Showing posts with label Maximus Dramaticus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maximus Dramaticus. Show all posts

Friday, 3 October 2014

The Games They Played...

Team Maximus Dramaticus.

We Write To Thrill! :)


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Top post on IndiBlogger.in, the community of Indian Bloggers

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Read the twenty - second part of the story here : The Dark And Gloomy Night Is Over.

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"Oh God!
Roohi!"

Exclaimed Tara, as she prayed for her child's well-being.

~~~

A blanket of silence settled over as soon as Shekhar and Tara entered Roohi's room.

In all that had been going on so far, Roohi had never been targeted so harshly.

That Was Until Now.

~~~

The sight Roohi's parents witnessed was bone - chilling to say the least.

There were muddy footprints leading into and out of the room, and a trail of blood too.
Also, a note with one of those gory rhymes.

Not once | nor twice | nine times | we’ll kill
A bitch | always | but ninth | will fill
You with a dread that’ll make you still!

No more running away from me,
I have come so far to thee
Once a Drug dealer,
Now calls himself a Writer
Your past is no more a secret
Your time has come to regret
Not one, each Monday night a scar,
Beware, the ninth you are

"Yes, Mr. Literary Adept
The ground beneath your feet has been swept
Sure you'll be the ninth one this Monday
But, why not, while the Sun shines, make hay?
Your Daughter, for one...
Your wife comes next...
And, that irritant Cop!
Will their attacks, he prevent?"

~~~

Tara's worst fears had turned to life.

Her little angel had been victimized by one of those sick - minded people.
Roohi's life was in danger!

Just when they'd thought, the state of affairs was improving at last, the final lap of tragedy presented itself before them.

~~~

Shekhar sent word for Aryan, who was at that time, busy investigating Percival's house for clues.
Nevertheless, knowing that his team was efficient at task, he left for Shekhar's place.

~~~

Tara, meanwhile, was inconsolable.
The very thought of Roohi being in distress, shook Tara.

Well of course, Shekhar was in shock too.
But he tried keeping his calm.

If it were not for him, who would care for Tara?
There had already been enough loggerheads their relationship had bumped into.

~~~

There was a knock on the door.
Shekhar heaved a sigh of relief on discovering Aryan.

He showed him the horrifying rhyme that had been purposely left for them to reflect on.

They were the same rhymes Aryan had discovered, albeit one more, to add to his impulsiveness to solve the mystery.

But, they also stated, very clearly, that Shekhar was the ninth TARGET.

~~~

Somehow, Aryan's gut instinct shouted out loud.

Somehow, he felt, that the kidnapping was a hoax.

Somehow, he wasn't ready to believe that Roohi could be harmed, only that she could be used as a shield.

Nevertheless, they couldn't risk her life.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Cyrus couldn't stop reminiscing over the Jenny he'd discovered last evening.
The Jenny who was guilt - stricken.

The Jenny who wished to repent her mistakes.
The Jenny, Cy had loved, had sprung back to life. :)

And Cy was most thankful to Almighty for the entire sequence of events.
Had it not been for all that had happened, Jenny's conscience would have never been stirred.

For Cy's sake. :)

~~~

Cyrus planned to surprise Jenny by proposing to her to travel back to Kochi, in order to escape from all the mess they'd been in, for a few days.

It'd help them relax their strained minds, and hearts too, he opined.

Jenny, though unsure of what the future would present them with, once they returned, hesitantly agreed.

~~~

Flight IX-527.

The same flight number.

Jenny.

Cyrus.

They were together today. :)

~~~

As soon as they landed, Cyrus was quick to recall Jenny's address word by word.
And that awed her.

They made way for her abode, which was a sea facing flat, and pristine palms adorned its view.
After having freshened up, Cyrus preferred to divert Jenny's mind to something pleasant.

He started searching for her diary.
The one she'd been maintaining since long.

He'd finally found it, from one of those drawers in her wardrobe.

In the hope of finding some treasured memoirs among the pages lined with ink...
The ones that would cheer Jenny up...

Cyrus was just about to open her diary, when Jenny entered the room.
And let out a loud 'NO!'.

~~~

Not wanting to disturb Jenny further, without questioning her reaction, Cy put the diary back into the drawer.
Of course, deciding to open it again, when she was not around.

For his curiosity did question Jenny's weird NO, if not his maturity.
His gut feeling did say, there were more than just pages and ink, to that old Diary of hers.

Leaving all aside, Cy and Jenny went for stroll along the beach in the evening. :)

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Back at Shekhar's place, somebody banged the door.
Not once, not twice.

Tara was scared, and cautioned Shekhar against opening the door.
Aryan took cover, with his licensed arms.

He cautiously proceeded towards the door, when Tara heard Roohi.
Or so it seemed to her.

"Shekhar, can you hear Roohi's voice?", Tara exclaimed.
"Indeed I can, Tara.", Shekhar smiled.

Tara opened the door to an ever smiling angel.
Roohi was back home! :)

Their joy knew no bounds...
And, Roohi's tales too.

She had a lot to tell to Dear Mom and Dad.
Perhaps, she'd never truly understood the gravity of a planned kidnapping.

But, Aryan was quick to comprehend that Roohi had safely escaped and would've learnt of some important pointers, which could even lead them to the kidnapper.

~~~

"Roohi, why had you screamed, Dear?", Tara asked, caressing Roohi.
"Mumma, you know, an Uncle had come into my room, from the Balcony.
And he had a big mask on his face, Mumma!
And he put his hand on my face and jumped from there.", Roohi told her mother, pointing to the balcony, from where they'd jumped.

"But why was there blood in your room, Roohi?
Did he try to attack you? Did you get hurt, Dear?", Shekhar inquired.

"No Papa. I did not get hurt anywhere.
I was drawing in my sketch book.

And, that Uncle, he had a Hanky in his hand.
I pierced him with my color - pencils, on his hand.
That was his blood, not mine.

You taught me to be brave, na!
That Uncle got hurt instead!" :D

~~~

Aryan then asked Roohi how she'd managed to come home, safe and sound.

"That was easy, Aryan Uncle...
I've learnt the way to home, na!

I know all the nearby places, now.
I am a big girl now. :)

That Uncle had brought an SUV along.
He forced me to sit in the car.
And drove to the market.

Then, he started talking to some Ma'am on phone.
And he got down near the Dry-cleaner's shop.

There, another Uncle had come to meet him.
I was in the car all the time.

And when he was not looking, I came running back home! :D"

Roohi took pride in how she'd indeed escaped and it was with great elan that she narrated her little adventure.

~~~

Also, she'd remembered two vital clues from the SUV, she'd been inside all this while.

One.
The SUV's number!

Yes, whoever it was, that Uncle was dumb enough to get the number plate removed or covered up altogether.

Two.
A key-chain design hanging from the back - view mirror.

The artist in Roohi always loved designs, and painting too.
And, her memory was her strength.

She told them the Number.

KL-7-CA-9854

And drew the design, on her sketch book.

~~~

Astonishingly, the SUV was registered to Kerala.
And, the design - it matched that of Jenny's tattoo! - as far as Tara could remember.

But, Cy and Jenny were in Kochi.
And, Jenny's phone was switched off, since morning.

So, Tara was sure that Jenny hadn't received any call for the day.

But, could the SUV and the design, relate to Jenny in any way?
Or, was she being framed?

~~~

Who was it, behind their fate?

And, why was Jenny being targeted, amid all the confusion?

~~~

Leaving all aside, Aryan's phone rang.

It was his Junior.

And, the call was from R.K. Puram...

Before leaving, Aryan called for protection for Tara, citing the threat in the rhyme they'd received.

~~~

Read the twenty - fourth part of the story here : The Past Revealed....

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Me and my Team are participating in "Game Of Blogs" at Blogadda.com.
#CelebrateBlogging with us. :)

Sunday, 21 September 2014

Into The Clutches Of Fate...

Team Maximus Dramaticus.

We Write To Thrill! :)



Read the eleventh part of the story here : The Flashback.

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Top post on IndiBlogger.in, the community of Indian Bloggers

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Tara attempted in vain, to forget the entire sequence of events, resonating into her ears.

She had never liked the harshness in Madame S’s tone.  ‘

"What made Samantha call me and propose a meeting at one of the worse hotels in Paharganj?
How was she so sure that I would not be able to turn down her offer for Jenny's sake?", Tara pondered, "...and on top of that, how dare her threaten me with a secret concerning Shekhar! God knows what is in store for all of us!"

~~~

If there was a person on this earth whom Tara trusted more than herself, it was Shekhar Dutta.

She knew well that like all good, talented writers, Shekhar also had a sixth sense or power of intuition and once he has a foresight of some event - to happen in the near future - it is bound to…

Tara felt so helpless and clueless on how she should proceed to rescue Shekhar, who was her only hope in this world, the one who could solve all her mysteries and answer all her questions.

But, Shekhar's past was what Tara was unaware of, all her life.

And, that past was about to weigh heavily on the peace and harmony in her familial life.

Tara didn't know the other Shekhar.
His strong love for Tara and Roohi had become the biggest vulnerability for their family.

Someone was trying to destroy their family’s peace but nobody knew, for sure, so far who that person was, and what exactly his motives were.

And that vulnerability had forced Shekhar to incline towards Percival’s proposal and agree to his demands.

~~~

Shekhar had agreed.

But, for once, the thought of refusing to bow in front of Percival and his blackmailing tactics did cross Shekhar's mind.

"Let him tell Tara about my past", he thought. "Then it will be upon Tara, who will have to take a final call for the relationship between the two of us from then onward."

But, when Roohi's face flashed before his eyes, a bout of chilling shivers passed through his body in vertical current and that was enough to freeze his body, and mind for a while.

And, then he decided to succumb to Percival's trap and not risk their relationship, their familial life.
Tara's.
Roohi's.
And Shekhar's.

~~~

Meanwhile...


Jennifer was anxious to unveil Cy's thought process - behind his blog, interestingly titled ‘Reticence Finds Expression’ - which traced back to July 2012.

Tracing his beginning, Jenny opened Cy's first post.

And, she was stunned to see her photograph in the first post, on the blog, dated 3rd July, 2012.
They had never met at that time!

"That Debate Competition was held in September 2012! How come Cyrus’s utilized  my photograph?
That too, one of my Childhood Snaps?!", thought Jennifer, "...and that too in his very first post!"

Jennifer made it a point to scan through all his posts, spanning over the last two years, word by word.

She needed to unmask Cyrus's well - guarded secret!

Suddenly, her Cellphone started ringing, flashing Cyrus's name.

"I would talk to Cyrus only after I read all his posts!", Jennifer resolved and firmly disconnected the call.

~~~

Read the thirteenth part of the story here : Blood Is Red, So Is A Blush.

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Me and my Team are participating in "Game Of Blogs" at Blogadda.com.
#CelebrateBlogging with us. :)

Saturday, 13 September 2014

The Enigmatic Exploration!

Team Maximus Dramaticus.

We Write To Thrill! :)



Read the second part of the story here : The Blind Spot.

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Top post on IndiBlogger.in, the community of Indian Bloggers

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With Jenny's resolution to fly down to Delhi, Cyrus instinctively knew, his sorry state of affairs was set to improve.

Jennifer Joseph was to reach the Airport at 7 in the morning.

And, Tara made sure, she and Cyrus were there, well in time, to receive her.

Both of them were sleep - deprived, in any case, the last night.

The reason?

Need not be explained.

~~~

'Announcing the arrival of Flight IX-527...'

IX-527!

Cyrus heaved a sigh of relief on realizing that Jennifer's flight from Kochi had finally landed! :)

~~~



~~~

All of them were mature enough to understand the gravity of the situation.

So much so, that only a couple of glances were exchanged.

The age - old adage, Silence Is Golden, had donned an astonishingly new attire it seemed.

Without further ado, Tara, Cyrus and Jennifer proceeded to their current place of residence, at Chuna Mandi. 

~~~

While in transit, Jenny and Tara acquainted each other well.

While Tara briefly told Jenny about her stint as a Media Professional in one of the most influential Media Houses of the Nation, Jenny introduced to her how she had embarked on a journey, to create for herself, a distinct identity in the world of "The Ones With The Lens In Hand."

Jenny also had a lot of questions running through her mind.

Questions which demanded serious answers.

From Cyrus.

~~~

And she made it a point...

To make sure, that none of those Questions remained questions any more.

Once they reached 'home', that was.

Stepping into the true flair of an extrovert, that she was...

Jenny couldn't contain the intrigue any more...

And, so she found it best to confront Cyrus.

~~~

"Why Cy, Why did you not inform me at first?"

Cyrus stood tight - lipped.

Being the reticent gentleman he was, for this world at large, he found it almost impossible - A Herculean Task, indeed, to muster enough courage to offer Jenny, a plausible explanation.

Whatever be the discussion, Cy always had to gather himself before talking to Jenny.

After all, the admirer within him - always tended to give way.

~~~

Visualizing the layers of foggy Silence that had blurred both of their visions, Tara stepped in warmly.

She explained how Cyrus thought the entire episode to be a kiddish prank at first and how, later, this heinous act never failed to scare the daylights out of him, every single Monday.

How he'd refused to believe that an innocent animal had been beheaded, and planted in his room.

How he'd suspected  ruffians and the ganja-smokers and opium-eaters of Pahar Ganj, behind an inhumane and sick joke and defied all certainty and reality behind the Killing, the Blood, and the Stench.

Also, how he'd been disturbed by the recurrence of the event. How he'd been disoriented and lost all faith in himself over the last Eight weeks.

And, how he could not even muster courage to inform Tara, let alone informing Jenny at first! :(

~~~

Tara sensed the need to let Cyrus retire to himself and relax his inner self, after the treacherous series of events.

She was quick to realize that Cyrus had to let himself be, to garner his confidence, in order to face whoever was behind all that had happened.

 So, Tara proceeded to discuss the entire plan of action with Jennifer, while she calmed Cyrus, and requested him to take rest.

They decided that they would first have to solve the riddle behind those eight pieces of paper.

How they'd have to request Cyrus to strain his memory and recount any unusual proceedings he'd observed on other days, apart from Mondays alone.
From Tuesday to Sunday, through the entire past weeks.

And, how they'd have to involve the Police and the Media, if they were indeed able to figure out the involvement of some Bigwigs behind all the mess.

~~~

The spotlight then focused on those eight papers, for the time being, though.

And that ominous line - "Her paintbrush is a razor, dear".

When those 16 words, and the ones presumed by Tara, were indeed arranged in the shape of a Razor...

They looked somewhat like this...

Not once | nor twice | nine times | we’ll kill
A bitch | always | but ninth | will fill

_____
__________

you
with a
dread 
that’ll
make
you
still!

~~~

Jennifer was quick to catch hold of Three Points.

One, The Ninth Monday was as far as it was near.
They had much time.
But, it was less too.

Second, The Razor was the weapon of attack.
Or so, it was framed to be.
'Dear' suggested that someone, an acquaintance probably, had attempted to caution Cyrus in the past.

Third, We'll Kill.
It was a Team Of Killers.
Or Was It?

~~~

Many questions still remained unanswered.

Why kill  Bitches?
Mute Animals.
Innocent Animals.

Why scare Cyrus?
Whoever it be, why was Cy being targeted?

Who must use a Razor as a paintbrush?
Apart from finding the choice quite unconventional, Jennifer couldn't help but applaud the Killer's creative side as well.

~~~

Jokes apart, this was a Do - or - Die for Cyrus.
Do something to crack the Mystery.
Or Die at the hands of fright and suspense.

On the other hand, it was a Do or Die for Tara and Jenny as well.
After all, they had to save Cyrus.

~~~

Just then...

Cyrus let out a scream...

And Tara and Jenny rushed upstairs!

His scream was laced with despair and helplessness.

And, the ladies knew that the situation had worsened.

~~~

The horrific sight they witnessed, was inexplicable.

While Tara had laid Cyrus to sleep an hour back, singing to him, like she sang lullabies to little Roohi, in order to divert his attention from the stress, tension and a state of self - pity, he'd surrounded himself with, she failed to understand what had happened! :o

Considering the mysterious series of events, even hoping for the better wouldn't have helped.

They failed to understand how Cyrus lay on the floor instead of the bed.

The glass of the window opening to balcony had been shattered.

Yes.

Cyrus lay on the floor, unconscious.

He'd suffered a blow on the head.

Probably hit by a heavy object.

He also had scratches on his arms and neck!

Probably, he'd resisted and retaliated to...

 An Attempt To Murder! :o

He also lay, in a pool of blood.

~~~

What was more intriguing was that there were no sharp objects except shards of glass, around.

The first thing Jennifer did was to call for the Ambulance, and take Cy to the Hospital.

And Tara, meanwhile, searched for clues.

She was imagining the worst, so as to say.

Having said that, her observational skills were powerful enough to spot a needle from within a haystack!

~~~

Sure, there weren't substantial clues inside the room.

But, she was yet to look outside.

When she looked in and around the Balcony...

Tara was quick to catch...

One, A Silken Cloth, tattered from one end, swaying mysteriously from one of the hooks of the porch.

The scene suggested a vain attempt to separate it intact, from the hook, and the attempt had failed miserably.

A White Cloth With Blood...

One of its corners soaked in nauseating Blood...

Second, Finger Prints on the Wall - adjoining the Balcony.

~~~

Half an hour later...

Tara called Jenny to inform her that both the Clues, had been sent over to the Forensic Lab.

Meanwhile, Jenny also had news.

Both the ladies' agility had proved fruitful.

On one hand, Tara had delved deeper into the Mystery...

On the other hand, Cyrus was out of danger.

But, he was to be kept under observation for another 24 hours.

Jenny hoped and prayed for Cyrus's condition to improve.

Doctors opined that he would recuperate soon, since not much blood had been lost and he'd been attended to, in time.

That was a Silver Lining in the Grey Cloud, for now. :)

~~~

Just then, Jenny glanced at her Notifications.

Her cellphone flashed 25 Missed Calls...

All from her 'Someone Special'...

Another 'Why?' demanded an answer.

~~~

Read the fourth part of the story here : The Warning.

~~~

Sketch Credits To Fellow Blogger and Team Member, Mr. Arvind Passey.

~~~

Me and my Team are participating in "Game Of Blogs" at Blogadda.com.
#CelebrateBlogging with us. :)