Karma Settles The Score

“Mom! Mom! It’s already 7:30 a.m. and we have to get there by 10:00 o’clock,” yelled Elen. Elen Evana was really eager to go to the New York concert. 

Elen was a singer and a songwriter too. She was performing her first ever written song with the famous rapper Shiney Money. Elen wanted to practice before performing in the final concert so she planned to reach New York a couple of days in advance.

Elen’s mother was a guitarist and an author. Elen’s father mysteriously disappeared about 14 years ago when Elen was just a year old. Eventually, he was considered dead because his belongings were found with his bloodstains along a nearby Highway.

The doorbell rang. Rasmin, Elen’s best friend entered the room and yelled “Elen! What’s taking you so long?”

Elen’s mother entered the room and said “Kids, hurry to the car”.

They all sat in the car and suddenly Rasmin showed an urge to quickly use the restroom before starting their trip. So Elen’s mother gave her the keys of the house and asked her to go by herself while she pulled out the car from the garage. 

When Rasmin returned after a while, Elen noticed that Rasmin was holding a plastic bag which she probably didn’t have before going inside the house. Elen asked Rasmin about the stuff she was carrying inside that plastic bag but Rasmin avoided Elen and did not reply. “Probably Rasmin is carrying some personal stuff,” Elen thought to herself and did not ask her about that again.

After a couple of hours they all reached the concert location. Elen’s fans and media people started interviewing her. Rasmin was shunted aside.

“Soon she will miss all of this,” thought Rasmin to herself cunningly. She interrupted her own thoughts and realized that she needs to search for her father to handover to him the gadget she was carrying secretly. 

The very same moment, Elen came to Rasmin and informed her that her Dad Mr. Joseph is waiting for her at the entrance. They both proceeded towards the entrance to meet Rasmin’s father. Rasmin stealthily handed over the bag she was carrying in the car to her father.

One of the organizers informed Elen that Mr. Money is waiting for her in the Concert Hall for the practice. Elen wanted her mother, Rasmin and her father to join her for the practice. Elen’s mother was excited to see her daughter performing but Rasmin and her Dad didn’t join them as they wanted to see around the city before they left the city after the concert.

Rasmin and Mr. Joseph went off to a secluded restaurant in the lane next to the Concert Hall. They started a conversation.

Mr. Joseph whispered to Rasmin, “What do you think, Rasmin? Is there a chance that Elen will suspect us?” “I don’t think that missy has any clue, she totally trusts me and considers me her best friend. Anyway, you didn’t tell me the purpose for stealing that voice modifier gadget from Elen’s house. It’s not that he will ever be able to sing again”, said Rasmin.

“I am not afraid about him, but there are chances that Elen would get curious and try to use it for her own singing too,” said Rasmin’s father.

“I guess you are right Dad, so what’s the next step now?” Rasmin was inquisitive to know.

“Listen carefully…. Pst pst pst…” Rasmin’s father whispered so softly that no one else could get a clue of their ill intention.

At the end of the long drive and practice for hours, Elen and her mother wanted to hit the bed as soon as they get to their hotel room on the thirteenth floor. Usually, people do not want to book a room on the thirteenth floor as it is considered unlucky. Rasmin too didn’t want to have a room on that floor. 

Since there were just two rooms vacant, one on the twelfth floor and another on the thirteenth in that hotel so Elen volunteered to take up the room on thirteenth floor. Rasmin was happy and winked at her father as she felt that their trap is getting into action.

Elen and her mother were sleeping tight in their room on the thirteenth floor. Suddenly, they woke up frightened due to a loud and strange thud from their window. They were scared to death. Somehow they passed that night holding each other. They wanted to vacate the room the next morning but it was a busy weekend and there was no room available in this hotel or in any nearby hotel. So they were forced to continue their stay there.

The next night the same incident happened but this time with an even louder sound. 

Elen was scared but her mother didn’t want to ruin her daughter’s special day just because of some unknown disturbance trying to scare them. So, she went to the patio attached to their room and noticed that there was a rope ladder attached to the balcony of the room but no one was there. 

In the morning Elen’s mother noticed that her window was broken and there was a heavy stone tied to it with a note that said,

“Leave your passion of singing else you will meet the same fate as your father and won’t see the morning tomorrow.”

 Elen was sensible enough to understand that it was not because of the superstitious beliefs of staying in the room of the thirteenth floor, but it was some lunatic who hates music or her and is trying to scare her. She stood up and told her mother with a hint of courage in her voice “Mom, no matter what, I am not leaving my passion of singing and we are going to catch this manic tonight.”

Without informing anyone, Elen’s mom went to the Police and asked for their help. She also requested them to not disclose their presence around the hotel as the person who was threatening them might not show-up otherwise. 

She didn’t tell about the whole incidence to Rasmin also as she thought that Rasmin might get scared and ask them to leave from here.

The next night, Elen and her mother pretended to go to sleep early, when the knocking started. Elen buzzed the fire alarm and opened the window. Getting the hint, Police pounced over the culprits.

“Rasmin and Mr. Joseph?” Elen screamed in shock, “I just can’t believe this!”

“This is unbelievable. I am shocked. We deserve an explanation Mr. Joseph. We both believed and had strong trust in you both,” said Elen’s mother.

Mr. Joseph was caught red handed and couldn’t escape the situation. He had to reveal his true intention.

“I did this to take my revenge,” said Mr. Joseph.

“Revenge?? What bad possibly could Elen or I have done to you?” asked Elen’s mother.

“Not you, it’s your selfish and self-obsessed husband,” said Mr. Joseph. He turned towards Elen and said “Did you ever think about your father’s occupation?”

“Well yes, he was a famous singer, wasn’t he? Asked Elen, her eyes were filled with pride.

“NO! Your father became famous by cheating. He was my lab assistant where I was working on inventing a voice modifier, which could smoothen out the voice of people. 

It was meant for people who have hoarse voice. I had spent all my savings for that invention. Your father knew about my invention, he had a terrible voice but he loved singing. 

He wanted to be famous without any efforts or talent so he ran away with my precious gadget and hid it somewhere and took it out only while singling in public. 

I gave him plenty of time and numerous chances to return my gadget, but he wouldn’t pay a heed to my polite requests as he became a famous singer by then. So I kidnapped him and tortured him almost every day. 

Still he didn’t disclose the location of that gadget so I used a lie detector to make him reveal the location of the gadget which he had hidden in your house. After finding that out, I laid a trap and sent Rasmin to your house to get the gadget covertly. I started threatening you because you were blessed with an amazing voice so before you get very famous I wanted to use that gadget for my daughter Rasmin to make her a famous singer using the voice modifier, ” said Rasmin’s father.

Mr. Joseph had some more to confess but Elen interrupted him with utter surprise and desperation to know about her father, “Where is he now? Is he alive?”

“Yes he is, but he almost is good for nothing now, anyway I also lost everything. He is in the storeroom of my secret Laboratory in the basement of my house”, said Mr. Joseph with guilt.

“Oh… Mr. Joseph, you could have simply complained about the loss of your gadget to police that time itself. Probably you could have got your gadget and I could have got back my father in my childhood.” Elen started sobbing like a kid.

Mr. Joseph was sent to Jail with the charges of kidnapping, torturing Elen’s father for many years and threatening Elen.

Rasmin was sent to children’s rehabilitation center for three months.

Elen’s happiest moment happened on stage the next night. She sang beautifully. After her performance, she saw an old wrinkled face smiling at her with moist eyes standing next to her mother. 

The pride in his eyes told her that it was her father appreciating her. She did not wait for applause by his fans rather she ran to her father and hugged him tightly. It was the happiest moment of her life.

Elen’s father already had been punished for his misdeed, but he was happy that his daughter is a famous gifted singer in real sense.