INTRO 00:00:00
Welcome to OBSCURUS, your weekly dose of paranormal fiction. Every Wednesday OBSCURUS features new short stories and serialized novels written by novelist, screenwriter, and voice-over artist Biswajit Banerjee. The realm of the paranormal stretches far beyond the usual horror story. So, while you will get to listen to lots of ghost stories on this podcast, there will also be many tales of lesser-known paranormal themes. To get us started, here's your host Biswajit Banerjee.
HOST TALK 00:00:47
Welcome to another spine-chilling episode of OBSCURUS, where shadows come to life and the unseen whispers secrets into the night. I'm your host, Biswajit Banerjee, and tonight, we will continue our journey into the dark and mysterious world of our serialized novel, 'SHE WANTS TO KILL.'
Last week, we followed Ravi as he struggled with the terrifying presence of the bloodless girl, and we saw how his friend Bikash tried to bring him back to reality. Despite these efforts, Ravi's experiences with the paranormal only seemed to deepen, leaving him in a state of constant fear and confusion.
Tonight, in Chapter 3, 'She Breaks!,' the tension escalates further as Ravi's relationship with his wife, Kavita, is strained by his strange behavior and terrifying visions. After a particularly harsh argument, Ravi attempts to make amends, but another chilling encounter with the ghostly girl disrupts his night. This time, the encounter is even more horrifying as the girl breaks apart before his eyes, leaving Ravi questioning his sanity and safety.
Before we dive into this gripping chapter, I want to remind you to visit our websites, biswajitbanerjee.com and obscurus.buzzsprout.com, for more exciting content and updates. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel, where you'll find exclusive behind-the-scenes content, interviews, and much more. Your support on Patreon will help us bring you more thrilling episodes, so please consider becoming a patron. The links to our websites are in the show notes.
For those eager to enhance their Spoken English skills, I invite you to explore my comprehensive training program, SPOKEN ENGLISH FOR NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS. It's meticulously designed to boost your confidence and fluency in English through personalized lessons and interactive sessions. We have exciting plans to expand to Patreon and other platforms, offering you the opportunity to support us and access more exclusive content.
Now, without further ado, let's dive into the third chapter of 'SHE WANTS TO KILL' – 'She Breaks!' Get ready to be drawn deeper into Ravi's harrowing journey as the lines between reality and the supernatural blur even further.
SHE WANTS TO KILL 00:04:10
CHAPTER 03 – SHE BREAKS!
Written and Performed by Biswajit Banerjee
00:04:35
The mood at the dining table was somber. Ravi had just had a row with Kavita. The issue was a simple one, but it led to inconsiderate exchanges. Ravi hadn't eaten his lunch. When Kavita discovered that the food packed for him in the morning had returned untouched, she was distraught. When she demanded an explanation, Ravi said, 'I didn't feel hungry.' She looked hugely disappointed with his response and said a few harsh things. After having had a terrible day, Ravi was in no mood to graciously listen to her complaints. He, too, made bitter replies. Some of the things he said were very unkind, and most certainly, Kavita's complaints didn't merit so callous a treatment. Finally, the exchanges came to an end with Kavita flooding tears.
Ravi found the heaviness of the air between them nauseating. As they ate their meals silently, Ravi cursed himself for being so harsh to his wife. After all, the poor woman said a thing or two out of pure concern for him. And she had the right to express her disappointment in case she spotted him doing the wrong things for it was she who was taking care of him in every possible way. She hardly ever did anything other than toiling for her husband. There seemed to be no other goal in her life. It was a shame that he turned so ruthless in his dealings with his angelic wife, he thought. He surely owed her an apology, and that, too, a sincere apology.
00:06:31
He didn't know how or what to say to express his deep remorse, but Ravi said it anyway in bed.
"I am sorry," he said in a shallow pitch.
Clearly, Kavita hadn't heard a word as she continued lying with her back to him.
"I am sorry, I said."
He spotted very faint movements in her body but was still unsure if she had heard him.
"Kavita, I am sorry," Ravi spoke again, this time in a raised pitch.
Kavita turned around and faced her husband.
"Look, I am really sorry; I had no business speaking to you that way," he said as tears welled up in his eyes.
For a moment, she didn't react. Then she flung herself at him and held him as tightly as she possibly could. Ravi felt her tears reaching out to his shoulder through his kurta.
"I love you, Ravi," she said, "I just love you; you are the purpose of my life; you are everything to me."
"I love you too, honey," Ravi said. You know I didn't mean a word of what I said to you. Actually, I had such a bad day that …"
"You don't have to give me explanations, Ravi," she loosened her hold and snuggled against him, "I am your wife … just a part of you. You don't have to tell me that you didn't mean whatever you said. I know that already. Don't let anything disturb you. I am with you and will always be with you."
"Thanks, sweetheart, thanks," he planted a kiss on her forehead.
"You will be perfectly fine very soon," Kavita raised her face and moved her fingers through his hair.
"I have just no fears with you by my side."
They kissed till their inner essences met and then slept in the warmth each provided for the other.
00:08:43
Unfortunately, the warmth wasn't enough for Ravi to bask all night. There was a bustle around as though someone was moving. It was a very low noise but sufficient to break his sleep. Kavita was deep asleep with her head on a part of his arm. Ravi waited for a while to see if the noise recurred. It didn't. Now, he wondered if he had really heard a noise or if it was a mere construct of his mind. Even if he did hear a noise, it might have been due to the fluttering of the loose sheets that lay on a stool at some distance from the bed due to drafts through the ventilators. Those were the sheets on which he had worked out some statistical figures for the company a couple of nights back. Then it struck him that those papers were lying under a paperweight, and it was unlikely that the loose ends of those sheets could flap in a manner so as to cause sounds that gave the impression of someone moving around.
Ravi looked around with unease. There was no one. He tried to recall if he had bolted the entrance door properly. Indeed, he had done it; he was sure of that. But then why was he fueling an unfounded fear, he asked himself. Of course, there was no intruder in the house; there couldn't be one. There was no reason to liken the noise to the sounds of someone's footsteps. Besides, he wasn't even sure if he had heard anything at all.
He closed his eyes again and tried to sleep. The next few minutes went in peace, and just as his eyes grew heavy from his sleep, he felt a gush of air on his face. Someone was breathing over him! He opened his eyes with a start. There was no one in sight. Kavita slept blissfully, her head partly on a pillow and partly on his left arm. If what he felt was really breaths, then the one breathing must have had her nostrils right over his face. So those were certainly not Kavita's breaths that fell over him. But then, did he really feel someone's breaths, or was it simply a draft, he wondered. No, it couldn't have been a draft - there was no way air could have flown towards his face from the ventilators, and that too in the shape of a vertical rectilinear column, he reasoned. Sleep invaded his eyes again in a while, but he was afraid to close them. However, the sleep got the better of his fears.
It happened again – the breaths over his face. He was so fast asleep that the first few air gushes couldn't wake him, though he was subconsciously cognizant of their coming. The breaths were too strong to allow him to sleep for long. Soon enough, he opened his eyes. And there she was right before him, actually right over him!
It took him a few brief moments to come to terms with what he was witnessing. When he realized the horror of the situation he faced, he screamed. But it was no scream. He had lost his voice and found himself choking. The girl's face glistened in the dim light that made its way into the room through the window on Ravi's right. She looked ghastlier, with only one side of her face illuminated by the weak light. She brought her face closer, and soon, her long hair fell over and touched his forehead and cheeks. Ravi's nerves began to turn cold. The girl drew closer, and in a while, he could feel her dead, cold fingers moving over his chest.
00:13:10
He tried to wake Kavita up by moving his arm, but it didn't move. With his dying mind and body, there was little he could do. He tried to scream again with all the strength he could muster. All he managed, however, was a faint moan. It was too faint to bring his wife out of sleep. The girl came still closer. The light that now fell on her face was more diffused due to the hair that fell on its way. Yet he could, with his dying senses, figure out something about her face that he had never noticed before. Her skin wasn't continuous. Fissures ran all over it, and some of them appeared to be very deep. Then, a crack appeared roughly in the center of the face, almost bisecting it. It opened up further, virtually breaking the face into two. Very soon, other cracks began to open up, too. In a matter of seconds, the face looked like loosely connected fragments of flesh and skin. Then, the fragments dissociated from the base and fell one after the other on Ravi. He also felt her dead fingers breaking into small pieces on his chest. Then, the other parts of her body began to shake.
All that was left of her in a while was a bunch of loose bones. Even these bones were not free of fissures. There were cracks on them which opened up quickly, and within moments, the bones disintegrated into Ravi's body. He found himself completely under the debris of decayed flesh and bones. He could hardly breathe, for his mouth and nostrils were now covered with soft and hard fragments of the girl's body. Ravi tried hard to move his hand up to remove the debris from his mouth and nostrils. But he failed. Another minute in that state would be enough to kill him.
00:15:27
Thankfully, his dying mind came to his rescue. The last bits of energy left in his body came together to give him just the kind of strength he needed to scream. And he screamed, he screamed his heart out. Ravi felt Kavita waking up with a jerk, and now he knew he was safe.
"Ravi, Ravi," she said as she shook him up.
"Ahhhh … arrrr," Ravi moaned.
"What happened Ravi, get up," Kavita's words fell into his ears.
"Ahh …" He just didn't have a voice.
"Get up, Ravi," she shouted.
Ravi slowly opened his eyes and found Kavita frantically trying to bring him to his senses.
"There you are," Kavita heaved a sigh of relief.
"She … she …" Ravi said with little control over his speech.
"What's wrong? Whom are you talking about?"
“She … she …”
"Wait a second, let me get you some water."
Kavita went and returned in a flash with a glass of water. She helped Ravi raise his head and drink.
"Are you feeling better?"
Ravi nodded faintly.
"You had a bad dream, it seems," Kavita said.
He moved his head.
"What? It wasn't a dream?"
"No," Ravi finally regained some control over his voice.
"What happened then?"
"Where's the debris?"
"What? Which debris are you talking about?" She reacted.
"The … debris … that fell over me."
"But nothing fell over you, Ravi. You must have dreamed it."
"She was here, and she broke up into pieces," he said in a fear-stricken tone.
"Look now, Ravi," Kavita responded, "you are not making sense. Maybe you should allow yourself to calm down before explaining what happened to you. Would you like to sit down?"
Ravi nodded, and she helped him sit. Kavita slowly moved her hand on his back as he took his time, allowing the shock to sink in.
CONCLUDING REMARKS 00:18:13
And that, dear listeners, was Chapter 3 of 'SHE WANTS TO KILL' – 'She Breaks!' We witnessed Ravi's terrifying night as he confronted the ghostly girl again, this time with even more horrifying consequences. The strain on his relationships and sanity continues growing, leaving us on the edge of our seats, wondering what will happen next.
As we venture further, brace yourself for more spine-chilling encounters and unforeseen turns that will leave you questioning the thin line between reality and the depths of Ravi's troubled mind. In our next episode, we delve deeper into Ravi's desperate quest for aid and the enigmatic forces that haunt him.
Remember to stay updated with our websites for more content, and don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Your support on Patreon is instrumental in bringing you more episodes brimming with suspense and mystery. And for those looking to enhance their English fluency, consider my training program, SPOKEN ENGLISH FOR NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS, a tool designed to empower you with confidence and fluency in English.
Thank you for joining me on this eerie adventure. Until next time, keep your senses sharp and your lights dim, for the shadows are never far away. Stay curious, stay cautious, and always be ready for the unexpected. This is Biswajit Banerjee signing off.
THEMATIC MUSIC – FEAR HAS NO NAME, AN AI MUSIC COMPOSITION BY BISWAJIT BANERJEE 00:19:58
OUTRO 00:22:39
Thanks for listening to OBSCURUS. If you like what you heard, please subscribe and visit biswajitbanerjee.com for more information about Biswajit's books, movies, documentaries, and other creative pursuits. We shall see you next Wednesday with another episode of OBSCURUS. Till then, take care!
