(He looked at her from head to toe and smirked.... He began to believe that she could be his perfect vengeance....)
January, 1986 - yet another gloomy night around town.
Rain was about to seep through the myriad of dancing clouds waiting to explode. The roads were clear as if it had been deserted for a long period of time.
While lighting the last cigarette from the pack, Miranda turned her car into a driveway to meet a potential publisher with whom she wanted to have a productive conversation for ages. But she was displeased at her wet hair which dampened her shirt and made her uncomfortable. She was restless and desperate at the same time which could be a lethal combination at any given situation.
Miranda Smith was an aspiring writer. She was trying hard to make it big in the writing business. She liked to portray her stories with a bit of madness which most of the time lacked logical explanation. She was very proud of her thought process and always had brushed aside the concept of sanity and logic because she strongly felt that they were overrated. Due to that approach towards her writing, many publishers didn't take her seriously and often accused her of being dilusional and a proper misfit.
"I must fix my business at the earliest," she thought to herself.
"Hello Patrick, I'm here for Mr. Brown. Could you please call him and inform him about our meeting?" Asked Miranda.
She was being persuasive towards her childhood friend Patrick.
"You shouldn't have come today. The schedule is very tight." Patrick replied immediately.
If truth to be spoken, he became annoyed by Miranda's habit of constant nagging. He suffered a lot in the past due to her rigid nature. He worked as a personal assistant to his publisher boss Mr. Brown.
"Well you have to call him right away," demanded Miranda.
"You're not in a position to order me like that," said Patrick in a harsh tone.
Miranda: look Patrick, I'm not in the right frame of mind lately. All I need is to meet your boss and publish my stories. So please do as I said.
Patrick: you don't get it, do you? Mr. Brown never entertains any freelance writer. Your story must be channelled through a proper source. Hence, you may need an agent to negotiate the deal.
Miranda: why are you making this so hard for me? Let me just meet the damn publisher.
All of a sudden she was engulfed by a kind of anger that had reflected on her face.
Patrick: hey I don't have any personal gain over this. Please try to understand. Besides, lots of work has to be done in order to publish a book. What you are giving are just some typed documents. Here, we have to materialize it and shape it in the form of a book. Steps like sales and marketing, cover designing, content analysis etc. are involved. It is a process of never ending juggling between the editor and the publisher. Hence your content must have that extra spark to attract the readers. No offense but I'm not sure about your content.
Miranda (angrily smashing her hands on the desk): blah blah blah! Yeah that's what you are sounding now.
She completely ignored Patrick and headed straight to his boss' room. Patrick tried to stop her but the rage he witnessed on her face made him motionless. He didn't know what was that but strangely couldn't move his body and suddenly he felt unsafe in her presence.
"Good evening Mr. Brown. I hope you don't mind if we have a little chat over my stories." Miranda unapologetically sat on a chair facing him.
She looked through his eyes with a mysterious grin on her face which made him feel uncomfortable.
"I don't think you have an appointment today. Besides, everyone has left the office by now," said Mr. Brown.
He was taken back by the sudden appearance of a girl he had never met before.
Miranda (with the same grin on her face): I've sent my stories to you but never got any response from your side.
She took out some final drafts of her stories and handed over to him.
Mr. Brown: probably your stories are not enticing enough. One of my assistants might have rejected it. Listen young lady, being rejected is awful. But you've to deal with it. Start writing some interesting stuffs. And try to negotiate it through an agent next time.
Miranda: sometimes you should see by yourself to make a proper judgement. Shall we discuss my stories now without wasting any time?
Her facial expressions had shifted to a different mood. It was becoming more intense.
Gradually Mr. Brown became irritated by her attitude. He wanted to throw her out of his office. Surprisingly he couldn't do so. She seemed weird to him. But somehow he was consumed by her persona.
"Okay let's give it a go. I'll go through only few of your stories. I won't check out the rest if I'm not impressed by those first few stories from the lot. No further discussion after that," said Mr. Brown.
He regretted his decision instantly. She retained an aura of mystery which made him really suspicious.
"What's your name?" Asked Mr. Brown.
"I'm Miranda Smith. I bet you would never forget my name for the rest of your life." She was looking at him. But her eyes were empty and lifeless.
Mr. Brown could sense that and fell more into her pit. Rain had been pouring heavily by then which could be heard from his office. He was going through her stories but all that while he couldn't stop thinking about her unrestrained personality. At some bizarre moments, he started to fancy her. In order words, she had triggered his libido....
Since you've broken the hymen
of your integrity, better watch out for the scum dripping from your brain...
How will you prevent the seepage??
SOME REQUIRED EXPLAINATIONS TO UNDERSTAND THE STORY BETTER:
I've noticed that some of the readers are having difficulties in understanding the story's 'POV' (Point of view). Hence I'm forwarding some points which will help you to get a better insight.
* Miranda is a fictional character created by me.
* In this story, Miranda is a struggling writer who is very desparate to publish her stories at any cost.
* Miranda's character will be shown in the prologue and the epilogue of the story.
*In between prologue and epilogue, there are four chapters which are shown as the four stories written by Miranda.
* All these stories are independent short stories and are not related to each other.
* This story i.e. "Devil beneath the skin" has been written from the THIRD-PERSON NARRATIVE or you can say AUTHOR'S POV. Except in one case where a character communicates directly to the readers by breaking the fourth wall.
I hope this explaination will be useful to the readers.
Kindly bear with those typing mistakes and grammatical errors (which were unnoticeable while editing the story)
Please don't be a silent reader. If you like the story then please vote, share and comment on my story. Your feedbacks will be extremely helpful for me.
"HAPPY READING"
YOU ARE READING
DEVIL BENEATH THE SKIN (COMPLETED)
Horror"I'm Miranda Smith. I bet you would never forget my name for the rest of your life." She was looking at him. But her eyes were empty and lifeless.... Miranda never acknowledges the concept of fine line between reality and illusions. In her world, th...
