A poignant short story by Rituparna, based on a real-life experience. An exclusive for Different Truths.

Birth and death are the ultimate truth in the universe and what oscillates between these two is nothing but hallucination. We cling to this hallucination and live it for a lifetime. This is a veil that encircles us in beautiful shapes of dreams and unpleasant shapes of nightmares. 

Myriad kinds of nightmares hang around in the darkest nook and crannies of human psychology and some seem to be so near to reality. I had a similar experience the day I saw Laura, yelling in her bedroom, bewildered. 

Laura is a ten-year-old beautiful, sensitive, a bit moody girl. She is the only daughter of Susan, my neighbour, a hardworking, sincere, honest, single mother. 

That morning Susan went out early for her office due to an emergency. Laura was at home due to her session gap at school. Susan asked me to take care of Laura till her governess was in to look after her.

It was early morning.  I found Laura deep asleep. Couching on the sofa, I was going through the newspaper. Suddenly, I sprang up, alarmed at the shrill cry from Laura’s bedroom. In no time I rushed to her to find her drenched in sweat. Her face was pale white. I embraced her. She gaped at me, wide-eyed and said: papa killed mamma.  Immediately thereafter, she fainted in my lap. I was in a daze for a while.  After some time, she woke up and threw her arms around my shoulders and screamed, “Please call Mamma, is she dead?  No, she can’t leave me.”

I tried to pacify her and consoled her with the words that her Mamma was safe, busy with an emergency in the office, and was not in a position to receive calls.

I freshened her up and took her to the dining table. It was just 7:00 am and it was not yet the time for her Nanny to be in.  I decided to avail leave from my office and stay with Laura.  After having breakfast, we went to the garden.  I tenderly wanted to know the details of the trauma from Laura.

A bit reorganised, she spoke: “Aunty, Papa killed mamma. Mamma and I had been alone for the last ten years since my birth.  Papa was never with us. One fine morning he suddenly came to visit us. We were playing Chinese chequers in our study when he intruded and asked Mamma to go for an outing with him. She wanted me to go along with them, but he refused to allow me to accompany them. Reluctantly, Mamma went out with him and did not return. I called her a few times to get no response.  Mamma only texted me to say that she would never come back to me.  After a week, I opened the door in the morning to find a rose at the doorstep with a note attached to it.  I opened the note and saw a line written by her: ‘Your Papa killed me’.”

I was stupefied to listen to what the little girl shared with me. I took her close to me and comforted her with the words that nightmares are just visions, they flash in during some weak moments of our lives, just to be forgotten. 

Laura asked me, “Aunty, sometimes dreams come true, what if nightmares come true!”

I held her close and uttered to myself silently, “Susan, I apologise, I couldn’t disclose the news of your fatal accident to Laura yet. Give me some time. Laura is my responsibility from now on.  You can never return to her from another world.  But I shall be a mother to the dear child.” 

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Rituparna Khan

Rituparna Khan is an Assistant Professor in Geography at Bidhannagar College, Salt Lake, Kolkata. Her inclination to Literature, especially poetry is no less.  A few of her works are published and well appreciated and awarded in print as well as social media. Her first book, a collection of short stories, was launched at Kolkata International Book Fair, this year.

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