Lady in Black - Finale

Source: www.sareedreams.com

Read Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 if you haven't already!

The house was submerged in a stillness it had never known before. Ramesh and Komal kept exchanging nervous glances each time Sonia was around… Sonia, she had changed. She looked empty all the time, empty of feelings and emotions, empty of tears and hunger. All she did was lock herself up in her room all day.

They were worried no doubt. But their seemingly modern mind held them back from calling in a doctor. They felt it was just some strain Sonia had which was causing these reactions. After much consideration, they decided to give it some more time before they looked out for external help. Maybe things would sort out and Sonia would get out of it. All she needed was some time… They tried to convince and console themselves, but somewhere Ramesh knew this wasn't over yet.

It had been a quiet week thus far, Komal had worked from home to keep an eye on Sonia but she had to leave for Mumbai that weekend. Sonia’s break was also coming to an end.

Saturday rose bright and sunny. Not able to stay at home all day anymore, Ramesh and Komal had to step out to get unattended chores done. Skeptical about leaving Sonia alone, Ramesh asked the domestic help to stay over until they returned.

The morning was passing by peacefully, thought Ramesh. He was glad he was being proven wrong; things were indeed inching back to normal. Happy and satisfied he decided to do a takeaway from Dominos, the veggie deluxe pizza – Sonia’s favourite. He placed the order and just as he was paying the bill, his phone rang. Recognizing the home number, his heart skipped a beat as he picked up the call.

Before he could speak, their maid burst into tears on the phone. “Anna, please come home, Kutti Ma will kill me, please Anna, please come home” she screamed between sobs. Dropping everything Ramesh rushed out of the store, ignoring the shouts he heard from behind asking him to pay.

Komal was waiting in the car when she saw Ramesh run towards her. The expression on his face told her that something had happened back home. Without uttering a word Ramesh got into the car and sped towards their house.

Within ten minutes they were home. As they parked the car, they could hear a scream and a loud voice boom through the house. Both rushed towards the main door, quickly unlocked it and dashed inside. The scene that met their eyes in the kitchen was ghastly to say the least. Their domestic help was crouching on the floor with scratches over her face and a deep gash on her hand bleeding profusely. Sonia stood trembling in a corner with a kitchen knife in her hand, staring with a murderous look at the help and yelling “I will not take it anymore Durga; you have to go… you have to go!”

Ramesh quickly ran towards Sonia and gently took the knife out of her hand and held her tight, patting her head and quieting her down. Komal had rushed to the maid and was now attending to her gash. Fortunately the cut wasn't deep enough to require medical attention. It would heal in a matter of days. It was however quite a price to pay for wearing a black sari.

After much consoling, both the maid and Sonia had quietened down. Ramesh dropped the maid home, requesting her to keep mum about the incident while Komal put Sonia to bed.

Ramesh returned to find Komal sitting at the dining table, ready with two mugs of steaming hot coffee. She had cleared the mess in the kitchen while he was gone. Sitting down, he took a few sips as they sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

“Ramesh, I think it’s time we took Sonia to see a doctor” Her voice quivered as she spoke, at the same time she sounded convinced of what she was saying.

He took a long pause while he gave it a thought. Frankly there was not much to think about. Komal was right. The matter had gone out of their hands. It probably had weeks ago.

“I’ll talk to Subbu and get a reference, he would know someone” Saying that he picked up his cell phone and made the call. An hour after his call, the doorbell rang. Dr. Rajashekhar and Mr. Subramanian stood at the door. As promised they were there within the hour.

Hurriedly he exchanged hellos and guided Dr. Rajashekhar to Sonia’s room. He had already spent a good half hour with her, explaining to her the need to see the doctor. She had seemed to understand, her lowered head and stooped shoulders told him that she had resigned to her fate.

Komal and Ramesh had been pacing the corridor outside, waiting. It was over an hour since Dr. Rajashekhar had gone into the room. Mr. Subramanian had already left. They looked at the clock and began debating whether they should knock on the door just when they heard it click open. Without saying a word Dr. Rajashekhar stepped out, motioning them to be quiet and asked them to follow him into the living room. Once seated, he turned to them and said “I have sedated her for now; she will sleep peacefully through the night and hopefully will not remember much of what transpired today but…” He looked at both parents, focusing on one and then the other. He could see the genuine love for Sonia in their eyes.

“But what Doctor? Will she be fine? What is wrong with her?” asked a worried Ramesh.

“There is nothing worrying about her medical condition. I suppose the legend had a deep impact on her and that led her to imagine the Lady in Black everywhere around, made her forget her own parents and make an attempt on the maid’s life. The only problem with her is that she is quite disturbed.”

“Having said that” he continued “I think it would help her a lot if she were to be away from this house for a bit. It will help take her mind off the painting and resume a normal life. How you plan on doing that is entirely up to you.” With that, he explained the medication schedule to them and let himself out of the house.

“What do we do now?” Wondered Komal. “We have just moved here, finding a place now will take time. But what about Sonia? How do we help her?”

“Relax; let me give this a thought. We’ll have it all sorted out by morning. Let’s just be glad that she is fine, there is nothing adversely wrong with our baby” Ramesh gave Komal a hug and retired to the library. The place where he could put his mind to rest and think. 

Ramesh had confined himself to the library for most of the night, calling it a day only at dawn. When he got to their bedroom he noticed Komal was not around. Instinctively he peeped into Sonia’s room and found both mother and daughter sleeping in each other’s arms.

Saturday finally passed by and Sunday rose. It was a late morning for all three. Sonia had decided to stay in bed, while Komal fixed some breakfast for all of them.

“I think I have a solution to this” Ramesh spoke hesitantly, knowing there was no right or wrong time to have this discussion which had been on top of their minds all night. When Komal did not reply he continued.“How about enrolling Sonia in a boarding school? It is just 3 months into the new academic year, I am sure we will find a good school not too far from here. I hear they have a prestigious school in Ooty, I can try and get hold of some contacts there. She could come home during the holidays but it will give her the space she needs. Right now it would take a toll on your health if we make a move again so once our baby arrives; we can look for a new place. What do you think?” He slowly looked up; not knowing what Komal’s reaction would be on this suggestion.

She was twitching her brow, Ramesh knew that meant she was giving his idea a thought. They had their breakfast silently, and only when they cleared the table did she speak. “I really don’t like the idea of keeping Sonia away from us, isn’t that why we hesitated to go to a doctor in the first place?” she asked dolefully. He fully understood her plight but he knew this was the right way ahead.

“Think about the new baby? Would you want to continue like this and have a dysfunctional family? Is that what you want?” he asked her gently.

Komal winced when he mentioned the word dysfunctional. No, that was not what she wanted. Never. She turned to him with tears brimming in her eyes and said “I guess you are right, this is probably the right way ahead…. But let’s speak to Sonia together about it. Okay?”

As he got up to make a few calls and get in touch with Mr. Subramanian, Komal reached out and held his hand. “Thanks for everything Ramesh. You have been a wonderful husband but an even better father. That too to a daughter who is not yours.” She held him tight and sobbed uncontrollably

* * *

Six months had gone by. Sonia was well settled in Ooty and there had been no complaints about her from the school. In fact she had begun to flourish and had made new friends as well. There had been no untoward incidents after that stormy Saturday. They had found a new maid who would also double up as a Nanny once the baby arrived.

Komal had given birth to a bonny baby girl and they were coming home from the hospital. The baby had already swept Ramesh off his feet and had him wrapped around her little finger. Ramesh had given the maid the day off, he wanted to decorate the house on his own, without any help. Decorate the house to welcome his wife and the baby. Their baby.

He wanted to do everything. Put up the balloon and the streamers. Light the “Welcome Home” cake that he had specially ordered for the occasion. But before all of that he had an important task to do.

He picked up his tool kit and walked up to the landing. Very cleverly he unhinged the painting from the wall and took it down. The painting that wouldn't budge was brought down in minutes. “You have been such a darling, had it not been for you, I wouldn't have achieved my dream today. My dream of having my family to myself – without any outsiders”. He lovingly ran his hand over the Lady in Black and carefully placed her in a bag.

Legend indeed, he thought as he fixed himself a cup of coffee and relaxed in his armchair. He had the 'Legend' planned right from the day he had first visited Chennai after his promotion. Just a few days before he had got the news that they were expecting. Finally, he had thought. Finally he would have his own child. Finally he could put an end to the facade he had built all these years calling Komal’s child from her first marriage his own. The only reason he had done so was because they had never managed to conceive. And when they did, he no longer wanted Sonia in his life. In their life. He had to find a way to keep her out, at least at a distance so that she would not be a part of their immediate world. But the problem was Komal, she loved her daughter to pieces and would never agree to part with her. He had to come up with a plan such that Komal would be forced to keep her away without having any reason to have a fallout with him.

He remembered that day when he had decided to go house hunting in Chennai while Komal and Sonia were still in Mumbai winding up the house. He had thought he would do a preliminary check and shortlist a few houses. But when he came across this bungalow where the previous owners had left behind a painting, his mind worked overtime and he conjured this plan. That the house matched Komal’s idea of a dream home was an added bonus.

He hired a group of struggling actors to make the whole drama appear as real as possible. Lalitha, Subbu, the maid from the 'maid agency' and the domestic help… all did a fantastic job, he thought proudly. He had known earlier that the neighbours in that area were not comfortable with non-Tamilians entering their neighbourhood, he had used their hostility to add to the story. Always making it a point to be the one reaching out to the neighbours and local vendors for anything they needed. He knew that convincing Komal that the painting couldn't be moved, would be an easy task. She placed blind faith in him and her trips to Mumbai had her busy all the time. She wouldn't pay much attention to it.

Once Subbu had planted the legend in Sonia’s mind, he got Lalitha to drape herself in a black Sari and sashay around Sonia first near the kitchen back door, then in the garden. Lalitha even went to the extent of climbing the mogra tree next to Sonia’s window. When Sonia only seemed shaken by the sighting, he himself slashed all the photographs on the wall; he knew that would spook her out a bit. He had marveled at the unexpected bonus his plan got when Komal had worn a black suit; she had unknowingly batted for him so well. He always took care to ensure he never went beyond a certain degree; all he wanted to do was scare her till she was visibly disturbed. The final act was the maid draping herself in a black sari that fateful Saturday. Before they returned home, she had done a god job with marking the bruises and cuts but gone overboard with the gash. He knew she would charge him more for that extra drama. She had then got Sonia cornered in the Kitchen.

Oh it had been a fool-proof plan indeed. The finale had Dr. Rajashekar, another actor step in and give his 'medical advice'. That was enough. He had both Mother and Daughter fall for it and he knew he could now send Sonia away. He had already spoken to the boarding school and worked out a seat for her. So getting her to move there had been a piece of cake. After that, Komal had been so busy with her pregnancy that she did not notice that Mr. Subramanian never visited them again.

He would have to deal with Sonia’s visits during the holidays but he could figure something out when he had to cross that bridge, he thought angrily. Ramesh had never taken a liking for Sonia but he had always been good at putting on the act of a loving father. The same good father who wanted the best for his elder daughter! He thought, a wicked laugh escaping him.

If Komal noticed the absence of the painting, he would make up an excuse about how he got some henchmen to take the painting down while she was at the hospital and they would both crib a bit about how Mr. Subramanian’s paranoia had affected Sonia. She probably would suggest bringing Sonia back home, but he could handle that. Getting Sonia out was the only bottleneck he had ever had. He would think of ways to keep her away.

The doorbell rang and he pushed all thoughts out of his mind. His family had finally come home. He rushed out to open the door, tearing up and crumbling each piece of the Lady in Black and dumping her in the dustbin. Her purpose had been served.