'Demons of the past reside here.'
No...
'Demons of the past reside here.'
No...
Nooo...
Rahul sprang up on his bed panting. Even in the chill winter night, small beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to get a hang of the situation, but nothing seemed clear at that point. There was only confusion and more confusion.
Rahul warily walked over to the window, taking small measures steps. The wooden floor creaked under his feet, sending another wave of chills down his spine. In that noiseless night, every small sound registered at the back of his mind; and frightened him all the way to his toes.
But it was not like this always. Rahul was used to leaving alone in their big mansion in the city; that there was no real reason for him to frighten on such small incidents. Still somehow, this small cottage on his grandfather's farm terrified him the most.
This was the first time he was visiting his grandparents in twenty years of his life. It made him a little nervous, especially the fact that his parents were not accompanying him. They had made it clear that it was just going to be him to spend a whole month with the old folks whom he had never met. But Rahul wasn't someone to back away from a nice adventure. Yes, he was a little nervous, but more than that, he was excited about this trip.
All his excitement, all his enthusiasm escalated to a whole new level when he saw the farm and cottage. It was love at first sight for Rahul. It was just a small three-storey cottage, nothing compared to their mansion, but the best thing was it was completely secluded from the outside world. Wheat crops circled it on three sides, while a beautiful, serene lake adorned the lone side.
For the first couple of weeks, there was nothing to complain for Rahul. His grandparents were loving; and cared for him more than what his parents did. There was not much to do around the place, but he loved to help his grandfather to pluck the crops in morning, and then he'd spend the evening relaxing by the lake; watching the fish swim by. He was getting fond of this quiet life; until that night.
It was a similar night like today except the fact that the moon shone to its fullest that night. It was that Sunday night fifteen days ago when he first had this dream. He couldn't see any people, nor any place in the dream; there was only a sound. A constant chant...
Demons of the past reside here...
The same chant repeated itself every night for the last fifteen days, nothing more, nothing less; the same thing over and over again. Rahul thought of mentioning it to the old folks but decided against it every day. He didn't want to trouble them with some nuisance of his mind. After all, it was his last night here today, and he was sure whatever this was would stop when he resumed his normal city life. He would just hear those chants in the night and forget about it in morning.
But today's night was different, whether unconsciously or subconsciously, his mind had replied to those chants tonight. They had replied in a constant no, and that thing feared him more than the dream itself. No, he couldn't sleep anymore. He needed some cool air to down the heat of his body.
The wooden floor creaked under his feet as he walked towards the window. The outside air was pushing the window in, making it hard to open. He applied all his force on the old metal bolt, and it opened with a loud clang. He pushed the window as it squeaked against the frame. All the air rushed into his room, causing his body to stiffen by that cold.
Outside, the usually calm water of the lake swirled with the wind. There was no moon to spread light over the lake, but still, he could see it clearly. Small whirls had formed around the border of the lake, and oddly, they formed a kind of pattern. Rahul watched it intently, trying to figure out the pattern, but nothing registered.
He was lost watching the lake, when suddenly; a big gush of wind hit him hard. It averted his gaze from the lake, and when he glanced back; those patterns, all of them, they were gone. Rahul was surprised, even excited a bit; but this time, he was more frightened. That big gush of air, it came again, and this time, he could literally feel the push from it; like it was trying to get him away from the window.
He stepped back a little, the sound of creaking floor alerting his senses. He was about to go ahead and close the window when it was there again; that big gush of wind. At the same time, there was a loud thump on his door, followed by the rattling of the whole door as the wind passed through it. If Rahul wasn't frightened before, he was definitely now. He had to find his grandparents as quickly as possible.
He rushed to the door and out of it abruptly, not bothering to close the door shut. His room was on the first floor, with the old folks sleeping in the one downstairs. Rahul had reached the stairs and was about to take the first step down when he felt all that wind again. It rushed in through the window, through the door he left open, rushed towards him; but this time, it didn't hit him. Just before it could reach him, the wind diverted its course and rushed upstairs.
The panic was there, the anxiety was there, the fear was also there, yet his curiousness took over. Before he knew, Rahul had started to climb the steps up, following the wind. He had never ventured on the top floor of the cottage. His grandfather had said there were just some old things there, old dusty things never cleaned in ages. And he had looked damned serious when he had said, "It'd be better if you just ignored it!"
Nothing of that mattered at that moment. He had to find out what was going on with the wind. Rahul reached the top of the stairs and looked around warily. There was nothing on that floor except a single room. He slowly walked over to that lone door, the floor still creaking beneath his feet. But, all his senses were lost, all his curiousness drained; and all his courage was wiped away when he saw the door.
In that dark night, on that dusty never to be visited floor, on that lone door, were embossed some words in shining gold. The words he dreaded the most for the last fifteen day. The words of that chant.
Demons of the past reside here.
Maybe it was just the incidents or the influence of tonight's dream, but a soft no escaped his mouth. And as soon as he spoke it, that mysterious door screeched open by itself.
Rahul could still have run from there, away from those dreaded words that had haunted his dreams, but his feet dragged him in. Fear seeped into him with every step; his hands trembled with every creak; his whole body stiffened with every gush of the wind that swarmed in, but he didn't stop.
There was nothing in that room, not even the dust. Rahul glanced in every nook and corner of that room, but there was absolutely nothing. His body just relaxed a bit. He was about to close the door and go back when he heard a sound from inside the room, a soft, almost inaudible; purr. He turned back suddenly, staring in the eyes of the source of that sound; a small, cute cat. It had fur of the color of gold, but eyes pitch black as the night outside.
"Poor cat must have got trapped in here," he said to himself as he went to pick up the cat.
Though as he neared it, the cat disappeared, and in its place, a golden light shimmered in the dark night. A renewed wave of panic ran down his spine as he rapidly turned around and made for the door. But he never got out.
Before Rahul could reach the door, it shut closed with a loud thud. He was trapped.
He watched over his shoulder to watch that golden light nearing him at a slow pace. It was as if it was taunting him, teasing him, having fun with him before it did anything. Rahul was banging the door hard now, trying to pull it open or break it open, but all his efforts were in vain.
"Calm down child," a soft cute voice spoke behind him.
Rahul turned around, his back firmly against the door, but there was no one there, just the golden light. He was both frightened and confused to the point, that he himself didn't know which emotion was the prominent one.
"For the rest of your life child," that sweet voice spoke again, "remember this one thing...
Some words are better left unspoken,
Some places are better left undiscovered,
And;
Some demons are better left undisturbed."
There was no trace of Rahul after that night. Some said he was kidnapped, some say he ran away, but none of the allegations could be proved till date. His parents were distraught when they heard he was missing, but there was nothing they could do.
Though, the worst situation was of his grandparents. The old folks have been crying since that dreaded night. It has been two years since the incident, but they still believe that Rahul would come back to them.
Still, every day, they sit on their porch rocking their chair with only one expectation. That Rahul would return any moment. And every evening, their pet cat with striking gold fur and pitch black eyes plays by their feet, making a soft, almost inaudible purr.