SHORT STORIES FRIDAYS (48)

THE DEVIL KILLER PHONE ( PART 7): A HORROR SHORT STORY BY ME.

Meenal, the devil, was shocked to find Father David with Yasmin. “What’s he doing here?”she thought. It was precisely at this moment that Father David cast a casual glance around to find Meenal staring at him outside the window.

An hour earlier, Yasmin rang the doorbell which was opened by Savita, Meenal’s mother. She welcomed them and offered glasses of water. She called her husband, Vijay, who emerged from their bedroom. Vijay greeted them and asked Sudha to make tea for them. They were comfortably seated on the couch before Vijay began, ” You must be wondering why I called you and asked you to bring a priest with you. Last night, I followed my daughter and was shocked to see her outside a graveyard. She was surrounded by weird people. I overheard their conversation.” He proceeded to narrate everything he saw, including the confession from his daughter who was possessed by the devil. Dipak’s death had shocked him so much that he almost ran all the way home. He couldn’t approach the police, for they wouldn’t believe him that the city was in chaos because of the devil. Yasmin and Father David nodded, prodding him to continue. Vijay said, ” I don’t know whether my Meenal is dead or alive. Please help me, Father. I lost my child, Vidya. The devil said it got trapped in a cellphone as her colleague chanted prayers. Oh my God! How could I forget? Ever since the devil possessed her body, Meenal never let anyone near her room. She scolded my wife for trying to tidy up the scattered clothes. She always carried an old mobile ( Nokia mobile) in her purse. I used to wonder why she didn’t use her smartphone.”

Father David sat straight and said, ” Sir, Please try to enter her room when she’s in college and retrieve that mobile. Can you tell me the model of the phone? ” He searched for Old Nokia mobile pictures in his Smartphone. Vijay pointed out Nokia 1100 model . Father David continued, ” I have a plan. Please continue to act normal and don’t let the devil know that you have caught his lie. I will buy an identical mobile and give it you. Don’t forget to swap it in Meenal’s absence. Don’t divulge this information to anyone. This is strictly confidential.” Vijay nodded and asked the guests to follow him to the kitchen as Sudha announced that the tea was ready.

And now, Meenal looked like a deer caught in the headlight. Father David waved at her and said, ” Meenal, my child, Why are you standing out there like an outsider? Why don’t you join us for tea? ” Meenal’ s parents looked at her, beckoning her to come in. Meenal stammered and said, ” How silly of me? I forgot to buy something for my special college project. I will be back in a while. Do continue to enjoy your tea, Father.” “Wait,”said Father David, ” I just want to talk to you for a few minutes.” Meenal replied, ” I am really busy now. Can we chat later?” She didn’t wait for his response and took to her heels quickly. Father David followed her as Yasmin, Vijay and Savita looked on. She was now on the main road followed in hot pursuit by Father David. He caught up with her and tried to stop her by holding her wrist. Suddenly, she started shouting, ” Help! Help! This man is trying to rape me.” A crowd gathered around them as the public started thrashing Father David as he tried to justify his actions. A lady from the crowd, came forward to lead Meenal away from the ‘offender’.

Meenal winked at him before allowing the woman to drag her away. Someone called the police and Father David was arrested. Later, Meenal filed a false complaint against Father David on attempted rape. The next day, the news of his arrest made it to the front page. Vijay was riled up as he realized it was the work of the devil. He saw Meenal enjoying Television and quickly went out without informing his wife. He had never done this before. He called for an autorickshaw and reached the police station. After meeting Father David, he called his lawyer and arranged for his bail. The inspector was astonished and asked, ” Sir, if I am not mistaken, Ms. Meenal Sharma is your daughter. How can you bail out a sexual offender? ” Vijay replied, ” I don’t have time to answer questions, sir. All I can say is that she has lost her mental stability after the death of her sister. She’s on medication and her statement is not true.” The inspector shook his head, not convinced of the explanation.

Father David was released on bail. He appeared to be relieved and thanked Vijay for coming to his rescue. The latter promised to get the mobile for him.

A couple of days later, Vijay received a text message from Father David that he had secured another identical phone for swapping. Meenal noticed her father getting ready to go out. She gave him an evil grin and said, ” Where are you off to, daddy dearest? Shall I drop you somewhere? ” Beads of sweat formed on Vijay’s forehead as he said, ” I am going to meet a friend.” ” Is it Father David? “asked Meenal. ” No, I am going to meet Kundanlal,” he lied. Meenal smirked, “You are still weak, dad. What’s the use of having a car when you can’t drive or get a ride? “

Vijay prayed for a miraculous distraction. Just then, Meenal received a call and her face paled after hearing the news. She taunted, ” Be grateful that you escaped this time. I will make sure to pack you and your wife to hell, if I catch you hatching any conspiracy against me.” No sooner, did she leave than Vijay hired a cab and reached the Cafe Coffee Day . He spotted Father David and joined him for a cup of coffee. They had espressos and some snacks to eat. Father David was explaining his plan to Vijay when he was alarmed to find Meenal sauntering over to a table across them. What’s going to happen next? Will Meenal catch them? Or they would manage to save their skins? Watch out for the final episode of The Devil Killer Phone next Friday.

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