

The Night

I'll Never Forget

by:

P R A T Y U S H K U M A R

Smashwords™ Edition.

Published by Smashwords. The book is available across the world on Smashwords.

First published by Google Play Books on 12th June 2019.

Published by Smashwords on 12th September 2019.

Second Edition

All rights reserved

GGKEY: DTRN2RWY8EH E

ISBN: 9780463104095

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any material (in form of electronic or mechanical means) without written permission of the author. Any breach of this will entail action and prosecution without further notice.

Although I've been very careful in avoiding any grammatical or spelling errors but if you find any, feel free to report them by writing me at pratyushkumarstories@gmail.com.

Google, Google Play Books and their respective logos are trademarks of Google LLC. Smashwords and their respective logos are trademarks of Smashwords Inc.

The Author

I've been writing short stories since the age of 6. It all started off during unexpected meeting with Ruskin Bond on the way to Landaur's Cantt, Mussoorie. Since then, my passion and interest towards writing has increased blindfolded. I have written various short stories out of which The Burning Train was presented before Mr. Bond who delightedly autographed it for me. Inspired by Mr. Bond, I am really very enthusiastic about writing. The author currently lives in Mumbai.

Acknowledgements

Writing is one of the few things I really love & enjoy doing. I feel it's the best way to share ideas, views and allows expanding the boundaries of creative thinking. I've been writing since I was seven and would like to thank everyone who have helped and motivated me throughout this journey.

I would really like to thank my father for continuous support and motivation to continue my passion of writing. None of this would have been possible without you. You've given me the power to believe in my passion and pursue my dreams. Thanks a ton!

I am very grateful to all my friends and teachers at my school- Lilavatibai Podar. Thanks to all my friends for sharing my happiness when starting this project and following with encouragement when it seemed too difficult to be completed.

I would also like to thank my friends from 'Clash of Clans' -the game especially Jeff Timmerman (Fire Sale) for all your feedback, guidance, suggestions and advice. They really helped a lot! Also, Michael (Bunnyboy), Dev (Rockstar) and all the members of the Furry Fury family. Thank You for all your recommendations. I've worked hard to excel on all of your suggestions in this book.

I would like to thank all family members especially grandparents, my cousins- Ayush & Anoushka; my mentors, Mr. Amit Kumar & Mr. Pushkar Kanaujia; and rest of the family...

Last but not the least, I want to thank EVERYONE who ever said anything positive to me or taught me something. I heard it all, and it meant something.

-Thank You from all my heart

Pratyush

WHY SO SUBTLE????..

Shimla

May

"Good morning Shimla!! What a lovely morning this is, a clear day and the sun shining through the length and breadth of the city with no cloud hovering above us today. And now, we shall listen to some..... You guessed it right...melodious spiritual song with great morning vibes...here you go.....!"

"What nonsense. Who listens to this crappy music with birds chirping in the background, early in the morning? " I said as I got up frustrated hearing the loud noise of the radio, being played out by father while sitting on the couch and reading a newspaper simultaneously.

Uh! Oh! I almost forgot to introduce myself. Hey! I am Jay. I live not far from Shimla, with my old brother- Rohan, my mom and my dad. It has been a year since we shifted from our old, rusty house at mall road to a farmhouse in a small neighborhood, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, on the outskirts of the hill station. Having just four friends, I was still very happy at my new house. Every Saturday, we would visit my neighbor to fill our bellies with some freshly baked cookies.

My neighbor, Mr. Stork, but we called him Grandpa, is a 74-year windower. His wife died six years ago due to a reason he refuses to share with anyone. Since then, he was living alone until we gifted him a sweet little puppy, Sweetie. Sweetie was a small, furry Pomeranian.

He loved the dog more than anyone and we all used to play with her all day long without getting bored. The grey haired, obese old man was, strict, short tempered and as rude as a bear. He would never allow us to play with the dog for more than two hours.

The poor little dog had a very strict schedule. Grandpa had made a 12 hour time- table for her, just like we have in our school. Sweetie just got 2 hours to play with us and rest 10 hours, she used to follow grandpa's time- table. Well..... A dog with daily schedule....um....extraordinary.

It was the most beautiful time of anyone's school life, Summer Vacations. Well, my summer vacations would pass out playing cricket or kabaddi with my fellow friends and many a times we would anger Grandpa, hitting the cricket ball on one of his windows and he would come out angrily with a stick, double our size and would get hold of the person who did it. We were just four of us, so getting hold of the one who hit the ball was easy. We never argued with him and would happily accept our mistake as he was old and then the fear of him complaining our mom and dad.

Unfortunately, Sweetie died due to extreme weather conditions and illness which she had since birth. But I think she died because of Grandpa's strictness.

The little puppy, Sweetie was the only person left in this earth that Grandpa loved the most. After Sweetie's death, he became very sad and felt very lonely. He would avoid talking with someone and would simply walk away. He would not eat nor drink for days. He would sit on the window sill and remember his forgotten past while gazing at the bright shining stars. But eventually things started to become normal. We decided gifting him another dog. Mr. Stork was very particular of having only Sweetie and no one else. But past, can't be undone.

Along with Uncle Sam, we tried our best looking for a dog like Sweetie, everywhere in Shimla and finally the result was a sweet fruit. We finally had found the dog that almost looked like Sweetie. When we gifted him small furry Pomeranian, his face filled with joy on seeing her Sweetie come back to him from heaven. Well, who knew what it took to find the dog. We bought the fluffy animal from an old, really old woman who lived in a small cottage near a big haunted bungalow, right outside the hill station.

Grandpa was really very happy on getting her Sweetie back. For him, it was like his forgotten past has returned. I and my friends were really very happy on seeing Grandpa happy again. It was him who would bake some delicious, mouthwatering cookies, it was Grandpa who would allow us to hide in his house while we played hide and seek, it was him who would tell interesting stories and it was him again who would beat us with stick if we ever broke his window while playing cricket. Along with Grandpa, we teased Uncle Sam a lot, sometime by mixing some red chili powder in his cookies or stepping on the garden hoses while he watered his small garden with a few flowers. Grandpa was well connected with the neighborhood and the people would meet him and chat with him for long hours while enjoying his freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. But hey! Did I mention that he loves to sing? He is an avid singer and one could often hear him singing beautiful choral songs. Though I didn't understand a word of the songs he sings.

Uncle Sam...... he is a frustrated person who looks more like a cartoon. He is man in his 60's or 70's and half the time he is in his own imaginary world. The only things he own is a small wooden cabin with a small, well, a tiny garden and a 1940's Volkswagen Beetle, which he calls his Buggy. He would work day and night to repair that piece of trash that was standing in his backyard for more than 8 years, in belief that it would start working again, someday.

The old car didn't work after he crashed it into Goom's lake while on a long drive with his wife, who is now dead but Sam believed that she is still alive and has went somewhere without telling anyone. Moreover, he says that he still feels that she is around him, sometimes whispering in his ears. Neither I nor my friends or Grandpa himself believed in what he said. We would rather make fun of whatever nonsense he spoke.

The happiness of Sweetie returning back didn't last long. Grandpa started feeling unwell. Shimla has a cool climate throughout the year, summer evenings used to get so chilled that you would not feel going out. Grandpa was used to this but not every time. He got high fever along with cough and cold and was bedridden for days. He had become very weak and wasn't active like he used to be before. The old man would lie down in his bed the whole day while it was I and my friends who fed and took care of Sweetie. With help of Uncle Sam, a doctor was called who prescribed some medicines to him.

Calling for a doctor was of no use as old people do not believe in medicines and so was with Grandpa. He refused to follow the prescription, instead he insisted on her old ayurvedic remedies. Some close friends of him, with whom he would sit and chat for long would come to see him and recommended some therapies and medicines which, most probably, he ignored. Mr. Stork had a small world for himself where he would bake cookies, tell stories, play with his furry friend and chat with people. He never left her neighborhood, in fact; he never visited another neighborhood, down the road.

12th June

It was raining heavily since last night along with lightning and thunder striking every few minutes. The pine trees made sad, eerie sounds due to the strong wind that was blowing. The weather kept most of the people in their houses. Rain wasn't the only worrying thing; dense fog is something that is more dangerous. Thousands of accidents happen due to dense fog, and many paranormal incidents too happen during this thundery weather. But never did I believe in ghost nor will I ever do. That night we ate a sumptuous dinner and after watching The Conjuring with my brother, I was so tired that as soon as I lie on my bed, I went to sleep.....

It was dead of night, I was asleep and it was still raining heavily, when I heard something weird. I was pretty sure that it wasn't the sound of windows, made due to wind; it was someone screaming and shouting aloud. The screams were weird too; it seemed as if of a woman and appeared to be coming from Grandpa's house. I woke up, while still under blanket, in my bed, I tried looking up through the window that was just above where I slept. On looking through the window, though not able to see much because of the mist formed on the window, I was shocked to see something, I had never encountered before....

A bright white sparkle which appeared to be coming from Mr. Stork's house, strook my eyes and vanished immediately. But it wasn't over yet. After the sparkle vanished, I saw a shadowy figure coming out of Grandpa's house and in a second or two; it disappeared in the dense fog.

It was extremely spooky. In my whole lifetime, apart from movies, never had I experienced something like this before.

Things didn't calm down even after the shadowy figure disappeared. It seemed as if it had entered my house because I could hear someone slowly walking down the hallway. I could hear the rattling and crackling of the wooden floor. Already I was frightened and shivering with fear; these random cracking sounds made me piss in my pants. Soon after I could hear the door of my room slowly opening as it made cracking sounds. I was so very frightened that I huddled tightly inside the blanket while waiting for my end to come. Through a small gap, I could see a dark, huge, baggy figure standing beside my bed. The dark, ghostly figure spread its arms wide open and started growling. My eyes wide open... I was freaked out....., stood up and started shouting and running around with fear when all of a sudden the lights turned on and I saw my brother, Sam, covered in white bedsheet who happened to scare me at dead of the night. I was so scared that I didn't even think of taking a revenge on him and straight away went to sleep. But as I was lying down on bed, I saw a dark figure standing outside the window but ignored it as I thought it might be another mischief played by my brother. Suddenly, I saw Sam coming out of the washroom, laughing aloud and walking towards his bedroom. If Sam had gone to the washroom, who was standing outside window? I got up to peep through the wet window but didn't find anyone standing......

The whole night I wasn't able to sleep as constant thoughts about ghosts kept flashing in my mind. I kept on thinking of whether is it was Granny going for a stroll around or did I really see a ghost? Was there really a ghost standing outside my window or I see a vampire or maybe an animal or maybe a.....ghost?

The next morning, I got up early and after having a quick bath and a quick breakfast, I hurried towards my friends but to my disappointment, none of them was out of bed, everyone was sleeping because it was still 8 in the morning. I was really curious to visit granny's house and know what actually did I see last night? Was it a ghost or grandpa having a late-night walk? I planned to visit Mr. Stork's with my friends, but I couldn't resist myself and went to her cottage, alone.

I knocked at her door, but there was no response. I was pretty sure that Grandpa was awake as he was an early bird who would wake up at 5 in the morning and do yoga or go for jogging down the neighborhood. I knocked at the door again but no one came to open the door. I waited there for next 5 minutes, thinking that Grandpa would be busy doing daily chores or being unwell, she might be resting. Something seemed unusual as we would often hear Sweetie barking and playing inside the house, but to my surprise, the house was all quiet, neither a drop of water can be heard dripping.

A few moments later, as I eagerly waited outside Grandpa's house, Ronnie, Debu and Arjit, my best friends joined me. I briefed them the story that happened last night and enquired if they saw or felt anything unusual. But neither of the three did feel unusual, despite them being wake half past 11 at night. They said that dense fog along with rain made visibility very low and kept them inside their cozy houses.

After a few knocks at the door and waiting for more than twenty minutes...we decided to comeback to Grandpa after a while, thinking he might be asleep or was busy cooking or might have gone to the nearby market. Meanwhile, the fourth member of our gang, Ayan joined us.

"Come on... pass the ball"; "go, go, go hit, hit the wicket Debu"; " fast, run fast Ayan" ; "We need this run, otherwise I hit you with the bat itself"..... screamed on top of our voices, as we played cricket.

Arjit was at the pitch, ready to hit another four or a six, Ayan on the other was ready to run, I & Ronnie stood near the wickets waiting for Debu to propel a fast spinner towards the wicket, defended by Arjit.

Arjit, with the swing of his bat and showing off his flair and experience in cricket, hit the ball so hard that it went flying off above my head, smashing a top-floor window of Grandpa's house.

"Ruuuun", "Ruun everyone", "run to save your life"..... Debu, Arjit, Ayan, Ronnie & I shouted as we ran and hid ourselves behind the pile of wooden planks that were kept for some construction purpose, near the edge of the hill. It's not the first time we've hit a ball and broke the window of houses in our neighborhood. Getting off with neighbors was relatively easy as they would return our ball after a bit of scolding and teaching on how to avoid doing all this stuff and not to play games like cricket anymore.... But, after all who cares? At least we never listen..... Although, hitting one of the windows in Grandpa's house posed much bigger problem for us because Mr. Stork was not one of those so called let-go-natured neighbors. He would come out of her house, freaked out; with a big, thick wooden stick, somewhat similar to what policemen carry to thrash a mob of people creating a chaos, but over here, Grandpa was the policeman and we four would be the so called mob of people creating nuisance. He would catch hold all four of us, hit with the stick, on our butts, softly, not too hard and then complain about our mischief to our mom and dad.

We were more afraid of Grandpa than anyone else in the neighborhood.

We stood as still as a statue behind the plank of wood, waiting for Grandpa to come out with his beloved thrashing stick. As the cool breeze blew past, we still waited and whispered with each other thinking that it might be a trick by Grandpa to get hold of us easily. I still don't understand that why do people install such brittle windows in their houses that break with the lightweight Cosco Tennis Balls. Imagine if we played with rather heavy leather cricket balls, ones used in test matches, then surely their houses would come down. After waiting for quite a few minutes, we lost our patience and owing to the consequences, we four stepped out one behind the other, ready to run away as fast as a hare, if Grandpa ever stepped out. But no, he didn't. "We all saw him yesterday, were could he possibly go?" asked Debu. "Shopping maybe?" answered Arjit. "Shopping since early in the morning? Not possible" I said. For sure, now it was not possible that he was asleep since last night. We all stood there, standing surprised.

"What if he might be sleeping earlier but now he is awake but still hasn't figured it out that we broke her window?" asked Ayan. "Well, to find that out, we should knock at his door and see if he is there?" enquired Ronnie. "Yeah, you're right. We should see what's the matter" said Ayan. Anyways we had to visit his house in order to get the ball so I didn't question them anything. We walked up towards her door, as quiet as a mouse, with much caution and ready to run as this might have been trick by Grandpa to get hold of us, without having to run behind us. We reached at the doorstep of his house and started knocking at the door as the house didn't have a doorbell.

After having no one open the door, we presumed that Grandpa might be in the house but might be ignoring us or he might have gone to visit someone, which he usually doesn't. He would always remain inside her cozy little cottage and rarely visit the main Shimla market or meet some relative outside the neighborhood.

We decided to look through the window and see if he was actually there inside or not. We went towards the three windows facing the main street road. The three of us positioned ourselves in front of every window except Debu, who could not reach up till the window sill. So I asked him to be on a lookout while we three did our work while Ronnie hid himself in a bush, adjacent the main door, to warn us if Grandpa suddenly showed up. I leaned to the window to see what was happening inside. It was noon and most of the people had gone to work, that's why there was hardly anyone on the streets who could become suspicious at us. To our disappointment, the windows were all shut and locked; and the curtains were drawn which made it difficult to peep inside the house. Luckily, Arjit who was peeping through the middle window, found a small gap in between the two curtains. I was tallest amongst the four so it was easier for me to peep through the curtains. I tried looking through the small gap. What I saw was mind blowing......

The whole house looked messed up. There are clothes strewn all over the floor, food splattered all over, tables, chairs, crockery, dog food, water, juice, souvenirs, broken photo frames, newspapers, magazines and what not, stood lying around; the table linen and wallpaper was half torn and the walls were full of blue, yellow, gold, orange and red stains. It seemed as if someone tried breaking into Grandpa's house but ended up messing with Grandpa or maybe Sweetie attracted some cat friends which ended up making the house a hell.

As we three were busy analyzing the house through the windows, Ronnie and Debu later joined us as everyone got excited to have a look at the messed up house as if they've never seen their messed up room.

"Aaaaayyyyy you guys... What are doing here?" someone from behind shouted at us loudly, while we five were busy peeping into Grandpa's house. We five, freaked out and frightened, started running blindly, in all directions and eventually bumped into each other. Arjit bumped into Ayan, I bumped into Ronnie and Debu crashed over us. What we expected not to happen had occurred.

I turned around and with my blurred vision, saw an old man in his late 60's with grey hair, wearing a long brown coat and light grey cargo trousers, stood right outside the boundary walls, in a serious mood, looking at us.

"Oh! No, we are in trouble guys!" whispered Arjit. To me, the face looked familiar, "I have seen this person", I said. "So have I" said Ronnie. As the man in the long coat starting approaching us, our confusion cleared up. The old man was no other than Uncle Sam!

"Why the heck were you guys peeing into someone else's house?" "And why were you guys peeping inside Mr. Stork's house?" "Does he know about this?" asked Uncle Sam, all at once.

"No, but we were just....." stammered Debu.

"No, no, no, no, no, I am going to tell this to Grandpa" Uncle Sam said, interrupting Debu.

"But Uncle.....-" I said.

"No, no, no, I won't listen to anybody, I am gonna complain it to Mr. Stork",

"He's going to be very angry with you all and surely swell your bums".

"We were just playing" Arjit said in a loud, stiff voice.

"Playing huh? Playing? Peeping into else's house is playing?", "You guys are in trouble now. You all have teased me a lot. Now it's my time to tease you guys", continued Uncle Sam.

"But Uncle, we haven't done anything wrong. We were just finding our ball which went inside her house".

But he did not dare to listen to us. Instead, he walked towards the main door, stood on the doorsteps and started knocking at the door.

Knock; Knock, "Mr. Stork...., look what your beloved gluttons are doing". Knock; Knock "Mr. Stoooorrrrkkk...... Are you there?"

"No use Uncle Sam, he isn't in his house". I said.

"What nonsense? I met him the previous evening" replied Uncle.

A few knocks after.....

"I think he might have gone to the market" said Uncle.

"I don't think so. We've been looking for him since morning" replied Ayan.

"Well then he might be upset with you guys and so maybe ignoring you guys" replied Uncle.

"He might be ignoring us, but why is he ignoring you?" I asked.

"Who knows if he's ignoring everyone or maybe having a good, dreamy sleep....? By the way, why are you guys looking out for him since morning?" enquired Uncle.

"So what happened the last night ......-" I started narrating the whole incident to Sam, instance by instance. After I finished, Uncle Sam said, "This seems pretty interesting. I guess last night aliens came to his house and took him away.... hahahahaha" and started guffawing at his own joke.

Uncle is a cheerful person and one could find a big smile on his face, every time you'd look at him. But when he's in a serious mood like while repairing his old Buggy, he needs no disturbance otherwise after tolerating for some time he goes mad. And when he's mad, he goes wild, wilder than an animal. But overall, he's kind hearted and is ready to help anyone, anytime.

"But why did you visit him yesterday?" asked Ronnie.

"Yesterday morning, while I was going through all the letters I had received in the mailbox, I found a letter that was supposed to be for Mr. Stork, but somehow it ended up in my mailbox. So, I strolled down in the evening to return the letter back to him."

"Oh....." expressed Ronnie.

"So.... What now?" asked Debu

"What?" asked Sam in a perplexed state.

"What do we do now?" enquired Debu.

"Nothing... You go your way, I go my way, as simple as that" replied Sam.

"But what about Grandpa"? Arjit asked.

"There's nothing we can do for that. Let's assume that Grandpa might have gone to visit some of his relatives or friends. "He'll most probably return back in a few days" replied Uncle Sam walked away saying that he has to visit the market to get some spare parts for his Buggy.

It was evening and we five were starving as none of us had had our lunch. Well its summer vacations, play, play and only play. Who cares about lunch after all?

Going home was rather a big mistake. Until dinnertime, I got a huge lecture on time management and some other stuff which I hardly paid attention to. Whatever did my mom say, entered from one ear and left from another. It was only when my father saw my pity condition that he came to rescue.

After a great amount of scolding, the dinner tasted much more delicious and the sleep better off. After a whole day of hard work, I was pretty tired and went off to sleep as soon as I hopped onto my bed, with my consciences now enjoying a long motion picture of dreams....

"Laaaaa, lalla...... la, la, la.....".... Singing? Did I just hear someone singing, coarsely? The sound seemed to be that of an ol' woman singing classical music...... but in the middle of the night? "Might be Rohan", I said to myself as the song was clear enough. "But hey! Rohan isn't a woman, is he? Oops! my bad". "But who could it be singing?" I said to myself. "

"I've heard this voice somewhere and the song feels familiar too". "If it's not coming from somewhere in our house, then it might be coming neighbor's house as I have often heard voices coming from there". "Grandpa! If I am not wrong it's similar Grandpa's voice. But he was out; he wasn't in his house...!" With this thought, my eyes opened and suddenly the singing stopped. I got up, all sweaty with my heart beating five times faster than it usually does. I stood up and leaned on the window sill to see from where the music was coming from. But to my disappointment, there was no one outside. The roads were all deserted and there was dense fog everywhere. None of the houses had their lights switched on, not even Granny's. My mind was puzzled. I decided not think of it any further and lied down on my bed.

The next morning, after breakfast, once again I decided to go visit Grandpa's house to check if she's back. But no, everything was the same as yesterday. Doors and windows locked, curtains drawn, the small gap between the two windows, the same as it was earlier. If Grandpa's not here, then who was singing so loudly, the last night? The doubt still remained in my mind.

After a few moments later, Debu and Arjit came together with cricket equipment in their hands and enquired me that what was I doing there. I told them about everything that happened the last night and asked them if they too heard someone singing. But, they replied that they did not hear anyone singing and that I was hearing stuff. An hour later, Ayan and Ronnie joined us. On enquiring Ayan and Ronnie about someone singing in the middle of the night before, they refused to hear any such music......

Later that night.....

After having the last meal of the day, I went to bed early so that I could get up soon to see of my parents who, for next couple of days, were going for a business meeting first and then to attend a marriage function at Delhi.

I was in a deep sleep when....... "Singing..... is someone singing again in the middle of the night"? Once again I could hear someone singing. The singing was much louder than before and it didn't stop there. The music started getting louder and louder and louder, as if the person singing was coming near me. Suddenly my eyes wide open and the music stooped. I got up all sweaty, breathing way too fast, as if I had just returned from a long jog. "What just happened"? I said to myself. This time, I was pretty confident that I heard someone sing and it was loud enough that others might have also.

The following day, mom and dad went away on their long journey to Delhi. The only problem was that, I wasn't alone. My brother Rohan stayed back saying he has to complete his summer homework. And why not? After all he is one of the toppers in his class, right before Riya, his classmate. Something I can only imagine of becoming but from last. I can only think of it like a newspaper advertisement...this way:

Ladies and gentlemen..... I the class teacher of 8th A is proud to announce that a student of our class, Jay stood first*T&C apply in the class.

*First from the bottom.

It was lame. Very lame. I know. Anyways, forget it....

Now that mom isn't there in the house, I can do anything I wish to. She was like a resistance in the flow of current, or more appropriately, resistance in my fun.

After grabbing a can of juice, I went out along with it to see what my friends were up to. All my friends along with Uncle Sam were standing in a circle and seems like they are discussing something. Their faces were pale, and they looked frightened and disturbed. They had the same expression one would get while trying to.....um....pop...poop. Everyone looked at me and then what Debu told, shocked me.

He said that from past few days, they've been hearing constant uncouth noises which seem to be coming from somewhere outside which continue the whole night and with each passing day, they become louder and louder. This was the same condition that I was facing every night. The loud music was unbearable. Everyone was disturbed at this.

"The sounds seem to be coming from Grandpa's house" claimed Uncle Sam.

"A few days back, our ball hit her window and went inside his house. Upon checking we found that he isn't in her house and hasn't returned since then" replied Arjit.

"But then from where are the sounds coming from?" asked Ronnie.

"What if there's someone inside his house?" I asked.

"Like what? A thief?" replied Ayan laughing.

"Maybe a ghost?" said Arjit.

"I don't believe in ghosts and neither should you do. It's all a myth. Science proves it all" said Ronnie.

"Maybe there's someone inside the house. Last night I got up to check for the source of the noise and saw that the lights of the dining hall in Grandpa's area were open and that I could see someone standing on the window" said Uncle Sam.

"What now?" I asked.

"I cannot bear this loud noise every day. Maybe we should find out what's going on inside. I have an extra key to his house. We won't have any problem getting in" continued Sam.

"Yes, he is right. We should check. Maybe there's some bad fellow in there" I said.

Everyone was pretty satisfied. It was already evening and we did not wanted to waste any further time. We sauntered straight down the road towards Grandpa's house.

"How do you have the house keys?" Debu asked with surprise.

"He gave the keys to me some time back, just in case I need something from the kitchen at the back of the house" replied Sam.

Since the keys were of the back door of the house, leading to the kitchen, we walked down towards the back of the house and luckily, those old rusty keys led us inside the house.

Upon entering, we all were shocked to see the scene of the kitchen. The condition inside was quite miserable and pathetic. There was flour all around, tomato sauce on the walls, half-cooked noodles on the floor, chairs with arms broken and fallen, table over-turned, utensils and crockery all broken and fallen. There was a funky smell in there.... Along with smell of rotten stuff and LPG gas which was leaking. The walls were all colored red with tomato sauce, brown with soy sauce, sticky because of eggs and what not. The table linen was lying dirty on the floor with dirty footprints all over.

The situation was quite bad. While Sam turned off the knob of the cylinder to prevent further leaking, we stepped in a little further. I haven't moved an inch inside when I almost saved myself from the falling pancake that some hoe was sticking to the ceiling. The refrigerator had broken eggs all over, wine bottles all empty and broken. The whole kitchen was as if there had been a whole civil war inside or maybe someone let two really naughty, crazy kids inside who messed everything up.

Carefully making our way inside, we strolled a little further and opened the door that led to the main hall..... And boom.

Now I was darn sure that grandpa let his niece's children play indoors while he and his niece could go out shopping or maybe the nasty thief who might have entered his house started running to save his life and this is what they did.....

The main was too in a miserable condition. Some of the lamps were lit which illuminated the hall and that might be the reason why Sam could see the lights of the house on.

The television screen had a big crack, almost like a spider's web, right in the middle. The sofa had juice stains and was torn at some points. The upholstery of the expensive dining table had all come out. There were lamps all fallen, picture frames fallen and food stuff all around. The walls were painted with all sorts of color over the original white. I really seemed like a mad house.

While we were looking at the pity condition of the room, Sam pointed towards the middle window where he saw someone standing the last night. All his doubts vanished when he saw that the shadow of someone standing was actually a long-wooden hat hanger which was kept besides the book shelf, near the window. Its long arms looked like the arms of a person.

Now it really looked as if someone broke into his house and tried to gather all the valuable items he could find then. While all of us inspected the room, Arjit, showing his 'courage' climbed up the stairs towards the first floor. He gave a loud cry of horror and ran back down. He was all sweaty and nervous and his fingers pointed towards the staircase, as if he has seen something really frightening.

All three of us followed Uncle Sam who quickly went up. It was shocking. Sweetie, Grandpa's most loving and faithful dog was lying on the floor, unconscious. Sam wiggled her but she didn't even move.

"She's dead" claimed Uncle Sam. Everyone was very sad. But a few moments later, her eyes opened a bit, she woke up but being weak, fell down. It seemed she hasn't eaten for days. There were black wrinkles all over her eyes and the skeletal bones were visible through her furry white skin.

"She's hungry. We need to feed her" said Ayan.

"You're right. Poor thing hasn't eaten for days" replied Ronnie. Sam took the poor dog to the kitchen in order to find some food for her while we explored more of the over-turned house.

I, along with Arjit, Ayan and Ronnie continued to the first floor. The staircase led to a narrow hallway which further had a total of five rooms, two on each side and one master bedroom at the end. Everyone was nervous. Looking at the condition of the dog, it made us feel that something bad had happened. While Arjit, Ayan and Ronnie inspected the three rooms, I went on to inspect the fourth one while leaving the main room to be checked by all of us along with Uncle Sam. Turning the door knob and giving the door a gentle push, at first it did not open but then after giving it a hard push, it opened with a crackling sound which spooked me out.

The rooms had this bad, funky vibe all over. In fact, all rooms were messed up the same way. It looked as if someone has deliberately done to mess up the whole house to convey a message of destruction of some sort. The bedsheets had stains; the blanket was fallen on the floor, the mirror broken along with all the furniture. Small glass pieces fallen all over made a cracking noise as I stepped further inside the room to look at the situation. The room wasn't as large as the other four but had a large French window next to the big queen size bed with brass ornaments, curtains, half-torn. The room had a small dressing table whose draws were all open; different nail polishes along with liquid foundation and other cosmetics had broken bottles and the liquid in them were dripping down on the floor. The condition was quite pathetic. There were also broken bottles of expensive, imported wine bottles and beer bottles lying on the floor.

Looks like the thief's might have had a great party before running off with all the stuff.

Some creepy sounds echoed all around the house. This funky smell, creepy sounds and the darkness falling outside, made the whole house spookier. Suddenly the same music, which everyone would hear at midnight, started playing again. This feeling of dread and uneasiness washed over everyone.

With a sharp sound of something dropping, someone shouted loudly for help. I quickly ran towards the hallway to check where the sound came from. I saw the door of the main bedroom was open.

I hurriedly ran inside the room which was in a great mess as the rest of the house. The bathroom door stood open and Arjit was standing, half fainted, pale face, a sudden feeling of horror and uneasiness ran down him. His body was trembling and was constantly looking at the marble wall opposite to the door that led to the washroom. Everyone along with Uncle Sam who left the dog in the kitchen, rushed to the room.

"Hey, hey, hey! What happened?" I asked.

"Are you alright?" asked Sam.

"Hey... buddy... you high or something?" asked Ronnie amusingly.

"Look at this" stammered Arjit, his body shaking, he pointed his finger towards the wall.

"What's there?" asked Uncle Sam as he approached towards him and leaned to get a look.

I was horrified, disturbed and my eyes popped out on seeing the wall. The wall had an inscription written with a red color which was similar to the color of the blood.

On the wall was written: Wake up. The blood-like red substance with which it was scribbled had left stains on the wall as it dripped down.

"This thing is still damp" said Debu.

"This is written just now....." said Sam.

"You mean that someone wrote this and just left the house?" I asked.

"Or maybe he is still inside...." replied Sam.

"But we've searched the whole house" said Ronnie.

It was indeed quite terrifying. In fact, it was a sign that something was unusual....something very wrong is going to happen. I had a very bad omen about this. There was a bitter taste in the back of my mouth that I couldn't seem to get rid of

"Hey guys, look, what I found" said Ayan. He had found a letter that was lying near an empty iron chest that was open.

"This is so sad" says Ayan after reading the letter.

Sam snatches the letter from Ayan and starts to the read it.

"The words written in the letter are very threatening" said Ayan as soon as he finished reading. Another letter, stuck to the back of the previous one, fell down as Ayan was passing on the letter.

"Who is the letter written to?" I asked.

"To some....Karan" replied Ayan.

"Karan....? I have heard this name somewhere" I said

"I guess Karan is the name of Mr. Stork's son who had come to see him long back" said Ronnie.

"Hmmm..... This isn't good news, guys" said Sam in a sad voice.

He passed on the letter me and.... believe me or not, it isn't a good sign. The letter was written to Karan, Grandpa's only son and was full of grief, sorrow and pain.

It was surprising that the other letter was written by Mr. Stork, hurriedly and had neither date nor address written on it.

Looking at the condition of the paper, it seemed as if these letters weren't written long back. The paper had turned pale-yellow but in a good condition. The letters were enclosed within an envelope which had the address of her son written on it. Other than the address, the letter had no other details about the receiver in it.

"We can't ignore this. We need to figure this out. This situation is very serious" said uncle Sam.

"But how are we gonna reach Karan? There isn't any phone number written on it. It's just the address" I said.

"Again.... Where is the address of?" asked Sam. "It's some place called Saj.....Saja... urgh.. it's difficult to read" I said. Sam takes away the envelope from me and says "Sajanpur Tira, not far from here..... And I know the best way to reach to him...."

I

TO FIND TRUE LOVE, GET LOST

Shimla

June

"Good morning Shimla!! What a pleasant morning this is, a hazy day with dense overcast. It's gonna pour drops and drops so don't forget to take your umbrella along with you. It's summer time & your favorite host is going on for a long holiday so Miss Rita will take on my place for a couple of days......And now, we shall listen to our favorite morning beats.......here you go...!"

This stupid radio early in the morning makes me go crazy. Oh! Hey! Today's the day, finally!

Today was the day everyone planned to visit Karan at Sajanpur Tira along with Uncle Sam. We hadn't actually planned the trip but all I knew was that we were going there and we will go there, no matter what comes next. The last night I had packed by backpack and now, I was ready to go!

"Where are you going with that backpack?" Rohan, asked me while still staring at his phone.

"I.... I am going for... for...", "for what?" "I am going with my friends and Uncle Sam for a picnic nearby."

"Did you ask mom?" asked my brother.

If I asked my mom for going out with friends, she would obviously say no. And now, that she's gone to Delhi, I can go.

"You're not going anywhere. Mom has said not allow you to go anywhere" said he.

"From when did you start listening to her...huh?" I said against him.

"I said you aren't going anywhere. Now go and don't waste my time" replied Rohan angrily.

I had to really come up with an idea to lure my brother; as soon as possible otherwise I won't be able to go along with everyone. Then suddenly something struck my mind and I got an excellent idea.

"Hey, how about you join us too?" I asked him. "No Way. I am way too busy." He replied.

I had no choice. I wanted to go alone, but then there wasn't any other idea striking my mind at that moment.

"Why? What do you have to do that you're too busy?"

"I have to battle with friends on unknown battlegrounds." He replied clumsily.

"Really? And that's why you're so busy?"

"That's not it. I have to also complete my summer assignment which the school gave me, go out to play, watch TV, play football and various other kinds of stuff. Too busy."

I somehow had to get out of this awkward situation. It was already quarter past thirty and we had to leave a little earlier.

"Your assignment is to write about the culture and people of Himachal, so what can be a better way than going out, exploring and experiencing the real lives of people?" I asked.

What? I had no other way rather than asking him to come along.

"I don't want to. I'll find out myself surfing the net. No need to go anywhere, as simple as that!"

"And if you go, I'll call mom right away" he threatened.

No one is as good as Rohan in tattling.

"And what if I tell her that you broke her favorite vase, last week?" I said.

"What evidence do you have?" he asked. I pulled out my phone. I was secretly able to click the pictures so that I could use them for such situations in the future. I am so glad I did that. He looked a little disturbed. But this wasn't all.

"And what if I tell mom that the other day you did not go to Aditya's house to study but rather went to watch a movie with everyone?"

"How do you know that?" he asked, seeing himself in trouble.

"I know everything....." "An hour after you left, I received a call on the landline from the multiplex stating that you still didn't collect the tickets for the show starting soon."

"Oh" sighed Rohan with trouble clearly rolling his small round face.

"So, what do I need to do so that you don't disclose this to anyone?"

"Allow me to go."

"Only in one condition, I come along with you. Deal?"

"Deal" I said, not so comfortable about my own decision.

"Good then. I'll quickly get my stuff to take down notes."

He...he.... I know Uncle Sam will get super frustrated to see Rohan since he doesn't like including new people dropping in the middle from nowhere and ruining the plans.

Wow. I was extremely happy. I was successful in threatening my brother who rather used to slander about me to mom all the time. This is what I call.....not revenge but Thug life.....

"Hey! Ayaaannnnn.....let's go....?" I cried out loudly, standing in front of his house. After a few minutes, window of his room on the first floor opens and he pops his head out saying..... "Hey! I won't be able to get come along with you guys. Last minute change in plan and now I, along with my family are going on a vacation to Goa. Sorry!" Then shuts the window and goes inside.

"Hey! Ronnieee..... You coming, buddy?" Ronnie peeps out of his small window in his study room, his face disturbed, starts waving his hand as if he wanted to say that something really bad had happened and he cannot join us. Soon after his mother, who was watering the plants in the garden sees him talking to us and shouts out loudly at him. He hurriedly closes the curtains and goes inside. Still watering the plants, his mother said that he won't go with us as he still hasn't finished his homework yet.

Two people were already out. Now left was the last one, Arjit, who a day back did guarantee that he'll join us without fail. But, along with everyone, even he backed out.

Unfortunate enough, he couldn't make up. Last night, he got chicken pox and had severe fever, headache and vomiting.

Without hovering around anymore, we continued straight to our next stop, Sam's house.

As usual, Sam was in his garage outside his small cottage, busy, tuning up his buggy, with the hood open. The old, rusty piece of junk was lying around since years, non-operational. I guess I have told you the story, already, haven't I?

"Hey! Sam"

"Where's everyone?" asked Sam, sensing that only I was able to make up for the trip.

He was looking in a rather cheerful mood today.

"Ayan is headed onto a vacation, Ronnie is on a house arrest and Arjit has got chickenpox."

"Very unfortunate I suppose" said Sam.

"Oh! Hey! Big boy! You here?" questioned Sam as he turned around and glanced towards Rohan who was still battling with friends.

"He wasn't supposed to, but unfortunate enough he is standing here." I said rather sadly.

"I... have to get some ideas for my school assignment"

I was waiting for Uncle Sam to get frustrated and ask Rohan to go back since he wasn't supposed to come.

"No problem big brother. You're in. Hop on and we are good to go!" replied Sam.

I am super pissed off right now. This wasn't what I thought would end up happening. Grrrrr.......

"How are we gonna go?" asked Rohan.

"In my majestic old superwoman" replied Sam as he pointed towards his rusty, old buggy on which he was working a minute ago.

"You are joking, right?"

"Not at all"

"Are you serious?" said Rohan.

"Absolutely" replied Sam.

"Do you really think this would take us through without losing a single screw?"

"For sure" said Sam

"Now stop complaining and hop on, because we are already delayed" said Sam as he picked up his old, black, rusty, tool box with his black greasy hands and went inside his cabin.

The door made crackling noises as I opened it and seemed as if the door would fall apart right away if I shut way it too hard. Not..... a good start apparently.

#

# Cool, chilly gust of wind went past hitting my face as I held my head out of the window. The sudden alternate gusts of winds periodically would enter my thin cotton t-shirt which I was wearing. It wasn't too hot, neither too cold, considering it was summer time and one would experience its subtropical highland climate. Shimla is the most beautiful place I've ever lived in. No wonder the East India Company made it it's Summer Capital, back when Britishers ruled India. It's perfect placement on the South-Western ranges of the Great Himalayas makes it more majestic & spectacular and the cold winds from the ranges makes it pleasing to roam around in the busy mall road filled with its hawkers, shouting shopkeepers, busy cinemas and sweetmeat stalls. But have you guys seen the snow that falls during winter months? Oh! My, my... it's spectacular to see the whole cruel world around you covered with white truth.

It was in fact a very pleasant day for a long drive... it was more of a search-drive though. The sun, carelessly peeping through the dense black thunderous clouds, its direct rays falling on the road made it a spectacular scenery, ready to be drawn in my art book. The dense cloud cover though made the weather a little soothing and pleasurable. It did rain drop by drop for some time, but the clouds were slowly vanishing away. The sun outdid the dense black cover to shine with its full glory.

Not everyone like me were enjoying this ride. Rohan was busy chatting on his new smartphone, he was gifted by dad on his birthday, hoping to use it for.... emergency and study purposes. The opposite thing happening though and Uncle Sam busy managing to rotate his steering wheel on the sharp curves. You ask, am I not a phone addict too? Well, I do have a phone.... but one of those old 3310's. There's nothing in it you could get addict of. Other than the fact that you can use it to thrash someone, there's nothing exciting going on in there. Pretty hard stuff though......

#

# "Can't we go any faster, Sam?" asked Rohan

"No. This is the fastest my lovely buggy can go."

"What a piece of.... trash, your buggy is."

Sam doesn't like someone commenting on his Buggy since he has a deep connection with the car. By saying that, Rohan infuriated Sam and so, he with pulled over the car and asked him to leave right away.

"Go right away. Leave the car...." Said Sam in aggravation.

"You are kidding, right?"

"You think am I a fool?"

Yes lol....

Trouble seemed to roll down Rohan's face. I was very excited watching all this. This was like a live TV show going with every second, the show becoming more interesting.

"No one says anything to my car again. If you do, I'll leave you right there"

"I.... I .... I understand" said Rohan.

The situation seemed to have chilled out a bit now. It's been just an hour and we still have six more to go.

# "Look at that, isn't it beautiful?" said Sam.

"When I was still in college...."

"Oh! No! Not again.... Sam's childhood stories are more boring than the Ramayana itself" I said to myself.

".... I would often spend my summer vacations in Dehra, at my grandfather's place. I would leave early in May and return late June. When I got bored at staying at home, my grandfather, who worked at the electricity department, would take me to Mussoorie, whenever he went there for official work, to check the non-functional transformers for the overhead lines. The road to Mussoorie was as beautiful as the place itself and the weather, it was astonishing." "Those were the days and now, look at these old roads with potholes, dirty water and traffic......" said Sam in deep exasperation.

He starts his stories with a beautiful note but ends them with a complain. He is the most frustrated, complaining person I've met on this planet.

"That's an amazing story!" said Rohan. Not even knowing a bit of what Sam just said. Hilarious!

"Oh! Hey, look! Avengers Endgame is releasing. It's so cool!" said Rohan holding up his phone right in front of his face.

"Oh really? It's going to be pretty exciting" said Sam excitedly.

"Wow.... You are into comics Uncle Sam?"

"Yes! I love them! In fact, I was planning to write one with Stan Lee but unfortunately, he.... left.... right before I had an appointment scheduled with him" claimed uncle Sam.

"DC or Marvel?" asked Rohan with wonder-waiting eyes.

"I'd rather not say but I love watching both. Both are better in theor own ways...."

"Wow, I love it. You are the best, Uncle Sam...."

Clearly, a bond was formed over some.... Useless talks about Marvel, Avengers, superheroes.... Bla, bla, bla something I really, really, really, hate. If anything, I hate more than bitter guard, then for sure it is these nonsense fictional talks.

It was a beautiful ride though. Sitting at back all alone, staring at the amazing scenery. The sun was now flaming bronze and the sky around was blazing blue color. The sharp curvy, bumpy-muddy roads cutting through the undulating hills, the beautiful streams flowing on the left.... It was just picturesque and eye-catching. The chirping of birds, the enormous green vegetation and succulent, yet bright flowers, red, blue tangy magenta, roses, of all sorts were growing on the slanting hills.

The chirping of birds, the enormous green vegetation and succulent, yet vibrant flowers, red, blue, tangy magenta, roses, of all sorts were growing on the slanting hills. The scenery however, looked as if it has been copy-pasted from a canvas of an artist.

"So, what do think will happen to Thanos?" asked Rohan as they continued talking useless stuff.... which I was trying to ignore at my best. To be honest, I've never been into superhero stuff and so I don't feel this interesting. After a few minutes of excitement, I started to feel a little bored. I didn't have my tab around so I couldn't tune into Angry Birds or Candy Crush Saga.... Pretty monotonous.

But in a sudden or so.... I started to feel slight dizziness. The whole world around me seemed to have turned upside down. I couldn't feel my body parts, couldn't lift my hands or feet. I was motionless. Suddenly, everything around me turned black. Totally Black. I tried opening my eyes but couldn't. I tried to force the eyelids to open but failed. I could feel being lifted off the ground, something like flying. I kept telling myself that it's not possible, I need to calm down, relax. After being helpless, I forced my eyes to open...... and...... and I don't know what happened next, but my eyes wide opened I was surprised to find myself lying down on a bed in a dark room. I got up all sweaty and terrified, as if I just saw something unpleasant, something dreadful. I could feel my body parts. I was in my senses now and surprisingly enough; the dark room was my bedroom. I was lying on my bed. I picked up alarm clock to see what time it is. It was half past 12 in the night of June 13th. It was quite disturbing since I was on a road trip with Sam and my infuriated brother somewhere in the last week of June.

"Am I dreaming? Is this a dream?" I asked myself.

After gulping down a glass of water, I lied down....

The world around me turned black and once again, I couldn't feel my body parts. I was... lost. After a minute or two, in gross darkness, I was back in my senses. My eyes popped open and I was still sitting upright on the back seat. I could feel the cool breeze touch my tiny face, as wanting to play the game of tag.

"Hell no! Rebellions won both times against empire and destroyed the Death Stars! Empire is bad. They enslave people and make them their soldiers."

"Have you lost 'it'? The Galactic Empire is far better. They are giving them employment."

#

# A little bit of it though, but I could understand that the topic had now changed from Avengers to Star Wars. Another topic that's on my list of hated things.

"The rebels have best and the most talented pilots in the whole Galaxy!

"You rebel scums! Your people live in pain and misery. Empires have a superior army than yours!"

The conversation though seemed to have heated until now. I could understand not a bit of it, so I decided to rather stay away from this malevolence.

"OK Google". The Google Assistant on Rohan's phone burst out.....

"Here to help!"

"Are you with the light side or the dark side?"

"Hmmm.... Let me think...." "This seems to be a difficult question"

"Appreciate that, Google," spoke Sam in a rather annoyed, irritated manner.

"I'm happy that you are satisfied, Rohan. Would you like to rate the app on Play Store?"

"GO AWAY" said Sam, frustrated.

Wow, I was flabbergasted to see Sam, who I assumed to be a backward guy, someone of my Grandfather's age, was highly acquainted with the newest technology.

Annoyed, Sam was about throw away Rohan's phone amidst his deep anger but then the phone started ringing and it was Aryan, Rohan's best friend, on the other side.

Oh! Hey! Did I tell you about Rohan's friends? They are very dumb and weird, just like him. I happen to have come across a weird chat with his friend Aryan, on his phone..... Here's how it goes...

Hey

Hey

HEY!  
HEY!

LOL What!?

You are on TV!!! Turn the tv on! Fast fast fast!!

What?!? Really?!?

Wait a sec. Pooping atm

Pooping at the atm? Why?

No! At the moment*

What channel?

Animal Planet

What happened next, I have no idea? No wonder most of the chats were deleted and some of them were in fact incomplete. Pretty weird.

"Why are we headed to Tira?" asked Rohan after a long call with his friend.

"Didn't anyone tell you?"

"Not yet"

As the car drove through the beautiful pine trees on either side, Sam narrated the whole incident. The top of the pine trees swayed from side to side with the high velocity cool wind. The leaves of some would often fall off and lay on the road. A very nice day indeed.

"But what was in that letter?"

"The letter had some really disturbing words written on it. They are some of the worst words that ever stained a piece of paper" said Sam.

"The letter was from her son, Karan"

"What did he write?"

Sam opens the dashboard and hands over the piece of paper to Rohan. The same piece of paper that had that had a hundred mysteries hidden behind.

Dear dad,

Thank you for always being there in my life and always looking out for me. __ You always made me feel special and encouraged me all along the way. __ I know these are things that parents are supposed to do for their children, but I don't think anyone else could have done it any better. I want to thank you for loving me unconditionally at every single point in my life: good and bad. No matter how much trouble I am in, or how mad you are at me, you never stop loving and caring for me. Thank you for letting me learn from my mistakes and turn them into lessons. As imperfect as I am, you still make me feel important. For as long as I can remember, you have always told me how beautiful I was, how much you loved me, and how proud you are of me. You are the reason I became the confident person I am today.

Thank You for molding me to the person that I am today; my morals, character & anything decent about me, I owe it all to you. I am really very sorry that I was forced to write this letter. Since you've been diagnosed with cancer, the treatment has costed exorbitant amount of money. I am sorry but I am sad to tell you that my finances aren't strong enough and I've had trouble in the past paying for the rising medical bills. I have two kids whom I need to feed and look after their education. My business lately, has been declining and a lot of money has been put up on stake. I am sorry ma, but I won't be able to look after you, any further. I know it is duty of the children to look after their ageing parents, but any further investment would drive me into bankruptcy. After a long discussion with my wife, it's better that we move on now. We are leaving your house and shifting to Tira Sujanpur. I also had a talk with the manager of the Old Age Home society, they'll be taking you to the old age home nearby and believe me, you'll be happy staying there rather than being disappointed and sad, staying with us. They'll take care of all your needs including food and medical check-ups.

I am writing this letter to you because I feel ashamed and shy to share this with you. I am sorry I couldn't perform the duties of a true child, but I hope I gave you the much-needed love and affection. I'll be there for you, always. I hope this letter finds you in good health.

-Your lovely son,

Karan

"That's.... that's disheartening and really very sorrowful" said Rohan in a pensive mood. The soul-stirring letter had touched the inner soul. It had a long-lasting effect on everyone's heart. Whoever read it convened a great amount of hatred and dislike for Karan.

"How, mortifying! How can he do that? He should be damned for doing such a sinful act. What a wretch!" said Rohan after he had finished reading the letter.

"Wo! Wo! Chill big boy...." Uttered Sam.

"So, this is why Grandpa remains ill and feels lonely most of the time?"

"Most probably, yes"

"That's sad. If I were there in place of him, I wouldn't have done that..."

"Lol.... You.... say that....?" I spoke absurdly.

I am pretty sure Rohan felt bad at what I just said about him. In fact, he had turned furious and was about to jump off his seat and punch me hard on my face but then Sam took out another letter from inside of his inner-coat pocket and handed it over to him.

"Hold your horses and read this."

"What's this? The handwriting is so bad." "I'm not reading this."

"Don't judge a book by its cover. A prudent man will read the letter from back to front. So, do it. Now."

"By the way...... this.... Isn't a book...." I spoke amusingly.

#

# Dear Son,

# Remember this drawing you made for me back when you were in 2nd class. How beautiful our nuclear l family looks. Although a little incomplete now. Your mother, of course, is not here anymore and I feel sorry for you weren't a part of that motherly love every child receives in his childhood. I cherish every time I see this image. It flashes upon my mind whenever I lie on my couch in pensive mood. Kinda reminds me of the glorious past. I used to ride a bus along Bleckben road. Everyday a young man named George would count out his money to the driver and cautiously find his seat. Everyday his father wore the same tattered shirt. Every day the same smile would break through the deep and complex lines that creased his face. Only then would his father wave to George and slowly walk away. George was off to work again and then next day repeat the same ritual, year after year after year. I used to wonder how this dad kept doing this day after day and then I became a father of a boy with special needs too and now I understand the man on Bleckben road Now I know that a father's love is enough.. It's not even a reason, it's more like breathing.... comes out of your pores. You are born on a very special way. You're wonderfully made. To me you've all ways been and always will be perfectly full of potential. You see, even a long life is short and a short life can be full of meaning and all of us hope and pray that our lives too will accomplish purpose and have meaning. And Karan, this is why I am proud of you. We knew from the beginning, you were a fighter, tough and strong. You made us the proudest of parent, you could not have done anything more to make us happy.

After the death of your mother, I haven't been keeping well lately. The Finances haven't been good enough and I know you've got a respectable duty to do, a dream to fulfill. I know you've done a lot for us but just one last thing won't harm you much.....

Things here aren't the same anymore. Riots have engulfed the whole village into war and villagers are fleeing away from their houses. There's an extremist group roaming around in the village, collecting exorbitant amount of taxes. There's wasn't any problem until their eyes glued upon our house. Last night, the gang members showed up with arms threatening to ki

......

#

# "The letter seems sketchy?"

"It's startling that the letter was left incomplete."

"Was it ever posted?"

"Doesn't seem like"

"The letter has really some intimidating words written on it."

"Indeed."

"But did you notice the piece of paper seems pretty new. Looks like it was written just a few weeks or maybe days ago" I said.

"Yeah.... That's true"

"Honestly, I find the letter wonted. Something a father would usually write to express the deep sorrow."

"I don't think so. I find the letter quite perplexing and mysterious" said Sam.

"Why do you think so?" I said, as Rohan looked at Sam with a bewildered horror in his face.

"The letter wasn't written by Grandpa" said Sam.

The remark by Sam left us in a shock. It had hit hard in the soul. He had uttered something that none of us had ever envisioned.

"Or, I believe the letter was put down but the original one was tampered."

"Why do you think so Uncle Sam?" asked Rohan with bemused expression still on his face.

"You read the letter, right? At any point of time, didn't you get a feeling that the letter was fiddled around?

# "No. Never. I am not used to reading or writing letters. Writing letters was in the school curriculum, but that was back in class tenth. Neither have I written one to someone nor have I received one from someone."

"That's so obvious. Who's gonna write 'letter' to you?"

It's so fun teasing everyone, but not getting teased by someone.

"At first sight, it seems to be a usual dad & son conversation. But looks like some has tried to intrude between the dad and son" said Sam.

"And what makes you think that?" I asked curiously.

"The letter was written in a very bad handwriting as if it was written in a hurry."

"So?" I asked.

"Why would Grandpa write a letter in a writing that's not decipherable?"

"But why would he do that?" asked Rohan.

"She wouldn't. It seems as if someone tried to facsimile the original letter in hurry, without the knowledge of Granny."

"That's.... that's jarring" said Rohan.

"Also, the letter was left incomplete."

"That's true..."

"The intruder might have sensed danger and ran off with the original leaving the other one behind. At least that's what my consciences tell."

"But why didn't Grandpa sense that something's wrong or why didn't he ever post the letter?" I asked eagerly.

"Maybe something happened to Grandpa.... Something bad, even before he could post the letter" asserted Uncle Sam.

#

# The vivid beauty of the hills, the flora and fauna, the tweeting birds and the evocative, verdant valleys were simply mesmerizing. All around were verdant meadows. The far-off mountains that were once covered with snow and disguised by the dark clouds, were now green with tall pine trees concealing the length and breadth of the mountains. The clouds had now moved up and cleared the path, leaving the roads and surrounding hills moist. The weather was clear and the sun was up and shining brightly, not surrounded by clouds any more. Now visible were the little, cozy wooden cottages sitting perfectly on the slanting hills. The clear stream, filled with silt and sand that has been flowing along, onto our left, since we began our journey, has now become narrower and sits in beautifully with rest of the scenery.

# "Am I dreaming or is it really a dense, long dark cloud over there?" asks Rohan.

"Have you lost it? Does that look like a cloud to you?"

"Somewhat..."

"That is smoke I suppose" I said.

"Indeed it is. Looks like someone's car broke down in the middle of the road."

"Hmmm...."

"We should probably pull over and figure out what the matter is" said Sam.

"Oh! Yeaaaaaa..... What goes around comes around" said Rohan.

#

# "Oh no! I left my phone inside the car. I'll quickly go and grab it" said Rohan as we advanced towards the decrepit car.

"Your car doesn't seem to be doing well" spoke Sam to an old lady, who was standing behind the open bonnet of the car and appeared to be a little younger and taller than Granny. She wore a long skirt which had floral shapes printed on it, along with a dull-red cardigan on top of it. She wore round eyeglasses and a pale yellow hat on top. Besides her were standing, what seemed to be her granddaughter's, one of whom was elder than the other.

"Hi, I am Sam" he said as he extended his for a handshake.

"O! Hi! I am Chippy. Nice to meet you." said the old lady as she shook hands with Sam.

"Nice to meet you too."

"So, do you think you can do something to fix this futile piece of crap?" asked the old lady.

"I'll try my best" said Sam as he rolled over his sleeves, pulled out his dusty gloves from the back pocket of his pants and started inspecting the dusty engine.

I was lazily standing there, gazing at an airplane that was flying past us, with my head stretched all the up when the younger of the two girls, who were later mumbling with each other, spoke her voice, full, sweet, and deliberate.....

"Hi! I am Vardhika and she is my really, really, really, really old, 'gloomy', indolent sister, Riya" introduced Vardhika while her sister looked at her with an irate expression, clenched fist and a scowling look.

"Hello there! I am Jay" I blurted out, without any context or sense of timing.

"And this is my brot-...." I didn't even finish my sentence when Rohan walked in....

"YOU! Yooouuuu!" clamored Rohan as who ceased to move and stood there flabbergasted.

"Oh my gosh! No! This isn't happening again" said Riya, looking disgusted.

# "What the heck are you doing here?" Asked Rohan, consternated.

"This is what I should be asking you!!" said Riya.

"Wow! You guys seem to know each other." I said, exhilarating.

"That's wonderful!" said Vardhika

"NO, that's not true!" Both, Rohan and Riya uttered concurrently.

"More than knowing? Ooooh! So you guys are friends, best friends, aren't you?" I asked rather bluntly.

"NO! NOT AT ALL!!" Rohan and Riya rebuked concurrently.

Woah! Now that's pure synchronization. I am impressed!

"What in the world made you think such a sinful thought?" said Rohan brashly.

"Exactly" said Riya.

"Just the way you can't mix oil and water, you can't make a deep-rooted enemy your friend" said Rohan brusquely.

Lol, what? How does that logic apply here? I have no idea.

"Enemies?" I asked.

"But looking at you guys seems like you've met before" said Vardhika

"You are such an enigmatic, narrow-minded, selfish, person" murmured Riya softly so that it is inaudible for Aunt Chippy.

"Oh! You are no less. You are such a big dumb-o, indolent, insensitive, boasting fellow who doesn't gives a-..." replied Rohan.

"You both, stop being so rude to each other" said Vardhika with a faint voice which was trounced as the duo continued to fight while Uncle Sam was busy examining the engine.

"I never knew you were so cringey...." said Riya to extricate herself from further disparage.

"You are a....-"

"STOP fighting like husband and wife....."

It was late until I realized I had uttered something horribly wrong.....

Uh! Oh! I shouldn't have said that.

With eyes wide-open and deep-annoyance in their faces, Rohan and Riya had gone ballistic with their glances straight into my eyes and a frowning face; they both looked no less than the Mrs. Wicket (Mr. Bean's mean-spirited elderly landlady).

Huh! Indeed I am in great trouble now.

"......I meant brother and sister....fight like brother and sister..." I hesitated.

With a fist clenched tightly, face red with anger and bold frank countenance, my brother looked no less than Scrapper... (Mrs. Wicket's cat) as if I just gave him an Endgame spoiler.

#

# Vardhika looking at my pity, troubled state, tried to save me and digress from this messy situation.

# I am glad she did otherwise I would have been in hell.

"Can you guys stop and explain that why are you both fighting since we've met?"

"He's the reason."

"We were in ninth grade and it was our school's sports day, when we made a bet that whoever wins the eight hundred meter race, has to acknowledge the other superior and complete all their homework. And she.... She's a big cheater, a liar. She cheated throughout. She had the referee on her side and won the frea...-"

That's lame.....

"It wasn't my fault that you fell in the middle of the race."

Lol

"Lie. Lie. Lie. You are the greatest falsifier."

"So that's it?" I chuckled, wanting to hear more of that gibberish story.

"No, that's not it. She has turned my dearest friends into hated enemies. She has made teachers disfavor me. Just for some fun, I'd put a compass, up straight right where my friend Karan sits but she... she just complained it to the teacher and I had to stay back in the school for an hour" said Rohan as we listened, incurious.

"Woa... Good Job!" I said to Riya as we three chortled at Rohan's pun.

"You all should be doomed for such conduct" yelled Rohan indignantly.

"The gas caps are missing, the spark plug is worn out, the radiator is clogged, the oil pump is faulty and looks like the motor is blown too" said Sam.

"That's very unfortunate" exclaimed Aunt Chippy.

"I wonder how you drove for so long."

"What do we do now?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have the tools required to mend the engine. So, I believe the car will have to be taken to a workshop."

"Oh."

"That's the only way possible."

There was an awkward silence. The only voices to be heard were the bu-girk of the peacocks and raucous of the little woodpeckers sitting on nearby tree.

"I don't think there's a mechanic nearby. How about you come along with us?"

"That's so kind of you."

"Where are you headed to?"

"My nephew's house, close to Tira."

"You mean Sujanpur Thira?"

"Yes..."

"That's so great, so are we headed there."

"NO, NO, NO! By any chance this cannot happen" Rohan protested against Sam.

"Hey, no! A huge NO. This cannot be possible" cried Riya as she protested against Aunt Chippy.

"But why not?" asked Aunt Chippy.

"Yes, why isn't it possible?" asked Uncle Sam.

"They had a fight. That's the reason" said Vardhika.

"Oh! C'mon, well make them friends again" said Sam gleefully.

"What about my car?"

"We'll tow it. I have a tow rope in the trunk."

"That'll be great."

"Hop on everybody" said Uncle as he strolled gleefully towards the buggy to grab the tow rope.

I am so glad, this is happening because now rather than getting bored, I'll get to see free Netflix drama onboard.....

"This is so not happening" said Riya.

"Don't you have another way getting out of this mess?"

"Yes! We've already been stranded here for more than two hours. Can't we wait more for someone else to pass through?"

"We haven't seen a car stopping by during those hours."

"But we may!"

""No I am not staying here any further" said Aunt Chippy with a firm voice.

"But...-"

"No. If you want to wait here, go ahead. I am not. C'mon Vardhika let's go and leave your sis behind."

"C'mon Uncle Sam, I am not travelling with that goofy person" said Rohan as he followed Sam who was dislodging the tow rope, in the back of his Buggy.

"No. They are coming with us.... You are no one to deny them."

"But why?"

"What if your breaks down someday, won't you be grateful to the one who helps you?"

"Unless she turns out to be a foe."

"No more questions. If you don't want to travel with them, stay here because they...are...coming with us, in our car."

But Rohan wasn't determined to stop here. He went an extra mile to protest.

Sam was busy mounting the toe hook to the rear of his Buggy.

"I am not going with you, whatsoever happens" said Rohan, vexed.

"Come on everybody, hop on real quick...." said Uncle Sam.

"You know what? Stay here, chew grass along with the heard and get going with the shepherd" ridiculed Sam.

"I won't do either of the things you say."

"Don't forget you are travelling in MY car and you WILL follow what I say. If that isn't agreeable, get going" said Sam with great frustration.

With raised cheeks and an icy stare, Rohan never expected such a vague reply.

Sam wasn't joking either. With a firm decision, he walked away and was about to roar off on his sloppy Buggy.

"Let's leave him here. He'll stay here with the sheep for a few days, only then will he understand what it's like to mess with me."

"Hey! Wait! You can't leave me alone" cried Rohan.

"It was your decision, you bull-head" replied exasperated Sam.

"I am sorry for what I said."

"He has acknowledged his mistake. We can let him in" said Aunt Chippy.

"Hey! no! Let him eat grass" I said. He wasn't coming with us anyways.

"Hop on swiftly, kid."

"But I'll sit in the other car."

"You aren't sitting anywhere you want."

"Please! There isn't any space in your car and also I can't spent time with that nerd" said Rohan, pointing out on Riya.

"Let him sit. After a few bumps and turns, he'll get back to us" said Aunt Chippy.

"Do whatever you like doing, kid. If you fall off, not my fault."

Huh! The day he goes, I'll be the happiest person alive.

"He's a jerk."

"A big jerk."

The feathery clouds that once touched the rocky hills, the aciculate trees, water filled craters, the cars, have now settled down and made the surrounds clear and tranquil. The sun has heated up the chilly atmosphere with its blasting sunrays.

It's been four hours since we left Shimla and we haven't even made halfway through, all thanks to Sam's snail-slow Buggy. While Aunt Chippy was sitting on the passenger's seat, we three were made to stuff up at the back. Nonetheless, all I need is a window besides me. If it's there, no wonder wherever you take me, I'll go. On the other hand, Rohan was enjoying..... having fun

"Heeeyyy! Saaam! Slow downnnnn.... You're gonna drop me in the in the chasm.... Hey Saaaammm" cried Rohan as Sam made a sharp turn which made the other car almost fall in the deep abyss.

A lot of fun, indeed....

"Are you enjoying there?" I asked guffawing, while peeping my tiny head out of the window.

"You're gonna be dead if I come out of this car" he replied angrily.

"See.... That's what you get for messing with me...." Mocked Riya.

"Once I get out of this mess, I am gonna hit you hard" threatened Rohan.

"Aww.... Look at you getting riled up."

"You are... youu..... aaaaaa Uncle Saaaam...... slowdown"

"We are moving as slow as a snail" I commented.

"He's so dumb."

"He looks like one of those ZooZoo's" said Vardhika to which everyone guffawed.

"Visiting someone at Sujanpur?" asked Uncle Sam.

"Yeah.... We're visiting their Uncle's house, my other son."

"Summer vacations?"

"Yeah.... Most probably. Their parents have gone out, so I thought why not spend time there."

"Cool!"

"What about you?"

"We're on a hunt to find someone."

"To find someone? I did not understand."

"Yeah.... So one night...............

The overhead sun had started moving westwards. The hilly terrain had flatten now and the stream that once was full of fresh, clear water, flowing within the beds and banks of the channel, started to disappear and ending at a big reservoir as we continued our journey passing through Rachhera village.

"Wow... That's interesting!" Commented Riya as Sam finished narrating the whole incidence.

"Those nights are impossible to be forgotten" I said.

"Wish I could experience it too...." Said Vardhika, daydreaming about how it would have felt if she were there.

"It would be grateful if we were of any help to in finding Mr. Stork" Said Aunt Chippy.

"That will be really helpful. Thank You!"

"I know a lot of people who can help you."

"But why did you bring this dumbo along with you?" asked Riya.

"Who? Rohan?" Sam asked.

"Of course. Who here is as dumb as him."

"He wasn't supposed to come; it was only me and my friends who were in for this road trip."

"Why is he here then?"

"Mom and Dad aren't at home and so it was me and Rohan staying alone. You know.... He's kinda of protective nature... caring.... Thinks that I'll get kidnapped if I go out and so he is here now."

None of it is true. He's the worst person I have in my life. And...someone kidnapping me? Huh, nonsense. I'll kidnap the guy before he kidnaps me lol. I'm just making things easier.... For them.....

"Wow.... You and Rohan are so similar..." said Aunt Chippy and winked at Vardhika. I already had understood that something's fishy....something is cooking between the two and so I felt no harm in contributing to the plan.

"Oh c'mon. There's nothing common between us..." protested Riya.

"Then why is it that you both love watching the same sport, the same team and the

"Aghhh... it's a mere coincidence" replied Riya, vexed with anger, with a peeved appearance in her face.

"You are such a hostile, antisocial person, aren't you?"

"Hell no! I have more friends than any other person in the school...-"

"Really? Who will be friends with such an egoistic person?"

".... I can be friends with anyone."

"Prove it then. I don't believe you..."

What a nice sunny day..... I could hear the birds chirping even though there weren't any.

"....I... I will, once we get back."

"Prove it now."

"I will not."

"You will have to. If you consider yourself the friendliest person, prove it now."

Surrounded by all sides with 'out of syllabus' questions, Riya seemed to have had dug her own grave. Trouble rolling down her face, the big plan between the two has turned out to be working until now.

"Saaaaammmm....I really, really, really, I really, really, really need you to slow down at those turns....." yelled Rohan from the back car.

"What if I do not?"

"Then I am gonna kick your a....."

"What did you just say, kid?" mocked Sam while making a sharp right turn which made Aunt Chippy's car near miss from falling down the steep slope

"I am gonna pass out...."

"Good for us..."

"I am gonna throw up if you don't stop."

"You're gonna clean it, kid" said Aunt Chippy.

"Aunt Chippy, even you?" said Rohan, shocked.

"Stick your butt to your seat because we're gonna flyyyyy....." exclaimed Sam with joy as he pressed the accelerator hard.

"Heeyyyy! Noooooo....."

No wonder how hard you press it; the old Beetle won't go any further than forty kilometers an hour.

This inter-car talking was clearly creating a lot of noise and the alert passerby's seemed confused looking at the parade of some ignorant people passing by.

"He's a dope..." said Sam.

We'd been driving for couple of hours now and a quick break was much needed for my butt and my legs that had become numb, weak and motionless. A quick drive further up north, we resolved upon stopping at a small dispersed hamlet of Tyasar.

Halting right beside Raju Da Dhaba, an old bamboo structure with colorful painted walls with an advertisement of a pan masala on one side and an old, broken plastic sun shade above the store front. The shop had nothing more than a small stove with a vessel on top, most probably for making take and a few plastic containers kept beside it which contained tea, sugar, cookies and rusks. Also lined up were plastic jars, half-filled with different candies, kept on a weak table. A few packets of potato chips and namkeens stood suspended by a string, secured by a small, rusty nail on the side wall. Sitting behind the table was an old lady, with a wrinkled face, wearing an old, floral dress that went up to her knees. Her hair, which was like a web of silver yarn, encased her head.

Surrounded by tress and hills on all sides, that place also had a small, old temple besides the road for the travelers to pray for their safety before they continue their journey ahead. The lake like reservoir was still visible on the backdrop, lying low from where we stood.

It was a cool atmosphere but Rohan doesn't seem to be doing well. He's been throwing up since we've stopped.

"Do you have Red Bull?" asked Sam to the old lady shopkeeper.

"No" replied the old lady in her broken tone and nodded, as if she had never heard such thing.

"Do you really think you're going to get Red Bull here, Uncle Sam?" asked Vardhika

"I just wanted to.....fly, you know."

My eyes fell upon the colorful packets of potato chips. Pretty hungry, I ended up getting myself a deflated bag of potato chips that were a little dusty and old. Not judging a book by its cover, I opened the partially sealed packet. Like the outer appearance, the inner wasn't merrier either. There was a strong, nasty smell. They smelt stale and unpalatable. Hesitating, I picked up one chip from the packet. I could smell the strong ugly smell coming from the single piece. Eating it was certainly not a good idea. It was insipid, tasteless and had become rather soggy. Whatever was in that packet had magically evanesced my hunger, at least for some time. Nevertheless, that's what you can expect from a shop in remote place like this.

While the short-break turned out to be a great relief for Rohan, but not for Riya who wanted to halt at a fancy restaurant or.... A big food court.

Surrounding all around in the awkward silence was the tune of the nostalgic snake game I was playing on my mighty, old Nokia. While Aunt Chippy was driving the Buggy and Sam sitting on the passenger seat, we four were cramped up in the back seat with me and Vardhika acting as line of control, separating the two terror sensitive zones.

"Hey guys! Let's chill out! We're here to have fun! Right?" said Sam as everyone looked at him with an apathetic look.

"Let's hear some music, shall we?"

"Your car has a music system?"

"Indeed. My Buggy is equipped with a Dolby Sound system, imported from France" replied Sam. Despite pressing various buttons, the music system refused to play some music.

"Imported huh?" derided Aunt Chippy as I chortled.

"Yeaaa......" hesitated Sam.

"We have to reach before the sun sets" said Aunt Chippy.

"True..." replied Uncle.

"It gets way too dark here, with those dense trees on both sides....-"

"Yeah... and there aren't any street light either."

"Exactly. You don't want to fall down those steep slopes."

"How much more before we reach there?" asked Rohan.

"A few hours maybe..." replied Sam, not so sure.

"What? That means I'll have to stay here for like some hours?"

"Yeah... what's the matter?"

"I can't think of sta....-" replied Rohan when his phone started ringing. It was his friend, Aryan, who often calls him.....

A little bit of it though, I could hear Aryan speaking from

### "Yo! Homie.... What you doing?"

### "Nothing much.... Stuck around with some Nincompoops."

### "Oh! Really? Who are they?"

Riya, Sam and Vardhika looked at Rohan with an irked look, who quickly turned his face the other side to avoid the grim looks.

### "Hello?"

### "Homie?"

### "Hello...?"

### "You still there?"

### "Oh! Yeah, ya... still here. So what I was saying...-"

This trip wasn't turning out as interesting & drama-filled as I thought it would be. As the sun moved westwards every hour, I was just waiting for this journey to get over as soon as possible.

"Uncle Sam, you play Fortnite?" asked Vardhika who saw Sam playing the popular game.

"Yes!"

"That's exciting!" I said.

"Fortnite is such a wonderful game, I love it" Riya said.

"You play this game?" I asked.

"Yeah, we both do."

"No you don't" said Rohan as he hung up the phone.

"I play better than you.... Moreover, I am better than you in every aspect" replied Riya.

"Heck no.... you are a liar...-"

"I am better than you in studies, sports, music and not to forget, art & craft!"

"You're a bimbo with a pair of googly eyes....-"

"You moron....-"

"Guys.... You need to stop...-" I said, trying to convince the two but no wonder, they ignored me and continued their heating conversation.

While the two continued to fight, Vardhika's glances fell upon a bunch of people standing in a circle in the nearby ground, wearing what looked like the- traditional dress and were probably performing something. There were a few fellow villagers who surround them and a couple of sweetmeat stalls put up.

"Hey Guys! Look at that!" said Vardhika.

"Wow.... Wonderful!" expressed Aunt Chippy.

"Looks like they are performing some sort of ritual."

"A ritual?" asked Vardhika.

"Yes....-"

"It looks very beautiful from here. Looks like they are performing some sort of rituals" said Aunt Chippy.

"That'll be great."

"This is something I haven't seen before" I said as we walked towards the open field.

Everyone present there was wearing the traditional attire. The dancers standing in the circle were also adorned with bright jewelry that was shining in the afternoon sun. The male villagers however, were wearing the traditional, colorful kurtas and pajamas while the females wore dazzling saris.

A man wearing a Pahari cap, standing a few meters ahead sensed from our western clothes and confused state, that we're tourists and not the local villagers.

"Welcome to the Annual Folk Fair" greeted the man as he approached us.

"What are these people doing over there" asked Uncle Sam.

"Oh! This, they are performing the traditional Nati dance."

"Nati dance? What's that?" asked Riya.

"It's the famous folk dance of Himachal. Come, I'll show you around" said the man as he took us where they were performing.

The male dancers were dressed gracefully in rich and colorful costumes. They had decorated Pahari caps on their heads, sashes, churidaars and swirling tunics of vibrant colors. The women however wore, Churidar Pajamas, Silver Chains around their neck, Floral Shawl, Ghaghra and Chola. Additionally, the women were adorned with heavy ornaments made of gold and silver.

"So, would you like to join them?" asked the man.

"Yes! Why not" said Aunt Chippy, abruptly.

The dancers had joined their hands together, forming a human circle. Aunt Chippy stood with Uncle Sam on her right and Vardhika to her left. On the right of Vardhika was me and to my right was Rohan standing with Riya, holding hands together. This is the first time that the two were holding hands together. Before they could resist themselves, the speakers burst out playing a song which I hardly understood since it was some local song, accompanied by a band of musicians playing Shehnai, Dhol and Nagara. Everyone swung to the beats and rhythm as they moved in a circle, laughing and enjoying themselves. It is quite a celebration going on.

The traditions, attires, rich culture, music and the atmosphere had blended in so well that the fellow people had a smile on their faces as they as they rhythmically danced to the beats of dhol. The spectators were equally enjoying themselves, happy, laughing cheerfully and celebrating every moment. While Aunt Chippy, Sam and Vardhika tapped their feet, back and forth, in the steady beat, giggling, smiling; my eyes fell upon Rohan and Riya were looking at each other, holding hands firmly and smiling, while swinging their foot back and forth as the as the long procession of dancers encircled rhythmically.

The two were probably in a different place; a different imaginary world. A place where various colorful flowers bloomed all around them, attractive butterflies flew past their eyes, deer danced, cats purred, rats ran, Unicorns hopped, donkey's sang and rainbow glittered.

Well, that was probably the first and last time they've been together for so long because after we left for Tira, they did not even turn to look at each other. As the sun moved west-ward and cool winds swooshing by once again, the evening had started to fall and the sunrays slowly turning orange.

I was gazing at the faraway settlements and the fields around them when all of a sudden; I felt a twinge in the chest and dropped my phone which I held in my hands. Before I could bend to pick up the phone, my vision blurred. I started feeling dizzy, light-headed and queasy. Dark spots started appearing from the corners of eyes and gradually started growing. Darkness started clouding my eyes. My ears popped. All sounds distant and faded. I tried lifting my hands but couldn't feel my body parts. I was motionless. I could feel being lifted off the ground and flying. I enforced my eyes to open but after a while, I have no idea what happened, but my eyes wide opened I was astonished to find resting on a bed in a small, yet dark room. I got up sweating profusely, as if I've just seen an unpleasant nightmare. My heart was pounding with all adrenaline rushing through. I could now feel my body parts. I was in my senses and it was after a few moments that I realized that the dark room was actually my bedroom. Lying on my bed, I picked up the alarm clock kept besides me to see what time is it. It was quarter to one on the night of June 13th. Flashing upon my mind was the road-trip with Uncle Sam and Aunt Chippy.....

Once again, the world around me blacked out and I wasn't able to feel anything. I was helpless until all of a sudden I woke up with a splitting headache and a blindingly bright light flashing right in front of my eyes. Still in the state of confusion, it took me a few seconds to gain consciousness.

"Am I day-dreaming yet again?" I said to myself.

"Take a right turn from here" I heard Aunt Chippy speaking to Sam.

"Wow.... Sujanpur is big and beautiful" said Sam.

"Indeed it is. Look how clean the town is" exclaimed Aunt Chippy.

I lifted my hand to check the time. It was six O'clock in the evening and the sun was about to set.

"Take the next right turn. Over there is the......"

The sun fell asleep, shielded behind three sloping, blue mountains, each smaller but tougher than the other. Its dim rays made the sky velvety orange. As the night started to fall in, the street lights turned on along with all the restaurants, cinemas, shops and houses that were glowing with bright lights which made the town look even more spectacular.

"....and this is the Army School with its massive field right over there" continued Aunt Chippy, showing us around the town.

"Wow.... That's big."

"Indeed it is."

"Take the next left and that'll be out stop."

"What about your car?" asked Sam.

"We can park it right outside for night and get it repaired tomorrow morning" replied Aunt Chippy.

"Right here. This is the house" said Aunt Chippy.

The car pulled over to what looked like the back side of a massive two-story house made of stone and wood, having big French windows with golden lights gleaming through them. There was a slanting brick roof which gave the house an elegant look. The stone-walls had small twigs growing out of the gaps between two stones.

"Thank You for everything" said Aunt Chippy and shook hands with Sam.

"It's my duty to be nice and grateful to everyone" said Sam with a big smile on his face.

"Do contact me if you need any help finding Mr. Stork."

"Sure."

"Goodbye."

"Hope to see you soon" said Vardhika as they bade farewell and walked inside the house through the back door.

"Finally! They are gone" said Rohan, relieved as he sat inside the car with a woebegone look.

"You are really unhappy that she's gone, isn't it?" I asked Rohan.

"No, no not at all" replied Rohan, hesitatingly.

"Don't lie. You really enjoy when she's around."

"Never.....-"

"What next?" Rohan asked.

"We continue our search..." said Sam.

"Where do we go?" I asked.

I looked up at the envelope which had a rather incomplete address to Karan's house. Looking around at all the nameplates, I realized that we were somewhere close, just a few blocks away.

"What does it say?" asked Rohan and snatched the envelope away from me.

"I think it's the next right turn" I said while gaping at all the nameplates outside the cottages, with an eagle eye.

"No, this is 18. 7 would be somewhere down the road. Drive straight" directed Rohan.

"Or maybe we should take a left" Sam said.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop right here..." I said abruptly as my eyes fell upon one of the nameplates. "Here we are, 7 Carter Road. This is the place. "

"Houses here look so identical" Rohan said as we got down the Buggy.

"So.....this is his house?" asked Sam.

"Yup."

"Wonderful."

The house was quite similar to all other houses in the neighborhood, made of red sand-stones, concrete and wood. There was a small porch and a garden outside but scrub and tall weeds now covered the yellowed lawn, which clearly hadn't been cut in years. There was a mailbox entirely hidden by tall grass while its driveway was overgrown. It had bushes and brambles up against the door and the windows. With huge windows and slanted brick roof with a tall chimney, the house was enormous and spectacular.

"Hope there's someone in here" said Sam as he pressed the doorbell which made a loud sharp ring which was audible even out of the house.

As the door opened making a creaking sound, a blindingly bright light flashed right in front of my eyes and made the person at the door, appear all blacked out.

"YOU! Yooouuuu!" clamored Rohan as he ceased to move and stood there, flabbergasted and so were we to see Riya standing right in front of us.

"Oh my gosh! No! This isn't happening again" said Riya, looking surprised.

# "What the heck are you doing here?" Asked Rohan who was rather agitated from outside but gleeful from inside.

"This is what I should be asking you. This is my house, what are you doing here?" asked Riya as we stood there dumbstruck........

II

HAPPY REALIZATION

Tihra

June

"Good evening Shimla!! What a pleasing day it was. Hash! No rain or whatsoever. Soooo today marks the first day of the long weekend and we've got the best songs for you to chill out with your friends tonight..... Here you go...!"

The three of us sat on the elegant blue couch inside the huge living room, while slurping the hot chocolate. The stone-walled room a big chandelier in the hung up in the center and a fireplace right in front of us whose bright light lit the walls. I was highly amused looking at all the luxurious inside. From colorful lamps to antique paintings and expensive carpet, no wonder this is the house of an administrative service officer.

"This is such a coincidence, right?" said Aunt Chippy, sauntering out of a room.

"Yeah. I am glad we met you" Replied Sam exhilarated with the fact that he did not have to do much work in finding him.

"I am pretty sure he'll be aware of Mr. Stork. After all he is his father."

"You're right."

With a ruddy skin, charming hazel eyes, auburn colored hair and a broad smile on his face, Karan walked down the spiral stair case mumbling and giggling along with Riya and Vardhika.

"Hello! How are you sir?" said Karan as he sat down on the couch in front of us, beside the fireplace.

"I am alright. What about you?"

"On top of the world! But pretty busy though. Just got back from office, pretty tired."

"Oh. Where do you work at?"

"At the central administrative office, I am the DM of this district" he said.

"You mean the district magistrate?" asked Sam, dazed.

"Yeah...." "Hard job..."

"Absolutely!"

"So, Sam, what about you?" asked Karan. I looked at Sam, thrilled to hear what Sam would say. Well, all he does is..... Pass time.

"I....I am a scientist" said Sam.

"Wow....Impressive. What do you do exactly?" asked Karan.

"Just convert oxygen into carbon dioxide. You know, the usual."

I was kinda speechless and awestricken.

Karan was fascinated hearing this. "Wow... that's amazing. Tell me more about it, how do you do that?" asked Karan delightfully.

"......breathing, it's called" said Sam amusingly while everyone started giving him embarrassing looks....

Once an idiot, always an idiot.

"Oh! Yeah.... Cool! Everyone does that" replied Karan with an awkward smile. "Anyways, well, I can't be less grateful to you for helping my aunt and nieces out of such an unpredicted condition."

"Oh! No problem, sir. It's everyone's duty being kind to one another. After all, what goes around comes around" said Sam with pride.

"That's absolutely true." "Oh! And Aunt Chippy was telling that you wanted to meet me. You guys are out here to look out for somebody?"

"Yeah that's true. That's what we had hit the road for. To find you... to meet you, sir"

"Oh really? So what's it that you came driving 180 kilometers down the road, all the way here?" asked Karan, elevated.

"Do you know Mr. Stork?"

"Yeah, of course. He's my father."

"Is he here? Where is he right now?"

"He... was dead in an accident twelve years back" said Karan with somber tone.

"I am sorry....I did not know that" said Sam.

I was highly confused at whatever Karan just said. How is this even possible..... An old man living for more than ten years in the same neighborhood was dead twelve years ago?

"But Mr. Stork lives a few blocks away in our neighborhood" I said.

"Wish it could be by my father is dead now" replied Karan.

I was highly suspicious now. "Do you recognize this letter" I said and handed over him the letter which probably was written by him.

"Yeah, this is my handwriting." "This was the last letter I wrote to papa before he left this universe. This was back when I was chosen as a selected as a police constable here at Tihra. After a long feud with him, I left the house leaving behind this letter. Those days...." said Rohan, recollecting old memories.

"Hey! But where did you find this letter?" asked Karan.

"From Mr. Stork's house in our neighborhood" I said.

"What?" asked Karan, clueless about what house I was talking about.

"Yeah... he is true. So one night I was........." said Sam as he continued to narrate the whole incidence to Karan. The fire woods had all burnt out and now left was the grey soot with the smoke rushing up the tall chimney.

"Whatever you said is that true?" asked Karan after Sam finished narrating the age old story.

"Indeed it is. We found another letter there" said Rohan as he handed over the second letter to Karan.

"This letter..... Where did you find this letter?" he asked while still reading.

"The same place" I said.

"Who has written this letter?"

"Mr. Stork himself" said Sam.

"What? Really? Karan was nonplussed hearing this.

"Why are you surprised? Haven't you read this before?" asked Rohan.

"Never. I don't remember if father ever replied to my letter. I thought he was so angry with me that he never felt the need to write me back."

"He did try writing you back but he wasn't able to" said Sam.

"Or maybe he wasn't allowed to" uttered Rohan.

"The accident......-" spoke Sam but Karan interrupted him with a sudden thought which struck him.

"So you mean that the car accident wasn't something natural but intentional?"

"No. The car accident never occurred. It was all made up" asserted Sam.

"So you mean that my father, Mister Stork is still alive?" asked Karan with deep concern.

"Indeed."

"But who would do that and why?"

"The lenders. They wanted to take hold of your mansion but they never wanted to get arrested knowing you were the police officer."

"But why my father?"

"Maybe what I think is that they wanted a way to bring you back to them and with your father out of the way, they'll convince you easily sell the mansion to them." "But you never returned."

"I don't believe you.... my father is no more. I've been to his funeral; seen him being buried with my own watery eyes. Pleaded him to forgive me and return back..... Been through all the pain and suffering" said Karan, downhearted and disturbed.

"Grandpa is still alive and lives in our neighborhood, please try to understand" I pleaded.

"And now they are trying to lure you again to come back."

"I didn't understand."

"Look at the letter Mister Stork has written. Does it not seem sketchy to you?"

"It is startling that such a melancholic letter was left incomplete."

"Give it a thought. Why would he do that?" "Didn't you notice the piece of paper seems pretty new? Doesn't it look like it was written just a few weeks or maybe days ago?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah you're right.... This paper seems fairly new" said Karan. I saw in Karan's eyes the moment he realized that we weren't wrong either. It was a moment of realization lasting only a split second. "If you're sayin that my father is still breathing, I wanna see him." "Let's go to your town and I'll meet him right away. Everything it'll be right in front of us....."

"But it's been days since he hasn't returned to his house" I said.

"Let's hit the road......We'll find out......." Said Karan and winked....

"Now?" I asked.

"Now or never......."

Alright... for all who are staying up late night, sticking to the radio station with me, here's a song for all those hard core worker's out there......

"You are the viola, and I am your bow,...... You are the mountains and I am your snowwwww,...... I am the song sheet and you are my tune,....... I am the night sky and you are my moon..............."

On a moonless night, we drove through the isolated town of Sujanpur. The streets that were once filled with the milling people, noisy hawkers, the dogs and monkeys full of fleas, the idling gossiping bargaining humanity, spitting betel juice, the noise of the bell of a sacred cow clonking, the dust and hubbub; and the topsy-turvy atmosphere.

There weren't any street lights on the way. Darkness surrounded the roads and hills as they appeared all black in the moonless night. Occasionally, you could find the sound of bats flying by or a parliament of owls hanging upside down, waiting for a pray in this wintry, eternal night sky.

Leaving behind Sam's despairing Buggy, we drove south of Sujanpur in Karan's elegant looking blue SUV along with Riya and Vardhika who apparently were obsessed with the fictitious story of Grandpa.

It was freezing cold outside. The pine trees were blown back and forth as the wind gushed between them making sad, eerie sounds. The highway was dark and deserted with no vehicles or whatsoever. The sky was dark and overcast with black clouds, with the occasional roll of thunder rumbling in the distance. It had drizzled sometime back and so the roads were wet. Although I was surrounded by people, it was a little scary, dangerous atmosphere all around.

"Look at the moon soooo beautiful...." "Ahhhh.....this night is sooo beautiful...." "Look the moon is white......" "It's round....." "Very round......" "Those savage clouds!!! They are eating the moon someone saaaave theeemmmm......-" uttered Rohan who was speaking rather hilariously.

Ladies & Gentlemen..... This is what happens when you drink too much of fruit beer.

"Is he high?" asked Riya with a disgusting look, watching Rohan do.....stuff..... Weird stuff......

"Probably...." I said, with a bewildered horror in my face.

"Wooooo.... That doggo s' flying.... Incredible" "And hey! Looka there's a unicorn right there" continued Rohan. We were passing through a small village which had a few dogs barking at us.... But for Rohan, they seemed to be flying and bunch of horses which looked like Unicorns to him. Bizarre people....

"How can someone get drunk with apple juice?" asked Riya while looking at the wretched person.

"Everyone's not the same....." Vardhika said.

"Has he lost his brain....?" Asked Uncle Sam, looking at the outlandish character.

"Did he ever have one?" Riya said amusingly.

"Woah! That Meerkat is dancing......" continued Rohan....

"So, where are we headed to?" Sam asked Karan.

"Twenty kilometers down South...."

"What is there that could potentially help us find the old man?"

"The house where I spent half of my life in. The house where I was born. The four walls within which I saw the end of an era, the struggles, the hardships and the freedom.....-"

"Wow! These are some historical, old memories" interrupted Sam.

"The same house outside which I saw my friends getting killed, the British bombing our estates, the brave martyrs the village being buried....-"

"You have experienced some of the sorrowful situations....-"

"But nothing as sorrowful as seeing my mom being killed in the same house and dad being brought dead, a few years later. It all started with that one house and it'll end with it too....."

"That's sad...."

"Indeed it is."

"But why did you flee from your house, away from your parents?"

"I did not wish to....."

"So what made you take such an intense decision?"

"I grew up watching Mr. Beck, an Anglo-Indian a soldier, a freedom fighter, an influencer, who lived a few blocks away from my house. Other than fighting for the nation, he had great empathy for the society. Every Sunday, I would often see him helping the villagers carry water from nearby well or maybe sharing stories about his great expedition missions, to the village kids. He was a jolly person, a kind-hearted fellow ready to help you any moment, in any situation. I had a dream to be one like one of him.... serve the nation, help the people and community. I had bigger dreams. Unfortunately, in late 90's, Mr. Beck was assassinated by his Indian friend at his house, one fine evening. Since then, I had made a firm decision that whatever happens, I want to join the military."

After a minute of awkward silence, Sam spoke up "You look like a noble man...."

"But my mom had different plans. She never wanted me to be in military...-"

"Buy why did she not want you to do such a respectful job?" asked Sam, surprised.

"She was afraid that I might never return or might return dead. After the news of Mr. Beck's assassination spread all over the village, she was able to convince my father, who supported me in all ways, to not let me join the army."

"So what made you leave the house?"

"Surprisingly enough, I made it through all the training sessions of the army but the day the postman delivered the appointment mail, full of anger, she tore the letter and threatened not to tell this incidence to father. That night...."

"And so that night you took such a harsh decision?"

"Yeah." "But then a month later I got the news that mom passed away. She was fighting with a heart ailment but at that time the family did not have enough funds to pay the medical bills...." Said Karan, agonized.

"That's extremely sad. But when did you get the news that you father met with an accident?"

"I was chosen for the role of a constable at the police station back in Tihra when a month later I got a call from my neighbors......they called me to tell that Mr. Stork is in the hospital and that I needed to hurry and meet him. But sadly he passed away before I could meet him, for the last time."

"Did you get to see him any time after?"

"Yeah... Funeral was the last time I saw his holy body. That was probably the last time I saw him" said Karan in a regretful tone.

"But then how's your father living in our neighborhood since years?" asked Sam.

"I don't believe this fact. I saw him being buried, in front of my eyes. That might be someone else whom you are misunderstanding as my father."

"So then how does he have all those letters with him?"

"Might have ended up by mistake, who knows?"

"What if you guys are seeing Mr. Stork's phantom?" sensed Vardhika with a horrified look on her face.

"You mean a ghost?"

"That's what a phantom means...."

"A ghost, who does not haunt lonely roads, never strolls out at night and all it does is mess up houses? What nonsense...." Said Riya.

"I did not believed in ghosts until Mr. Oliver, our English teacher from school claimed to have seen one, the night he was returning from the Shimla Bazaar."

"What happened then?" asked Vardhika eagerly.

"Mr. Oliver usually takes a short cut through the pine forests while coming back from the bazaar. In a stormy night, he was walking through the forests when he happened to have spotted a boy sitting on the rock. He noticed that the boy was crying with his head hung down and his face in hidden by his hands. So, he got concerned and he asked the boy to lift his face up and when he did...... Mr. Oliver was stunned..... the boy had no facial characteristics- no eyes, nose, ears, not even mouth...... he was so horrified that when he got back to the school, he sought help from a watchman who, as per the teacher, did not have facial features either....."

"What happened next?" asked Vardhika as her teeth chattered in fear. Her eyes bulged.....A feeling of dread crept up from the pit of her stomach.

"Mr. Oliver doesn't remember. He fainted at that very moment and woke up only to find out that he was lying on his bed" I said.

She was very scared, petrified and hardly breathing at all. The fear seemed to have risen behind her eyes.

Thunder came marching from far away with increasing tread and lightening raged in fury. The wind sighing and thrashing in the tree tops and the boughs moaned. The sky above was full of tumultuous, dark and ragged clouds covering the white moon. The howling of wind along with the thunderclap frightened us all. After all this, how can someone not get scared? All this is enough to terrify someone and chill his spine.

No matter how bad the weather is and how frightening the story was, it simple does not matter to some.....who are.....high.....like.....Rohan.... who was in his own world.... A world where the dogs fly, meerkats dance and what not. The intoxication by the mighty fruit beer was long lasting......

"On a night like this..... A wolf howled, standing on the edge of a hill...." "On a night like this, Thisbe saw the lion's shadow and ran away in fear...." "On a night like this Cri...." Babbled Rohan as he constantly peeped through the window while resting his face on his hand, on the car's window sill.

"Eww... He is so weird, what has happened to him?" asked Riya, terrified.

"He's been so weird since we've hit the trail" said Vardhika.

"The devil.... Has incarnated in his body...." Sam said amusingly.

"Ha...looks like the holy soul of Shakespeare has entered his unholy body...." I blurted out.

"He has gone insane" said Riya.

"He has lost his mind" bragged Sam.

"And all his senses too" added Vardhika.

"On a night like this...

Out of curiosity, I wiggled him but he seemed to care the least.

Making our way through the misty woodlands, up the daring hills, across a deserted village, on the top of an abandoned hill amidst the thunderstorms and lightening, we made to the acclivity. There weren't many houses around, but the one that stood there were broken down and debilitated. Mr. Stork's bungalow stood apart from every other house present there. Although it was worn out, it stood majestically on the edge of the mighty hill top.

"This is the mansion?" asked Sam.

"This is historical building....." said Karan. His simple, earnest response and the conviction on his face floored us.

The house had become aware of itself, of the history that echoed within the walls. The spirit of the house stayed there with the memories of its birth, of the hugs and laughter that once were its colors and music. So though the floors were bare and the paint was in need of loving care, though the furniture lay still without the warmth of its family, it stood all the same, strong beneath the flakes and dirt of years. The abandoned house stood in a composed way with the crumbling walls that were nothing more than a ghostly silhouette of some previous existence. The wind whistled through the trees bringing with it the laughter of children who once lived there and the caring call of a mother letting them know dinner was ready. The abandoned mansion shuddered on the hill, wishing the morning light would come all the sooner to warm its weary walls.

"Let's head in, shall we?" said Karan.

"Yeah, why not?"

A feeling of dread crept up from the pit of my stomach as I stood there staring at the old worn-out structure. There was a bitter taste in the back of my mouth that I couldn't seem to get rid of. Although I do not believe in spirits or phantoms but the old, dark image of the mansion in front of me made me feel a lil uncomfortable. Moving my head sideways, I witnessed the blemish faces of Riya and Vardhika who stood there motionless. Rohan however, had just been out of stupor and was now standing still, looking around like an ignorant.

"Hey, look! Stork's right there!" raved Sam as he pointed out towards the light glimmering through one of the tall windows at the very end of the two storey house.

"No way! That's not him" said Karan.

Pushing the heavy gates open, Sam ambulated inside dauntlessly, followed by everyone else. The touch of the iron bars of the gate, as cold as ice, seized up my hand completely. Even though I could feel the unevenness of the old cobbled path beneath me, they were smooth in contrast to the crunching of the odd dead leaf that I stepped on.   
Carrying on up the path the grass carried on forever into the horizon,   
a dull yellow color as if it had lost the will to live and stopped   
growing altogether. The sky was tar-black and the large clouds were moving up north. It wasn't raining at all but the lightening gave a brilliant shock of in the graphite sky, forking silently to the unsuspecting ground.

One lonesome Oak tree with an old tree-swing attached to its bough, stood by the house swaying in the wind and as the wind swept by the tree whispered to the air and its surroundings. The dark clouds overshadowed the ferocious moon which shone bright white under the black cover. Owls occasionally fluttered by overhead, their silhouettes passing over the grass. The air was cold and numb and with every breath I drew a misty, chilly   
exhale followed. The dry sand left untouched why the rainy water would occasionally hit the rusty iron bench which stood beneath the tree, making eerie and crackling sounds.

From the outside, the house was tall and thin, made from large dark   
grey stones that had a rough feel all of this sandwiched together by   
crumbling cement. Climber Plants grew up the house winding around the   
burst drainpipes grabbing for the little sunlight that reached this desolate   
place. The windows rattled vigorously from the howling wind, as though   
they were about to fall out of the frames which were made from rotting   
wood being eaten away by wood worm. A few potted plants lay next to   
the door, once there for neat presentation now wilted and brown,   
almost certainly dead.

As the house drew nearer everything around me became quieter and more   
distant. The trees murmuring couldn't be heard anymore and the cold   
iron gates were far, far back in the distance. Owls couldn't be heard   
anymore and there were no leaves on the ground, just some aged   
concrete steps, and a doorway that stood in front of me.

I don't think so we should head in. I don't feel right" said Riya.

"This place looks spooky. I think we should head back" I stammered.

"Why? What's spooky? It's Mr. Stork's house, he is in there"

"But Uncle Karan said he's dead already"

"So you think that the old man living in our neighborhood since years is someone else?" questioned Sam.

"What if it's his spirit roaming in there?" said Rohan.

"Huh! There's no such thing called ghosts" alleged Sam, being optimistic.

The door had been left ajar perhaps for many years, or maybe someone was already in there. Nonetheless, we followed Karan inside the old mansion. The wooden floorboards in the porch made creaking noise as we stepped on it.

An uneasy breeze blew down the corridor and grasped me with its chilly touch. The entrance hall was roomy, airy and eerie. The hallway however was dull and smelt of dust mixed with old age. It was pitch dark inside and I wasn't able to grasp anything until the rods got activated, only then were it a little visible. Two corridors ran on either side of the house, connecting the rooms at the two ends. The furthest door on the right, which had been left ajar, allowing a glorious amber glow to meander like a narrow stream across the hall. The vintage furniture was broken, chairs without legs and cabinets without doors - like a body with no soul that would never work

"This was your house?" asked Riya.

"Yes, it was. Look how magnificent it is!" Karan replied.

"I think we should turn on the lights first" said Rohan.

Karan approached the switch board and started pressing all the switches but to our disappointment, the lights didn't turn on which kinda appalled me out as it was already pitch dark in there.

"But how's there light coming out from that room?" Vardhika asked pointing out at the room on the extreme right which had the door left ajar and light shining through the gap.

"We should check. What if Mr. Stork is in there?" said Uncle Sam.

"We shouldn't go there. I don't feel safe" I said, terrified.

"Oh, c'mon! There's nothing to worry about" said Sam. We followed him, through the hallway, taking short steps. My mind told me not to move, but our bodies dragged us to the light like a moth to a flame. Every step we took was met by a discordant shriek from the worm rotted floor boards. The wind howled searingly - like the tormented cries of a tortured man. The light gleaming through the gap became brighter and brighter with every step we took towards the door. Sam grasped the intricately carved brass door-knob and gave it a gentle push. The bright yellow light shone brightly as the door opened slowly but quickly concealed into a small lantern which was glowing brightly, kept in the center of the room.

"Ha! Just a small lantern" said Sam.

"Still no clue of Mr. Stork, yet" said Riya.

"But who could have lit the lantern?" I asked.

"Grandpa, undoubtedly" replied Sam.

"A ghoooost....." Rohan said spookily.

"Nonsense, there's nothing like that here" claimed Karan.

"Let's search for him o'er there" said Sam.

Karan picked up the lantern as we turned around and started walking towards the other end of the house. The walls were scratched and scribbled-on, and bits of the ceiling were flaky. It was a creepy place. Suddenly the door behind us banged shut so loud that it freaked everyone out. Everyone was so horrified that we held upon each other tightly.

"Where's Sam?" asked Karan.

I looked around but Uncle Sam was nowhere to be seen. He suddenly disappeared. Everyone sensed that he was trying to daunt us by suddenly appearing from the back or from any of the windows.

"Is he inside the room? Let's check" suggested Vardhika.

"Sam?! If you're hiding there, come out..... We got you! Don't try to scare us...." Stammered Karan as he proceeded to turn the brass knob. The door at first did not open with a gentle push but when he started turning the knob swiftly and giving the door a hard push, it opened with the brass knob detached from the door frame, onto Karan's hand.

"Gotcha!" said Karan with enthusiasm when the door opened but Sam was nowhere around. The room was itself a small cube shaped with nothing more than a broken cupboard and a bed kept beside the window which was shut but whistling as the wind blew fiercely.

Uncle Sam was really gone, vanished; he was nowhere inside the creepy cupboard or under the bed, neither behind the door.

"Has he gone outside through the window?" I asked.

"Nah. The window is too small for someone to jump out through it" said Karan. "He's hiding. He'll be out once he finds out that we already know his plan...."

Karan picked up the lantern which was glowing rather dimly now, and started walking towards the other room as we followed him. The house was dead silence except for the intermittent creaks and moans. Black and brown mold dotted the ceiling in clusters, evident of rain seeping through the roof. Windows covered with grime and dirt, the calm moonlight struggled to penetrate the darkness in thin thread rays. The meter long hallway seemed to be miles long as we walked steadily on the creaking floor. Suddenly a pungent smell similar to someone's fart spread across the hallway.

"Has someone eaten too much that he's farting now?" I asked.

"What? Far.....ewwwww.....that is stifling...." Screeched Riya.

"That's injurious.... Whoever did that, stop!!" Karan said amusingly.

The smothered aromatic air hovered around us for quite some time and intensified until we reached the main door through which we led inside the creepy mansion. It is when the stifled smell settled completely. Each step intensified the moaning and creaking as if the floor bed could collapse at any moment as we made our way through the hallway.

The door on the opposite side of the house which had also been left ajar did not had any beam of light coming through it though it made creaking sounds and moved a little as the wind gushed pass through it. It sounded like the lid of a coffin being tugged open.

Karan gently pushed open the door. To our surprise, the room was completely empty but there was something..... Something abnormal..... The room was unusually dark and coming from inside were crackling, eerie sounds. Suddenly, the lantern blew out and the noises stopped. Confused, I started looking around and found that someone to be missing.

"Is everyone here?" I asked.

"Yeah! Except Sam, everyone's here I suppose" replied Rohan.

"Wait! Where's Vardhika?" I asked after looking around but finding her missing.

"She's here, right beside me" said Riya as she turned but surprisingly found her to be missing. "Where's she? I promise she was standing right beside me...."

"Huh?! Even she's gone?" said Karan humorously.

"Seems like a big plan, isn't it? Who else is a part of it?" asked Rohan.

Two people had mysteriously disappeared....either they were hiding or were.....really gone.....vanished completely...... I had no clue what was going on. I was perplexed as well as frightened, wondering that who is going to hide in an already haunted house.

"Anyways, dad is not here also. Let's check somewhere else" said Karan.

"What about Sam and Vardhika?" asked Riya.

"Oh! They'll have to come out of their hiding place sometime soon...."

Dust swirled around the corridor as we turned back and made our way towards the living room. I took a deep breath as my teeth started to chatter, and my knees started to jelly. Lots of the windows were broken and the wind gushed through then. The long, dark and cold corridor not only made us shiver but also was very spooky.

"Vardhika! If you're part of a plan with Uncle Sam, trying to scare us, it's not gonna work.... we're not gonna get frightened!" shouted Riya. "Let the spirits be high! We're not gonna get scared, guys!" said Riya softly to us.

Black and brown mold dotted the ceiling in clusters, evident of rain seeping through the roof. The living room was indeed as splendid, old and spooky as the house itself.

Paintings hung up of what looked to be important rich people, their eyes following my every move. In the front, at the very end was an old wooden stairway leading upwards to the second floor each step looked so delicate and worn that if you were to walk up them you would step right through them. Straight ahead, on the left led to two more rooms, which looked to be a kitchen, from all the cups and plates left out, a dining room, and to the right of me was the lounge area. The lounge had large bookcases on each wall stacked with thick data books caped in dust. There was no television just a sofa, two chairs and a fireplace; the thick smell of charcoal from the once burning fireplace had spread around the room choking me up on the inside.

The sofa and chairs overturned revealing deep grooves on the ground where they used to sit. Wallpaper lay curled on the floor. A large jagged hole dug through the wall stood as though daring any to enter. Under the chairs and in front of the fireplace lay a red and dusty grey rug stained from the charcoal and shredded at the sides from mice once living in the bottom of the sofa.

Slowly but steadily we entered the kitchen, avoiding stepping on any of the broken pieces of glass mixed with cutlery. In the kitchen I could see the moonlight shining through the windows casting a reflection on the wall opposite. Mugs and plates lay on the surface cold and stained by tea. The sink and taps made from brass, eroded and layered in dirt, still leaking water into the sink and every time a drop of water fell an echo passed around the house as though symbols were being smashed together. I could feel the coldness from the musty orange and black tiled floor even though I was wearing shoes it felt as though it had frozen over.

A loud thud and large cracks started appearing on the weak, old wooden floor bed. In no time the floor started falling apart. Just as I stepped back, the wooden floor board where Riya stood collapsed all of a sudden. She fell down in the crevice. Rohan quickly sprang into action and held her arms stiffly and tried pulling her out but her hands slipped and she fell inside as if she has plunged into a hollow space inside.

"Heeelp! Someone's pulling me in!!" Heart pounding in her ears, Riya tried screamed her voice disappearing as she fell deep inside.

The three of us stood there motionless, unable to believe what just occurred on such a preternatural night. Terror washed over me, raising the fine hairs on the back of my neck. I hadn't noticed the goose bumps creeping on my arms until now.

Before the old, feeble floor collapsed beneath us, we ran out of the kitchen into the living room. An uneasy breeze blew down the living room. I could feel my bowels loosen as my bladder reacted freely to the all engulfing fear.

We had just been out of the kitchen when all of a sudden faint cries for help started echoing in the living room, terrifying the three of us.

"Wait, do you hear that?" said Karan, standing still. The floor boards creaked behind him and he turned.

"Yeah! I hear them... sounds like Uncle Sam!" I said.

The sounds of moans and cries started to intensify, the longer we stood there. Fear crippled me, freezing every muscle of my body.

"It's coming from upstairs...." Claimed Rohan.

"Yea... we should definitely check it out."

The lightening crashed through the sky as loud as a thunderbolt getting louder and louder screeching through the air. As the clocks second hand hastily went on twelve, it was three o clock, promptly all the doors inevitably slammed shut and the clock's languidly ticking stopped. While we climbed up the crumbly stairs, I happened to have turned my head on right when all of a sudden I saw two shiny bright dots, somewhat similar to the eyes of a creature, floating in the middle of the air. The light was so intense that I couldn't resist ignoring it.

"Hey Rohan....Do you see those two light over there?" I whispered.

"Where?"

"To your right. Doesn't it seem spooky?"

"What that? It's that an animal?"

"Hey Uncle Karan, what's that over there?" murmured Karan, pointing out the mysterious object.

Things got spookier when a shadow appeared in front of us. It had the same shiny-red eyes and was similar to a human body.

"Who's there?" shouted Karan. "Sam? Is that you?"

"Riya? Is that you? Yelled Rohan. Neither did the silhouette reply nor did it move. It stood there stuporous. I whimpered my legs collapsed underneath me. My teeth chattered in fear. Although all kind of moans; cries and echoes surrounding the living room ceased but the uncanny mansion has surprises in every corner.

"We gotta see who's that" said Karan. "I'll go first and you guys follow me behind." "Keep looking everywhere....you never know....whatever can happen here. Stay alert!" advised Karan.

"Aaye Aaye Captain!" I said softly, maybe to add a little humor but it did not turned as planned.

Slowly and steadily we traipsed across the living room. Fear crippled me, freezing every muscle of my body. It was a sign of relief when we neared the bewildering fellow, it stood clear to us that the dark figure wasn't a living thing but a coat stand with a cowboy hat hung on its top hanger. Behind the coat stand was a dusty and grimy picture of a man riding a horse. He had a cowboy hat on his head and two revolver guns on his waist. The well-built horse flung its two legs in the air with pride as the rider sat majestically on its back, pulling the bridles. The eyes of the hoarse however were painted with bright red glitter which probably shone from far.

While we stood there, hypnotized by the picture, a sudden cool breeze from left hit my cheeks. Mystified, I turned my head towards the left only to see that Karan was being dragged into the darkness....As if being pulled in by a black hole.

"Heeeelp! Somebody is pulling me in" Karan screamed as his voice disappearing as he vanished in the darkness.

Fear became a tangible, living force that crept over me like some hungry beast, immobilizing me; my brain, holding me captive. I was paralyzed to the spot, the menacing aura holding me in a tightening grip.

I turned and asked Rohan like a vacuous.... "Are you also a part of the plan?" "Are you gonna hide too?"

"Are you insane?" "Do you think that we are playing a game here?" he yelled. Terror sucked the very breath from his mouth.

Suddenly the moans and cries once again started resonating in the living room, clear and perceptible.

"It's coming from upstairs."

"Let's run then..." I said.

Tentatively, we walked up the crumbling stairs. I was afraid they may give way whilst I was still climbing up them. I could almost feel the presence of ghosts surrounding me and a cold tingle ran down my spine as the threadbare curtains I could just about see in the corner of my eye rustled softly. I was absolutely petrified although I reassured myself it was only the wind; however a part of me didn't quite believe that was right. Climbing up for what looked like hours.

While we walked through the narrow hallway upstairs, towards the room on the extreme left, the floor got dustier, the floor boards got creakier and there was torn paint everywhere I looked. The vintage furniture was broken, broken pots and vases; withered flowers, dried leaves; chairs without legs - like a body with no soul that would never work.

Surprisingly, unlike the doors of every other door, this door hasn't been left agape.

"Stay along....be in sight" "Because if you are not, you're gone.... Just like others" warned Rohan as he moved his hand forward to turn the rusty brass knob.

"What if you vanish before me? Doesn't it apply to you?"

"Nah! Can never happen...You're gonna vanish first" he said and turned the knob. The door slid open, automatically with a strong blow of wind which came from the other side, bringing his knees up to his chest. I stood beside him and out of curiosity turned my head partially back although being careful that Rohan was still in sight. Darkness shadowed the hallway. The room was completely deserted and unoccupied. Although there wasn't any cupboard, bed or table, the floor had rust colored moisture spots which made it obvious that there were furnishings present at some point of time.

"There's nothing in here. Let's check out other rooms as well" said Rohan. The moans and whimpers continued to echo in the hallway. The wind howled searingly through the open window in the room. We walked past many of the broken medieval artifacts in the corridor. Among them was a candle which began floating.

"Wake up" said Rohan unanticipated.

"What?"

"Wake up" he said again.

"What in the world are you talking about?" I was puzzled.

Bewildered, we followed it through the crepuscular hallway to a room which stood between the two other rooms on the two ends of the hallway. I stood beside Rohan as he pushed open the door. The hinges holding the aged, weak door creaked as the door opened. It was a pretty empty room, smaller than other rooms but seemed more like a store room with a few equipment and tool boxes kept on top of a huge metal trunk. The room has a very pervasive smell. It smelt like a rotting carcass. I was nauseous due to the pungent scent of the room, feeling as if I would throw up at any moment. Rohan advanced little inside but as soon as he was enough for the door to close behind him, promptly the door inevitably slammed shut. My heart froze and my stomach turned icy. I put my hand over my mouth to stifle a scream. I could hear him screaming and shouting from the other side; turning the door knob over and over again, forcing the door to open. I could no longer control his hands; they were shaking in an odd trembling rhythm. I was the only person left there and I knew I wasn't alone.

"Noooo! Please help! Help! Nooooo!" cried Rohan.I stood there helpless. In my terrified mind every breath of wind was as loud as a blood curdling scream. The yells, the moans, the cries, the echoes, everything ceased. I stood for a couple seconds, my stomach churning, my eyes closed. I was thunderstruck.

I had no idea on what was going to happen. I stood there trembling, yet not alone. I knew that like Sam, Vardhika, Riya, Karan and Rohan, the phantom would grab hold of me anytime soon.

Then all of a sudden I could hear various noises. They appeared to be coming from the room at the extreme end which I hadn't been in yet. Part of me wanted to run, yet I knew that I hadn't come this far too flee just yet.

I had a hard time deciding. My consciences told me to flee but my heart was telling me that go ahead..... You can find them all! I heard the latter.

Cries, moans, yells, shouts, screams of sometime Sam, sometime Riya and sometime Karan's while other times the coarse singing echoed the mansion. My life flashed before my eyes. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to flee, but I remained frozen. Heart began to hammer against my chest.

I stood right in front of the mysterious, peculiar door. I knew that going in, I would either be gone forever or will return back with everyone.....

I ushered his dark eyes shut; took a deep breath and then slowly and gently pushed the door open.

Nonchalantly I opened my eyes and was surprised to see that nothing had happened to me until now. The room seemed like a master bedroom. I started to walk, the walls were scratched and scribbled-on, and bits of the ceiling were flaky. In the center of the room on a termite infested mahogany table, which I could see had had better days, was a phosphorescent globe emitting light. Fear weaved through my stomach as inside the globe was the ghostly head of a woman. A broken bed stood near the large window through which moonlight shined, illuminating the room.

The bedsheets had stains; the blanket, old and ripped, was fallen on the floor, the dressing table with broken legs, smashed drawers and shattered mirror, leaned against the wall. Small glass pieces scattered all over made a cracking noise as I stepped on them. The cupboard with broken legs and open doors had stained clothes hanging inside it. Right when I was in the center of the room, the door inevitably slammed shut.

I stood there frozen owing to someone's presence inside the room. I was too afraid to turn back or maybe I did not want to see my end coming through so early. I knew someone was standing behind me. I tried not to breath but I knew it was impossible. I could no longer control my hands; they were shaking in an odd trembling rhythm. I could feel the flight responses kick in, increasing my heart rate, flooding me with added adrenaline. I was paralyzed to the spot, the menacing aura holding him in a tightening grip. Fear became a tangible, living force that crept over me like some hungry beast, immobilizing me; my brain, holding me captive. The heat dissipating from its body and echoing footsteps, I could make it that he was advancing towards me. I wanted to run for safety, but my feet and brain would not allow me to do so.

Terror washed over me, raising the fine hairs on the back of my neck as a hand crept on my shoulders.

I turned my head a little in terror only to look at the highly wrinkled dark and rough hand with finger bones projecting out of the skin, resting on my shoulders. The long bristly nails pierced my shoulder bone. Terror sucked the very breath from my mouth. Heart pounding in her ears, I tried to scream but couldn't.

Right in front of me was standing a horrible spectre, motionless as a carven image, and monstrous as a madman's dream. It gazed over me, as it stood tall staring straight through me, I trembled closer towards its abandoned body. The color quickly drained from my face. He had a large bloody scar running down his right cheek. It reaches to his lips and made it look like his mouth was stretching up the side of his face. Gaping at what stood ahead of me: flaking from its sides \- skin like material: broken, abandoned, abused. I scan my eyes like a predator; feeling like prey I lay my eyes on its lair. He wore tattered and stained clothes. Blood flowed down his eye-less socket and ears. Feeling isolated, I forced myself closer along a never ending path with no return. Hot wet fluid is dribbling down my legs, a bastion of warm comfort in a moment of primal terror. Stumbling closer, I fell further away from my freedom. I began to wondering if all of this was real but I didn't want to take my chances. Dense hairs strung from corner to corner clinging to anything that came in contact with it. Its cold teeth glared at me, as it began to cough, black smoke plundered towards my feet. The smoke strangled me causing my lungs to contract, strangling my voice in pain. The opened his mouth, wide and with his harsh ventricular voice he started uttering ... "Wake up!" "Wake Up!" Little did I notice, the man in front of me, hovering in the air was Mr. Stork......

I opened my mouth only to find out that words had deserted me.... All I could do was scream for help...... "Heeeelllllppp!!! Nooooooooooo!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa............"

"........Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa" "Wake up!" My eyes shooting opened. The striking rays of the afternoon sun gleamed through the window, hurting my eyes. With a dropped jaw, buggy eyes, and sweaty palms my hot, salty head popped up from your warm pillow in a heart-pounding state of emergency, I shot up straight in bed, covered in sweat and breathing profusely.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? I said. Sweat poured down my body as I stood there, still. My heart pounding with adrenaline rushing through my organs.

"Wake Up!" "Stop screaming" "Have you lost it?"

"You're still alive, brother?"

"Did you just fall off a cliff in your dreams?" I heard Rohan standing right beside me and yelling.

"Wait.....was it all a nightmare? Was I dreaming?" I pondered.....

Being a bit silly though and already making a fool of myself, I realized that I was at my house, in my room, on my bed.... Sleeping..... In my own imaginary world where all bizarre things occurred the same time....

".....If that happens, I'll be very happy...." Wake up you snoring boar" "Ayan came looking for you"

"What? Why?"

"It's Saturday.....Grandpa has something special cooking in his bake house" he said.

My mind was occupied with the horrendous incident which still was rolling in my mind as I walked down the street towards Mr. Stork's cottage.

Pushing the heavy iron gates open, I ambulated inside Grandpa's house. Although like a deep wound, the incident still revolved around my head. I was not frightened nor was I was afraid. What I felt was beyond such mere nouns. This probably will the night I'll never forget, ever in my life...

Through the front door which was left unlocked, I made a subtle approach inside the house. A feeling of dread crept up from the pit of his stomach until I found my Ayan, Aryan, Ronnie and Debu sitting on the comfy couches playing Play Station.

"Hey man! Where had you been?" Asked Ronnie.

Ayan asked amusingly, "Working late at night?"

"Nah.... Just...overslept....Summer Vacations you know...." I stuttered.

A nagging sensation in the back of my mind stopped me from revealing my horrific nightmare. I hesitated in sharing the whole stories so I decided rather not tell it to anyone or else I'll end up making a fool of myself.

I helped myself on one of the comfy bean bags at Mr. Stork's house who was rather busy baking.

As soon as I sat down, my eyes fell upon a portrait hung up on the wall, right beside the television. I seemed to have seen that exact picture somewhere but couldn't recollect.

I stood up and walked past the room, gazing at the picture. It was a grimy picture of a man riding a horse. He had a cowboy hat on his head and two revolver guns on his waist. The well-built horse flung its two legs in the air with pride as the rider sat exalted on its back, pulling the bridles. The well-built horse flung its two legs in the air with pride as the rider sat majestically on its back, pulling the bridles. The eyes painted with bright red glitter. This is when terror washed over her, raising the fine hairs on the back of my neck. The sudden shock made my muscles tensed. With my finger pointing towards the painting, heart throbbing in my ears, adrenaline rushing through my body and a dreadful face full of sweat,

"Hey! What happened to him?" asked Grandpa, coming out of the bake house with a tray of freshly baked cookies.

"I don't know....he's weird...." Said Aryan.

"He runs like an ostrich....." said Debu.

"I don't know what he saw in that painting which made him run...." Asked Ayan. But none of them was aware of the fact about the adventures he had cherished all night.....

"Good Afternoon everyone! Hope you enjoyed The Early Morning Show as much as I did. We'll be meeting tomorrow morning once again. Until then, be nice to one another. Have a wonderful day ahead. This is your host Aunt Chippy, signing off......."

WAIT! HAVE A LOOK AT MY OTHER BOOK AS WELL!

After the death of his mother, Drake moved to London with his father and started living frantic lifestyle. One day, in an unusual way, he met Emily. They soon fell in love with each other and got united in wedlock. Shortly after, a new member joined their nuclear family, Ellen. Emily and Drake were longing for a vacation and so; one was planned in no time to an island in the South-East Pacific ocean. Unfortunately, the journey took an off turn once they boarded the airplane to their holiday destination. Their happy, big-rig holiday turned into a catastrophic event which made them quiver and parted their only child.

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The Night I'll Never Forget

Smashwords™ Edition

