Cursed

The doll

Rita's POV

I went to my bed thinking about the incident that has happened to me today. This place is a bit creepy!! I said to myself while pulling the cozy blanket covering my legs while I sat on my bed leaning against the headboard.

There is a basement door that is locked and I don't know why Arundhati has asked me not to open it. She looked a little uneasy when I asked her about it. What could be the reason? I asked myself all the while looking out of the window that was facing my bed, staring at the dark night sky. There is a huge tree in our backyard whose branches tap against the glasses of the window of my room, sometimes even making an eerie scratching sound. It was windy outside, the shadow of the rustling branches and the leaves against the long white curtains of the windows gave it an uncanny look.

After sending a good night text to my daughter I kept my phone by the bedside table and laid down on the soft warm bed wrapping myself under the cozy blanket. 

Today when I was dusting the library of the house I found a very spooky, ragged old doll there. The library had many old books covered with dirt and dust. Arundhati said that the last owner of the house must have left these books in the library. Although she hasn't got much clear idea about it either. The library was quite big and on one corner of the room there was a couch and a small table covered in white sheets. Beside the couch, there was a rocking chair on which the doll was seated. There was a fireplace behind the rocking chair and the couch, completely covered in dust, there were still few wood pieces unburned or slightly burned lying among the ashes. This place needs a lot of cleaning. I thought as I sighed looking around. There was a big mirror covered with white cloth, which was situated beside the rocking chair. 

The mirror was kept in between the fireplace and the couch as a support for it to stand on the ground. I wondered why would somebody keep a mirror on the ground rather than fixing it to the wall. The mirror was kept in an angular way, facing the rocking chair. It was kinda weird. Staying alone in this house made me feel uneasy, it's not like I was afraid or something about staying alone, I have stayed alone in most places, but something here feels a bit unsettling, it kind of makes me feel agitated. I wish Arundhati or Anwesha was here. I thought as I looked out from one of the huge windows of the library to find Shallow jumping around on the lush green grass trying to follow a beautiful blue butterfly. I smiled looking at him, his carefree joy made me feel at ease. Well, I got shallow with me. I thought as I shrugged off the uneasiness and concentrated on my work. 

There was a cupboard on the corner of the room too. The whole room looked dilapidated and covered with dust. It seemed like it has been ages since anyone has stepped inside this room. So tying my hair up in a bun I started dusting and cleaning the room. All the while the doll was sitting on the rocking chair. Although I tried to indulge myself completely in my work, the presence of that doll in the room made me feel tensed and apprehensive. As if it's not just a doll but it has life. I stared at its eyes. It was dark black, its presence was kind of menacing. I have never seen such a doll in my life with that dreary ominous black eyes. It was in a dilapidated state, broken and its dress was torn.