HAUNTED HOUSE II

I

October 2017

10:00 pm

Pokhara

Simran, Arman, Sudeep, Bivek, Binni, and Udi were looking at the house. They were far away from the jungle of Pokhara. The house was like a bungalow. The house had shadows of leaves dancing on their whitened outer walls; commingle with the sound of deep breathing. All six of them heard the sound and were scared of the house as well as with the sound.

“The sound looked similar as shown in the television,” Simran said.

“True. It will be adventurous to all of us.” Sudeep said.

“I think I cannot stay at this house for the long period of time,” Bivek said. He was terrified and made his face.

“If you are so scared, then, why did you join for our trip?” Udi said.

“All of the friends make fun of me, so, I came with you guys,” Bivek said.

All of them laughed. In the meantime, Simran said, “Let’s go inside and see this house.” She said with the excitement.

With the excitement, they gave an entry in the house. The first room was huge. It seemed the living room. There were sofas and chairs. Not only was that, on the left side, there a small bookshelf. Instead of books, there were cups and dolls. Nearby bookshelf, there was a small showcase. With the dirt, they couldn’t see what was in the showcase and on the right; there were paintings which were not understood by them. In the middle, there was a big stair. They climbed the stairs. They looked here and there.

“The house seemed big and huge. Who used to stay at this house?” Binni said.

“We are tired so, let’s talk a rest. We can tour the house tomorrow instead of today.” Udi said and everyone agreed with her.

They went in the left direction. In the beginning, they saw the room and went to the direction. There were many rooms like in a hotel. They tried to unlock the doors of all the rooms but they didn’t succeed. So, they went in another direction. In the right direction, they too tried all of the rooms but didn’t succeed. Luckily, the 14th room was open easily. With the surprise face, they entered the room. The room was dark. Arman lightened the torch and searched the switch of the room. When Arman went for the switch, others looked for the room. The room was untidy. The kinds of stuff were not in the proper place.

“It’s not tidy room,” Simran said. 

“Yeah.” Binni agreed with Simran.

Meanwhile, the light was on. Arman came near to his friends. The room was extremely big. There were lots of sofa and bookshelves. There were tons of books. All six were amazed to see the books.

“How can we sleep in this room?” Simran said.

“Let’s clean where we sleep,” Arman said.

All six cleaned the room. Sudeep, Arman, and Bivek slept in the ground whereas Simran, Binni, and Udi on the sofa.

Armaan and Sudeep were childhood friends. They were the best friends. Simran, Bivek, Binni, and Udi were friends during the Master's Degree in the faculty of Management at Ace College. Arman and Sudeep joined for Master's Degree at Ace College in the Faculty of Management. Since then, these six became good friends.

Arman and Simran are in the relationship; Sudeep and Binni loved each other; whereas Udi and Bivek were in the relationship but broke few months as Udi found somebody else but nobody knows who the person was. Udi full name was Urmila but everyone prefers to call her Udi. Among them, Bivek is one of them who gets scared most of the time.

They completed their studies recently so, they were in free time and made a plan to come in the jungle. In the beginning, Bivek was not ready but he wanted to prove that he was not scared of anything.

The next day, they got up late. The time showed 8:36 am. With the laziness, all six of them got up. After being fresh, they ate their breakfast which they had brought from Kathmandu. After finishing their breakfast, they cleaned the living room as well as dining room and the room they were staying.

When they completed the cleaning, with the excitement, Simran said, “Let’s see the house.”

All of them agreed besides Bivek. He was terrified. All of his friends knew that he pretends that he is not scared but actually he wasn’t that strong person.

“Actually, lets’ go outside the house rather than visiting the rooms. We can guess the room; how they look like. Let’s see outside and walk.” Bivek was scared. His face showed that he was scared.

“If you don’t want to join us then don’t join us. You go out and have fun. We will see the rooms and can go out.” Sudeep said and all of them laughed. Then, they left the room. Bivek too joined them.

They tried to see all the room again but again they failed. They were curious about what’s inside the rooms as they were many rooms. They looked at their room where they were staying. The room was huge. There were lots of sofas and many bookshelves. There were many books. When Simran saw the books, she went nearby. She tried to open the bookshelf but it was locked. She searched the keys. When she was searching the keys, Arman said, “Simran will never be changed. Look at her.”

All of the five looked at her and smiled. She again started to search the keys but didn’t find the keys. She then gave up. More than the books, she was curious to see the diaries.

The rooms were full of books and sofas only. So, they went downstairs into the living room. They looked around. They were looking at the bookshelf. There were cups which seemed classy. Not only cups, but there were also other classy materials. 

“There are so many classy materials,” Simran said.

Not only that, they observed the painting. The painting was of one beautiful lady. The lady had worn red lipstick. There were big earrings. Moreover, there was a necklace which seemed beautiful and old fashioned. The painting was like passport size. The date of the painting showed in 1990.

“It seemed like I have seen this lady before but where did I see, I don’t remember,” Udi said.

“Same here, Udi. I too feel that I have seen this lady somewhere but where?” Simran added.

“You two might have seen in the social media or painting exhibition. Simran loves painting exhibition. You often go to printing exhibition and have seen there.” Arman said.

Although Simran and Udi agreed and nodded their head, Simran wasn’t satisfied with the response of Arman. She was observing the painting and the date. She felt like the date was not the correct. Moreover, the painting had something to say.

Arman was observing her and said, “Hey, don’t focus on the painting. It’s just the painting.”

She nodded but the painting stuck on her mind. After looking at the living room, they went outside in the jungle.

It was the evening time and the time showed 7:30 pm. After having dinner, they were in the living room. They were focused on the television which was an old version. The network sometimes used to show the signal. Luckily, this day there was a signal. They started to watch a movie named ‘Raj Mahal.’ Five of them were watching a movie; Simran was focused on the painting. She wanted to Google about the painting but there was a network problem.

II

The next day, they were in the room. All of them were chatting and laughing. Simran again started looking at the bookshelves. There were books from classics to modern. Most of the books were old and they were full of dirt. What she found strange was that there were a few new books. Those new books were unpacked. Those books seemed were brought a few days back. Who lives here? If someone is living here, why s/he is not visible to them?

When she was observing the book, Arman came near to her and said, “Hey, what has happened to you? You seemed lost.”

“I am not lost. I wanted to read the books so, I came here.”

"Come on Simran. We came here to have fun, not to read the books." He kept the book which she had in her hand. Although she was with her friends, she was focus on the books. Most of the books were romantic and tragedy. Not only was that, the books of betrayal of loved ones and friendship. What do those books mean? She knew those books had some meaning.

After two days, Simran was alone in the room. It was the right opportunity for her to observe the room. She felt there was something in the house. She started searching so that she could get something.

On the right side, there was a small bookshelf. She went on the right side. The bookshelf was locked and she started searching the key for the shelf. On the right side, there was a showcase which was huge and she found some keys. She took out all the keys and went near to the bookshelf. She tried all the keys but she succeeds at the end. In the beginning, it was difficult for her to open the shelf. The shelf seemed it wasn't open for many years and the locked was jam. After many attempts, she was able to open the shelf.

When she opened the shelf, she found lots of diaries. She took out one of the diaries. Diary was full of dirt. She was about to read the dairy, she heard the footsteps. She immediately closes the shelf and pretended that she was still sleeping.

Arman came inside and looked here and there. He then saw Simran sleeping and went nearby. He called Simran.

"Hey, Simran. Get up. It's already 10:00 am in the morning."

"Hmm." She pretended to open her eyes.

"What happened?" She added.

"I was about to ask the same question to you. What happened to you today? You didn't come to the dining table for breakfast. Are you alright?" Arman said.

"Yes, I am alright. I just wanted to sleep. I didn't want to get up."

"Get up and be fresh and come to the dining table."

"Ok," Simran said and Arman left the room. When he left the room, she immediately got up and kept the diary in her suitcase. After an hour, she was at the dining table.

"Hey, what happened to you today?" Binni said.

"I just slept today," Simran said.

Everyone started to have their lunch. After lunch, they started watching the movie.  When they were watching the movie, Udi said, "Let's go out. We can watch the movie later."

Everyone agreed and went to the jungle but their life was about to change.

III

It was already 8:00 pm. They were watching the movie whereas Simran was in the room and was reading the diary. The diary was of the year 2008.

Dear Diary,

Today was the first day at the college of Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. I have joined the college named Media Technology, Baneshwor.

Today, when I entered the class, I saw one guy reading English Newspaper. In the beginning, I thought he was a teacher who waiting for his student but later I came to know that he was also a student.

He was thin and had shaved the beard. He was white and had a worn shirt. I don't know what had happened to me after meeting him. I was focused on him only. I think I fell in love with me at first sight.

After a few minutes, we were about to know each other’s name. I was able to know his beautiful name: Arman Shrestha.

After I came home from college, I was thinking about him only. What's happening to me today? Why am I thinking about him only? Today I won't be able to sleep. 

Simran was shocked to know the name because the name was similar to her boyfriend. If Arman had an affair why didn't he say to her? He would have told her. She could have understood him but later felt that name might be similar but not the person. After reading the first page, she noticed the signature. The signature was unique. She had seen the signature. She was observing the signature and wanted to know the name.

Meanwhile, she heard the footsteps and hide the diary in the suitcase and took one of the books and started reading the book. All of the friends came in the room.

"Look at the girl. This girl will marry the book rather than Arman." Binni said.

All of them laughed. Even Arman and Simran smiled. Then, Simran said, "Obviously, I will marry books rather than Arman. He is a boring guy. He is neither romantic nor interesting."

"Then, why did you fall in love with me?" Arman said.

"You were after me." Simran smiled and said.

He got angry. She, then, got up and went near to him and said sorry. Both hugged. She had lots of questions and was waiting for the right time.

IV

They all were sleeping. The time was 12:30 am. The sound of the window was heard by Binni. The window opened and again closed which disturbed Binni. She ignored the sound. Again, she heard the sound and noise. “I will kill you.” She heard it and got up. She looked outside through the window. It was dark. She saw one person in the backyard. She could see only the back side of the person but unclear. Binni was frightened. At the moment, the person was lost. She was shocked. She tried to sleep. Again, she heard the same sound. This time, the sound was louder which made Udi awaken. Both were awakening.

“Did you hear the sound?” Udi said.

“Yes, I heard the sound before and saw one person too,” Binnie said.

“Really?” Udi said and got frightened.

Simran heard the small talks and got up.

“Why are you making noise? What happened?”  Simran said.

Even the boys got up. Binni and Udi explained everything to their friends. They didn’t believe what Binni ad Udi said.

“Why didn’t we hear the sound?” Sudeep said.

“I have no idea,” Binni said.

“In the beginning, the sound was smaller but the second one was bigger which was scary,” Binni said.

The environment was silent. Binni and Udi were panicking. Meanwhile, after observing Binni and Udi, Arman said, “Don’t panic. Everything will be alright. Now, sleep. The next day, if you hear the same noise, we will search the person who was making the sound.”

Everyone agreed and slept. 

V

It was 8:30 pm. Simran kept the diary over the book and started reading the diary.

Dear Diary,

In the beginning, I thought it was infatuation love with Arman. As I am already in the relationship for two years, my relationship isn't working. I needed a break from my boyfriend because he doesn't love me and always argue with me. I wanted to break the relationship but isn't ready. So, I started ignoring him.

Arman, when he talks I want to listen to him. When he smiles, he steals the heart. He is so caring as well as sweet and cute. More than that, he is friendly.

As time was passing, I am in love with Arman. I forget my bitter experience of my relationship. I don't know whether he knows about my feelings or not but one day, he will know.

Simran read few pages of dairy and knew how the girl felt for Arman and Simran knew that the girl finally broke u with her boyfriend. Whenever the girl mentioned about Arman, Simran started doubting on her boyfriend. She was curious to know the truth about whether Arman was the same person or not. She was confused about whether she should ask him or not. What if it is true? What if it is false? What will be his reaction? She had the fear of losing him as she loved him truly.

The same night, all of them were watching the movie.  Simran was observing Arman. She felt it was useless to doubt him and felt he was not betrayal. He cannot betray anyone.

It was 12:30 pm. The strange sound was heard again. She got up and looked through the window.  She saw the person again. She then called to her friends and all of the six went outside but saw nobody.

"There is nobody. Let's go back." Sudeep said.

All of them returned to the room and slept; whereas Simran couldn't sleep as she had seen the footprints. She was curious to know about the footprint.

VI

"This house is scary and creepy. Let's go back. I think in this house, ghost lives. That's why Binni and Udi heard a strange sound. How can I stay more in this house? Let's go back, guys.“ Bivek said.

Everyone used to make fun of him and Sudeep said, "You are always sacred. We will stay here for a month. If you want to go, and then go," Everyone laughed.

"Its 9:30 pm.  Everyone is in the mood. So, let's play a game." Binni said.

Everyone was excited. Simran then said, "Let's play truth and dare."

She wanted to know about her boyfriend. Everyone agreed. Binni and Udi were excited. Meanwhile, Binni said, "I will know about Sudeep."

"Very true." Arman agreed.

All of the six sat on the floor in the room. Binni spun the bottle. The bottle showed towards Udi.

"Me, first?" Udi made her face.

"Truth or dare?" Binni said.

"Truth."

"Do you still in love Bivek?" Binni said.

She remained silent and looked at Bivek. Bivek too looked at Udi. She then looked at Binni and said, "No, I don't love Bivek. He is so scary and doesn't protect himself."

All five of them gave a smile whereas Bivek turned red. He looked at everyone's face. He couldn't say anything. He felt ashamed.

Then, Udi spun the bottle. The bottle showed towards Bivek.

"Truth or dare?"

He felt nervous and said, "Truth."

"He cannot do daring." Arman made fun of him.

"Do you have a girlfriend? " Binni said.

"No."

"Then, why did you say that you have a girlfriend?" Binni said.

"To show off." Bivek then spun the bottle and it turned towards Simran. She felt the right opportunity to know the truth of Arman.

"Truth or dare?" Bivek said.

"Truth."

"Did you have any relationship before?"

"No, I didn't have any relationship before but Arman had."

"What?" Everyone said at the same time. They were shocked to hear it.

"What are you talking about?" Arman said and made a face. She observed him.

"Tell me where did you study?"

He remained silent and she turned over to Sudeep. "Sudeep, tell me where did you study your Bachelor's Degree? You and Arman are the best friend since childhood. You know the truth."

Sudeep too remained silent. Both looked at each other. Although they were not nervous, it seemed they were hiding the truth.

"Yes, he was in the relationship but it didn't last for more than a month. We studied at Himalayan White House but why are you asking those questions?"

"I thought he had studied in Media Technology and had an affair in the college."

He mentioned silent. He was nervous. He didn't have the response of Simran.

"No, we studied at Himalayan White House. You knew about it."

"Sometimes, I doubt on you. You might betray me."

Simran was serious and went for sleep. All of them looked at each other. They felt awkward. Meanwhile, Arman went near to her and said," Hey, I am really sorry.  I didn't mean to hurt you."

She didn't say anything. She felt he was lying to her.

VII

It had been a day; they weren't speaking with each other. He wanted to speak but he wanted to give her time.

All five of them were watching a horror movie whereas Simran started reading another diary.

Dear Diary,

Arman proposed me on Valentine's Day. I was so happy that he proposed to me. I didn't accept that he shall propose me. I was planning to propose to him if he didn't propose to me. I am lost in a world of love. Now, the relationship has been different. Arman was a good friend and now he has been a boyfriend. I am so excited. No words to explain the happiness.

Simran was reading more and got to know about the love between the girl and Arman. The second diary was full of Arman and their relationship.

After he read the diary, she was curious to know the name of the girl and wanted to see the photo of Arman and the girl.

VIII

Sudeep got up at 7:00 am. He was still in sleep and went to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator. He then took out the bottle and drank water. After drinking water, he left the kitchen and reached the living room. He clashed with the dead body and fell down. When he saw the dead body of Bivek, he screamed and he fainted in the living room. The scream was so louder that all of the four got up and went on the living room. They saw Sudeep as well as Bivek.

All of the four were shocked to see the dead body of Bivek. They went near to Sudeep and Binni said, "Sudeep, get up. Please, get up."

In the meantime, Arman brought a bottle of water and drop in the face. He looked here and there. He was nervous. He couldn't speak for a while. He had blood in his hands and clothes. When he saw the blood, he screamed and went near to his friend Arman and hugged.

"What's happening? How did Bivek die?" Sudeep said.

"We even don't know," Arman said.

All of them got panic. They didn't know what they should do with the dead body. In the meantime, Simran said, "What should we do with the dead body of Bivek? Who killed him?"

Everyone was looking at each other's face. Then, Armana said, "Let's dig the dead body."

"Let's call the police instead of digging the dead body," Udi said.

"No, let's not call the police. If we call the police, they will suspect us. They will find the cloth of Sudeep. It will be evidence for the police."

Everyone agreed with Arman.

IX

All of the five couldn't sleep the whole night after the death of Bivek. Simran felt suspicious about the house. There was a connection between the girl and the house. So, she looked here and there. She then looked reading the diary.

Dear Diary,

What's happening in my life? My heart was broken by Arman. I didn't accept he could do this to me? I thought he was a decent guy but he pretended to be a decent guy. He played with me.

Since I saw him, I was in love with him and was accepted to get true love from him. When he proposed to me, I was glad. I was not in this world. and was lost in the world of love.

To say the truth, he changed after a few months. I didn't understand the double face of him.

One day, he called me and said it was his birthday. He called me at his home. In the beginning, I felt awkward to go to his home in the evening. However, he convinced me to join his home as all of the friends of the college. So, I lied to my parents that I was about to stay at the friend's home and they agreed.

I reached at his home around 7:00 pm. He and Sudeep welcomed me. Sudeep was the childhood friend of Arman. When I entered the home, I didn't see any friends and asked Arman about friends. He said that he had called all of the college friends and most of the friends will arrive at 7:30 pm. I trusted him. So, I waited and waited. Both of them were drunk.

It was around 8:00 pm. I was sitting on the sofa and was busy with the phone. They both come near to me. I never forget the day. When they came near to me, I smiled and they too smiled. They both looked at me and then looked at each other and smiled. Their smiled was different which made me uncomfortable. They came closer to me and then they both raped me. I wasn't able to escape nor self-defense.

I didn't accept they could do this to me. The whole night, I couldn't sleep and cried a lot.  The next day, I reached home. The night had changed my life. After this incident, I stopped going outside and stopped talking with most of the people. My parents were amazed at the change in my behaviour but I remained silent. I couldn't share my problem either with my parents nor my friends. After this incident, Arman and I didn't connect each other. My life became hell. I became weak day by day.

There were tears in the eyes of Simran. How could a person be like worse than an animal? How could Arman be violent?  Not only Arman, Sudeep too became like that? This incident made Simran guilty. She wanted to know more about the girl. What had happened next? There was no further information in the diary. It was the last diary.

X

The next day, the time showed 9:00 am. Arman got up. Everyone was sleeping. He got up and went for the washroom. When he was inside, he saw the dead body of Sudeep. He was terrified to see the dead body of Sudeep. He called his friends.

"Simran, Simran. Please, get up. Binni and Udi, please get up."

"Hm. What happened? Why are you so scared?"

"Sudeep, Sudeep."

"What happened to Sudeep?"

"He is dead."

"What?' Binni got up immediately.

"Don't joke early in the morning." She added.

"Washroom."

Everyone rushed to the washroom. Simran knew who killed but she didn't prefer to say anything because she didn't have any shreds of evidence.

"Sudeep, Sudeep." Binni said. She cried a lot.  She was sitting near the dead body of Sudeep. Udi and Simran consoled her; whereas Arman was nervous as well as in tension.

XI

It has been two days of Sudeep's death and they were still shocked. Binni, Udi, Simran, and Arman were in the living room. They were silent. Noone was preferring to speak in this condition especially Binni. She was lost in the world of Sudeep. Her eyes were filled with the tears.

Arman got up from the sofa. When he got up, Simran said, "Where are you going?"

"To sleep."

"Please, stay for a while. I have a surprise for you."

"Surprise? At this time?"

"Yes. Please stay."

When she insisted, he joined her. All of them were waiting for the surprise. This time was 11:30 pm. All of them felt sleepy and Arman looked at Simran. After observing Simran, Arman said, "Where is your surprise?" He said angrily.

Simran got up from the sofa and said, "You want a surprise? Here is your surprise. Sophie, please, come in."

When Sophie came, Arman was shocked. His face was changed.

Binni got up and said, "Who is this?"

"Why was your face changed, Arman? Do you remember her?"

Arman remained silent and looked around. 

"What is the connection between Sophie and Arman?" Binni said.

"Should I tell the story or you will say?" Simran said.

"Story?' Udi said.

"Yes, story," Simran said.

"OK. I will tell the story." Simran said. She told the story. Binni was shocked and sat on the sofa. She didn't believe that Sudeep raped and moved easily in his life.  She was betrayed. Udi was shocked because Bivek knew about the incident and he remained silent.

"After the incident, she tried to commit suicide but couldn't. She went to the court but she lost the case. You made the case to be lost. Again, she gave up and tried to commit suicide. So, she planned to kill three of you. She made the strange noise and made all of you frightened with her.

When Bivek came down, she was in the get up of the ghost and terrified. She killed her and left no evidence. Same happened with Sudeep. Now, it's your turn, Arman."

"No, you cannot kill me. You still love me. You cannot kill me. I was drunk at that time and it happened accidentally. Forgive me."

"Forgive you? After the incident, how can I forgive you? Can you bring my life back? Can you bring my happiness? Can you?" Sophie said angrily.

Arman tried to escape but both Sophie and Simran kicked in his legs and he fell down. Binni and Udi were in support of Sophie. After listening to the story, they hated Arman.

Sophie was carrying a knife and bottle. She knew the bottle in his head and killed him with a knife. They left no shreds of evidence.

XII

The next day, after lunch, they packed their bags. After packing the bags, Sophie said, "Thank You."

"You don't need to thank me. If I hadn't read your diaries and met you last night, I couldn't have known about you. I thought you had died. So, I came here to know the truth with my friends."

"You two knew each other?" Binni said.

"Yes, we know each other since childhood. We used o share everything but after the incident, she stopped talking. She didn't prefer sitting at the home and often came to this house in search of peace. I used to follow her. Suddenly, she was lost and didn't know about her. So, I planned to come here. I found her diaries and read those diaries. In the beginning, I didn't believe that Arman could do this but last night when we met I believed Sophie. She told me the whole story.  She showed me the DNA test which forced me to believe."

The environment remained silent. There were tears in the eyes of Simran. She had loved Arman truly but he betrayed her. Not only her, but he had also played with Sophie.

"Now, let's go and thank you, girls, for your help."

"That's fine." All smiled and left the place.

When Simran reached her home, she was lost. She threw all the gifts of Arman; whereas Binni and Udi too did the same thing. They often met Sophie. With the help of them, Sophie was able to move ahead.