The cursed house.

An Old Friend

"The masked man was right, it is his game, he appears whenever he wants to, it seems it is the same case with the Cursed House also!"

John marched carefully towards the gate of the Cursed House. This time he did not wanted to give the Masked Man any opportunity to get an upper hand on him by surprising him with anything.

"I need to be careful this time, I don't know what he has this time to hurt me! He can appear anywhere, anytime with anything."

It was getting even darker as he marched towards the house.

"It seems as if the more I move towards it, the farther it is getting from me!"

"Joooooohhhhhhnnnnnn!" Someone screamed John's name. It was a loud, shrill voice.

"It seems as if someone is in pain! Someone needs my help!"

Suddenly a strong wind started to blow and the visibility almost zeroed for John. He somehow managed to move straight but with every step the difficulty for John was increasing. With a bruised leg and the strong wind, for John it was like swimming against a the flow of a ferocious river.

"Joooooohhhhhnnnnnnn! Help me! Run!"

"Again the same voice! Who is she? It is not Diana, it is someone else! Someone unknown to me, but the person seems to be in severe pain."

John started praying, he started humming some verses, it was all he could do. His bruised leg gave up, he was running short of water, he could not see anything. It was like a total blackout for him and his body came to a standstill.

Soon a small lamp was illuminated, it appeared as if someone gave John a signal so that he can move towards it.

"What is it? Who can it be? The Masked Man? The girl who was screaming for help? Whoever or whatever it is, this is the only ray of hope for me!" John lifted himself up and started moving towards the light.

As he reached near the light, he figured out something. The light was coming through the window of a small hut. He speeded up his struggle and moved towards the house.

"Is there anyone inside? May I come in?"

As soon as John knocked, the door opened automatically.

He entered the hut and discovered a familiar face.

"Who is he? I have definitely seen him somewhere but I can't recall where!"

"John, I know you cannot recall who I am but we have met before. We have met at the same place where you are at present."

"What? Can he read my mind!"

"Yes, I can read whatever you have within you, we are in a way connected with each other. I am the same person whom you met when you entered the Cursed House for the first time."

"Oh! He is the same old man who warned me when I encountered the Haunted Mansion for the first time."

"Listen John, there are certain dreams that don't remain restricted to the time you're asleep, they follow you to your real life. There are people, places, instances, creatures and many other things that become attached to you in your dreams. Some of these attachments are so deep that they follow you in your real life."

"So, why is the masked man so attached to me? Why has he been following me so much?"

"John, it is not the masked man who is attached to you. It is the Cursed House! It has some secrets for you, it wants to tell you something. These hounds, clowns, masked man, all of them are just instruments through which the house is trying to contact you. A person like you won't pay heeds to such places until and unless the well-being of your near and dear ones is at stake. The Cursed House wanted you to reach here, it is the house that has brought you here and not your own will."

"So what is it that the house wants me to do? I am here, hunting for it and it seems as if it is running away from me!"

"John, I don't have any idea about this. I am just a messenger and I have told you everything that I know. It is time for you to leave and search for your answers yourself."

"Leave, but where? Where is the house, where is the masked man, the messenger of the House? I am tired of this now!"

As soon as John finished, the old man disappeared with a cool breeze.

"I am the only one who is a part of this game. I need to fetch the way all by myself! I don't know how long, how tiring the journey will be, but I have to make it there. I need to reveal the secrets that the Cursed House has stored for me!"