A Night To Remember

I used to spend my vacations at our ancestral home in the suburban town Khejatpur. My grandfather, who was a retired army man, lived there with my uncle and aunt and their only daughter Anvi. It was during one such vacation that the incident I am going to narrate happened and left a permanent mark on my memory. Some incidents in our life are so bizarre that they make us wonder what to believe and what not to. I was badly shaken by the mysterious chain of events that took place that night. The memories of that unforgettable wintery night still haunts me even though so many years have passed by. I can feel a benumbing chill run down my spine as my mind wanders back to that night.

I was on cloud nine the day my winter vacations began. The thought of going to my grandpa's place made me jump with joy. I hurriedly packed my bags and jumped into my Dad's car. Three hour-long tiresome journeys took me to Khejatpur. As my Dad had to attend an important meeting the next day, he left soon. My uncle and aunt had plans of staying overnight at a sick relative's home. So they left me and Anvi in grandpa's care and set out.

"Shall I let Nancy stay in the house tonight, sir?" Our maid Shanta asked as she was getting ready to leave for her house while we were having dinner with Grandpa.

Nancy was Grandpa's bitch. Nancy's kennel was near a huge banyan tree in the courtyard.

"No," Grandpa said as he swallowed a spoonful of soup.

"But sir, today is a no moon night and that too of the third Friday of the month."

"So?" Granpa smirked.

"It's not safe to..."

"You may leave, Shanta." Grandpa ordered cutting her off, "it's already too late."

Shanta nodded and made her way out with a pale face.

"Silly woman!" Grandpa muttered behind her back.

"And the two of you," Grandpa turned to us after Shanta was gone, "go to bed as soon as you finish your dinner."

We obeyed him and ran back to Anvi's bedroom that I shared with her during my visit to Khejatpur. It was freezing cold outside. As I looked out of the closed window of our bedroom, I could see the leaves of the trees around our house dancing in the wind blowing outside. Even the thought of the chilling wind gave me goosebumps. I raised my head to look at the sky. As the night was moonless, the sky appeared to me as a stretch of darkness from one end of the universe to the other. There were no signs of stars either. The eerie nature of the night made me shiver and I drew the curtains on the window with shaking hands.

Anvi had switched on the heater and had covered herself with heavy quilts. I jumped under the quilt beside her on the bed and rubbed my numb hands. A little warmth from the quilt made me feel better. My mind went back to the mysterious remark that Shanta had made at the dining table. I decided to ask Anvi to clarify it.

"Anvi," I shook her as she was on the verge of slipping into sleep, "why had Shanta asked Grandpa to let Nancy in today?"

"Oh, that!" A somnolent Anvi said, "it's because Shanta thinks that the restive spirit will kill her."

"Which spirit?"

"Hadn't you heard the story of a girl named Kajri?"

I shook my head in negation.

"Okay, I'll tell you," she sat straight on the bed and crossed her hands on her chest. "There was a girl named Kajri who lived in our neighborhood many years ago. She was in love with a boy. As their parents were against their match, they decided to elope. Kajri packed her things and waited for her lover to come to fetch her. It was a cold moonless night as this on the third Friday of December. Her father had a loyal dog named Peter who was tied to a tree in their courtyard to guard their house at nights. As soon as Kajri's lover arrived, Peter barked and woke up the whole household. Kajri's father shot her lover and she died out of the shock. The next year on the same day, Peter was found dead in his kennel. Three blood-drenched fingerprints were also seen on the wall of her house that is believed to be of Kajri's. It's been said that Kajri's restless spirit wanders around the houses and kills pet dogs tied outside as revenge, along with leaving her fingerprints."

"Is it true, Anvi?" I looked dubiously at her.

"It's only a story," Anvi said switching the lights off.

I was woken up by some sharp sound, a few hours later. I strained my ears and realized that it was coming from the central hall. I woke Anvi up. We listened carefully and acknowledged that someone had broken into our house. We decided to wake Grandpa up. We quietly opened the door of our bedroom and tip-toed out. When we had reached the central hall, we saw in the dim light of the solo bulb burning there that Grandpa was already there with his gun. We understood that he must have been woken up by the sound of the footsteps. But strangely, the footsteps seem to come from outside the house now, as if someone was going around the house in circles. Suddenly, we all let out a horrified, combined gasp as the window of the kitchen fell open with a loud thud. Grandpa rushed to the kitchen and we followed him. He switched on the lights of the kitchen and found a bowl of milk lying spilled on the floor.

"It must be some stray cat," Grandpa flashed an awkward smile at us.

We let out a sigh and went back to the bedroom. We secured the bolts and went back to bed. After such a frightening experience, it was really difficult for me to sleep. I kept tossing and turning on the bed for the rest of the night.

The next morning, I woke up early. I made a cup of coffee and went out into the courtyard to enjoy the warmth of the sun. I was enjoying the sips of coffee when frantic screams of Shanta shook the whole house. We all rushed towards the large banyan tree where Shanta stood in a state of utter shock. The wave of shock took us in its grip as we saw Nancy lying dead in the kennel. On my way back to the house, I noticed three marks made by blood-soaked fingers on the wall. Grandpa called the veterinary specialist, Dr. Sharma to look upon Nancy. But even after conducting a detailed postmortem examination, he couldn't find any logical cause of death.

It was too much for me to bear. I packed my bags and caught the first bus back to my Dad. I pledged never to return to this God-forbidden land especially on the cold, moonless nights of the third Friday of December.