SHORT STORIES FRIDAYS (77)

THE SPECIAL NOTEBOOK (PART 15) : A SHORT STORY By ME.

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Neeraj was wary of Subhash’s sinister designs. He wished that Subhash would land behind bars as per his intention. He had a rude shock as this was the first time that his second wish remained unfulfilled. It had been two weeks since Subhash and Archana broke up. But there had been no sign of Subhash resorting to alcoholism. On the contrary, he was in a pleasant mood, trying to woo his mother.

Neeraj was puzzled. How did his plan fail? The special notebook used to grant his every wish. Why did Subhash escape from a miserable fate? He had more questions than answers. He had to test the effectiveness of the notebook. After coming back from school, he went straight to his room and wrote :
Today I want to have pizza for dinner.
Later that night, Subhash brought Pizza to celebrate his recent promotion. Neeraj finished his dinner and thanked him before going to his room. Neeraj rewrote his original intention of getting Subhash arrested. This plan, too, fizzled out as Subhash showed no signs of drinking.

One day, when he came home, he noticed his mother glowing like a heroine. He asked her, ” Hey, Mom! What’s special today? You are looking gorgeous.” Radhika smiled and showed her right hand, pointing towards the diamond ring in her finger. She said, ” Finally, ‘I met the man of my dreams. Inspector Subhash just proposed to me. He is a fatherly figure to you and rather fond of you than Amit. What do you think? ” Neeraj could not believe his mom could be so characterless. She already lost Pranav, then Amit, and now she fell for Subhash, a fraud.

He was too stunned to speak. His mother assumed his silence as approval. Neeraj was in a dilemma. How could he prevent her from marrying Subhash? He wanted to covet her wealth. Neeraj had no proof to accuse Subhash and the inspector could simply laugh it off, as a fabricated tale. How could he expose Subhash without hurting his mother’s feeling? He wanted to speak to his father. He took out the note book to summon his father’s soul. His father’s soul didn’t appear. How did it happen? This could only mean that either the notebook was no longer special or it had been swapped.

Neeraj wanted to wring Subhash’s neck for the infringement of his privacy. He probably swapped his notebook. But how and why? He had too many questions. Before going to sleep, he tried his luck for the last time and wrote ” I want to know the truth.”

The next day, he got ready to go to school. He picked up his school bag and kissed his mother goodbye. The moment he stepped out of the gate, someone clamped a handkerchief over his mouth. He fell unconscious and the kidnapper dumped him on the backseat of his car. The car started moving at a great speed.

An hour later, Neeraj woke up, feeling groggy. His throat was parched and he was feeling weak. One of the henchmen noticed him waking up. He brought down the gag and asked what he wanted. Neeraj replied, “I want water.” The goon offered him a glass of water and went to fetch his boss. Ten minutes later, Neeraj’s eyes widened in horror as Archana Khandve who was supposed to be in a mental institution, strode towards him with an evil grin on her face.

” So, here we meet again, dear Neeraj, ” she cackled. She reminded him of Dolores Umbridge of Harry Potter. She continued, ” Tsk….. Tsk…. I thought you were a good Mama’s boy. You have been writing some fabulous stories for TV daily soaps. You wanted me to go insane as my new lover dumped me after robbing me of my wealth. You should be ashamed of yourself. I am sure you did this only after you found out about me and Subhash. Bad boys need to be punished. What should I do to punish you? Your mom….. She’s your weakness, right? Let Subhash bring her here and you watch her die.”
” That’s enough, ” commanded a shrill female voice. Archana cowered a bit and replied, ” Sorry, Ma’am. I got carried away. ” Ma’am was the leader of this crime syndicate. Her voice addressed Neeraj. ” So,” she said, “You want to know the truth, right?” Neeraj received a jolt. He stammered, ” How did you know? Are you a magician or a scientist? ” The woman chuckled, ” Well, I am neither. First, I want you to know that there’s nothing special about the notebook that your father gave you. In fact, it was I who had sent the notebook.” ” You are lying,” yelled Neeraj, ” How is it possible that I met with my father’s ghost,summoning it at my will? ” The woman chuckled, ” You are such a baby. Just wait. Would you like to see your father again? ” Neeraj was dumbfound. A phantom emerged in the middle of the room. It was his father’s ghost. Neeraj wanted to speak to him but the phantom started to fade away.

Ma’am asked him, ” Did you like my new hologram generator? I had it attached along with a tiny microchip in the midst of your special notebook. Your writing would be visible to me. Everytime you wrote something, I got the message on my smartphone and tried to fulfill most of them. But when you planned something sinister for my ardent followers, I couldn’t keep quiet and let you get away with it. You have a bossy attitude and your character stinks.” Neeraj questioned her, ” What do you want from me?” The lady said, ” You are a smart boy. I like you. Before his death, your father left all his properties in your name and a frugal money for your mother. I want you to sign the dotted line in which it says that you are willingly transferring your wealth in my name. Then, I will let you go after you give up your inheritance.”

Neeraj couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer. He asked her, ” Who are you? Why don’t you come to meet me? ” The woman laughed heartily and replied, ” Fair enough. It’s my duty to honor your last wish.”

Neeraj screamed in horror as he saw a silhouette coming into light and behind her, Inspector Subhash followed. Who was the mysterious woman? Will Neeraj escape unharmed or die while seeking justice for his dead father? Watch out for the final episode of the Special Notebook.

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