"Is it true?" Gauri asked Vijay from the corner of the living area and he turned to look at her, sensing her discomfort at once.

"For a few days only. They wanted to come to Delhi to meet us now that it has been almost a year." He felt a bit of guilt creeping in. He knew Gauri wouldn't like it. She never liked it when anyone visited them. But it was his friends from his hometown, from another state, who surprised him that they would be visiting Delhi to see him.

Delhi was a wonder for small-town folks but what fueled their desire to meet him was their mad curiosity to see their future sister-in-law.
Gauri. His childhood crush who had left his neighborhood and disappeared forever.
It came as a jolt to his heart when she had left one day with her family.
Little did he know that he would find her here, in Delhi.

A midnight walk, a strange coincidence, and chitchat were all it took to realize that the lost girl he had met in the nearby park was none other than his first crush, who now called herself Gauri.

Ever since Vijay told them that he had found the love of his life as soon as he came here, his friends have been crazy and never seemed to miss an opportunity to tease him. He even changed houses for her to make her happy. He was really in love and they couldn't believe it.

Looking into the mirror, his face reflected the joy he felt as their faces emerged in his mind. He put on his orange t-shirt and brushed his dark hair to one side.

"Should I leave for that time then?" Gauri had come to stand behind him.

"What? No! I want you to meet them!" He strained his eyes to the side of the mirror, raising his eyebrows which reflected the cream wall behind him.
He turned to face Gauri who looked ethereal in her sky blue saree which flowed on the floor like a waterfall cascading down her shoulder. Her paper white skin and pale lips glistened in the partially dark room and Vijay touched her cheek, stroking his fingertip over the deep scar which paved it's way down to her neck and cradled her face with warmth.
Tucking a lazy brown curl behind her ears, he transfixed his gaze at her brown eyes, "They are not like the city people. They won't bully you or me. Alright?" He squeezes every bit of conviction in his words that he could muster, wanting her to feel safe.

"I don't believe it. I could just leave for a few days, you know. And come back when they are gone. I don't want to lose what we have." Gauri hung her head low.

"What? No! Nothing could change between us! Never, ever. You will meet them. You will see that they are different than the people you have seen here. Don't you worry about anything." He hugged her and then stepped back, "I have to give this stupid exam now. You stay here, alright?" He gave her a peck on the cheek and made a run for the exam hall.

A week later, Vijay stood at the railway station, waiting for his friends when he spotted the tallest of them, Amit, his best buddy.
He waved, beaming at him and the greetings were exchanged.

Manish, another friend in the circle, who was a slender, bespectacled one watched Vijay with concern, "What happened to you, brother?" He blurted, examining the dark circles under Vijay's eyes.
His face seemed as if the skin was about to crawl off from the skull.
His hair was unkempt just liked his beard which made him look like a caveman.

"Yeah, man! Aren't you well? Does the water not suit you?" Rizwan, who was busy arranging the luggage, asked.

"A bit of cold. Change in the season. Nothing else. I will be fine soon!" Vijay chuckled and suddenly, he realized how much he has missed them. How much he missed being taken care of and how much he missed his old life back at home.

Soon, they made their way towards the rented flat and found themselves in front of a secluded, shabby-looking building.

You could hear the traffic from the main road but what Amit found strange was that there wasn't anyone around the area. Not even a sign of a dog.

"In big cities, people mind their own business. They rarely step out of the house," Vijay explained and Amit nodded, raising brows at Manish who seemed equally suspicious of the location. Rizwan, on the other hand, was lost in discussions with Vijay, interested in his college life here.

The four-storeyed building was covered with moss at the corners near the thick, black pipes which ran down to the base of the building where construction material was kept in small mounds.

"Man, your father has so much land, you should have asked uncle for more money, why are you living here?" Manish slapped Vijay's shoulder.

"Hey, I am not going to be a doctor like you! I have to save money for later." Vijay laughed nervously.

Amit eyed the slim windows by the pipes and noticed a movement in one of the windows.

"Chalo, at least somebody lives here." He teased and Vijay veered his gaze at the windows.

"Nobody lives here, man. Just Gauri and I." He told them.

"I thought you lived on the first floor." Amit pointed out.

"Yes," Vijay began walking.

"I just saw somebody on the third floor," Amit told Manish who glanced up.

"I have been living here for so long man. I am telling you. Come let us go. Don't you want to meet Gauri?" Vijay led them towards the staircase.

Rizwan, Amit, and Manish followed him to the hallway and Vijay opened the door.

The room was smaller than the ones they had in their town, Amit noticed. He saw that the living area didn't have any furniture other than a chair.

The counters in the corner contributed to the open kitchen which had a few utensils on the top and a mirror hung on the wall adjacent to the kitchen.

Vijay unrolled a thick rug on the floor for them to sit and they sat down against the wall, exhausted and grateful to finally splay their legs after a long journey.

"You guys settle down. I will call Gauri. She is very shy but I must say, I hid small information from you guys. You already know who Gauri is! If I tell you who she really is, your minds will blow away!" Vijay grinned pouring cold water in the thermacol glasses.

Rizwan glanced at Amit who was looking around the house in disdain as if he didn't trust the roofing or something.
Amit noticed that the damp walls were threatening to break off the plaster and there was a strange smell. He couldn't put his finger on I but there wasn't something right about the place. He had learned to judge like that when he used to go to different houses with his pandit father.

"Who is it, man? Show us already! All you do is talk about her. You said you will tell us when we visit you. We are here. I don't see anybody." Manish crossed his arms.

"Are you pranking us, brother? Does she even exist?" Rizwan chuckled.

Vijay stood up, "She is shy, let me call her."

Amit watched in anticipation as Vijay disappeared inside a room.

"Man, does he really live with a girl?" Manish wondered roaming his eyes around the house and clenching his legs together.

"I am not so sure about this place," Amit spoke more to himself and Manish agreed.

"Your father should carry out a hawan here. Look at this place. Nobody other than him in the entire area. Isn't he scared? He should have to take a PG." Rizwan shook his head.

"She is coming." Vijay stepped out and Manish could not wait any longer.

"Man, where is the washroom?" He asked and Vijay pointed to the door inside the room.

He hesitated thinking Gauri could be in there but when he couldn't hold his bladder anymore so he got up and bounced towards the room.

He reached the bathroom door and before closing it, he saw that the room was empty.

He frowned but went in urgently.

"Here, she is," Vijay announced, watching the doorframe with affection.

Amit and Rizwan waited a few seconds while Vijay steered his neck to the kitchen and gave a giggle, "She wants to cook a meal for you, I guess." He added.

Amit scowled, confused at the sight of the vacant kitchen
There was nobody else in the flat other than them.

"Where-" Rizwan began but Amit was intensely staring at Vijay whose eyes were lost to the kitchen. He looked as if he was entranced.

"You were saying we know who she is?" Amit began.

"Is this a prank?" Rizwan scoffed.

"Don't you see any resemblance?" Vijay scratched his beard and watched them with the expectation of an answer.

Both the boys were speechless, unable to understand what was going on.

Vijay chortled, "Arey! She is Gaurika! We used to play with her when we were young." Vijay announced with excitement.

It came as a blow to Amit's guts.
He watched as Vijay clapped his hand and fell back laughing at them.

"What? Who-" Rizwan began.

Gaurika.

The name sent Amit to the time when they were ten.
When their home wasn't counted in towns but a village. When one of the girls they used to play with fell into the well and died. When Vijay was the only one who was there when it happened. The time which formed the memories that became the reason his parents wanted him to go away to another place in hopes that he could forget everything.

That time had been arrested in his mind.

Even now?

"There is nobody man! What are you looking at?" Rizwan stood up, grimacing everywhere in the empty flat and suddenly a steel plate clattered down on the marble floor, making a loud, disturbing noise.

Manish scoffed while washing his hands in the bathroom. Vijay managed to pull such a big prank off. He really did deceive them for six months.

Bastard.

He looked into the mirror beside the cabinet, humming and set his hair with water.
His eyes landed on the small plastic bottle of medicine which was sitting in the cabinet.
He took it out and read the small printed alphabets that told him a name he had heard in one of his classes. His humming seized.

A neuroleptic. Didn't it mean an anti-psychotic drug?

Could it be…

Suddenly, he heard a loud noise and got out.

"How did it fall? Nice prank, brother. You got us. Are you going to pick it up or not?" Rizwan stepped towards the kitchen but Vijay stopped him.

Amit noticed Vijay had paled and was whispering something under his tongue, slowly turning his head towards Rizwan who was standing by the mirror.

"What-" Rizwan shook his head and in the mirror saw a horrifying glimpse of a woman with black teeth and rotten flesh breaking away from her face. Her hair was a mess, drenched in blood, and eyes empty, as white as milk, brimming with red. She gnawed at the cut in her neck, breaking the flesh open and a swarm of worms crawled out. She came to stop just before him and then she charged with her mouth open.

Rizwan screamed, breaking into a run towards the door while Amit sat jammed to his spot, unable to even breathe.

What was going on?


__________________________


What was going on? 😉
#writinghacked #storywriting #horror #originalwork

👉first attempt at horror 😅



© Samiksha Kemwal