The tainted rose

Chapter 11

Weeds were grown all over the remaining walls which were blackened. There was a tumbled down gate and some crooked trees grown erect. It was a big property.There was a small shop near the burned down property. The shopkeeper was dealing with one of his suppliers. Olivia checked the time from her watch it was 11.00 a.m. The seminar ends at 2.00p.m. by now Mr Shen might have phoned her aunt and informed her about her sudden dismissal. Her aunt would become panicked for sure. "Ah what should I do now? I can't let her know the truth. So I'll try to create a lie somehow" Still they might have not received the second interval if so both Anne and Ashvin would obviously phone her.

Olivia got creepy feelings regarding this household when she compared it with the scenes in that horrible book. "I can't even imagine that Ryan had lived here" she thought. Olivia went into the small shop courageously. The shopkeeper observed her well for he realized that she was not a dweller somewhere around here. "Uncle can I have a coke please" Olivia asked. The shop keeper smiled and gave her the coke. She got seated on the chair placed near the entrance of the shop by sipping her coke.

Olivia keenly waited to forward the subject until the supplier who was busy with the shop keeper to leave by settling the bills. After the supplier left the premises it became really quiet.
So she started the conversation.

"Uncle may I know some details about this house and the people who had lived in it" Olivia asked by pointing her finger towards the burned down house.
The old man's expressiom changed. His face became tightened and a note of despondancy drew on his face.

"Why do you need information about it miss?" He asked.
"Ah I just feel like asking. It's a real big property with a house like a mansion so see what a massive destruction isn't it" She uttered. The shop keeper sighed.

"Lot of people who come here ask from me about this place. I always repeat them the same story. Yeah it's obvious because this is one of the biggest plot of lands around Colombo area.The story of this house is really sad and mysterious. Miss actually this place was belonged to a prestigous middle aged man named Mr Arnold De Zoysa. He lived here all alone. He was such a gentleman. This man fell in love with a low caste young woman named Sangili who belongs to the rodi commuity.

However, this young woman was not an innocent one as this man had thought. Her beauty hypnotized this man. However,she didn't like to get married to a man who was much older than her. Eventhough she is from a low caste she was very proud of herself. However, her parents forced her to marry the old man. Finally she too agreed by seeing all the property and riches that this person hold. This old man loved her blindly so that he even forgot the honour of his family name. His relatives banished him from their family and never came to visit him after this marraige. Sangili gave birth to two children"

Olivia widened her eyes."Two?

"Yes miss they had two children. The first child died from measles. and his body is burried under that worn out tree over there. However, Sangili didn't like to have another child with this old man but she had to give birth to a heir for his property. For this reason she hated her second child. He is Ryan De Zoysa. That child's behaviour was abnormal since birth"

Olivia took a deep breath when the shop keeper said that.

"This woman became notorious. She even changed her name as Noela. Her dressing patterns and all underwent a vast change. She wasted this old man's money. This old man became paralyzed and got confined to a bed" These details were now gradually getting matched with the details in the book. She listened to him eagerly.

"Afterwards this woman started an affair with a man named James. I still can't figure out what kind of a person he is? He paid frequent visits to this house and the old man wasn't able to do anything. One night this old man died. Some says that he was poisoned by Sangili and James. Poor Mr Arnold. However,after Sir Arnold's death the whole house was owned by Sangili and soon she married her lover. She ignored her son.It was a huge luck for her to own this property but suddenely we got to know that she had left the country." The man paused for a second as a customer came in.
Olivia felt strange in the book it is said that she was killed by James but this man is telling that she has gone abroad. "Most probably it must be a lie fabricated by James to hide what he had actually done" Olivia thought.