 05
‘You will be produced in the court of law tomorrow’ said the policeman looking at his cell from behind the bars.
‘He’s drawn something all over the walls sir…’ the constable rushed to the officer and described him what he’s seen. ‘He’s drawn the images of earthen lamps all over the walls….’ The officer was surprised.
‘Can I meet my client, here I have orders’ a man approached the officer, ‘here’s the warrant from the court’ he said. And the officer looked at the papers and nodded to the constable who led the lawyer to the cell.
‘Hi sir, how are you?’ the lawyer asked him. ‘I have a strong evidence now, perhaps I can prove that you are innocent too..’ the lawyer said even as he looked at the walls around him filled with the images of the earthen lamp. He slowly pulled out a camera and clicked few snaps, and started to walk back.
21 March, 06
‘Your Honour, this man killed is wife brutally in cold blood and we have submitted the conclusive evidence as well as circumstantial. We await you to pronounce death punishment to him, on account of him brutally killing his wife’ and the prosecution lawyer bowed to the judge after his arguments and reached his place.
‘You Honour, my client is suffering with split personality disorder…’ The defense lawyer said even when the prosecution lawyer intervened, ‘objection your Honour, the defense council is trying to mislead the court and save a convict by roping in some medical jargon…’
‘No your Honour, this is the twist to the case. Only then I can prove that my client is innocent…’ the defense lawyer said.
‘Objection overruled..’
‘Thanks your Honour…’ and the defense lawyer continued, ‘01 March, 2005, a family moved into the house just like how the Arvind’s have moved exactly an year later.’
‘There were a series of paranormal phenomenon occurring at the house which contemplated the husband to kill his wife. The wife was killed in the same pattern as Aparna as you can see from the following photos’ he said as he passed on the photos to the Judge.
‘The husband was convicted of first degree murder and he was sent to the jail, where he killed himself under the similar pattern, his wife and Aparna were killed. Arvind entered the house on day 1 and went to the dead convict’s room. He was influenced very much by the writings on the walls, which you see in this next photograph. He came under his influence. He identified himself as the dead convict. And henceforth perpetuated to this bloodshed.’
‘If you look at these pictures, he’s drawn the images of an earthen lamp in his cell, even when he had no idea about the dead husband. These were the photos shot in the cell of the dead husband which bear similar coincidence to those drawn by Arvind’
There was absolute silence in the court hall even as the defense council put forward these interesting facts and they awaited the judgment.
‘On the basis of the facts provided by the defense lawyer, this turned out to be a more complicated case that what we had thought. I however direct the police to admit the convict in a mental asylum where he would be treated for his condition. And since the murder wasn’t committed under pure knowledge or senses by the client, the case stands dismissed for the time being until his condition is confirmed by a psychiatrist. And kudos to the defense council for bringing out these facts…’ he said.
30 March, 06
‘Arvind’s condition just worsened day to day and he was more involved with drawing the earthen lamp everywhere. Everywhere on the walls, floor and even his body… perhaps his condition is becoming worse..’ the doctor noted and forwarded the proceedings to the court.
‘Wonderful Arvind, superb acting, and the court has acquitted you of the crime, you just need to act for some more time and you can be out of this asylum too, very soon…’ the defense lawyer visited Arvind after the judgment was pronounced.
14 April, 05
‘Have you forgotten me so soon, dear…’ a voice echoed from the walls. ‘What is it.. who are you..’ he shouted.. ‘you haven’t recognized me… you swore to be with me in life and death.. the voice said..’ and he started to shout loudly but in vain. The walls seemed to dissolve his cries and the next day he was found dead with his abdomen ripped apart and the blood drenched intestines and liver strewn apart all over the place.
15 April, 06
Arvind was found dead in the prison room with his abdomen ripped apart and his internal organs strewn all over. ‘It is pretty obvious that Arvind killed himself with his madness still not being cured. These blood marks on his finger nails prove the same..’ was the preliminary report of the duty doctor at the asylum.
‘And there was an earthen lamp behind his head even as his body lay cold and dead on the floor....’ where did this earthen lamp come from....’ he was puzzled.
14 April, 06
At road no. 75, a woman slowly walked towards the house and reached the gate. Blood was dripping from her body that trickled down her sharp teeth. Her finger nails were long and they looked like claws. They were dripping blood too. She slowly moved the earthen lamp onto her head which was filled with blood. She looked at the banyan tree and slowly climbed onto the tree....
14 March, 06...... 07 March, 06...... 14 April, 05....... 14 March, 05........ 07 March, 05.........
And there was an earthen lamp.........
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