This is a translation of the Bengali short story **"Shei Chhobita" (That Picture)** into English.
## That Picture
**By Mousumi Baidya Das**
### December 2012, Kolkata
Since the morning, news channels had been broadcasting a single headline: three bodies were found near the Keonjhar forest in Odisha. Among them was an occultist (Tantrik) and two young people—a boy and a girl. They had been murdered brutally; their faces were mangled beyond recognition.
However, an ID card found in the boy's pocket identified him as **Edward Smith**, an Anglo-Indian resident of Kolkata. The girl was a local named **Sunayana Rajbanshi**. Found a short distance away was the body of the area's infamous occultist, **Lala Baba**.
### March 2012, Bow Barracks, Kolkata
Lisa was overjoyed after a long time. Today, she was going to give Edward the good news about their future together. Dr. Catherine's words had finally come true—late as it was, Lisa was going to experience the joy of motherhood. Pushing her wheelchair into the drawing room, Lisa exclaimed, "Marvelous picture, Edward! Where did you get this?"
"Oh, it had been lying in a Belgian museum for a long time. I picked it up from an antique store in New Market," Edward replied.
"Magnificent," Lisa murmured, moving her wheelchair closer to the painting. Edward watched her, surprised. Usually, Lisa was frustrated by her illness, but today she seemed radiant. He thought to himself that her happiness worked in his favor—he wouldn't have to answer to God quite as much.
Lisa remained mesmerized by the painting.
"Do you like it, Lisa?" Edward asked.
"Very much. You know I haven't been able to paint myself for so long. Seeing the pictures you bring gives me peace."
"Nothing is more important than your happiness," Edward said aloud, while secretly plotting how to bring his long-term plan to fruition.
A week passed. Lisa became so obsessed with the painting that she forgot to tell Edward her good news. She spent all her time in the drawing room, sometimes forgetting to eat or bathe. She stared at the canvas as if she were a resident of the world inside it. But she was happy for another reason: she felt her fingers twitching; the numbness in her limbs was fading. She felt she was healing—a miracle for her and her unborn child.
Mary, Lisa's lifelong companion and caretaker since she lost her mother, was also happy to see the change, though she grew uneasy with Lisa's constant fixation on the painting.
One night, Lisa sat in the drawing room, wishing she could just stand up and touch the canvas. Suddenly, she felt her toes move. Slowly, incredibly, she stood up. Overjoyed, she walked to the painting and touched every corner of it. A shiver ran through her body.
"Darling! I can walk! I'm back to normal! Can you hear me?" she shouted for Edward. Receiving no response from the sleeping Edward, she decided to celebrate by painting. She walked to her studio, leaning against the walls. Since childhood, colors and brushes had been her world. In just a few minutes, she recreated the Belgian painting Edward had brought home with masterful precision.
Suddenly, she felt the painting pulling her. She couldn't control herself. She screamed for Edward, but there was no answer.
### The Betrayal
The next morning, Lisa heard Edward's voice, but it sounded strange. He was laughing. "Thank you, Su. If you hadn't taken me to that Tantrik, I wouldn't have seen this day. Let her stay trapped in that picture. A cripple... she couldn't even bear a child."
Inside the "world" of the painting, Lisa's eyes filled with tears. She remembered everything. Edward's wealth was all hers; as an only child, she had signed over all her property to him out of love after their marriage. Their life was happy until her accident. Edward had promised to stay by her side, but everything changed when that Bengali girl, Sunayana, appeared. Lisa, now a spirit, finally understood the treachery.
Meanwhile, Edward lied to Mary. He claimed that Lisa had insisted on going to the river at night, where her wheelchair accidentally rolled into the water during high tide. The police, he claimed, couldn't find her.
Mary noticed the wheelchair was still in the house. She saw Sunayana there too. She knew Edward was lying, but she felt helpless. Driven by an invisible force, Mary went to Lisa's painting room one last time. There, she heard Lisa's voice: "Please help me, Mary! I am trapped in this picture. That witch and Edward have imprisoned me. Take me with you; set me free!"
Mary took the painting. When Edward tried to stop her, she threatened him with the police, mentioning she had seen the wheelchair. Fearing exposure, Edward let her go. He then bribed his friend, ACP Rupesh Singh, to bury the missing person case.
### The Revenge
Over the next six months, Mary visited a sorceress to find a way to release Lisa. Meanwhile, Edward and Sunayana traveled to a resort near a deep forest in Odisha—Sunayana's home state. They had cleared the resort of staff to be alone. Their real reason for being there was to meet Lala Baba, the occultist who had helped Edward trap Lisa.
That evening, Edward went out, telling Sunayana he had a surprise for her. While waiting, Sunayana heard Edward's voice from the bathroom. When she entered, she saw Lisa standing there. Before she could scream...
When Edward returned, the room was beautifully decorated in dim light. He saw Sunayana sitting on the bed. He hugged her from behind. "You love the mountains, that's why we're here. It's so beautiful, Su..."
But "Sunayana" moved away.
"Su? Why are you moving away?" Edward asked.
Then, the figure turned. "Lisa? You... you are in the picture!"
Terrified, Edward ran out of the resort. He looked back and saw the building transform into the farmhouse from the Belgian painting. Lisa moved toward him.
"Lisa, let me go! I made a mistake, forgive me! Help! Help!"
His screams were swallowed by the deep forest. At the same time, Lala Baba was walking toward the resort, lured by the promise of more money. He saw Sunayana coming toward him.
"I came to get you because you were late," she said.
In his greed, the Tantrik had forgotten to recite his protective mantras. The entity—Lisa in Sunayana's form—attacked. In moments, the greedy occultist was a corpse.
The next morning, the resort owner found three bodies: Edward Smith, Sunayana Rajbanshi, and the Tantrik, Lala Baba. Despite their best efforts, the police could never solve the mystery of the three murders.