It was a cold and damp evening. Subulaxmi Ramaswamy was beginning to
feel nervous about the screening of her debut movie. She had invited all
the prominent celebrities of B-town for the premiere.
The cinema hall started filling in slowly but surely. Subulaxmi crossed her fingers and hoped that her maiden attempt would not fail her. She had tried her hand at the unconventional horror genre.
As she sat with the star cast in the crowded hall, she scanned the audience. They all seemed mesmerized with the chills and thrills on screen. Subulaxmi smiled proudly as she saw the silent spectators yelp, squeal, squeeze their eyes shut, bite their nails nervously...her film was sure to be a box-office hit.
All of a sudden, her eyes fell on a man in one corner of the front row. She could not see his face clearly in the dark, but noticed he was wearing a black overcoat. What caught Subulaxmi's attention was that he did not flinch even once, not even for a single scene. As he continued to sit ramrod straight in his seat, she could not help notice him stifling a yawn or two as the film moved on.
For the next ninety minutes, Subulaxmi could not concentrate on anything other than this impudent man. She had heard of Mr Ramu Sharma who was her competitor and a self-proclaimed expert in this area of expertise. She did recall inviting him but had not expected him to attend the event, especially when his recent movie had crashed so badly. But could it be him trying to jeopardize her screening, she wondered.
The movie ended with a thunderous applause from the dumbstruck audience. Subulaxmi received hordes of compliments and jealous handshakes from her B-town guests. However, her eyes wandered to the corner seat in the front row. He was still seated.
Politely, she excused herself for a minute and went up to him.
"Hi, I have been noticing you for a while...and," she said extending her hand for a friendly handshake.
"Honored, lovely lady," he squeezed her hand firmly interrupting her mid sentence. His grip felt ice cold. Subulaxmi felt his bloodshot eyes bore into her. He flashed her a charming smile as she felt a strong constricting pain in the right side of her chest.
She woke up in the hospital bed after what seemed like several hours.
"You had a massive cardiac arrest, Ma'am," they told her. "Your crew saw you with a black coat in your hand just seconds before you collapsed. You seemed to be muttering something to yourself.."
(You can read more such stories and other updates on the Facebook page dedicated to my debut novel. Here is the link http://facebook.com/TOFthenovel )
The cinema hall started filling in slowly but surely. Subulaxmi crossed her fingers and hoped that her maiden attempt would not fail her. She had tried her hand at the unconventional horror genre.
As she sat with the star cast in the crowded hall, she scanned the audience. They all seemed mesmerized with the chills and thrills on screen. Subulaxmi smiled proudly as she saw the silent spectators yelp, squeal, squeeze their eyes shut, bite their nails nervously...her film was sure to be a box-office hit.
All of a sudden, her eyes fell on a man in one corner of the front row. She could not see his face clearly in the dark, but noticed he was wearing a black overcoat. What caught Subulaxmi's attention was that he did not flinch even once, not even for a single scene. As he continued to sit ramrod straight in his seat, she could not help notice him stifling a yawn or two as the film moved on.
For the next ninety minutes, Subulaxmi could not concentrate on anything other than this impudent man. She had heard of Mr Ramu Sharma who was her competitor and a self-proclaimed expert in this area of expertise. She did recall inviting him but had not expected him to attend the event, especially when his recent movie had crashed so badly. But could it be him trying to jeopardize her screening, she wondered.
The movie ended with a thunderous applause from the dumbstruck audience. Subulaxmi received hordes of compliments and jealous handshakes from her B-town guests. However, her eyes wandered to the corner seat in the front row. He was still seated.
Politely, she excused herself for a minute and went up to him.
"Hi, I have been noticing you for a while...and," she said extending her hand for a friendly handshake.
"Honored, lovely lady," he squeezed her hand firmly interrupting her mid sentence. His grip felt ice cold. Subulaxmi felt his bloodshot eyes bore into her. He flashed her a charming smile as she felt a strong constricting pain in the right side of her chest.
She woke up in the hospital bed after what seemed like several hours.
"You had a massive cardiac arrest, Ma'am," they told her. "Your crew saw you with a black coat in your hand just seconds before you collapsed. You seemed to be muttering something to yourself.."
3 comments:
Great read it was...was the man an incarnation of Death himself?
@ Maniparna
I was hinting towards an incarnate of the 'Count'. But the best part about fiction is that it's subject to interpretation ;)
This is a very interesting discussion and inspiring comrade. I will recommend my friends to come to Puisi Kerinduan
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