The Apartment - A Mystery

Chapter - 2

As we entered the hall of the apartment we noticed small chandeliers hanging around the staircase which was exactly in the middle of the hall-room. The sofa was in west direction of the hall and a window was just opposite to it. There were spider webs in many areas of the house. An antique piano was also placed just under the east side window. Some sort of nostalgic feeling was there in the entire atmosphere. While I was busy admiring the piano, Jishnu had already started collecting samples for our investigation purpose. In the meanwhile, Dr. Bhupati rested on the sofa and watched us do the work. After about 15 minutes, Jishnu and I decided to go upstairs. We had to put on our masks as it was terribly stinking upstairs.

The two rooms were exactly opposite to each other and the library led straight to the staircase. We first entered the small library and found books from the era before India's independence, books of romantic-tragedies, culture, philosophy, etc. There was also a diary on the roof of the book shelf which I gently put into a bag I had been carrying. We found nothing much in the library except the diary and a portrait of a woman with ethereal beauty! Then we moved on to the master bedroom where we saw the huge golden photo frame. The room was quite large. The furniture was of Victorian era style. A tall lamp was placed at an arm's distance from the bed. Jishnu asked me to examine the bed and the window side area while he examined the areas around the dressing table built in wardrobe. Half an hour later I found 3 to 4 letters addressed to Sharat by Meenu, as it was mentioned. It seemed Meenu was the same woman who's image was hung in library. I grabbed those letters and put them into my bag.

Jishnu then said to me,"Arth, I guess we have got a lot of things to examine once we return back to Dehradun."

I replied laughing ,"Well, have you found anything other than old perfume bottles and a few clothes? "

Jishnu said,"Nothing much but these clothes here, have turned out to be rusty which is quite weird."

We then walked towards the staircase and called out Dr. Bhupati to tell us about his earlier experience in the house. He walked up and said,"I once tried to enter the main bedroom but I felt uneasy so I never got into this room again. I mostly spent my time in the other room right there." The three of us then went inside the other room which was comparatively a bit smaller. This room was well kept and everything was in its right place. When Jishnu and I were looking for samples, Dr. Bhupati stood near window and kept on speaking,"I have always felt an affinity in this apartment; There are actually two ebony tree which can be seen from the windows of both the rooms. But especially this one, compells me to always take a glance at it as if trying to convey something." He continued babbling. We couldn't find anything except a degree which had Dr. Bhuapti's name inscribed in it, which was totally startling. We didn't tell Dr. Bhupati about it and kept it quietly in my bag.

In a moment we heard a mild music being played on the piano. We immediately ran downstairs to observe this strange phenomena. As soon as we went near the piano the music stopped playing. I looked outside the window to find if someone had entered the apartment and Jishnu too went out of the apartment to observe the unnatural act. Being unable to find anything or anyone we left the apartment and went back to our place in Dehradun after dropping Dr. Bhupati at Dilaram Chowk.

To be continued...

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