Knock, Knock?..

Mangalore Today News Network

It was sharp 12 midnight. As the clock struck 12, Praveen who was fast asleep woke up suddenly. He switched on the bed lamp and looked around. His wife and kids were fast asleep. Somehow he could not get sleep. The newspaper reports of thefts in houses and temples, almost every night, were haunting him. One newspaper report which even mentioned of strangers knocking doors of houses in the dead of the night in some area, had virtually shaken him. He was all of a sudden reminded of the reports. Fears gripped him as he began to sweat profusely despite the ceiling fan running in full speed.

He walked up, opened the bedroom doors which was firmly locked and then stepped into the hall and verified that all doors and windows were closed. He went back to his room, locked it from inside and sat on the bed. Some unknown fear had gripped him.

He switched off the light and lay in the bed. Soon he heard a thud sound. He couldn’t believe it. But very soon a similar sound was heard. This time he was sure that someone was knocking the main door.

The knocking became intense and he shivered. His wife too woke up on hearing the sound.” It might be dacoits,” Rekha said with fear writ large on her face. Praveen reached towards his cell phone. He tried to call the nearest police station, the number of which he had noted down as a precaution. He gave a ring, but none was receiving the phone on the other end. The repeated efforts proved to be of no use. The knocking continued. But Praveen and Rekha dared not open even the bedroom door. They thought they would be safe inside here even if the thieves broke open the main door, as most of their valuables were in the bedroom. Soon the knocking subsided and they thought the thieves might have left to try some other house.

They switched off the light. But sleep eluded them for long. Very soon they woke up on hearing the same sound . This time the couple was terrified. It was almost 4 in the morning. The knocking continued and finally there was no sound. It was 6 and both Praveen and Rekha were just sitting on the bed wide-eyed while the children were fast asleep.