Night

The ramifications were astounding. Why should this happen at this very moment ? A question which was on everyone mind, but had no answer. The car crawled along. The rain was incessant, with flowers intermittently woven in. Ram looked down at the instrument. The strings were frayed. The sound of the dog barking made him look up. It was Jeannie. "The doorbell is not working!". Carmen stood up. It was getting dark, and she wanted to get back to Vegas before midnight. The cards were still face up. Madhu pushed the wad of money forward. "This is my last stand," he sounded tired. Ron dealt. Just then Vishwa entered. He was dragging the coffin. "What the hell is that?", Latha was shocked. Everyone looked at her. The coffin was opened. It was full of cash. Ram strarted strumming. The notes were haunting. Suddenly the doorbell sounded. Ram looked at Jeannie questioningly. At the door, the undertaker was standing with his assistants. They had another coffin with them. "Go away! We don't need you!", Jeannie shouted. Ram strummed the guitar again. Soon the only sounds were those of soft snoring. Outside, the full moon shone down on the house. An owl hooted briefly. Then there was complete silence.