Kiara brought the tray with biscuits and two cups of tea from the kitchen. A young lady in her mid-twenties was sitting on the sofa, jotting down her thoughts on paper. She was the journalist of a renowned paranormal magazine and she was here to get the cover story for this month's edition of the magazine.
'Kiara, are you comfortable to begin the interview?' Reena (journalist) asked with a casual smile.
'Yeah sure, please go ahead', although Kiara didn't wish to recollect the memories of the last few days.
'Did you believe in paranormal activities before this incident?' the smile on her face had vanished now.
'Never!' Though I believed in God since childhood but never believed in negative spirits', Kiara said with a stern expression on her face.
'Okay. But many people dismiss these things saying there is no scientific explanation to all this and such incidents are mere hallucinations. What's your take on it?'
'I myself wouldn't have believed if we hadn't taken that trip. Even though I would wish that it was only a bad dream, but I couldn't escape from reality.'
'Okay Kiara, can you narrate the entire incident in detail? What exactly happened that night?' Reena asked taking the pen and paper in her hands, ready to note the details.
'Well, it's not the story of one night. It all started since the evening we left Mumbai to go to Lonavala, for celebrating our first marriage anniversary.'
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'Kiara, have you see the keys?' Gaurav, as usual, had misplaced the car keys and was frantically searching it in every possible corner of the room, randomly misplacing other stuff.
'Did you check the pocket of your trousers you were wearing yesterday?' I couldn't help but smile, seeing his expression.
'Yeah, maybe you are right', his face was suddenly lit up. 'Your wife is always right.' I opened my fist containing the keys. 'I was going to put the trousers in the washing machine when I thought of checking the pockets first. No one else could handle such a careless husband the way I do', I said in an apparent angry tone.
'That's why I love you darling. But in my defense, I would say that no other person could deal with a shopaholic woman like you.' This was his counter-argument every time.
'Okay baba sorry. Now should we move? It's already getting dark. We planned to get to Lonavala before sunset.'
'Don't worry sweetheart. Lonavala is merely an 80 km drive from Mumbai. We will reach there in less than 2 hours. Just hold your excitement till we reach the farmhouse. Then we will have a lot of fun there.' Gaurav said with a wink.
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It was the evening of 9th Dec, one day prior to our first marriage anniversary. Me and Gaurav had decided to visit Lonavala for celebrating our anniversary, away from the hustle of Mumbai for a few days. Gaurav had booked an entire farmhouse for our stay, although I had insisted to prefer any normal guesthouse/hotel in a reasonable range. Anyways, when I look back to that evening, we were both very excited. Little did we know that this trip would turn out to be the most traumatic experience of our life.
I was immersed in the music when Gaurav suddenly stopped the car. I opened my eyes to see my surroundings. It was a deserted road, with dense bushes and trees on both sides. 'What happened, Gaurav?' I asked Gaurav, who was taking out the keys from the ignition knob.
'Nature's call', Gaurav said with an innocent grin on his face.
I was checking my Whatsapp messages when I felt someone watching me from outside the window glasses. I looked up to find an old woman staring at me with folded hands. Her appearance was a bit scary and her clothes were too shabby. I got a bit scared but still pulled the glasses down by an inch.
'Beta, can you please give me lift if you are going towards Lonavala. There is a small village- Karanjgaon, just a few kms before Lonavala. God will bless you if you can drop me there', she said, her hands still folded.
I got a bit carried away listening to her plight but regained my logical senses the next moment. I had heard of incidents where such people had disguised their appearance to take lift from passers-by and later looted them and even murdered them. Although she appeared harmless on her own, she could probably have her other gang members waiting somewhere. Moreover, I was in no mood to spoil this romantic long drive by giving lift to a stranger. 'Sorry amma! We are not going towards Lonavala', I said and pulled up the glasses. She stared at me for a moment and then went away.
'Let's continue our journey'. Gaurav was back, diverting my attention from this old woman. I could just smile in return.
The weather outside was pleasant, the atmosphere inside was romantic, with the song- 'Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga' being played in the background and Gaurav was humming along. 'Nothing could be better than this moment', the thought crossed my mind when I saw a fragile figure standing midway on the road. When we reached a bit close, an old woman was standing there, waving her hands. As soon as I looked at her, my blood froze and I couldn't swallow my breath.
'How come she reach here before us', the fear in me had started building up. 'Gaurav, don't stop. Just take off the car past her.'
'Come on Kiara, she is an old lady who seems to have lost her way. We should definitely help her.'
Gaurav applied the brakes and pulled down the window glasses on his side.
'But Gaurav, please listen…..' my voice choked out in between.
'What happened aunty? How can we help you.'
'Beta, I live in a small village Karanjgaon, en route to Lonavala. Can you please drop me there?' she said in that same helpless tone. 'We are going towards Lonavala only. If your village falls in the route, will drop you there', said Gaurav, unlocking the back door.
'Thank you beta, God will bless you', she said placing her hand on his forehead.
There was an eerie silence in the atmosphere after that old woman stepped inside our car. I don't know if it was my psychological fear but something bad seemed to happen. I accidentally looked at the rearview mirror to find her staring at me. I can remember her glance even now. It was so terrifying that I held Gaurav's hands tightly.
'What happened darling? Your hands are burning. Do you have fever', he touched my forehead. 'Strange, only your hands seem to be on fire. Apparently, the fever has not yet reached your brain.' I wondered how Gaurav could joke in this situation.
'Show me your hand once.' The old woman had spoken for the first time since she had taken the seat. Hesitatingly, I extended my hands towards her. As soon as there was a skin to skin contact, I felt I had put my hands inside a refrigerator.
She was holding my right hand and staring at it with keen interest as if she was trying to decipher some archaeological symbol carved on my hands. 'There are tough times ahead. You will face the worst nightmare of your life', she said looking directly into my eyes.
'Wh-what do you mean by this?' I looked at her expression trying to find some answers but she was silent now and looking out of the window.
After a few minutes of drive, the old lady asked us to stop the car. 'Thank you beta, my village is nearby', she said stepping out of the car. After she was gone, I looked at Gaurav who was smiling at me. 'Don't take her words seriously, she seemed to be a psychopath', Gaurav tried to console me while my mind was preoccupied with unknown fears.
I woke up from my nap to find we have reached our destination. I saw the board 'Blue Lagoon' on the main entrance of our farmhouse. For a moment, I forgot all the tension and was lost in its beauty and luxurious architecture.
The outside had a rustic look, with a swimming pool in one corner and a small café type sitting on the other corner, surrounded by lush greenery on all sides. The interior was equally beautiful, with a blend of both rustic and modern design. Gaurav got a call from the owner of the place regarding the arrangements and I stepped inside the main bedroom to find it was beautifully decorated with rose petals strewn on the bedsheet and red colored balloons hanging all across the room. I knew it was all going to be worth it. After settling into the new atmosphere, I opened my purse to take out my mobile phone. As soon as I saw something strange inside, my eyes spread wide in horror and I screamed at the top of my voice. After two minutes, Gaurav came running inside, scared to hear me scream like this. 'What happened Kiara, is everything okay?' 'Just look… look at this', I pointed my finger towards the purse. With a bewildered look on his face, Gaurav took the purse in his hand and it took him a few seconds to realize why I had screamed.
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We were sitting on the bed, looking at that weird thing and then looking at each other. Gaurav was as clueless and shocked as me. After a few moments of silence, I spoke up- 'Do you think this has some connection with that old lady who took lift from us!'
It was a black doll that came out of my purse, out of nowhere. Her appearance was enough to scare anyone, leave alone me. The eyes of that doll were marked by two crosses, which gave it a more scary look. No one among us dared to even touch it for a few seconds. Finally, Gaurav picked up the doll and without saying a word, threw it out of the window. 'Don't panic darling. Today was just a bad day for both of us. Everything will be fine.'
'But how do you explain all these events??' The image of that doll flashed across my mind continuously. 'We will find answers to all this. Let's not spoil our first anniversary and this romantic trip.' Gaurav said, hugging me tightly. 'And now cheer up your mood for tonight', he said with a naughty smile on his face.
It was the morning of 10th Dec, the day of our marriage anniversary. After having our breakfast, we left for sightseeing. The entire day was spent in admiring the beauty of Lonavala, clicking selfies, and later having a romantic dinner at one of the fancy restaurants. After returning back to the farmhouse around midnight, we were not in a mood to have any further conversation. 'We will plan our day out, tomorrow morning. I am very tired at the moment. Good night baby', Gaurav said switching off the table lamp.
I woke up to find Gaurav missing from his place. I feel a bit scared and get out of the bed to look for Gaurav. There was complete darkness all over. I switched on my mobile flashlight and kept running from one room to another, calling out his name. But no trace of Gaurav anywhere. Suddenly, a spiral staircase came in view of the mobile flashlight. We hadn't explored the farmhouse properly since we came here, as we were busy exploring the places or spending time with each other in our room. 'Maybe Gaurav has gone upstairs.' I climbed up the stairs to find a long verandah. I felt that somehow my steps were automatically pulled towards the other end. There was a dead end on the left side. When I looked at the right side, there was a door in a semi-opened state. 'Maybe Gaurav is here,' I felt a ray of hope inside me. I went inside the room, flashing my mobile in all directions. The moonlight coming from the window illuminated a certain portion of the room where an almirah was kept. I flashed my mobile flashlight over the glass of almirah to find it empty, except a piece of folded paper kept there. Out of curiosity, I take out that piece of paper and start unfolding it when I feel someone has kept his hands on my shoulders. My blood froze and apparently, I couldn't move.
I opened my eyes to the sight of the ceiling fan rotating at full speed. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was just a dream. 'What a bizarre dream', I thought. After drinking a glass of water, I tried to sleep again but couldn't. 'This was not a random dream, it signifies something which I am not able to understand.'
Gaurav seemed to be sleeping peacefully. I decided to follow my dream to see if there was a hidden meaning attached to it. As soon as I stepped out of the dream, all the lights flickered out and there was absolute darkness all over. I switched on my mobile flashlight and looked for that spiral staircase which would lead me upstairs. I hurriedly went up, crossed the verandah, and reached the door which was in the semi-open state. 'Exact replica of the dream.' I was literally shivering with fear.
The cupboard was easily located by the moonlight penetrating through the window. As expected, there was a single piece of paper kept inside. I took out that piece of paper to find if something is written.
'The evil spirit will return to haunt this farmhouse every year on this date.' There was only a single line written there. I flipped the paper to see if 'this date' is mentioned. And a few seconds later, I felt the ground slipping under my feet.
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'So what date was it?' Reena had never heard any such bizarre experience in her 8 years career working as the journalist of a paranormal magazine.
'The date was...…11th December.'
'Oh my god. Was there anything else written?'
After a long silence, Kiara spoke up, 'A warning was written there, in different handwriting.'
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I read and re-read that line. 'I gave you that doll to protect you from the evil spirit. But it seems you have thrown it away. Now you will bear the consequences.' Reading that, the image of that old lady began rolling over in my mind. I kept that piece of paper in the almirah and closed it. Suddenly, I felt someone has kept his hands on my shoulders. I froze in that position and closed my eyes, anticipating something bad to happen.
'Kiara, are you alright?'
I turned back to find Gaurav looking at me with a worried expression on his face. I hugged him tightly and tears flowed down from my eyes. 'Gaurav, something is weird at this place. I am feeling scared.'
'What happened that led you to this room. Anyways, let's go to our room and relax first. You don't seem to be fine Kiara.'
'Gaurav, I want to show you something. This paper, this almirah', I felt my voice breaking. 'There is nothing inside the almirah. It is completely vacant,' said Gaurav, looking surprised.
'Let me see Gaurav. It was here only, that date, that warning, that old lady…' I was myself not aware of what I was speaking. But as I saw the almirah, I felt the line between reality and illusion was blurred for me. The almirah was empty now with no trace of any paper.
'I swear Gaurav, there was this paper. It is a warning for both of us. Let's get away from here.'
'Don't worry baby, it seems you had a bad dream. Let's go back to our room. It's already very late to midnight', Gaurav consoled me as if it was quite a normal thing for him.
I couldn't sleep properly that night. I was half asleep when the alarm started beeping at 7.00 am. After freshening up, we went out to visit a few other famous tourist spots in Lonavala, but I was not mentally involved today as my mind was preoccupied with yesterday night's happenings. When we returned back, it was already sunset.
'Gaurav, are you sure we should stay here tonight, or if we could shift to another hotel for tonight?' I insisted.
'Arey don't worry. Moreover, we have our booking here until tomorrow. Just remember how much have we paid for it.' He said in a casual tone. 'If you feel uneasy tonight, just wake me up.'
After going to bed, being so tired, I didn't realize when I fell into sleep.
I don't remember what time was it when I wake up. After having a glass of water, I went up to the washroom. As soon as I saw the mirror, I screamed at the top of my voice but apparently, my voice was lost amidst the cloud of fears in my mind. That strange old lady was just standing behind me. I turned back instantly. She was out there, holding a black doll in her hand, exactly identical to the one Gaurav had thrown away.
'Why did you throw away that doll? It can only protect you from any evil spirits. Take this, otherwise no one can save you', her voice was as cold as her expressions.
I suddenly woke up to the sound of something falling down and breaking into pieces. It took me around one minute to realize that the table lamp had fallen, which was kept on the table beside my side of the bed; plunging the room into complete darkness. 'A bad dream again!!' When I turned to the other side to wake up my husband, I saw what my eyes couldn't believe. Gaurav was missing and the same black doll was kept there.
Without wasting any time, I picked up the doll and came out of the room barefoot. 'Gaurav, can you hear me?' my voice was echoing through the farmhouse. I went upstairs to that same room and found the room to be in the semi-open state. Suddenly, my feet hit something rigid and when I flashed my mobile torch in that direction, I almost fainted. Gaurav was lying there unconscious. Before I could process anything further, someone grabbed me by my neck from behind.
I turned back out of reflex action and saw a shadow about 8 feet tall standing there. Only a pair of red eyes were visible since the room was pitch dark. 'Why did you throw that doll? It can only protect you from any evil spirit', the old lady's voice from my dream echoed through my ears. That monster was right there in front of my eyes. But fear only prevails in your mind till the time you actually face it. I stood there staring at those red devilish eyes for a moment and flashed that black doll right in front of those eyes. The shadow pushed me away and my head banged against the cupboard behind me, after which I lost my senses.
When I regained my consciousness, it was still darkness prevalent all around the room. There was neither any trace of that mysterious shadow nor a single trace of the black doll. Gaurav was still lying there unconscious. With some difficulty, I managed to drag him back to the room. 'Gaurav, please wake up… Are you listening?' I said slapping him hard. But no sign of any consciousness. I cried that entire night, unable to do anything to regain his consciousness.
As the first ray of Sun splashed across the horizon, Gaurav opened his eyes. 'Gaurav, are you fine? How are you feeling now? What happened to you last night?' I asked so many questions in a single breath.
'Where are we Kiara?' Gaurav said looking around. 'The last thing I remember was that we were packing our luggage to go to Lonavala for our first marriage anniversary. Which is this place? Why it seems I had slept for a long time!!' Gaurav was surely not doing any prank with me this time, as he does usually.
'I also have many questions in my mind. But let's get away from here first. I hope you remember how to drive.' I said, hopping out of the bed.
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The noise of the fan and the tick-tick sound of the wall clock could be heard clearly in this silence which had clouded the room with its eeriness. Looking at her watch, Reena spoke up- 'Can I meet your husband?'
'He still doesn't remember anything about the trip. By the way, he will be returning home only around 6.30 in the evening.'
'No worries, can I have his contact number and his office address please, if you don't mind', the journalist said after thinking for a while.
Reena was standing outside Gaurav's office at around 5.30 pm when she saw him coming out of the main gate. She glanced carefully at the photo in her phone gallery (which Kiara had sent her). After being sure the person was Gaurav himself, she went up to him and greeted him with a smile.
'Hi Gaurav, I am Reena', she gave a brief introduction about her purpose of visit and her interaction with Kiara. Gaurav's expressions changed at every word spoken by Reena. He stood there, looking completely flabbergasted. 'Can you please tell me about your experience of the Lonavala trip?' Reena had already sensed something was out of place.
'Actually...... we never went to Lonavala.'
'Sorry?' Reena thought she had heard something wrong. 'It was your first marriage anniversary on 10th Dec and you had planned to go to Lonavala for a four-day trip, with your wife. Please correct me if I am wrong.'
'Yes, we had planned a trip to Lonavala to celebrate our anniversary but unluckily couldn't go there. Kiara fainted suddenly in the house on the eve of 9th Dec, just when we were packing our bags. She had been suffering from 'meningitis' for a long time, which is a rare infection that affects the delicate membranes covering the brain. Kiara was already on medication but had to be hospitalized when she fainted all of a sudden. She was in coma for more than a week.'
Reena stared at him in the hope of finding a logical explanation to all this. She tried to find words to her thoughts but couldn't speak a single word.
'Sorry, I am getting an urgent call. Need to leave. It was nice meeting you', Gaurav said, picking up his mobile phone. Reena stood there in silence, watching him walk towards his car.
"Ghosts are those memories that are too strong to be forgotten for good, echoing across the years and refusing to be obliterated by time."
"All eyes on the signal…!" the radio pilot's voice crackled in the earpiece. Christie, who had secured the 1st position in the qualifying round, was on the front of the track. Her best friend, Roxanne, was on the 4th position. Christine and Roxanne, the best buddies in the Automobile Engineering college, had participated in this intercollegiate racing competition for Girls. Both were excellent drivers, having raced with each other many times in their respective cars, dodging and drifting perfectly at very high speeds on all the market streets and highways in the city.
Roxanne checked her seat belt and glanced towards Christie's car, painted in simple colours except black, the color which she never liked. Christie looked in her rear view mirror and saw Roxanne staring at her. She gestured with her thumbs up towards her friend in the back, the thing which she did every time before they raced.
"Idiot…." Roxanne smiled as she realised the starting five lights were on. Roxanne glanced at her friends who were seated in the front row in the audience and she could clearly see the tension on Elvis's face.
At once the signals went off. The crowd cheered as Roxanne pressed the accelerator hard, releasing the throttle. It was a long straight, with a sharp hairpin bend at the end. Roxanne desperately changed gears fast and approached the bend. Christie was almost next to her, trying to gain lead ahead.
As soon as Roxanne completed the turn, suddenly she heard a huge explosion. Christie's car engine had caught fire. Unable to handle the heat, Christie lost control of her car. She hit Roxanne hard and drifted straight towards the safety wall. Roxanne's car took the impact and swirled full 180°, before coming to a stop. She saw Christie desperately trying to get out with an anxious look on her face. She then looked ahead and saw Roxanne staring at her.
"Help me….!" Christie screamed as there was another explosion.
Roxanne suddenly woke up. Sweating and shivering, she sat up on her bed. It was 2:15 AM, exactly the time when her best buddy Christie had died in the hospital after sustaining injuries on the race track. It was almost 4 years now after this incident, but the occasional nightmares kept coming.
Her attention then shifted to her side table. It was filled with photo frames of her self, her daughter Tanya and Elvis together. After college, Roxanne and Elvis married each other and they had a cute little daughter Tanya, who was just two years old. She checked her husband Elvis who sleeping calmly besides her. Tiptoeing softly, she walked up to the kitchen. It was raining heavily outside with eventual thunders.
"Your daughter's behaviour is changing." The headmistress had told Roxanne and Elvis, who had been called in the parent's meeting. "She is behaving weird, lost in her own thoughts and unaware of her surroundings. We've been observing this since past some days. Is everything alright?" The headmistress complained. Roxanne was aware of this fact, for she had herself witnessed her daughter going into trance many times.
The couple then decided to come to this cottage on the outskirts of the city as spending time in the forests could help the little girl recover nicely. It was a wonderful isolated single cottage in a dense forest, with a single approachable road and a stream flowing just next to it, creating a perfect relaxing place.
As she went to the kitchen, she checked her daughter Tanya who was sleeping soundly in the adjoining room.
She opened the refrigerator and drank cold water. She then thought of her daughter, how she was changing and how to.....
"Mama...".
Roxanne almost dropped the glass. Tanya was standing behind her, her tiny hands holding her favourite Teddy along her chest.
"Tanya.....? What are you doing her darling?" Roxanne, almost shocked, said as she clearly remembered Tanya sleeping soundly in her room.
"I couldn't sleep...!" she said as she held her teddy closer.
"Everything will be alright soon, darling....!" Roxanne said as she took her daughter back to her room and gently made her go back to sleep.
The next day, they were in their car going on a drive in the forest. It was raining in this area, with fog all around and dense dark trees.
Elvis was seated next to the driver's seat. Roxanne was driving the car, observing the scenario around. As she drove, she just glanced in the rearview mirror to check on Tanya.
She saw Christie, her friend who had died in the car crash years ago seated next to her daughter.
"Noooooooo.....!"Roxanne screamed. Elvis glanced at his wife. But Roxanne was looking behind to check if Christie was really seated on the rear seat.
There was no one seated next to her daughter.
" Watch out....! " Elvis screamed. Roxanne abruptly turned her head ahead and saw a tree in front. She turned sharp right, but the vehicle turned on the wet road and skided to a stop.
For a moment, no one spoke. Elvis heard Tanya sobbing behind. But Roxanne was still lost in her thoughts.
The next day, Roxanne was in her room. Tanya was playing around with her toys. Roxanne was searching for top child psychologists in the city. She wanted to help her daughter come out of what she was going through.
Suddenly, she heard Tanya giggling loudly and clapping her hands. For the first time since many months, Tanya was laughing and cheering loudly. Roxanne was happy that her daughter finally laughed. She came and saw that she was looking outside the window and clapping her hands.
"Little one.... What did you see outside...?" Roxanne said as she started her cell phone camera to shoot the happiness of her daughter.
"Mamaa.... Did you see...? Christie aunty is standing at the window.... She's making funny faces at me..!"
Roxanne almost dropped her cell phone. Her daughter's answer sent chills in her body. She peeped out her window to see if her daughter was right.
There was no one outside.
How come she knows about her? Roxanne thought.
Tanya still continued to laugh and clap. Roxanne was still standing at the window, trying to handle her shivering and also was looking out if someone else was paying any prank.
"Mama, please move aside.... Aunty wants to play with me....!" Tanya screamed happily as Roxanne continued to be panicked.
"Are you sure?" Elvis asked his wife that night as they were having dinner together.
"Of course…! She was happily calling out her name and clapping her hands…!" Roxanne complained as she remembered the incident of the morning.
"Maybe it was just her thoughts…! She may be remembering her from the photographs..!" Elvis cleared her doubts, stating that Roxanne had shown Christie's photos to her multiple times.
After preparing the dishes, Roxanne cleaned the kitchen and started walking towards her room. It was raining heavily again, with thundershowers. She switched off the lights and as she crossed Tanya's room, she heard her soft murmurs.
She pushed open the door and saw Tanya reading poetry from the children's book.
"What are you reading, little one…?" Sitting down next to her daughter, Roxanne asked.
"I'm reading out poems to Christie aunty….See she is sitting in the front…..smiling at you…!"
Roxanne turned around in terror to look if anyone else was in her room.
There was no one around.
The chair in front was empty.
"Tanya…whats the matter? Are you feeling alright?" Roxanne asked her, worried about the way her daughter was behaving.
"Yess Mama…." Tanya said as she smiled, "Christie aunty is telling you to go and sleep. She wants to play with me…!"
As she came back to her room, she was feeling tensed about her daughter. Is she going insane? Why has she started seeing Christie everytime? I need to do something.
As she laid on the bed, she promised herself that she'll soon check a psychologist for her daughter.
"Help me….!" Christie screamed as there was another explosion.
Roxanne suddenly woke up. Sweating and shivering, she sat up on her bed. She checked the time. It was 2:15 AM, again the same time when Christie had died in the hospital after sustaining injuries. She herself never knew when she went to sleep engrossed in thoughts of her daughter.
"But Elvis, please try and understand…!" Roxanne tried to convince her husband the next day while having breakfast regarding their daughter.
"She is behaving so very much weird nowadays…" she then told him about the night's events. After hearing it, Elvis thought for a moment.
"I think we should better consult a doctor soon….! Else there are chances we could lose our daughter…." Elvis said as he took his hunting bag.
The whole day, Roxanne kept wondering how her daughter could behave this way. Since yesterday she suddenly started seeing her dead friend everywhere. I better consult a doctor soon, she decided to herself.
That night, all three of them were having dinner. Roxanne and Elvis served themselves. Tanya too filled up her plate. As they started having, Tanya picked up her plate and started walking to her room.
"Where are you going little one?" Roxanne asked, unable to understand her daughter's behaviour.
"Christie aunty is waiting for me upstairs…We're having dinner together..!"
Both Elvis and Roxanne were shocked as they heard this. Roxanne also observed that her daughter had changed her hairstyle, similar to what Christie used to keep.
The next day, after Elvis went to office, Roxanne made Tanya go to sleep. Alone in the house,she then decided to arrange her daughter's room.
She went upstairs and started arranging all of her toys, neatly placing them one above the other.
She then discovered one black box that was kept above the closet. Surprised, she climbed up on the stool and got it down as Tanya hated black color and always kept every color in her room except black. She got down the box and saw that it was taped from all sides. As she cut out the tape and saw the contents inside, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. As she went through all the things inside one by one, she was shocked. She never knew this part of the story which was kept hidden from her all along the time.
"Roxanne, please try to understand me…" Elvis said as he placed his hand on his weeping wife's shoulder," I wanted to…"
"Don't you touch me…!" Roxanne screamed as she brushed away his hand. "Christie and you were having an affair….? Today I found in that sealed box many of your images where you both were kissing and hugging each other. We three were very close friends…I always knew that you and Christie were good buddies …but still I choose to marry you because I thought you loved me….! But you were playing with someone else all these years before our marriage and I never even knew….!" Wiping away her tears, she said, "I think you killed Christie….because you can't just let her go away and she was not ready to listen…"
"Please stop this…" Elvis stopped her, "I did..."
"Mama….!"
His sentence was cut short by Tanya who was standing at the door.
"I saw Christie aunty coming here...!"
"Little one…." Roxanne came near her and said, "There is no Christie aunty here. Let's go to sleep." As Roxanne took her hand, Tanya glanced at her and said,
"Mama, why is Christie aunty's face burned? Her fingers are also missing…. She can't talk properly…."
Tanya and Elvis, both of them starred in horror at their daughter, as she never knew what had happened to her mom's friend.
"She says she likes me a lot…! She is missing me…..and she likes my dad Elvis very much..!"
"You heard what Tanya said back there?" Roxanne asked Elvis as they slept.
"She said she can actually see Christie around. And most importantly, she likes you."
That night, Roxanne couldn't sleep at all. She glanced at Elvis, who was sleeping soundly. It was raining heavily outside. Since the past 2-3 days, she was unable to sleep at night. Every time, the thoughts of betrayal, fear, and panic kept creeping on her.
As she took gulps of water, she heard giggling sound from Tanya's room. As usual, she knew what it was. As she came out of her room and peeped inside Tanya's room, she was shocked.
Tanya was sleeping soundly, holding her teddy close to her chest.
Did I hear someone laughing, Roxanne wondered. She then started to go back. As she took some steps ahead, she sensed someone was behind her.
"Little one…" she said as she turned around, "you should be in your…."
She stared ahead in horror.
Christie was standing in front, her face burnt, one eye missing, her fingers mutilated and she was looking straight at Roxanne with her one eye.
Almost terrified, Roxanne couldn't utter a word from her mouth. Gasping for breath and sweating profusely, she felt her entire body shivering.
"Roxanne?"
She turned and saw Elvis standing behind her. Frightened and stammering, she pointed her finger in the direction where she had seen Christie.
Elvis looked in that direction and shrugged his shoulders.
Roxanne studied his expression and looked behind.
Christie was no longer standing there.
Roxanne just turned and ignored Elvis. Still shivering, she came back to her bed and tried to sleep.
The next day, Elvis was observing his wife as she served breakfast. Her face was pale, with dark circles below her eyes. She couldn't talk properly, was dropping things quite frequently. Tanya was still asleep in her room.
Yesterday night, as he was about to sleep, Roxanne had blamed him.
"You killed my friend. That's the reason she's possessing our daughter…" she said with wet eyes, "Why did you even marry me….when you actually loved her…?"
As Elvis was having breakfast, Roxanne came and sat in front of him.
"Let's pack up and go back. I'm not feeling well the day I came here. Let's go back. We'll decide what to do next…" she said without looking at him.
Elvis felt what she said was right. He also had the same feeling. As he got up, he then thought about what will be the future of their relationship after Roxanne came to know about his hidden affair with Christie. He had always tried to…
"Tanya….?"
Elvis thoughts were cut in between as he heard Roxanne's scream. He then looked out and saw Tanya walking on the bridge above the stream outside their house.
Roxanne just stormed out of the back door. Running barefoot, she approached the front yard and ran towards the bridge. As she came to the front yard, probably the first time since they came here, she saw the forest around.
The trees covered with mist.
The only house in the property away from all the main roads.
The hills in the distance.
The stream flowing over the stones.
The wooden bridge with wood railings for crossing the stream.
At once she realised that they were in Christie's house, a property that she had purchased some years ago. Recently it was renovated, therefore Roxanne couldn't remember how it looked previously.
Without thinking about why Elvis brought her here, she crossed the bridge and ran to the other side. Tanya was seated on a rock observing the valley. The whole area was covered with fog. Roxanne came and stood next to her daughter, who was sitting silently.
Before she could speak anything, Tanya suddenly turned and faced Roxanne.
"You could have saved me from dying ….Roxy…"
Roxanne starred at her daughter in terror.
Tanya's face was half burned, one eye missing. Her face and her voice were exactly like Christie and, most importantly, she had called her by a name which only Christie used.
Roxanne couldn't believe what she saw. Elvis was standing next to her, looking equally shocked. Roxanne could still see Christie's face instead of her daughter's. She couldn't bear the horrible face of her once alive friend.
"Go away…..!" Roxanne screamed at the top of her voice, "Get away from my daughter…..Go away…..Please...leave my daughter alone….."
"Mama…!" Tanya suddenly called out.
Roxanne opened her eyes and saw her daughter, looking up and staring at her, holding her teddy in her hand.
Roxanne at once pulled her daughter towards her and hugged her tightly. She then looked at Elvis and said, "Now I know why you brought us here…! You wanted to have our daughter possessed by my friend's spirit so that you can get rid of her and then ultimately me…! Why did you…."
"I brought you here because every other resort were full…! I had to find a quiet place for our daughter…!" Elvis yelled back.
Wiping away her tears, Roxanne said, "Let's leave this fucking place right now….! I don't wanna stay here a single minute…!"
By the time they came back, it had started raining heavily. The thundershowers were so strong, they couldn't see what was outside. They came back and started packing their things. None of them was speaking a single word with each other. Not ready to leave her alone, Roxanne sat beside her daughter, who was fast asleep.
By the time they finished packing, it was raining quite heavily. They then decided to stop until evening. By dusk, they decided to leave. It got darkened a bit more in the forest, and the electricity was not working.
Roxanne who was feeling deluged took her bag and came down. Elvis also brought his bag down. As they approached the garage, Elvis realised something's wrong.
"Where's Tanya?" He said this as he remembered seeing her coming out of her room.
"Tanya….!" Roxanne called out.
No answer.
"Tanya…where are…"
"NOOOOOOO…!" suddenly they heard an ear-piercing scream. Both of them ran upstairs. As they entered inside, it was dark all around and they felt a sudden drop in the temperature.
They pushed open the door and went inside.
Tanya was sleeping on the bed, breathing heavily. She was holding her teddy next to her, but she looked as if she was gasping for breath.
Elvis immediately dialed the emergency helpline.
"Little one…what happ.."
Roxanne's words were cut short, as both of them saw Tanya slowly rising up from the bed horizontally towards the ceiling with her hands on the sides. It was as if someone was lifting her up with some power.
Both Elvis and Roxanne froze.
Tanya rose up until halfway till the ceiling, and then slowly started turning vertical. She was about six feet from the floor of the bedroom. As she became erect, Roxanne and Elvis saw that her face was no longer hers.
It was Christie.
Roxanne covered her eyes in fear.
"Won't you look at me…Roxy…?" The person inside Tanya mocked at Roxanne.
Roxanne slowly removed her hands from her eyes and saw that it was Christie's smiling face. She was about to say something when suddenly, Tanya's expression changed and her face was replaced with the burned face, her one eye missing, entire left part of her skin burned, her fingers deformed.
Roxanne stared in horror.
Tanya slowly started coming closer to her. She was floating in the air, making no sound at all, slowly approaching Roxanne.
Elvis just couldn't believe what he was looking at. He was witnessing a paranormal activity right in front of him.
Roxanne stared in horror as Tanya who was now possessed by Christie came near her. She was looking terrible, with one eye staring right at her. As Tanya came near her, Roxanne smelt burnt metal and the heat of it. She could clearly feel as if all the area around her is on fire. As Tanya finally came near to her, Roxanne clearly smelt burnt skin. She saw the severed face of her friend, the charred skin and the horrible features.
"Roxy….." Christie's voice came through Tanya's mouth, "Why didn't you save me?"
Roxanne was stunned by the question. She was unable to answer it.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME…..?" Tanya, now possessed by Christie, screamed so loudly Roxanne felt her eardrums burst. She then thought about the race day.
She saw Christie desperately trying to get out of the burning car with an anxious look on her face. Totally panicked, she then looked ahead and saw Roxanne staring at her.
"Help me….!" Christie screamed as there was another explosion. Her car's bonnet exploded sending out burning metal shards all around. The race was immediately stopped. Christie was still trying to get out, but her safety harness was stuck somewhere inside. Roxanne was starring directly at her. Her car was not too far off from Christie's, but she stayed in her car. She could have easily gone and saved her. But…..
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME…..?" Tanya screamed again in Christie's voice, this time so loudly that the entire room vibrated.
"Because I hated youuu…!"
The entire room fell silent for some time. Elvis couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was shocked by his wife's confession.
"I hated you…Bitch…!" Roxanne hissed as she uttered the word. "Every time you had won, you always made fun of me…! You even tried to pull Elvis towards you…! You were so much pathetic, that after every achievement, you mocked me…! You made me a joker in front of everyone….! I hated you since the day I met you…! In all the college degrees, in all the functions, you were ahead of me. And when I lost, you were the first one to tease me…! I started feeling jealous of you. The jealousy inside built up so hard that I wanted to finish you off, but I couldn't get any chance. The race event was a perfect opportunity for me…! When your car caught fire, I could have saved you…but I decided to let you burn….!"
Tanya, possessed by Christie, listened patiently. Without moving, she kept looking at Roxanne.
"Christie…I am sorry…!" Elvis suddenly spoke up. "Please leave our daughter…! She has nothing to do with all this…! She is innocent…please…." Elvis folded his hands and pleaded.
Tanya never let her eyes go off from Roxanne.
"I won't spare you, Roxy…!" Tanya screamed. "I'll be back…!"
Suddenly there was a huge gush of wind. Tanya who was now floating about six feet in the air, suddenly fell down. Her head banged hard on the bedroom floor. The little one fell unconscious.
"Tanya…!" Roxanne screamed as she ran towards her.
The emergency team arrived soon after. Tanya was immediately taken to the emergency ward. Her condition was critical. Her skull was ruptured, causing damage to her brain. She was in a coma. Doctors and neurosurgeons were trying hard to help her survive. Roxanne was seated next to her, observing her heartbeat and response to the treatment. Every minute, her daughter's health was deteriorating fast.
"I can't guarantee her life, Roxanne," the neurosurgeon said. "She is only two years old. She may not survive now…"
Roxanne was almost heartbroken as she heard this.
Suddenly the alarms started blaring. The digital cardiogram was almost horizontal. A stream of doctors rushed to help, but it was too late. Tanya had already left the world.
"Nooooo…..!" Roxanne screamed. Doctors checked her and claimed her dead.
Suddenly, the cardiogram jumped. The electronic meters came to life. The digital cardiogram again showed a normal heart rate. Tanya's fingers flickered. She opened her eyes and slowly and looked at Roxanne. The doctors checked her and were surprised that she was alive and slowly recovering.
"Thank God, Tanya….." Roxanne said as she and Elvis both hugged their daughter.
"Your OK…Little one…!" Roxanne convinced her daughter.
As she hugged her daughter, Tanya placed her hand on her mother's shoulder and whispered in her ear,
"Hi, Roxy...I am Back…!"
— จบบริบูรณ์ — เขียนรีวิว
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