Saturday, January 28, 2012

Framed


The paintings were breath-taking. Rajani looked around. She was alone in the art gallery. She wondered why. The paintings were truly out of the world. No takers?

This one was atonement, she figured. That’s what the catalogue said. Oh, the pain in the eyes so well captured. She inched forward slowly, constantly referring to the catalogue. She saw a lot of faces. That was the subject of the painter. Hmm. She was looking at a woman now. Sad eyes. There was unspoken anguish. Wonderful. She made notes.

As she proceeded to the next one, she sensed a movement from the corner of her eyes. She turned. The woman’s eyes in the previous painting were following her. Oh, one of those paintings where any which way you moved the eyes looked at you. She smiled. But she could’ve sworn she sensed movement. She shrugged and looked at the one in front of her.

A sound. This time there was movement right behind her. She swung back. Again nobody.

She didn’t like this. She hurried through the rest of the paintings. It was late. She had to go. The gallery and the silence all around her was making her uncomfortable now. She came to where the entrance was. But there wasn’t any. How come? She continued along the paintings. Maybe it was around the next corner. She came to the sad woman again. Which meant she was back to square one. Where was the exit? She retraced her steps in the opposite direction; and after a while was back to the sad woman again.

Only this time, the woman didn’t look very sad.

There was a smirk on her face now.

******

20 comments:

Nirali Naik said...

:O :O this is my worst nightmare in words . But my nightmares are more dramatic :P like room no 1408 :P

ps : in tipu sultan's mysore palace there are paintings so skillfully painted that it seems like the eyes of all them follow you around the room, except that its not creepy , its a talent, even the shoes of the paintings point at you . Okay i'm going to shutup now :P

Vinati said...

*wipes sweat from her temples with a shaky hand*

~G said...

OHMYGOD!! Creepy!! Bad idea to read it before sleeping :(

phatichar said...

BBB: Funny that you mention the Mysore palace...that was the inspiration for the story (Not the main palace, the Jagan Mohan palace art gallery) :)

Mirage: Chill :P

G: Welcome! :)

Nirali Naik said...

oooh i went there too :D ! Nice story again :)

phatichar said...

BBB: :)

Saumya Kulshreshtha said...

You have an interesting name for yourself. And I loved your narrative. A painting with similar mysterious element in kept in Jaipur's City Palace..but its not spooky in the least. Your story sure was. Nicely written :)

Rohan said...

Creepy!!! (in a good way) Nicely written as always!!

N. said...

You surprise me. Your art of telling a story in such few words. Very aptly written.
It somehow reminded me of a Supernatural's episode. Only that was a bit over-dramatic.

Nisha said...

They're getting better and better :)

phatichar said...

Saumya: Thanks...for visiting and commenting :)

Rohan: :) Thanks buddy

Nia: Supernatural, haan? Thanks for the kind words :)

Nisha: :) Thank you!

Bikram said...

hmmm she is caught now .. i guess she will be the sad face for someone else who comes to see the art :)

booooo hoooooo

Bikram's

phatichar said...

Bikram: Shhhh.. ;-)

Neha said...

You freaked the hell out of me!!! And I shuddered...here at my workstation!!!

Anonymous said...

nice story there. short but still didn't fail in sending chills down my back. keep up the good work. :)

sumitra said...

Eeeks! I get dreams like this. No doors, never-ending staircases, etc. Scary stuff.

phatichar said...

Neha: You found my story scarier than work? wow. :P

Diksha: Hello, welcome. Thanks for the kind words. :)

Sumitra: Don't we all? :)

Tongue-fu Lady said...

wow..super creepy and m quitting lone visits to art exhibitions from now !!

phatichar said...

TFL: Yes..always go in groups. :)

Anonymous said...

Now you are not letting me work too :P no wonder you are called Mr. Spook .