“Yayyyy! I won again!” Parth squealed with delight. I could hear his voice outside. Jumping and clapping, he came out of his room.

“Mom! I defeated Madhav once again at Snakes and Ladders.”

I smiled at him. It was a pleasure watching my son when he was jubilant. He has changed a lot in the past two months since Madhav’s arrival. Before, he was all alone. After coming from school, he had no one to play or talk to. I had arranged football and music classes for him to keep him occupied. He enjoyed music and the game but, more than that, he craved companionship. Being a single child had its own perks, but it had some liabilities too. Madhav would play with him, listen to his stories about his school and cheer him up whenever he was upset with his friends and try to keep him away from mobile and screens. I had hired him as a house help but once Parth was back from school, all his time was devoted to Parth.

“These snakes never let me win.”

I heard Madhav’s sad voice as he came out of the room.

“It is just a game, Madhav,” I replied.

“Madhav, let’s go and play cricket in the garden,” shouted Parth.

Madhav smiled at him and picked up the bats. Both of them left while I got busy with my office work.

————————
A few days later……..

“When will you come back, Rohan?” I asked my husband.

“I will be back in two days. An important business meeting has come up and I can’t miss it,” replied Rohan as he packed his suitcase.

He hugged me and left.

After dinner, Parth and Madhav played board games while I sat reading my book, which had been long due. After some time, Madhav left. He stayed with the other servants in the apartment quarters. I hugged Parth and went to sleep in my room.

Thud!

My sleep was broken by a loud sound. I switched on the light. The clock was showing two. I checked the main gate. It was closed. I went to check if Parth was awake and had dropped something by mistake. As I entered the room, I bumped into something. I switched on the light. I was shocked to see Madhav lying on the floor with white foam coming out of his mouth, while Parth lay asleep in the bed, unaware of our presence.

I made three calls back to back. First, it was my husband, then the police station and finally, to my friend Priya, who stayed nearby and happened to be a doctor.

My head was spinning. Many questions bombarded me one after another as I waited. What was Madhav doing at this time in the house? How did he enter the house when it was locked? What was he doing in Parth’s room? Why was the foam coming out of his mouth? Was he playing a game with me which I couldn’t see !

My thoughts were interrupted by the bell. It broke Parth’s sleep too.

“Mom!”

“Madhav!”

I picked him up in my arms and rushed to open the door. It was Priya. She hugged me and tried to calm me down as I spoke incoherently.

Priya went inside the room. She saw something which I had failed to notice. There was a white handkerchief on Madhav’s bed and it had chloroform in it. She saw Madhav’s lifeless body.

“A snake had bitten him,” she replied.

“A snake!” I was shocked to hear this as I had never heard about a snake in our building.

“Yes, a snake! See, the body has turned blue and it has bitten him on his hand. See these marks.”

I could see the snake bite marks.

By that time, the police arrived. They checked everything, took our statements and took away Madhav’s body.

“Ma’am, this looks like a failed kidnapping case. Madhav had the duplicate keys of your house. And the chloroform on the handkerchief confirms his planning. Though we have checked the entire room and haven’t found the snake yet, please be cautious and get the house checked again tomorrow,” replied the presiding police officer.

He left while Priya stayed back. With great difficulty, I put Parth to sleep, but I couldn’t sleep for the entire night.

Rohan cancelled his meeting and came early the next day. The police formalities were still going on. They were scanning his identity and the people he was connected with. But it was clear that Madhav had made plans to kidnap Parth. Meanwhile, Rohan got the entire house checked. A snake catcher was called, but he found nothing. For a week, Parth slept with us. He too was frightened after that incident.

A few days later, in the middle of the night, I woke up to check on Parth. I quietly entered his room. He was sleeping peacefully.
My eyes then drifted towards his table.
I froze.
I had seen a snake sliding into a box.
I stood there for a few moments, too startled to move. Gathering some courage, I picked up a ruler lying nearby and cautiously pushed the flap open.
Nothing.
There was no movement. No sign of anything unusual.
I stepped closer to the table…unsure.. terrified.
It was the Snakes and Ladders game.
“These snakes never let me win.”
Madhav’s words suddenly echoed in my ears…