Skip to main content

INSIDIOUS

Image
SANGEETHA KAMATH

 

The car juddered to a halt and refused to budge an inch forward. "Luke, I thought we had a full gas tank and the car was serviced just this weekend…what's wrong?"

"I have no idea, Stella…We're in the middle of nowhere and my phone has no signal! But look there. It says 'Baby Museum' on the signpost. Shall we go in and see if they have a landline to get us out of this mess?"

"Guess we have no choice. But I'm very uneasy, Luke. I just want to go home and rest. Our baby's due in a couple of weeks."

"I'm so sorry, honey. But look at the brighter side. We can check out this place in advance."

At the entrance were standees of Tinkerbell and Peter Pan. The lobby glowed with pastel pink shimmering lights. Mannequins of fairies lined the walls. Luke approached the front desk. 

"Yes sir, we will have it arranged. Meanwhile, why don't the both of you take a tour of our museum?"

Stella took Luke's arm and hobbled into the room beyond. It was done in darker pink, a fuchsia.Playpens and trampolines occupied the room. 

Why is the museum vacant– a thought did cross her mind but she brushed it off. The room further in was done in crimson. Stella instinctively took a step back.

"Luke, this looks very disturbing. I want to go out. I don't have a good feeling about this. Do you see these portraits on the walls? They hardly look human!"

"They're fetuses for god's sake! This is a baby museum! There's one more room and then we're done…okay?"

Stella had an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach as she tried not to give in to nausea. She agreed to go along clinging on to Luke, barely able to walk straight.

The room was deep scarlet with hives of fetuses…!

Gasping, she almost blacked out at the foreboding display. Swaying, she reached out for Luke but only clutched at thin air.

"Luke…Luke, where are you…"

Stella limped as fast as she could to the door but it was locked from the outside! Terror came in waves, the anxiety taking a new form of dread when realization dawned on her.

Betrayal! 

Paranoia 

Claustrophobia…

Slumping on to the floor as the scarlet coloured walls and ceiling seemed to close in on her, Stella’s heartbeat raced and blood pressure rose.

Fighting her dizziness with her last ounce of energy to stay conscious, she finally gave in to the blackness which overcame her. Her last thoughts were of the unborn child and its safety as she helplessly shielded her arms across her belly.

Outside, Luke bade goodbye and stashed rolls of money into his pockets. Stella’s cries for help went unheard from the soundproof walls.

©️ Sangeetha Kamath 

Pic Courtesy:Image by Silvia Gaudenzi from Pixabay

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TALES FROM THE GLEN BLOGGING CHALLENGE 2026

SANGEETHA KAMATH
  Image Courtesy: Pinterest  This post is a part of BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2026 Chapter1  https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/abercrombie-locke-mansion.html?m=1 Chapter2  https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/brambleshire-woods-day-2-letter-b.html?m=1 Chapter3  https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/meadow-brook-cottage-day-3-letter-m.html?m=1 Chapter4  https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/egad-shambles-in-brambles-day-4-letter-e.html?m=1 Chapter5   https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/veiled-night-at-meadow-brook-cottage.html?m=1 Chapter6  https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/library-of-cryptic-clues-day-6-letter-l.html?m=1 Chapter7  https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/hopper-hare-day-7-letter-h.html?m=1 Chapter8  https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/chipper-chipmunk-day-9-letter-c.html?m=1 Chapter9  https://sanguineallegory.blogspot.com/2026/04/dapper-dormous...
2 comments
Read more

ABERCROMBIE LOCKE MANSION

SANGEETHA KAMATH
This post is part of the Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026.                                                  CHAPTER 1        ABERCROMBIE LOCKE MANSION  The sky bled bruises of plum and cherry over the rolling hills. A full moon hung low against the mauve casting silver shards through the trees. The mansion made of cold greystone loomed large beyond the rusted iron gates. It grated on the gravel, rasping on the hinges and yawned open like a predator's jaw as Goldwynn booted it open with her foot. Her sneakers squished heavily on the mulch of dead leaves. Clutching her backpack, she looked up at the towering, grim structure forebodingly.  "Are you sure you want to do this?" her friend Lexi whispered, hesitating by the gate. "This mansion's totally cursed, they say." Lexi's voice was a thin thread. A chill crept up her back and she tight...
2 comments
Read more

THE BIG BAD WOLF( DAY 17, LETTER T)

SANGEETHA KAMATH
                          CHAPTER 16                    THE BIG BAD WOLF  The pigs snarled like proper rascals, fixing their cold steely eyes on the Wolf's cottage. How dare he refuse to part with his cottage! When the pigs demand, it's given to them---no questions asked! Porkinn limped, Baconne was soggy, Swinedell rubbed a sore bump on his head, but they were far from defeated. Swinedell snorted, a crooked grin spreading across his face. "Wolf thinks 'e's posh, don't 'e? " Baconne sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring. "We want the cottage!” He growled. Porkinn cracked his fingers, his sly glance darting about.  The pigs crept towards the back door, their footsteps silent on the soft grass. They spotted the Wolf through the kitchen window, stirring a pot of steaming stew for dinner. They kicked the door in, the wood splintering jaggedly. The latch gave in....
6 comments
Read more

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

SANGEETHA KAMATH
  #ButterflyEffectSpanning25Years #AllsWellThatEndsWell #DiamondsAreForever #WhereTheresAWill The pivotal phrase from “Kafka and the Doll” by Franz Kafka which says that ‘Loss isn't final but love is transformed and restored to you in ways that you never envisioned; it's all about growth and adaptation—plays a huge part in my new year.  The Franz Kafka of my life is a girl called ‘ Charrzzx’. In retrospect, this story was in all probability conceived in 2001 as a miniscule bubble, but nevertheless a significant ripple which would impact my life 25 years later in 2026.  **** Year 2001: The landmark year when I migrated to and made my base in Singapore was also a memorable one for another reason that it was my parents’ first visit to my place. The days ran into each other with visits to tourist spots and rounds of shopping sprees.  On a very fine day, Daddy and I had passed by a Giordano showroom in a mall which I would generally walk past without a second glance other...
3 comments
Read more

OMINOUS ORDEALS ( DAY 19, LETTER O)

SANGEETHA KAMATH
                         CHAPTER 18                  OMINOUS ORDEALS  The bears startled, then Papa Koala rumbled, "Goldilocks! You…how can it be !” Goldwynn knelt among the bears in the arbor, Mama Koala still sniffling into her shoulder. "I'm Goldwynn, Papa Koala...Goldilocks was my great grandma. So... what happened that day? Why are you hiding away here ?" Papa Koala’s fur bristled.He growled low, his eyes clouding. "The pigs... they came like a thunderstorm banging on the doors and shattering our windows." Mama Koala trembled, clutching a torn apron corner. "I hid Baby Tasha in the cupboard. Told her... 'Hush, sweetpea, like a little mouse!' But…" Papa Koala’s fur ruffled as he puffed out his chest. "I stood tall.'This is OUR cottage!' I said. Goldwynn leaned in and patted his arm Papa Koala snorted. "Baconne pig struck me with a stick. Porkinn pig fluffed porridge e...
2 comments
Read more