CHAPTER – ONE (Presence)
It all started three months before the lock down. We were looking for new apartment to move into. We lived in the current one for exactly three years and I always felt it had an identity of its own. Sometimes the house would speak to me and our dog would randomly bark into nothingness. I was secretly quite sure we had something or someone living with us as a peaceful yet watchful housemate. We hadn’t yet found the new apartment but were looking quite actively, and that’s when the present one seemed to change. I felt like it was upset with us. A sense of unease filled the air and since I was jobless and at home most of the day, I felt the weight – invisible eyes observing me and a constant state of distress in the air. My dog wanted to go out the first chance she got. She sat by the main door like a princess trapped in her tower waiting for the prince to rescue her.
A week later, I started getting glimpses of an entity. Like the child that just ran across the passage while I wasn’t looking or while I stood in the kitchen engrossed in cooking, a presence so close behind that I could almost feel the breath on my shoulders. Initially, I would turn to look behind me but found no one. With each day, the presence got stronger and didn’t feel friendly as it had once. I decided to speak with my husband about it but lately we were not what we used to be. We were married for over three years and dated for almost lately, we had been fighting a lot. The fights got ugly, we got meaner with each other and the make-up period got longer. The house felt like a trap and the presence got stronger.
One evening, after four days without conversation following a massive fight, we decided to step out for dinner. It was a strange feeling of relief the moment we stepped out and sat in the car. I instantly felt lighter. We reached the restaurant, ordered food and had a normal, healthy, lovely time chatting and laughing over delicious food. I was happy again. But when we got back, all of a sudden, I felt the happiness between us being sucked out. The only relief was Bella who was excited to see us and Whined about leaving her alone.
About the Author:-
Pragati Deshmukh is a seasoned media professional with almost 20 years of experience in creating content for film, TV and OTT. She received the Wonder Women Award-2023 as a Trailblazer this year. Pragati Deshmukh is known for Barfi(2012), Battle of Saragarhi(2017) and Out of Love(2019). Her passion for storytelling coupled with the lockdown, drove her to write her first novel- A Dark and Shiny Place. Coming from an Army household, she loves to travel and has an easily adaptable personality. She loves animals. She’s an incurable optimist and always believes there is a solution to every problem. She continues to make successful and unique web shows and will soon venture back into films. She believes that the medium is not important; the key is to tell a great story.
(Extracted with due permission from author , publisher)
