Fear

An old couple were living in Shobhit’s flat. One day, he heard some commotion in their house. He went there to explore and found the couple tied to the sofa, a magician towering over them. Mrs Ganguly was unkempt which was unlike her poise and elegant self. Her hair was a dishevelled mess and black streaks of a blend of eyeliner and tears stained her porcelain skin. On top of that, she was shaking uncontrollably. Mr Ganguly was as white as a sheet, a look of terror in his eyes.

A gasp left his lips as he took in the abnormal sight. He wished he could say he was brave and that he stayed and helped the old couple. But he couldn’t. He turned on his heel and fled the scene. In his fright, he tumbled down the stairs and all the way to his flat. On entering, he made sure to bolt all the doors and windows.

Since this was the most Shobhit had run in a while, he sat down on his couch to catch his breath. However, he just couldn’t seem to get the image of his favourite residents in that state, out of his head. They were also his employer. He was the Chief Operating Officer while Mr Ganguly was the CEO. As he pondered, he realized that something didn’t add up. Although their physical state matched the situation, their words didn’t. 

Mrs Ganguly was going on and on about her poor son and Mr Ganguly was shouting about how expensive something was. And what about…… ding-dong!

His thought process was interrupted by the bell. In his delirious state, he forgot about the magician and trudged forward to open the door. He came face to face with the magician, holding that dreaded rope in his hands.

“Miss me?”, the magician asks smirking at Shobhit.

As usual, he turned to run, but the magician was too fast and quickly bound him to the couch. During this, Shobhit was able to get a clear look at the magician’s face.

He was hauntingly beautiful. With cheekbones that seemed to touch the sky and an evil glint in his eyes, he was devastatingly handsome. His boysenberry robes fit his lean body perfectly. His caramel curls peeking out from under his top hat.

Ugh! I was getting bored. Can you believe it? Fear herself getting bored of watching other people’s fears. But honestly, these people have started to get annoying. Their reactions were so not original. All they were doing was crying and running. Can’t they at least try to struggle? How am I supposed to enjoy this?

With Mrs Ganguly, I showed a scenario where her son is lying on the floor almost dead, and she is unable to do anything. His body is convulsing, and he is calling out for her, tears welling up in his eyes. She is afraid of not being able to help her family when they are in trouble. Her screams and wails are giving me a painful headache. But torturing her sure is fun.

Mr Ganguly is terrified of losing his money or prized possessions. So, I simply showed him a scenario where he lost more money to Bansal Industries. And then, some bank officials came to collect collateral since the loan wasn’t paid in time. All along he screamed about how expensive the items were and how they worth twice the loan.” Humans and their materialistic fears.”, I thought while rolling my eyes.

Between these two, I am definitely going to end up with an excruciating headache.

Shobhit has an assortment of fears- losing someone close, magicians and he is extremely homophobic. I had the

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first two covered – the someone close being the old couple and the magician being the terrorizer.

The magician circled Shobhit, giving him a very thorough inspection. After which, he sat himself down on the couch and played with his wand; casually spinning it between his fingers.

“Are you…ou going to k..kill me?” Shobhit stuttered.

The magician simply laughed. His laugh sent a chill down his spine.

“No, I have no interest in killing you”, he replied with a voice smooth as cream.

“T...then why have you tied me up?” Shobhit asked, trying to distract him.

“Do you know how long it has been since anyone has listened to me or taken me seriously? Maybe I just need someone to talk to.” the magician said in a dejected voice. Unfortunately for Shobhit, the magician noticed him trying to untie himself. In a flash, he had his wand out and he cast a spell on him.

Yes! Finally, something interesting is happening! Something which I can enjoy.

For a second, all Shobhit could see was white. When his vision finally cleared, his eyes zeroed in on the magician’s face and he felt a change. How had he not noticed how full the magician’s lips were? Or how bewitching his hazel eyes were? And what about his beautiful curls…. He even has a valid reason for holding me hostage.

Slowly, he was getting enamoured by the magician. The magician had sat down on the couch right next to him and was smirking down at him. Shobhit was getting lost in those eyes. His heart started racing at the proximity.

He cleared his throat,” So what do you want to talk about?”

“I’d rather do something else.”, he whispered huskily.

Shobhit closed his eyes and slowly started leaning in when suddenly the magician transformed and, in a blink of an eye, he was teleported to the old couple’s house. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see a silhouette of someone else.

“DARshana?”, he asked confused.

Then he heard Mrs Ganguly scream and turned to discover, DARshana standing in front of Mrs Ganguly. There was another DARshana standing in front of Mr Ganguly.

I had taken the form of the magician, the son and the bank officials to terrorize them. And I had succeeded.

Slowly my different forms walked towards each other and consolidate to form me, DARshana. The human form of fear.

With a snap of my fingers, all three of them were bound to the sofa. But this time, metal chains bound them. Leisurely, I walked around the sofa, relishing in their squirming and the look of fear in their eyes.

“Don’t the three of you remember me?” I sneered. Without waiting for an answer, I continued, “Don’t you remember how you burned down the building, even though I was still in it? Just to spite my father, Shreyas Bansal for winning against your company and being gay.” I scoffed. The events of that Sunday were still fresh in my mind.

I remember seeing the three of them, running out of the building. I remember seeing Shobhit, my ex-boyfriend pocket a lighter. I saw all of them look up when I screamed. I remember the flames licking my body, the pain, the smell of my skin burning, begging them to help me. But they just kept on running as the flames enveloped my smouldering body.

All three of them gulped and looked away.

“You may have escaped the police multiple times, but no one escapes fear. No matter how far you run.”