Skedale Forest

-
"Why are we here?" asked Mr. Robert.
"I got a wire this morning. It precisely mentioned this location and that we would find additional information about the Disappearance of Mr. Harry," replied Detective Rhode. "If this is a false wire, then I would ensure…"  

"I won't disappoint you," said a voice. Detective Rhode was cut short before he could complete his sentence. They had just entered the designated room. A distinctive figure was seated in the chair, but Detective Rhode could not see his face.
"Who am I speaking to? What light can you shed upon the case?" asked the detective.
"Take a seat, sir. And please do not interrupt when I'm speaking."
Detective Rhode took a seat, and Mr. Robert stood near him. The guy in the chair began the tale.



"Mr. Harry was running when he saw a guy jumping over the wall and approaching him from behind. From his behaviour, it could be concluded that Mr. Harry had identified the trouble. He ran faster towards the forest and hid behind a tree. He anxiously waited for Mr. Ozaki to come closer to the tree. As soon as he did, Mr. Harry revealed himself and gave a heavy blow. Blood came out of Ozaki's nose.
 
He taunted, "Is that all you have got, Ozaki? I thought you could survive this blow. Ah! I forgot you have a weak body…" With this, he gave another kick to Ozaki's stomach.
On the other hand, Ozaki always had a way to turn their opponents' advantages into his. Mr. Harry's leg was retreating after placing the kick but made unfortunate contact with Ozaki's knife. Blood oozed out of the opening. Mr. Harry used his arm to push Ozaki down and sprinted into the wilderness, the Skedale Forest.

"Run, Harry, run! Ozaki is behind you."
With these words, Ozaki stood up, removed some leaves stuck to his arm, and continued the chase. 

The Skedale Forest is notoriously known for several heinous crimes. The death of Mistress Eva, the infamous mayor of Skedale City, before Mr. Herbert. The murder of Mr. Rupert, the President of the Wild Club of Skedale. The death of Dr. Towford, the psychiatrist who cured Crazy Cathy. The list goes on. Mr. Harry, the only son of Sir Ivans, was going to be a billionaire. He was outside town but had to come here to accept the responsibility and, of course, the money. No wonder the papers are now flooded with the news of Mr. Harry's disappearance!

Sorry, I drifted away a bit. The cut on the leg had a visible impact on Mr. Harry, slowing him down ultimately. He heard footsteps approaching him. He turned back to see the face of Ozaki, still hot in his trail. Mr. Harry immediately devised a new plan as a last-ditch effort to save himself. He took a firm stand and looked straight. Ozaki positioned his hand with the knife so that he could stab Mr. Harry. As he neared, he saw Mr. Harry fall down to the ground. Suddenly, he felt a force on his already weak stomach and saw himself entirely in the air. He looked below; Mr. Harry had lifted him with his legs. He felt the thrust pushing him away. He saw a final chance to finish Mr. Harry off. He threw the knife from his hand. Gravity gave it the direction. Mr. Harry's heart was exactly beneath. 






I will now open the floor for questions if you have any."

"Umm, ok, you were some random guy who pursued this chase? And what happened to the stabbed body of Mr. Harry? Ozaki, tell the truth if you want to live or else the bullet goes into your stomach," threatened Detective Rhode. He was pointing his gun beneath the table.

"Calm down, Detective Rhode. He is not Ozaki. It's a dummy on the chair, and this is where the recorded tape ends." Detective Rhode heard a familiar voice from his back.

"You?" exclaimed Detective Rhode. "Didn't you disappear, leaving the entire city worried and searching for you? I don't understand."

"Yes, I have disappeared, and now I need your help to prove that I am dead. My father was murdered because of his wealth, and my grandfather had the same fate. As far as I know, even my ancestors had their money to blame when they breathed their last. I don't want to fall victim to it." Mr. Harry took a brief pause before he continued again. 

"I want you to distribute the inheritance for the city's development. I will create a new identity, take a little money, and leave for elsewhere. I need you to convince the world of this story so that everyone knows I am no more and stop searching for me. You and Robert are good friends, so I trust you both."

"I can understand. You needn't worry anymore. Stay hidden and stay safe. So, before leaving, where can I find Ozaki?"

"I don't know. I just came up with the name. I fabricated the story since everyone saw me running into the Skedale Forest, and some amateur journalists found knives and some blood at places to report in their tabloids. For all I care, it could very well be Robert." 

While others started laughing, Mr. Robert didn't find it amusing.



Siba Smarak Panigrahi
         (Remastered on 15 Sep 2024, originally published on 14 Jul 2020)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Had To Leave Her Back, Somewhere

-
I Had To Leave Her Back, Somewhere After a long span, I came back to my home. Home, sweet home!  I was doing some assignments in the afternoon, and suddenly out of nowhere, my mother entered the home, with a small girl. The little child was too happy. Her incisors were indicative of the amount of happiness that she was feeling, meeting new people. I just smiled back - I was too busy completing the assignment.  "What had you for lunch?" asked my mother. "Water - rice" she replied and smiled. "Ony water-rice? Nothing else?" "No. Only water-rice" (How could someone have only water-rice as lunch? LOL!) "Ok, so tell me where did you live before coming back to our neighborhood?" "In Dhenkanal" "Where in Dhenkanal?" "There is a locality named Bhubaneswar in Dhenkanal, we lived there." (Dhenkanal is a different district in Odisha state. And Bhubaneswar is the capital. Bhubaneswar in Dhen...
Read more

Drifting

-
"Are we done then?" she dreaded asking, knowing that, given the situation and everything that had happened recently, there was an actual probability that the answer would be affirmative. Like most things, it started from something naive and escalated to something big. A planned weekend trip to Les Avants is precisely what both needed to escape life, particularly the work-related events over the past week. The itinerary was to arrive in Montreux in the morning, take the Golden Pass Panoramic train, do a few hikes and return in the evening - it couldn't be more straightforward. Tickets were bought the night before, and the bags were packed with snacks, two large bottles of water, and, of course, the camera. "My goodness, it is half past nine!" she exclaimed when she woke up. She observed that he had already been awake for quite some time since breakfast was in the kitchen, and he was not in the house. He had said several times before that he would leave if she de...
Read more

Dear Crush ('Dear' series : Ep 02)

-
Dear Crush (Tip - Follow the spacing between paragraphs!) (Also please try to answer in the comments below) Fine Monday Morning. I was going through my college books. Covered with dust. I was actually searching for a book that could help my son to understand a concept better. A letter suddenly fell down. I picked it up. There was something scribbled on it -  1. I suffered from heavy toothache. 2. I wanted to meet a doctor. 3. Met with a nurse. 4. Talked about pain. 5. She smiled, went away to call the doctor, giving hope. 6. What remained? Me, my increasing pain. Nostalgia hit hard. To all my dearest people, including her, I wish to provide some insight into my thoughts of one evening, three days prior to writing this letter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was standing near the wall. To be specific, in one corner of the floor. I was simply waiting for the people insi...
Read more