Exclusive chapter from my Horror Novel- Aadita

From Chapter Fourteen

Aunt Neeta sighed and put her hands on her hips. “This isn’t how you do it,” she complained. “You’re not holding it right.”

Raina looked at the silver spoon in her hand and then back at her aunt. “I... I don’t feel up to it.”

Aunt Neeta shook her head. “Weren’t you taught anything? Almost eighteen and you don’t even know how to polish silver? Do you how to at least cook a hot meal? Someday you’ll be married. What kind of wife would you be if you can’t even cook or take care of the house for your husband?”

Raina swallowed and laid the spoon down. Her arm ached and her shoulder ached and her legs hurt worst of all, but she was lucky enough not to be in a cast.

She looked down at the table as Aunt Neeta went on talking about how she wouldn’t be able to keep her husband happy and wished she could tell her to leave her alone. She didn’t want to get married and she definitely didn’t want to do any housework. All she wanted to do was garner enough energy and walk out.

“Are you even listening to me?” Aunt Neeta said, breaking into her thoughts. “For heaven’s sake, you can’t even walk straight without falling off a flight of stairs.”

Raina watched her aunt take an exasperated breath. “Did you at least finish knitting a sock?”

“My hand hurts and I don’t...”

“Enough!” Aunt Neeta yelled. “All you can come up with are excuses. Why, if you had spent more time doing something constructive rather than wasting your time thinking up inexplicable excuses...”

Raina opened her mouth to explain herself and decided not to. Her eyes pricked with tears and she knew that if she tried to argue with Aunt Neeta, she would burst into tears and her aunt would reprimand her for that, too.

“I can’t believe your mother didn’t teach you anything. It should have been obvious, though; look at the way you dress!”

Raina bit her lip and then remembered how her mother had complained about dropping the habit. She clutched the table and found herself suddenly unable to breathe.

The room seemed too blurry and when she looked down at her left arm, there was a large bruise spread across from her wrist to her palm. Aadita had done that! She looked at her leg and saw her leg dotted with dark bruises and her ankle swollen red. Aadita had done that, too!

She was trapped! No one would believe her, Aunt Neeta disapproved of her; her grandfather disliked her staying here in his house and her parents were off on a business trip, god knew where. She was alone and Aadita wouldn’t stop until she was dead, just like...

A loud clanging sound shook her out of her thoughts. She gasped out loud and pushed herself away from the table. She half-expected Aadita to be standing right before her with a metal rod or something perhaps even more lethal. Instead it was just a platter that had escaped from her aunt’s hands.

She watched groggily as her aunt bent to pick it up.

“It’s all your fault.” she said. “You’ve gotten me so angry that had this been glass, it would have shattered into a thousand pieces.”

Raina looked at her aunt in disbelief and ran out of the kitchen towards the front door.

“Where are you going?” her aunt called.

Raina pulled down on the door handle and walked outside.

“Leave me alone,” she said through gritted teeth. “Leave me alone!”

She walked into the garden and hugged herself. She didn’t want to stay in this place anymore. She couldn’t fight her aunt and she definitely couldn’t deal with Aadita.

“I have to go,” she told herself. “I have to...” Her breath caught in her throat. She felt a cold weight on her chest and suddenly she couldn’t breathe anymore.

But Aadita took no notice of her as she caressed the leaves of the jasmine plant gently, as if she were consoling a child. As she watched Aadita standing in a lavender dress with her back to her, Raina’s first thought was how pretty and peaceful she looked as she whispered soft words to the plant.

Raina stared at her and started to open her mouth to scream. It was broad daylight and Aadita stood clear in her view.

She thinks she’s alive, a voice in her head screamed. Do ghosts believe they are alive?

Just then Aadita turned towards her as if she had just sensed her presence. Raina covered her mouth with her hand as Aadita gave her a defiant look and then smiled broadly at her.

“Oh my God!” Raina said, but her voice was just a whisper.

Aadita started to walk closer to her, whispering something she could barely understand.

“Raina?” Someone called her, but she was unable to take her eyes off Aadita.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and gasped as she turned around. “Ahan?”

Ahan looked down at her in concern. “Are you okay?”

Raina turned to look back, but Aadita had disappeared again.

“Raina?” Ahan asked again.

She stared at him for a few moments and then fell into his arms. “Help me.” She started to cry. “She’s going to kill me. She’ll kill me.”

Ahan put his arms around her and stroked her back comfortingly. “Hush. Take deep breaths.”

“Take me away from here. She’ll kill me,” Raina babbled.

“Who’ll kill you?” Ahan asked.

Raina pushed back a little. “Aadita. She’s going to kill me. Please, take me away from here.”

Ahan put an arm around her and started to walk. Raina shivered and looked down at the grass. She knew that if she would look up, she would see Aadita again and completely lose it. She looked down at her feet and saw that they were crossing the road and walking towards—

“Not the lake!” she screamed. “Not there, not there!”

Ahan had been taken aback by her sudden outburst, but managed to compose himself immediately. “Okay. We’ll... I’ll take you to... uh... let’s go get coffee. Is that okay?”

Raina shivered and wiped her nose with the side of her hand. “Okay.”

Ahan took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. Raina winced when his hand brushed against her sore shoulders, but she welcomed the warmth.

“You’re freezing,” he said as he opened the door to his car.

Raina sat inside and closed her eyes. On her right was the lake and on her left was the house that Aadita was haunting.

Ahan closed the door and walked over to his side.

Raina clutched the jacket closer around her and shivered.

“It’s July,” Ahan said as he sat down and put on his seatbelt.

“Please,” she begged.

Ahan nodded and started to drive. “Close your eyes and count till hundred. When you open them again, we won’t be here anymore.”

Raina nodded and closed her eyes again.

“We’ll be stuck in traffic,” Ahan joked but Raina didn’t smile. She couldn’t wait to get out of there.

~ * ~

Raina looked around and was glad to see herself surrounded by people and shops and restaurants. Ahan had chosen the perfect cafe in town. She could smell the freshly brewed coffee and the cinnamon rolls coming out of the oven.

It was July and hot, but she welcomed the soft breeze that brushed her hair every now and then and she found herself able to lean back in her chair and relax.

“Do you like it?” Ahan asked. “Or do you want to sit inside.”

“I’m okay here,” Raina replied. It was getting even warmer but she couldn’t bring herself to move from her chair.

“I ordered you some chamomile tea,” he said. “The last thing you need is caffeine

Raina pulled the jacket closer to her and looked down at her feet. Now that they were away from the lake and the house, she felt a little foolish. She must have really scared Ahan when she had embraced him and then demanded he take her away. What must he think? And worse, what if he needed an explanation for her behaviour?

The waitress arrived then and handed her a cup of tea. Raina put her cold hands around the mug and relished the warmth that spread over her.

Ahan sipped his coffee and made idle conversation that Raina was finding hard to follow. Her mind went back to what had happened last night. She had been so sure she was going to die or break her bones, but astonishingly she had escaped that predicament. Except for a few bruises and a swollen ankle that hurt every time she walked, she was fine.

But it was then that Aunt Neeta had walked in and at first she had been almost glad to see her as she tended to her wounds. But after she was in bed, Aunt Neeta had started to complain about how she was so tomboyish and how she would not have tripped over her shoes had she been wearing ‘lady’ shoes instead of sneakers.

Raina looked down at her skirt and sandals and wondered what made Aunt Neeta think that one couldn’t trip while wearing heals and a skirt? She smiled then and was rewarded by a smile from Ahan.

They talked then about the weather and the shops and how good the hot chocolate was, after which Ahan told her funny stories about his holidays with the family.

As Raina sipped her hot chocolate, she was aware that her hot beverage wasn’t the only thing that made her feel nice and warm.

After a while, Ahan pushed away his empty mug and leaned forward. “Raina...”

She pushed her own mug away and started to bite her lip.

“It’s going to bleed if you keep chewing on it.”

“That’s what my mom says too,” Raina replied and took a deep breath.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Raina tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at him with uncertainty. Her mind raced to come up with excuses. “What were you doing at Grandpa’s?”

“I heard about your accident and came to see you,” Ahan said. “I even got you flowers, but I must have dropped them somewhere in your garden.”

“Thanks.” Raina smiled and then a thought occurred to her. “That happened last night. How could you have possibly known?”

Ahan hesitated and then managed a weak smile. “My uncle works for your grandfather.”

“Oh?”

Ahan clasped his hands then. “He’s a gardener.”

“Jeevan?” Raina asked.

“You know him?”

Raina nodded quickly. “How come you didn’t tell me that before?”

Ahan shrugged his shoulders.

“How come Jeevan didn’t tell me?” Raina wondered out loud.

Ahan glanced away then and, watching him hesitate, Raina started to put it all together. Ahan had said he had come to town to sell off his cabin by a lake; his uncle was a gardener and even though his parents had been surgeons, Ahan was going off to a community college.

Raina stared at her mug and realised that Ahan was obviously having financial troubles, something she hadn’t thought she had to worry about. He had been having his own problems and she had dumped hers all over him today by freaking out.

“You were scared,” Ahan said. “It may be none of my business and you can tell me that, but if you think of me as your friend, tell me how can I help.”

Raina waited as the waitress picked up the empty mugs and asked if they needed anything else. As they both replied they didn’t and Ahan paid the bill, they started to walk.

“Aadita,” she said. They were walking down the promenade and Raina felt comfortable enough to tell him the truth.

Ahan turned to look at her but said nothing. He put his hands in his pockets and gestured her to continue.

“I think I see her ghost,” Raina said and then realised how ridiculous the whole thing sounded, but Ahan didn’t give her any inkling that he thought the same.

“It’s like she’s following me,” Raina continued. “She tried to drown me, then saved me, then push me off the stairs... this may sound crazy but I think she saved me last night too. I fell down a lot of stairs and I was about to hit the railing, but at the last second... something just stopped me. That’s the way I remember it anyhow.”

“My uncle told me how he had been seeing things too,” Ahan said.

“I’m not seeing things! I’m not imagining this!” Raina yelled.

“I believe you,” Ahan said.

Raina looked at him and saw the sincerity on his face. “I don’t even believe myself. Sometimes I feel like I’m losing it. And I don’t want to feel like that anymore.”

Ahan took a deep breath before he spoke. “There is something going on in your house. Even though everything can be explained by science, I do believe that some things are not. The thing is, my uncle has seen Aadita… your Aunt Lily had too and now you are.”

“I do. I really am not imagining this, am I?”

Ahan shook his head. “You probably don’t know this and I imagine your family must have kept this a secret from you, maybe to protect you.”

“Okay?”

“People in my town believe that your great-aunt put a curse on your family. There are a lot of rumours going around and there is no possible way to find out what really happened. All everyone knows is that something terrible was done to Aadita for her to curse her own family.”

Raina remembered the conversation between Uncle Rabindra and Aunt Lily that she had eavesdropped on months ago. “The curse on our family, where no girl child would survive?”

Ahan nodded.

“I’m a girl. How did I survive?” Raina shook her head. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“You defied the curse when you were born, putting all those rumours to rest,” Ahan explained. “To be honest, your family has quite the reputation. For several years before you were born, parents wouldn’t allow their daughters to play with the sons in your family for fear of contracting the curse- as if it was contagious.”

“At least some good came out of me being born,” Raina blurted and then blushed furiously.

“Don’t say that,” Ahan said. “Don’t ever feel like you don’t deserve to be here. I’m not going to pry into your life and demand to know everything’s that going on, but as your friend I want you to feel like you can come and talk to me whenever you want.”

“Thanks.” Raina smiled.

They walked in silence for several minutes when another thought occurred to her. “Didn’t you say that your grandfather was there when Aadita died?”

Ahan hesitated. “I don’t...”

“I’m pretty sure you did,” Raina said, excitement mounting inside her. “He must have told you what happened and how Aadita died and why she cursed the family.”

Ahan looked away and then at his watch. “It’s quite late. We should be heading back.”

“I’m not going back,” Raina said. “I’m not stepping into that house until I know what’s keeping her here.”

“Raina...”

“I want to speak to your grandfather. I have to get to the bottom of this.”

“That’s not possible,” Ahan said.

“Ahan... please. Help me. She’ll kill me!” Raina pleaded.

“You don’t understand...”

“Please. Let me just talk to your grandfather once.”

Ahan thrust a hand in his hair and clenched his fist. “You can’t speak to him; no one can speak to him.”

“Why?” Raina asked.

Ahan hesitated and Raina noticed the colour had faded from his face. “He has Alzheimer’s disease.”

“What?”

“He doesn’t even recognise us!”

“I’m sorry,” Raina whispered and put a gentle hand on his arm.

“He had to be let go from the hospital and my mother quit too to take care of him,” Ahan said. “Things took a turn for the worse and we had to admit him last month.”

“It must be so hard on you.”

“He wanted to see me go to college, but with everything going on...”Ahan swallowed. “My mom said it would make my granddad happy if I went, so I agreed. That’s why I’m going to a community college so I can be closer to my family.”

“I’m so sorry. I’ve been whining about my own problems when you’ve been going through such a tough time yourself.”

“I didn’t want anyone to know. I haven’t even told my friends. But... I don’t know...  talking to you is so much easier.”

“Maybe because you don’t know me too well,” Raina said and wondered why she felt so disappointed.

“Or maybe I do,” Ahan said.

They smiled at each other and Ahan sat on a nearby bench. “My grandfather does have a few lucid moments every now and then, but he was pretty young when Aadita died, so I doubt he would remember much.”

“It wouldn’t be right of me to ask you for such a big favour.” Raina sat next to him. “If your grandfather ever does get lucid, spend some time with him, talk to him about college.”

Ahan laid a hand on hers.

Raina looked at the cars passing by and wondered what she would do now. She definitely didn’t want to go back to her grandfather’s house. But then, where would she go?

“You know, I just realised something,” Ahan said suddenly.

“What?”

“If Aadita keeps saving you, maybe she needs you for something.”

“Like what?” Raina asked.

“Maybe she needs you to do something for her.”

You can buy this book here: 

Amazon

Barnes&Noble

Smashwords