Knowledge is Power!

Tag: mystery

  • The Last Ritual by Khushboo Singh

    Mohan kept thinking about the argument with his wife while rowing the boat. The passengers were chatting among themselves, but that didn’t bother Mohan. He was immersed in his thoughts. He wanted to send his son to the town for better education, but his wife argued that he was too young to send away. It’s not that he was not attached to his son but wanted a better future for him. He is already 12 years old and there is no good school in the village. A voice broke his chain of thoughts.

    One of the passengers spoke, “When do you cross the river in the morning? I need to go to the town early morning.”

    Mohan replied, “How early do you want?”

    The passenger spoke again, “At dawn.”

    Mohan replied,” I will be here by sunrise.”

    The boat had reached the shore of the river. Mohan hinged the boat to the riverside and the passengers climbed down. They paid Mohan and walked away. It was getting dark now. Mohan carefully hinged the boat and tied it to a stone pillar. He was taking out his stuff when a stranger came close to him.

    The stranger called upon him, “Brother! Take me to the Rajghat.”

    Mohan turned around and looked at the stranger. He was an old man with an overgrown grey beard. He was lean and tall. Mohan had not seen him before.

    Mohan spoke, “ I have never seen you before. Are you from a different village?”

    The old man spoke with a sad voice, “ Yes. I am from a distant village. I have walked all day to reach here. I need to cross the river.”

    Mohan replied in a humble tone, “ Kaka! You are late. It’s dark and misty. I can’t row the boat at this hour. I need to go home. My family must be waiting.”

    At this point, the old man looked tired and distressed. Tears rolled down his cheek while he spoke, “Oh boatman! Please understand my situation. I got a letter today morning. My son is dead. I need to go to Rajghat. I need to see him and collect his body. I need to complete the rituals. He was my only son and I don’t have anyone other than him. You can’t understand my loss.”

    The old man broke into tears as he struggled to speak further,” Take everything I have. Just let me see my son one last time. I will never forget your debt oh boatman!”

    Mohan shivered with pain when he saw that old man crying. He went forward and held him tightly. He gently tapped his arms and said,” Kaka! Don’t worry. I will take you.”

    Mohan took the old man on his boat and went back to the river. He rowed his boat in that dark misty night. He looked at the old man who was sitting still, looking at the wave created by the moving boat. He was feeling bad for the poor stranger. He gained all the courage and asked the old man, “How old was your son?”

    The old man replied in a low voice, “He was 21 years old.”

    Mohan asked again,” He works in the town?”

    The old man was still looking at the ripple created in the river. He didn’t look away but took a deep breath and replied,” He wanted to earn a lot of money. We sent him with his uncle to the town. He joined a goldsmith there and started assisting with his work. He was doing well. In the beginning, things were good and he used to visit us every month.”

    (Image generated with Canva)

    He paused and looked towards Mohan, “ The distance is large. So I understand it would have been difficult for him to travel every week. But we were happy. But later he got busier than before. He couldn’t find the time. His mother passed away last week… and..”

    The old man again broke into tears and he looked away. Mohan didn’t ask any further.

    It was deep dark now. Mohan lit the lamp on the boat. He spoke, “Kaka! We are close. We will be there in another few minutes.”

    The old man didn’t heed at first. Then he looked at Mohan and took out a box from his luggage and said, “ I was going to give this box to my son..but…now..”. His voice trembled and he stopped speaking. Mohan realized that they were at the edge. So he started preparing to hinge the boat. He climbed down the boat and tied it with a rope. He could hear the old man stepping down as well. But when he looked back he was shocked. There was no one near the boat. He went around to see. No one was around. He thought to himself, “Did the old man just run away? Why? Maybe he didn’t have money?..Why would he act like a thief?”

    Mohan was a bit disappointed but then he realised the situation of the old man and calmed himself down. He went back into his boat to return back home. But when he entered the boat he saw a box lying on the sitting area of the boat.

    He opened the box. There were two earthen pots with a cloth covering the mouth of the pots. He knew those were the ashes of two dead people. His fear was turning into reality as he opened the letter kept in the box.

    Son! You never cared to return to us in these two years but we can’t give up on you. After your mother’s death, I felt lonely and I knew I wouldn’t survive for long. I don’t expect much from you but we will be released from this world of Maya if you complete the last rituals meant to be completed by a son. If you find our ashes and this letter we will find our place in heaven.

    The letter had an address on the backside and was addressed to a person named Raghav. Mohan still in shock decided to deliver the letter and the ashes to the given address.

    When he reached the given house and knocked, a lady opened the door. Mohan showed his face in the light of the lamp and spoke, “ Does Raghav lives here?”

    The old lady looked surprised. “Why do you ask?”, she spoke.

    Mohan said, “I have a message from his parents.”

    The lady still in surprise spoke again with a hint of irritation in her voice, “ How come his parents ask his whereabouts now? No one came to ask in the last two years. His ashes were lying abandoned in his old room for so long. Do you know the amount of trouble…”

    Mohan got numb. All the words were vanishing in thin air as if the whole world had gotten silent. He could only speak in a faint voice, “Where are his ashes?” The lady went inside shouting and came back with a pot.

    Mohan himself completed the rituals early morning and prayed for the soul of the entire family. Then he returned home where his wife was waiting for him eagerly. She kept asking questing while he sat on the floor.

    He finally spoke, “Our kid will stay with us.” Both looked at each other in comforting silence.

    By Khushboo Singh

  • The Neighbour by Khushboo Singh

    Madhu looked out of the kitchen window. The new neighbors were unloading their stuff from the truck. It was a small family like hers. Only she didn’t have a kid while the new family had one. She could see a tall, lean, fair man with a beard, his beautiful wife, and a small boy. The boy looked young …probably eleven or twelve. The man looked irritated as he carried the pieces of furniture but the wife looked calm and composed. She smiled quite often. The boy was reading a book in the corner.

    The whistle of the cooker distracted Madhu and she came back to the kitchen platform. She got busy with her cooking and didn’t look out of the window again. Raman called her from the room,” Is the food ready? I am getting late.” Madhu replied in a loud voice,” Yes, come to the dining hall. It’s ready. I am just packing the tiffin.”

    Raman left for work. He ran a cyber cafe in the city. He would leave the house at 10 am and come back at 8 pm every day. He was a simple man with few expectations. He would usually carry tiffin for lunch except for Saturdays when he would close early. Madhu was a housewife but she also ran a tiffin service and provided meals for workers in the cement plant in a nearby area. She was assisted by her old neighbor and his younger brother earlier but now that they were gone she was facing trouble carrying out the work on her own. She called her own brother for a few days but he won’t stay long. His summer holidays would be over soon and she was looking for a new partner. She was making decent money from her tiffin service.

    One afternoon when she was taking a nap, the doorbell woke her up. She woke up and went to open the door. She was expecting that Tarun might have returned. He had left early for distributing the tiffins. But she was surprised to see her new neighbor at the door.

    The neighbor spoke,” Hello! My name is Sharda. I live next door.”

    Madhu responded,” Ohh! Hello. Nice to meet you.”

    Sharda spoke back,” Can I come in?”

    Madhu responded again,” Yeah sure. Come in.”

    Both hit a conversation and Madhu felt relieved that her new neighbor was very friendly. Madhu was impatiently waiting to bring the tiffin service into the conversation. Finally, she spoke,” You know I run a tiffin service.”

    Sharda smiled and showed excitement,” Wow! How do you manage? How many people do you feed?”

    Madhu said,” I send tiffin to 25 people right now. The thing is that I used to run the business with my previous neighbor…and you know she is gone.. and now you have come…which is great..mmm…but I need someone to assist me in my work…mmm”

    Madhu was hesitating to speak,” Do you cook?..or even if you don’t..would you like to be part of my work. I will pay you..only if you are willing to work..”

    Madhu finally took a breath. Sharda laughed hard. “Why are you so nervous? I would love to work. I don’t know anything about cooking. But I will help you. But…”

    The long pause was making Madhu anxious. “ Is there any problem?”

    Sharda spoke again,” My husband…”

    Suddenly there was a knocking on the door. Someone was knocking hard. “ Sharda…Sharda..are you there?”

    Madhu ran to open the door. It was Sharda’s husband. Before Madhu could say anything he barged into the room and held Madhu by her arm. “I asked you not to leave the house”, he was angry.

    Madhu wanted to speak but she was also terrified by the man’s behavior. Her own husband never even talked to her in a high voice and this man was clearly very aggressive. As they both left the house she sat down. She kept thinking about the incident all day.

    The next morning Madhu woke up by some noise. She could hear a siren from her room. She came to the main hall where her husband and her brother were peeking through the window.

    Image generated using Canva

    “What happened?”, Madhu asked.

    Tarun said,” Di! Something has happened to our neighbors. There is an ambulance and a police jeep. The crowd is surrounding the house.

    Madhu felt cold under her feet. She told herself,” It must be the husband. He would have killed Sharda. She should have filed a complaint against the monster when he barged in the day before. Poor Sharda.” She looked through the kitchen window while cursing herself. She could see a body wrapped in white cloth being transferred into the ambulance but nothing else was visible. The kid and the husband, no one was there.

    The whole week after the incident she kept blaming herself. She didn’t even tell her husband about the pain. One morning when she served the tea to her husband, he asked Madhu to sit near him. As Madhu sat down she looked at the news her husband was reading. There was a picture of Sharda and her husband.

    She asked Raman about the news. Raman looked at the paper and spoke, “Unbelievable right? I couldn’t have thought that something of this scale would happen in our neighborhood. Poor man.”

    Madhu was shocked and spoke at once, “Poor man???? What are you saying?”

    Raman sighed heavily,” Yes! our neighbor. His name was Aman. Poor guy. He was trying to keep his mentally unstable wife away from the police. She was the culprit in a murder case. Apparently, she poisoned an entire family in her previous neighborhood. The police were investigating the case and found evidence of her crime. Her mental history came up during the investigation. The police were going to file the chargesheet when the husband ran away with his wife and little kid. They shifted here to avoid the police. But last night she poisoned her husband as well.”

    Madhu was shocked. She held the newspaper in her shivering hand as she read the headlines:

    A woman charged with the murder of a family poisoned her own husband and ran away with her twelve-year-old kid

    By Khushboo Singh

    Thanks for reading!

  • The box by Khushboo Singh

    15 years old Shanti went to see the fair with her friends. Her mother gave her 50 Rupees to eat and buy stuffs. She was quite excited.

    When the girls reached the place, they got even more excited. There was a huge crowd. There were shops selling toys, little clay pots, bangles, etc. There were stalls for different snacks like Samosa, tea, chat, and different kinds of sweets. There were swings and rides for children.

    The girls were exploring all the options. The place was filled with joyful sounds and laughter of people. Shanti was curious while going through different shops. While her friends were busy eating various snacks, she decided to spend her money on something unique.

    As she walked away from her friends, she came across shops selling pottery, clothes, handcrafts, and many more. She noticed that there was a shop selling antiques. She entered the shop. It was a big one. There were boxes, statues, coins, and wall paintings. She looked at the beautiful boxes as the shopkeeper approached her.

    “Do you want to buy one?”, he asked and smiled.

    Shanti replied, “ Yes! How much for one?”

    “150 Rupees”, the owner said.

    Shanti’s smile turned into disappointment. “ I only have a 50 Rupees”, she said.

    The shopkeeper looked at her and said, “I have one old box which I can giveaway for 50. But it’s in a bad condition. Someone threw it near my shop. I collect antiques and it looked really good so I kept it. But no one would buy it as it is broken.“

    The shopkeeper went inside and brought a wooden box. It was a rectangular box. It’s handle was broken and there were scratches on upper cover. It seemed like someone tried to damage it. But from inside it looked brand new. Finely polished inner walls with a mirror on the top lid. The interior had fine engraved miniature designs. There was engraved a text saying,

    Return anything you take from here

    “What does it mean?”, asked Shanti.

    The shopkeeper replied,”I don’t know. It’s just for decorative purposes. Don’t bother. Do you want it?”

    Shanti replied at once,”Yes!”

    She happily brought the box with her. She was excited about putting ornaments and jewellery in it, but her mother denied. She said that the gold jewellery were kept in safe and should not be touched.

    Finally, Shanti kept her artificial bracelet in it. She had bought it from a local shop. It was made of fake pearls but looked really pretty.

    That day Shanti’s friend Meenal visited her. Shanti showed her the box. Meenal was fascinated by it. She put her own earrings in the box and said, “It looks so good in it. We will keep all our jewelry in this box.” Shanti’s eyes sparkled with excitement. They both spent some time together and then Meenal took her earrings from the box and went away.

    The day went by and at night Shanti closed the box and went to sleep. The next day when she opened the box, she realised her bracelet was not there. She asked her mother and father about it. No one had touched her box. She was confused. She went to Meenal’s house to ask her.

    When she reached her house, she saw policemen standing at Meenal’s door. Meenal’s mother was weeping and her father was talking to the police. Apparently Meenal disappeared from the house when they were asleep. The parents searched all places in the village but were unable to locate her. The mother was screaming, “ She was sleeping with me. How can she go anywhere in the middle of the night? The doors were also locked from the inside when we woke up.”

    As Shanti heard all that she ran back to her house. She went into her room and took out the box. She opened the box. As she looked carefully she noticed something. She went to her father’s room and got his magnifying glass.

    With the glass when she looked at the miniature designs she realized something. Those were ornaments engraved on the walls of the box. She could see her pearl bracelet among them. Then she saw something that froze her. Some of the ornaments were engraved with the human figures wearing them.

    She quickly turned her attention to the text again

    Return anything you take from here

    Shanti understood that her friend was never coming back. She took the box in her hand and ran quickly towards the fair. She went to the antique shop, threw the box at the door, and ran back home.

    The shopkeeper came out and saw the box. He picked it up. He went inside and kept the box on the shelf. It read

    For sale

    By
    Khushboo Singh

  • A Horror Story by Khushboo Singh

    Sheetal and Rajam were anxiously waiting for the school bell to ring. They ran out of class when they heard the bell ring.

    Sheetal shouted without slowing down her pace, “Today I am going to beat you.”

    Rajam mocked her,” We are taking the forest route. That is not child’s play.”

    Both speeded up towards their home. It was a daily routine but today they decided to take the lesser travelled forest route. Rajam was faster than his sister. He ran without even looking back. When they entered the forest area, Rajam shouted without looking backward,” Stick to the track, don’t enter the woods.” Sheetal still lagging behind spoke back in full confidence,”I know the route.”

    A few minutes later Sheetal started losing her breath. She was tired and hence she slowed a bit. Rajam kept running. Suddenly a snake crawled in the road from behind the bushes. Sheetal got scared and started running away from the snake. Rajam who was running at full speed didn’t notice that his sister was left behind. Sheetal, in an attempt to escape the snake entered the dense forest area. The snake was not following her anymore. She stopped and looked around. She realized that she was lost.

    Sheetal screamed, “Rajam!….Help me…Rajam!!!”

    No one was around. Fear crawled through her heart and she started breathing faster. She screamed for help but it was of no use. She walked and walked. The sun was setting. It was getting dark. Then all of a sudden she saw a hut.

    She thought, “Am I dreaming? A hut!…In the middle of nowhere. How is that possible?”

    She was full of suspicion and yet she went close. The area near the hut was clear. There was a small pot of water outside. A tree just behind the hut was loaded with fruits. She was hungry.

    She called in a low voice, “Is anyone there?”

    A minute later, a very old lady came out. She was barely able to walk. She had a bird in her hand. A sparrow. The bird lied motionless in her hand. The old lady, looked at her for a moment and then asked her, “Who are you? You don’t look much old. What is your age?”

    Sheetal gained all her courage and spoke, “ I am from the nearby village. I have lost my way. Can you lead me to the road?”

    The old lady asked again, this time with slight irritation, “I asked something. What is your age?”

    Sheetal was a bit suspicious, but she replied, “I am thirteen. Why do you ask?”

    The old lady dragged herself closer to Sheetal and looked at her carefully. Then she glanced at the bird in her hand and looked back at the girl. She spoke, “This little bird is dying. Would you hold it for me.”

    Sheetal nodded against it.

    The old woman insisted, “Do it! I will help you. Hold it.”

    Sheetal hesitated a bit but didn’t argue. She slowly took the bird in her hand. The old lady smiled as she saw the bird move in the little girl’s palm. As the bird started getting conscious, the lady fell to the ground.

    Sheetal panicked and dropped the bird which flew and sat near the pot. She tried to hold the old lady and asked,” Are you ok? What is happening to you? Please tell me the way out of the forest.” Sheetal started weeping and tears rolled down her cheek.

    Image courtesy: Google images

    The old lady spoke to her the last words,” I am sorry little one. You can’t leave. You can’t die. You can’t escape, unless the bird has a new master. She needs to be fed. Don’t let her die or you will be cursed to roam in this forest forever and your soul will be condemned to hell. I will take a leave now.”

    The old lady died leaving Sheetal stuck in the lonely forest. Sheetal screamed for help. She ran away from the hut. After hours of running she reached back to the hut, where the bird was sitting on the ground. The words of the old lady came back to her. She rushed to hold the bird. What should I feed her? She was thinking about it when she noticed something. Her hands looked bigger. Her hair was longer than before. As the bird regained its health, it took something from her body.

    She was aging faster. She kept the bird away. It was full of life unlike her. She looked around herself hopelessly as she saw her life going down the pit.

    Fifteen years later

    Fifteen years had passed since the incident, but Sheetal had no sense of time. She was quite old by now. It was difficult for her to guess her own age, but she was definitely not twenty-eight as she should have been. Her hair was grey, her skin wrinkled, and her eyesight got blurred. The bird was still healthy though. It needed to be fed every year when it would absorb two years of her youth.

    One day Sheetal was sitting near the hut when she heard a voice. A little boy came running towards the hut. She had not seen a human in fifteen years. And now there was a young boy approaching her hut. That was it. Her escape. She moved towards the boy. The boy stopped and looked at her. He turned back and again towards Sheetal.

    “There was a snake. Can you lead me to the road?” The boy panicked.

    Sheetal knew the feeling. She had been at his place. But now the situation was reversed. What if the boy was key to her freedom? The old lady did not have any life in her. But she still could go back to her village and meet her family. Anyways she was not willing to rot in hell.

    Sheetal asked the boy, “Who are you? How old are you?”

    The boy replied with impatience,” My name is Sarthak. My father is a woodcutter. He has been cutting woods in this forest for a long time. He once lost his sister in here. He still hopes to find her. I was just accompanying him. He had asked me not to …”

    “What is the name of your father?” Sheetal interrupted the boy.

    The boy gasped a breath and replied, “Rajam. His name is Rajam.”

    Sheetal stood still for a moment. She had gone numb. Tears rolled down her cheek. She hugged the boy and whispered in his ear, “ Run away kid. Don’t touch a thing in this forest and run till you see the end. Tell your father that his sister died in peace.”

    The kid looked at the old lady with surprise. But he didn’t speak a word. He turned back and ran from where he had come. Sheetal looked at the boy till he disappeared in the woods. She sat down at the door of the hut and the bird flew over her and sat in her lap.

    By

    Khushboo Singh