A Wail from the Grave

"So how's my new home?" Amaya looked at her friends as her eyes glinted with pride.

After toiling hard for 5 years, Amaya was finally able to buy a small bungalow in the serene valley of Shravanpur, far away from the city.

"That's a pretty bungalow!" Kavya clapped, "but..."

"But what?" Amaya frowned.

"We had heard something about this house on our way from the neighbors."

Kavya looked at Shanaya and winked, urging her to join in.

"Let's not tell her," Shanaya said as she got the clue, "she'll get scared."

"I'm not a coward." Amaya boldly raised her head and looked straight into their eyes. "Tell me, what have you heard?"

"Okay!" Kavya shrugged, "somebody told us that a girl, about 20 years, was murdered in this house. Her husband, who was the previous owner of the house, was the prime suspect. But later, he was released because of a lack of evidence."

"Whatever!" Amaya tried to appear calm even though deep down she could feel turbulence raising inside her. "Let's have some food."

After having dinner that night, Amaya sat down on the bed holding a book in her hands. A few minutes later, her eyes started drooping down. She was jolted by petrified screams of a woman. She saw a girl in her early twenties running right in front of her eyes while screaming terribly.

"Help me!" Her pitiable wails echoed in the dead silence of the house.

Close behind her, Amaya saw a man, holding a long knife in his hands and chasing her. His face was hidden behind a mask. The man grabbed her by her wrist and slit her throat with the knife. The springs of blood that spurt out of the wound drenched Amaya.

Amaya woke up screaming to find herself safely lying on her bed. She poured herself a glass of water with shivering hands as doubts clouded her mind.

"Who was the girl?" She thought in her mind as she drifted back to sleep.

The next day, she befriended a few neighbors and made enquires about the previous owner of her house. They told her that the owner Devisharan was an atrocious villain of fiery temperament. That night as Amaya was preparing to go to bed, her phone rang. As soon as she answered the call, a fierce baritone pierced through her ears.

"You filthy woman!" The caller yelled, "why are you poking your nose in my matters? Mind your own business if you value your life!"

Amaya shivered as she placed the receiver back on the cradle. She understood that it was Devisharan. She couldn't sleep that night. It was already 10 a.m. when she woke up the next morning. She went through hastened ablutions and drove her car straight to the police station. She registered a complaint against Devisharan.

"Don't worry, Ms. Verma," Inspector Varun Mehra said, "I assure you that he won't dare to bother you ever again."

"Thank you, officer." Amaya felt relieved.

Amaya was absolutely tired as she couldn't sleep yesterday and took to bed early. As she closed her eyes, the flashes from the nightmare, she had last night, came alive again. She saw the man dragging the lifeless body of the girl down into the cellar, leaving a bloody trail behind. Amaya screamed as she woke up startled, bathed in sweat.

She jumped down the bed and ran towards the cellar. She searched it thoroughly and finally found a secret door in on its ceiling. She pushed it open and found a skull inside. She instantly ran back to the hall and punched a few numbers on the phone with trembling fingers as she struggled to catch a breath.

"Of...officer Mehra," she stammered out of fright, "please come over here. I've got some crucial evidence against Devisharan. He had murdered his wife for sure. I can prove it to you."

Inspector Verma arrested Devisharan and he confessed his crime. Kavya and Shanaya came to stay with Amaya who was terribly frightened by the incident. In the evening, Inspector Verma came to pay a visit to Amaya's place.

"Ms. Verma, what had made you suspect that Devisharan had killed his wife?" Inspector Mehra asked, "because, Devisharan had made everyone believe that they had parted ways and Kaveri had gone back to live with her parents."

"Well, inspector," Amaya who was still frail, wrapped her hands around herself, "I started having nightmares of a man brutally murdering his 20-something wife. And then I discovered her skull in the cellar."

"But, Ms. Verma," Inspector had an astonished frown on his face, "Kaveri was a 42 years old woman and not a 20-year-old girl. And in his confession, Devisharan had admitted that he had poisoned his wife and buried her body in the forest. We have recovered her remains from the place he had mentioned in his statement. Our forensic experts have confirmed it. Moreover, the skull you had found was a plastic one."

"What?" All three ladies said in unison.

"Now clarify one more thing," Inspector Verma scratched his head. "You are new to this place. Then how the idea of a murder, that had been committed years ago in this house, ever occurred to you? Was it only because of the nightmares?"

"My friends," Amaya pointed her finger at her friends sitting by her side, "told me. They had heard the natives say so."

"Actually," Kavya looked sheepishly at Amaya, "it was only a prank that we had played to scare you."

"What!"