THE POTRAIT
"The air turned black all around me. I could not believe what had happened with me for the past few days. It had just left me clueless and horrified", said Mrs. Nilson to her husband.
Few days back..
The morning was gloomy. The sky was overcast with black clouds. Mrs Nilson walked into the villa. The villa was a masterpiece made by some known architect. Mrs Nilson had inherited the villa from her late father. Mrs Nilson started exploring the villa when she came across a potrait. She stopped to look at it when suddenly heard footsteps walking towards her from behind. Mrs Nilson turned and found Ms. Elen who had been looking after the villa for decades. Ms. Elen was a seventy five year old lady. Her ancestors too have been serving the the Nilson family. Ms. Elen told her that this was the potrait of the queen of this town "Macbeth" who died centuries back and this was the only potrait of the queen . She added that the queen was short tempered and did not like anyone who took over her things. The queen never wanted her villa to be sold. Before her death she had warned people not to sell it.This villa was hers, which was later bought by Mrs. Nilson's ancestors.
Mrs Nilson walked into the gallery and sat on the armchair lying at the far end of the gallery. Ms. Elen served her supper. She was about to eat when she found stains on the ground. She bent down to see what it was and discovered that it was blood. Ms. Elen cautioned her and told her to return to her house as this place was not safe for her. Mrs. Nilson ignored Ms. Elen's words and went up to her room.
At night Mrs. Nilson woke up to the creaking of the door. She went and checked and found no one there so she decided to go back to sleep. She picked up the glass from the side table. Ms. Elen had forgotten to fill the jug. So Mrs. Nilson walks down the stairs to the hallway and into the kitchen to fill it. She filled the jug and was walking up to her room when she heard the main door open. She was afraid but decided to check who was at the door. She found Ms. Elen there. She interrogates Ms. Elen and asks her where she had been at this time. Ms. Elen said she had been to the garden to get some fresh air. Ms. Elen departed to her room. Mrs. Nilson felt something mischievous brewing. She departed to her room too.
It was Saturday and two days had passed since any such activity had taken place. Everything seemed normal to Mrs. Nilson now. She was standing at the balcony and brushing her hair when again she found blood stains on the floor. This worried her and she called Ms. Elen. Ms. Elen said "I had told you this place is not safe for you".
It was midnight now Mrs. Nilson woke up and went down to the hall and then to the gallery. She came across the potrait. She looked at the potrait again. She starred at the potrait for a long time and then realisation dawned upon her. She ran to her bedroom and hid under the sheets. She could not believe upon what she had just noticed. She recalled Ms. Elen's words "this place is not safe for you". Mrs. Nilson was horrified when she realised Ms. Elen was "Macbeth".
