Into The Shadows by Aayush Borulkar (smart ebook reader txt) 📗

insane during the last few years before his death in the cell. Further the report read that he used to murmur only three words during the last days in his cell “Truth Be Told.” And that he had started remaining in isolation.

Erika’s eyes lit as she read the phrase “Truth Be Told.” She had read this somewhere before but could not remember where she had read it, due to the alcohol effect. She closed her eyes and tried to remember hard but could not remember anything, and then suddenly, she opened her eyes and said, "The envelope!”

She ran to the kitchen and opened the drawer, and took out the envelope she had received at the doorstep earlier that day. By this time, Avinash and Milo had also reached the kitchen and were standing there confused. She took out the small piece of paper from the envelope and matched what was written on them. Both of them read “Truth Be Told”.

“This can’t be true!” exclaimed Erika looking up at Avinash with a baffled face.

“You go home now. I will see you directly at the station tomorrow. And thanks for helping me out tonight. Meant a lot,” said Erika putting the piece back into the drawer and closing the file.

“I mean sure. But are you all alright? Do you want me to stay? Because you don’t look fine” asked a concerned Avinash.

“Oh no, I will be fine. You go,” answered Erika, and opened the main door. “Thanks once again, and see you,” added Erika and closed the door on Avinash.

Erika just stood there at the door staring at the file with Milo by her legs.

Chapter 10

“Erika! Erika”

“Baba! I can hear you! Where are you!?” screamed out Erika as she was sitting on her bed. She got out of her bed and stood up. She was in a room similar to her room, with walls painted beige, a silver-coloured fan and pink curtains flying inwards due to the wind blowing, making a whistling noise. But there were no doors or windows to this room. Instead, there were just open spaces. As she was calling out to her father, she suddenly felt her feet getting wet. So she looked down and saw her feet in ankle-deep water. She tried to jump out of it but failed, because the whole place was filled with water.

“Erika! Erika!”

Hearing the shouts again, Erika started walking in the direction of the voice, splashing her way through the water. But as she was getting closer to the origin of the voice, its direction seemed to change. So she changed her direction. But to her surprise, the voice again changed the direction, this went on for quite some time, making Erika change her direction continuously and make her splash around in the whole room. Every time she changed her direction, so did the voice. Finally, Erika stopped and stood motionless, clueless about what she was doing or what was needed to be done. Suddenly she again heard her name being called out from behind, but this time the voice was a bit calmer. As she turned towards the voice, she saw a healthy man standing at the entrance of the room where the door should have been. He had chains tied to his hands and legs and was a little hunched due to the weight of heavy iron chains. He raised his hands a little and called out, “Come Erika. Come”

As soon as she saw him, she sprinted towards him and hugged him tight. “Oh, I missed you, Erika,” said the man hugging her lovingly.

“I missed you too, Baba. Every single second” replied Erika.

“I am sure you did my biscuit,” said her father. “Where is mom?” asked her father.

“She is around. I will take you to her. Let’s go,” answered Erika.

“Oh, yes, we will. But first, let’s catch up,” said the man.

“I should not have done it Baba. I was too naïve to know any better back then. Baba but now that you are here, it’s going to be fine”, said Erika in a muffled voice as she continued hugging her father.

“Yes my little biscuit, everything is in line now”, said the man tightening his grip on Erika.

“Let’s go Baba,” said Erika getting a little uncom- fortable. “It’s hurting me a little, Baba,” continued Erika.

“Yes, I know biscuit. But not as much as it hurt me all those months in prison, knowing that the reason I was behind those awful bars, was my daughter,” said her father tightening his grip furthermore.

“Staying trapped in that cell, knowing that his daughter was foolish enough to rat out her father,” he continued louder this time.

“Let me go Baba! You are hurting me,” yelled Erika in discomfort, trying to get out of the grip. “I was immature to understand the consequence of my actions, Baba. I regret that very much. Please let go of me,” continued Erika in the same discomforted tone.

“It’s too late now, my biscuit. I am sure you are as bad a cop as you were a daughter,” said her father trying to maintain the grip.

“Let go of me!!!!” screamed Erika using her full force, and suddenly woke up in her bed upright.

She sat there on her bed, panting hard and drenched in sweat. She was breathing heavily and sweat trickled down all over her face. Her scream had woken up Milo, all scared. He was standing by her side on the bed barking. Erika sat there, afraid and confused at the same time. She reached for the glass of water on the side table and gulped the whole glass within seconds. By now, it had struck her that it was just a terrible dream and nothing else. She reached out to the photo of her father on the side table. She took it and looked at it with teary eyes and said, “I miss you, baba,” kissing the photo. As she was keeping the photograph back, she saw that it was 8:30am. Reality struck her and she jumped out of