OS: Arcane
An extract from the book "Of The Disguised Rose"
It was a midwinter evening in the small town of Delton when it all began. Craggy hill tops surrounding the town were covered with thick sheets of snow and so were the obscure conifers. The inhabitants of the town stayed locked away in their houses, the swingeing storms making it nearly impossible to step out. A blizzard so severe hadn't graced the town before and hence, a situation like this where the inhabitants were all stranded in the places they had been before the blizzard commenced, was an unexpected occurrence!
Cooped up in the Radford Manor were the Rays and Richards along with the headservant of the house Mary and her husband Peter. The manor was the biggest house in the entire town and why wouldn't it be when it belonged to the Mayor of the town, Ritij Ray! The Rays had a trend they followed each New Year - of calling their closest friends, Mahima and Alwin Richard home, to celebrate the beginning of a new year. This year too, this had been the reason the Richards were at the manor. They had planned to head back but couldn't due to the blizzard.
Sitting in the living room and chatting on random topics, none among them knew that soon enough, none amongst them was going to see the dawn of the next day except her! None knew that the storm outside was really nothing compared to the one which was to play havoc within the house!
Present Day
A long road journey - surely not something he really preferred or liked but had to choose because of the location of his destination! With the radio being his only companion, he drove on, traversing the rutted roads, taking the extremely grueling journey in his stride.
Shiva Pandya, a leading music composer, had had enough of his life in the cinema industry which painted his life in a monotone he no longer could bear. Life in the limelight, despite it being something indirect, wasn't really all rainbows and unicorns. While being heady, gripping and lucrative in the beginning, it doesn't take it long to grab onto a certain monotone. Shiva's life was no different but his love for his work along with his wife's support served as the motivating factor behind him continuing despite the monotone getting to him at times.
But now at the age of 45, just a few months after his wife's demise, he no longer had it in him to not let the monotone overpower the colours of his life which had all diminished to pale shades after her demise. And hence, he had given in and decided to take a break and this break was where he decided to find himself all over again. After all, he had to abide by his beloved's last wish - of living life to the fullest till the realm above calls him!
The Radford Manor was a sequestered place and was at a location which had appeased him the instant he had been told about it. But what was more peculiar was a certain pull he felt towards the place at the first glance of its photo. He had never before experienced a pull so strong. The place seemed to be calling out to him and he just couldn't overlook it. So he heeded to it and decided to buy the place. Its price amounted to crores but it dint matter did it when he had loads of money even after passing on most of his wealth to his only son and donating as much in philanthropic activities. So he went ahead with the deal, his efficient manager Aryan handling all the aspects of it. And now, he was heading to the very same Manor, having wound up a few last commitments he had to.
An inexplicable restlessness had enveloped him since the onset of his journey, strengthening his belief in the fact that he would surely reach a certain culmination,at the Manor! The music helped distract him then but now as he approached the Manor after taking a few sharp turns at shrouded entrances, traversing the large expanse of fields which lay between the road and the Manor, he could feel it intensify all the more. A profound sense of strange familiarity arose within him even as his eyes were bestowed with the sight of the ancient Manor. Despite being ages old, it hadn't been reduced to dilapidated ruins which surely intrigued him further. The Manor looked even more appealing now than as seen in the photo.
An extract from the book "Of The Disguised Rose"
The severe blizzard had cut off communications and any sort of contact with the Manor. It was exactly after 5 days that the communications were reestablished and a signal was sent citing the need for immediate assistance. The signal conveyed the demise of all except the one sending it which included the Mayor! The police and ambulance were dispatched immediately and they reached the Manor. With the roof mantled with sheets of snow, the Manor presently screamed of a cold void instead of the usual inviting aura. They barged in and what they saw was just her sitting amidst the dead bodies, her head in her hands.
"Madam Ray?" she was called out and it was then that she looked up.
"They're all gone! All gone!"she said
Present Day
He had just entered the Manor when he heard his name being called out. He turned to see Mrs. Richa Sharma hurrying towards him, pulling her jacket closer due to the wind.
"Mr. Pandya! Welcome to the Radford Manor! My my! It's been quite sometime since we had people here!"
He smiled politely at her and replied with a Thank you. She then showed him around the house and handed over the basic food items needed. Keeping everything in place, she asked him to call if needed. He thanked her for all the help and she then left for her house.
Putting aside the basic things in their respective places, he freshened up and fell asleep, extremely tired after the long journey.
It was midnight 12 when he awoke from his slumber. His back ached but he could no longer sleep. So he stood up and moved towards the passage and decided to take a walk down. He had told Mrs. Sharma he'd take a look around here by himself since he had been too tired then. But now that he just had to while time away till morning, he decided to take a look.
As he moved down the corridor, he felt as if he were moving towards somewhere he was meant to reach. The walls on either side were bare and had cracks. There was just a single dim light lighting the passage. Cold breeze from a source unknown blew his way, muttering frozen whispers by his ear, adding to the eerie feel of the entire ambience and situation. Yet he dint feel any sort of fear! What he did feel was a restlessness and growing feeling of profound familiarity as he walked closer to the single door at the end of the narrow passage. He nudged the door open and stepped within. It took him a moment to find the switch after which he switched it on. What met his sight when he turned had him go still!
An extract from the book "Of The Disguised Rose"
The entire town of Delton was consumed by shock even as the news of what happened at the Manor spread like wildfire! Accusations and theories were discussed and wild imaginations were put forth as plausible possibilities. It was still difficult to believe the woman arrested had actually carried out the homicide she was accused of yet it dint stop wagging tongues from spreading rumours. The ones who envied her unbeatable beauty and personality took all the more active participation in maligning her.
Some though dint get as malicious as they got classy, calling her a disguised rose, which looked attractive from far but would kill when near! All in all, she was the most talked about in the town because it surely wasn't a daily occurence that a woman, an affluent woman like her would be convicted for homicide!
Present Day
It was a large portrait of a woman who looked no less than a Goddess! Raven tresses cascaded down her back reaching till her knees in lustrous waves.Her mauve orbs seemed lit up with an orange glint symbolic of the exquisite fire in her peace. The righteously blended pastel shades added to the ancient glory of the portrait, a regal aura emanating from the painted image of her figurine. What a sight she must have been to behold in flesh and blood when her mere portrait itself speaks of feminine beauty as its best! Wrapped in a mahogany robe, a glass of wine was pressed to her luscious lips painted in deep red. A silver gleam was shown bestowed on her enhancing the sensuous sight she looked. He stood transfixed as he gazed at her portrait, the pull he had been feeling all along magnifying to a thousand times stronger. His eyes met the eyes of her in the portrait and time stilled!
Silence around intensified to several notches higher. He leaned forward in daze hypnotised by the orbs he was gazing at. They seemed to tell him something. As he continued looking at those orbs, the orange glint started to disappear and he could now see a pair of mauve orbs tinged with a grey shade of agony. The more he looked on, the more those orbs seemed to disintegrate into something more, maybe trying to reach that which was shrouded amidst veils and masks. Within a moment he seemed to see the grief, agony, pain and an emotion he couldn't at all decipher. Before he could do anything further, a loud noise jerked him out of the trance, causing him to straighten immediately. His heart racing at a wild pace, he looked around, sweat lining his forehead only to see a vase fallen on the floor. What he felt now was the fear he hadn't felt earlier! He looked back at the painting, breathing heavily. It looked just the same. He gazed at the orbs yet again but nothing happened as it had a few moments back.
An extract from the book "Of The Disguised Rose"
Bound in chains, she walked up to the place of her slaughter. Her face looked pale and her eyes completely dead. But her head was up high, unfazed by the loud curses hurled her way from amidst the crowd.
She was an enigma he had the fortune of falling in love with and though she loved him back just as much and he believed in her innocence, there was nothing he could do, bound by the oath she herself had forced on him!
He watched tearfully, heartbroken by her last sight before he'd be losing her forever. He knew when they had gotten together that their togetherness was an impossibility. He knew she had been forbidden right from the beginning and he had anyway had no expectations at all. After all he just wanted to be that admirer who gazed at his muse from far and appeased the foolish beating organ in his chest with just his beloved's sight.
But his stars had shone bright one day and his unrequited feelings towards her had finally found a way to acceptance and expression.
His heart clenched in his chest with agony and rage.
Ahh! If only! If only………..
Present Day
It really unsettled him, whatever had occurred in that room. Thousands of questions arose in his mind. He had come away from the room that instant but hadn't been able to push away the image of the portrait freshly embedded in his memory. The flashes of those eyes repeatedly played in his mind and he could do absolutely nothing about it!
An evening walk two days later informed him of the horrific tragedy that had occurred in the Manor ages back and of the woman convicted and slaughtered for the same - the Mayoress of the house. He also learnt of the various rumours about the manor and this led him to deep thought. He had to dig in deeper!
Icy whispers speak of an ancient tale
They speak of the woman who was Ourania in form
The concealed Eris unveiled
When one storm outside errupted one within her
When cold blood marred the floor of the Manor
When unleashed -she destroyed all those who had cared
She was guilty, yes she was
Yet why do they whisper - was it really her?
________________The END______________________________
Love,
PSR
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