The Black Hole
Vaishnavi Rane
Contents:
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Dedication:
To my parents,
Love isn’t eternal but it is,
hope wouldn’t let one drown, but it will
Love is eternal when it is,
when it is with your very own, your very own soul,
the way you are, the way you think I couldn’t have wished better for I owe the best.
Chapter 1
Along a long, dark and cold corridor, she moved briskly in her black maxi skirt and apron . She wore a dark lipstick and a typical attire. She had a perfect posture, slightly tinged but otherwise fair skin tone , little rat eyes and absolute blonde short curls which got wet in the humid air and they moved back and forth as she moved to walk down a wooden staircase. She landed in the living room and brisked to open the dark red curtains having white patches of jasmine along the brown frilled line . She let those curtains wide open to let the moon's light in as the hall was dark. There were just two days left for the full moon's night and a dim white tinge shadowed the dark blue walls near the sofa. The living hall had all the furniture at its finest with freaky old lampshades at intervals . She moved to skid down on sofa just to breathe some peace after finishing the dishwashing . Fine lines were now visible alongside her lightly shaded eyebrows . Surely she had seen many hardships in her life. Now the arms of the huge hung wall clock pointed eleven . She sighed and shrugged in tiredness looking at the clock's pendulum and was just about to doze off when she heard the squeals, some sounds. A metallic glass hit hard on the floor. She stood straight, amazed . Then the screaming echoing the upper floor and a soft feminine howl followed by a loud cry -"Marrie ..mar ..can you please".
"Can you please..mary_" Near the sofa , she paused for a second .-"ohh my goodness.." and with no more waiting , she quickly climbed upstairs , hurtling fast to reach the second door in the row. She rushed into the room .
"Lee ...lee ..ohh my goodness"
" quick mary ..ahh quick " - yelled the lady in pain . She was sitting on bed . All with her black hair and dark mystical wet eyes , she sat in a pink gown with white dots .She yelled in pain- " plzz , for the sake , i cann't bear it".
Mary in her black and white apron moved to make a call . She rushed to the telephone near the bed and dialed a number once , twice, again and again. ."disconnect ..it disconnects ..we don't have a driver now"
"Lemme call the ambulance.."She made the call only to end up knowing that the ambulance might need time to reach as the road connecting them to the urban spots have been blocked due to an accident in storm last night "
"Mar .ehh marieee , what happened ? Are they coming "
"They will be here..but they ain't do so in no less time ..i am not sure. The road's blocked ..but ma'am ! don't you worry ..don't" There's a pause. "Call Avi then .." - She yelled in pain again . With a perplexed and worried expression Mary shouted loud- "but that's of no use ....he can't be here in time . Bare off .No use .He's miles away'-softer though. "Don't you worry Lee! I am here .I am here with you .Don't panic .. Lie down ..calm" With even more louder voice this time , she drenched all in tears and cried-"why..but why .can't he be here ..These cramps ..ohh i, ohh i can't bear .."
"Calm ..calm down " Mary instructed her.
""About six hours ago , when the dusk had its empire . Stars were dimly visible but the moon nearing almost to its full showed up on the purple sky . She with her dark straight locks, in her long pink and white silk sat by the side of the window .With the window wide open , she felt the breeze. With stars,moon and the royal blue and white fountain in the garden , a shiver ran across her spine. She was more than eight months pregnant and the thought that Avi wasn't there killed her innate .He hardly got off his work and the thought horrified her. Her spirits doomed. She sunk to the chair she was sitting on more lazily but with her eyes wide open , she noticed a shooting star. Spirits glowed in her eyes again.Her mind gazed upon time when she and Avi sat together to make stupid and silly wishes on the shooting stars. Well ,a time back, they visited a hill station .She blushed as she thought. ""
Now the clock pointed two. After a long and painful struggle, the laborious time ended when he breathed his very first. "a boy ..merry cheers" mary chanted. Drenched in sweat ,she half cried, half laughed through her tears. "Cheers ...yey" marry said again .
Chapter 2
It all started with a thunderous , dark and cold night in Goa, when a rickshaw driver under a skew thorny yet grassy shed noticed two dark figures wet in the showering rain coming towards him. A dark and fat man , poor though but this fellow seemed to have learnt the most precise manipulative skills over time. His gesture was enough to say . The two figures were a lady and a young boy along with two trolley bags staggering behind and a huge backpack with the guy. Thinking it to be a nice chance to earn at midnight, the driver with a loud voice asked them " Aapko kaha jana hai ? " he asked in hindi.-' where do you want to go? '. His tone spilled a non urban alter as if he was a migrant from some nearby village. Though his old slightly stooped figure made him appear like if he had sought years of experience. This driver could only see their faces with the periodical lightning strikes as the scene was otherwise dark.
The two came closer and the lady asked the driver if he could take them to - "Avinash villa" . The driver in his heavy but subtle tone said " Dekhiye madam, mousam achaa nhi hai aur ye tohh bohot duur bhi hai ..tohh six hundred se kam tohh nhi chalega"- ' see madam , the weather isn't good and its quite far from here, so i guess , it would be fine if you don't pay anything less than six hundred ' . Well, there was nobody else around. A bare market trick which always hits the target , quite like a rare market scenario as if you are the only one selling 'batata vada' or 'idli' when all others are selling' sea food' and the only customer which shows up at the market is a pure vegetarian fellow. But why would he choose such a market . Well, that's none of our concern but this Rickshaw puller gotta do some real crazy business that day all out of good fortune.
Without trying any harsh bargain , the boy in his confident voice said- "make the deal final with 600 then." The lady made no response. The driver helped them put the luggage in the rickshaw and then they drove off towards their destination. The silver sparks in the sky and thunderous sound was adding a horror to the wet air. Visibility was less . The rustling of the leaves and striking of the water droplets with the dense forest growth roadside echoed to create a vivid sound. The tapping of water on road could be heard . The two were looking around , there was nobody else. Their rickshaw drifting all alone on the road. The man with all his strength was paddling hard. The boy sneezed twice, probably he caught the cold. Both seemed to be terrified in the adverse weather, but after a few minutes came a breath of relief. The rain and the thunder stopped. Atmosphere became calm. A slow cold breeze was drifting with a clear full moon in the sky. It seemed as though they had been travelling for a long , but very soon after that, they landed before a huge violet gate washed well by the rainwater. The lady at first caught the sight of the nameplate which was faintly written as " Avinash villa". It was about nine years back when she saw the villa last time. Immediately after the day when she came to know that her husband committed suicide, she left that villa
with her son -'Sameer'.
Her eyes became wet looking at the foggy nameplate. The boy paid off the fee of rickshaw and the lady 'Leena' with her sixteen years old , tall and close to being skinny son Sam entered the huge gate. Now the sky was clear and the little garden's reflection in the silver shade of the moon was twinkling in the mother's eyes. Her eyes were glittering with the thoughts of beautiful times when she , her husband and little Sam used to spend time in that garden. She misses the complete family .Without letting sam to notice her eyes, she moved briskly towards the door after a few second's pause. She took out an old key , rusted a bit at one of the edges, tightened in with a few more small keys hinged to an emerald green ring . Her hands were shivering. Somehow she gathered the courage to unlock the place she once lived at. Sam unaware of her mother's thoughts was peeping in here and there in the garden curiously. Now he bears a very faint memory of the time he spent with his father. Leena entered the door and called Sam. Sam followed her mom and they landed to an antique graceful hall with classical furniture , however the floor was dusty and the things were scattered but the color of the walls was still vibrant. Beautiful red and blue. She brisked towards the curtains . They were red . She leaned to touch the fabric and her hands fluttered over it . Her nails were long painted pink with black flowery nail art.
Just before a huge wall clock with the broken pendulum , there was a staircase which took it up to the first floor and the other edge curled down to the storeroom . Sam ran downstairs and his mom followed him asking to stop. There was nothing except an old door locked quite securely down there. Then , came the lady running fast - "c'mon Sam, let's go upstairs..look at the bedrooms, there are two, one for both for us and other will be yours , personal ."
.." But mom, where does this door lead to ? "
"Sammy , its a store room , dirty mess , obviously av no use, let's go "
Sam was feeling sleepy. They both then moved upstairs to the first room they encountered . Most of the doors opened up with a shrieking creaky noice. Sam managed to arrange some grease to oil the hinges and Leena pulled out some new sheets to cover up the beds. Leena notices the old brown framed photos . She tries to clear off the dust , but a shiver down her spine , she hurries back without trying to scratch the past. Finally they sleep in a room with the walls piercing Leena's memories. She finds it hard to sleep .
Chapter 3
On the street next morning .
" Mrs Sharma ! Who's uhh new neighbor ? "
" Who ,that house has been locked up for years . Now who would ever like to show up for that antique villa. Though , no sort of haunted...but still.might or might not be.."
"Maybe , they are back "
"Who ?"
"Who else , Mrs .Sharma . Do you remember 'The illusions of Alisha' . "
" Precisely not , but maybe . Maybe .. it seems like i have heard somewhere but i exactly don't know."
" ohh! I wonder how you don't , lemme tell you. Years back , When Mr. Avinash got posted to some city in the east of our country as the research head , he encountered this beauty named Alisha . She was appointed as assistant in finance - department and worked with him. She travelled across the country and once used to work as the lead actress for a local tv series. But slowly , her good time drowned .She rescued her declining career by her last resort -'finance' .The only way out to recollect her assets back was to put her degree in finance to some use. That's what she did. She used to be a flawless grace. "
"How do you know"
" That's what people say and that's what 'Illusions of Alisha' say . All about fantasies."
"Ehh .. What's this rubbish, rumours ,illusions av Alisha "
"That's a book by an anonymous writer . The writer must have been Avinash . He fell in love with Alisha and betrayed his wife. "
"How can you be so certain . Is there a mention of his name ."
" No ..not ! Infact i wonder if any book by an anonymous writer ever exist . But the point is that the story revolves all around places where Avinash visited. .Mrs Sharma, can't you sense , that family always had something vicious.."
"Blunder , no mention of name . That's all rubbish .They were good people ..and some stupid person created this shit to entertain people . "- Mrs Sharma laughed.
"Ohh , that's your opinion . Anyways , they are here , back to the villa Mrs .."
"Leena ! Ohh i must go there to see them . They might need help ."
" Beware , she is a clever cunning lady "
"She isn't . Don't worry " - Mrs Sharma winked with a smile and repeated - " Don't worry . I know her well."
Chapter 4
Mrs. Sharma ,a fat lady in her unwrinkled tight fitting outfit , funny flat cushioned footwear with rabbit heads , hairs tightened up to a small ponytail which hardly reached the bottom of her not so long neck and the most alluring feature of her face was her thick dark camel eyelashes which were even more highlighted with the darkest shade of mascara. She probably would have dabbed her face twice or thrice with pancake sponges , her small lips almost invisible . A fat , funny yet serious lady.
Sam at that time was helping out her mom setting furniture and decor. Then comes in Mrs. Sharma.
' oh my god ..you still look the same . Untouched by the time. How are you. How is everything going on...' - asked Mrs. Sharma in an excited tone, while Leena was trying to put a vase up over a high lying plank . She leaned down from the chair she was standing on and gestured Mrs . Sharma overwhelmly. Mrs. Sharma without hesitating went straight to the sofa and settled down.
" I am good. How are you doing ! " - Leena responded with a broad smile.
Looking at Sam, "woho..Sam has grown so tall, just like his daddy. " Trying to shuffle the topic to anything else except the 'father' , Mrs . Sharma said-"This room looks the same as it did before."
"Furniture is same. "- said Leena.
"Well , i thought.."
" Do you need any help "
" oh. Thank you! Mrs. Sharma , but we are almost done"
" ohh..you might have been working for long"
" since morning .. not sort of long "
"Anyways ..This room is looking great . Hell yeahh! ..I must say u won't quit putting in efforts "
Looking down to the floor " but i have stopped putting them in ... at least , i am trying" - said Leena.
Mrs. Sharma sensed that its going wrong way , she said- "damn.. I just forgot . My gym timings ..twelve past half. "
"Gym ? "
"Yeahh ..gym. I am on mission 'loose weight'. Abs on women are in fashion but i'am just maintaining good. I have lost ten . "
"Ten ?" - Leena said with an obscure shift.
" Ten kg . I almost died running the treadmill and i think i look slim and beautiful now " - she smiled to show up her sparkling whites, though it was more like a laughing potato.
Looking at the weirdly faced, fat and ill figured lady , Sam was just about to laugh but managed up with a sniff. He, almost done with his pushing the dressing table to the other side , pushed his last and ran upstairs.
" ohh .. Yess " -Leena's expression turned more obscure.
"If you don't mind , i can help Sam get admmitted to school . My son , Ankit is attending his high school from 'Spring fields' . That's a good one. Science .. , he took up"
"Certainly good , if you are saying . Sam wants to go for science as well "
" Sure , he can join from tomorrow or whatever day he wants to . Bus comes up at joint near the park, a few footsteps away . ...Ahh .but you can still listen to the horn shouting loud . Ankit would be there in with him . "
" Sure.."
"I actually have some links . I will get Sam's name registered ."-she winked at Leena.
"Ohh ..Thankyou ..very much!"
" damn .. I am late for mission. I ..i mean gym . Its better to go on time rather than listening to Mr . Sharma's comments . But nowadays , i just get good ones coz i m turning slim . "
'Okk ..bye Leen
a"
As she left, Leena burst out with a huge laughter- " How could she . ..She said slim . " -Leena blabbered .
As she was trying to control herself , came Sam running with his bag over his shoulders. He ran towards the door screaming - " bbie mommy. I am going to lake. "
"Where. ..u know ? "
" i know .. I have guidebook , snacks too "
" A map, map's guidebook .. It won't work "
"Gprs device mom ..that kinda work "
"Worse ... Stop Sam ! " .. and he went out.
Chapter 5
It was about 3:30 pm when Leena was chopping tomatoes in the kitchen. She went to the sink to take away washed peas. Then she pushed in a black tray to the oven and went to sizzle the peas with tomatoes,black pepper and a lots other indian spices . After sizzling was done , she put off her apron and went on to chop cabbage. Utter silence...only the sound of chopping knife - chirk chirk..Then suddenly came a ringing sound . It gave a shock to Leena. It was her cell phone. She washed off her hands and rubbed them against towel and then hurried towards phone. She moved out of the kitchen , through an ill lighted corridor and landed before a wooden stand right below a window with red curtains . She took the cell phone from the stand and picked the call - " Hello ! Who's this "
"Ohh ..Mrs. Sharma here . "
" Oww..sorry i didn't recognize at first . How are you doing ?"
" It happens .. Well i am good and congratulations "
" ..For what?" - Leena replied in a surprised tone.
" oh ..you forgot! Sam has got registered at Spring fields . You can complete rest of the formalities later "
The Black Hole Page 1