The Talatal Tale

Chapter 11: Move, girl, move

Mira gradually woke up, the light struck her eyes and she closed them instantly and held her palm open in front of her face to barricade the light from hitting her still sensitive eyes. After a few seconds as her eyes adjusted to the light, Mira looked around the place she was in. The first thing she noticed was that she was not laying on the ground but it was a bed, her bed. The bedside table, the books on the bookshelf, the chair burdened with a mountain heap of clothes, all hers. She was in her room.

Mira could not remember how she got back home. Was this real? Was she actually here? Or was she never in Talatal Ghar to begin with? Was she dreaming about being trapped? Or was she dreaming now?

She was in her pink straight cut night dress, her legs did not ache anymore neither did her stomach ache. She got up from the bed and put on her slippers. She heard a faint sound of music mixed with laughter of people. Mira walked towards the door and reached for the handle and turned it to open the door.

She was standing at the doorway of her room and listening to the voices that echoed in the house. She slowly started walking towards the sounds and the music grew louder, she recognised the song, it was "Buku hom hom kore" (popular Assamese song) by Bhupen Hazarika, it was her mother's favourite music. She reached the dining room of her house and stared at the people sitting around their dining table.

'Ah! Mi, at last you woke up. Come here, breakfast is ready', Ranjana said gleefully and pulled out a chair close to her.

Mira froze in her place staring at her mother, alive and breathing.

'Ma?', Mira whispered.

Ranjana got up from her seat and walked over to her. She placed her right palm on Mira's left cheek and looked at her smiling. Then moved her palm to her shoulder.

'Come, and sit with us', Ranjana softly pulled her and led her to the chair.

Mira took a seat and looked around the table. Across her Kyra sat and to Kyra's right was her father, they both kept smiling at her but not their usual warm smiles. Their smiles looked similar to those puppets you see on puppet shows, wide smiles but nothing beneath them. Mira looked to her left, there was that pink bunny sitting near her. Who or whatever was inside it was still staring at her. Ranjana took a seat near Mira.

'Do you remember that bunny man?', Ranjana asked.

'Ha?' the question broke Mira's stare from the bunny, 'I don't'.

'Hm. I figured. You were so small when it happened. The bunny man almost got you that day', Ranjana giggled like a child and then suddenly paused staring at Mira, and for that moment Mira felt like the time has stopped moving.

'Breakfast time!', Ranjana announced aloud that startled Mira and she almost break out a scream. 'It's your favourite Mi, Maggie noodles with French fries and cheese on top'.

Mira looked at her food on the plate, but all she could feel are the eyes of the bunny on her, that scared her, her skin crawled in terror when a sound distracted her. She heard something, some sound from under the Mahogany finish table. It was a sound of scratching, continuous and relentless scratching. She looked around pondering where the sound was coming from. The other members around the table did not seem to react to the sound, they all simply sat, wide grins on their faces. She slowly started bending down her head under the table to take a peek. It was Coco, she was scratching on the brown polyester carpet on which the dining table stood.

'Coco?', Mira called, almost whispered.

Coco's scratching became vociferous, she kept on scratching. Mira could see the carpet had a big irregular area ruined and shredded. Mira bent closer to Coco and moved her hand to touch Coco's head.