Gaon ke paas ek purana peepal ka ped tha, jo itna ghana tha ki din ke ujale mein bhi andhera chha jaata. Raat ke waqt log us raste se guzarne se pehle apni saans rakh lete, kyunki sab kehte the ki wahan kuch bhootiya cheez hai—Chandrika, ek shraapit aurat, jo ped ke saath kab se wahan rahi thi aur apne agle shikar ka intezaar kar rahi thi.


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Raat ka 12 baje

Arjun: (hans kar) "Meera, Sahil, yeh sab purani kahaniyan hain! Ek ped se dar rahe ho tum dono?" Meera: (darr kar) "Arjun, mujhe yeh jagah bilkul theek nahi lag rahi. Ped ke aas-paas hawa bhi ajeeb si lag rahi hai. Chalein wapas?" Sahil: "Arjun, mujhe bhi lagta hai humein yahan rukna nahi chahiye. Dekho, ped ke neeche ka andhera kuch zyada hi gehra lag raha hai."

Arjun: (torch on karte hue) "Darpo! Tum dono daro, main dekhta hoon. Aaj sabit kar dunga ki koi bhoot-voot nahi hota."

Jaise hi Arjun ped ke paas gaya, hawa ruk gayi. Ek ajeeb si khushboo hawa mein ghul gayi, jo ghabrahat ko badhane lagi.


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Ped ke neeche

Meera: (dheemi awaaz mein) "Kya...