"But, Suriya, I am pregnant. How can I travel now?."
"Hey, you are a doctor. You know the safety precautions during travel, don't you?."
She resented, turned away and sat on the dining table's chair. Well, as a husband, now it's my turn to convince her. I ran through my hairs, sighed a bit to gain my calmness and slowly approached her. I gently hugged around her neck and kissed at her crown.
"Darling, try to understand. Living here costs nothing but danger. I can face it but I can't risk my kid and you, dear. I have to make sure that my job don't put your lives at stake."
"You always know how to convince me", she frowned. These words put a smile on my face. "Don't get too cocky, Mr. IPS.," she stood up, "I am coming with a condition."
I was quite terrified. "What is that?."
"I will come only if we are going to Poombari." I quaked as I heard the village's name.
"Kodaikanal has lot more beautiful places. Why can't we just . . . . "
"Poombari, I said." She then went to our room to pack.
I can't say I am not a fan of Poombari. The place's serenity was just mind blowing but still I can sense some bad vibes because of some trauma from my past. Nonetheless, if your wife said so, there's nothing much we say in contrary.
So we packed our luggage and stuffs and drove to Poombari in over night. We unpacked at a cottage, getting a help from local police. I thought this village would disturb my inner peace. In contrary, it felt nice in this village to be back again. I guess with Nisha's love and care, I am now far behind my past pain.
"Oh god, the scenic exquisite is just mind blowing," she exclaimed, while admiring the spurting dawn in the veranda. After this mess around me, yeah, it's a real treat to my eyes. I am glad my wife bought me here.
It's a winter time and it's so chill. Dusk here was too early and so we got to mitigate our walking time. We got back to our cottage before it's dark. I cooked a meal for my wife and myself. After our dinner, we turned on our night lamp and laid down on the bed. Now is what we called 'Talk Time'. It's that culture and thing of ours that we follow everyday soon after dinner. We used to choose a topic, mostly encircled around our past phobias or our jubilant memories. Well, today's topic was one topic I wished not to come up.
"For today, let's talk about our ex-lovers".
Why the hell she always find things I don't find comfortable talking about?. "No, Nisha. Let's talk something else."
"Oh, then we are talking about this for sure", she beamed in excitement, "Come on Suriya, how is she like?".
I shook my head. "No, Nisha. Please, I beg you. Anything but this topic."
"Can't you fulfill your pregnant wife's wish?." Oh, that innocent face, again. I can never go against it. I can't even believe I am thinking about narrating those past.
"Okay, I will tell but I abide by the ladies' first rule".
She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I will go with my ex-love story first. He was a psychiatrist name Dr. Bishra. Girls call him girls' astrologer. He knows everything about girls and as every girls did, I fall in love with him. And what's more surprising is that he fall for me too."
"I can't see the surprise here, dear. Who wouldn't fall for you?."
"Awww." Her cute chuckles was such an enchant to the heart.
"Okay stop that killer expression and continue with your story."
She sneered and resumed her story. "So it was two years of love of us and jealousy among the girls. When I got to know about him, I can see his interests circles around ghosts."
I was little, only little, terrified when she said 'Around Ghosts'. "Hey, why do you want to stress on his interests in this night?."
"And you call yourself an IPS officer. Aren't you ashamed?."
I got annoyed. "Hey, come on. Is IPS officer should completely devoid his human emotions?. If I am afraid of criminals, you can tease me. But fear of ghosts?. Everyone has that."
"Okay Okay, knock it off", she calmed me down. She, then started her story. "All of a sudden, one day, a distant friend of mine ran into me. She said that she met Bishra's ex-lover. I was quite shocked. I never knew he had past love. My friend added that his ex-lover said that Bishra's an impotent. I ignored as I thought she said this out of jealousy. But, one day, Bishra himself acknowledged that he was impotent. I really got angry and broke up with right away."
"Long story, short, uh?".
"Okay now's it's your turn. Tell me about her. What is her name?".
I wished there's any way out but usually that never works with my wife. I sighed deep and brought up the courage to spell out words about my ex-lover.
"Her name is Ranjana. The reason I never wanted to come here is because this place is where she used to live."
While Nisha went a big 'ohhhh' about it, door bell rang. I went out to reach for it.
When I opened, I got little bit shaken. It was just a mail man, though. But his corona safety mask and the night back ground frightened me a little. I signed the papers, received the parcel and closed the door as quick as possible.
There's no from address on the envelope cover. I unwrapped it to find a gift box. The gift card on the top said, "From Your Ex-Lover". The font was not at all gifting but spooky as hell.
My wife's jaws dropped. "Aww, how sweet of her to welcome you to her home town. ".
My head started to sweat, my hands started to tremble. "Can you just stop joking?," I yelled at her, out of fear. My wife shuts her mouth at my sudden aggression.
I slowly torn down the color wrappers, and opened the case. I cannot believe what I was seeing inside the box. It was a frame photo that I gave to Ranjana. The frame photo bears "I won't leave you" which was once romantic but now terrifying up to my very soul.
"Why dear?. What happened?", my wife held my hands.
I swallowed a spit, gained anxiety to the level that I had never been. "This was the gift I gave to Ranjana".
"Why did she give this back to you?," my wife gulped.
"She cannot give this back to me. This cannot happen." I stared at the photo frame
"Why is it so?."
"She is . . . ", I stumbled.
"She is already dead, Nisha".
. . .
CHAPTER 2:
That night's sleep was unpeaceful and eyes were black ringed in the next morning. The sun rose and so did Nisha's fear.
"I am telling you, Nisha. This cannot be Ranjana. Someone's playing game on us. It must be one of my enemies", I embittered.
"Oh, come on, why do they have to disguise your dead ex-lover?. If they knew our hide-out place, they would just show up and killed us."
"How the hell a ghost can send us a courier?," I shrugged.
"It's a ghost, Suriya. It can do anything. Haven't you seen Conjuring?. It was inspired from the real story. The toy related to the spirit somehow find it's way to its place. In this case, the gift is related to Ranjana and its place is yours."
"Okay, what do you want me to do?."
"I've known some of the parapsychologists from my college. Let me ask their suggestions. If they suggests there isn't any such activity, you can move on with your investigation."
After scratching my head around, I nodded. She called some of her friends. Moments after, fortunately, one of her friend was in Kodaikanal for his vacation.
"I have talked to my friend. He said some intimidated details on paranormal activities", she sat on the sofa and I joined adjacent to her.
"What did he said?."
Her voice was dead for a while. "He said that spirits are some four or five dimensional creatures. And since we are three dimensional ones, spirits can contact only through some physical forces. Only these forces can travel through dimensions."
"Physical forces like what?."
"Like gravity, friction, sounds, electricity and such. For instance, some things falling on it's own, chairs creaking, electric bulbs fluctuating and TV channels changing by itself. In some cases, a distinct voice and a pungent smell might be one of the symptoms. I'd given him the address. He said he'll come in few moments to check around our house."
He came in so early than I thought. A few old-alumni exchanges occurred between my wife and her friend. He then checked around my house with some meters. He called those as EMF meters. He also smelled for some strange odor but nothing found as expected. A relief.
"Just in case, I'll leave here my EMF meter with you. This red line you see, here is the threshold," he pointed his index on the display, "When spikes surges above this limit, then it is a certain indicator of something paranormal. Don't keep the EMF meter any way closer to mobiles or ovens. Those devices will intercept the meters and will give us wrong indications"
"Hope I never see those spikes going up." I said.
He gave us a smile. "Don't worry. Pursuant to my experience in this field, I don't see anything abnormal here. The place's clean. Adios amigos". He then left. I gave my wife a 'I am right, am I?' look.
"Okay you're right. Can we now go for my periodical check up?."
"First things first, " I said and went to the living room.
"What are you up to?. "
I took out the 'I won't leave you' gift from the tea table and trashed it in the street garbage. We then went to the hospital for my wife's check up. There's nothing that I could understand from the doctor's language. But Nisha nailed it like a charm. They were conversing and graying out me in the scene
"Hey two docs. Give me a break here", I interrupted, "I need no medical terms. A plain answer to ' Is everything okay?' would do good."
Doctor laughed hilariously. "Yeah, as your wife knows, she's good now." He gave me a thumbs up.
We then, went to our home. I prepared lunch for my two kids (my wife and a kid she's carrying with her). As dusk approaches, we returned to our cottage after our evening walk. We chit chatted over our tea break, enjoyed the scenery of sun floating down behind the valley. As much as splendid and pleasant the scene sounds, so was my chaos in my heart.
Who sent that courier and why?.
I messaged to my friend in undercover.
"Hey, do your parents know about our love?."
It was a code word we made up. He would understand that this means "Do the gangsters out there know my hide-out place?." I received a reply.
"Not sure, dear. Give me a day, I'll check".
Amid exquisite scenarios all around Kodai, we both cannot live with it. If there was anything, it was just fears in my wife's mind and unanswered riddles in my mind. We both had no topics to talk that night after dinner. That was the first time our conversations got dull and went out of words. We simply went to bed early and slept.
As a cop, my senses are used to be accurate and sharp. Later in the midnight, I woke up to the sudden thud of the window in the living room. I could see my wife still sleeping. I silently took my butt out of the bed and approached to the window in turtle walk. What I saw in the EMF meter on my way stunned me. The spikes surged well above the red mark.
I could now see chairs creaking, night lamps fluctuating and for damn sure, I heard a voice, a distant and a croaky one but quite enough to hear it.
"I won't leave you".
My hands trembled like an old man out of fear. My eyes widened when I saw the same "I won't leave you" gift on the table behind a vase. I took the gift and saw some words inscribed on it.
"I want you, you only, tomorrow in the same place, at the same time I died."
The next day was the day she died.
CHAPTER 3 :
Last night, I seldom slept. I'd fought and won many human monsters with my sharp courage. No fear whatsoever. But this one's different, totally different. And for what is worth, I thought I learned how a fear stinks like. When I look up on my Nisha and my kid she's carrying, my fear spike surges. I have given nothing but dangers. My job did nothing but gave fears to her. I should not give her anything more, anymore. I'd taken a decision.
It was an early day for me. My wife was still in bed. I took out the gift and hid it in my closet where I keep my official files. She never liked to open it and that was why it proved to be a perfect place to hide it over. Not long ago she woke up, I prepared my self not to look anxious. She should find no difference in my behavior.
As always I prepared a hot beverage for her when she was out of bed. I stirred it so as to well dissolve the sugar and sat beside her in the bed when she woke up. I was sweating when I tossed her the hot coffee.
"What happened to you, dear?, " she remarked.
"Why?. What is with me?. Nothing. I am fine. Why'd you ask that?," I stumbled. I didn't do it well. Acting to my wife was the one thing I cannot master on.
"You're sweating."
"Oh yeah. That was just, uh, just the, um". Come on think, I thought in my mind. "I was in a steam bath. It's so cold here, right?."
My wife 'Oh-Oh' ed and started to drank coffee I gave it to her. As soon as she drank her first sip, she gave a dirty look and sneered at me. "Tell me what's going on. Something wrong is going on with you."
Damn it, I thought. Now what did I do wrong, my mind puzzled around. "Why on earth you keep asking me that?."
"You know I like only tea but you had given me a coffee. Something you're hiding from me. I know it for sure."
I paused a while, rolled my eyes, thinking for a lie to fill in. "I just bought it today from the store. I heard it had a different taste than the usual coffee and in addition, it's good for pregnant people."
She still gazed at me doubtfully. "Hey, if you still don't want that coffee, I can make you a tea. Just don't give me that look, okay?. I have nothing to hide."
"It's fine. I can drink this drink." she said. She still looked at me doubtfully as she drank. I should be more careful.
For the whole day, I tried not to have a direct eye contact with my girl. Even during the evening walk, I was silently walking with no words. I just nodded to whatever she was telling. We went to our cottage sometime after.
It was 6 in the evening. The sun starts to fade out of the sight. 9 in the night was when Ranjana died and the place was a 2 hour drive from the cottage I am staying. So I should leave by 7 no matter what.
We were sitting in the living room. She was surfing through something in her mobile phone. When the clock was just two minutes away to hit 7, I called my wife.
"Hey, it was just so long since you get me a coffee. Can you make one for me?," I grinned.
She raised an eyebrow. She leaned towards me. "I can make one but only if you are willing to say everything that you hiding from me. Will you shook on it?."
"Okay by me."
She got up and turned towards kitchen. "I know something is wrong. Here I am coming. You can't escape from me," she muttered.
"You think?" I mumbled. I ran to our room to grab that gift from my closet. Along with that I teared a paper from a notepad and took a pen. I wrote what I wished to say.
I thought moving into a new would ensure your safety. But now, it was pretty clear that I was the one reason why you were always in trouble. 9 was the time she died. So I am going after her. I dunno what was she up to. But whatever it was, I can't forgive myself if something happens to you. Dear, this might or might not be my last words. Whatever it was, I wanted you to know I always love you and would do no deed that would put your life in stakes and that's exactly why I have to go.
With Love, Suriya.
I kept the gift on the note as a paper weight on the tea table. I took my car keys and I quietly ran through the hall and reached down the door knob. I was exceedingly careful enough not to screw this time. I slid the door open silently and started my car and raised the speed and pulled the gear. I switched off my mobile so that neither her nor the police would track me down. The road was deserted out of Corona pandemic. The streets were in total lock down.
Post two hours drive, I reached the spot. I stopped the engine and stepped out of the car. I stood at the bus stop. When I saw that zebra cross, all those past scenes came flashing before my mind. It was one hell of a night mare
Time was then exactly 9. A strange unpleasant wind blown my face. Yeah, it was her, I thought to myself.
"Yeah, Ranjana. You've got me. I am here for you. I know I'd done mistakes. Let's just settle this," I shouted out loud. I heard nothing back. "Come on, what on earth you're waiting for?". Still nothing.
For the next 10 minutes, the same silence persists. I began to loose patience. I screamed aloud. "Aaaaaaaaahhhhh". I was out of my mind.
15 minutes post 9. I began to think what if she's not the reason for the gift. I took my phone out from my pocket and switched it on. I saw lots of messages and calls from my wife. I ignored all of it. I had messaged my informer friend. "Got something?."
No reply.
Not longer ago I have got no response from my friend, I thought I should sort this puzzle all by my self. I thought out loud.
"I know what I had seen last night was real. But I also know that something other than Ranjana is after me. Well, it might be true that if something related to spirits, in this case the gift, would find it's place. But that parapsychologist said that spirits can only contact through physical forces. If that is the case, then how the hell that gift reached me through the mail. That doesn't make sense. Let me just assume there was no Ranjana and my job foes were the one who were after me. Let me forget why they were doing all these things and focus on how did they do this."
Yes. I got a hunch.
I called Ranjana's sister. She was the only one who forgave my mistakes in her family. There was no one I could call in her family other than her. I explained everything to her and expressed my doubt. She said that someone calling himself as the reporter came to her house few days before. She said that he was there to take a survey of people who died recently and kept asking questions about Ranjana. When did she died?.At what time?. How did she died?. Literally everything. It was then when it began to make sense. I asked about the 'I won't leave you' gift. She said it was lost a few days back. I'm sure he distracted her to steal that gift. When I asked her, how he looked like, she replied that guy wore a mask in this corona pandemic. However she said that the guy had a clearly visible mark in his right eyebrow. I've seen that eyebrow somewhere. I just couldn't figure out when. I thanked her and hung her call.
Who was that?. I ran through my hairs and dig deep into my memory. All of a sudden, I figured it out who was it. I stood still and realized how a twit I'd been all these days.
I turned on the car's steering and drove towards my cottage. It was already late. Too late. I called my wife.
"Where were you?. Are you okay? " She mixed up.
"Hey, I am fine, dear. Just listen to me." I said.
"First of all come to home, come to me, now" she stressed.
"First listen to what I am about to tell. Your life was in danger."
"What?" she panicked.
"Yeah, it was the mail man who is after me. I don't know why he was doing all these. I don't even know who was he but ?. " I sighed. Nisha didn't talked to me for a while.
"Are you there, Nisha?," I screamed.
"Yeah, Suriya. I am here. Can you tell me how did he looked like?."
"I don't know for sure. I didn't see his face then. He was in the face mask but he had a visible mark in his right eyebrow. "
I heard her breaths raising loud and sound. She was frozen.
"Oh my god," her voice trembled.
"What happened?." No answer for a second. "Tell me what happened, Nisha," I grunted.
"I am just closing the door. Wait for a while."
"Yeah, yeah do it for God's sake." She ran and immediately locked the door and stepped back.
Soon after she locked the door, there was a door knock. Someone was there and had arrived.
"Who is that?." my wife murmured.
"Whoever it is, don't open the door. I am coming." I pulled the gear.
"Who is that?, " Nisha said. This time, her voice was little loud. The thud from the door became wild and continuous.
"Whoever it is, just leave me alone," Nisha whined and pleaded. My heart beat rose and rose as I drove across the high way.
Someone appeared behind the window closer to the entrance door. Nisha still couldn't see his face in the dark background.
"Leave you alone?, " a croaky voice said, "I won't leave you."
With a thunder flash, Nisha saw his face. She knew it.
"Su, Su, Suriya," She staggered.
"What, Nisha?. What was happening?. Who was it?."
She was sobbing. "He wasn't after you, Suriya. He was after me."
"What?. What are you blabbering, Nisha?" I cried.
She gulped.
"It was Bishra."
CHAPTER 4 :
Words, as we know, can make wonders in human life. Words uttered by our loved ones, especially, can make us feel special. But on the darker side, words, hurting words, from our special ones, will implant vicious thoughts and will awake a devil inside us. It's obvious that words can create angels. In contradiction, it can create demons too.
"Oh, Suriya, he's breaking the window glass," gloomed Nisha. Her sobbing and cries gripped hold of my nerves. I was driving as fast as I could nevertheless I knew I couldn't reach in time to save her.
I hit my steering and horned multiple times to clear the way. "Don't worry, dear, stay relax. Go to our room and lock the door. I am coming and will get that bastard off," I screamed.
When she started to run away towards our room, Bishra broke in and hit my wife's head with a hammer he brought. "Agh." She fall.
The default caller tune hit my phone indicating the line disconnected. If monitored now, my heart waves would have wobbled around in ECG. Frustration, anxiety, guilt of letting my only lifeline down killed my spirit. It pulverized my heart. Tears rolled down. Eyes bloodshot.
What will Bishra do to my wife?. What did he want from my wife?. A revenge?. If it was so, how was he planning to avenge her?. Oh, my kid. What will happen to my kid?
I was thinking all the possibilities. There must be some way to save her, I thought. I thought of calling local Cops. But the Police station stationed down the hill. It'd take at least one hour to reach my cottage. Odds stacked up so high that it seemed almost impossible. I called the control room and asked them to trace my wife's mobile. They said it signaled right opposite to my cottage. He had been watching all these days. He'd been waiting for the right time to swoop in. Or had he created his own chance to swoop in?.
Normally it'd take couple of hours to reach back there. But then my instinct and sense of must-save-my-wife brought me there in one and half hours in spite of the sharp hair pin bends around the valley.
"Hope it wasn't too late." I thought aloud. On contrary it did.
I break in to the opposite door. I held my pistol, cocked it and was ready for the combat. Agitation on Bishra, mixed up on my wife's state and crestfallen on pondering over my kid she carries, disturbed my consciousness. I slowly entered the living room making sure there were none. I have to not let my guard amid my fear. Or I will risk my only thing that I cared about more than my life. May be two things. I kept my stealthy foot steps firm. I saw a room around the corner.
Will my wife be in there?.
I slid opened the door, careful enough to mute it's creaking noise. I saw a dressing mirror. Around it was a white board, full of sketching arounds, mind maps and few sticks of photographs. I couldn't concentrate much on this board 'cause another thing grabbed my full attention.
It was my wife, lying on her face down on a bed.
Hustled towards the bed, put my gun back and held her back in my lap. Her face was sullen, unconscious and alcoholic smelled. I saw an empty alcohol bottle beside her. I was then inept to it's effect. Never thought of it's consequence.
"Nisha, wake up," I sobbed and panicked. Nothing brought her to sense. Not even a squint. She passed out. I carried her in my arms, tears rolling and put her carefully in the passenger seat at the back. Again, I pulled out the gear to the hospital close by. Fortunately, it was not more than a few miles. I reached there not less than few minutes. I screamed for the doctors and nurses. A crew came with a stretcher almost immediately. I held her hands throughout the rolling of the stretcher. I let her go off when she has to pass through the operation theatre.
Pains and guilt unaided, I sat on the conjoint chairs held beside the operation theatre. I held my fingers across, sobbed like anything.
Why did I joined this job?.
I've never been a good spouse as she was to me. Never been. My tears didn't dry out. Perennial and never ending. I hit my head multitude times. I appeared clueless to the people around. "What might have happened?," they might have thought.
"I was never a good husband. Got it, folks?," I screamed on mute.
Post an hour, doors opened. A doctor came out taking out his stethoscope.
"What happened to her, doc?."
He nodded. "She's fine." He then sighed.
"I know there's a 'but' behind that deep breath, doc. What, she was raped?."
"No, certainly not. But I'm afraid that a bit more devastating than that occurred."
I shook my heads. "Oh, stop messing around and spit it out doc."
He took his specs out. Not a good sign. "She was totally boozed out."
Those empty alcohol bottles suddenly flashed right before my face. I was shaken.
"Does it means . . ." I gulped. "A miscarriage?."
"It was even more than that."
I was stunned. Heart beats narrowed down. My hands were trembling.
"Her blood was full of cyproterone acetate. It was injected forcibly. And it was in extensive quantity." doctor
I was bumfuzzled. "What does it leave with her?"
"She, I ween, can't have child anymore."
I fell on my knees. Dead broken . . . .
Things got settled with my job foes. Once everyone were arrested, we moved out, moved out of this mess, out of this crappy and haunting village. For one month, Nisha was locked inside, dejected and depressed. I've never seen her this down. However my nepenthes were good, she never came out of those haunts but one night post dinner.
"Can we have our talk time, now?" she said with her low voice on bed.
I was extremely happy. I immediately climbed onto bed. "Yeah, let's," I grinned.
She leaned backwards, looked straight and then spelt her words. "Words, as we know, are capable of anything. I learnt it, Suriya, in the hardest way possible. I didn't realize it until " she gulped, "Until my words, my own words germinated a beast inside an innocent. Back in college, he himself acknowledged as impotent. I never saw his honesty and goodness through it. And instead I humiliated him, in front of everyone when he never gave up on me. I confronted him right in the middle of the classroom, screamed, 'You're capable of nothing of a man. Get away from me. Leave me alone'. Everybody saw. He cried and left. Then I heard he discontinued his studies and I heard none from him thereafter." She whined, "I deserve this, Suriya. See me. With nothing to give in. And guilt all around me that I cannot give a child to you. I am so sorry, Suriya." She fell on my shoulders and cried.
"Hey, you aren't alone. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has scars. We are human after all." I patted her shoulders and later hugged. She hugged back. Couple of minutes after, she untied her hands from me and leaned back. She wiped her tears and glanced at me.
"What was it, Suriya?. That gift box?. How did Bishra came?. . . . " She clawed her fingers around her head in chaos, "I was perplexed more than I was depressed."
"This might scare you, Nisha."
"I was far behind it, dear. Please. If I need to get out, I need to know what I am trying to get out from. What really happened?. I knew you'd have already figured it out. Untie the knots already."
I swallowed a spit, shook my heads, took a deep whooping breath. "Okay, if it only helps. The night before I went out, I heard a thud from the window. I woke up to the sound of it. I saw you still sleeping. I didn't intend to wake you up. I moved out of the bed, went to the living room to check. But before looking into the window, I saw the same gift I thrown away on the desk. I was wide eyed to it. Not more than two seconds, the chair creaked around, night lamps fluctuating and that voice," I sighed out, "It brought the shit out of me. It said, 'I won't leave you' in distant and in length. Then I took out the gift. It inscribed ' I want you, you only, tomorrow in the same place, at the same time I died.' I smelt the fear for the first time in my life." I drank the water from the jar in the side table. I could see Nisha staring at me in fear.
"That night. I spent with eyes open and got out early, freshened up, hid the gift in my closet and drew my plan inside my mind. Close to the seven in the clock, I asked you for a coffee. Then I popped out of the house to the place where she died around 9. For 30 minutes, I heard nothing. Literally nothing. I doubt on my foes. I texted my friend who is in undercover in their perimeters. No reply. I went mad. Then it popped. How the hell a mail man can deliver a parcel from the ghost?. I called Ranjana's sister. She said that an unknown person disguised as reporter, came in asking details about Ranjana's accident. He said he came there for a survey on accidents. Thus he knew about whereabouts and when Ranjana died. He somehow stole the gift, I guess. She added that he wore his mask, you know, corona times. But she did mention there was a mark in his right eyebrow. A visible one. I envisioned the mailman. He was too having the same mark in his right eyebrow. But it still didn't explain quite clear on the events of the night. I couldn't scrutinize as I had you to save. Later, when we moved our things from the cottage, I found a hidden camera in the gift box. He has been watching all and all day. Then I found a device that can make the chair move. The same device might triggered the EMF meter, I thought. He came in the night through the window and devised the chair, put the gift back on the table with the inscription. When we left off, the owner charged a little extra for damaging the night lamps. Yeah he loosened the wires of the lamps. All these he did, intended to get me out of the cottage and leave you alone. He waited two hours for me to reach there. And 30 minutes later, he broke into our cottage. And the rest," I sighed, "It was one hell of a disaster."
I looked at the gift I brought. The same 'I won't leave you' gift. "Then, I brought the gift just to remind me all those mistakes I've done. May be we have done. And not to do that hereafter."
Hearing all these, Nisha leaned back. "He has become a psycho. Or I made him so."
She stared at the gift, then narrowed her eyebrows. "Hey, you explained about the chairs creaking and lamps flickering. But the croaky voice?."
I narrowed my eyes too. "Yeah, I totally forgot about that."
Then, the chairs creaked, the windows thudded, night lamps flickered. A distant croaky lady's voice emerged.
"I won't leave you."
We looked at each other. Then I looked around, "Who is this?."
A loud witch laugh echoed.
"From Your Ex-Lover."
. . .
THE END
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