SHORT STORIES FRIDAYS (56)

THE SPECIAL NOTEBOOK ( PART 4) : A SHORT STORY BY ME.

Thud! He fell off his bed and woke up with a start. It took him ten minutes to realize that he had been asleep and dreaming. Neeraj was visibly shaken by what he saw. It was very realistic. He glanced at the wall clock. It was 12 PM. He had to check on his mother. But first he had to find his special notebook and hide it in his wardrobe.

He almost ran out of his bedroom towards the living room where he had kept the notebook on the coffee table. He had a nasty shock! His notebook was wasn’t there. It was missing! He had thousands of questions arising in his mind. He tiptoed to his mother’s bedroom and gently knocked on her door. He was surprised to find the door unlocked and opened it slightly. His mother, Radhika, wasn’t in her bed. Suddenly, he panicked. He thought his mother might have worked out how to use the notebook. He frantically started searching for his dear notebook, throwing down the sofa cusion, and scanning the bookshelf.

After an hour or so, the house looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Neeraj was on the verge of tears. He couldn’t let the notebook fall into the wrong hands, especially that of his mother. It wasn’t an ordinary notebook. It contained his father’s soul and his most prized possession. But where was Radhika? Fear gripped him as weird thoughts entered his mind. What if his mother was indeed conspiring to get rid of him? Was she seeing another man? He chided himself for his negative thinking. Just then, the sound of the doorknob turning, caught his attention. His hair stood at ends. Beads of perspiration trickled down his forehead as he searched for a weapon to protect himself from a possible intruder. He picked up a flashlight🔦 and proceeded to open the door and positioned himself ready to strike the burglar or whoever the intruder was!

” Aaargh! ” screamed Radhika, ” What are you doing, Neeraj? When did you wake up? And why are you in a attacking mode? You nearly gave me a heart attack. You should have checked through the peephole.” Neeraj relaxed. He lowered down the flashlight and opened the door wide enough for her to enter. But to his surprise, she wasn’t alone. His father’s best friend, Amit Bhonsle, followed her with a huge grin plastered over his face.

Neeraj was simply horrified as his bad dream was slowly materializing. He was speechless as Amit chuckled and said, ” Are you going to let us in or stand there as a statue? What’s the matter, Neeraj? You look like you have seen a ghost? ” Neeraj thought, ” Ghosts aren’t as scary as my horrible dream.” He let them in and started questioning his mother when they were in the kitchen. Amit made himself comfortable by plopping on the couch and browsing through various channels on the TV.

“Where have you been, Mom?” He probed, ” The doctor advised you a complete bed rest but you are back on your feet and can’t wait to go out.” Radhika said, ” Son, I am feeling much better.Besides, I asked Amit to accompany me to the doctor. Neeraj, I wanted to tell you earlier…. ” Neeraj held his hand up to stop her and finished the sentence for her, ” That you are pregnant with Amit’s child and he has agreed to marry you.”

Radhika was surprised. ” How did you know?” she asked. Neeraj was furious and started lashing out at her, ” You are not my mother at all. You are a characterless bitch who tarnished the memory of my late father. It’s been just three months and here you are seeking the company of another male.” Radhika was in tears as Amit overheard the commotion and came to her defense. He said, ” Neeraj, you need to apologize to your mother. Just because your father is dead, there’s no reason why she should hold on to his memories. What would have been your reaction if your mother had died instead of your father and he thought of a remarriage ? You would have supported him because you are your father’s son. But what about your mother? Why do you hate her? Is it because she asked your father to keep working and provide comfort to the family? Every one has a right to be happy. Mistakes do happen. Pranav would have wanted his wife and son to be happy. I know I can never replace your dad but I promise to give you and your mother, all the love and happiness. Your mother wanted to break this news to you but you already knew what she wanted to say. I don’t know how you found out. We are getting married on the coming Sunday. It would be a low key affair. So, you need worry about your reputation getting a hit.”

Neeraj looked at Amit with pure hatred and fury but he also realized that Amit was right. He mumbled a quick sorry and left them as they hugged each other tightly. He turned back and caught Amit kissing Radhika’s forehead. He wanted to hit Amit but controlled his fury. A sudden thought struck him. Instead of going to his room, he saw his mother’s medical reports lying on the table. He picked it up, only to confirm his worst fears. His mother was four months’ pregnant. But his father died three months ago. This means, she had been having an extramarital affair behind his back and the traitor, Amit, had betrayed his best friend, and now tried to win over Neeraj with his sweet talk. Neeraj’s fury was at its peak. But he was helpless. If s part of his dream came true, then his life might be in danger from his own mother and her paramor. Can a mother kill her own child for inheritance? Why not? Neeraj remember a case where the mother of two strangled her children to death after killing her husband and fleeing with her paramor. He didn’t want his father’s death go in vain and would definitely not allow these two traitors to get away with their crime.

Neeraj realized that his special notebook might be in his mother’s possession which he had to recover at any cost. So, he took a deep breath and approached Radhika and Amit who were laughing heartily.

” I am sorry, Mom, ” said Neeraj, ” I yelled at you because I couldn’t imagine anyone taking dad’s place. But you deserve to be happy and I behaved like a jerk. Would you forgive me, please? ” Radhika smiled and hugged her son as Amit gave him a thumbs up sign. Neeraj asked, ” By the way, mom? Did you see my pink colored notebook on the coffee table? I had written some mathematical formulae. ” Radhika replied, ” Oh! I put that notebook in your school bag. You have to be more careful with your things.”

Neeraj heaved a sigh of relief and kissed his mom, ” You are an angel, Mom! ” to which Amit and Radhika laughed. He opened his school bag and retrieved his special notebook. He hugged it tightly and saw his reflection in the mirror. His eyes seemed to be shining with an evil glint. He had planned something very dangerous.

Watch out for the next episode of The Special Notebook for more thrill and twist in the tale.

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