Kufri Shimla Himachal Pradesh India
Arunima Negi or Aru is a nine-year-old class IV student with long hair to the waist and, a thin, fair-skinned mountain face. She is very mischievous and it is her hobby to do the work for which she is forbidden. She is a fearless girl. Aru's mischiefs never harm anyone. That's why she is loved by all. But her mother is scared of her adventures and worried about her safety.
There is a ruin near Aru's house where there used to be a post office during the British era. Dak bungalows were first built so that postmen could rest there. Since the postmen used to travel long distances on horses, to give them comfort, Daak bungalows were built at various places. Where they used to rest at night. There was also a servant there to take care of them. Whenever there was a need, British officers and government officials also used to stay there. At present, the roof of most of the rooms of this dank bungalow has fallen. The roof of only one room is intact but that too can collapse at any time. So no one goes there. The windows on the walls are broken and there are rats, spiders and lizards all around.
It is said that the spirit of an old man who used to take care of the British officers still wanders in that bungalow. He lived in the same room which is safe even today. The old man had a granddaughter who would have been eight or nine years old. His parents had died. That's why she came to live with her grandfather. A British officer got angry at something she said and struck her, her head hit the wall and she died. Then the old man cursed the British officer to keep wandering there. The same night, due to unknown reasons, a fire broke out in the bungalow and all three died there.
Due to the influence of the curse, the soul of the Englishman started wandering in the same dak bungalow. Many people have seen an English soldier in a red uniform wandering in that Dak bungalow. He asks people for help but does not come out of the bungalow.
"Please help me. I want peace. Please help me get rid of him." He would say.
Aru was always attracted to that haunted place. Some people even believe that the doors, windows and pillars of the bungalow keep changing their shape and location. That bungalow was a subject of curiosity among the children. One day in school, Aru got into an argument with some children.
"To date, no one has returned alive from that haunted bungalow," said Vrinda alias Chinki.
"Lie, nothing like that happened. You, people, spread rumours. It's just a bungalow that was caught few years ago. There are no ghosts there. My father says that there are no ghosts. "said Aru.
"If you go around from there and come back safely we will agree that there is no ghost there," Purab said.
"What will you give me if I do?" Aru asked.
" I will carry your bag from home to school and from school to home for a whole month," said Vikram alias Bunty.
"Okay, meet me outside the guesthouse tonight. "
That night, she jumped out of the window with a torch and climbed the slope on foot to reach the bungalow. One by one Chinki Bunty and Purab came. The bungalow was built at a height so that the horsemen could be seen from a distance. Aru entered through the main gate of the bungalow which was broken and hanging on the hinges. There was a desolate garden around the bungalow where wild plants grew. The roofs of almost all the rooms in the bungalow had fallen, except for one room. Aru shined the torchlight on each pillar and took a tour of the bungalow and moved towards the room in which the old caretaker used to live.
The door of the room was also broken, she slowly entered the room, and there were some old broken pieces of burnt furniture lying there. And there were utensils and other things that were years old. Opening the drawer of a table which was in somewhat decent condition, Aru looked through it. Some old coins were lying there and there was also a slip with something written on it but Aru put it in her pocket to read later.
Aru pocketed them as evidence. When she came out, she saw that all three of her friends were missing. She started laughing. She didn't even notice that the main gate hanging on the hinges was now standing straight.
The next day when she reached school Chinki, Bunty and Purab were shocked to see her safe and sound.
"You...you...are you okay?"
"I am all right? And why did you run away?
"Because the main gate of the bungalow suddenly stood upright and stretched its body as if yawning," Bunty said.
"What? Hahaha. How can this be possible?"
"Yes, I saw it too," Chinki said.
"I was looking at the other side at that time, I didn't see the main gate yawning, but when both of them ran away shouting, I also ran away scared. "
"You people are very stupid. I searched the whole bungalow and I could not see anyone yawning. Look at this, I have also brought something from there as proof." But before she could show them the slip and coins, their teacher entered the classroom.
"Come on, everyone quickly take out your copy and books." This matter was postponed till the evening. When all four of them were walking on foot towards home, Chinki said -
"What were you going to show us?"
"Oh yes, look, there was a table which was in a safe and sound condition, from which these coins and this slip were found. I didn't read it properly yesterday in haste. The coins were ancient. These are ancient coins of the British era."
And what was written on the slip was very interesting.
This is from a time when magicians and sorceresses existed. And they used to live among the common people. A witch named Marchella used to practice black magic in the dense forests. People said that she was a shapeshifter. She could take the shape of anything. Before you know it, the rock you're sitting on is Marcella the Witch. You don't even realize that one of the cats hovering around you is Marchella. And you can never know that the young and beautiful woman you are in love with is Marcella, a two-hundred-year-old sorceress. She can be anything. It can be a pot kept in your house, or a broom, or tongs or a curtain hanging from the window. Beware of her because just a glimpse of her is enough to make you numb to the core. Messing with her is like losing your life.
"So that means she was a shapeshifting witch," said Bunty.
"All three of you are number one cowards and idiots, there is no witch pitch," Aru said. Those people passed near the same bungalow and saw that one of its gates was not there at all.
"Is this why one of its main gates is missing?" Purab said.
"And that tree was not there before?" Chinki said.
"It is a shapeshifter who sometimes hides here as a tree, sometimes as a main gate," Bunty said. Suddenly that tree shook strongly and started taking a terrible form by increasing its size. Chinki, Bunty, Purab and Aru ran as fast as they could towards their respective homes. Who will believe their story? The tree behind them seemed to be laughing seeing them running away in fear.
What strange has been seen in that Dak bungalow that day? Whether it is the spirit of the Englishman or the old man who cursed the Englishman or his granddaughter? The old caretaker and his granddaughter were the same shape-shifting witch.
The English had recognized that witch and to kill the witch, he had set fire to her room because the English believed that witches could only be killed by burning them. Whereas fire does not affect witches. That's why that Englishman was killed along with the entire bungalow but that room remained safe in which she used to live sometimes as an old man and sometimes as his granddaughter.
