Chapter 1

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Finally here!

Drisana looked towards the old house.Though it was supposed to be well maintained, it looked like anything but maintained. This was the first time she was visiting this place. Far from the nearest town, her paternal house was sitting in the middle of nowhere.

She gave a look to the supposed caretaker of the house, Tanmay. He gulped down nervously looking towards the house. His father used to look after it before him. Drisanas' family had left the country more than 20 years ago. Though they paid to look after the house, no one had been here for the past years. Now suddenly Drisana dropped out of nowhere to stay in this creepy dwelling.

Tanmay opened the front door slowly as Drisana kept looking around.

"Come inside, ma'am. I've cleaned the house and checked all the utilities. Everything is working fine. If you want anything, you can give me a call anytime. But I'll still say living in a hotel near town will be better than here." said Tanmay giving a tour of the house to Drisana.

From inside it wasn't so bad. Drisana had wanted to look at the place her parents belonged to and where she was born. Drisanas' parents had died a few years ago in an accident leaving her alone. Drisana had always loved travelling and adventures. After her parents' death, all she had done was travelling around the world looking for something.
What? She wasn't sure. She had always felt detached from everything and everyone. Like she didn't fit. She felt an emptiness inside and an urge. Like she was supposed to do something, be somewhere else. With time she learned to ignore it and adjusted to her surroundings. It was another blessing in disguise. As she never felt attached to anything, moving from place to place and adapting to new environments quickly came quite naturally to her.

So, she thought maybe visiting her birth place and connecting to it would give her some peace. She had always wanted to visit this place but her parents denied every time. Saying they had left it behind to never return. That this place held nothing for them. She had not wanted to upset them, so she let it be. But with every passing day it had been difficult for her to ignore the call of this place. She even dreamt about this place a few times which gave her the creeps as she never had been here before.
The only way she knew it was this place, was from the pictures her parents had kept back in California. The dreams started with the view of the front door which was open like a silent invitation to enter. And she moved through the house searching for something like following a call that was only heard by her. But she was unable to either reach or find the source. Same dream she had for years no matter where she went. Those strange dreams had been another reason for her to come here finally.

"It'll do fine. Thanks Tanmay." said Drisana.

"Okay then. I'll take your leave." saying so he left.

As Drisana was examining the house, she found the idol of lord Krishna neatly placed on one shelf. The same one she saw in her dreams. There was also a prayer room in this house which had a big idol of shree Krishna and all the necessary items needed for worshipping. Tanmays' father before him made sure to come daily only to light a diya (earthen lamp) before he passed away. It was Drisanas' mothers instruction. Tanmay though wasn't so sincere or religious, but made sure to keep it clean.

Drisana moved inside the room and stared at the idol for sometime before enlightening a diya before it. It had been a long day and she needed to rest.

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Drisana was sleeping restlessly when something woke her up. She wasn't sure why she woke up. She looked at her phone. It was 2.45 am.
As a lone traveller, Drisana had learned to trust her instincts, which had always been right. She felt like something was in the house or maybe someone. 'A thief or druggie maybe' she thought.

Taking the pepper spray and knife that she always carried in her bag she silently moved outside the bedroom. There was something strange in the house, even the air felt too heavy. Drisana listened carefully for any sound, holding her breath. There it was! A faint cackling sounds like when woods get burned. What could possibly be that? Drisana listened carefully and determined it was coming from downstairs. She moved towards the basement door. As she opened the door, it made a sharp noise. Drisana cringed hearing it. The sound probably alerted whoever was downstairs. She waited expecting the faint cackling sound to stop or any other movements. But only the sound got clearer with the opening of the door. After a long few minutes when nothing happened, she started to descend the stairs.

Now anyone else might run away screaming thinking of something bad, but not her. Drisana contemplated her options for a second. There was no other house or dwelling nearby. If she screamed no one except the old dead souls would hear her. Moreover whoever was inside would get to her first. She could call for help, but help wouldn't be coming fast enough while she waited for the intruder to give her a surprise. On the other hand, she was confident in her abilities to defend herself if not caught unaware and the intruder was in a singular number of course. In worst case scenario, she could hide somewhere until help arrived.

Though upstairs it was all neat and clean, the basement looked like something out of a horror film with broken things, dust, some covered furniture scattered around the room. The moonlight coming from the high narrow ventilation provided little light to see. The cackling sounds continued. Drisana looked around closely, her senses alerted.

Nothing.

Where the hell was this sound coming from? Then she saw something. At the far corner of the room, there was a slight flash. She went closer and saw. It was some frame covered with a heavy black cloth. Drisana examined it with interest. The sound seemed to come from here only. She was a little nervous now. It seemed like the air around was humming with restrained energy. She had never encountered anything like this and that made her feel uneasy.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she pulled the cloth away. It was a frame alright. A door frame which was glistening with golden white light. Now that the cover was removed the light was bright enough to enlighten the whole place.

It was difficult to keep eyes open in its sharpness. And soon Drisana felt something sucking on her skin. Like a vacuum cleaner, the light was pulling her towards it. She held the frame tightly. It felt like every molecule in her body was disintegrating. She felt a heavy pressure on her head. The pressure on her head was increasing by the second too much to bear. A scream escaped her throat at the pain and darkness engulfed her as she lost consciousness.

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Hey guys!!!

Welcome to the journey of Drisana.

Drisana is the one with whom it started, but it will end up messing and organizing several lives.

This is not only the journey of Drisana. This is the journey of love, life, passion, hatred, happiness, changes and mysteries.

So stay with me and

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