Fire spreads on the shirt Neil weaing. He starts shouting badly. Avni is shocked to see him in such state and stands restless.
11 hours 45 minutes ago,
Avni banged on the door with both her hands. “Neil! Neil! Please come here and take me inside, it’s too cold to stay here, I will freeze to death, all this is happening because of this dead body, please Neil hear your wife begging you for help, you’re caring about the one who’s dead, but what about the one who’s alive?”
She said, banging on the door, but then she stopped hearing no response, tears of sadness and anger slipped out of her eyes, flashbacks of Neil carrying the dead body continued to haunt her. She shook her head and wiped her tears. “I won’t leave him alone here with the dead body. That dead body looks so evil, pitch black eyes, I must go inside and get it out of here,” she said and tried to open the door by all her strength but nothing happened. She sat on the ice getting tired.
She panted heavily. “There aren’t even rocks over here by which I can break the window and go inside, what to do,” she said to herself going near the window peeking inside. Just then cold air passed by her and she shuddered.
“A friend in need is a friend indeed,” said a cold raspy voice.
She turned back startled by the voice.
Just then the glass of the window broke on it’s own. She looked back at the broken window and then jumped inside and ran directly to her and Neil’s room. She watched narrowing her eyes at the dead body.
She moved Neil’s arm away from the corpse and pulled the dead body(Jasmin Bhasin) down, it fall with a thud.
She knelt down and took it’s arm around her shoulders and stood up making it stand and walked outside the room with the dead body. She dragged it all the way downstairs and out of the house. She pushed it down on the ice and came back inside, she looked around as if searching for something.
Her gaze went on the petrol can, her face had a sly smile, she took the can and then searched for matchsticks, she found them as well and went outside. She opened the petrol can and splashed it all over the body and then lit the matchstick and threw it on her but to her bad luck, it blew off before itself as the weather was cool. She groaned. “Whatever, if you can’t be burnt now, so then stay away from him, why do you keep coming back? Why? I hate you! I hate you!” – She said punching the dead body several times.
Then she stood up and went back inside closing the door. Soon, the dead body was once again covered in snow by the snowfall. Avni went upstairs and took some holy water and sprinkled it all over Neil and the bed as well. She became frustrated by his acts. And then he reacts as if nothing has happened. She laid down to sleep.
Next day, they woke up and the day started as normal but only for Neil and not for Avni, she was totally frustrated. He sensed her mood was bad and so he sat by her side. “Avni, what has happened?” He asked and she drew daggers at him by her eyes. “Seriously? You’re asking me that? Neil, once again you brought that lady’s corpse to our house and now you’re reacting as if nothing has happened? Neil, why are you doing that? Why did you forget everything in the morning? Why? Why Neil? I want my answers,” she shouted getting angry. “Relax Avni, if I brought the dead body, so then where is it?” He asked and she held his wrist and pulled him behind her taking her downstairs and then outside the house.
She knelt down and moved some of the ice and showed him the dead body. “Here it is, I was in the idea of burning the corpse but cold weather didn’t help. For the past two nights, you’re bring her to our house and romancing her in the bed. And you’re pleasing her and ignoring me” she said cryingly and angrily both at the same time. “Okay fine, fine, don’t worry,” he said and held her wrist pulling her up and then took the dead body inside the house.
“Why again?” – She asked. “To burn it,” – he said and she agreed. He poured petrol on her and lit the matchstick and was about to burn it but the matchstick fell on him only and his shirt caught fire. He began to scream vulnerably. “Neil!” Avni cried and looked around. “Don’t worry, I will do something,” – she consoled him and ran upstairs. She came back with a bucket full of water and emptied it on him, he was relieved
They had a hug eyeing the ominous dead body which caused Neil to burn. “Neil, you landed yourself in the danger in thought of cremating it. It’s better to go from here, Neil.” – Avni said eyeing the dead body cryingly. “Okay okay, we will go back from here, don’t worry,” – Neil said. He and kisses Avni’s forehead.
Avni holds his hands and glances it. She says, “Neil, there is no fire burns in your body.” Neil wonders, “But how could it be possible? I experienced first degree burns and it pained miserably but now there is no marks or considerable pain in my body”. Avni – “Neil, there is some tamsic powers around us and it is controlling us, honey”. Neil says, “Avni, you don’t worry. We shall leave the place soon”. They move to the bedroom.
“You both won’t be able to go from here, you both are bounded by here, you came here by your own wish, but would go by my wish. Both are going to die by my hands” said the same raspy voice which was inaudible to them.
Neil and Avni packed their stuff. When they are all set to go, the lights began to flicker that made Avni hugged Neil in fear.
As soon as the room’s mirror shatters into pieces, they turned with a jerk and saw the dead body’s smiling face in the broken pieces. “Neil! what the hell is happening?” – She whispered. “I also don’t know, let’s go,” – Neil said and they take their stuff and began to make their way out of the room.
They turned to leave the room, but in their way, the same corpse is laid by intruding the way. Both of them screamed. “What is this?”- Avni said. “Let’s go before something else comes in our way,” – Neil said. Neil moved the corpse little aside and they ran out of the room and as they neared the entrance door, it closed right on their face. They both banged the door. “Please someone open the door! Help us! We are trapped!” – Avni shouted. “Is someone there?” – Neil shouted from the bottom of the throat. He goes to the window to open it but the glass broke right as he approached it, the glass pierced his cheek and hand.
Avni turned back. “Neil!” – She shouts and ran to him. She got the glass pieces out carefully and then did the icing. After sometime, as they got no way out, they sat on the floor only near the door in a stressed condition. But then, fortunately, Avni remembered that the window from which she entered the house at night, was still broken. She stood up and opened it but the remaining pieces pierced her hand. She moaned. “Avni!” – Neil shouted worriedly and stood up running to her, he got the glass pieces out of her hand. “Avni just be careful, we can’t get more injured and stay here, we have to get out as soon as possible,” Neil said and she nodded.
“Neil, we can go out through this window.” – Avni said. “Okay, First you go.” – Neil said. “But why not you?”- Avni asked him back. “Please Avni! This is not the time to argue, it’s just that what if that evil spirit which belongs to that dead body comes back and harms you while I m out? I can’t take risk, so please you go first.”- Neil explained her patiently. She agreed. They both managed to out the stuff through window. Then Avni come out though the window.
“You guys aren’t still aware of our dangers, thats why you’re so casual” – said the same cold raspy voice which was again inaudible to them.
“Neil come,” – she said. He too jumped out of the window. “Whoff! Finally we made it,” – he said and then he realized something. “Holy Sh*t!” – He keeps his hand on his head. “Now what?” – She asked. “Still the dead body is in the house, we have to dispose it” – He said with a dull expression. “What! Are you mad? We could not take the dead boy with us in our car, Police may catch us though we aren’t guilty.” – she said and take breathe…
“Then, we never get rid of the evil spirit” – Neil said. “If we do as we say, we will get caught and jailed,”- Avni replies. He thinks where as Avni rubbed her hands out of chill weather.
Neil -“Honey, I have an idea, We shall burn the house, then the dead body too get scorched.”
As soon as Avni approved, Neil lit the matchstick and threw it at the house. Just then they heard devilish laughter from inside the house and then the spark diminishes. They looked at each other and then at the house. “What was that?” – She asked, he shrugged.
To their shock, the dead body came outside through the chimney, flies in the air and falls where Avni is standing exactly. Avni shrieked and fell on the floor due to it’s weight and pushed it away and stood up.
Avni -“Ugh! Only if we cut the dead body into seven parts and throw it to the different parts of the world, the corpse and the spirit gets peace”. Avni completes with full of anger.
Neil – “Relax Honey, that will only do the worst and it’s last rites would only get more difficult, it may come back even if it’s one of the tiny pieces of body is left.” (giggles*)
Avni – “Oh, that was so stupid of me!”
Both laughs.
Neil – “Okay, Be serious. We have to decide what to do with the corpse. We have to dig the past of it and see what’s it’s connection with us,”
Avni – “Who will help us to dig the past?”
Neil – “Our mind and our soul, or only mine I guess since I was the one who felt connected to this place and not you, and look the house is unharmed, it didn’t burn, let’s get inside”.
They get inside, dragging their suitcases but this time they didn’t unpack and directly went to search for clues.
They searched in room cupboards, at downstairs, under the mattresses and almost everywhere they could but found nothing. Both sit on the floor, getting tired.
“So much hard work, but still we got nothing,” – Avni said.
“Mind if I say to break the tiles and check?” – Neil asked.
“No way, we have nowhere else to go for now, where will we go if we will break this house?” – She asked.
Neil was left speechless. He closes his eyes laying his head back on the wall. He got a strange vision of two snakes crawling together and suddenly they turned back to their humanly forms. He opened his eyes with a jerk, seeing that it was the girl to who the dead body belongs.
To be continued…