It’s story about a crime thriller. It’s a involves a psychologist, an obsessive crazy man, a psychic wife and series of weird incidents which mostly happens around 3 AM  and those  creepy,haunting portraits which Khushi is unaware of that what those creepy things can do to her or what that psychic can do to her or what ways she can work out for her entrance to the living world!

There’s an eerie kind of silence around the house. At first the house gives an impression of a small,cozy not luxurious but a peaceful house, and that’s the peculiar thing about this house it’s quite peaceful and it’s more like a lonely and can set a dismal type of impression on the passer by’s. However the name plate has a different  story to say because it says ‘khushi’s joy of place’.  Inside the house one can find all the basic amenities while you are setting up a house. An ornamental set of sofa but not too cliche` ,a small brown dining table and three black chairs around it, a decent vase with a bunch of black roses and next to it a beautiful yet mysterious mirror of a medium length, just around the corner of the mirror there’s kitchen and it’s way too neat. Apart from these things there’s numerous wall paintings, portraits depicting life’s struggles, like as in one portrait the face of the person twisted and the eyes are bulging out as that person is choked! and then in one scenery the mountains are cracked up and blood is gushing out from it and there are many but all is just depicting “hopelessness”.

It’s  3 AM. Khushi is sleeping in her room which is next to the gallery with a good distance from kitchen. It’s the time of the darkest hour, because at this hour night is too black, too quiet and too magical for those who don’t have an ugly encounter in their past with their  worst fears! Suddenly  Khushi feels that the blanket is sliding off her body and there’s someone who is dragging her with all his power to somewhere which she doesn’t recognize because she is not moving anywhere. she is still in sleep yet she knows she is awake! Now she has this urge to shout so that she can be awaken from this  nightmare but then suddenly  her muscles feel stiff and she is not able to move any part of her body. Her heartbeat is increasing and then she suddenly snaps out of it immediately switch on the lights and as usual frustratred to find that no one’s there. she is breathing heavily.

 

‘But I’m telling you this is some kind of sign,a calling or a message from… the people of other planets, or from some other millennium or no from a Dr. psycho like you’ !! her yoga class and her childhood friend Tanya completed her sentence. Khushi scrutinized her words with a smirk. ‘okay okay but you know what  until and unless you don’t get rid of those depressing and whining paintings you can’t expect these nightmares or your ‘night theater’ to end’ Tanya said as in a matter of fact tone.

You know what Tanya those painting define me and they are a part of my life now and that’s my only passion left after.. after and Khushi bit her lip and her face showed an internal struggle between pain and anger. ‘ohhhh not again!!! Please don’t start with that painful story of yours that kid that lady and sweetheart i can literally drown in your pool of tears though i know how to swim and yet you know , ouch ouch!! Khushi started punching Tanya  in a playful manner and they ended up laughing in a maniac way and people around were staring quizzically at them.

 

1 Year ago…

The name plate outside her office of mahogany is shining with her name on it  Dr. khushi Gupta (psychologist). She had completed her training after attaining the degree and after much struggle her clinic was established in a serene and beautiful place far away from the city traffics with just a few shops and and small houses . She was the only doctor in her family breaking the tradition of government jobs and chartered accountants. Her father was a C.A and her two sisters had cracked the UPSC exams and were I.A.S  officers and her mother was an interior designer.
‘I am not able to believe my eyes that you are finally living your dream ’  Khushi’s  mother beamed with pride while looking at her clinic. Her father came and told them to pose for the photo and they together took a selfie.
‘so Dr. Khushi  aka Dr. psycho I’m sure you are at cloud nine’!! screamed Tanya while they were strolling in her clinic.
‘Hushhhh Tanya it’s a clinic not our home’. Khushi reminded her.
ohh seriously?? I mean you have not started treating your patients yet and you are acting like “Miss Know It All” Doc!! Tanya rolled her eyes at her.
After few days while Khushi was on the phone  talking to her senior ‘yes sir I completely understand what are you saying and that’s why I want to be there at presentation so that I can discuss on that point further with you and the other respected members of our organization as…  suddenly she was interrupted by Sumit whose task was to manage the crowd of patients and also the fees, and other treatment matters. He said ‘ mam I told him to wait for just 5 minutes but he’s so rigid he is forcing his way in your cabin and … ‘I said let me go‘!! Khushi saw that there was a man who was trying to enter her cabin and the security guards were holding  him back.  Let him go!,  said Khushi in a serious tone.
‘Please have a seat’ she said politely as she could saw the anguish and frustration in his eyes.
‘I’m so sorry sir but I need to go right now but I will surely show up at the presentation’ and she disconnected the call.

Khushi looked at the man ‘well dressed but hairs were disheveled due to the struggle, might be a businessman  because they have all these mental issues and my god they are rigid!

She was just speculating these things when he suddenly spoke ‘are you done with your observations and am I allowed to talk? She was startled and she instantly returned to her conscious and asked with a notepad in her hand ‘what is your name’? I am Abhyankar , do you know the meaning of my name doctor? He asked her looking at her in a  strange psychic way. Khushi adopted her mild manner and a smile on her face as she has to deal with her patients very carefully and patiently , said ‘yes your name stands for powerful and complete’, well let’s just … but I’m powerless and incomplete right now , he spluttered out quickly. Khushi again observed him and started thinking ‘obviously he’s dealing with some mental stress but I have got to let him into talking  so she immediately changed the subject and asked him ‘what’s your profession Abhyankar’?  i’m  a businessman and my business is to punish those who don’t mind their business’  he stated coolly.

Excuse me? She was surprised the way he responded. Then he smiled a bit and said what i meant doctor is that I’m way too disciplined and I want my employers In the same way and that’s why when they don’t follow the ‘code of conduct’ I show them the proper way to complete their work. Now Khushi  had second thoughts about him ‘well definitely he’s not a easy going guy’! he wants everything in his own way,  and he’s way too possessive about his business, and obviously there’s something more to him despite his way too calm composure. There was a pin drop silence for 5 minutes or more and then while she was reading the points in her notepad she heard him humming a tune not familiar but more like a ‘made up’ tone.

She used to hum this tune every morning when she was preparing for the breakfasts’ he finally broke the enigmatic silence and continued while Khushi tapped the button of ‘on’ of her recording device. Abhyankar was now talking more to himself as if he was living that moment. ‘We were married for 4 years and everything was just beautiful and when our little son ‘Rishabh’ was born it was the most priceless gift for me! Naina and Rishabh and me were so in love with each other, Abhyankar was grinning now as if having a reminiscence of that moment. Well as they say ‘nothing lasts forever’! it surely didn’t lasted for me much! Naina was diagnosed with ‘breast cancer’ and she was in her last stage and obviously she kept this fact hidden from me and I don’t like people hiding truths from me because it hurts dammit when you are aware and you can’t do anything about it! He was shrieking and losing control but then again he regained his composure. That’s really strange! Khushi dubbed this in her mind.

I didn’t knew what to do next! We went to different doctors but only to hear this ‘ you should have come to me earlier’! I know I should have but what could I do when I was clueless that ugly disease was eating her from inside!! And then after 1 month it was just her photograph and her memories were left with me and 6 month old baby who had no clue that what he has lost, and he broke down and started sobbing . Khushi had no idea what she should do she offered him a glass of water which he ignored and then after few minutes cleared his throat and began ‘I cannot take care of him so I left him at my parent’s  house because I was so vulnerable and at times when I looked at him I felt a sudden anger towards him because his face resembled her so much and she left me alone with this little baby until those nightmares began and here Abhyankar  became very serious and he continued. ‘it happened one night I was in my study room  checking my mails and suddenly felt something behind my left ear as someone just brushed a hand and I got goosebumps, I turned and looked around me, obviously I was alone in the house only the security guard was there and he was also outside.

Then I resumed my work and I was reading a mail  and suddenly a page opened up and  I saw her name in large fonts and i felt numb and I was shaking and he actually was shaking! Khushi was noting these  symptoms. I closed down the laptop and went to bed. It was around 3 AM that I could feel my blanket  was snatched my somebody and I could feel that somebody was dragging me yet I was at one place and suddenly I opened my eyes and turned on the lights but no one was there and then I hear a sound of a ‘payal’ inside my room but I wasn’t able to locate the exact place. And suddenly there was dead silence In the room.

From that night on these incidents continued to happen. Sometimes I could hear her tune in my head, the dishwasher on, or the  sound of her laughter, they were driving me crazy!

After that I called my mother for living with me for few days with Rishabh so as to distract myself from these. First two nights were comfortable but the third night I again heard something but this time something ominous . I was taking a stroll In my garden after I have have put Rishabh to bed and I heard someone crying I stopped and looked around to locate the sound and I moved further towards the swing which Naina had insisted on placing because she loved swings. I asked ‘who’s there’? but I just heard a woman crying. I again asked in a clear voice ‘please come out so I can help you’ and as I decided to call my mother I turned around suddenly I could sense someone, and as I turned again I thought I was looking at a dream only it was more real because she was dead so how come she was standing in front of me?? Naina ,my beloved Naina was there in the same saree she was wearing the day she took her last breath. But she was sad, I asked her you are free from the pain why do you look sad? She smiled sadly and replied ‘you are not with me’.

I searched her face for that warmth and love which she used to exhibit it before but there was none. ‘I want you’ these were the words she uttered and vanished! By this time Khushi was feeling a bit uneasy but she maintained her calm look and listened intently to him. Next day my mother announced that she is going to hold a ‘puja’ in the house as she could sense some negativity in the aura of the house. I rejected the idea. ‘Beta you don’t understand it’s the impure vibes from her and that’s not god for the… maa!!! I literally screamed at her. Don’t ever say that about Naina,  atleast stop it now.

Now that she is no more. ‘Abhyankar you keep saying that but this foolery of yours is just harming you and your son! She was a ‘witch’!! that’s what she was you want to believe it or not but I have caught her many times chanting some weird spells with plenty of candles around her and that’s not… you need to stop watching those C grade T.V serials maa! It’s driving you mad! Naina was a psychic and whatever she used to do it was just her profession.

It’s 21^st century Maa forgodsake! If you don’t know the meaning of a psychic then go and google it!! There’s no such things like witchcraft or ghosts!!

I literally yelled at her and stormed out of the house. My mother left that day with Rishabh because she thought Rishabh will be affected by those ‘omnious’ vibes. Few weeks after this episode one night i was In the shower and while I was drying myself I saw some words visible on the mirror and as soon as  I read it my heart leaped upto my mouth and I thought that I will pass out! It was written ‘I want you’! I rushed to my room and started breathing heavily and then tried to relax myself  and then I drifted off to sleep. I didn’t tell this to my mother because then she would definitely be bashing  Naina  all over again and I didn’t wanted that. So I stopped visiting my mother and my son and it’s 6 months since I have last seen them.
Khushi was expecting more out of him but he stopped and looked at her very intensely  and this made her uncomfortable and she finally asked him ‘so you are sensing these signs of her around you since 6 months’?  he nodded at her question. You see I need to study the points and understand the situations you are going through because you see I don’t want to jump to any conclusions although I will advise you that start visiting your parents again, meet your friends because at this time they can help you the most and especiallyyour son I know what you are going to say that he reminds you of her but then he’s not Naina you understand? He’s your hope, your reason for starting your life once again so go home and spend a good time with him.’ okay? Abhyankar nodded again and as he was going he stopped and said ‘I was powerful and complete doctor when I was with her but now it’s her only she is dead that makes me feel powerless and incomplete’ and he left her clinic. Khushi stopped the recording device and pondered over his words and her phone rang and that was Tanya, she remembered that she had promised that they will go to the dinner together at her favorite restaurant.

Oh my gosh!! your first case and that too a thriller film! Chirped Tanya after knowing about Khushi’s patient. ‘what are you talking about’? what’s a thriller film has got to do with this case? She questioned Tanya while eating .
ohhh you Dr. psychos!  You are so engrossed with your patients  and their case that you forget the essence of the thrill involved with your patients’. Tanya  was enjoying this because she was into those detective and crime mystery novels. ‘Ha ha ha I forgot to laugh at your joke Tanya! but in case you are forgetting he’s just lost his wife one year back and he’s missing her terribly because she was his entire  world plus a psychic and that’s why he is having all these visual and auditory hallucinations which is quite the accurate symptoms for schizophrenia but ohh there are so much points to look at and heyy stop that ! Khushi snapped Tanya as she saw her yawning at the psychological terms she were using. Lastly they treated themselves with chocolate mousse and went to their homes.

That same night something weird happened at Khushi’s house. Khushi had shifted to a new small house because she wanted to enjoy that feeling of living independently for some time but her mother was against it. She was in no mood for her logic but finally Khushi’s father convinced her and here she was in the same city but far away from those nosy aunties who first in the morning started with ‘so when she is going to be settled eyeing  khushi as everytime she returns back from jogging.

But now everything was peaceful and actually it was like ‘pin drop silence’ but she didn’t mind. She loved this solitary life and obviously the chirping bird Tanya. That night when Khushi was sleeping she suddenly  woke up from a noise and was startled and rushed to her wardrobe and took out a Steele rod and walked slowly towards the hall she tapped on the lights but nothing was there but suddenly she saw a bunch of black plastic roses lying on the sofa and she stood perplexed.

Next day at clinic she was going through Abhyankar’s  case  and was listening to the recording when suddenly he entered. She immediately stopped it and was startled by his early appearance. Oh! Hello Abhyankar  good morning! So how are you?  She asked in a happy psychiatric manner. I’m good doctor and after I have shared with you those haunting memories I am feeling much better but I think Naina is not okay with it. He said calmly. what do you mean by that? asked Khushi
It’s better I show you this and he slided a paper on her table and she opened it in a surprised way and read ‘I want you’ written with a pen but the colour was red. Khushi stared at the paper for few minutes and then looked at him and then said ‘ you think it ‘s her again’? and who else can it be doctor? Don’t you see she is not going to leave me until and unless I join her at her place! He was now shaking with anxiety.’ Okay calm down Abhyankar, just relax take deep breaths. It’s nothing like you think. Okay you just go now and complete you unfinished tasks. You say you are disciplined and you want everyone around you so,right? So just go and do your work’. She said this with an authority In her voice. And he left without saying anything. That was a busy day for her as 4 more patients arrived at her clinic. By evening she was exhausted and she went to home and after taking her dinner she went to bed. As the clock struck 3, she could feel something climbing over her and trying to overpower her and she woke up and was all In sweat. She went to her kitchen for drinking water and saw that  she forgot to turn off the living room’s light and  as she moved towards the switches she saw a big box lying there on the floor. She immediately opened it and what she saw was horrifying. She just screamed and dashed it aside. It was a ugly painting of a man whose face was twisted and his eyes were bulging out!
‘That’s odd you know’! I mean someone is gifting you all these creepy things and you don’t know when he or she just keep these at your home and goes away! Inquired Tanya after few days when they were at her home. ‘I don’t know what to do with those things and the other day that scenery of mountain gushing up blood and then after that three more paintings arrived and now I don’t want to dispose them! Khushi  looked at Tanya in a guilty way. Tanya  just smiled at her friend and hugged her.

Two months has passed after that ‘creepy portraits episode’. One fine day when Khushi was enjoying her smoothie she heard her doorbell rang and she sighed ‘one best thing on earth and that also I cannot enjoy alone’! as she opened the door she was surprised to see few policemen at her doorstep. She asked yes? One of them showed her a photograph  and asked her ‘do you recognize this man’? Khushi was surprised to see that he was none other than Abhyankar!  She said ‘yes he is my patient he is suffering from schizophrenia and… she was cut by him as he added ‘and a murderer’ whom you were trying to protect mam! Khushi was puzzled and angry at the same time.
You know inspector this is a serious allegation you are imposing on me and that also without any evidence! And what do you mean by that he is a murderer? He just lost his wife… ‘which he murdered and hid her and had stored her in a deep freezer’! completed the inspector.

Khushi thought that it is some kind of a nightmare she is hearing. Wh whattt???? She was stammering! But, but he said.., ‘Miss khushi now would be the best time if you want to enlighten us with the false informations  which he had used so that you are spared the inspector looked at her in a stern way.
Khushi recalled the therapy sessions and even gave them the recording between him and her for further evidence.
As  they were ready to go she asked ‘why did he played this role of a schizophrenic person In front of me’? what  benefit could that be to him? Inspector  Sharma  smirked and said ‘well what could be the best alibi for the victim if the doctor herself conforms that he’s suffering from a serious mental illness after the demise of his wife. Wouldn’t that be the best protection for him? Naina was a psychic Dr. khushi and Abhyankar never approved her work as she used her belief and power for others so that some people who want to be In touch with their loved ones, their messages, their happiness, their pain. And this drove the obsessive Abhyankar from a loving husband to a crazy killer! Naina’s sister was the only bond she had and there was no one in her family. She regularly went to meet her she too is a psychic. It’s only after one year of marriage when she went to her house Abhyankar told her Naina doesn’t wants to meet her anymore and shut the door in her face while she was returning puzzled she asked the gardener that what is the matter and he just told her that Abhyankar treats Naina badly, abuses her , calls her a witch and yes they were only married previous year, he lied to you about that 4 years. And then Muskan  reported that something was not right with her sister and when we called him he denied any fact and said ‘it’s between me and Naina and I will not allow any of you to mess in our relationship’.

We didn’t had any proof so we dropped the case but just few days back Muskan saw him outside your clinic and out of curiosity went inside  and asked there that who was he and then when she heard the story she was mad with grief and directly came to us and pleaded us to do something. We had to believe her so we rushed to his house and despite his fake actings we searched the whole house and found the distorted body of Naina. Muskan felt unconscious and she is in hospital right now’ . Khushi was stunned and she dropped to the chair.

First he tried to frame you but ultimately he broke down and accepted him crime. You see ‘crime never pays’! the inspector quoted. Khushi stood up and said ‘well finally you have got the culprit and I’m really sorry for Muskan’s loss, though I didn’t knew but I could have supported a criminal! Inspector sharma patted her and said ‘it’s not your fault, it’s people like these who think that they can commit  crime and have a way with it but they don’t know the power of law’! and suddenly inspector Sharma looked at the paintings and roses and asked her ‘is this your personal collection’? well actually they are now said khushi. Umm sorry?? The inspector asked. Ummm actually these are some weird paintings I am getting regularly when Abhyankar came to me why is there a problem sir? No ,nothing as such but it’s weird these are the same paintings and these roses we found at his house he told this when he confessed that his wife had this crazy love for paintings like these and black roses! Do you think he had send these? He inquired . but Khushi was clueless!! Ohkay that’s our headache mam you enjoy your smoothie , the inspector cheerfully wished her a good day and went away. She just stood smiling and felt a sudden sympathy for Naina.

The present day
Khushhhiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!! This was the fifth time Tanya was screaming her lungs out  as they were late for the movie and Khushi  was inside attending a phonecall. Ohh thank you Inspector , I mean I’m feeling so bad but happy that finally she got justice. Yeahh one minute Tanya!! as she disconnected the call.
‘Khushi if I miss the first scene I will kill you’!! Tanya  made a face but as she saw no reaction from Khushi she asked umm what’s up buddy? Where are you lost?
Khushi took a deep breath said ‘you know what he told about me his son right? Yeah I know, said Tanya.
turns out that there was no son born at that time, khushi stopped and looking at Tanya’s blank face she said ‘don’t you get it’? he was never born because when he killed Naina  that baby was inside her . she was pregnant for 7 months!! They wanted to name their child Rishabh as Naina was a psychic she knew that it was going to be a boy.  Khushi’s eyes were filled with tears and  Tanya consoled her and said ‘ I know honey it shouldn’t have happened to Naina or that unborn baby but see now that rascal is behind the bars and I wish that Naina haunts him for real forever! Khushi gave a weak smile and they drove off.

It was pitch black that night and the clock struck 3. Khushi was sleeping soundly at her home. There was no sound nor any kind of disturbance. The quiet,peaceful atmosphere was disturbed just by the sound of wind chime which was at the door and then a blood curling scream saying ‘I want you’!!

There was a picture of a mysterious lady in her bedroom not any ugly but a real lady who wore a necklace of beads and her hair thick and jet black!
Khushi was standing in front of the mirror looking at herself but not looking like the same khushi , she was wearing some beads, her hands were filled with different types of tattoo and her hair was jet black and thick which reminded of NAINA!!