Chapter III: House With Human Ash

CHAPTER-3

After few weeks, Ravi came back to that house as he was very much curious about the mystery behind that haunted house and the lock room. He called Mukesh, but he denied him for his stay in his house, but after a lot of request Ravi convinced Mukesh to let him stay in his house and, in favour, he will help him in solving the mystery behind the haunted house.

Ravi decided to start the investigation from the next morning. The next morning, he woke up with a scratch on his arm, but he thought it was just a normal one. Ravi dug out all the facts and articles and sum up and tried to join all the link and all the incident happened in that house.

He searched all about the facts about the dates which was found previously on the wall, after knowing from a lot of people he got to know black magic was practiced in this house. When that couple shifted to this house, there was an increase in the missing of the children in the town.

Ravi decided to sleep he was a bit tired of this all, again that night he heard someone saying, “you have to die or to serve the curse”.

Then he woke up as he was frightened and nervous by his dream and then he had a glass of water, and again he went to sleep. Now he was confused because from two days, he hasn’t heard any noise or anything unusual activity happened.

Then one day while spectating the room he found a painting; it was a family painting in which both the man and the woman were looking unhappy like they were forced for that painting and a small girl child standing behind them.

When he looked at the picture very closely, he found out that she was holding a ring and her hands were scratched just like Ravi had.

After a long search, he found the key of that closed room. He rushed to that room and when he inserts the key into the keyhole a dead voice with a warning came out from that room, “welcome to the family, get ready to serve the curse”.

Ravi felt some pain and felt like crying then after few seconds, he gathers some courage and lock that door again. He was very nervous now; he was continuously thinking about what happened to him that time when the door was open.

Next morning while coming home from his office he found an old woman with a ring, but he ignores her, “Son please! Take this ring.” “Son, take this ring.” Came a voice on the train, and he turned back to see a frail old woman dressed in white old dirty dress, holding a ring in her frail hand.

There was something in that ring that attracted him. And then a flashback of the family picture flashed into him mind, the ring was exact similar as the girl was holding.

The old woman stared at him and asked, “So, you want this ring?”

“Yes, please,” he answered.

“How much does it cost?” he asked.

“It’s free, my child, it’s free!” she replied.

Ravi was surprised to hear that, but he never says no to free things. So, he agreed to take it.

She smiled and said softly, “It is you, next!”

She gave the ring to Ravi and simply smiled away. But as she was walking away, she started to look a lot younger.

When train stopped, he tried to reach to that old lady, but it was too late, she got vanished in the crowd.

Ravi did not bother about that, and wondered, how beautiful this is ring. He put it on and went back to his seat on the train. Once the train reached the station, he got up to fix his cloth. When he looked into the mirror, he saw a frail old man staring back at him. Then the old woman words flashed to him, It’s you, next!

Ravi got panicked and rush to house and again when he saw himself in the mirror, he saw him becoming old.

A loud voice came, I told you to go, but now you have to serve the curse. He soughed what curse?

Please tell me in the loud voice, he said! Now he was a victim of a curse.

He was about to cry but recollected his strength and raised his voice to shout out loud, “Take this ring, take this ring.” ……

After that incident few weeks went normal and one day It was Sunday afternoon, when Ravi peered out of the window of his room, anxiously waiting for Sunny to arrive. They had a project to complete, and the deadline was near, so sunny convinced to revisit that haunted house.

Finally, Ravi heard the calling bell ring. He hurried down the stairs. He could see the old women lounging on the sofa, which stood adjacent to a pillar embellished by an intricately designed clock, he opened the door.

“Finally, it’s good to see you, brother. Please come in,” Ravi said.

“Let’s start our project and hope that we will complete it by today,” said sunny.

“Of course, we will.”

They started walking in. They were startled to find the old women seated on the sofa, as they did not recognize her. The old women stared towards them. The staring made them feel a bit eerie. Finally, they climbed upstairs and were in Ravi’s room.

“I think some guests have come to see Mukesh,” sunny told Ravi.

Yeah, I think so.

“She appears to be very stern. Don’t she?” said sunny.

“There is no point waiting anymore. We should immediately get on to work.”

“You are right.”

They had just started to work, when the door flung open and standing in front of them were Mukesh along with the old women.

“I have to go somewhere, said Mukesh. I hope I’ll be back before midnight. Meanwhile, Mrs. Smith will be taking care of your dinner”.

They could hear the turning of the knob and the closing of the door with a thump. They resumed their work after Mukesh left. Furthermore, they worked diligently for the next few hours and meanwhile, it was starting to get dark.

“Now it’s completely dark. Days during winter are really very short,” Ravi spoke.

“It’s true. I think I should leave,” Sunny said.

Today we really had a very successful day. Don’t forget that tomorrow we will be meeting at my place,” Sunny said.

They stretched their bodies after a strenuous afternoon, as they limped towards the door leading the way out of Ravi’s room. They were just about to open the door of the room to walk out of it, when the lights went off. Nothing was visible in the dark, and only their voices could be heard.

Sunny felt that something was there in his pocket. He reached out for it and found a little torch. He wondered how it had been there in his pocket, but it was something which was needed at the moment. Not only that a matchstick was there too, but he lit the torch.

Finally, they could see each other. But the ray of light from the torch travelled unceasingly through the distance until it disappeared into the horizon. There was nothing in their surrounding except for the darkness and the light of the torch.

They felt that they were in a large, vacant and dark place, and it wasn’t Mukesh’s house. Their flesh crept, and their mouth froze, as they found themselves in the grasp of a nameless dread.

“What is happening! Where did the walls vanish!” sunny exclaimed in fear!

I think we should go and find our way out,” Ravi said.

“Where are we going?

We were just inside a house, and now we are not finding our way out,” Sunny said in a voice infused with dread and anger.

We have been just walking in a dark, vacant space!”.

The room started illuminating gradually. Light penetrated through the window in the room. It wasn’t the dark vacant space anymore. The room had a big centre table in the middle and a large wooden cupboard in one of the corners. The room was devoid of lights and fan. The room was bleak.

“Ravi, isn’t it a room of your house?”

“No. I don’t know where we are,” Ravi said.

“I just want to return home,” Sunny said, fuming with anger.

“We can do nothing at the moment,” Ravi said.

“Ravi, you are responsible for what we have been suffering now.”

“That means you think I am responsible for all these.” Ravi said.

“Of course,” What we have been witnessing does not seem normal. Something is really strange,” Sunny said.

Suddenly, they noticed that the room was getting darker. After a few moments, it got completely dark.

Their mouth ran dry and sweat trickled down from their temples. As they staggered, they were terror struck to find the faint figures of an old woman that silhouetted in the dark.

They clutched onto each other, trembling with fear.

The next moment, a few blood-stained bony hands rose from their behind and clutched their ankles. They screamed as they found themselves being dragged to an unknown territory. As they came to a halt, they lost their consciousness.

As Ravi regained his consciousness and fluttered his eyes, he found himself on the road just outside the gate of his house. He saw Sunny standing a few meters ahead of him. He was standing stiffly, pointing his back towards him.

Ravi called out to him, but he did not respond and staggered through the desolate lane.

Ravi was intrigued by the unearthly behaviour of his friends. He followed him, but soon he lost him in the mist that had begun to engulf everything on its way.

He rushed towards his house and banged open the door of Mukesh’s room. But to his surprise, he found him fast asleep on his bed.

He was puzzled.

Slowly he started walking towards his room and got on his bed.

He could not believe what had happened.

‘Was it an illusion? No, it can’t be. I do remember that we were dragged into a room before we lost our senses. Why did Sunny turn away from me? When did Mukesh come and where is Mrs. Smith?’ Ravi thought to himself, and he did not wink for a minute that night.

He felt extremely drowsy the next day. He encountered Sunny in office.

And ……