The haunted ...

The doctor and his assistant rode their horses until they reached a forest patch. "This must be the forest, that the guy mentioned?", the doctor casually asked his assistant. Since it was difficult to lead the horses through the dense, impermeable thickets, they fed the tired animals, replenished their water, and tied them to a tree.

He was the only doctor practicing in this town and the only one available for miles in this rural part of India. Patients from nearby and far-off places would travel long distances to seek his help, as the nearest hospital was many miles away. It was the late 19th century in pre-independent India, where the transport system was still in its infancy. Hence patients found it more convenient to seek his medical help rather than going through the hazards of visiting 

a distant hospital. At noon that day, a young man met the doctor at his clinic. He badgered the doctor to visit his house to treat his pregnant wife who was in terrible pain and not in a position to travel. Judging by his demeanor and his attire, he seemed to be a wealthy man. He paid the doctor a handsome advance 

which was luring and convinced the doctor. The doctor promised him that he would visit his home in the evening. The young man introduced himself as Shyam and left his address with the assistant.

"Yes, it is", the assistant replied to the doctor as they entered the forest. "It must be very close by. We may just need to cross this small jungle", the assistant added.

The assistant noticed that the doctor was unusually silent today, deeply absorbed in thought. The doctor was perturbed by an incident that occurred that morning. A destitute young widow visited the doctor with her sick infant. She was dressed in ragged clothes, her hair unkempt, and carried the emaciated infant in her arms. The infant was the only one she had! Weeping, she poignantly begged the doctor to save her dying infant! The assistant drove 

her away mercilessly, deeming her indigent and devoid of money, while the doctor looked on helplessly! He wanted to help, but for reasons unknown to him, he kept silent. The doctor was filled with remorse for not having tried to help the infant. He felt the widow's feeling like his own and carried a sense of guilt. He could not wipe 

of the pitiful face of the widow, from his mind. No matter how much ever the doctor tried to avoid this thought, it kept coming to him with more fervor.

"Hurry up doctor; we need to return today - it's almost evening", the assistant's voice was successful in bringing the preoccupied doctor back to his senses.

They entered the forest, and walked along the path, hoping to find Shyam's house on the way. The forest was regularly traversed by woodcutters, cattle grazers, and regular dwellers, with whose help, a small path was created enough for a single human to wiggle through. As they trudged further, the landscape suddenly changed. 

The expanse got thicker, the flora changed drastically and the path became trickier. It was getting dark when they entered this unfamiliar labyrinthine forest. The trees were towering, their branches spread out, and the large leaves formed a thick foliage. The branches were blanketed with a thick layer of moss, on top of which orchids were flowering. The scent of freshness pervaded the air. Its pulchritude was mesmerizing, but they were in no mood 

to savor the ambiance. They continued trudging inside the forest maze, hoping to find Shyam's house.

With each step they took inside the forest, it seemed like a new conundrum emerged, waiting for them to decipher.  The forest, now cloaked in tenebrous shadows, became increasingly difficult to traverse. The duo's anxious minds started weaving horror stories on the spot. Every shadow, every ambiguous shape, conjured insidious witches, ghosts, and other sinister figures. Any faint sibilant sound seemed to evoke the whispering of banshees, while the eerie creak of branches rubbing against each other let out a shrill that sounded like an eldritch wail. This spookiness 

caused a cold shiver to run down their spines and they started to sweat profusely, amidst the chilling weather. It was almost dark, but the moon started to rise very early. The trees with their dense foliage, obscured the moonlight from touching the earth, save for some patches where it evaded the foliage and illuminated the ground.  Nocturnal animals ventured out and the sound created by hoots of owls, howling of the wolves, and insects buzzing filled the air and added to the eeriness. They quickened the steps, and as they hastily moved forward, the doctor stumbled on a slopy hill. He lost his footing, rolled down the slope, and passed out.

When the doctor regained his senses, he was covered with mud, leaves, and cobwebs. He weakly brushed off the dirt that 

he was covered with. He had suffered a mild blow to his head during the fall, leaving him with a terrible headache. He tried to recollect his current predicament and suddenly, it all came to him in a flash. The assistant sat nearby, anxiously looking at the doctor. After a few minutes, the doctor signaled that he was ready to go. Supported by the assistant, he rose to his feet and spotted a large mansion in the distance. It seemed a bit incongruous for the mansion to stand here, yet nothing else could have been more comforting to them, than the sight of the mansion. They hastened their steps to take sanctuary in the mansion till the night was over, after which they could find their way back.

The mansion was colossal, its pathway illuminated by a series of oil lamps stretching from the gate all the way to the door. In the middle of the pathway, stood a beautiful fountain, where an earthen figure of a woman balanced a clay pot on her shoulder and water sprinkled from the pot. They knocked on the door anxiously, waiting for it to be answered. There was no answer for some time, after which the doctor knocked again. As they were about to turn their backs, the door creaked open, and -lo and behold! - Shyam stood at the door entrance smiling, and as if he was anticipating them! They both were intrigued and before the doctor could ask anything, Shyam welcomed us, his smile widening. As they 

entered the mansion, they were greeted by a prodigious hall that seemed to beckon them. It was brilliantly lit with an assortment of oil lamps. Some lamps were neatly placed on the tables, while some of them adorned the walls. The hall was ostentatious and eclectic, and the opulence was glaring. There were stairs that led to the first floor. The stairs were covered with a red rug, with wooden railings on either side. Many sculptures made from sandalwood decorated the hall. The hall was redolent with the aroma of burning incense sticks and sandalwood. Surprisingly, no caretakers or servants

were seen inside the huge mansion!

Entering the hall, they both sat on a sofa, that Shyam indicated, observing the hall with intense curiosity. There were many lingering questions that the doctor was dying to ask Shyam. Just when he was about to open his mouth, they heard a woman moan painfully. 

"That is my wife I told you about," said Shyam to the doctor. Shyam asked them to follow him, and the three alighted the stairs. The stairs led to a passage, with rooms on each side. Paintings hung on the wall, and the passage was decorated with various relics. The moaning sound became more distinct as they entered the passage. Shyam led us into the first room which was on the right side of the passage. As they entered the room, they saw a young woman lying on a spacious bed. The woman was in pain, and so the doctor approached her quickly and checked her pulse. He then asked the assistant to prepare some medicines, which he handed to Shyam, explaining the dosages and other instructions.

The doctor turned and was about to walk towards the door, when he felt a icy hand, clamping his arm. He anxiously turned towards 

the bed, and his blood curled at the horrifying sight before him! He froze in his tracks, overwhelmed by what he saw! There, on the bed, instead of Shyam's wife, lay the destitute woman he had seen that morning, her sunken dark eyes intensely gazing at him.

"Here is your money, please save my child", she pleaded to the doctor. The stunned doctor turned towards Shyam! There, in the place of Shyam, he saw a corpse-like figure, laughing and it spread its languid hand and hurled money at the doctor. "Here's your money, eat it, drink it", so saying the corpse vanished like a fleeting shadow. The horrified doctor and his assistant screamed and dashed towards the door. The paintings that adorned the walls suddenly became deepening shadows, the walls and pillars started molting like a liquid as the mansion crumbled. In no time, the posh mansion turned into a dilapidated abandoned building, its grandeur, and opulence replaced by the dreary emptiness and horror. Shadows became wraithlike, letting out terrifying wails and screaming "Here's your money, eat it, drink it". As the shadows closed in, the wails grew into deep, high pitched shrills and more terrifying. "Here's your money, eat it, drink it", these words resonated through the air and overwhelmed by the emotional outrage and terror, they passed out!

The doctor woke up the next morning on his bed to the warmth of the morning sun gently caressing his face. His head was aching very bad, and he brushed the back of his head and felt a mild bump there. He tried to recall how he hurt himself but his mind drew a blank. He was feeling enervated and the thought of having a hot shower was appealing. As he walked towards the bathroom, the odd phrase kept resounding in his mind, although he could not remember why: "Here's your money, eat it, drink it...".