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The ROOM

The strange house I went thrice a week.

The oddly traditional Chinese building stood there for many years and probably, in years to come. The house looked clean and done up for its age. It seemed ensured that it belonged to a wealthy family. The land it covered was huge and there were some traditional Chinese mechanics within the home holding about 9 people, not including the frequent visitors. The furniture within was updated and modern, the tiles were clean and sparkled without a single hint of dust. Two levels were perfectly kept, but, not the third.

The third floor had two rooms, and a long curved staircase to it from the second storey. All were left to collect dust; no one came to clean it up. The room on the left was the storeroom, open but empty. The other room had a grand wooden door with a classic doorknob. It was forever locked. The earliest time I could remember seeing it was when I was five or six, back then I loved exploring, discovering new things. I had opened every door, seen all there was to be seen. All but the mysterious, dark and seemingly haunted room. I still remembered knocking on the door and yelling in Chinese, “Anyone? Is there anyone? Is anyone inside?” then I started banging and shaking the knob, getting myself more and more cooped with curiosity. Nani, one of the maids who worked there, grabbed me and carried me down to the kitchen without a word. She was the oldest. There were two other maids, but still I liked Nani best.

All visitors who came to the mansion would always see a large, oversized photograph. Old, yellow but framed. It remained there for all I could remember. The somewhat still detailed faces were not familiar, but once my mom carried me and asked me to point out where she was. My third answer was right. She then told me who was who in the photo. However, while she went through her siblings, she skipped the one nearest to her parents. Being young yet observant, I blurted out, “Mommy, who is this?” pointing to the happy-go-lucky looking face. She then whispered, “I do not know…” till today, I knew, she lied.

It was my tenth Chinese New Year, I scurried around with my young sister and my cousins playing hide and seek and whatnot. On that day, I hid myself next to the door. Suddenly, out of curiosity, I stood up and tried to twist the knob again. As expected, it barely barged. I made up my mind to get behind the locked door. As it went while eating at the long dinner table, I broke out loudly, “Can someone please let me see the room on the third floor? Please? I will finish all my food! Please?”

Time in the mansion seemed to stop. All the jibber jabber about business and family news halted mid-sentence. Small, insignificant crickets could be heard. As abrupt as it had started, the noise returned. The ten year old, curious boy was ignored for the entire night.

Something I noticed two years back was that my senile grandmother frequently sang a short song while on her rocking chair slumped and weak. After some time, I managed to decipher a few vague words:

“Man and… fell in love

Sat… swing in the garden…

One…flower petals…fell…to the wind

Never to be seen again…

The other…pain…own life…

When…returned… anger burned

Reunited…one…in heaven…

I…see you…again…

Wait for me… …”

Last year, on one faithful, lucky day, I sat studying when someone gripped me. It was Nani. She briefly said, “Follow” and I did. She brought me out into the garden, where we sat on stone seats before a stone table. 54 year old Nani began to cry. Tears flowed like rivers. I got up and asked her what was wrong. And she began with words I did not expect. “Today is the anniversary” I took some time to think and said, “Anniversary of what?”

She broke out into a million tears, when she stopped she replied me,

“Before you were born Benjamin, there was another, another maid. I and she were good friends, we were young and looking for love. Her name was Lisa. After working for a year in the mansion, she and Lee fell in love with one another. Lee was the now forgotten son of grandma. He was a sweet and handsome man, very funny too, they loved one another with pure intentions.”

“Is Lee my uncle? The one in the picture?”

“Yes, but their love was kept a secret, one day grandma saw him proposing to Lisa. Lisa accepted with smiles and laughter, but grandma was very angry that Lee would marry someone not Chinese so she made an immediate appointment with a client of their family business overseas so Lee is forced to go to Europe and not come back in a month. Enough time to fire Lisa so that Lee would never see her again.”

She wiped her tears and continued,

“Lisa heard about the plan on the day of the flight and since she was getting fired that day she became so filled with pain she scurried to her room with a bottle of beer to flush her sorrows. She had too much…and my best friend took her own life, on the third floor, in the locked room.”

“I am so sorry Nani, is that why it is locked? Is the body still there?”

“No, I am not done, Lee received a call from his mother who strangely sounded happy saying, “Lisa killed herself” in cold blood. Lee cancelled his flight and rushed back. When he returned to see a knife stuck through his love one’s chest, he did the same and died bleeding. When his mother saw this, she went into a long coma and when she recovered her mental became too scrambled up to speak. Now all she sings is that song. Today, 6^th of September was the day they took their lives.”

“Why do you tell me this? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“You are 16 now, mature enough to know. And I needed someone who hadn’t known to pay respects to them with me. Back then the police did not care so they never knew about the suicides. To keep the evidence away the room was locked and the only key into it was burnt. The burial of the bodies was left for me so I buried them under the swing they sat on secretly laughing and giggling to each other. It was also the place where Lee popped the question. I need you to pay respects with me, to them there.”

I agreed and proceeded to the wide old fashion swing we bowed our heads. And then Nani began to sing,

“Man and maid fell in love

Sat happily on the swing in the garden

One of the flower petals fell into to the wind

Thought to be never to be seen again

The other petal had too much pain and took her own life…

When he returned rage and anger burned

Reunited one and one both in heaven

I would see you again my friend

Wait for me man and maid”