NIRUPAMA

(Some Secrets May Better Remain Secrets Forever)

'I cannot bear this', 'I want to pluck my eyes out' only these two sentences were the clues which the late girl Nirupama left in writing one on a wall and one in a book quite unintentionally and involuntarily to know about the reason for her committing suicide. Her father Ranganath, detective Smaran and his niece Menaka along with Nirupama's friend Sukanya pretty well understood that Nirupama did not want the said secret to be known to anyone else. But since her father Ranganath hell bent upon knowing about the said secret, detective Smaran and his niece Menaka ruthlessly investigated the matter only to unearth the said ghastly, shocking and astounding secret which the dead girl terribly wished to keep only with her in her grave forever.

x x x x x

"I just want to see how your uncle's office is, so I have come." While relinquishing Menaka's grip around her, Sukanya said.

"It is very good that you came here now. We have been discussing an important matter now and your presence will be very much advantageous." Smaran said.

"Is that so?" Sukanya came and sat in the left side chair opposite Smaran while Menaka sitting in the right side chair. "I am very much curious to participate in this discussion, may I know what it is?"

Then Menaka explained to Sukanya what they were discussing and discussed till then and Sukanya nodded her head.

"You already expressed this at me on that day. She was not raped or gang-raped. Post mortem was conducted on her body and that proved it." Sukanya said thoughtfully.

As Menaka was trying to say something more Sukanya said even before "I remembered what you have said on that day. Rape or gang-rape cannot be detected after fifteen days or so in post mortem. Still in my opinion Nirupama was not subjected to something like that."

Then Menaka said to her what she has learnt from Nagesh. "I have no doubt that Nirupama came to your home on the same day. Considering the way she was before going into the house, she was quite alright till that moment. So whatever has taken place to make her that much has taken place only inside of that house on that day itself." Menaka said.

"You are absolutely right." Sukanya nodded her head.

"Not just that." Frowns gathered on the forehead of Menaka. "She had spent only half an our or so inside of that house. Nagesh saw her coming out of that house just in an half an hour in all different way. So whatever that much depressing happened to her has happened in that half an hour."

"So what that much depressing can happen just in half an hour?" Sukanya knitted her brows and looked into the face of Smaran.

"That is what needs to be found out." Smaran smiled and said. "Even before that we have to decide who were present in the house at that time. As per Ranganath's saying he was out of station for few days on some work just fifteen days or so before Nirupama's suicide. She he was not in the house at that time."

"Moreover...." Menaka said ".....if he was inside of that house then he surely would have known what happened and he need not request us to investigate into that."

"You are right." Smaran nodded his head.

"So inside of that house was her mother. Some argument with her mother about something which her mother did not like and depressed Nirupama to that much?" Menaka said.

"I just cannot guess anything that her mother did not like" Sukanya said with knitted brows.

"About some love affair. She loved someone and said the same thing to her mother and she did not like it."

"I already made you people quite clear." With firmness Sukanya said. "There were no love affairs to Nirupama and if there were anything like that I sure would have known about it. And another important thing; If Nirupama loved someone and wanted to marry him, whoever he might be her mother never would say a no to it. So there is no question an argument could be raised for that between them."

"You just cannot guess everything on your own. How do you say how her mother would react on certain things?" with little irritation Menaka said.

"What all we can do are assumptions" Smaran said. "There is always a possibility for everything a rape or gang-rape or a failed love avair which led her to commit suiside."

"Of course assumptions I agree." Menaka nodded her head. "And we have to take everything into consideration. She was in love with someone, her parents did not agree to that and she concealed the same from you also."

"No chance at all." With the same firmness Sukanya said. "I am not assuming and it is my firm belief. If Nirumpama was in love with anyone and wanted to marry him, who ever it may be her mom and dad sure would have agreed to it. There was no chance that either parent made her daughter worried that much about it."

"One moment....one moment...." Smaran intervened. "One important point you both girls are forgetting here. In our firm assumption, whatever that may be which made her that much depressed and led her to commit suiside has happened just in half an hour lenth time only on that day. There was no chance that she would have had an argument with her mother for some love affair or so in just that half an hour or so depressed to the maximum, worried fifteen days for it and then commit suiside."

"Then for what other thing she would have argued with her mother? In our thinking only her mother was present in that house then. Can we presume that her dad also was present and she made the argument with them both then?" with knitted her brows Menaka looked into the face of Smaran.

"Indeed absurd thinking Menaka, I must say." Sukanya irritatingly said.

"Why should we think that her depression was because of her argument with her parents or some strong denial from them? Why should not it be some-thing else?" Smaran asked.

"If you promise you don't kill me once I say this, I do make another absurd guess." Looking fearfully into the face of Sukanya, Menaka said.

"I cannot afford to lose the only close friend I have by killing you." Sukanya hissed out heavily and said. "Venture yourself."

"Nirupama respected her mother a lot just like all of us. Just like all of us she has a very high opinion on her. On that day, when she came suddenly home, she found her with someone having sex. How any girl will feel if she finds her mom having sex with someone other than her dad? Is it is not something........... "

"Will you please shut your mouth? How you can think like that I just cannot think!" Sukanya shouted and got off from the chair angrily. "My god! Nirmala aunty......"

"I am sorry. I should not have said it like that." Menaka said with a regretful expression in her face.

"You detectives are impossible things!" Sukanya nodded her head helplessly and slumped in her chair again. "I am hundred percent sure. There is never such a possibility either with her mother or father."

"Moreover...." Smaran said "Nirupama could not have controlled herself and behaved in a usual way if she witnessed such type of a thing. It is my firm opinion also something like that was not the reason for her depression."

"Then what it can be? What made her that much depressed in the first place to commit suiside?" Menaka asked looking into the face of Smaran with an irritating expression.

Smaran smiled, closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair.

"Uncle....I say....that you already have an idea why she committed suiside, is it is not so?" Menaka knitted her brows together.

Smaran wanted to say something but then his cell phone rang. Both Menaka and Sukanya remained silent while he was talking and after cutting off the call he said. "I have to go out on an important work. You both friends break your heads to guess about what it could be at some other place. I have to close this office and go out."

Then Menaka and Sukanya also have to leave that office along with Smaran.

***

"Do you want to be hypnotized on this day also?" Menaka and Nirmala were in the kitchen engaged in preparing something.

"Yes. I want to be hypnotized like that every day. I feel quite good and easily slip myself into sleep."

"Then I do hypnotize you on this day also and everyday too." Menaka laughed and said. "I really enjoy hypnotizing you so."

"You need not ask me. If you find me sitting in the chair in the bed room or lying in the bed struggling to sleep, come and hypnotize me." Nirmala said.

There was some silence in between.

"Nirupama used to hypnotize you every day then?" Menaka said.

"Yes. She used to hypnotize me everyday. She does the same once she comes to home again. She is an expert in that to say."

There was a pause and Menaka did not say anything.

"I must say you are also doing it quite good. Where you people have learnt this art?"

"We can know about it through books. Psychologists know about it more. As your daughter has been studying psychology, she knows about it more and became an expert in it."

"May be you are right." Nirmala nodded her head.

"You know, we can hypnotize ourselves. We don't need another person's help." Menaka said again.

"Self-hypnotism? My daughter discussed about this also with me. But it requires more effort. Why do I bother with it when I have got wonderful hypnotists in my home itself?"

Menaka once again laughed and said "You are right."

There was silence again and Nirmala put the pieces of vegetables in the pan on the stove.

"Nirupama indeed an attractive and beautiful girl." Menaka said.

Nirmala turned and looked at Menaka. "You are also an attractive and beautiful girl. I just remember my daughter every time I look at you."

"Thank you very much. I am indeed flattered. But I am not as much pretty as Nirupama."

"It is not so. You both are equals. You are also as much pretty as Nirupama." Nirmala once again indulged in her work.

"Especially her eyes. They are so beautiful and active. Are not they?" Menaka was quite careful.

Nirmala abruptly turned towards Menaka and said. "Her eyes?" there was a sudden change in her voice.

"Yes. I mean her eyes. They are quite active and we can see her intelligence in her eyes."

"Yes. You are right. Her eyes are very active and intelligent." Her voice was shivering. "How do you know? You did not see Nirupama yet."

"I have seen her photograph. Her eyes are quite clear in it."

There was heavy silence for sometimes prevailed between them then.

"But she does not like her eyes now. She hates them."

Menaka startled. It was just like a bomb was dropped between them. "What! Menaka hates her own eyes now?"

Nirmala dropped the ladle in her hand on the floor. "Did I say anything to you now?" the shivering was still in her voice.

"You said that your daughter does not like her eyes now and she hates them."

"I did not say anything." Nirmala hastily said.

"But you said it." Menaka carefully said.

"Forget. I did not say anything like that to you. Don't broach this subject ever again to me." Nirmala curtly said. The anxiety in her face then was shocking to Menaka.

Menaka understood that Nirmala was not going to say anything to her then.

***

It was middle of the night and Sukanya sat upright on her bed. Her mouth was dry and throat aching. She was terribly feeling thirsty but she did not want to drink water then.

She could not think it was a dream. It was so real. She could hear her voice even now also. She preferred to call her so most of the times.

"Kanya."

But there was sorrow in her voice now. Deep sorrow. Sukanya looked into her eyes. There was sadness.

"I should not have died." She said.

Sukanya was just listening. She was trembling and she knew there was no more Nirupama.

"I should not have left you like this. I know that you do feel a lot about me."

'Was it a dream? Could it be just a dream?" Sukanya was thinking. It was all just minutes back.

"Whether it is a dream or not' Sukanya's lips were trembling. 'You said it right. You should not have left me alone. First and foremost you should not have left your parents like that. You did a very big mistake."

For a moment Sukanya thought to go into the other room and share her experience with her mother. But she did not. She did not want to wake up her peacefully sleeping mother.

She fall back and tried to sleep. She indeed needed to put an effort to fall into sleep again.

(..........to be continued)

(I hope you enjoyed it so far. Please don't forget to rate and review it. I update the next chapter as early as possible.)

#investigation #detection #psychology #hypnosis#hypnotism #love #romance #romantic #suspense #thriller #sentiment #family#suicide #psychology #hypnosis #self-hypnosis #psychiatry #psychiatrist