Festival Turns Into Nightmare

Avinash and his wife, Madhuri, made preparations to celebrate the Ganesha festival. They joined hands with their layout neighbours and erected a big Ganesha idol. The stunning Ganesha idol was indeed a sight for sore eyes. The festival fervour seemed to have conjured up magic in the layout, as everybody looked happy and excited.

Avinash gazed at his buzzing phone. Beads of perspiration formed on his forehead and refused to subside. Subsequently, he swiped down on his touchscreen to disconnect the call. He had borrowed money from Ramesh and hadn't repaid it yet. Ramesh did not hesitate to call back, but Avinash disconnected the call again. To make matters worse, he switched off his phone, which further enraged Ramesh.

"I will see how you celebrate the Ganesha festival tomorrow. Either pay my money back or hand over your house to me," Ramesh said, glaring at the blank wall.

The morning unfolded with a soothing breeze and bright sunlight. A flock of birds sang in chorus as if to commemorate the Ganesha festival. Avinash and Madhuri woke up from their slumber. The sound of Ganesha songs wafted through the air and perked up their ears. They looked forward to a grand festival atmosphere and prepared themselves accordingly.

Avinash wore a white dhoti and a blue shirt, while Madhuri draped herself in a grand blue saree. They joined hands with their neighbours and made arrangements for Ganesh puja in the layout. The loudspeakers sprang to life, emanating divine songs that soothed the nerves of the people.

There lay a problem hidden beneath the cloak of the festival. Avinash and Madhuri laughed and sang along with their neighbours to celebrate the joyous occasion. Avinash's joy turned out to be short-lived when he happened to see Ramesh staring daggers at him. All of them seemed to be engrossed in the divinity of the songs, so nobody paid attention to Ramesh except Avinash.

Avinash gestured to him not to disrupt their peace and motioned for him to meet behind the Ganesha idol. Ramesh nodded but refused to stop glaring at him.

"Can you please give me a week's time, sir? I will arrange your money," Avinash said.

"I have given you enough time. I can't keep deferring it week after week. Either you pay my money or hand over your house to me," Ramesh warned.

"Please do not torture us on this auspicious day. Please give me some time. I am not running away anywhere," Avinash pleaded.

"Hell no. I will not go anywhere until you pay me. I will protest in front of your neighbours," Ramesh said.

"Please, sir."

"No. Wait, I will create a drama in front of your house." Ramesh was about to move away.

Pissed off by his act, Avinash picked up a long silver diya and smashed it against Ramesh's head. Ramesh fell to the floor with a thud. Avinash dropped the diya and checked his breath. To his astonishment, Ramesh had died on the spot. He couldn't believe the sin he had just committed.

What if people see me? Will I be jailed for the murder? What did I just do out of stupidity? How do I keep people away from this dead body?

A myriad of thoughts peppered his mind, exhausting him to the core. He peeked from the side of the Ganesha idol, and everyone was still lost in the joy of the festival. He placed a bedsheet over the dead body. His wife called him, so he quickly left the spot.

They started performing puja. He couldn't focus on the rituals, as his eyes kept darting towards the side of the Ganesha idol. He had to ensure that nobody went there. One of the neighbours noticed blood near the side of the Ganesha idol.

"Is that blood?" he asked.

Avinash felt his heart jump into his mouth.

"That is vermilion. I spilled it accidentally, and it mixed with water. By the way, when is your son coming back?" Avinash managed to say, attempting to change the subject.

He realised that he needed to move the dead body quickly before someone noticed it.

After the Ganesha festival, at midnight, everyone returned to their homes, and nobody was left in the layout. Avinash used this window of opportunity to drag the dead body to his home. He placed it beneath his bed, ensuring that his wife was asleep. He then lay on the bed and somehow managed to get some sleep after hours of mental exhaustion.

Madhuri woke up in the wee hours of the morning. She tied her hair and then stood in front of the mirror, only to freak out. She saw a dead body placed beneath the bed.

"Who is he?" she shouted.

Her screams penetrated deep into Avinash's sleep, waking him up.

"There is a dead body over there," she said, grimacing.

Avinash couldn't hide the truth, as it had unearthed itself, so he decided to spill the beans to his wife.

"Ramesh pestered me to return his money, and he threatened to protest in front of the house. Just to escape that predicament, I hit him on the head. Unfortunately, he died on the spot."

"Oh my God! What did you do? We will go to jail if we are caught," Madhuri said, worried.

"We need to somehow get rid of this body," Avinash said.

"Anyway, we are immersing the Ganesha idol. How about we pack the dead body inside it?"

"That's a great idea. We shall quickly do that. Our neighbours won't wake up early today because of yesterday's celebrations."

They dragged the body and packed it inside the Ganesha idol. Once they were done, they heaved a sigh of relief.

The beating of drums echoed across the layout. Young men broke into local dances. Everybody congregated near the Ganesha idol to witness the procession. Avinash and Madhuri pretended to be happy on the outside, but their inner upheavals were evident on their faces.

The procession continued in full swing, captivating people with its energetic drumbeats and dancing. Eventually, the procession moved towards the river, and they immersed the idol. Avinash and Madhuri did not take their eyes off the river. They sighed before returning home. Even at home, they couldn't sleep properly.

"The idol will melt away. Then the dead body might float," Madhuri said, springing up from her bed.

"Nothing will happen," Avinash said.

"We have to go and check. What if the dead body floats? We will be entangled in a complex web again," Madhuri worried.

They quickly raced towards the river, and Madhuri was right. The dead body was floating and had even drifted towards the edge of the river.

"We need to bury this dead body somehow," Madhuri said.

Both of them retrieved the dead body and decided to dig a grave near a common courtyard. While they were digging the soil, an old man walked in the same direction with a torch in his hand. Both Avinash and Madhuri hid behind a giant bush, worried about what might go wrong.

The old man relieved himself before sweeping his torch towards the dead body. He felt shivers run down his spine. He ran away as fast as he could, even stumbling in his haste, desperate to escape the ordeal.

Avinash and Madhuri pushed the dead body into the dug hole and quickly covered it with soil. They then retreated home.

The old man informed the police about the dead body. They arrived at the spot and observed an uneven surface. They had the area dug up and were shocked to find a dead body. They began their investigation.

In the meantime, they also received a missing-person complaint from Ramesh's family. When they saw the photograph, it became clear that the dead man was Ramesh. The autopsy report confirmed that he had been murdered.

The police learned from Ramesh's family that he had last gone to Avinash's house to collect his money.

Police Inspector Ranjan visited Avinash's house to carry out an enquiry. Madhuri dreaded the moment she saw the police stepping into her house. Avinash's heart raced.

"When did you meet Ramesh?" the inspector asked.

"Long time ago, sir. I haven't seen him for months," Avinash said.

"Ramesh has been killed by someone," the inspector said.

The couple feigned shock.

"I can't believe it. Who killed him, sir?" Avinash asked.

"I am carrying out an investigation into the matter."

"Why are you enquiring about me, sir?" Avinash asked.

"Because Ramesh's family confirmed that he came to your house before he was killed."

"This is not true, sir. I haven't even seen him for months. Maybe someone killed him on the way," Avinash said.

"Don't cook up a story, brother. We know he called you last," the inspector said.

Madhuri lost her balance and clung to the wall. Avinash picked up an iron rod and struck the inspector on the head. The inspector reeled from the impact before collapsing.

"What did you do? You have already killed Ramesh, and now you've killed a police officer. We are screwed," Madhuri lamented.

"We need to run away to your parents' house, far away from this place," Avinash said.

"We are committing sin after sin. I don't know how fatally this might end," she said, worried.

Both of them escaped through the other door of the house when they saw a few constables outside the main door.

Avinash and Madhuri boarded a bus to escape from the ordeal. Both of them looked disturbed throughout the journey, excessively worried about their future. They arrived at Madhuri's parents' house. Her parents were surprised to see them.

"What a surprise!" her father exclaimed excitedly.

"We are going to stay here for a week, Papa," she told him.

"By all means," her mother said.

They couldn't even eat properly, as the deadly incidents flooded back into their minds, filling them with terror.

In the evening, Madhuri and Avinash went to sleep without exchanging words. Both of them had their minds arrested by troubling thoughts. Eventually, they managed to fall asleep.

The Ganesha idol appeared in Madhuri's dream, with blood streaming down its eyes.

"You are a killer. You don't deserve peace."

Madhuri screamed in her sleep. She panted heavily after the nightmare. Avinash gave her a glass of water.

Unfortunately, this continued every day, gradually deteriorating Madhuri's mental health. The disturbed state of her mind tormented her to such an extreme that she contemplated suicide. She eventually hanged herself from the ceiling fan, plunging the family into a sea of sadness.

Avinash slapped himself for having indirectly become her tormentor. Had he not committed those two fatal mistakes, perhaps Madhuri wouldn't have died this way.

Eventually, he confessed his mistakes to Madhuri's family. Her helpless parents slapped him for the grave mistakes that had led to their daughter's ordeal.

Avinash went back home and voluntarily surrendered to the police for his grave misdeeds.