The Haunted House

"That's the house I was referring to," said Ani.

We were standing in front of an old, dilapidated countryside mansion that stood beside the river Ichhamati in Taki. 

"Is anyone residing there now?" I asked.

"Not a soul," replied Ani. "The last of the zamindars died under most mysterious circumstances. It's rumoured that he was murdered. His family performed his last rites and left in a hurry. Since then the house has been lying empty for several decades. Now it has gained the reputation of a haunted house. Local people say that shadows can be seen roaming about in the house at night. Hence they avoid this road after sundown."

"Nonsense!" I remarked. "These are just rumours spread by the superstitious villagers."

"I don't know," said Ani. "But this is where I saw Poltu's mother."

"Who is Poltu?" asked I.

"Poltu was my childhood friend."

"You never told me about him before," said I. "What's this case about his mother?"

"One evening she went there to collect firewood."

"She entered that mini jungle? There must be hundreds of snakes there."

"You're right," agreed Ani. "And one of them bit her."

"Oh my god!" I was aghast. "Then what happened?"

"She died." 

We remained silent for some time. Then Ani resumed the narration.

"Something happened a few months after this incident. My friends and I were playing hide and seek here. I entered the house in search of a good hiding place. I walked towards the staircase leading to the first floor. Then my eyes fell on the landing. She was standing there."

"Who was standing, Poltu's mother? You mean to say that you saw her ghost?" I asked, unable to believe my ears.

"It was definitely her," replied Ani. "She wore her favourite red bordered silk sari and a big red bindi on her forehead."

"I suppose then you chatted with her?" I joked.

Ani ignored the jibe and said,

"She seemed angry to see me there. She didn't speak, but her eyes expressed her disapproval."

"So what did you do?" I asked. "Said sorry for your intrusion?"

"I ran as fast as my small legs could carry me. I never uttered a word to anyone about this. Otherwise Ma would have skinned me alive."

"You mean to say that your mother too believed in all this supernatural stuff?" 

"Everyone did. In fact the villagers still do."

I felt curious. 

"Let's go inside. I've never been inside a haunted house before."

"There may be poisonous snakes and scorpions," protested Ani.

"And a few shadows too," I joked. "Please, let's go."

Without waiting for a reply I pushed the broken gate and entered. Ani followed me, unwillingness clearly writ on his face. 

It was difficult to find our way through the wilderness that once used to be a garden. We chose our steps, carefully looking out for venomous serpents and scorpions. It wouldn't have been surprising if we came across a hyenah or fox, so thick was the jungle at places. 

The mansion was on the verge of a total collapse. One of its wings dangerously leaned towards the river, ready to fall down any moment. With or without ghost, it would be dangerous to enter a house that could bury us alive. 

"You've seen the house now, so let's return," said Ani.

I knew that he was right, yet I felt curious to see the place where Ani had seen the lady's ghost. 

"No way!" Ani stubbornly refused. But I had already entered.

Inside it was dark and damp with a pungent, musty smell. Thick cobwebs and thick layers of dust on the floors indicated that no one had set foot there for ages. Several bats and rusty beams dangerously hung from the ceilings. Feeble sunlight entering through gaps in the broken windows made weird patterns on the dusty walls. 

A sudden shower of loose building materials from the ceiling made us jump. It fell a few feet ahead of us in a small heap. 

"Let's get out of here." 

I detected a nervous urgency in Ani's voice. He firmly held my hand and we hastened out of the ruining house. 

Something made me turn my head while we were walking through the wilderness leading to the gate. My eyes fell on the first floor balcony and I can swear that I saw the shadowy silhouette of a tall woman standing there. For some reason the sight made me shiver.

"Who's that woman standing in the balcony?" I asked.

Ani looked visibly surprised. He turned to look at the balcony but found no one there!

"I have already told you that no one lives here," he cried. "Can't you walk a little faster?"

I wondered if I had seen a hallucination. 

Ani was almost running now. Soon we stumbled out of the broken gate. The sun was then going down in the western horizon.

Kashi, our rickshaw puller, looked visibly displeased. The old man, who couldn't be a day under seventy, had chosen to become our self appointed guardian since the day Ani gave him a thousand rupees to deposit his grandson's exam fees. Now we had to endure his gentle rebukes throughout our journey back to the hotel.

"You did not do the right thing Sir," said he. "That house is the abode of evil spirits. Three years ago a gora sahib (a white man) entered that house to take photographs. Next morning his dead body was found there."

"Probably he was bitten by a poisonous snake," I observed.

"Not at all," he replied. "There was no mention of snake bite in the post mortem reports. The police said that he died of heart attack."

"People do die of heart attack," said I. "There's nothing abnormal in it."

Kashi refused to agree.

"Why should a healthy young man suddenly die of heart attack? He must have experienced something terrible that caused the attack."

It was futile to argue. Kashi was one of those villagers who strongly believed in the supernatural rumours connected to the zamindar house. Suddenly I remembered that mysterious woman in the balcony and the way she vanished within seconds. It was all very confusing.

After dinner Ani wished to take a stroll beside the river. In spite of being tired I decided to accompany him. Intuition warned me not to let him go alone. 

The river looked serenely beautiful on that moonlit night. But Ani didn't seem to notice it. He kept on walking. Slowly his speed increased. It became difficult for me to keep pace with him. I asked him to slow down but he didn't seem to hear me. 

Where was he heading to? A horrible suspicion entered into my mind. If it was right, then we might land up in terrible danger. I was almost running now, yet the gap between us kept on increasing. I called him several times, but he did not respond. It seemed as if he was walking in a trance; as if some powerful invisible force was pulling him towards it.

At last the house came into sight. So my suspicion was correct. The old, dilapidated mansion looked ghastly and sinister in the feeble moon light. Evil dark shadows seemed to call us from inside. Ani stopped in front of the broken gate. 

"Stop Ani, stop!" I shouted and ran frantically. I reached there just as he was about to open the broken gate. I pushed him back with all my might. But he shoved me aside and was about to move inside when a voice stopped him in his track.

"Sir, Madam! What are you two doing here in the middle of the night?"

It was Kashi. I was both surprised and relieved to see him. He came forward and caught Ani's hand in a firm grip.

"Come Sir," he said. "Let me drop you to the hotel. Come with me."

There was something in his voice that made Ani surrender to him. Slowly he turned back and followed Kashi to his rickshaw.

Silence prevailed throughout the return journey. Kashi dropped us in front of the hotel gate and waited till Ani went inside. Then he folded his hands and said, 

"Madam, please leave this place tomorrow. Spending another night here may prove disastrous for you. And make sure to avoid this place in future."

I stood there watching his rickshaw fade away in the darkness. A sudden gush of cold wind made me shiver. Then I remembered that I had forgotten to thank Kashi.

Next morning we left Taki. I had to lie about my mother's sudden illness to make Ani cut short the vacation. Before leaving Taki we parked our car near the rickshaw stand and looked for Kashi. But he wasn't there. We decided to visit his house to thank him for last night's kindness and also pay the rickshaw fare.

With some difficulty we found his house in the slum area. But he wasn't there either. Instead we met his grandson who gave us a shocking news.

Last evening, after dropping us at the hotel, Kashi had a massive heart attack. He died almost immediately.

We were speechless. Then who saved Ani last night?

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