FOUR
TWO KITTENS WERE
SPRAWLED ON THE FLOOR, probably sleeping.
After regaining her
composure she took a few steps forward in order to examine them closely. Her
scream didn’t seem to have disturbed them.
How did they get in? No broken windows – The one that was
broken on the day mum died had been replaced- …Oh yes! The chimney! They must
have entered through the chimney.
She suddenly felt weak
in her legs. How could she feel safe in this house, if things could crawl in
anyhow? She suddenly remembered the snake slough she had seen earlier on and
the fear quotient kicked in again.
She gave the cats a
final glance and trotted on. One way or the other, she’d have to get them out
of the house.
She opened the door to
her room and popped her head in, switching on light bulb as she did. Thick
cobwebs hung in the corner of the room. The floor was littered with sheet of
papers.
She smiled grimly as
she remembered how she had searched her room frantically, when her mum died.
She was convinced that she had left her a message. It could have been a small
paper stashed under the mattress, pillow or some other place. Madness had taken
the place of sanity and in the end she disorganized the whole room… That was
before she remembered the curious writing engraved on her mum’s bed.
She shook her head
wishing she could blot out the memories of that night.
She could still see
the yellowish writing in the eyes of her mind.
She had shown it to
some of her colleagues and they had given her the same answer. It was a coded
writing. She had been careful enough not to tell them it’s source. “I came across it while reading a book,”
she told each one of them, praying silently as she watched them frantically try
to decipher the code. It was just an unapproachable piece of writing.
Opening a window, she
set about cleaning the room. She picked a broom and started with cobwebs.
************
AN HOUR LATER, she
returned to the living room to find it cool from the fan. It was no more the
sour smelling room it had been before.
Her stomach churned,
reminding her that she was hungry. She had refused to eat anything in the
afternoon. With that in mind, she pulled out a pack of potatoes crisps and
began munching on it.
She could hear sounds
of revelry from next door. Perhaps a
night party, she thought.
She walked to the
window, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone. Yawning widely she tried to
concentrate.
A couple staggered out
of the house and down the narrow driveway, seconds later, she heard a car
roaring away.
She stifled another
yawn as she saw a lone man coming out of the house. He stood there for a few
seconds looking around him, and then he walked towards the flower beds.
For an awkward moment,
she felt like screaming as she watched him urinate.
Oh my God! She
exclaimed angrily. I have to put up a fence here one day or some fool will
destroy my flowers. Anyway, she thought, shrugging her shoulders, who knows
what they’ve been doing before?
She wondered why
despite its magnificence, the Maxwell House never had a fence, only flower beds
separating it from other houses.
With time, the pungent
smell of urine reached her nose. Overcome with irritation, she closed the
window. She wondered how frequent the parties were. She wasn’t a party lady and
couldn’t imagine putting up with the noise it came with.
Reaching for the
switch, she turned off the light and walked up the steps to her room.
************
FEW METERS AWAY,
leaning against a car with a cigarette in his hand, a man watched as the rooms
became dark…
He tossed the
cigarette aside and stood straight.
‘Good’ he said gently.
‘I’ll be with you in a minute.’ Then he walked briskly towards the house.
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