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

"Then it can be assumed that she did not come straight to your house from the college on that day. She first went to her home and from there came to your house."

"It must have been so." Sukanya nodded her head.

"Then can we presume that something happened to her in her house which made her upset and caused an expression like that in her face?"

"Never" Sukanya nodded her head firmly. "There is no chance at all to something happen to her in her home to make her feel upset like that. Both her parents did love and like her a lot. They never do anything that makes her feel bad."

"Alright" Menaka nodded her head. "But how can you say that she came straight to her home from the college on that day? She might have stopped or might have been stopped for some reason at the college or nearby it or on the way."

"I just cannot understand what you are trying to say!" frowns gathered on the forehead of Sukanya.

"Don't get emotional and try to think in a logical way." Menaka stooped in the chair she sat and said looking into the face of Sukanya. "Nirupama suffered with something which she could not share with anyone even with those who were very close to her and that something even led her to commit suiside. Just try to guess in a general way and say what can make a girl distress that much even to commit suiside."

"I just cannot indulge myself in that guessing business. You do it yourself." Still there were frowns on the forehead of Sukanya.

"I already did." Menaka smiled and leaned back in the chair. "A rape or gang-rape. She would have been forced to stop somewhere while she was coming from the college and that atrocity would have happened on her. As she could not share it with anyone she committed suiside like that after suffering in herself for fifteen days or so."

"My god! What type of thinking it is?" Sukanya's face was filled with shock.

"We have to consider all types of possibilities. Just tell me whether there is such a chance or not. I already asked you to not to become emotional and try to think in a logical way."

"No, never." After few seconds serious thinking over that Sukanya said. "Even if something like that happened on her, Nirupama was not that type of a girl to commit suiside for it. First thing she would do is get those rascals to be hanged. It is not a rape or gang-rape on her which made her to commit suiside."

"Then what could have caused that expression in her face on that day which you saw?" Menaka knitted her brows together.

"I said to you it was only for few seconds that too only immediately after she entered into the house. When I returned from the doctor, she was all usual to me and we talked half an hour or so also. If she was raped or gang-raped I don't think that she could behave in such a way with me."

Menaka got off from the chair she sat. "I helped my uncle in some of his assignments. I really like being a part of his investigations. But this assignment.....I cannot feel like that." She turned and looked into the eyes of Sukanya. "Especially when I looked at her parents. Her mother became mad. Her father is with full of sadness. I am angry with her. Why did not she consider about her parents even whatever bloody thing that troubled her?"

Sukanya nodded her head helplessly.

"It is surprising that she did not share anything about that even with you either. What type of girl she was? Did she like keep things with her not sharing them with anyone else?"

"Not so. We used to share with each other everything. She is not something to say everything of her with others. But when it comes to important things she used to tell me and it is vice versa."

"What about her parents? Did she share things with them?"

"Sure, always she did. I already said to you that her father and she always behaved like friends. I don't need to say her relationship with her mother. She was their only child and borne to them after ten years of their marriage." Sukanya paused for a moment and then said. "I can say one thing. Nirupama's relationship with her parents was perfect. She loved her parents and was loved by them a lot. Among the three they never kept a secret."

"Except this."

"Of course, except this bloody thing which was compelled her to commit suicide." There were traces of anger and sadness in the voice of Sukanya.

Menaka came back and slumped into the chair again. "What about this Niranjan? I heard of him intimated with our girl. Did she share everything with him also?"

"He is a retired psychology professor. A relative to Nirupama from her mother's side. He came to this town after his retirement, bought a house and settled here." She paused for a moment. "A very interesting guy. Not just Nirupama I also liked him and went with her many a time to him. He did not ask her to join in psychology post graduation but he inspired her to opt psychology in her post graduation." Sukanya paused for a second and said again. "I must say he was like a father figure to her. She respected him and loved him as much as she did to her father."

"What you are studying in your post graduation?"

"Economics." Sukanya laughed. "I like psychology and that Niranjan both. But he did not inspire me that much to join in psychology. From the beginning my interest in economics dominated everything else."

Menaka was about to ask something but before she mouthed her words Sukanya asked her. "What you are studying now?"

"I have completed my graduation with mathematics. But I am not much interested in post-graduation and I want to do a job. I am writing competitive examinations."

"Very nice thing indeed!" Sukanya nodded her head with appreciation. "I think you are also as much aged of me and that Nirupama."

"May be so." Menaka nodded her head. "So Nirupama respected that Niranjan a lot. He was like a father figure to her."

"Yes, of course." Sukanya nodded her head.

"Don't become emotional again and just try to think once more in a logical way." Menaka adjusted herself in the chair before asking. "If that Niranjan raped our girl or tried to rape her, there was every chance to Nirupama to become distressed to the maximum and commit suiside. Was there no such chance?"

Sukanya got off from the sofa once again with a shocking expression in her face. "What type of bloody thinking this is? I already told you what a respectable person that Niranjan is."

"People who do have so good appearance outside may be bad inside. Sometimes we shall be utterly deceived by the outside appearance." Sukanya also got off from the chair, put her both hands on the shoulders of Sukanya and looked into her face. "I am sorry. Her dad is so much adamant to know about the truth. To elicit the truth I am thinking that it is important to try every angle and no stone should be left unmoved."

Sukanya slumped in the sofa wearily. "As that her dad that much wants to know the truth, I also try to help you without becoming emotional. But I am not thinking there was such thing happened. Either by that Niranjan or anyone else. Moreover you have to remember one thing here." Sukanya paused for a second "Post mortem conducted on the body of Nirupama. No rape or gang-rapge was committed on her."

"If that rape or gang rape happened on her some fifteen days or so before her commtting suicide, they don't be detected in post mortem."

"But still I can say for sure it was not because of either by rape or gang-rape, either by Niranjan or some people else she committed suiside. But if you still hold that view and decide to do investigation in that angle also, that is up to you." Sukanya resignedly said.

"I shall think about that." Menaka said

"You are all business like. But I am not feeling angry on you and it is just like I am with Nirupama. I cannot say why but you are reminding me Nirupama in all respects." Sukanya hissed out heavily, leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. After few seconds she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Menaka. She said "get up".

"What?" Menaka did not understand anything.

"I say get up and stand." Sukanya stood up and said again with a force in her voice.

Confused and embarrassed Menaka did so.

Sukanya came near to her, hugged her strongly and burst into weeping.

"You may guess how two close friends would be but you never can estimate how we both used to be. She was such a good friend to me. From such an early start of my life that I knew about myself. By her death a part of me gone. Half of me is dead." She was saying while weeping.

Menaka was too embarrassed and shocked to say anything. She remained like that holding Sukanya in her hug.

"You cannot understand how much she is devastated after Nirupama's death." Sukanya's mother said who came into the room then. "They both were such friends. I too like Nirupama a lot. In fact everyone liked her a lot. Her death was a saddest thing and a mystery to all of us."

"I can understand." Menaka said.

"I am sorry." Sukanya separated herself from Menaka. "I was shocked and stupefied when I came to know about Nirupama's death. But I did not and could not weep. I don't know why but you appeared so close and dearest to me. I want a release." She wiped her tears.

"I am flattered." Menaka kissed on Sukanya's right cheek. "Now sit and relax yourself." Making her sit in the chair again she said.

"I think time passed without knowing. I do go now." Once Sukanya leaned back in the chair and relaxed, Menaka said.

"I want you take lunch in our home now." Sukanya's mother said.

"I come again. Then I sure take lunch with you both."

Then Menaka left that place.

***

"Not very much useful information." After saying to Smaran what Sukanya said to her, Menaka said. She did not miss to say the questions she asked to Sukanya also and the answeres there off. She said the questions she asked regarding Niranjan also and the answers as well.

"We cannot decide anything like that on the face of it. As an upcoming detective you have to understand that point first." Smaran said.

"But I don't want to become a detective. I just like to help you in your investigations like this." Menaka frowned.

"Even then too. Don't jump to conclusions before going deep into the matter."

"You are seeing something important and useful then?"

"Yes. I am. But I cannot explain that to you now." He leaned back and smiled. "So far you did a good job. By asking all those questions like that, you have relieved me from doing that. Indeed you have the best quality to become a detective even you don't want to become one. Anything important to report regarding Ranganath's house?" he asked.

"Not much. I am feeling more and more pity observing that woman so." Menaka said.

"How you are feeling in their home? Especially in that room?"

"Nice and comfortable. I am not having any odd feeling now." Menaka smiled.

Menaka was about to say something but then they heard tapping on the door.

"Please come in." Smaran said.

Opening the door Ranganath entered. "Am I disturbing you both? It seems that you are in an important discussion."

"Not at all. Please come and sit." Smaran said.

Ranganath came and sat in the chair beside Menaka. Menaka and Ranganath looked into each other faces and Ranganath smiled.

"I am just about to return home and you came." Menaka said.

"We both go together then." Ranganath said. Then he looked into the eyes of Smaran and said "I have forgotten to say something."

"Tell me. What it is?"

"My daughter sometimes went to the library in the town. She used to be friendly with the librarian there. He may be known something, by chance."

"Did you talk with him after your daughter's death?"

"The police and I, we both did. But he too could not say anything worthwhile. But you detectives can earth out things from those also which we common people leave as useless."

"Yes, you are right." Smaran laughed. "I will talk with that librarian." He said.

Ranganath and Smaran were talked some more time there. Then Menaka and Ranganath left that place.

(..........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