Rahul convinces his friend to join him on a trip to an abandoned, haunted villa in a remote village. When they arrive, they meet an elderly gardener who warns them not to stay after dark, recounting strange noises and deaths that occurred there in the past. That night, strange sounds awaken the friends, but they discover it is only a cat with bells. However, the next morning the friend finds fingerprints on his wrist that were not Rahul's, leaving them wondering what presence they encountered at the villa.

1. The Villa
This is a short story about two friends who are on a trip to a desolate house. Reaching there,
they find there are strange happenings in the house. What do they discover?
Rahul is my school pal. It would be erroneous to say only friend. He is my best of friends.
We took pleasure in each other’s companionship since our school days. Be it studies, sports
or having fun, we share everything. Rahul is keen on adventure and thrill. It was winter in
Kolkata. Our city of joy witnessed it's coolest and longest winter that year. We both were
enjoying our winter vacation. No studies. No examinations. Only fun and frolic. Listening to
music, watching movies and reading hair raising thrillers and ghost stories constituted our
leisure.
It was a bright, sun-drenched Sunday morning with nourishing, copious sunshine. When I
was at my breakfast table that the phone started buzzing… Picking up the receiver, I said,
"Hello!" It was Rahul. He said, "Hey, what’s up?" I was elated to hear my best friend’s voice.
I asked, "How is your vacation going?" Rahul informed me that he is ready for some
adventure this winter. Oh! Rahul and his adventures! "What’s the matter?" I asked. He told
me that he is planning a short trip to a certain village, Vishnupur. And he wants me to join
him in the trip. Why on earth, Vishnupur? What’s so special about it? Rahul said, "Look
buddy, there has been some tittle-tattle about an old house named ‘Kunj Villa’ in the village
Vishnupur. The house is haunted. So we are going to spend one night there, at that house.
Isn’t that thrilling?" I was sure that it was one of his eccentric ideas! But in my mind the idea
seemed thrilling. A forlorn village. It’s tranquility. An old haunted house. After a second
thought, I agreed.
So we started packing our bags. We just packed a few clothes including warm ones owing to
the chilled weather. Some biscuits, cakes and a flask of coffee to satiate our taste buds on our
way to Vishupur. We also carried a torch. A prerequisite for a village jaunt. Our rural areas
are still devoid of adequate street lamps. Our journey in a hired cab was very comforting. For
me this trip was a respite from the hustle and bustle of the urban jungle that suffocates our
lungs with noxious air. But for my dear Rahul, it seemed a tryst with the supernatural! On
both sides of the road, our eyes were greeted with yellow-green mustard fields. It was a treat
to our eyes.
Finally we reached our destination, Vishnupur. The village was really scenic. Hence, we
decided to walk after paying the driver and he drove away. Being winter, the sunshine was
great and the air fresh and crisp. The place was very desolate but had a kind of strange
attraction in it's milieu. Rahul and I were walking through the arid muddy path. On either
side, there were farmlands. A narrow trail made it's way through these farmlands. We made
our way through them. Profuse quantity of fresh vegetables like cauliflowers, cabbages and
brinjals made these agricultural lands riper with vegetation and growth. "Wow, what a
pleasing sight," said Rahul. We hardly get to see such natural sights in the city. Tall palms
and an ancient banyan tree were also visible. There were also sporadic cluster of bamboo
groves to add to the beauty of our destined village, Vishnupur. There was pin-drop silence as
we sauntered through the thick bamboo growth.
Absolute silence engulfed us. As if, we have set our foot into a world, minus people and

2. population. There was a queer serenity in the whole ambiance. Now and again, the north
chilly winds brush past our ears as if, whispering an ominous message. Our bones were
freezing owing to the cold. Rahul was enthralled. He said, "I smell impending evil." "Shut up
Rahul. Just take pleasure of the fresh clean air," I said. We kept walking. As we walked, dry,
brittle leaves and twigs cracked under our feet breaking the stillness of the air.
On the way, we met an old man. To be sure I asked, "How far is the old Kunj Villa from this
place?" The man gave me a bizarre look. He asked, "Why do you want to go there? Don’t set
foot near that haunted bungalow. It’s cursed. Go back." Saying this, the man hurried away.
He gave a curious chuckle. It was a malicious, unpleasant laughter. Ignoring his silly
warnings, we finally reached Kunj Villa.
The house was dilapidated. Cracks were visible in it's exterior walls. Signs of an abandoned
dwelling. It had a grayish, unkempt and neglected look. A kind of morbid desolation attached
to it. The villa had an atmosphere of desertion. The garden in front, too showed signs of
neglect and were overgrown with weeds.
An elderly gardener, Dayaram, opened the rooms for us. Oh! Then it’s not completely an
abandoned house, I thought. Good heavens! I noticed that the room needs cleaning. Thick
layer of dust and cobwebs were all over the floor, ceiling, walls and the creaky old furniture.
Dayaram asked, "Are you going to stay here tonight?" I nodded. "The house is haunted.
Please don’t stay here after dark. This place has a curse on it. I stay only during the daytime."
I inquisitive asked, "What makes you feel the place is haunted?" He informed, "Twenty years
ago one army man stayed with his only daughter. Both of them died under inexplicable
circumstances. Some say they had been brutally murdered. Since then this house remains
vacant. No one dares to set foot in the vicinity of Kunj Villa." I told Dayaram not to worry.
We can take care of ourselves. Rahul too nodded in agreement. A frightened Dayaram
continued, "Believe me sahib, there are strange noises heard here after dark. Rahul now
annoyed said, "Leave that to us. Please tidy up our rooms and arrange for some tea and dinner
for us. Make it fast as you aren’t going to stay after dark." Dayaram nodded and followed our
orders. We paid him handsomely for his services.
Our room is now clean and our beds made. We freshened up and went for a stroll in the
evening. We enjoyed wandering in the picturesque village, walking by the village pond and
appreciating it's crystal clear water. Hope we could have fished in the pond and caught a
delicious fish and fried it for dinner! At dust, we retired to the villa.
Now it was getting dark. The crickets have started singing. It was a shrill continuous note.
Soon night cast it's dark shadow over the entire village. It was a very dark night. The
darkness seemed to engulf Kunj Villa like a thick blanket. We lit the lantern. The villa had no
power supply. It is getting cold now. We shivered. To get rid of the cold, we sipped steaming
cups of tea with potato chips that we carried. To pass away the time, Rahul started recounting
ghost stories. Soon it ended up in a gossip session of marathon eerie tales. Rahul said, "I am
expecting some thrill tonight. The haunted villa. The darkness. Ha...Ha...Ha." I was feeling a
little uneasy by now. We soon felt the pangs of hunger. We had mouth watering, spicy
chicken curry with rice for dinner that Dayaram cooked for us. Yummy! Fatigued by the
journey, we decided to go to bed. Extinguishing the lantern, Rahul and I felt fast asleep.
I was awakened by some strange noise. I listened. Before I could figure out anything, an ice-
cold hand touched me. I got up with a chill running down my spine. It was pitch dark in the

3. room. Quickly, I put on the torch light. Thank God! It was only Rahul’s hand- no ghost.
Rahul said, "Hey it’s me." But I was a little nervy. "What’s the matter?" Rahul asked. I
whispered. "Just listen." Yes, there was no mistake. It was the sound of a woman’s anklets.
Some one seemed to be moving about outside our room. The anklets kept tinkling. Now the
sound came more distinctly and closer, just outside our door. It ceased for a while. Time
ticked away. Tick...Tick...Tick. Suddenly it came back again in the dead silence of the night.
This time followed by footsteps.
I was too timorous to move. It was Rahul who gathered courage. I was behind him. He
opened the door. It gave a nasty creaking sound. We peered out. And guess what we saw in
the torchlight! It was a cat on it's night-time stroll with tiny bells tied around it's neck. So it
was the bells that were tinkling whenever the cat moved. We felt a little pacified at this.
Strange enough, the next morning when we were getting ready for home, Rahul showed me
something. It was an imprint of five fingers on my wrist. How did it happen? It was only
Rahul’s hand that caught me by the wrist in the darkness. But was it Rahul’s hand then? It
was an unearthly touch that gave me the creeps. I couldn’t fathom. Neither, Rahul and I could
make anything of the sound of the footsteps. Was it our imagination then! Or was the cat, a
portent of evil existence at the villa!