365 DAYS 365 TALES

DEMONS OF THE PAST

'Demons of the past reside here.' 

No... 

'Demons of the past reside here.'

No...

Nooo...

Rahul sprang up on his bed panting. Even in the chill winter night, small beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. His blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to get a hang of the situation; but nothing seemed clear at that point. There was only confusion, and more confusion.

Rahul warily walked over to the window, taking small measures steps. The wooden floor creaked under his feet, sending another wave of chills down is spine. In that noiseless night, every small sound registered at the back of his mind; and frightened him all the way to his toes.

But it was not like this always. Rahul was used to leaving alone in their big mansion in the city; that there was no real reason for him to frighten on such small incidents. Still somehow, this small cottage on his grandfather's farm terrified him the most.

This was the first time he was visiting his grandparents in twenty years of his life. It made him a little nervous, especially the fact that his parents were not accompanying him. They had made it clear that it was just going to be him to spend a whole month with the old folks whom he had never met. But Rahul wasn't someone to back away from a nice adventure. Yes, he was a little nervous, but more than that, he was exited for this trip.

All his excitement, all his enthusiasm escalated to a whole new level when he saw the farm and cottage. It was love at first sight for Rahul. It was just a small three storey cottage, nothing compared to their mansion, but the best thing was it was completely secluded from the outside world. Wheat crops circled it on three sides, while a beautiful, serene lake adorned the lone side.

For the first couple of weeks, there was nothing to complain for Rahul. His grandparents were loving; and cared for him more than what his parents did. There was not much to do around the place, but he loved to help his grandfather to pluck the crops in morning; and then he'd spend the evening relaxing by the lake; watching the fish swim by. He was getting fond of this quiet life; until that night.

It was a similar night like today except the fact that the moon shone to its fullest that night. It was that Sunday night fifteen days ago, when he first had this dream. He couldn't see any people, nor any place in the dream; there was a only a sound. A constant chant...

Demons of the past reside here...

The same chant repeated itself every night for the last fifteen days, nothing more, nothing less; the same thing over and over again. Rahul thought of mentioning it to the old folks, but decided against it everyday. He didn't want to trouble them with some nuisance of his mind. After all, it was his last night here today, and he was sure whatever this was would stop when he resumed his normal city life. He would just hear those chants in the night and forget about it in morning.

But today's night was different, whether unconsciously or subconsciously, his mind had replied to those chants tonight. They had replied in a constant no; and that thing feared him more than the dream itself. No, he couldn't sleep anymore. He needed some cool air to down the heat of his body.

The wooden floor creaked under his feet as he walked towards the window. The outside air was pushing the window in, making it hard to open. He applied all his force on the old metal bolt, and it opened with a loud clang. He pushed the window as it squeaked against the frame. All the air rushed into his room, causing his body to stiffen by that cold.

Outside, the usually calm water of the lake swirled with the wind. There was no moon to spread light over the lake, but still, he could see it clearly. Small whirls had formed around the border of the lake, and oddly, they formed a kind of pattern. Rahul watched it intently, trying to figure out the pattern, but nothing registered.