The Abandoned House

It's 11 p.m. Subodh shouldn't be here right now. But, he had noticed a lot of strange things going on in the Evelyn Mansion. Once very cherished, Evelyn Mansion was long abandoned. The owners of the mansion had died long ago. The big house, covered in dust and vines, looked very dreadful. Everyone called it the "Bhoot Banglo" in the local language meant haunted house. Several people claimed to hear people walking or whispering. But it was all folklore. Last night returning home, Subodh noticed light coming from inside the mansion. He did not care for it. Well, he was too drunk to be concerned about it at the moment. He lived down the hill.

He had a small estate up there. Sometimes at nightfall, he went up there to inspect whether someone was misusing the plot or not and to enjoy some brandy with friends. A part of his garden was a vineyard. So he had ought to be careful. Wednesday night was a night like that. But that day, he and his friends were tasting some of the local wine. They were heavy on drinks. His friends lived on the other turn of the road. They took off. Subodh was returning all alone as usual. When he was walking past the Evelyn Mansion, he noticed the light but was too drunk to care. He returned home and slept soundly.

The next day, he recalled the event but wasn't sure whether he saw it right or not. He was very drunk at the time. Maybe, it was just the alcohol. So, before informing the police, he needed to make sure. He had called his friends. They would be down here shortly. It had been almost thirty minutes. His friends still hadn't arrived. Subodh started to grow impatient. He started walking towards the mansion. Today there was no light, no sign of any human. As he entered the front garden, he thought, "Oh God! I must have been very drunk to see such a thing." He was about to leave when he noticed something by the broken fountain. He walked towards it. To his utter surprise, he discovered a broken emergency light. Panicking in a dilemma, he started sweating. His throat went dry, he thought, "Should I go inside? No, no, I should run right now. There can be a whole gang. They could be armed. I should leave right now." As he prepared himself to run, "AHH!" he groaned. Someone has attacked him from behind. Someone banged his head. All of a sudden, the surroundings went dark as he fell to the ground.

__________

" I have settled our intruder, sir." spoke a man as he walked into the darkroom by the lake. The room was large with large old windows. The cold lake seems divine in the moonlight.

" Very well, Ajay. But do take good care of our guest," said the man sitting on the big sofa. Then he turned to a woman sitting right opposite, " We have to maintain the secrecy wisely if anybody ever found out about this; we would be good as dead."

"Don't know about anybody else, but we have to be very careful with the media. They are really on the roll these days. They almost managed to collapse one of the most powerful companies of the country," said the woman.

"Especially that lady. She seemed to be running everything fiercely. Our sources contacted her long ago on a case she refused the offer indifferently. We were lucky at the moment that our government connections got us out. We should leave. Keep an eye on her", said the man left. The woman gave Ajay a bundle of money while instructing him and left.

___________

Far away from the chaos of the city; stood the beautiful Evelyn Mansion in Darjeeling. Francis Robert Brown had it built for his dear wife, Evelyn Rose Brown. A few months after moving into the house, Evelyn fell very ill and used to keep herself shut in her room. Her illness or the reason for her cut off from the rest of the world was not known. But she was found dead shortly after. Their maid, Meera, who first discovered her body sitting up on her bed gazing at the wall stated that her open dead eyes looked terrified of something that she might have encountered. Two days later, her maid fell off the stairs and died. A week after that, the Browns' little girl of seven years was found dead at the nearby lake. After her death, Francis committed suicide by hanging himself by the ceiling fan in his study room. Naturally, after their death, the estate became abandoned as well as the mansion. Half a century has passed, people now refer to it as 'Bhoot Banglo' (haunted house). The tea vendor finished his story.

" What an intriguing story!" remarked the lady sitting nearby on a bench sipping hot tea. "Tell me, do you think these stories are true?" she added. The tea vendor smiled and replied, "Well, Madam, it has been so long, you know, since the owners died. No one knows the actual story anymore. It's all folklore now. With no maintenance for the past fifty years, it now looks dreadful. Some people also claim to hear noises of someone talking or walking."

"I understand," replied the lady. Then she turned to the car parked nearby and called, "Manohar, O Manohar, get it ready." After tipping the vendor, she prepared to leave. The chats on the mansion were still going on. Someone said from behind, " Do you know that missing man, Subodh? He saw some light coming from there before the night, he disappeared. I tell you something is very wrong with that house. Even the police searched and found nothing." Just then, Manohar brought the car, got out, and opened the backdoor for the lady. She got in the car and left. "Must be very rich, that woman. I wonder why she stopped by a roadside tea stall," said someone in the crowd. As people started chipping into that topic, a phone rang, a man in a black sweater got up and went to corner, a rather quieter place. He received the call and said, "Yes, she was here. She inquired about the place from locals. But I don't think she found anything suspicious. She has already left for Calcutta. I am telling you there is nothing to worry about."

"Shut up! How dare you advise me? Just do as ordered. Don't ever bother to share your opinions", yelled someone from the phone. The call got disconnected.

________

"Are we taking the road to Calcutta, Madam?" asked Manohar. She seemed lost in thought. So, Manohar raised his voice a bit, "Madam? Are we going to take the road to Calcutta?" "Huh? Oh, no, no, drop me off at Siliguri airport. I have a flight to catch.", replied the woman sitting in the back of the car. "Are you returning to the UK?" asked Manohar. " No, I need to get to Calcutta sooner. I am appointed to set up the new office of The Sight. It will take a lot of time; I might have to stay back there for a while.", she replied." In that case, you will need to arrange another driver to pick you up at the airport." said Manohar. " Well, I have that figured out but get there as soon as possible." said the lady. Soon, they arrived at Siliguri airport. After handing out her luggage, Manohar said, "Be safe, Madam." The lady smiled and replied, " Don't worry, I will be safe. It's a long journey for you. Drive safe."