The Haunted House

   

"That's the house I was speaking about," said Ani.

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

"Does anybody live there now?" I asked.

"No," replied Ani. "The last of the zamindars died in a most mysterious way. It's rumoured that he was murdered. His family left in a hurry after performing his last rites. Since then the house has been lying empty for several decades. Local people say it is haunted."

"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 mentioned him before," said I. "What about his mother?"

"One evening she came to collect firewood from the garden."

"Garden indeed!" I sneered. "It should rather be called a mini jungle. I'm sure there are hundreds of snakes in 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.

"It happened a few months after this incident. Some of us boys were playing hide and seek here. I entered the house to hide. As I neared the staircase leading to the first floor, I saw her standing on the landing."

"Who, Poltu's mother? You mean you saw her ghost?" I asked, disbelief ringing in my voice.

"It was her," replied Ani. "She wore a red-bordered 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 didn't utter 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 nonsense?"

"Everyone did. In fact they 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.

"We'll be careful. 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 leopard or two, 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. Ghost or no ghost, it was dangerous to enter a house that could bury us alive.

"You've seen the house, so now 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 covering the wilderness leading to the gate. My eyes fell on the first floor balcony and I can swear that I saw the silhouette of a woman standing there. For some reason she made me shiver.

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

Ani looked visibly surprised. He turned to look at the balcony but she was not there!

"I told you there's no one," he cried. "Can't you walk a little faster?"

I wondered if I had seen a hallucination.

We stumbled out of the place just before sundown.

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 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 Babu," 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 poison 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.

"Now why should a healthy young man suddenly die of heart attack? He must have experienced something terrible that led to the attack."

It was futile to argue. Kashi was one of those locals who strongly believed in the rumours connected to the zamindar house. Then I remembered that mysterious woman whom I just saw in the balcony. It was all very confusing.

After dinner Ani suggested that we go out for a walk beside the river. At first I refused citing the time (it was almost 10), but when Ani insisted on going alone, I decided to accompany him.

The river looked serenely beautiful on that moonlit night. I suggested that we settle down on one of the riverside benches and enjoy the natural beauty. But Ani preferred to walk.

Slowly his speed increased. It became difficult for me to keep pace with him. I asked him to slow down but he didn't.

Where was he going? A horrible suspicion entered into my mind. If I was right, then we might land up in terrible danger. Now I was almost running, yet the gap between us went on increasing. I called him several times, but he did not respond and went on walking in a trance. It seemed as if he was being pulled by some powerful invisible force.

At last the house came into sight. So my suspicion was correct. The dark, dilapidated mansion looked extremely sinister in the feeble light of the moon. Ani stopped in front of the broken gate. His intention was clear.

"Stop!" I shouted and ran with all my might. I reached there just as he touched the wooden gate to open it. I pushed him hard with both my hands making him retreat a couple of steps. But he shoved me aside and was about to move forward when a voice stopped him in his track.

"Babu, what are you two doing here in the middle of the night?"

It was Kashi and I was extremely relieved to see him. He came forward and firmly took hold of Ani's hand.

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

God knows what was there in his voice but Ani, who looked so adamant to enter the house, meekly submitted to him.

Silence prevailed throughout the return journey. Kashi dropped us in front of the hotel gate and waited till Ani went inside. Then he looked at me and said a few words.

"You must leave tomorrow morning. Spending another night here could bring disaster for you. I may not save him a second time. And yes, avoid this place in future."

He turned and left before I could even thank him.

I lied about my mother's sudden illness and forced Ani to leave the following morning. On our way we stopped our car near the rickshaw stand and looked for Kashi. We wanted to thank him and pay him previous night's rickshaw fare. But he hadn't come yet. I insisted that we go to his house and pay the money we owed to him. Ani agreed.

With some difficulty we located his house in the slum area. But we didn't meet him there either. Instead we met his grandson who gave us a shocking news that left us speechless.

Kashi had a heart attack and died on the previous evening.

                         *************