Pragati Deshmukh Weaves Intense Thriller In A Dark And Shiny Place

Maya lived her fairy tale life with a perfect marriage and a beautiful home until the cracks of reality began to set in. When the pandemic hit at the most unfortunate time, she was forced to confront a hidden world that had been lurking within the walls of her home. With her sister Meera, her only support, living in another country, Maya must deal with these strange happenings and unexplainable occurrences on her own.

A Dark and Shiny Place is an intensely thrilling, and deeply emotional, experiential journey of a woman, who begins to lose track of reality. The lines of sanity blur as her mind is stretched between the paranormal and the psychological. Can Meera’s love save Maya from being lost forever? Will Maya find her way through the darkness or succumb to another fate?

Here's an excerpt from A Dark and Shiny Place 

This week had been a difficult one. After my brief visual experience of the shadow and losing my yellow planner, I was a bit upset and disoriented. I looked at the chair for comfort and decided to take a little nap in it. As I sank into the soft brown cushion with my eyes closed, I felt like I was falling through fluffy clouds. I could feel myself smiling in my sleep; I was in a state of bliss. 

Knock
 
I thought I heard it but didn’t pay much attention. I let myself drift further into sleep and then I heard it again. 

Knock.
 
Maybe my husband was back. 

Knock.
 
Knock.
 
And just like that, the panic, the small voice, and the big voice were back in my head, screaming at me to wake up. I sat up straight with my eyes wide open. There was silence. I waited a moment but nothing happened. And then:

Knock.

I turned to the direction of the sound and discovered that it came from the study. 

Knock. Knock.

Instinctively I called out to Bella. ‘Bella? Bella!’ But I couldn’t hear her, nor could I see her. 

Knock. Knock. 

I pulled myself together and walked towards the study with confidence was no one. There was no sign of Bella either. I walked through the entire house, looking for the source of the knocking. No more sounds. But what gripped my heart tight was that I couldn’t find Bella anywhere in the house. Somehow, she had managed to vanish; simply disappeared. My heart was racing as I grabbed my phone and my keys and ran out of the house calling out her name frantically. 

I called my husband as I ran around the building compound calling out to Bella. His phone rang but he didn’t answer. I thought of texting but decided against it better to wait for him to call rather than have him panic as well. The watchman had not seen Bella since her morning walk. All sorts of thoughts were racing through my mind. Was she kidnapped? Stolen? She was a good-looking dog and it was common to steal well-groomed dogs and sell them on the black market. I walked around the neighbourhood for what seemed like an eternity but didn’t see Bella anywhere. I looked at my phone but it was dead. I cursed myself for not charging it the previous night. I shoved it in my pocket and continued to scout the neighbourhood once again. 

Both the voices in my head were quiet. So quiet.

Exhausted after walking around for hours I returned home and plonked myself on the rocking chair. It felt soothing. As tears rushed down my cheeks, I remembered to charge my phone so I could call the police, the animal welfare board and whoever else that could help find Bella. As I got up, I heard it again.

Knock. Knock.

I froze. This time it was a louder and not-so-subtle knocking.

Knock.Knock.Knock.

I looked towards the study and slowly walked towards the room.

Knock.Knock.Knock.Knock.Knock.

I took a deep breath and ran across to the study door and flung it open. Her room was as I had left it except Bella was sleeping peacefully in the centre, stretched across the rug. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was absolutely sure I had looked in earlier and not seen her. The room had been empty but I was too tired to argue with myself and just too glad to see her. I ran to her and took her in my arms. She yawned lazily, curled up and went back to sleep.

Extracted with permission from Pragati Deshmukh's A Dark and Shiny Place. You can also join SheThePeople’s Book Club on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Suggested Reading: Namita Gokhale's Mystics and Sceptics Is A Tribute To Himalayan Mysteries