Stumbling Thoughts - Archana Karkera

  Read the previous chapter here - The Redeemer The story continues.. While Shekhar desperately waited for Roohi and his nightmare to end, he wondered what kind of torture his little child Sophia must have gone through. How much pain she must have experienced while she was away. Why such a monstrous treatment would be given to a 9 year old girl? His heart wept when the investigation officers said, “She was tortured physically and mentally for 6 months. No part of her body - internal and external, was spared from the torture. Finally when her body couldn’t take the pain anymore, her soul left the body and got dumped by the killer.” Shekhar couldn’t forget the day he had heard her last voice. Although he was on the phone, he could visualize what must have happened when Sophia was just about to call Roohi. He thought, ‘I wish I had stayed with them. I wish I hadn’t come back. With more people around, may be the killer wouldn’t have thought of breaking the window gl...

Chapter 1: Mens Rea by Mahesh Sowani Chapter 2: A Morning Star by Rohini Varun Chapter 3: The Cursed One by Sreesha Divakaran Chapter 4: The Vanquished by Aurindam Mukherjee Chapter 5: The Insurmountable by Vinay Biradar Chapter 6: The Vulnerables by Shilpa Garg The story continues.... Shekhar took Roohi in his arms and caressed her. Moving his palm on her head, he planted a kiss on her forehead and managed to persuade her to go back to sleep. As he stared at the wall, a flash of memories screened in front of him. He was missing his little ones and had called them up at their grandpa’s place. Busy with their game of hopscotch outside the veranda, none of them cared about the phone ringing. Grandpa walked over to the room to pick up the call on his cell phone. Sophia ran over to Grandpa stealing the phone and yelled, “Daddy, we are playing hopscotch! You know I have won all 3 games! Roohi stepped on the line each time and lost.” Her v...