Mama's Boy - A Singaporean horror short

Shravan felt the hair on the left side of his neck standing. When he was in primary school, he heard that that was an indication that there was a ghost or a spirit around him. He could not remember who had told him that, but the information had stuck with him all throughout his life. As a grown man, the sensation still sent his heart racing.

He stumbled over a pole as he switched on the light. An overly fruity smell of detergent wafted into his nose, and the wind moaned through old window grills. Finally, the old light above him buzzed to life, illuminating the balcony with a creaky pop.

Immediately, Shravan glanced over his stack of old newspapers, as was his routine since the first incident. A lump formed his throat. He was certain that the last thing he had looked through was the property pages after the day’s search. Instead of those pages, an article was on the top of stack, folded in such a way that two words from its headline screamed out at him:

“Don’t Leave”.

In the morning, his wife Riya entered the car in a tailored navy dress, her thick fragrance engulfing the space. Shravan was dressed up in a fitted shirt too, and he ran his fingers through his full beard to check that it was smooth. The pair had argued about their dressing before leaving. For him, checking out a new house was a casual occasion, but Riya did not want the real estate agent to think that they were poor.

Shravan was blown away by the new place. It had smooth grey flooring, with a sleek balcony window that overlooked the garden pathway and swimming pool below. There was a glass table in the living room in front of a firm cream-coloured couch, and the arrangement of furniture made the room feel spacious and cozy. Riya had tried to create that spacious effect in their current home, but she never succeeded in the cramp space.

Even without consulting her, Shravan knew that his wife loved this place. Riya had been sending him photos of spaces she wanted, which looked similar. She explained that she wanted to go for a more minimalist and modern setting that would complement their new lifestyles. It was a lifestyle she envisioned that was best for their future, both in terms of being tasteful, practical and peaceful. This house was the best option they had found so far.

And yet, Shravan was not excited at all.

“Is it always so quiet here?” Riya asked.

“Yes, since you aren’t near the main road, you really don’t hear much,” the agent replied.

Riya beamed and tugged at her husband’s sleeve. “Its so quiet! Not like our old place!” she reiterated, and Shravan nodded with a forced smile.

“Nice, right? I would say this is the best option for what you guys are looking for” grinned the agent.

“Yes, we are definitely considering it,” nodded Shravan.

“Considering? I think we are more than just considering!” Riya exclaimed. The three of them chuckled.

“Its perfect, right?” Riya beamed on the way back. Shravan nodded, but stayed silent and looked out the window of the passenger window.

“You don’t like it?” she asked.

“What? No, I do,” Shravan replied.

“You’re lying. You don’t like something about it.”

“I like it, really. It’s the best out of all the houses which we have seen so far.”

“Have you followed up with the buyer?” Riya questioned.

Shravan rubbed his neck, and turned up the air-conditioning. His button-up was sticking to his back from the afternoon weather, and his wife’s questioning was making hot under the collar.

“You haven’t?” Riya demanded.

“Ya, not yet,” Shravan muttered.

“Why?”

“I was busy yesterday, I planned to talk to speak to them later tonight,” Shravan explained. “Honestly, I don’t have such a good feeling about these buyers. And my schedule is getting a little too tight for all the moving and clearing.”

“You don’t have to do anything!” Riya exclaimed. “I told you so many times, I’m handling all the moving stuff, you just need to communicate with the buyer. If the house was under my name, I could handle that too.”

“Come on, you know how hard its been,” Shravan scowled. “Just give me some time.”

Riya was quiet for a while, before softening her tone. “Yes, I know how hard its been for you. I know that place is where you lived with your mom for your life, so it has to mean a lot,” she said. “I know you two were so close, so losing her last year was tough. And it was tough on me too.”

“It wasn’t just that she meant a lot to me,” Shravan replied. “I meant a lot to her. I meant everything to her. I was her whole life.”

He got choked up, and had to compose himself.

“That’s why I feel a little bad about selling that place,” Shravan continued. “Sometimes I feel like I am betraying her.”

“But I can’t understand why you would think that way,” said Riya. “She would have wanted the best for you. And that place… its just so old and cramp and noisy! She can’t have expected you to want to stay there all your life, especially if we are going to start a family.”

Shravan had no response. She was right. The place was bad, and his mother would have wanted them to be happy. Or him, rather, not them. When he had spoken to his mother privately about the house issue, she did not have very kind words for his wife.

“I know wherever she is now, she still wants you to be happy,” Riya continued. “And she’s watching over you.”

The air-conditioning finally kicked in, and the icy fumes from the vent sent a shiver down Shravan’s spine.

She’s watching over you… How could he tell her that she was absolutely right? How could he tell her about the two newspaper incidents, or the shadow that had appeared on his wall? How could he bring up the voice he had heard four nights ago? How could he tell her about the tap that kept switching on? Riya would think he was crazy.

Shravan felt the hair on the left side of his neck standing.

“I know its been hard,” Riya sighed at his silence. “But I need you to move on. You mean a lot to me too. We really can’t keep going on like this, and its already been a year. We have to upgrade if are going to start a life together.”

Riya had turned into their parking lot, and was looking out the window for a parking spot. Shravan felt a lump in his throat, and his nostrils flared. His eyes ached, as though they were being pushed into his head.

“I always knew what you were up to,” Shravan suddenly snapped. “Why do you have to be so materialistic all the time? Always only thinking about upgrading and upgrading.”

Riya lost focus of her reversing and turned to him with eyes wide in anger. “Materialistic?” she shrieked. “Hello, you can’t even care for a basic family in that place! Don’t even talk about upgrading, at least start to meet the grade firs-”

“I always knew what you were trying to do,” Shravan cut her off, staring ahead. “You were just waiting for me to die!”

Riya stared at Shravan, her mouth gaping. The car alarm began screeched to let her know she was coming too close to the curb, but she could not pay any attention to it.

“Me?” Riya demanded.

“What?”

The bumped against the back curb, and Riya hit the brake.

“You said ‘waiting for me to die’” she whispered.

“No, I meant -” Shravan started, but Riya ignored him and got out of the car, slamming the door behind her.

Shravan covered his face in his hands. What did he mean? Was he going to get the house, or keep going along with what his mother wanted? Did he mean what he said to Riya?

What did he actually say? He could not seem remember.

Behind him, he felt a cold wind wrapping around his shoulders, as though it was giving him a hug. Instead of shivering, he felt comforted and warm.