The arrow of death

Chapter-2

'Is this the place where we're gonna live?' I asked, the disappointment apparent in my voice.

We had just reached our home in Hastinapur after a 4-hour long drive from the airport. At least Dad seemed to think it was a home. To me, it looked like an old pile of sticks that was about to fall apart on us the moment we stepped inside.

Seeing the disappointment on my face my dad quickly started to explain. He said that we could've bought a new house but buying land when you are NRI's can be a bit difficult and since the old house was already registered in my Dad's name, he thought it would be simpler to just live here and renovate the house a bit.

As we made our way through the wrought iron gate, I pondered at the state of the mansion we were entering. Just from looking at it, I could tell that the old, decrepit house that stood before us had once been a beautiful mansion. The expansive garden was dotted with fountains and rows of flower beds, but it was clear that no one had tended to them for quite some time. Weeds had overtaken the pathway leading to the house, and the once meticulously tended flower patch was in disarray. The house itself was in desperate need of repairs, with worn-out plaster and peeling paint. What was once a pristine white building now resembled a dirty brown color. Some of the windows even lacked glass panes, giving the house a haunted, desolate feel. Despite its deteriorating state, the fact that the house was still standing surprised me. Based on my father's history, he moved to the U.S. at the age of 24. If nobody had lived in the house after him, it meant that it had been abandoned for almost 25 years

'Are you sure this house is safe to live in?'

'Yeah of course. Things are never as bad as they look' he said as he pulled the front door off the hinges.

We later found out that since the house had been abandoned for so long, no one had bothered to add any electrical connections and therefore there was no electricity(obviously). And because of that, I couldn't charge my phone(another one for captain obvious I know). I had assured Jay that I'd call him after I'd reached the house but it seems like I'd have to put that plan on hold for a while.

Oh and since there was no electricity we had to light up candles. I was already tired from the flight and the four-hour car ride that had followed. And now there wasn't even tap water in the house. When I asked my Dad about the lack of water, he said there was a well at the end of the garden, which was not an answer I wanted to hear.

My lousy mood turned worse when my father decided that he wanted to sleep outside in the garden.

It'll be fun, he said.

It was not fun.

Maybe my father and I had different definitions of fun. Perhaps he liked having all his blood sucked by mosquitoes. Maybe he liked the noises of the trucks driving down the street in the middle of the night because he seemed to be having no problems. He slept peacefully while I prepared myself for another sleepless night.

I pulled my blanket over my face, trying to force myself to sleep. After what seemed like a few seconds, I felt a slight tug at the corner of my blanket.

What the fuck?'I thought.

It couldn't have been Dad because he was not the kind of person to play pranks very often. My heart started pounding, maybe a bit harder than normal. I slowly moved the blanket off my face and sat up at a pace that would make a snail look like a speedster. As I looked at my feet I let out a sigh of relief.

It was a little white dog with black patches of fur, frantically pulling at my sheets. I pulled my blanket free and the dog ran away after letting out a little bark at me. I was now wide awake.

'Can this day get any worse?' I thought.

As I'd discover sometime later, yes, yes it could.

I sat up and moved to the edge of my bed. I started thinking about all that had happened over the past month. I had celebrated my seventeenth birthday with my friends. Then, I had to say goodbye to the said friends. And then I moved to this godforsaken country because I couldn't say no to my father. Especially since Mom's death anniversary was coming up next month and he had always wanted to do a traditional ceremony to commemorate her passing. I let out a long sigh. I knew I sounded bitter, but what do you expect when you tell a teen to suddenly leave all his friends and the place where he had lived all his life behind? Not just moving houses but moving to an entirely different country. A country that I had no connection to other than my heritage. To be completely honest, I had never considered myself to be an Indian. All my life I had been subject to hate just because I looked different. I don't even speak the fucking language!

I got off the bed feeling unusually angry. I took a few steps and decided to take a walk around the garden to calm myself down and slow my train of thought.

The outline of the moon was barely visible in the night sky, showering the house and its surroundings with a soft gleam of moonlight. And for some reason it made the house look a little better than it had during the day.

Huh. Weird.

I looked around and I realized that more things were different about my surroundings than just the look of the house. The flower patch which was earlier overgrown with wild shrubs now looked beautiful with rows and rows of flowers that seemed to glow bathed in the soft moonlight. They looked as if they had been hours ago and had been trimmed and well kept. A mild but intoxicating aroma filled the air.

Then I heard a slight trickling noise and to my surprise, the fountains were working. They were sprouting water at least a few inches up in the air and the sound of it falling back down was the only sound to be heard in the silence of the night.

Wait, why is it so quiet? I thought as I ran towards the gate. I looked outside and to my horror, the road outside was nowhere to be seen. It had been replaced by a dirt path and no trucks were moving past as opposed to just a few hours ago. I took a few steps back in disbelief. My head was starting to hurt as my hand moved towards my pendant. I took my phone out of my pocket to call the police but of course, it was dead.

I ran back to our sleeping spot to wake up Dad but to my horror, he wasn't there. My fear turned to panic and I started calling out for my Dad.

Suddenly, a familiar feeling came upon me. The exact feeling I had on the flight. Like someone was watching me.

I turned around slowly, my heart beating its way out of my chest. The front door of the house was open. And a woman was standing there.

She had long, black, and matted hair that covered most of her face. She was wearing a red saari but the color had faded quite a bit. Her arms were dangling to the side of her torso like that of a puppet and she stood there, her feet a few inches apart, motionless. It was hard to make out any more details in the dark but the most eerie thing was that I could tell that she was staring right at me.

'Um, hey there' I said my voice shaky. 'I was looking for my father but I think I might have got lost on the way.'

I took a few steps back.

'You don't have to worry about me. I'll be leaving now.' I said as I turned around to run as quickly as possible.

Karan Bisht. A voice whispered.

I didn't turn back. I was sure that I was just hearing things. I mean how could a lady I'd never met just randomly call out my name? That shit doesn't make sense.

Karan Bisht. The voice repeated.

I slowly turned my head around, a bead of sweat trickling down my forehead.

She started running at me.