‘Huh, where am I?’ He thought. There wasn’t a place in the village he didn’t knew about. But this place.

It was fully dark, there were many buildings but they all looked old. The only source of light he could find was the lantern hanging from each of the houses.

Vishwa was creeped out; he had been to places with no people, but this place. It just increased his anxiety. He looked left and right to find someone, but he wasn’t able to see anyone. What creeped him the most was the fact that all the houses were the same and all aligned perfectly in the street.

Vishwa walked from house to house. But he wasn’t able to hear any sound coming from inside the house. It was as if no one lived inside the house. Or the residents of this street slept earlier than most people.

Skimming through the houses finally he came across one house. He could hear the sound of something coming from inside. When he finally heard sound from one of the houses, he thought that later might have been the case.

Vishwa neared the house. The house was not far from him. But everytime he took a step he felt like it was only getting farther and farther.

‘Well it was certainly well for his mind to play trick on him right now,’ Vishwa thought jokingly.

But really had he not gotten close to the house even after taking 100’s of steps. Vishwa’s expression was quickly changing to one of disbelief when he finally was able to reach the house.

He sighed in relief.

Preparing himself, he took a step on the wooden log. A rusty sound permeated the air. It further increased Vishwa’s suspicion. These houses were too old.

The sound coming from inside the house was now clearer than before. It felt like someone inside was preparing for a meal. Vishwa recognised the sound, it was the sound of knife grating on a wooden surface or whatever it might have been.

He took another step forward. Another one of those rusty sounds followed. The sound reverberated throughout the street. Vishwa didn’t knew but he had an illusion as if the sound was increasing exponentially as he drew clearer to the door of the house.

Vishwa looked around, he felt as if those houses on the street didn’t felt empty anymore.

‘I guess I am reading more and more of those horror stories.’ He scratched the back of his head.

After taking a few more steps in which the sound coming from inside became clearer and clearer. Also everytime he was coming near the house, it felt like the people from other houses were watching his movement in particular. ‘What am I even saying, there is no one here other than the people from this house.’ Vishwa thought as he shook his head from left to right.

Vishwa hadn’t realised but his heartbeat had started screaming in his ears. ‘Am I too nervous,’ he thought as he tried to calm down his heartrate. He took a few deep breaths and extended his hand.

‘Just ask the owner about the direction and leave this place,’ Vishwa was determined to not spend a single minute more than possible in this place.

Knock Knock

Vishwa finally knocked on the door. And just as then all the anxiety around him disappeared. He felt like no one was watching him anymore. And the unnerving sound of the knife grating onto something. It too had disappeared.

He waited for a few minutes but no one came from inside to open the door. He thought whoever was inside was scared from him. They might have misunderstood him for some robber or something.

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So Vishwa knocked again and took the initiative.

‘Hello, I know you are inside, you don’t have to be scared. I am just asking for directions to get out from this place, well I didn’t know when I came here. It would be helpful if you could just point me the general direction.’ Vishwa said out loud. Though he was nervous, he was able to ask the person inside for some help.

Vishwa waited for some more minutes, but no voice came from inside. Finally when he was losing his patience, he realized he had pushed the door open.

Vishwa thought whoever was inside must have opened the gate, so he said jokingly.

‘You could have told me that you had opened the door. I am coming inside.’

With that Vishwa fully opened the door. Vishwa was scared of his wits at that instant because he saw.

There was no one inside the house.

Like literally the inside was dark, and whatever light he could get from the lantern outside the house, he was able to see the inside of the house covered in dirt and spider cobwebs.

At a corner he saw a dark glint of something. Vishwa tried to focus in the dark and he saw a knife. It was shining with the dark glint of something liquid.

Splash

The liquid splashed on the ground, he was looking at the ground. He saw something that looked like some carcass, on the floor the blood of the carcass had filled the entire floor. The sound of grating he had heard before was the butcher knife trying to cut into the bones of the carcass. And if Vishwa was not mistaken, he thought he had seen a human head on the carcass looking in his direction.

‘Shit’ A curse came unconsciously from his mouth and without realizing Vishwa had started running away.

What have I done, what have I done. His insides were screaming against him. His hair had stood out at the end, goosebumps had filled his entire body and his heartbeat, he felt like his heart would just come out from his body.

Without looking back Vishwa dashed forward. Skipping out from the house and going onto the street running straight.

Vishwa felt like he heard a bestial roar coming from behind him. No not bestial, it was inhumane it felt inhumane.

Without caring for what was on his left and what was on his right Vishwa continued to run. Vishwa realized just how much he had to run today.

Finally when he had covered some distance from the house he looked back. He saw the house there only, it hadn’t gotten any far. Vishwa wanted to cry but he turned back and started running again.

This time though he felt like someone was chasing him from behind.

This time he realized the streets around him were getting darker. The lanterns burned, but it felt like instead of providing light and warmth to the environment. They made the surrounding cold and gloomier and dark.

Vishwa was not turning back. But each instant he ran forward and each house he crossed, he felt like many people were chasing behind him.

This continued for so long that Vishwa felt like he couldn’t run anymore. His body was trembling with each step forward, his breathing was hurried, he was taking breath from his mouth. His body burned with each step.

But Vishwa knew for a fact, if he tried to stop, he would face something much bitter than the burning sensation he was feeling right now.

The head of the carcass came in his mind, just thinking about it made him scared. Whose head it was, why did it felt like it was looking straight at him.

The more Vishwa thought about it. The more he realised. ‘I want to go home. Father save me.’ between tears he thought. It must have been a punishment.

The more he ran, the more closer the house felt from both of his sides. They were closing in on him from both sides. The house drew nearer and nearer. The thing chasing him from behind were also coming nearer.

‘I am going to die.’ Vishwa thought. This was the end. He was going to die at god knows where. Nobody would realise where he had disappeared.

When Vishwa thought he would die remaining unknown, another determination filled his body.

‘If I have to die I will die in front of those fatties, but not here, this place is much worse,’ Vishwa thought, at that instant a light was coming from one of the narrow corners.

When Vishwa saw the light, he didn’t think much and turned his direction walking into the light. With each step he took into the light, he watched as the light expanded, illuminating his face. At one time the light felt like it blinded him until he couldn’t see anything at the front.

That was then he realized he was out from that hell hole.

Vishwa looked around and found it was the night market. It was still open. Finally he was able to come out of that shit place.

He looked back from where he had come from, for an instant he felt like he saw some apparition looking straight at him. No not one, there were other smaller ones peeking at him through the walls.

The next instant he felt like there was no apparition, it was as if the whole thing was an illusion. Vishwa finally sat down on the ground.

He was getting stares from all the people in the market. But he didn’t care. He had escaped death, and he was happy that he knew that.