Lurking shadows-6

Read part 5 - here
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The darkening fingerprint on the wall had assumed a hue of green much like the moss she had once seen on a stone near a waterfall when she’d gone on a holiday with Anek.

Mita wanted to remember those happier times she’d spent with the man she’d always loved and how once she’d always known that those would be the memories she’d cherish forever, but just like the wall and the foul stain, her every happy moment had decayed into a clammy recollection which created a faint ripple of revulsion beneath her skin.

She found herself short of breath just as Pink walked in her line of sight. He wasn’t looking at Mita, instead, he stared at the corner of the wall where the thick humidity had painted a cloying stain.

The emptiness of her house seemed to echo the stench that had now permeated through every fibre of her new apartment. 

Mita felt a twitching pang on her finger she had cut and though it had been a few days as Mita recalled the wound still felt raw somehow. 

She was coughing but the cat didn’t seem to notice. He stared at the large blemish spreading through the wall.

The boxes lay haphazard. A beautiful curtain that shimmered with tiny sequins inlaid between two thin fabrics sat staring at her. 

Why had she stuffed everything back into those boxes?

Would she ever finish decorating her house? Mita was unable to understand why the boxes still lay on the sparse, dirty floor. 

Slowly with ease that sometimes is brought forth by apprehensions, Mita opened the boxes and emptied them of their contents. 

She wanted to start with the kitchen.

Anek was smiling though looking ill at ease. ‘Good morning’ he grinned with his usual upbeat nonchalance. She could see his revulsion through his smile.

Mita wanted to drive her fingers through his eyes and wring out his brains that instant but her heart melted when she saw that face, no matter how eager it looked to get away from her. She loved him, she'd always loved him.

‘good morning’ she replied but Anek had already left.

Mita sat on the corner of her couch which had perhaps initially started its days as a dull grey colour but now looked just about as mottled as the walls in front. 

A sudden whiff of rotten stench slapped her across the face.

Mita turned back her head and stared at the handprint on the wall which now seemed to throb with life.

‘What do you want?’ Mita whispered.

Pink suddenly looked back at the woman crouching on the sofa and slowly walked towards her.

Her eyes grew in horror as Pink menacingly walk Mita's direction. He was opening and shutting his mouth. 

Perhaps he was purring or meowing but she couldn’t understand, there was nothing she could hear because her ears were suddenly ringing. 

Something was shouting inside her, deafening screams, her fingers were hurting. Mita’s throat was lacerated. She touched her neck and screamed in agony. It felt raw, it felt bruised and violated. 

‘I know you are here Liyah’ Mita whispered. ‘I know what Anek did to you. He is trying to kill me too. Help me.’ Mita gasped when Pink’s paw suddenly scratched her which made her sit up screaming. She ran to the bedroom and locked herself in.

The foul odour followed her. It sat on her shoulder, weighing down on her and pushed her to the ground. ‘I know you’re here Liyah’ Mita gurgled.

The room was white. As white as white could be. She had loved it during some moments and hated it most of the time. Her mother had sat across staring at her beautiful daughter. ‘You have to come back to me, Mita’ her mother had said. 

Her mother’s sweet voice reached her but always seemed lost. 

Mita didn’t know why it was so important to stay clean. The bedsheets will be white, the walls will be white, even the fragrance in her room seemed white, absolutely devoid and hurtful.

‘I will come back mother’ Mita sat up telling herself. 

Her mother had seen her just a few days past. It was a dream again.

The dust from the floor clung to Mita’s right cheek.

She was filling a bucket of water. With a ball of steel wool, Mita walked towards the stain on the wall and began scrubbing it. 

She worked herself to the tune of a determined knock that seemed persistent.

‘Stop it’ Mita screamed and the knocking paused only to start again with an emphasized insistence. 

Her long nightshirt with a litany of stains now sported splotches of water and moulded paint. They seemed to cling to their dear life on her sleeve and slowly got absorbed by the fabric.

Mita wasn’t screaming anymore and the knocks continued.

Someone was at the door.

It was too early for Anek to come back home. Maybe he wanted to kill her with a surprise.

Wouldn’t that be fun, Mita thought and producing a sickening grin and opened the door.

The woman who stood at the door looked if possible even worse than how she’d last seemed.

Her shirt looked dirty, her hair was rattier, more tangled, begrimed and she looked tired and gaunt. 

The bones in her chest were sticking out, her collarbones protruded forming a deep depression and her bony shoulders could pierce the thin fabric of her shirt any moment now.

The police officer stared in disbelief at the ghostly human who looked to be trying to put on a grin.

‘Uh,’ he tried to hold himself straight and greet Mita as a thick fug of nauseous smell hit his face. It smelled like decomposing humidity in cahoots with spoiling food and sweat.

‘Hello,’ the police officer regained his footing and smiled. ‘You might remember me. I was here with my partner a few days ago inquiring about..’ he could scarcely finish his sentence when the woman in front spluttered ‘Liyah’ she said with a confident ring to her voice. Like she knew the name and the person attached to it.

‘Yes,’ The police officer nodded and tried to observe Mita without staring. She had developed some bruises around her neck. A dirty bandage wrapped around her finger looked to be coming undone and was stained brown. 

‘Yes,’ he repeated ‘I was passing by and thought I’d ask you if you were contacted by anyone or if someone who knew Liyah visited this house, seeing how she used to live here.’

‘Only my mother came here’ the woman replied tersely, or at least tried to sound offended the policeman guessed but her voice was meek and it barely made itself heard. 

It didn’t look to be a good time. The police officer politely nodded and stood without saying anything. He’d heard a scream as he was knocking Mita’s door but he didn’t want to ask her if there was anything wrong, because nothing seemed right about her or the house. 

‘Now might not be a good time’ the officer softly spoke in a way of inquiry but Mita wasn’t listening. ‘I’m cleaning the house and it’s frustrating’ Mita suddenly whirred to life and spoke detachedly staring at something in the distance. 

‘Oh, alright’ The police officer stepped back. ‘Oh that’s a cute cat’ he said suddenly pointing at pink who was running down a flight of stairs. 

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Cont..