by John Harker
The wooden trapdoor unbolted itself and Iyer pushed it open and rushed out of the cellar screaming. This was followed by a metallic thud and succeeded by silence.
Shiuli and Pakhi rushed upstairs and saw an unconscious Iyer lying flat on the floor. A swarm of golden light formed a string that tied itself to Iyer's feet and pulled him up and placed him gently on the chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
'Magical fireflies!' Shiuli introduced her aunt to the wonderful friends of Richard Baxter.
Pakhi stared in bewildered wonderment.
I must be really, really high! She thought.
The swarm detached itself from Iyer's feet and tied him up with the cobwebs surrounding the chandelier.
'That will take care of him.' Shiuli announced with confidence. She looked at her aunt who had her eyes locked on the ceiling. She asked, 'Pishi, are you ready to hear the ghost's story?'
Pakhi affirmed in gesture and the swarm guided them to the dining hall where Shiuli narrated the ghost's story as it was.
Chapter 36
'We have reports coming in live from the residence of the prime ministerial candidate Mr. MC Jagannatha Varma, and they are saying that the man of steel nerves has...' Parosh muted the television set's volume. He could see the reporter move her tender lips on screen.
So, it is true! Parosh thought as he read the breaking news mentioned on the channel's ticker:
Assassination attempt on Varma.
He switched to the next news channel.
PM candidate escapes death, reported MANORMA 24X7.
Lashkar militant suspected of assassination, Headlines Today speculated.
More than half of the so called breaking news on channels these days were based on subsidized facts and conveyed biased speculations. Content and marketing panels hired by the media networks carefully analyze the trending topics, with or without hash tags, and create breaking news out of scratch. They never give out real news, but only the sensational bits. Speculative news to speculate speculations. Parosh had developed a special hatred for news channels, and MANORMA 24X7 was on top of that list, mainly because his sister worked for it. He was wise enough to understand that it was purely out of sibling rivalry that he had developed that special hatred.
He picked up his cellphone and dialled Pakhi's number again, but once again the automated female voice said 'The number you are trying to connect is currently unreachable, please try after some time.' And then the same was repeated in Malayalam.
Irritated, he sat down to type down another sms.
Jst pick up d damn fone or call me bk. Urgent! Get rid of dat fone btw.
He was not worried about his daughter or Pakhi, but the call he received on his cellphone while he was in the basement was important, and it was meant for Pakhi. He pinned his right hand into his pocket and pulled out a pack of Marlboro. He absolutely loved the bitterly incense-like smell of the imported brand. He lit one cigarette from the pack.
About thirty minutes back, while Parosh was going through the contents of Jagannatha Varma's health reports, he received a call on his cellphone. The call was from an anonymous number and was for Pakhi.
'This message is meant for Pakhi Dutta, I assume that you are a very close and trusted aid.' a shriveling voice spoke on the phone.
'This is Parosh Chandra Dutta, Pakhi's brother. Who may this be?' Parosh inquired.
'Convey my message to Pakhi Dutta, there was an assassination attempt on MC.'
'Whoa, what, you mean MC Jagannatha?' Parosh jumped up in disbelief.
'Indeed, however, he got away this time but for safety reasons he is going underground for 48 hours.'
'I am so...'
'I have confirmation from the most reliable source that he has headed to his hometown in Kochi.' the voice spoke in a crystal clear tone.
'Are you sure?' Parosh confirmed.
'Kindly convey the tip and ask Pakhi to send my reward to my Noida apartment by Friday.'
And then the line went dead. Parosh quickly pulled out the reports from the file and sprinted out of the library to the guest room and switched on the television. There had been an unsuccessful assassination attempt on MC Jagannatha Varma. He called Pakhi many times but her number was not reachable. He had misplaced Iyer's number so he could not call him either.
Reality had started to behave like fiction and there were more elements of coincidental commotion than peaceful chaos. From the disappearance of his daughter, finding her at the abandoned mansion, her second disappearance, finding her the second time at the same old place, to an assassination on the subject that he was working on, MC Jagannatha Varma. More importantly, he was secretly on his way to Tripunithura. The secrecy was perfectly understandable, as any person would prefer to avoid the media as well as the conspiring minds behind the attempt.
Parosh, however, did not regret it, but the feeling of getting on the edge of an investigative adventure only excited him. He exhaled smoke in rings and looked at them ascending into the air. He dropped the cellphone into his pocket and picked up the reports. With great caution he held the tattering pages and studied them in detail.
Chapter 37
'His wife’s final cries faded away, so did the buzz of the fireflies and the crackling of fire,' Shiuli filled her lungs with an air of sigh and released, 'He slipped into whiteness.'
Pakhi gazed into the virtual screen that had been projected by the ghost's tragic story ordained by Shiuli's extraordinary storytelling skills.
'That's it folks, that is all that he remembers. When he woke up, he realized that he was lighter than before and could walk through matter.' Shiuli pronounced.
'Extraordinary!' Pakhi inferred. Being a journalist, she was well accustomed to sit through stories no matter how 'over the top' they might sound., But this was something she would have never imagined. One of the most important realizations from this was the fact that ghosts did exist.
'So, Pishi, will you help us?' the niece asked nicely.
'Is he here?'
Shiuli looked around and sighed again, 'No, he is tending the magical fireflies. Fireflies are nocturnal when alive, so for them it is quite natural to be inert during the daytime. So, they are both resting somewhere.'
'Since he has become such a good friend, I was wondering why have I not been subject to an appearance? Jokes apart, his story is tragic.'
'Is not it? We must find out the purpose of Mr. Clifford, at the time of his death.' Shiuli requested.
'Well, is it not obvious?' Pakhi said twirling the palm of her right hand clockwise.
Shiuli gave up.
'His mind was hooked on to one thing and one thing alone, at the time of his death...' Pakhi revealed, 'His wife, Lavanya Ghosh Baxter. He wishes to know what happened to Lavanya that night, and his soul is stranded here in the vague hope of information.'
'But how can we ever know what happened to her that night? There was nobody else here that night. If only she was alive, the chances of which are nil.'
'You are forgetting him.' Pakhi reminded.
'Of course not, he was locked up in the cellar.'
'Not Mr. Clifford.'
'Then?' and it struck the young girl, 'Ooooh! You mean him, the visitor?'
'Yes.' Pakhi smiled.
'But how do we trace him. How do we know if he is even alive?'
'Yes, that's true. Maniacs of his kind die young or rot for centuries. But the only way we can put the pieces together is by collecting all the individual pieces first.'
'How many pieces do we have?' Shiuli asked.
'The ghost's story concreted some of the seemingly mythical facts from Iyer's story. I think we are short of a few pieces only. The ghost cannot step outside the boundaries of this property because of the presence of Dwimukhi Rudraksha. We need someone who can help us with the local history – a native aid.'
They heard someone moaning from the hall. Pakhi and Shiuli looked at each other and giggled..
It was Iyer.
Chapter 38
Iyer motioned his head sideways, his forehead felt a little sore. He tried getting up but was held tightly by a network of cobwebs. He realized he was way above ground level, and the realization led him to scream out loud, shattering half broken panes of the rusted mansion.
'Amma, yenna ithu? Kaapathane Kadavule, Enne Kaapathane! Aarum ille ivide?' He yelled for help desperately in his mother tongue.
Shiuli entered the scene gracefully and called out for Iyer, 'Hey you?'
Iyer arrowed his fat head towards her voice, although he could not see her, he said, 'Shooli?'
'Aargghh! I am not talking to this guy!' she roared and called her aunt to initiate the negotiation, 'Pishi!'
Pakhi came in and requested, 'Mr. Iyer, please do not panic. We have everything under control.'
'Panic? Control? Do you not see what has been done to me? Do you not see where the golden serpent has put me?'
'They are fireflies!' Shiuli bit her teeth. Pakhi gestured her to calm down.
'Look, Mr. Iyer, I understand that you are in a very uncomfortable position but you have not been harmed at all. We just tied you there so that you do not bring people in here and seal the house down with all that tantric rituals.' She paused for a while and then spoke slowly, 'What if you were helplessly looking for a reason to live but could not remember how. What if nobody ever let you investigate?' She took few steps forward and stood right under the chandelier to which Iyer was tied,
'Think of that poor soul which is neither dead nor living and stuck within the confines of this place forever. How pointlessly frustrating would that be?'
Sympathy started to grow on Iyer's bubbly face.
'Are you getting me, Mr. Iyer?' Pakhi asked for a confirmation
In return she received something primitively resembling a nod of the head.
'The ghost is not the visitor; it is just a poor victim of the visitor. A very decent ghost and it will get you down only if you promise us that you will not scream or attract unwanted crowds here. Can I have your word?' Pakhi asked.
'Yes, please get me down. I am begging you.' Iyer cried like a child, twisting and turning beneath the cobweb, trying to break free.
'Mr. Iyer, stop shaking yourself, it’s a very old chandelier and will come off the ceiling, you will fall and...' before Pakhi could finish her cautionary, the chandelier broke loose and came crashing down.
First there was the shattering of the glass crystals, followed by a really loud thud of a huge bottom making contact with the ground.
'Amma, my back!' Iyer writhed in pain.
'Now, look what you have done to yourself.' Pakhi sympathized.
'It is the ghost, the ruthless and cruel visitor!' Iyer cursed.
Shiuli could not stand Iyer anymore, she immediately stepped in and threatened him, 'Look, here is the deal. One more word about the ghost or the visitor, be sure that you will incur the wrath of the ghost and your entire family be cursed forever.'
'No!' Iyer whispered in fear. Pakhi looked at Shiuli in shock.
'Yes! The ghost just said that, he is ready to curse you.' Shiuli blackmailed.
'No, no, no. I do not want any curse; please tell the visitor that I will cooperate in any way he wants.'
'For starters, he is not ‘the visitor’. He is the ghost of the Englishman who died a horrible death here. Secondly, he was a good man and so was his wife. The visitor brought this doomed fate upon him and his wife. And finally, just answer whatever my aunt asks you and help her at any cost. Do you get that?'
'Ye... yes, I will help you. Please get me up, I have hurt my back.'
'Oh! By the way, it is not a golden snake,' Shiuli instructed as she let the swarm pick up Iyer off the floor, 'they are fireflies. Dead ones!'
Iyer shivered as the fireflies weakly carried him across the hall and placed him on what appeared like an old settee.
'Great move, young lady. Pakhi was surprised at how she had taken care of Iyer.
'It’s easy to negotiate with superstitious people.' Shiuli winked at her aunt.
The magical insects lacked the intensity of the previous night, but then they were creatures of the night, wandering about in the virtual darkness created by the paltry illumination of the mansion. Pakhi asked Shiuli to wait at the mansion’s entrance, while she interrogated Iyer. She did not want the young girl to hear accounts of the victims who were doomed in the mansion.
'Mr. Iyer, please tell us when was the last time the visitor was reported to visit this mansion?' Pakhi began her interrogation.
'Yesterday when this girl…' he shot an arrogant look towards Shiuli and continued,'… came in here.'
'I obviously meant before that.' Pakhi stated.
'Oh, 1948. The night of the Clifford’s disappearance.'
'Had there been any other rumors after that?'
'None at all. People were scared, and they had started sealing the island off after sunset on pournami nights.'
'Interesting. Anything particularly common among the victims besides being molested females?'
'They were all outsiders, did not belong to this land and...' Iyer stopped and gazed into the ceiling.
'…and?' Pakhi pressed.
'They were all poor needy women, bought off for handsome sums in gold from their families until Mrityunjaya Varma's death. But the visitor did not follow this pattern; the women he brought were random women, mostly prostitutes.'
'This means, the visitor was not the dead man’s ghost or evil spirit, but someone alive who was simply a seeker of dominating pleasure. And the tag of a ghost or evil spirit would always keep the people away from any form of investigation.' Pakhi deduced.
'What about the fireflies?' Shiuli interjected, 'there were thousands, and lakhs of fireflies inside those glass jars in the cellar.'
'I do not know anything about the fireflies.' Iyer confessed.
'One last question for now,' Pakhi said, 'Is there by any chance any sort of connection between any character from this story and MC Jagannatha Varma, the minister?'
'Of course, Mr. Varma is the current owner of this mansion and the only surviving heir to the royal bloodline.'
'I am sorry, did you say only surviving heir?' Pakhi asked shocked by what she had just heard.
'He is the legitimate son of Mrityunjaya Varma.' Iyer added.
And before she could dwell into the quicksand of reality, her phone rang. She rushed outside to attend the call.
Upon seeing her aunt rush outside, Shiuli walked towards the staircase that was a few hundred feet from the entrance.
'I am going to get Mr. Clifford from upstairs.' Shiuli told Iyer, the very name of Clifford brought fear in his eyes that were already red from tears. Shiuli corrected, 'Oh, not the ghost, my teddy bear Mr. Clifford. I will be right back so do not do anything stupid.'
Iyer nodded. Shiuli turned around and that is when she noticed something. She turned her back towards Iyer. Iyer was not sitting on a settee, he was placed on the Englishman's reading table and on that table lay a book, the one that Richard was reading that night. She picked up the book, dusted its cover which was in tatters..
The Stranger.
She opened the book, flipped through the pages and then she found a bookmark on the fifteenth page. She pulled out the bookmark. It was a very old black and white photograph, as worn out as the book's cover.
'Shiuli, it was your dad and he has given some shocking news He will come to pick us up in thirty minutes.' Pakhi said while coming inside. She looked at Shiuli who was gazing at the picture with unearthly astonishment and asked curiously, 'What is that that you are holding in your hand?'
Shiuli handed over the picture to her aunt, who upon looking at the subject, recoiled in shock, 'Oh my god! This cannot be true!'
Chapter 39
After dropping off Iyer at his house, Suresh Gopi drove back to pick up Pakhi and Shiuli from the mansion. Parosh also stayed back with them till Gopi returned.
'Parosh, I have something to show you.' Pakhi
said as she got in the car.
'I have something to show you as well,' Parosh motioned Suresh Gopi to start the car. He looked at Pakhi and requested, 'Let me start.'
'Sure, go ahead, what is it?' Pakhi asked.
Shiuli sat in front next to driver's seat and held on tightly to her teddy bear.
'Well...' Parosh pulled out few documents from the file that he had kept in the pouch behind the driver's seat. After handing them over to Pakhi he started explaining his findings,
'It appears that our most certain next prime minister once used to be a loony and needed psychiatric help.' he stopped to look at his sister who was going through the medical reports.
He continued, 'I went through the Varma family history and Jagannatha Varma's personal files. It was all there in the library. MC was a bright young boy, although he succumbed to mental trauma at the tender age of eleven when he lost someone dear to him to a suicidal accident. Someone who has been mentioned in the reports as him. This person's name has been scribbled off from the family tree as well. It seems as though the family did not want anyone to know about this particular person’s existence., I am guessing He is MC's brother...'
'Uncle!' Pakhi interrupted without raising her head.
'What?'
'Yes, this He was MC's uncle Chandrasena Varma, the illegitimate son of his grandfather, Mrityunjaya Varma.' Pakhi revealed.
'But... how do you know?'
'Trust me, I know a lot more than you can imagine, I have known more than I can digest. I have realized that fiction can be very factual.'
'Chandrasena Varma, of course, beneath the scribbling on that page on the journal, I could see that that particular name began with a C and ended with M and A.'
'I cannot believe any of this.' Pakhi expressed her thoughts on the medical reports. She looked at her brother who was eagerly awaiting her comments.
'Go ahead, I see from your face that you have more to tell. Surprise me, come on.' She challenged.