The Mystifying Bungalow

"Now it's all your's, Sanjana, " Ankush said as he handed over the keys of the bungalow to me. It was almost a week since I have stepped down from my flourishing career as a journalist with a leading daily based in Mumbai. It must sound crazy but there was no other option left after my break-up with Vivek who was my boyfriend since was I was twenty. Mumbai reminded me of him and was the abode of the haunting memories associated with our five year long relationship. With whatever savings I had, I bought this old bungalow in the suburbs of Shimla in order to seek peace of mind. Ankush who was my best friend and a real estate agent has arranged this deal for me.

 "Thank you Ankush," I said as I took the keys from him,"and thanks for everything that you have done for me."

 "Take care buddy and don't hesitate to call me if you need anything."

 "That's so sweet of you," I said as I came to the doorstep to see him off.

 After he was gone, I took a stroll around the house.The backyard was full of weeds and creepers. In almost center of it there was an old well. I took a few steps towards it but then someone called out to me from behind.

 "You are Sanjana, right? Ankush's friend?"

 I turned to see an old lady standing by the boundary wall of the adjoining house. "My name is Saroj - your new neighbour. Ankush has told me about you." She said smiling sweetly. Her smile reminded me of my mother whom I missed very badly. I had lost both my parents in an accident when I was in the college.

 "The garden is total mess," I said as I walked towards her.

 "Yes, there was nobody to take care of the house and the garden after Shveta and Aniket got separated.She too loved gardening like me. And I guess it was our common interest that had brought us close to each other."

 "Who is Shveta?"

 "She used to live here and Aniket was her husband. Shveta had eloped with him snapping all bonds with her parents. They had bought this house after their marriage. All went well in the beginning. But after a while, Aniket became involved with some other woman and Shveta walked out on him." She fell silent for a moment as memories flooded her. Then she heaved a sigh and said,"why don't you join me for a cup of tea?"

 "Some other time Aunty, I have lot of things to do today," I declined her offer as politely as I could. I spent the whole day unpacking and arranging my things. By the evening I was completely exhausted. I was just out of the shower when I heard a ring at the door. I opened it to find Saroj Aunty and her maid who had brought a dozen of home - cooked delicacies for me. 

I felt overwhelmed by her warm and affectionate welcome. After having a hearty dinner, I slid down on my bed reading a book. The window of my bedroom opened into the backyard. Suddenly, I saw a flash of a person in the backyard. I flung the book at once and jumped to my feet. I moved towards the window with stealthy steps. I saw a girl clad in a white night-gown standing by the well. She seemed to be in her early twenties and was stunningly beautiful with huge earrings dangling from her delicate ears. A thousand questions popped up in my mind - 'Who is she? What was she doing at this hour of the night?'

 I stood there perplexed for a moment and then as I found my voice I asked,"Hey, who are you? What are you doing here?"

 "I live here," she said in an eerily sweet voice,"this is my house."

 She added in a voice that became loud and hoarse and echoed in the garden. All of a sudden, her beautiful face contorted and assumed a monstrous appearance with blood dribbling from her eyes. A minute later, she got sucked up in the well. I let out a scream as I opened my eyes to see myself lying on the bed, still clutching the book placed on my chest.

 "It was a dream!" I muttered after I gulped down a glass full of water to pacify my shaking nerves. A week passed as I taught myself to get adjusted to the life in this small town. Saroj Aunty helped me a lot in all the possible ways. She showed me around and introduced me to all other neighbours. She showered me generously with maternal affection which aided in accelerating the process of mending of my broken heart and erasing the memories of an ill fated love story from my mind. She was a widow who used to live alone in her mansion with only a maid to take care of her.

 Tonight was one of those notorious cold and foggy moonless nights. I wrapped myself in a couple of thick blankets and tried to get some sleep. A little later, I heard the noise of footsteps heading towards my room. I strained my ears as I feared that someone has broken into the house. The next moment, I heard the creaking noise of the door of my bedroom as someone pushed it open.

 'How could that be?' I asked myself as I clearly remembered bolting it from inside. The footsteps became louder as they approached my bed and then halted near the bedside table for a second. I became numb and closed my eyes tightly. The very next second, I felt an immense pressure of two mighty hands on my throat and struggled to breath. With all my might, I pushed them away and sat upon the bed with a heavily thumping heart. I immediately switched on the bed-side table-lamp and saw my blankets lying on the floor that I myself had flung down during my struggle with those phantom hands. The door of my bedroom was still locked from inside.

 "Oh God! what a nightmare it was!" I said as I shivered badly. I dressed myself up in some warm clothes, grabbed a torch and made my way towards Saroj Aunty's house in the dead of the night. "I'm very sorry Aunty, to disturb you in the middle of the night," I said as we sipped coffee in her parlor. Her maid went to resume her sleep after preparing the coffee and lighting the fireplace.

 "No problem dear. My sleep has been disturbed since my husband passed away and it worsened after Shveta's disappearance."

 "Disappearance?" I was shocked, "what do you mean?"

 "Well" she shrugged,"she had the phobia of the dark. She was afraid of even peeping out of her window after the sunset. I didn't find it reasonable when Aniket told me that she left him and moved out of the house in the middle of the night. Moreover, I had noticed her sandals in the shoe-rack and her clothes in the cupboard when I went to visit him the very next day. Who leaves one's house without one's shoes or clothes?"

 "Didn't anyone inquired about her afterwards?"

 "Her parents had snapped all ties with her as she had married Aniket against their wish.They still think that she is with Aniket. As for Aniket, he found it convenient to assume that she has returned to her parents. So..."

 She shrugged as she sipped her coffee, lost in thoughts while I silently kept watching agony float in her soft brown eyes.

Sanjana returned from Aunty's house early in the morning and hit the bed soon after. It was only in the afternoon that she was able to open her eyes again. She sat upon the bed and pondered about the nightmare she had yesterday.

 'Was it merely a nightmare or was someone really there in the house yesterday?' A cold sweat ran down her face as she realized that she can't be sure of anything. She stood in front of the mirror and ran her fingers on her neck. Of-course, there were marks all around her neck as if scratched by fingernails. But that could be caused by her own nails while she was trying to defend herself during the imaginary struggle.

 'But it felt so real!' She thought and that thought gave her goose-bumps.

 She made herself a cup of coffee and brooded over the mysterious remarks that Saroj Aunty has made about Shveta's disappearance, while sipping it. She started to have a feeling that there was of-course something fishy in the whole affair. And then her thoughts wandered to those nightmares that she started having since she had landed up in the bungalow. She had a strong gut feeling that they had some connection with the past of this bungalow. She decided to search the entire house as she was sure there must be some evidence still lying concealed in some dark corners of the house. She thoroughly searched all the bedrooms one by one but had to draw a blank. Afterwards, while she was speeding to the kitchen, her eyes fell on a small door below the staircase which was tightly secured with a strong lock. She punched Ankush's number on her phone and impatiently scratched her head while waiting for him to pick-up.

 "Hi Sanju, how....?"

 "What is this room under staircase?" Sanjana pounced upon him without even letting him finish. 

"Why hadn't you told me about it earlier? And where is its key?"

 "Relax Sanju, it's a cellar. I myself have not been there. As far as I know, some belongings of the former occupants are locked inside the room."

 "I want the key right now!" Sanjana said in a nervous voice.

 "Well, we don't have the key. You will have to break the lock."

 The cellar was dark and damp. A few dusty iron boxes lay scattered here and there. Sanjana broke the locks on them and found them to be full of belongings of a lady - 'most probably Shveta's' - she guessed. She hurriedly pulled them out and found an album lying at the bottom of it. A chill ran down her spine as she opened it. It had the picture of the girl whom she had seen in the garden, in one of her nightmares. She was wearing a bridal attire while standing next to a handsome man in that picture.In the background, Sanjana noted a huge board which read - 'Shveta weds Aniket.'

 "So it was Shveta whom I had seen the other night in my dreams!" Sanjana burst out. Suddenly, she felt as if she had seen a flash of a person by the half-opened door of the cellar. "Who is there?" She asked as she ran towards the door.

 As she found no one there, she ran towards the parlour. There she caught a glimpse of a white garment heading towards the garden. She ran after it but there was no one in the garden as well.

 "Help me!"

 Sanjana was jolted by a sharp shriek that appeared to come from the well. She peeped into it and felt as if someone had pushed her from behind. She fell into the cold water and struggled to get out of it. The well was shallow and her feet landed on something that felt like a huge box. She drew a deep breath and took a dip into the water. She saw a huge trunk lying locked, inside the well. She decided to get some help to pull it out of the well. The sidewalls of the well had a few footholds. She grabbed them and got out of the well. She ran to the house and dialled Ankush's number.

 "Hello Ankush..." Sanjana said, gasping for breath like a person who was at the end of his wits, "I need your help. Please come over here as soon as possible."

 "What happened Sanju?" There was concern in Ankush's voice as he didn't fail to notice the anxiety in her tone. All of a sudden, Sanjana felt as if the whole house was whirling around her and darkness entering her eyes. She fainted and fell on the floor.

 A little later, Ankush rushed into the house to find Sanjana lying unconscious on the floor. Her wet negligee was adhering to her svelte form. He picked her up and carried the stupefied girl to her bedroom. He gently laid her on the bed and sprinkled some water on her face.

 "There is something in there, Ankush!" She said as she woke up with a start.

 Ankush pulled the box out of the well with the help of two labourers. They broke the lock on the box and found a skeleton lying inside. Ankush called the police and they had it sent for the forensic analysis. Deep down, Sanjana had a strong feeling that the skeleton was Shveta's. And along with that she believed that the evidences which could probably lead to her murderer must be lying somewhere in the house. She searched the house once again but found nothing. She came out into the garden.There was a small out-house by the far end of the garden. She rushed into it and searched all the cupboards only to find them empty. But then her gaze fell on the attic. She climbed over it and searched the things that lay scattered over there.But there also she couldn't lay her hands on anything incriminating.

 It was already twilight and she was exhausted both physically and emotionally. She heaved a sigh and leaned on the wall for support. In a split second, she felt that there was something amiss with the wall.She tapped on it with her knuckles and realised that it was hollow and was concealing a chamber within. She ran her fingers over it and found a small secret knob on it.She turned the knob and the chamber opened up.She found a small rusty box inside it which was laden with dust and cobwebs. She dusted the box with her hands and opened it. Her eyes popped out of their sockets as she saw a revolver lying hidden within a shirt and a trouser soaked with blood. She kept blankly staring at her discovery for what seemed to be an eternity. She was startled by the ring of her cellphone. It was Ankush.

 "Sanju," Ankush said eagerly, " the Police has confirmed that the skeleton is Shveta's. They immediately arrested Aniket and questioned him. And you know what...."

 "I have found out all the evidences against him. He had shot her with a revolver. I have that revolver right here with me along with his clothes soaked in her blood."

 "But in his confession he has told the police that he had strangled her and then locked her body in a trunk and threw it in the well."

 "No,that can't be!"

 "Yes, the sub-inspector Mohit who is my friend has told me so. Aniket has confessed to the murder in his presence. Shveta had the habit of having a cup of coffee every night before going to bed. As Aniket was aware of it, he put some sleeping pills into it without her knowledge. And while she was sleeping sedated, he strangled her."

 "Then..." Sanjana asked perplexed, "what about the pistol and the blood soaked clothes that I have found in the outhouse? Where did they come from?"

 "A few years ago, we had rented the outhouse to a drama-troupe. I think those things belong to them."

 "What.....!"

[The End]