As they made their way through the winding path toward the guest house, the breeze carried the scent of earth and distant incense.
The surroundings had a spooky charm, like nature itself was whispering secrets from a British diary.
Just then, Satya suddenly clenched his stomach, made a face like he had just heard a bad song, and stopped in his tracks.
"Uh… natural call. Can't ignore nature's summons,"
He announced and bolted toward a clump of trees, hopping over a bush like a wild rabbit late for an interview.
The rest of them slowed down, exchanging amused glances.
While they waited,
Rudra glanced at Mani, who was casually walking ahead with his towel still draped around his neck.
Rudra, curious, asked,
"Mani… Do you know anyone suspicious in the village? I mean, someone who might be benefiting from this Jackson ghost rumour?"
Mani stopped, looked over his shoulder, and rolled his eyes so hard they nearly made a U-turn.
"Anna(Bro)… This isn't some WhatsApp forward hoax. Jackson's ghost is real,"
Mani replied, hands on hips, dead serious.
Ravi chuckled.
Chuckle~
"You say that like he's a local celebrity."
"He is!"
Mani shot back.
"Why else do you think I buy five English newspapers every day?"
That caught Rudra off-guard.
"Wait, English newspapers? You mean someone in the village reads them regularly?"
Mani gave him a look that screamed, Bless your innocence.
"____"
"Not someone from the village. It's for the ghost."
"…What?"
"Yes,"
Mani said, matter-of-factly.
"It's tradition. We leave English newspapers at the gate of Jackson Bungalow every morning."
Sandeep burst out laughing.
Hahaha~
"Are you telling me the ghost reads The Times of India before haunting people?"
But Mani wasn't joking.
He leaned closer and whispered,
"One day, I forgot. ONE day. That evening, I got beaten. Slapped left and right. Nobody around. Just air pressure and pain. Like invisible Bruce Lee."
Even Satya, returning while adjusting his belt and wiping his hands with a leaf (grimacing), caught the tail end of it.
"Wait… so the ghost beat you up for skipping his subscription?"
Mani nodded gravely.
Nod~
"Since that day, not even a cyclone can stop me. I put those papers there."
Ravi muttered under his breath,
"Ghosts these days... literate, updated, and violent."
They all burst into laughter—
Even Rudra, who was trying to piece together this weird puzzle of Jackson the ghost, haunted newspapers, and now…
Maybe a reader ghost with political views.
Still chuckling, they continued down the trail, with Mani muttering,
"Just wait till you meet him. You'll see. You'll ALL see."
On the way to the guest house, their path curved along the edge of an old, iron-gated property cloaked in thick vines and mystery.
"There it is,"
Mani pointed with great drama.
"Jackson Bungalow. The one and only."
The structure beyond the rusted iron bars stood silent and cold, its Victorian arches still barely visible through the creeping mist.
Cracked windows, weathered walls, and a tree that looked like it could whisper curses—
Everything about it screamed Stay away.
"Looks like a haunted museum that ran out of funds."
Ravi muttered, half-impressed, half-nervous.
"No one believes me,"
Mani huffed, glancing at everyone.
"Wait, wait… I'll prove it."
He dashed to Satya's bike, rummaged around, and triumphantly pulled out an English newspaper that Satya had purchased earlier that morning.
"Eh, my The Hindu! I didn't even read the editorials!"
Satya protested.
"Shh!"
Mani silenced him like a monk protecting a sacred ritual.
Walking to the gate with an air of ceremony,
Mani carefully placed the folded newspaper just beneath the iron bars.
"Now… we wait,"
He whispered, hands folded like he had just placed an offering before a deity.
Rudra and the others exchanged looks.
Sandeep tried hard not to laugh.
Ravi muttered something about ghosts needing coffee and crossword puzzles.
They waited.
And waited.
Even the crows seemed bored.
Nothing moved.
No wind. No rustle.
Just a very anticlimactic silence.
Satya finally broke it.
"Maybe he's on leave today? Even ghosts need casual leave."
"Maybe he switched to a digital subscription."
Sandeep added with a grin.
Mani's shoulders slumped as everyone started to walk off, chuckling.
"____"
They left the gate behind, continuing their walk toward the guest house.
But just as the last one of them turned the corner…
Fwwfft.
The newspaper twitched.
Then dragged itself, as if pinched by invisible fingers, under the gate and disappeared into the mist.
Silence returned.
No one saw it.
But something had just accepted Mani's offering.
Guest House...
After settling in the guest house, Satya took over the corner table near the window, flipping open his laptop like a seasoned detective on a mission.
He connected a small portable printer and pulled out a sleek pen from his pocket—actually, a covert camera he had been using to take pictures of everyone he interacted with in the village.
Ravi leaned toward Rudra and whispered,
"What is he? CID officer or a tech YouTuber?"
Sandeep added with a smirk,
"If he pulls out a drone next, I'm done."
Within minutes, several photos were printed out—
Pictures of the villagers, the tea shop, the mansion, and even the group's own snapshots during their entry into Ayenpuram.
Satya began pinning them one by one on the bulletin board in front of him like pieces of a big puzzle.
As he reached for the last photo, a gasp came from behind.
Mani froze.
"____"
His eyes widened in horror as he pointed at one of the photos.
"Bro! Where… where did you get this?!"
The sudden panic in his voice caught everyone's attention.
Rudra, Ravi, and even Tarun leaned in to look.
The photo was of a woman—
Calm expression, red saree, standing beside the edge of the old cemetery gate.
"I took that on the way here."
Satya replied casually.
"She was standing near the path behind the cemetery. Thought she was a local. Looked normal to me."
Mani backed up a step.
His voice dropped.
"She… she's dead. That woman died four years ago!"
A stunned silence fell over the room.
"____"
"____"
"____"
Ravi blinked.
"Ehh?! Are you drunk already?!"
Outskirts of Ayenpuram...
Old Cemetery...
The wind picked up as thunder rolled across the darkening sky.
Thick clouds churned above, ready to unleash a storm at any moment.
Satya tightened his rain jacket, looking at the looming cemetery ahead.
"If there's truth to what Mani's been saying… this is where it starts."
Rudra, hands in pockets, looked around the eerily silent cemetery.
"____"
"Not creepy at all,"
He muttered sarcastically.
The group followed Mani,
Who seemed unusually enthusiastic despite the setting.
He marched forward confidently, leading them through moss-covered headstones and half-toppled crosses.
"There,"
Mani declared, pointing at a dust-covered grave under a neem tree.
"That's hers."
Satya didn't wait.
He jumped into action, brushing aside dry leaves and dirt.
But when the name was revealed…
"Antony."
Satya blinked.
"____"
"Mani, this is a man's grave."
Mani scratched his head awkwardly, chuckling.
Chuckle~
"Ahh… maybe… tiny memory lapse, saar. Graveyard full of dead people… little mix-up!"
Ravi snorted.
"Dead people mix-up ah? Gold, bro. You should open your own haunted theme park."
Before Mani could defend himself, he suddenly perked up and waved them toward another corner.
"This time, pakka,"
He assured, leading them near an iron cross grave with a candle flickering at the top.
Everyone paused.
"____"
"____"
"____"
A fresh bouquet of red roses rested delicately on the stone—
The same ones the woman had earlier.
Satya narrowed his eyes.
"I just saw that woman holding these exact flowers."
"Correct place, saar,"
Mani beamed, brushing off the stone.
As the leaves cleared, the name etched into the grave shimmered faintly in the lightning's flicker:
"Mary."
Satya frowned.
Frown~
"Wait, wait. No. She told me her name was Viji."
Just then, his eyes caught something that made his heart skip a beat.
"____"
Dangling from the grave's cross was a small silver necklace—a crucifix.
The same one Viji had worn when he passed her near the roadside earlier that day.
Satya's face paled.
"This… this is hers. I'm sure of it."
Rudra stepped beside him.
"Which means…"
Tarun muttered under his breath,
"…we've been talking to a ghost since morning."
Ravi, already clutching his arms in fear, looked at Mani.
"Bro, are you sure you're not dead? Just checking…"
The first raindrop splashed onto the grave as a gust of wind blew the candle out.
The entire cemetery fell into a chilling silence—
Except for the creaking of branches and the faint, faraway sound of a woman's laugh.
Satya took a nervous step back, staring at the necklace.
"No, no… I'm telling you, she was real. Like solid real. Breathing, blinking, smelling like rose perfume. Definitely a woman!"
But his voice cracked halfway, the confidence melting off his face like butter on hot paratha.
Mani, arms folded like an old village sage, clicked his tongue.
Tch~
"Saar… if you think that was a woman, then I'm Sunny Leon's driver."
Ravi, eyes darting around, whispered,
"So… wait… was she ghosting us literally?!"
Before anyone could respond—
Mani screamed and pointed behind Satya, voice trembling.
"Shit! Look behind you! She's here!"
All heads turned.
And there she was.
Viji.
Standing just beyond the candle-lit grave, her face now pale as chalk, lips curled into a twisted smile, dark circles around her eyes glowing faintly in the stormlight.
Her clothes fluttered without wind, and from her mouth escaped a spine-chilling, high-pitched cackle.
"Y-You're not supposed to be here…"
She whispered, her voice overlapping like three people speaking at once.
"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Satya threw his notepad in the air and ran like an Olympic sprinter,
Tripping over a tombstone before getting back up and bolting again.
Tarun did a backflip he didn't know he could do.
His legs swinging wildly in the air as he grabbed Rohit and yelled,
"Ghost yoga not for me bro!!"
Ravi tried to hide behind a tree—
But it was so thin, his belly stuck out from both sides.
"Don't move, maybe she only sees skinny people!"
Even Mani jumped into a bush, legs sticking out, mumbling some god's name, line-sounding gibberish like a badly tuned FM radio in his panic.
While his whole body is shivering.
Only Rudra stood still, his eyes narrowed as he locked eyes with the ghost.
She stared right back, her evil grin stretching wider.
Rudra took a single step forward.
But before he could say a word—
"NOOOPE!"
Ravi screeched, grabbing Rudra's arm and yanking him hard.
Rudra stumbled, nearly falling over, as Ravi dragged him full speed toward the bushes.
"Heroics later, ghost-lassi now!!"
Viji tilted her head, still smiling…
But made no move.
"____"
She simply stood there, laughing, as the storm finally broke and rain began to pour, hiding her slowly from view.
Rudra turned sharply as a cold gust passed him.
His eyes widened—
Viji was no longer there.
Instead, the sound of shoes slapping against wet ground echoed through the graveyard.
He turned in time to see Satya and Mani sprinting like schoolboys late to class, shrieking in terror as Viji chased them.
Her long gown gave the impression that she was floating.
"AHHHH! SHE'S FLYING! SHE'S NOT EVEN WALKING!"
Mani screamed, diving headfirst through a broken window of an old abandoned building nearby,
With Satya right behind him, nearly tripping on his own pants in panic.
Inside, the building smelled like mould and regret.
As the wind howled outside and the rusted door creaked open on its own,
Satya turned to Mani, breathing hard.
Huff~ Huff~
"You—pant—said she just floats and vanishes—pant—now she's chasing people?!"
Mani, eyes darting, snapped,
"I make tea for a living, not hunt ghosts! You handle this, police saar!"
They both turned in panic as a chilling silence fell.
Then suddenly—
A pale hand reached from the shadows and gripped Satya's collar from behind.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"
Mani didn't even look back.
He screamed, slipped on the mossy floor, and bolted out through another doorway, arms flailing like noodles.
Satya's voice turned into panicked muttering as he felt the ghost's breath on his neck.
"Hello? Please, madam ghost… I respect all spirits… You want tea? Samosa?"
Viji's ghost slowly circled around him,
Her eyes locked with his as her fingers traced his face like she was examining a piece of fruit at a market.
Satya gave a nervous smile.
"____"
"Okay… you're just checking if I moisturise, I understand—"
Suddenly—
Her fingers clamped around his throat.
He gasped, struggling, eyes bulging.
"Not like this! Not like this!"
He wheezed, his arms flailing.
Using the last of his strength, he pushed her off—
She fell back, collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.
Everything went silent.
She didn't move.
"____"
Satya coughed, stumbled toward her with a trembling hand, muttering,
Cough~
"Maybe she… maybe she just fainted? Spirits faint, right?"
He crouched down slowly.
"Viji madam…?"
He poked her shoulder with his index finger.
Nothing.
Swallowed hard.
"Maybe she—"
SHE SHOT UP LIKE A ROCKET and screamed into his face with glowing eyes and mouth stretched far too wide.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Satya's scream was shorter.
Because he fainted on the spot, collapsing to the ground, mouth still open mid-yell.
Viji tilted her head and watched him fall… then slowly smiled.
Meanwhile, outside the cemetery, Rudra and Ravi were cautiously catching their breath, still on edge from the ghost chase moments earlier.
That's when they heard it—
Two women's laughter.
Not ghostly or chilling.
But cheerful. Playful.
Almost… enjoying the show.
"____"
"____"
Ravi turned first.
His eyes squinted.
"Hey... wait a minute…"
Rudra followed his gaze, and his jaw dropped.
Standing under the shade of a banyan tree, watching like they were at a comedy show, were none other than Isha and her friend.
The same duo they met at the pub.
Both were giggling, arms folded, clearly amused by everything.
Ravi whispered out of the corner of his mouth,
"Bro… are we still drunk or is this a glitch in the matrix?"
Rudra just sighed, rolled his eyes, and started walking toward them stealthily.
Sigh~
Ravi followed.
A quick cough.
Cough~
The girls turned.
"____"
"____"
Isha's eyes sparkled with recognition.
Her friend gave them a playful smirk.
Smirk~
"Having fun?"
Rudra asked dryly, hands on his hips.
Isha chuckled.
Chuckle~
"Oh, tons."
Ravi folded his arms.
"So… you two just happen to be here, again, in the middle of a haunted cemetery?"
Isha gave him a wink.
"Technically? We planned this."
Rudra raised an eyebrow.
Isha leaned in with a grin.
"It was a prank. Viji—my younger sister—and I planned it with Mani. We wanted to see how long your police friend would last before passing out."
Ravi blinked.
"Wait, wait, wait… That ghost was her sister?!"
"And the Oscar goes to…"
Isha's friend added with a proud smirk.
Rudra let out a long sigh.
Sigh~
"And here I thought Jack's ghost brought backup."
They all shared a small laugh before Rudra suddenly remembered something.
"Wait. Satya."
They turned and rushed back toward the building, this time more relaxed.
Inside, the sight that greeted them was…
Mani is waving a hand over Satya's face.
Viji kneeling beside him, poking his cheek like he was a statue.
Satya? Unconscious. Mouth open. Possibly dreaming about ghosts and betrayal.
Rudra stood at the entrance with folded arms.
"So… prank successful?"
Mani looked up.
"I told her not to scream that loud! Look what happened!"
Viji shrugged innocently.
"He was supposed to run, not pass out like a goat."
Ravi just muttered,
"He's going to need therapy."
Isha chuckled and walked past them.
Chuckle~
"Alright, alright. Let's wake up the brave police officer before he sees Viji in his dreams and jumps off a cliff."
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N): I misuploaded. Since I have already uploaded a chapter on Thursday. So today's upload will be one chapter.
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review!!! And power stone!!!
Which will motivate me more?